Mohammed al-Houthi: President al-Mashat initiative will not last long at the table
SANAA, Oct. 19 (YPA) – Member of the Supreme Political Council Mohammed Ali al-Houthi has recorded the first direct official expression of impatience with the reluctance of the Saudi-led coalition to respond to the initiative of Council President Mahdi al-Mashat for peace, which has been on the table for nearly a month.
Al-Houthi spoke for the first time about a deadline for a duration of initiative’ launch, recalling his assertion that the initiative is “indivisible”, referring to a Saudi offer to stop coalition air strikes on only four cities, including the capital Sana’a.
On the eve of September 21st, Supreme Political Council chairman Mahdi al-Mashat announced the initiative to “stop all airstrikes and ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia” in exchange for a complete halt to coalition airstrikes and the lifting of its blockade.
However, the coalition has since continued its airstrikes, artillery and missile attacks on Yemeni villages and cities, targeting neighbourhoods and civilian facilities, causing more civilian casualties, as well as tightening its air, land and sea blockade imposed since the start of the war.
مبادرتنا تختلف تماما
عن
المبادرة العربية للسلام فلن تستمر طويلا على الطاولة
و شعبنا يعتدى عليه ويحاصر— محمد علي الحوثي (@Moh_Alhouthi) October 17, 2019
“The al-Mashat initiative will not last long at the table, and our people are being attacked and besieged,” Mohammed Ali al-Houthi added, referring to the continuing coalition air raids and siege.
In addition to shutting down Yemeni airspace and closing Sana’a airport, the coalition has been holding 12 oil derivatives ships and preventing them from entering the port of Hodeidah for 65 days despite the vessels being inspected and licensed by the United Nations verification and inspection agencies in Djibouti.
The coalition’s tightening of its blockade, which included blocking and delaying the entry of food and goods vessels, has crippled the performance of vital sectors and threatened them with complete disruption, primarily health, electricity, water, transport and hygiene, agriculture and industry.
“This situation makes the resumption of the Yemeni air force’s air and missile strikes on legitimate strategic targets in Saudi Arabia, fall within the right of defence and legitimate response,” according to statements by the Yemeni armed forces.
E.M