Thousands of people from liberated provinces took part in a huge rally to show their support for the Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and express their commitment to the three points of reference and the UN resolution 2216. The rally took place in Al-Orod Square, Aden and was attended by the governors of Aden, Lahij, Abyan and Dalea.
Participators in the rally chanted slogans denouncing Iranian intervention in Yemen, emphasised their solidarity with President Hadi and expressed their support for UN resolution 2216. They also expressed their support for the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s forces and said that they rejected terrorism.
A statement issued by the crowd that had gathered in Al-Orod Square said “Those who have gathered here in this square today and other crowds who have gathered in Hadramout and other liberated areas completely reject the UN envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed’s initiative to end the war in Yemen that he announced. We reject it because Ould Cheikh’s initiative opposes the Gulf initiative, its implementation mechanisms, the outputs of the national dialogue and UN resolutions. We strongly condemn the content of Ould Cheikh’s briefing to the Security Council that took place on the 30th of October 2016 concerning the situation in southern Yemen.”
The statement continued by saying “We express our displeasure of the UN envoy’s initiative and his briefing to the Security Council which represented a serious blow to peace efforts in Yemen and is an insult to the UN resolution 2216 and the points that it contains regarding commitments to end the coup and the return of the legitimate government to its normal location in order to secure peace, development and security in the country.”
Participants in the rally called on the United Nations, the Security Council and the International Criminal Court to prosecute Ali Abdullah Saleh, Abdul-Malik Badreddin Al-Houthi and their assistants under chapter VII and in accordance with resolution 2216 for committing war crimes. The participants also condemned the Houthis and the ousted president Saleh for targeting Mecca in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and expressed their solidarity with their brothers in the Gulf.
Those who had congregated also condemned the Houthis for targeting a UAE vessel and said that “Iranian backed Houthi militias and those loyal to Saleh are a threat to international navigation”. They also called on the international community to stop Iran interfering in Yemen and supporting the Houthi militias and those loyal to Saleh.