SANA’A (Dispatches) – The spokesman for Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement has reiterated the National Salvation Government’s determination to strike a permanent ceasefire, stressing that the military might of the Yemeni Armed Forces and their allies deters all threats.
Mohammed Abdul-Salam, who is also head of Yemen’s national negotiating delegation, told the al-Masirah television network that the Sana’a-based government is resolved to reach a strong and permanent truce, and is serious about the separation of humanitarian issues from political and military matters.
“What put the brakes on Saudi-led coalition strikes on Yemeni civilians and pillage of the country’s oil reserves and natural resources was the fear of painful retaliatory opportunities from Yemeni soldiers and their allied Popular Committees,” Abdul-Salam noted.
He said the enemy is extremely disappointed because of the unity of the Yemeni society, and the latest parades of troops from various units of the Yemeni Armed Forces also proved that Yemeni troops have the upper hand in terms of self-defense and deterrence.
“Some member states of the Saudi-led coalition sought the extension of the UN-sponsored ceasefire without any additional clauses. We, in return, did not accept such obstinacy. The other party is after a ceasefire, which does not care about humanitarian issues so that it can sort out its priorities within the framework of war and siege,” Abdul-Salam pointed out.
The senior Yemeni official went on to emphasize that the National Salvation Government wants to end the humanitarian crisis in the country.
“[The National Salvation Government] is looking for a permanent ceasefire, and has already presented its standpoints to the Omani diplomatic delegation. Any solution to the Yemen conflict must secure payment of salaries to all civil servants from oil and gas revenues, and must draw on the 2014 budget,” the Ansarullah spokesman said.
Abdul-Salam stated that any solution should include the reopening of airports and seaports and the release of prisoners. “Our demands are legitimate and realistic,” he said.
Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with its Arab allies and with arms and logistics support from the U.S. and other Western states, launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015.
The objective was to crush the popular Ansarullah group, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen, and reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.
While the Saudi-led coalition has failed to achieve any of its objectives, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
A French-language media outlet has advised Saudi authorities to seize the opportunity and put an end to their military onslaught against Yemen, otherwise, Yemeni ballistic and cruise missiles would force the kingdom to return to the negotiating table.
While U.S. President Joe Biden vowed during his presidential campaign that he would end U.S. support for deadly Saudi operations in Yemen, nothing has actually happened on the ground. Sana’a views Washington as the main obstacle on the path of a ceasefire in Yemen, according to the News-24 website.