The Iran-backed Houthi militias are using schools and civilian and service facilities for their military effort, announced Prince Fahd bin Turki bin Abdulaziz, Commander of the Saudi-led Coalition Joint Forces to Support Legitimacy in Yemen
Prince Fahd told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Coalition will not stoop to this level and does not use these facilities for military purposes.
He was speaking during the launch of the “Together for Education in Yemen” program that is aimed at supporting education in the war-torn country. The event in Riyadh was was attended by Saudi Education Minister Hamad al-Sheikh, Yemeni Education Minister Abdullah Lemmles and Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani.
Royal Court Advisor and Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) Abdullah al-Rabeeah announced that the project was carried out at the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The program will provide more than 50,000 school desks and chairs, stated Rabeeah, who added that several educational initiatives and projects will be carried out in Yemen.
Several humanitarian, relief and development projects have already been implemented and Yemen’s economy and central bank have been supported with a total cost of $11.88 billion, he announced.
“KSRelief has also implemented 330 projects in all regions of Yemen at a total cost of more than $2 billion.”
For his part, al-Sheikh reported that, along with KSRelief, his ministry has dedicated grants to 10,150 Yemeni students in Saudi universities since 2011, adding that there were 2,711 applicants this year.
Lemmles praised KSRelief for supporting the Yemeni people in various sectors.
He pointed out that the center contributed in printing textbooks and providing 50,000 desks and chairs in 14 Yemeni governorates, constituting 85 percent of the country's area.
Commenting on the Houthis’ altering of school textbooks, he revealed that since 2015, the ministry stopped using books that were altered and printed in Sanaa. He added that the changes were introduced only in areas under Houthi control.
The minister also noted efforts exerted by the Yemeni government to persuade United Nations agencies to relocate from Houthi-held Sanaa, wondering why they insist on staying in the capital.
The government is trying to persuade the agencies to leave Sanaa to Aden, Riyadh or even Djibouti, but it has been met with unjustified resistance, he revealed, while asserting that the legitimacy will try every possible method to “rectify” the efforts of these organizations.