Yemen Truce Victim of Riyadh, Allies’ Militarism

Alwaght– The UN on February 18 in a statement announced that after several rounds of talks and a resultant agreement between the Ansarulah movement and the resigned Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, the ground was prepared for the first phase of Stockholm pact to take effect. But not only no agreement was implemented but also some Yemeni sources talked about a full stall of already in place partial agreements.

After Stockholm agreements, the two sides discussed who should be in control of Hudaydah and its ports in the future and how the aids are delivered to the people of Yemen. They announced an agreement on the issues on February 18.

Seeking war

The Stockholm agreement came while Saudi Arabia was opposed to it. Riyadh, under the international pressures to take steps to ease the tragic humanitarian situation in Yemen and also after the killing of the prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi, reluctantly allowed the resigned government to go to the talks with Ansarullah and strike a deal of ceasefire with it. The talks meant the failure of the months-long campaign by the Saudi-led Arab coalition to seize control of the strategic port city and the only lifeline to the besieged civilians and the only window to the outside world.

The fact is that the Saudis sustained heavy defeats in the ground battles against the Yemeni army and popular committees’ forces and see domination of the port city the only way to put strains on the Yemeni civilians, mainly those in the north of the country, who have their eyes on the food and medical aids arriving from the only lifeline, as the country is under an all-out sea, air, and ground blockade since early 2015. So, we can see that even after the truce, the Saudi attacks continue as the rulers in Riyadh find the humanitarian-motivated agreement conflicting with their interests.

Implementation of the accord can considerably help the National Salvation Government in Sana’a improve the living conditions and services provision to the besieged areas. But the deal is yet to take effect. While Ansarullah and the UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths emphasize the need for the accord to be implemented, the government of Mansour Hadi, apparently a stooge of the Saudis and a servant to the foreign agenda and interests, has refused to remove its forces from Hudaydah port city as the agreement requires. Each time, the Saudi allies in the port city take provocative measures and non-compliant measures to push the ceasefire deal to collapse.

On the other side, the Saudis are struggling to destroy the agreement to cancel their earlier commitments for lifting Hudaydah siege and allowing Ansarullah-led government to access the grain silos on the coasts of the Red Sea and receive the foreign-presented humanitarian aids. The Saudi destructive moves have received tacit Washington, London and other Riyadh’s Western backers’ green light, something emboldening the Saudi rulers to push forward with their military campaign that has caused the worst-ever regional humanitarian crisis.

Despite the fact that the Democratic-dominated House of Representatives in the US is critical of the continued war against Yemen and Washington complicity, Trump stands on the opposite side. Driven by the interests resting in Arab arms purchases and guaranteed oil supply, the profit-minded Trump administration does not seem to seek an end for the anti-Yemeni campaign by cutting military support to the Saudi-Emirati coalition. Following the assumption of power at the White House in 2016, Trump made Riyadh the first destination of his first foreign trip as president. In Riyadh, he signed a multi-billion weapons delivery deals. Recent days, the word has been circulating that Trump administration and Riyadh have agreed behind the scenes to nuclearize the Arab kingdom outside of the framework of the US nuclear-related laws regulating Civil Nuclear Agreement, or 123 Agreement.

Seeking to break the strong bonds of Axis of Resistance, drive Iran out of the regional equations, and block the spread of the Shiite pro-justice and independence wave to Saudi Arabia, Trump has adopted a tough policy towards Yemen. London, on the other side, has recently lashed out at the German arms ban on Saudi Arabia, disclosing the hypocrisy of its criticism against the anti-Yemeni Saudi aggression. This Western approach is expected to allow the catastrophic humanitarian to worsen as it leaves the Saudi hands open for further atrocities and violation of the ceasefire terms.