Sanaa, September 27: The US and key Arab states have expressed their ‘full support’ to the Yemeni government in its offensive against local Shia fighters.
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iraq, Egypt and Jordan have issued a joint statement following their talks in New York, AFP reported on Saturday.
“The ministers … noted their concern for the situation in Yemen,” said the US-Arab statement.
“The ministers expressed full support for the government of Ali Abdullah Saleh; for the unity, security, and stability of Yemen; and for efforts for a peaceful dialogue,” the statement said.
“The ministers underscored the importance of ensuring the security of civilians and relief workers, and the provision for the safe passage of emergency relief supplies to civilians affected by the conflict,” it added.
“The ministers reiterated their support for the Yemeni government’s economic and governance reform initiatives, and their willingness to continue to assist Yemen in improving the lives of its people,” the statement said.
The government launched “Operation Scorched Earth” against the Shia Zaidi fighters on August 11.
Since then hundreds of people have been killed and injured and tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes.
The government claims the fighters are seeking to restore the Zaidi imamate in the area. The fighters, however, say they are defending their people against the offensive.
They have also called for an end to what they call the government’s discriminatory policies in the impoverished region.
Civilians, especially women and children are the main victims of the conflict in Yemen. Some 150,000 Yemenis have fled their homes in the past five years, cramming into camps, schools and barns as aid groups struggle to bring in supplies.
Meanwhile, international aid agencies have warned about the deterioration of a humanitarian crisis in Yemen as a result of the ongoing army offensive against fighters.
Food is running out for tens of thousands of civilians displaced in weeks of fighting between government forces and Shiite rebels in Yemen’s north, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.
“Foodstuffs for tens of thousands of refugees gathered in four camps in Saada and its suburbs, 6,000 others in Baqem, further north near the border with Saudi Arabia and 7,000 others in the province of Al-Jawf are being depleted,” Laure Chedraoui told AFP in Sanaa.
——Agencies