Yemen's legitimate executive calls on the international community to help stop the spread of the coronavirus
The internationally recognized Government of Yemen urged the international community to help in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus and other diseases in the national territory; at a time when the number of deaths from the pandemic increased in the country to 18. The Aden-based Supreme National Emergency Committee said on Saturday that the total number of confirmed cases in executive-controlled areas stands at 122, including 18 deaths, after 37 new cases were detected in the port city of Aden, Hadramut and Lahj over the past two days.
Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani called on the international community to intervene urgently in the situation of the nation, which is ravaged by the ongoing civil war caused by Houthi rebels and affected by the plight of people suffering from COVID-19 disease, in the face of the indifference of the opposing Shiite Houthi militias.
These armed groups, which promoted the coup d'état of 2015, are "trying to fish in the troubled waters and financially exploit the donor organizations," said the ministerial representative, according to the Prensa Latina media.
The Yemeni government member denounced that the Houthis are keeping "public opinion in the dark", while civilians infected with the coronavirus are collapsing in the streets of Sana'a, a fiefdom controlled by the insurgents.
He also warned of the disaster that COVID-19 disease could bring to health in the face of malnutrition and the low level of care in medical services, at a critical time when the main focus of war in Yemen is confronting the Houthi rebels, supported by Iran and who control the north of the country including the capital Sana'a, and the pro-government forces, which receive military support from the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia, a great regional enemy of the Iranians and the maximum standard of the Sunni branch of Islam, as opposed to the Shiite one represented by the regime of the ayatollahs.
The head of Yemeni Information said that the insurgent militias are not adequately applied in the implementation of preventive measures to provide medical care to those infected.
On the other hand, from Saudi Arabia, where the legitimate government in exile of Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi is installed, the Yemeni health minister, Nasser Baoum, warned about the dangerous situation of COVID-19 and called for the cooperation of all. According to the National Committee created to face the pandemic, the cases confirmed by the new coronavirus total dozens in several provinces, confirming the referred numbers of 18 deaths and 122 affected.
Yemen is suffering the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, as described by the United Nations, and is going through a scenario in which the international alliance led by Saudi Arabia, which supports the internationally recognized government in its battle against the Houthis, extended a unilateral ceasefire aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus, which is leaving hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of people affected worldwide. So far, 18 people have died and 122 have been affected since the first case of infection was officially confirmed in the second week of April, that of a port worker in Al-Sheher, a southern town in Hadramut province, controlled by the government.
Despite the cessation of hostilities decreed and rejected by the Houthis, the fighting continues in a country where there are great fears of an even more serious outbreak of COVID-19, since the nation logically does not have the necessary health infrastructure to cope with the rigours of this pandemic, in the midst of a bloody civil war that has already left tens of thousands of deaths in the last five years caused by clashes between pro-government forces and Houthi rebels.
The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, told the UN Security Council on Thursday that the parties to the conflict in Yemen have made significant progress towards a stable ceasefire agreement.
Griffiths made another attempt to reach a truce in Yemen after U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called a cease-fire in global conflicts on March 23 so the world could focus on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
The UN representative presented draft proposals on a national cease-fire, humanitarian and economic measures and an urgent resumption of the political process for the Yemeni government and the Houthis, who have been engaged in a terrible struggle for more than five years. "We have seen significant progress in these negotiations, especially with regard to the national ceasefire," Griffiths told the 15 members of the Security Council. "However, the ceasefire is part of a broader package of measures that must be agreed in full. There is still disagreement on some humanitarian and economic measures in that package," the diplomat said in statements collected by the Middle East Monitor.
Griffiths said these humanitarian and economic measures are also needed to combat the coronavirus, which "is spreading at an unknown rate with low levels of testing. The UN envoy further stated that "the Yemeni people are right to be frustrated by the slow pace of these dialogues. We all hope that these negotiations will soon be successful.
Despite the appeals made, it should be noted that thirteen Houthi elements were eliminated on Saturday night, during further violations by the coup militia of the ceasefire and after the attempt to carry out failed attacks in the Governorates of Taiz and Al-Bayda.
A military source told Al-Ain News that the Shiite militia made an attempt to infiltrate the army positions, along with an intense artillery bombardment. The military succeeded in thwarting the rebel attempt and was able to secure a number of strategic locations west of Taiz and in Al-Bayda.
The losses among the revolutionaries, despite the commitment of the Yemeni Army to the ceasefire announced by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition on 9 April and extended until 23 May, have come amidst the above-mentioned international calls to stop the coronavirus.