Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi made a historic visit to the city of Taiz on Tuesday that has been besieged by the Iran-backed Houthis for nine years.
He was accorded a wide popular and official welcome, with crowds thronging the road to the city which he arrived at from the interim capital Aden.
He kicked off his visit by laying the foundation stone of several development and service projects funded by the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen (SDRPY). They included constructing and equipping a specialized cancer center, power generation plant, technical industrial institute, rural hospital, and exemplary Al-Wahda Joint School.
In official statements, Al-Alimi said: “Taiz will continue to spearhead the national project. It will remain the cradle of change and the capital of perseverance that has been underscored by the years of oppressive siege imposed by the terrorist Houthi militias.”
He added that his meetings with local administrations always focus on improving living conditions and services and exerting efforts to liberate the remaining Yemeni provinces from the Houthis.
Residents of the western province of Taiz are hoping that his visit to the city of the same name will kickstart efforts to build institutions, provide services and focus on infrastructure, while continuing to confront the Houthi agenda and reclaim territories held by the militias.
This was the first visit by a Yemeni president to Taiz in nearly 15 years. He was accompanied by his deputies Abdullah Al-Alimi and Othman Majali.
Activists on social media posted photos of the PLC leader as he greeted the people in the city despite the danger as he passed by areas held by the Houthis.
Former minister and Yemen’s current ambassador to Morocco Ezzedine Al-Asbahi remarked that the people’s warm welcome of Al-Alimi, along the road stretching from Aden to Taiz, demonstrates their eagerness “for every step that consolidates the presence of the state.”
Yemeni journalist Ghamdan al-Yosifi said Al-Alimi's visit helps “tend to the wounds of the city.”
“It certainly was a security risk given that the Houthis have sought to target state leaders with all their might,” he remarked, recalling how the militias had previously attacked a plane transporting former Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik and members of his government when they landed at Aden airport years ago.
He also recalled a Houthi attack on the Taiz governor, who miraculously escaped with his life after they struck and destroyed his vehicle.
Al-Alimi has several thorny files to tackle in Taiz, “which has paid the heftiest of prices and made sacrifices as it rejected the Houthi project and it persevered alone when all support was extended to other provinces,” he added.
Yosifi hoped the visit would be aimed at breaking the siege and ending the tensions between the people of Taiz and the country’s leadership.
Yemeni researcher and political analyst Mustafa Naji al-Jabzi said Al-Alimi's visit helps restore Taiz province’s standing given “the major sacrifices it has given to preserve the republic and its Yemeni and Arab identity.”
“It is the frontline in the fight with the enemy” Houthis, he added.
He also urged political and social forces, especially the youth, to take advantage of Al-Alimi's visit to present a reform program that would address the situation in Taiz so that local authorities can be held to account if they fail to meet their aspirations.
Taiz is the fifth province Al-Alimi has visited since he assumed his post in April 2022 when the PLC was formed. The others are Aden, Hadramawt, al-Mahra and Marib.
Despite the failed efforts to reach peace and end the confict between the legitimate government and Houthis, Yemen has been witnessing relative calm since 2022 through UN efforts.
The Houthis have also been accused of obstructing a Saudi and Omani mediated peace roadmap when they launched their attacks on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November.
