Sanaa [Yemen], June 13 (ANI/Xinhua): Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), called for regional organizations, such as the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council, to make peace and defend the Yemeni people’s interests, state-run Saba news agency reported Sunday.
Al-Alimi made the remarks when he delivered a speech on Sunday at Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo, during which he criticized the Houthi rebels for violating the ongoing truce, according to Saba.
The Yemeni leader said the conflicts in Yemen, a country that holds a strategic position at the eastern Red Sea, are threatening the region’s security and the safety of one of the world’s most important shipping lines.
The warring parties in Yemen entered into a nationwide cease-fire on April 2. Although the truce has been broadly kept, mutual accusations of breaches are still traded between the internationally recognized government and the Houthi group.
Also on Sunday, Al-Alimi held a meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit and briefed him on the efforts the PLC has made to solve the challenges facing Yemen since its formation.
On April 7, Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi issued a decree on establishing the PLC headed by Al-Alimi to succeed him in running the government and holding peace talks with the Houthis.
For his part, Aboul-Gheit stressed the Arab League’s continued support for the Yemeni government, calling for a political solution to the country’s years-long conflict.
During the meeting, the two sides also discussed the recent developments in Yemen and the means to bring the truce forward to end the country’s eight-year war.
Al-Alimi arrived in Cairo on Saturday for his first visit to Egypt as the Yemeni leader. He held a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who reiterated his country’s support for the Yemeni government.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. (ANI/Xinhua)