Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Yemeni PM: Govt. Working Diligently to Free Houthi-Captured Prisoners | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page
Media ID: 55382374
Caption:

Yemen Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr. (AP)


Aden – Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr affirmed that the Yemeni government “is continuously and intensively following up with the United Nations and international organizations on releasing all Houthi-captured prisoners and detainees.”

He stressed that the refusal of militias to release them violates UN resolution 2216 and the initiative submitted by the government through the Red Cross to release all prisoners.

“The sentences issued by the militias against journalists and others are invalid, because they were not based on any legal proceedings,” said bin Daghr.

Bin Daghr met commanders of the Arab Coalition forces in Al-Maasheeq presidential palace in the temporary capital Aden on Saturday. He also met Brigadier Ahmed Abu-Majed, Brigadier Sultan bin Islam, Ibrahim Al-Noaymi, Hisham Al-Mubarak and a number of officers.

The premier addressed the situation in the liberated areas and the efforts to free the rest of the country from coup militias.

He spoke highly of the great role played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in defending Yemen and its state institutions against the barbaric insurgency led by militias composed of Iran-allied Houthis and armed loyalists backing ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The coup was waged in defiance of national consensus and UN resolutions.

He said that the Decisive Storm operation will mark a turning-point in the history of the Arab nation, as a breaker of the Iranian expansion in the region.

Yemenis will remember with all gratitude this Arabian rush to its rescue, he said.

The premier recalled the magnitude of the misery that the coup has incurred on Yemen with the civil war leading to the devastating destruction of the infrastructure and social fabric.

Bin Daghr drew attention to the government’s struggle to supply basic services and pay public salaries in spite of the hardships.

“Maintaining payment of salaries to security, military and civil servicemen on a regular basis ensures more stability in people’s lives and makes the environment more resistant to extremism, among the breeders of which is poverty,” he said.

The commander of the Coalition forces Abu-Majed gave an account on the progress of military operations and future plans.

The coalition commanders affirmed their support to Yemen to fight terrorism and maintain the government-held areas in peace and stability.