Matthew Tueller, the US ambassador to Yemen, said that Houti movement delays the peace deal. The American veteran diplomate reminded on Thursday that the peace talks on the main port of Hodeidah are crucial for the people in the war-torn country.
The US envoy added that Houtis’ weapons pose a threat to other countries in the region, not only Yemen. The Iran-aligned Houti movement and Saudi-back Yemeni government have reached a ceasefire and troop withdrawal deal for port Hodeidah, which is under rebel control. Last September, the first round of the peace talks have resulted in an agreement was the major breakthrough in efforts to end more than four years of war in Yemen.
The US ambassador expressed concern that the ceasefire has largely held since December, while the troop withdrawal has yet to materialise with both parties blaming each other for lack of progress in implementing the pact.
“We are greatly frustrated by what we see as delays and stalling on the part of the Houthis in implementing what they agreed to in Sweden, but I have great confidence in the UN envoy and what he is doing,” the US ambassador Matthew Tueller told a televised news conference in the southern port of Aden, where the internationally recognised government is based.
The American diplomate added the United States is willing to work with others in order to try to implement Sweden agreements and see whether the Houthis can really demonstrate their political maturity and start to serve the interests of Yemen. So far, Houti movement rather is acting on behalf of those who seek to weaken and destroy Yemen.
Yemen armed conflict resulted in the death of thousands of civilians
In Yemen, the conflict is widely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Houthis deny being puppets of Tehran and say their revolution is against corruption. In fact, since the 1980s, Yemen was regularly involved in many armed conflicts, its economy is almost collapsed.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the war which pits the Houthis against other Yemeni factions backed by a Saudi-led coalition loyal to the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Houthis ousted Hadi’s government from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014.
