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Al-Mekhlafi: Even UN Staff Need Visa to Enter Yemen | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Yemeni political groups get on an airplane for Geneva for UN-led peace talks at the airport in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, June 14, 2015. (AP)


Jeddah– Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdel-Malak Al-Mekhlafi said that a number of persons have illegally entered Yemen, through some United Nations flights operating in Sanaa, without prior permission from the legitimate government.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, the minister said that his country has informed international organizations making flights to any location in Yemen, and which have been authorized by the legitimate government and the Arab Coalition for a humanitarian purpose to support the activities of the United Nations, that no one had the right to enter the country without a visa, in line with the principles which govern sovereign states.

Al-Mekhlafi added that Yemen has received a response from all concerned parties to stop such acts, adding that the government has adopted a series of measures that would contribute to putting an end to the illegal entry of persons.

As for the number of people, who have recently entered Yemen without a visa, the minister said that the number was limited, adding that his government has informed the UN and all countries that every person entering Yemen, from Sana’a to Aden, needs a prior permission from the Yemeni government, and an explanation of the purpose of the visit.

The Yemeni Ministry of Information had expressed its “regret over the attempt of the UN mission to transfer journalists to Yemeni territories through UN aircrafts.”

“The rebels’ militias have been promoting the subversive project through humanitarian stories and by exploiting the tragic situation of the Yemeni people, who have been living in difficult circumstances since the start of the shameful coup against the country’s legitimacy,” the ministry said in a statement.