Araweelo News Network
Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah fighters patrol a street in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on December 3, 2017, during clashes with supporters of Yemeni ex-president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Photo by AFP)
Tehran(ANN)-Iran says dialogue is the best way for various Yemeni groups to settle their disputes and prevent foreign enemies from taking advantage of the situation amid days of violent clashes between forces loyal to ex-president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Houthi fighters.
“Yemeni forces can eliminate any grounds, which can be exploited by foreign enemies of the Yemeni nation, through dialogue and the resolution of differences,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday.
Referring to the continuation of brutal foreign aggression against Yemen, which has resulted in the destruction of the country’s infrastructure, a complete blockade on Yemen, and mass killing of the Yemeni people, the Iranian diplomat expressed hope that all Yemeni groups and political and social parties would remain in solidarity and maintain a national united front against any foreign aggression.
Supporters of Houthi Ansarullah fighters celebrate their advancement on forces loyal to Yemen’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on December 3, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)
The Iranian spokesperson called on all Yemeni forces to exercise self-restraint and calm in order to settle their differences.
The forces loyal to the former Yemeni president have been in an alliance with the Houthi Ansarullah fighters against a Saudi Arabian-led invasion. Their supporters have, however, become engaged in an armed conflict in the capital, Sana’a, over the past few days amid a strain in relations between the two sides.
Speaking in a televised address on Saturday, the leader of Yemen’s popular Houthi Ansarullah movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, called on all Yemeni groups to work on maintaining peace and stability in the country, and urged Saleh to be wise and consider the national interests of Yemen.
The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, delivers a televised speech from the Yemeni capital Sana’a on November 30, 2017.
He demanded that Yemeni parties focus on the Saudi aggression, noting that division among Yemeni factions only served the interests of the Saudi-led coalition, which has been bombing Yemen for more than two years killing over 12,000 people.
Earlier on Sunday, Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, which runs state affairs, said the situation in Sana’a was back to normal following days of violent clashes.
Issuing a statement, the council’s head, Saleh Ali al-Sammad, called on all the Yemeni people, political parties and tribes to exercise patience, counteract any act of aggression, and not contribute to the “conspiracies” meant to stoke tensions.
