Houthi govt hurts peace efforts: Yemen presidency

By Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA (AA) – The Yemeni presidency on Tuesday decried an announcement by the Shia Houthi group that it had formed a government of "national salvation" for war-torn Yemen.

A Yemeni presidential source said the move would likely torpedo efforts to resume peace talks.

"This [the announcement] confirms that these militias [i.e., the Houthis and their allies] are determined to undermine all efforts to achieve peace and stability," the source was quoted as saying by Yemen’s official SABA news agency.

On Monday, the Houthis and allied forces of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced from capital Sanaa -- which they captured in 2014 -- the formation of a "national salvation" government.

Headed up by Abdul Aziz Bin Habtoor, a former governor of Yemen’s southern city of Aden, the new government is comprised of 35 ministers, including seven ministers of state and three deputy premiers.

Yemen has been racked by chaos since late 2014, when the Houthis and pro-Salah forces overran Sanaa and other parts of the country, forcing President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and members of his Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

Last year, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at restoring Hadi’s embattled government.

Two rounds of UN-backed peace talks have failed to resolve the raging conflict, in which thousands of Yemenis have been killed and some 2.5 million forced to flee their homes.