RIYADH: Yemen’s Vice President Lt. Gen. Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar said the capital Sanaa will be “cleansed of the Houthi militias,” Saudi state TV Al-Ekhbariya reported on Monday.
The vice president’s statement came during a meeting with senior Yemeni army officials in Marib that was attended by the commander of the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces.
During the meeting, Al-Ahmar claimed that “victory was just around the corner” and that Sanaa would return to its Yemeni identity, stressing the need to “redouble efforts,” “intensify training and rehabilitation” and “complete military tasks and plans.”
Al-Ahmar reiterated that the Yemeni government, led by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, and the Arab coalition were determined to restore the legitimate government and establish lasting peace.
The vice president’s remarks came as Foreign Minister Khalid Al-Yamani called on the international community to condemn the Houthi militias for violating international humanitarian law.
Al-Yamani said Houthis have caused humanitarian disasters in various regions of Yemen in order to harm the Yemeni people.
The militias prevent citizens from leaving for liberated areas and use them as human shields, he added.
The foreign minister also said that preliminary statistics indicated that the Houthis planted about 1 million land mines in various parts of the war-torn country.
Landmines placed by Houthi militias cause many civilian casualties on a daily basis in area across Yemen where the Iranian-backed militants have been defeated, according to a report from Saudi Press Agency.
Reports say that Yemen became has one of the largest land mine battlefields in the world since the Second World War, with more than half-a-million mines laid by the Houthis across several Yemeni cities.
On Sunday, President Hadi had a meeting with senior officials and security leaders in Hodeidah to discuss the situation there.
The president discussed plans to arrange for humanitarian and relief aid to be delivered, along with preparations for a decisive solution in the battle to liberate the port city.
Hadi said the liberation of Hodeidah was imminent and that the Iran-backed Houthi militia would soon be defeated.
He also stressed the importance of increased efforts by the leadership of the province and managers of basic services for the people.
He called on ministers to provide the necessary support for the people of the province in terms of logistics, relief, health and other fields.
Efforts are being made to provide relief and shelter for all areas of the west coast with the support of the KSRelief, the UAE and international organizations. Two planes loaded with relief supplies from KSRelief are expected to arrive with supplies soon.
Health Minister Nasser Baoum said that 50 hospital beds were transferred to a field hospital in the west coast and a number of ambulances with their crews, in addition to medical supplies provided by China and India.
The minister of water and the minister of social affairs and Labor discussed a number of measures to ensure the continuity and provision of basic water and tents services.
