Qatar strongly condemned on Tuesday Houthi accusations that Saudi Arabia was imposing a siege on the Yemeni people and barring marine navigation.
The Qatari Foreign Ministry underlined its “full solidarity with the Kingdom and support of the measures it takes to ensure its security and sovereignty.”
It called on the international community to uphold its responsibilities by implementing the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution 2216 on Yemen and Resolution 2722 on freedom of navigation and navigational rights in the Red Sea.
The ministry stressed that “freedom of navigation through international waterways is a fundamental principle of international law and of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
It said that “Saudi Arabia's security is an integral part of the security of Qatar and the other Gulf Cooperation Council member states.”
The Muslim World League strongly condemned the Houthi accusations, dismissing them as "false claims” aimed at diverting attention from the militants’ responsibility for the deteriorating situation in Yemen.
MWL Secretary-General and Chairman of the Association of Muslim Scholars Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa said the Houthis statements were a “desperate attempt to cover up their crimes and violations against the Yemeni people.” This includes the targeting of infrastructure and civilian airports, oil ports, and government facilities and attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
“The Yemeni people are aware that the claims are nothing but an attempt to avoid accountability from the disastrous humanitarian situation the Houthis have created in regions under their control due to their violations, mismanagement” and theft of Yemen’s resources, he added.
“The facts on the ground contradict their claims,” he said, citing the Saudi Foreign Ministry’s announcement that it will continue to work with the legitimate Yemeni government and to ease the suffering of the Yemeni people through the implementation of development projects, support the government budget, provide oil derivatives to operate power stations and back UN peace efforts.
