The leader of Houthis insurgents, Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, warned on Tuesday that the war in Yemen would continue for a fifth year, renewing the rebel group’s rejection to withdraw from Hodeidah and its ports as stipulated by the UN-sponsored Stockholm Agreement.
Al-Houthi said his militias would not hand over the Red Sea port city to what he described as “traitors and agents,” in reference to members of Yemen’s legitimate government.
“Hodeidah should keep its current security and administrative status,” which is under the control of militias operating from Sanaa, he said.
The insurgent leader bragged about killing former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whom he described as a “traitor,” pledging in the coming phase to cleanse state institutions in Aden from Saleh’s followers.
Meanwhile, Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al Jaber told Asharq Al-Awsat in an interview that the military operation launched by Riyadh four years ago to support the Yemeni people against the Houthi coup, was “necessary.”
It did not come by “choice,” he said.
The diplomat said that since their coup in 2015, Houthis have signed 70 peace agreements without implementing any of them.
“The Houthi militias constitute a very small minority in Yemen.” However, with the help of Iranian money and Hezbollah’s training, they have been able to take the state “captive” and control it using the force of arms,” Al Jaber said.
