Ansarullah calls for resumption of nat'l peace talks under UN auspices

Rasa - Ansarullah Movement's Spokesman Mohammad Abdel Salam called for holding UN-monitored talks among different Yemeni political parties, and underlined that Saudi Arabia should completely halt its airstrikes against Yemen.

News ID: 2392

Date: 22 April 2015 - 23:24

RNA - "We want resumption of national talks in Yemen under the auspices of the UN," Al-Mayadeen television quoted Abdel Salam as saying on Wednesday

The Ansarullah spokesman reiterated that the Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen should also come to a complete halt, and said, "Saudi Arabia uses Al-Qaeda as a weapon for sparking tribal conflicts in Yemen and the problem in some Southern provinces is with Al-Qaeda terrorists and not the political parties."

Senior Saudi officials said on Tuesday that they would stop their attacks, stating that they have obtained their goals, including elimination of threats through a destruction of Yemen's ballistic missiles, a claim already rejected by senior Ansarullah leader Habib Zuhair al-Muslim.

In his interview with FNA earlier Tuesday, Muslim denied the claims made by Ahmed al-Assiri, the spokesman of Saudi-led coalition's 'Decisive Storm' military operation, about the destruction of 80% of the arms and ammunition of the Ansarullah movement in the Saudi-led airstrikes.

Muslim told FNA that Ansarullah revolutionaries' arms, armored vehicles and rockets are stored in secret and safe depots, and Saudi Arabia may not find their whereabouts.

But despite the Tuesday declaration, the Saudi warplanes continued to conduct air strikes on Yemen on Wednesday, and bombed the Yemeni city of Taiz.

Also other reports said that the Saudi-led coalition warplanes targeted Sana'a and Saada governorates.

Riyadh officials said the Saudi-led coalition operations in Yemen are now entering a political phase, but the latest reports from different Yemeni cities say that the Saudi airstrikes are still underway.

Also, witnesses said warships of the Saudi-coalition forces are firing rockets and missiles at several areas in the Yemeni city of Aden despite Riyadh's last night declaration that military operation against Yemen has stopped.

Eye-witnesses said they have seen American warships firing at Aden, but an army officer deployed in the city said the vessels are "Egyptian navy".

Iran has heightened efforts to broker talks among different Yemeni groups to establish peace in the country, and it sent a 4-step Yemen peace initiative to the UN chief last week.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, and demanded adoption of the necessary moves by the world body to put an immediate end to the bloodshed, describing the conditions on the ground in Yemen as "alarming".

"The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that all efforts, particularly those by the United Nations, should be guided, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, by the following objectives: 1. Ceasefire and an immediate end to all foreign military attacks; 2. Unimpeded urgent humanitarian and medical assistance to the people of Yemen; 3. Resumption of Yemeni-lead and Yemeni-owned national dialogue, with the participation of the representatives of all political parties and social groups; 4. Establishment of an inclusive national unity government," Zarif said in his letter.

Saudi Arabia launched its airstrikes on March 26 and has kept them in place for 28 days in a move to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has claimed the lives of around 2,900 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children. The attacks have also left thousands of people injured.

Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.

Despite Riyadh's claims that it was bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes were flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

Five Persian Gulf States -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait -- and Egypt that are also assisted by Israel and backed by the US declared war on Yemen in a joint statement issued on March 26.

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