Saudi, Yemeni Calls for Holding Houthis Accountable for Local, Regional Terrorism

Arab World

January 21st, 7:14am

Aden – Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi flag fluttering over the streets of Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat

As Houthi militias ramp up their terror attacks targeting civilian objects locally and regionally, Saudi and Yemeni statements called for the need to hold the Iranian-backed coup group accountable. Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al-Jaber said on Twitter on Thursday that the United Nations and global community must not show leniency and hold the Houthi movement accountable because “it encourages other terrorist organizations to act similarly.” The ambassador, in a series of Tweets, said that Houthis claiming their crimes shows that they are conducting deliberate acts of terrorism. The group has attacked civilian institutions in Saudi Arabia and civilian ships sailing the Red Sea in a manner like that of al-Qaeda and ISIS. For his part, Yemeni Information Minister Moammar El-Eryani denounced a recent attack by Houthis that targeted a gas station north of the Harib District in the governorate of Marib. Houthis launched an Iranian missile against the station, killing four civilians and injuring at least five others. In an official statement, Eryani explained that this “awful” crime is an extension of the systematic killings carried out by the militias against Yemenis since the launching of their coup against the state. They use smuggled Iranian weapons, including ballistic missiles and drones, to claim the lives of tens of thousands of innocent civilians, most of whom were women, children, and the elderly. Eryani called on the international community and human rights organizations to condemn this crime and all the killings committed by the Houthi militia against civilians. He urged re-listing the militia on terrorism lists and prosecuting its leaders in the International Criminal Court as war criminals. Another drone attack launched by the Houthis ripped through a school on Wednesday in the southern city of Taiz, killing a student and wounding five more. In the context of Houthi violations, a human rights report prepared by the Rights and Media Committee in the Yemeni governorate of Al-Jawf revealed the documentation of 36,153 violations committed by Iran-backed militias in the governorate during 2021.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3427316/saudi-yemeni-calls-holding-houthis-accountable-local-regional-terrorism