Yemen Underlines Need for 'All Good Forces' to Confront Militias

Yemen’s President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi delivers a speech in the southern port city of Aden March 21, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer
Yemen’s President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi delivers a speech in the southern port city of Aden March 21, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer
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Yemen Underlines Need for 'All Good Forces' to Confront Militias

Yemen’s President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi delivers a speech in the southern port city of Aden March 21, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer
Yemen’s President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi delivers a speech in the southern port city of Aden March 21, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi underlined the need to defeat militias in the country, while the legitimate government called for the “participation of all good forces” to confront the insurgents.

Hadi said that Houthi militias were determined to be used as an Iranian tool in the killing, displacement and destruction of the country.

“We have no choice but to triumph over the forces of darkness in the interest of the new federal Yemen, as we have two paths: the victory of legitimacy and the new federal Yemen, or dependence on the forces of darkness represented by the Iranian Houthi militias,” Hadi said, during his meeting with the European Union Ambassador to Yemen, Antonia Calvo.

The Yemeni official news agency (Saba) said that Hadi reviewed with the EU ambassador “recent developments in Yemen and the exclusion of the Houthis of those who were their partners.”

The Yemeni president also stressed the importance of the role assumed by the European Union in “standing up to the violations committed by Houthi militias against innocent people in Sanaa, including children and women.”

The EU ambassador, for her part, expressed her satisfaction with the meeting, as it provided additional information on the latest developments in the Yemeni arena. She also emphasized “the EU’s position in support of peace, security and stability in Yemen.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi said, during a separate meeting with the EU ambassador, that the government was keen to “preserve all good Yemeni political forces in the face of Houthi militias” and strengthen efforts to regain control over the state.

He also underlined the commitment of the Yemeni government to harness all land and maritime ports to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid and provide safe corridors to citizens.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.