The Yemeni government revealed that four Lebanese and two Iranians were on the list of wounded provided by the Iranian-backed Houthis and whom it was trying to evacuate outside the country.
This explains why the militias were insistent on not revealing the names of the injured, intelligence information said.
Yemeni government spokesman Rajeh Badi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the four Lebanese were members of the Hezbollah party and the two Iranians were from the Revolutionary Guards.
An agreement was recently reached with the Houthis on evacuating their wounded outside the country where they could receive treatment.
This issue was among one of three last-minute conditions set by the Houthis ahead of September consultations that were held in Geneva and that ultimately failed after the militias did not show up to the talks.
Reuters reported Thursday that leader of the Houthis had proposed the evacuation of his wounded to UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths during their talks in Sanaa.
Information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat revealed that the Houthis have demanded the evacuation of 50 injured and 50 companions before the start of any consultations on Yemen.
A new round of UN-sponsored consultations is scheduled for early December after intense efforts exerted by Griffiths and his team that included talks with Abdul Malek al-Houthi in Sanaa on Thursday.
He paid a visit to Hodeidah on Friday, saying he “received a very warm welcome from senior representatives. I am very grateful to them for organizing this visit.”
“The attention of the world is on Hodeidah. Leaders from every country have called for us all to keep the peace in Hodeidah. I have come here today with my good friends and colleagues, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Lise Grande and The World Food Program Country Director of Yemen, Stephen Anderson to learn first-hand how we can help to keep that international pledge to protect the people of Hodeidah from further devastation,” he continued.
He met with the Houthi leadership and “among other things, we talked about how the UN could contribute to keeping the peace in Hodeidah.”
“I am here to tell you today that we have agreed that the UN should now pursue actively and urgently detailed negotiations for a leading UN role in the Port and more broadly,” Griffiths said.
Al-Arabiya television reported that the militias prevented the envoy from visiting any facilities in the city, which the Houthis had transformed in a military barracks.
