Yemen’s information minister says the United States is responsible for the crippling blockade on Yemen and slammed Western powers’ response to the suffering of Muslim nations for lacking humanity.
Speaking to the al-Masirah TV channel, Dhaifallah al-Shami stressed that the policy of starving the Yemenis and besieging them will fail as they will not sit idly by.
“The siege of the Yemeni nation is an entirely American decision. Today, the Yemeni nation warns all the arrogant powers that it is moving towards its great options,” he said.
“Our nation does not accept to die of starvation and siege. It has many options to defeat the siege.”
Shami further emphasized that the Yemenis are “steadfast and patient,” and that it is not possible to kill them by confiscating ships carrying oil derivatives to the Arab country.
“The humanity that the Western societies talk about only exists in their own societies. Muslim nations do not see their humanity and do not hear its voice,” he added.
A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched the war on Yemen in March 2015. In addition, Riyadh has also imposed an inhumane siege on the country, cutting off the Yemeni population’s access to the outside world via land, air, and sea.
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The blockade includes the closure of the port of Hudaydah, which is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis.
The invading forces have also seized ships carrying critically needed petroleum products and prevented them from entering the port, causing a fuel shortage that has knocked out generators and water pumps in hospitals and disrupted aid supplies across Yemen.
On Monday, several Yemeni cities and provinces, including the capital Sana’a, witnessed mass protests in condemnation of the siege. The rallies were codenamed “blockade of fuel is an American decision, Yemen Storm operation is our choice.”
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Supreme Political Council reiterated its commitment to the will of the Yemeni nation in the face of the enemy.
“The current stage requires us to unite and firmly stand against the options that the enemy wants to impose on us using the dirty tools of hunger and intimidation,” it said in a statement.
“The enemy’s pressure will not deter us from taking action to end this injustice. We must also pay more attention to the elements of power that our people have at their disposal,” the statement added.
Backed by the US and major European powers, the Saudis waged the war with the objective of reinstalling the former Riyadh-friendly regime in Yemen and crushing the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of of an effective government in Yemen.
The war has stopped well shy of all of its goals, despite killing tens of thousands of Yemenis and turning entire Yemen into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Yemeni forces have continued to grow stronger in the face of the Saudi-led invaders, advancing toward strategic areas held by Saudi-led mercenaries, including Ma’rib province, and conducting several rounds of counterstrikes against Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent months.
