Yemeni Gov’t Welcomes New UNSC Arms Embargo On Houthi Militia

UNSC

ADEN, Mar 2 (NNN-YPA) – The Yemeni government and several other Arab countries, yesterday, welcomed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution, that imposed an arms embargo on the Houthi militia in Yemen, as an entity.

The Houthi militia currently controls the capital, Sanaa, and most key northern provinces of the Arab world’s poorest country.

On Monday, UNSC Resolution 2624, which was adopted with 11 votes in favour and four abstentions, decides that, the Houthis as an entity, shall be subject to the arms embargo contained in its previous Resolution 2216 of 2015.

Resolution 2216 and other later ones targeted individuals from the Houthi group for arms embargo, not the group as an entity.

The latest resolution condemns the continued supply of weapons and components to Yemen, in violation of the targeted arms embargo, established in Resolution 2216, as a serious threat to peace and stability in Yemen and the region.

It strongly condemns the cross-border attacks by the Houthis, including attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and demands the immediate cessation of such attacks.

In a press statement, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government said, the “significant constructive move” is set to curb the Houthis’ violations and threats to the maritime shipping lines’ safety, in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and to pressure the Houthis to abandon the course of the war.

The Yemeni government also reiterated the UN-led peace process as the only single way to reach fair and sustainable peace in Yemen.

The Houthis did not officially comment on the contents of the resolution.

The UNSC resolution was met with positive reactions and responses from a number of regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt.

Earlier in the day, Yemeni President, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, received the U.S. Envoy for Yemen, Timothy Lenderking, and the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, in his temporary office in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.

The Yemeni president highly praised the envoys’ efforts to achieve peace the Yemeni people are desperately waiting for.

“We are peace-seekers. We have made huge sacrifices and offered significant concessions to stop bloodshed, establish security and stability that maintain Yemen’s unity, security and stability,” Hadi said.