Saudi diplomat highlights support to Yemen

CAIRO – Saudi Arabia's Ambassador in Yemen, Khalid bin Salman, said Thursday that his country is at the forefront of support for Yemen.

Ongoing military operations in the Yemeni port city of al-Hudaydah, bin Salman said, maintain this support by Saudi Arabia and other states making the Arab coalition now trying to rid the Arab country of control by the Iran-backed Houthi militia.

"The liberation of al-Hudaydah from Houthi control is extremely important," bin Salman wrote on Twitter. "The presence of this terrorist militia in close proximity to the Red Sea threatens navigation in the sea."

He underscored the importance of the Red Sea for the international maritime movement and the international economy.

Bin Salman said the Houthis had previously attacked civilian ships from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the US.

The Houthis insist to maintain control over al-Hudaydah, he said, because they use its port in getting supplies that help them maintain their aggressions on the people of Yemen.

Bin Salman revealed that the Houthis also use the port of the city in smuggling Iranian arms and ballistic missiles into Yemen.

Ending the suffering of the Yemeni people makes it necessary for Houthi control over Yemen to come to an end, bin Salman said.

He said the Houthis hamper the distribution of humanitarian aid and also distribute aid arriving into Yemen to their affiliates only.