In a New York Times op-ed written from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s President Abdu Mansour Hadi called for Western help in restoring him to power as he places blame directly on Iran and Ali Abdullah Saleh.
“It is not too late to stop the devastation of my nation. The Houthis belong at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield terrorizing their fellow citizens,” Hadi wrote. “[T]he Houthis and their patron, Yemen’s discredited ex-president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, refused to follow the roadmap for change they had previously agreed to. Mr. Saleh must take responsibility for anarchy in Yemen and call a halt to the needless bloodshed.”
Representatives from 10 nations at a meeting on Yemen last month. Photo via SPA.
Hadi is currently in exile in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is recognized internationally as the elected president of Yemen despite Houthi advances there. A coalition of 10 nations is conducting daily air strikes on Houthi positions, but progress in stopping the rebels’ gains in territory has been elusive.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal placed blame for the instability in Yemen squarely on Tehran, with the latest remarks coming from a joint press conference in which he also said the Kingdom was not at war with Iran.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in Doha, called on both sides to stop military operations and return to talks.
Saudi officials are now considering the evacuation of 96 Saudi villages on or near the Kingdom’s border with Yemen to safeguard citizens there from Houthi attacks.
“If the Houthis are not stopped, they are destined to become the next Hezbollah, deployed by Iran to threaten the people in the region and beyond. The oil shipments through the Red Sea that much of the world depends on will be in jeopardy, and Al Qaeda and other radical groups will be allowed to flourish,” Hadi wrote.
