In a warning statement this Wednesday, Yemeni Prime Minister Abdulaziz bin Habtour threatened that if the Saudi-led coalition countries don’t end their occupation of Yemen as soon as possible, they have to face serious consequences.
This Wednesday and in a warning statement, the prime minister of Yemen’s National Salvation Government Abdulaziz bin Habtour said that Yemen is going to give the Saudi-led coalition countries who have occupied Yemen for years, one last chance to end their war against the Yemeni people.
In the statement, which was first reported by al-Masirah TV in Yemen, bin Habtour threatened that Sana’a would contemplate an “appropriate response” to the aggressor states who for years, have occupied Yemen and have deprived the Yemeni government of its revenues.
“The countries involved in aggression are stubborn and believe that they are exerting popular pressure on us regarding salaries, however, we trust the awareness of our people in Sana’a and consider the appropriate response. So we give the countries involved in aggression one last chance to end this war,” bin Habtour noted.
Yemen scene to worst humanitarian conditions thanks to Saudi-led coalition
Back in March 2015, Saudi Arabia led a coalition of nine other countries from West Asia and North Africa and launched an intervention in Yemen following a request from the ousted Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi for military support. Since then, which means for more than eight years, Yemeni people have been experiencing the worst humanitarian conditions caused by the bombardments and the blockade of the country by the Saudi-led coalition.
Western governments have also supported politically and logistically the coalition in an unsuccessful attempt to reinstate Yemen’s former yet ousted president.
Thanks to this seemingly never-ending foreign intervention, Yemen, this small country on the Arabian Peninsula, has become the site of the most grievous civilian suffering.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned last week on Friday that war-torn Yemen “is now in imminent danger of the worst famine the world has seen for decades.”
Guterres warning comes as the United States threatens to blacklist Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi militia as part of its “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran. Aid workers have raised fears such a move would prevent life-saving aid reaching the country.
“I urge all those with influence to act urgently on these issues to stave off catastrophe, and I also request that everyone avoids taking any action that could make the already dire situation even worse,” Guterres said in a statement. The United Nations describes Yemen as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 80% of the people in need of help.
In his statement, the Yemeni Prime Minister further noted that all of the Yemeni government’s sources of income are under the control of the coalition states and this has deprived Yemen of its own money.
“In the past, 75 percent of Yemen’s budget revenues came from oil and gas, 15 percent from taxes and customs, with the remaining from grants and loans. Today, however, Hudaydah port serves as the sole source of income, accounting for only 10 percent of the entitled revenues, which is sufficient to cover half of the civil servants’ salaries every three months,” bin Habtour also said.
As a result of UN efforts, a ceasefire was reached last year between Yemen and the coalition states, which despite its effects in reducing clashes in recent months, is not yet a guarantee that the bloody war in Yemen is over and normal life can return this war-torn country.
