UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan stressed the importance of Houthis' withdrawal from Yemeni territories to accelerate the political process, noting that the UAE had joined the Arab Coalition based on the request of Yemen’s legitimate government.
In an interview with Russia’s Sputnik, the minister welcomed the efforts exerted by Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Yemen, to find a political solution in the country.
Houthi militias should make a full withdrawal from the territories they seized illegally in line with UN Resolution 2216 in order to speed up a solution, said the minister.
“The Yemeni people consider Houthis occupying forces. They have breached the international human rights law by recruiting child soldiers and planting explosives and landmines randomly in the residential areas, and by using civilians as human shields,” he told Sputnik.
The minister also announced that in the past three years, the Coalition has allocated approximately USD15 billion to support the Yemeni people.
“We are working closely with the legitimate Yemeni government and international non-governmental organizations to achieve stability in conflict areas,” he added.