Yemen's presidency says Houthi-declared gov't derails peace process

The Yemeni presidency on Tuesday strongly condemned a declaration by the Shiite Houthi group and their allies that they had formed a "national salvation government" in the war-torn northern provinces.

The country's presidential leadership stressed its strong rejection of this illegal government that is deemed a violation of the United Nations Security Council's (UNCS) resolutions and would likely derail peace process in war-torn Arab country.

"The creation of an illegal government in Sanaa shows that the coup forces in Sanaa are heading forward in undermining all the international efforts exerted to find a peaceful solution to end the suffering of the people and achieve stability in the country," the Yemeni presidency said in a statement.

British Ambassador to Yemen Edmund Brown said on twitter "weeks after agreeing to engage in a UN roadmap, Houthi-Saleh side announced an illegitimate government, which takes Yemen further from peace."

The UK diplomat added that "this move is destructive and unacceptable. Houthi/Saleh must stick to their word, avoid unilateral action and engage with UN process."

On Monday, the Houthis and allied forces of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who occupied Sanaa and seized power militarily in late 2014, announced the formation of a 35-minister government.

The Houthi-Saleh alliance described the creation of the government in Sanaa as a very necessary step because of Yemen's "internal situation and for confronting the Saudi aggression forces."

The decision was approved in an official decree released by the Houthi-Saleh joint governing council, known as the Supreme Political Council, which ordered that the decree be published in the official gazette.

The former governor of Aden Abdul-Aziz Bin Habtoor was appointed by the Houthis as prime minister to lead the Houthi-Saleh government in Sanaa.

The move came amid reports that the United Nations envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed is preparing to travel to the Yemeni southern port city of Aden in order to meet President Hadi to push ahead the peace process between Hadi's government and the Shiite Houthi rebels.

The UN roadmap, which was largely rejected by Hadi for not being based on the UNSCR 2216, called for naming a new vice president after the withdrawal of the Shiite Houthi rebels from the capital Sanaa and other northern provinces and handing over all heavy weapons to a third party.

The UN plan also suggested forming a new government that will include the two warring sides and will not be led by Hadi who would transfer his power to the new vice president.

But in the 2216 resolution, the Security Council demands that the Houthis withdraw from all areas seized during the latest conflict, relinquish arms seized from military and security institutions, cease all actions falling exclusively within the authority of the legitimate Yemeni government and fully implement previous Council resolutions before moving ahead to form a new joint national unity government between the two warring sides.

The situation in Yemen has deteriorated economically and politically since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

Houthis and Saleh's forces hold most of Yemen's northern regions while government forces backed by Saudi-led military coalition share control of the rest of the country including seven southern provinces.

The civil war, ground battles and airstrikes have already killed more than 10,000 people, half of them civilians, injured more than 35,000 others and displaced over three millions, according to humanitarian agencies. Endit