Yemen: UAE needs to end war on Earth before reaching for space

“The UAE is one of the countries involved in the coalition of aggression that is besieging Yemen and killing people at the same time as it is following Amal (Hope) [probe] on Mars,” Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council,wrote in a post published on his Twitter page on Tuesday.

Addressing Abu Dhabi, he added, “Abandon your conspiracies against the Republic of Yemen and other countries [instead]! This will be the greatest achievement you will make on Earth. It will be even bigger than the results that the probe will send from Mars.”

Earlier in the day, the UAE’s first mission to Mars reached the red planet and entered orbit after a seven-month and 494 million-kilometer (307 million-mile) journey, allowing it to start sending data about the Martian atmosphere and climate.

The launch made the UAE the first Arab country ever to reach Mars.

The UAE has been a key part to a Saudi-led coalition that has been involved in a military campaign against Yemen aimed at reinstalling a Riyadh-allied former government there.

Last December, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs put the death toll from the Saudi-led war at 233,000.

According to the world body, 80 percent of Yemen’s 30 million people need some form of aid or protection. About 13.5 million Yemenis currently face acute food insecurity, UN data shows.

Borrell: Yemeni war source of instability for region

Meanwhile, High Representative of the European Union Josep Borrell has described the ongoing Yemen conflict as a source of instability for the entire region.

“The humanitarian and political situation in Yemen deserves more attention. Much more than the one we pay to it. The war has been raging for almost 6 years, with a devastating impact: 24 million people – which means 80% of the Yemeni population – are in need of humanitarian assistance and more than 4 million are displaced,” Borrell said at a European Parliament debate on the humanitarian and political situation on Tuesday.

He added, “Beyond this terrible humanitarian crisis, the war in Yemen has become a source of instability in the whole region. We need to take decisive action to avert a mass famine. The situation can still deteriorate, if restrictions to imports of basic commodities and humanitarian access persist. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the humanitarian situation in Yemen. Additionally, the Safer oil tanker stranded in the Red Sea is a ticking time bomb that could cause an environmental disaster.”

The EU foreign policy chief highlighted that the only solution to Yemen crisis “is to look for an inclusive political agreement.”

“We fully back the efforts of the United Nations Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, in support of a ceasefire and a political solution [in Yemen]. We are ready to push for a concerted action to unlock the stalled process and nudge the parties to implement a permanent ceasefire and begin political talks,” Borrell noted.

The remarks come as the Arabic-language al-Jazeera television news network reported on Tuesday that the European Parliament is working on a draft plan for a ceasefire in Yemen and negotiations for a comprehensive settlement in the war-ravaged Arab nation.

Ansarullah: Griffiths is British representative in UN attire

Separately, the spokesman of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement has lashed out at Griffiths, stating the British diplomat pursues the interests of the United Kingdom under the guise of a UN official.

“Just like the logic of the British ambassador [Michael Aron], Griffiths calls the defensive actions of our compatriots hostile. This makes him the representative of his country [Britain] under cover of the United Nations,” Mohammed Abdul-Salam said.