Extremism keeping Yemen under siege: Shura Council on UN statement

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The Shura Council in Sanaa expressed its "strong condemnation of the Security Council's recent statement which described the Yemeni people's demands as extremist."

"Extremism is keeping the Yemenis under siege and depriving them of their wealth and natural resources, which are looted by the coalition of aggression and its tools in full view of the Security Council and the United Nations."

The Shura Council denounced "the biased international approach of the coalition of aggression countries at the expense of the 8-year-besieged Yemeni people" and how these countries "enjoy their [Yemenis] suffering" while salaries are unpaid.

"What kind of extremism are you talking about when more than 25 million Yemenis have been under an unjust siege?" the council asked.

"It would have been better for the Security Council to focus in its statement on the humanitarian situation and the deterioration of health, living conditions, and services that the Yemeni people suffer from because of the coalition of aggression," it added.

"The demands raised by the national delegation, namely the disbursement of salaries, the opening of new destinations to and from Sanaa International Airport, and facilitating the flow of ships carrying oil derivatives and medicines, are not impossible conditions, but rather are humanitarian demands and a legitimate entitlement to Yemenis," the council noted.

"Renewing the truce or engaging in any negotiation that contradicts the interests of the Yemeni people is unacceptable and totally rejected."

The Shura Council pointed out that it is significantly important that "the coalition countries be aware that the aftermath of the expired truce is not the same as before, and that the equation has changed and the Yemeni people today are able to extract their rights if the coalition insists on its intransigence."

The UN Security Council had issued a statement describing Yemeni demands to renew the truce as “extremist” and “impossible."

Sanaa renews its threat

The Ansar Allah movement in Yemen renewed on Thursday its threat to resume operations against the countries of the Saudi-led coalition. The new statement comes after the coalition of aggression refused to pay employees' salaries in areas governed by Sanaa and to lift restrictions on outlets operated by its government, in exchange for extending the UN-backed truce.

Member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Mohammad Ali Al-Houthi, commented on the UN Security Council expressing concern regarding the threats of the Sanaa government in a Tweet, "Our aircraft know how to reach their targets despite the air embargo."

Al-Houthi criticized the UNSC statement on Twitter stating that "it is not extremism to lift the siege on Yemen, it is not extremism to hand over the salaries of employees from oil revenues, and it is not extremism to lift the ban on travelers to Sanaa airport from all destinations. What actually amounts to extremism is the UNSC the statement." 

In an interview for Al Mayadeen Wednesday, the member of the Ansar Allah Political Bureau, Muhammad Al-Bakhiti, confirmed that Sanaa "has achieved development in the field of naval missiles," highlighting their "effective role in resolving the battle in the event that the siege is not lifted."

Al-Bakhiti added that "the countries of aggression prevent ships from entering Yemen by force of arms," ​​stressing that the Yemeni forces "will respond in a similar way," stressing that the Yemeni forces have "the ability and the audacity to strike the Saudi and Emirati oil facilities," and reiterating that this will happen "in the event that their demands are not met."

It is noteworthy that the truce between Sanaa and the Saudi coalition has not yet been renewed, despite the fact that it expired on October 2.

Over the past seven years, Yemen has been the target of ongoing aggression led by the Saudi coalition. Over 46,000 died as a result of the aggression, among which are 4017 children, 2434 women, and 11,283 men, while the number of wounded reached 28,528 wounded, including 4,586 children, 2,911 women, and 10,032 men.