Houthis
vow resistance as Saudis claim 80% of priority targets in Yemen
destroyed
RT,
20
April, 2015
Yemeni
people have a full right to resist “Saudi aggression” and a
planned occupation by “all means and options,” the Houthi rebel
leader said, as Riyadh wraps-up the “first phase” of an operation
that saw more than 2,300 airstrikes in less than a month.
“It’s
the right of our people to resist the aggression and face the
aggressor by any means,”
the leader of Yemen’s Houthi militia Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said in
a televised speech.
Saudi
Arabia’s goal is the “invasion” and “occupation” of
Yemen, in order to “place
this country again under its feet and hegemony,” al-Houthi
said as the Saudi-led airstrike campaign entered its 26th day.
“Our
Yemeni people will never give in – it will resist in the face of
the savage aggression,” the rebel leader concluded, stressing that
Saudi Arabia “has no right to interfere” in
its neighbor affairs. He also stated that Iran, which some accuse of
supporting the rebels, actually has “no
influence” in
the country.
“The
political problem is an internal affair and it is up to us to define
our future,” he
said.
At
the same time, the rebel leader condemned the “unfair” UN
Security Council resolution passed
earlier this week which endorsed an arms embargo on the Houthis and
their supporters.
As
part of the ongoing operation Decisive Storm, Saudis carried out more
than 106 strikes on Saturday and Sunday alone, knocking out the
central communication command of the Houthis, Saudi Brigadier General
Ahmed Asiri told the Al Arabiya television channel. Through more than
2,300 strikes to date, the Saudi-led coalition has destroyed majority
of the Houthi’s weapons storage facilities, he claimed.
“Since
the beginning of the military operation, 80 percent of the weapon
storage facilities that were captured by Houthis have been
destroyed,” Saudi
Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri told the Al Arabiya television channel.
Giving no comments on possible civilian victims of such massive air
campaign, the General claimed Houthis were turning “houses,
farms and caves” into
storage depots and military operation command centers.
With
18 out of 22 governorates in the country affected by the coalition’s
airstrikes, the UN estimates that up to 150,000 people have now been
displaced in the country. More than 750 civilians have been killed in
intensified violence since the airstrikes began over three weeks ago.
“Ordinary
families are struggling to access healthcare, water, food and fuel –
basic requirements for their survival,” UN
Humanitarian Coordinator Johannes Van Der Klaauw said on Sunday.
The
Shia Houthi rebels took control of Yemen’s capital last year,
forcing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee Sanaa and then
escape to Saudi Arabia. The Saudis accuse its main geopolitical
rival, the Shia powerhouse Iran, of arming the Houthis – claims
vigorously denied by Tehran.
A peace
plan submitted
by Iran to the UN has meanwhile been strongly rejected by the Yemeni
government in exile. Calling for an immediate ceasefire and
humanitarian assistance, the plan also suggested an end to
international military meddling and urged an inclusive national
dialogue to establish a government of “national unity.”
“We
reject the Iranian initiative,” Yemeni
government spokesman Rajeh Badi told Reuters by phone from Qatar’s
capital, Doha. “The
goal of the initiative is only a political maneuver.
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