FM reveals government efforts to attract elites to liberated areas

Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Malik al-Mekhlafi revealed that his government succeeded in attracting large numbers of political and party elites and bringing them to the cities controlled by the legitimate government. Mekhlafi said in press statement that these numbers would increase gradually over the next few days and the government was working to get them to liberated areas.

“These figures broke up their alliance with the Houthis, and realized that they could not live with them. They are trying to get out despite the intimidation attempts by the militias, which are sometimes resorting to kidnapping women, killing children and destroying homes,” he stated.

The deputy premier pointed out that recent developments in Yemen, including crimes committed by the militias against political and social elites, have instigated a mobilization of all Yemeni factions to confront the Houthis.

He stressed in this regard that the government was deploying great efforts in “gathering the energies of all Yemenis to confront and defeat the rebels.” Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi will meet on Tuesday with ambassadors of 18 countries to discuss developments in Yemen and recent actions taken by the Houthis, the foreign minister said.

The government will clarify its position on these actions in order to mobilize an international effort against the Iranian-backed militias.

Mekhlafi noted that Hadi addressed a letter to the United Nations Secretary General asking him to act towards solving the Yemeni crisis, especially that the militias would not move in the direction of peace as they have rejected all peace initiatives in the past and killed the head of their consultation team, Aref al-Zuka.

The Yemeni government is heading in two main directions, according to the foreign minister.

It seeks in its first path to demand the international community to condemn the crimes committed by the militias in Sanaa and work to stop them. It also seeks to focus on the creation of a national alliance from the entire political and social spectrum, to isolate the rebels and defeat them through confrontations on all fronts.