Ansarullah Leader Hails Outcome of Yemeni Nation’s Resistance

“The enemies, through sanctions, restrictive measures, and arrogance, want to weaken and force the (Yemeni) nation to surrender. They seek to sap Yemenis’ morale and create a sense of despair and complete defeat among the people,” Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech broadcast from the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a on Monday evening.

Houthi added, “Once the nation boosts its willpower, seriousness, and sense of responsibility, the enemies will get frustrated, will feel heavily feeble, and will be eventually left with no option but to admit defeat.”

The Ansarullah chief highlighted that the Yemeni nation has put up fierce resistance against the Saudi-led coalition’s criminal acts and cruel blockade since the coalition launched the war.

Leading the regional military coalition, consisting of the UAE and some other Arab states, Riyadh waged the war on Yemen in March 2015 to bring back to power the former Yemeni regime and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement.

The war, however, has stopped well short of all of its goals due to the Yemeni nation’s resistance, despite killing hundreds of thousands of civilians and turning the entire country into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

“The enemies, faced with Yemenis’ infinite patience, have reached a dead end and suffered a humiliating defeat. The whole world has realized such a fact, and it is now the talk of the town,” Houthi asserted.

“While the aggressors have failed to achieve their goals and suffered failures in their bids against Yemen, our nation has recorded glorious victories. The (Riyadh-led) aggression on Yemen was a sound reason for the Yemeni nation to exercise patience and carry on its struggle,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni foreign minister said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates must take practical steps for peace in a way that would benefit the Yemeni people.

Hisham Sharaf Abdullah made the remarks in a meeting with visiting UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg in Sana’a, where the two sides discussed the latest developments, including the UN-brokered two-month ceasefire and efforts to reach a comprehensive agreement.

The two sides called for the cessation of aggression against Yemen and underlined the need for the international community’s attention to the oppression of the Yemeni people in the face of the ongoing onslaught and all-out siege. 

Abdullah said the Sana’a-based Yemeni authorities have frequently offered initiatives aimed at the establishment of a just and honorable peace for the Yemeni people.

“The opposite side, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, must take practical steps for peace to prevail in a way that the Yemeni people, who have endured the world’s worst humanitarian crisis as a result of their aggression, enjoy,” he stressed.

The top Yemeni diplomat also referred to the removal of restrictions on the entry of vessels carrying oil derivatives and natural gas into the port of Hudaydah and the reopening of the Sana’a airport as the most crucial steps in this regard.

“The reimbursement of the salaries of all civil servants is among the measures that will help alleviate the suffering of the employees, who have been deprived of their rights for years,” he said.

Abdullah underlined that the implementation of such humanitarian measures will send a positive message to the Yemeni nation, will signal that the other side is working towards peace, and is paving the way for a comprehensive and lasting political solution to the conflict.

Grundberg, for his part, expressed hope that the existing UN-brokered truce would lead up to a comprehensive ceasefire and a peaceful political settlement to the Yemeni crisis.

The Yemeni nation, having endured enormous suffering, deserves all forms of support, the senior UN official noted.