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Iran Owns up to Arming Coup Militias in Yemen | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A family eat breakfast outside their hut at a camp for people displaced by the war near Sanaa, Reuters


Iran Owns up to Arming Coup Militias in Yemen

by | Nov 5, 2016 | Middle East |

Iran Owns up to Arming Coup Militias in Yemen

London- New York- Fars News Agency, a “semi-official” news agency of the Government of Iran, reported Houthis fighters bombarding national army positions with Iran-manufactured rocket artillery, despite Iran top officials refuting accusations on directly interfering in Yemen’s civil conflict.

Iran’s incumbent Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had denied any claims on his country arming the Houthi-led coup in Yemen.

Many precedents have revealed the extent of Iranian involvement in Yemen. The Saudi-led Arab coalition had exposed numerous warehouses stockpiling Iran-made arms in Yemen, in addition to intercepting frequent weapons shipments sent to coup militiamen.

Washington announced last week that at least four Iranian arms shipments were apprehended en route to Yemen. The confiscated cargo reportedly included state-of-the-art arms.

On the other hand, the U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed arrived to Sanaa on Thursday to resume talks with the insurgency delegates. More so, Britain has recently brought forward before the U.N. Security Council a draft resolution for peace enforcement and negotiations in Yemen.

The Britain draft demanding an immediate ceasefire in Yemen and negotiations based on a U.N. peace roadmap that has been rejected by both sides in the conflict. The proposal calls for urgent steps to ease the humanitarian crisis after the top U.N. aid official said the country was one step away from famine.

The draft resolution “demands all parties to the conflict in Yemen immediately recommit to and fully respect the terms and conditions of the cessation of hostilities entered into on 10 April 2016.”

The draft resolution calls for talks based on a roadmap drafted by U.N. envoy Mr.Ahmed that provides for a new unity government in Yemen and a rebel withdrawal from the capital and other cities

Other that the foreign arms empowering the insurgency, militants have been using famine as a weapon pointed against the people of Yemen. Houthi gunmen have blocked the way of humanitarian aid.

One of the poorest countries in the Arab world, Yemen, slid deeper into chaos rebels backed by Iran seized Sanaa and other parts of the country fuming national civil war.