Yemenis slam Saudi Arabia for barring Houthi delegation from attending Geneva talks

Thousands of Yemeni people have taken to the streets of capital Sana’a to protest against a Saudi-led military coalition for its alleged refusal to allow a delegation of the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement to fly to Geneva to attend the United Nations-sponsored peace talks in the Swiss city.

Speaking amid the protest rally on Friday, Loay al-Shamy, a senior Houthi official in the Ministry of Information, said that the Houthi delegation had been ready to leave Sana’a International Airport for Geneva, but the UN, under pressure by the so-called coalition, “could not fulfill what was agreed on, which is to provide an Omani plane for the delegation that will participate in Geneva and offer the assurances required for the return of the delegation.”

Saudi Arabia and some of its allies, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan, launched a brutal war, code-named Operation Decisive Storm, against Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall Yemen’s former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and crush the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which plays a significant role in aiding the Yemeni army in defending the impoverished country against the invading coalition.

The former Yemeni government resigned in 2015 as the country was experiencing political turmoil. Shortly afterwards, Hadi fled to Riyadh, where he encouraged the Saudis to launch attacks on Yemen in a bid to regain power.

The Houthi movement has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective administration since the onset of the imposed war, which has so far killed some 15,000 people.

The UN invited the two opposing sides, the Houthis and Hadi’s Saudi-backed administration based in the southern Yemeni city of Eden, to send their respective delegations to a fresh round of peace talks, which were slated to open on Thursday.

PressTV-Yemen talks in balance as Saudis block Houthi flight

Houthi Ansarullah movement says Geneva peace talks is in the balance because Saudi Arabia prevents them from flying to Switzerland.

As the Saudi-led military coalition has imposed a tight sea and air blockade on Yemen for months, the Houthi delegation was scheduled to fly to Geneva through an Omani airplane provided by the UN, but it has so far failed to do so due to purported pressure from Riyadh.

On Wednesday, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths voiced confidence in the planned negotiations despite a delay as the delegation representing the Houthis remains stranded at the Sana’a airport. He had to postpone the talks due to delay in the arrival of the Houthi delegation.

“The national Yemeni delegation that will participate (in Geneva talks) has not yet left from Sana’a airport, and that is because the decision not to send an Omani plane was made by the US and it is an American conspiracy with the help of Saudi Arabia. The US meant to delay the delegation from leaving, and the UN is helpless, and cannot do anything about it,” said Abdulrahman al-Mutawakel, a senior Houthi official during the Friday rally.

The UN envoy says the talks — the first since 2016 — are meant to be trying to build trust between the two parties.

PressTV-'Yemen alarmingly facing growing cases of malnutrition'

According to UNICEF, 1.8 million children are acutely malnourished in Yemen.

The Saudi-led war has also taken a heavy toll on the country's infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories. The United Nations has said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger.

Several Western countries, the US and Britain in particular, are also accused of being complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.

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