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Arab League rejects Houthi gov't formation in Yemen as "illegitimate"

Xinhua, November 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Arab League (AL) rejected as "illegitimate" the recently-announced government formation of Shiite Houthi group in Yemen, said AL chief on Tuesday.

AL Secretary-general Ahmed Aboul-Gheit strongly condemned Monday's unilateral declaration of a so-called "national salvation government" by the Houthi group and ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh's party, according to a statement from AL spokesman Mahmoud Afifi.

"The move is an extension of the coup methodology that the Houthis do not want to give up," said Aboul-Gheit, warning that the step is a barrier to the peacemaking efforts in Yemen led by United Nations special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

"Such a step clearly shows which party blocks the way to reach a peaceful solution for the Yemeni crisis," said the AL chief.

The situation in Yemen has been worsening since March, 2015, when a war broke out between the Houthi group, supported by former president Saleh, and the legitimate government of fleeing President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by an Arab military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

In early October, the Houthi group and Saleh's party appointed Abdulaziz bin Habtoor as prime minister and tasked him to form a salvation government, which was later announced Monday.

The Houthi fighters and Saleh's forces control most of Yemen's northern provinces while the government forces control the rest of the conflict-stricken country.

The Yemeni presidency denounced Tuesday the rebellious government formation in the war-torn northern provinces and said it would likely derail peace process in the country.

The Saudi-led Arab military coalition has been launching deadly airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, but a lot of civilians have been "wrongly targeted" during the operations.

The civil war, ground battles and airstrikes have so far killed over 10,000 Yemenis, half of whom are civilians, injured over 35,000 others and displaced over two million, according to humanitarian agencies. Endit