FM meets UN Resident Coordinator, ICRC head mission
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hisham Sharaf discussed on Tuesday with the Special Assistant of the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Political Affairs in Sana’a Mathew Leslie and the ICRC Mission Acting Head, Alexander Ekon, the latest developments in the situation in Marib province.
In the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated that the army and Popular committees have monitored during the past period suspicious military movements of the mercenary forces and armed terrorist groups supported by the aggression coalition, backed by Saudi aggression’s warplanes to launch raids towards areas of the army and popular committees forces in Marib and other areas, which necessitated a response to those sorties.
He said, “The forces present in Marib and the other armed groups are forces loyal to the countries of the Saudi-led aggression, and include extremist terrorist groups linked to al-Qaeda,” stressing that the army, popular committees and the security forces are carrying out their duty to cleanse the area of those groups.
Sharaf pointed out that the current operations in Marib do not target the areas and surroundings of the sources of oil and gas wells that are owned by the Yemeni people but are primarily aimed at neutralizing the area and making it safe far from the control of the aggression loyalists.
He added, “Sana’a seeks peace and wants to create the appropriate atmosphere to achieve a political settlement, and President Biden’s administration should advise Saudi Arabia to stop its raids and target all Yemeni lands so as to avoid any natural reaction by the army and popular committees as a legitimate right of self-defense.”
Minister Sharaf warned Saudi Arabia of its actions and its mercenaries that attempt to fabricate reports or testimonies of experts trying to attract them to influence the last step of the US State Department in the President’s administration regarding the annulment of the previous decision regarding the list of terrorism.
He stated that the information indicates that Riyadh is trying, by paying large sums of money, to exercise its influence to issue any international or regional report accusing Sana’a forces of being behind the missile attack on Aden airport in order to justify its position before the administration of US President Biden, regarding its demands not to cancel the previous US administration’s decision to classify Ansarullah a terrorist group.
He stressed that this is a failed attempt that will collide with facts that the active states in the middle east will realize such a step, including the permanent members of the UN Security Council.