ISLAMABAD: President of Yemen Dr Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi has warned the international community and states around the Red Sea that the Houthi militias’ coup project poses a threat to Yemen, the Red Sea and international navigation.
In his address marking the 64th anniversary of the 26 September Revolution, Dr Al-Alimi, who is also Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, said Yemen’s national struggle was fundamentally aimed at preserving the state, the republican system, national identity, equal citizenship and the rule of law in the face of the Houthi militias’ coup project.
He said the Houthi threat was no longer confined to Yemen, adding that the continued use of Yemeni territory and coastline as launching points for hostile operations had turned the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab into a theatre of threats to regional and international security.
The Yemeni president said attacks on maritime navigation and commercial shipping posed a direct danger to one of the world’s most vital international waterways and to the movement of global trade, energy and essential supplies.
Dr Al-Alimi stressed that Bab Al-Mandab and the Red Sea must not be turned into instruments of coercion, blackmail or projection of power by force. He said the continued militarisation of Yemen’s coastline and the targeting of maritime routes by the Houthi militias threatened not only Yemen and neighbouring countries, but also international shipping, commercial interests and the stability of global supply chains.
He said Yemen’s security was inseparable from the security of the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab, adding that the protection of these vital waterways required restoration of the Yemeni state’s sovereignty over its territory, coastline, ports and territorial waters.
The president said the continued Houthi control of parts of the country and their use of Yemeni territory as a platform for military escalation constituted a broader regional and international security challenge.
At the same time, Dr Al-Alimi made it clear that Yemenis living under Houthi control were not the enemy and must not be treated as parties to the militias’ project. He reaffirmed the state’s readiness to facilitate a safe return to the ranks of the Republic and constitutional legitimacy, with amnesty in accordance with the law for those who abandon the militias and cease participation in hostilities.
He also expressed appreciation for the support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and called upon brotherly and friendly countries to support the Yemeni government in confronting threats to Yemen’s state and institutions, as well as to the security of the region and international waterways.
