Riyadh - Saudi Arabia said that the UN Security Council statement on Yemen is a severe blow to the terrorist Houthi militias backed by Iran. Addressing the Security Council meeting on Wednesday, Ambassador Abdullah Al-Mouallimi, Saudi Arabia's permanent representative to the UN, stressed that the Council's statement is a strong condemnation of the putschists. Al-Mouallimi condemned the terrorist attacks carried out by the Houthis on civilians and civilian sites in the Kingdom, including the attacks on Abha and Jazan airports, which resulted in casualties among civilians of different nationalities. "What the militia is doing is a continuation of the approach it has taken against civilians since the beginning of the coup," he said and cited the latest examples of this, which is the siege and starvation imposed on more than 37,000 civilians in the Abidiya district of Marib governorate, most of whom are women, children and the elderly, since September. The militia is also targeting Abidiya's main and only hospital with ballistic missiles and bombing it. Apart from continuous use of heavy weapons and drones on the district, they are not allowing the injured to go out to receive treatment. They are also preventing and impeding the entry of medical supplies and food aid by closing the only road leading to the district, which suffers from a shortage and deficit in all kinds of basic daily needs due to the siege, in one of the most horrific crimes against humanity, he pointed out. Al-Mouallimi called on the Security Council to take the necessary and resolute steps to deter the Houthis from threatening the lives of civilians. He reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's full right to take all necessary measures to protect the security and stability of its territories as well as citizens and residents from any terrorist attacks in accordance with its obligations under international law. The Saudi envoy also stressed that the Kingdom blames the militias for the repercussions of the Yemeni crisis and the aggravation of the humanitarian situation in Yemen, as the putschists continued to prioritize narrow political interests over the interests of the Yemeni people and the security and stability of the region. Al-Mouallimi pledged the Kingdom's support for the efforts of the UN envoy to Yemen to reach a comprehensive ceasefire and start a comprehensive political process to reach the desired solution based on the three references, which include the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanisms, the outcomes of the Yemeni national dialogue, and the Security Council Resolution 2216. It is noteworthy that the UN Security Council on Wednesday censured Yemen's Houthi militia for attacks on Saudi Arabia and urged the Iran-backed rebels and others to return to the negotiating table to try to end the country's devastating civil war. In a press statement, the Council condemned the Houthi cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia, including drone strikes this month on King Abdullah Airport in Jazan, and the civilian international airport in Abha, both in the south of the Kingdom. The 15-nation body also criticized the Iran-backed rebel group's months-long offensive on Marib, an oil-rich region and the internationally recognized Yemeni government's stronghold in the country's north.
