Al-Bukhaiti: Next military round with Saudi Arabia will be different

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Yemeni Ansar Allah official, Mohammad Al-Bukhaiti, indicated on Sunday that the Saudi crime in Saada comes within the framework of the ongoing Saudi aggression on the border areas.

Earlier, the Yemeni agency Saba reported the martyrdom of a civilian by renewed artillery shelling by the Saudi-led coalition on Al-Raqu area in the Munabbih border district, west of Saada Governorate northern Yemen.

A medical source in Saada province told Al Mayadeen on Saturday that two civilians were killed and seven others were wounded, including an Ethiopian migrant, after artillery shelling by the Saudi coalition on the border districts of Munabbih and Shada in the west of Saada Province in the north of the country.

Also on Friday, one civilian was martyred and others were wounded as the Saudi coalition targeted a border area in the Saada region on Friday.

In an interview for Al Mayadeen, Al-Bukhaiti considered that there is no link between the Saudi crime in Saada and the visit of the Omani delegation to Sanaa.

On Wednesday, an Omani delegation arrived in Sanaa to hold meetings with Ansar Allah officials on the UN-brokered ceasefire in Yemen.

According to the Yemeni official, the Omani delegation conveyed the messages of the countries of aggression to Sanaa and heard Sanaa's demands regarding employee salaries.

Al-Bukhaiti told Al Mayadeen that what the countries of aggression have provided does not meet the demands of Sanaa, and the position of the countries of aggression is not yet clear regarding the payment of salaries, accusing them of seeking to stir up internal Yemeni disputes by offering to pay salaries to a part of the employees.

The Ansar Allah official warned that if Sanaa's just demands are not met, it will not stand idly by without responding to the siege.

Al-Bukhaiti expected the outbreak of a new military round with the Saudi coalition, highlighting that any upcoming military round with Saudi Arabia will be different from the previous ones because Sanaa has developed its missile and air capabilities.

Elsewhere, the Yemeni official underscored that the Yemeni armed forces are able to strike deep inside the countries of aggression after developing their military capabilities further.

This comes more than two and a half months after the expiration of the six-month UN truce in Yemen that started in early April and ended in October without renewal after the war coalition failed to abide by its commitments and continued its siege and war acts against Yemen.

Read more: Sanaa: 'No war, no peace' situation unacceptable, armed forces ready

Sanaa: No political solution while Yemen under aggression, war, seige

On Friday, Jalal Al-Rowaishan, Deputy Prime Minister of the Sanaa Government for Defense and Security Affairs, said the Omani delegation is playing a mediating role between Sanaa and the countries of aggression, highlighting that there is hope to achieve something.

Al-Rowaishan pointed out that "there cannot be a political solution while the country is under aggression, siege, and occupation," adding that "the negotiation to lift the siege and end the aggression and occupation is between Sanaa and the countries of aggression, and the political solution is then between the Yemenis."

The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that "the humanitarian file must be separated from the political and military, and this vision is logical and confirmed by international laws and laws of God," highlighting that "the 30 million Yemenis who are suffering can't wait for the politicians and the military to reach solutions during negotiations."

He also reaffirmed that "all that was presented to Yemen are promises that have not been implemented, and the humanitarian demands of the Yemeni people are all put forward by communicating with the Saudi side."

In this regard, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) affirmed on Saturday that over 70% of people in Yemen today are in need of humanitarian aid as a result of the war.

Permanent ceasefire must be met with lifting of permanent siege: Abdel Salam

Earlier, the head of the Sanaa negotiating delegation, Mohammad Abdel Salam, described the meetings of the Omani delegation with the leader of Ansar Allah movement, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, the head of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Mahdi Al-Mashat, and the Chief of Staff, Major General Mohammad Al-Ghamari, as fruitful.

Abdel Salam warned that any economic measures targeting the situation in Yemen will turn the tables, stressing that the humanitarian file, foremost of which is the payment of salaries according to the 2014 oil and gas budget, is still a priority for Sanaa in the negotiations.

The head of the Sanaa negotiating delegation also considered that talks about a permanent ceasefire must be met with the lifting of a permanent siege, the permanent payment of salaries, and the withdrawal of the occupier, noting that "we cannot go to political dialogue in light of a complex and thorny atmosphere and humanitarian and economic crises."

Sanaa adheres to its demand to pay the salaries of all Yemeni employees

On Saturday, Yemeni sources told Al Mayadeen that the Omani delegation held several meetings in Sanaa with members of the negotiating delegation, government officials, and leaders of Ansar Allah.

The sources said the approval of the payment of salaries excludes a large number of Yemeni employees, including employees of the military and security institutions.

The sources confirmed that Sanaa adheres to its demand to pay the salaries of all Yemeni employees in all government institutions, on the grounds that it is a humanitarian entitlement that cannot be waived.

Earlier on Thursday, the head of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen Mahdi Al-Mashat confirmed that "there can be no truce if the other side does not respond to the just and righteous demands of the Yemeni people, mainly by paying the salaries of all state employees and opening all airports and ports."

"The patience of the Yemeni people has limits, and they may be forced to take steps to preserve their interests," stressing that "there is no way to back down from protecting the oil and gas wealth of the Yemeni people," he said.

Al-Mashat also expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the negative role played by the United States and the UK in Yemen and with the role of the "UN envoy that goes in parallel with the misinformation campaigns led by (these) countries."  

The President of the Supreme Political Council praised "the efforts of the brothers in the Sultanate of Oman, and their positive role in achieving the honorable peace, which all the Yemeni people aspire to."

Read more: If US insists on aggression, Yemen will respond accordingly: Exclusive