Group of Experts: Legitimacy does not have a strategy to fight the Houthis, and Islah is gaining support
English - Sunday 30 January 2022 الساعة 08:53 am
Aden, NewsYemen:
The Group of Eminent International Experts on Yemen confirmed that the government of interim President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi did not provide military support to the tribal fighters in Ma'rib, which led to the Houthi militia's control of strategic areas surrounding the city.
In its annual report to the UN Security Council, the team said that the internationally recognized Yemeni government does not seem to have a military strategy at the national level to fight the Houthis, noting that the joint forces and the Southern Transitional Council forces are defending the front lines on the western coast in southern Yemen.
The report stated that the redeployment carried out by the Arab coalition and the joint forces on the western coast to strengthen Shabwa came after the fall of the city of Ma'rib in the hands of the Houthis became a real possibility.
He said that the coalition and some government officials and tribal leaders have expressed concern that corruption in the Ministry of Defense or the influence of the Islah party on the army may have an impact on support for the army and its tribal forces.
He pointed out that the Arab coalition's frustration with the Yemeni government has become increasingly clear, especially due to its inability to implement the Riyadh Agreement, adding that the joint forces on the western coast have emerged as a more reliable partner for the coalition.
While the report of the Group of Experts stated that the leader of the National Resistance, Brigadier General Tariq Muhammad Abdullah Saleh, provides the local authorities in the West Coast with financial incentives, humanitarian and development aid, and security guarantees, considering that Tariq Saleh’s activities are for the benefit of the absent central government.
