UN de-escalation calls should be addressed to Houthi militia, says PM

RIYADH – SABA
Yemen’s Prime Minister said the UN calls for de-escalation of fighting in the country should be addressed to and enforced upon the reckless Houthi militia.

In a meeting with the Chinese ambassador to Yemen Kang Yong here on Sunday, Maeen Abdulmalik said the UN peace mediator Martin Griffiths’ calls for de-escalation calls should be “addressed to and enforced upon the Houthi militia who exploited the current truce in Hodeidah city … to open new warfronts and deepen the humanitarian disaster which they are responsible for triggering.”

In a one-day visit to the government-held Marib city on Saturday, Griffiths had called “for an immediate and unconditional freeze and the start of a comprehensive and inclusive and accountable de-escalation process.”

Griffiths calls come amidst Houthi expansions and vows to attack Marib, a government-held city that has been for years receiving thousands and thousands of families escaping the theocratic militia’s violence and persecution.”

In an unrelated topic, the Chinese ambassador handed over Abdulmalik a letter from the Premier of the Chinese State Council Li Keqiang on health cooperation. Keqiang appreciated Yemen’s sympathy with China over the Corona virus disease that affected parts of China.