Debate on the Taiz Siege, Aid Routes and Saudi Arabia’s Role in Yemen

Th-th-th—the current episode is the episode of Yemen's liberation, and, God willing, that will happen soon.

As for mediation in particular, I think Sana'a no longer pays any attention to the so- called go— the government backed by Saudi Arabia, which, I mean, has been in Riyadh's hotels since 2015. They've practically developed Riyadh syndrome. They no longer understand what's happening on the ground,

and they're— mediat— cut off from reality and the ground.

So they don't even dare to manage the affairs of the state in the 70 or 80 percent of the territory that the guest in Taiz said was under the control of a government backed by, uh, uh…

Saudi Arabia. So, my dear sister, I think that those holding the initiative now, and any negotiations, if there are any mediations or anything at all, are between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, because Sana'a has lost a lot of interest in the government backed by it, by Saudi Arabia, and went with it to Kuwait One,

Kuwait Two, Geneva One, Geneva Two A- and- and Stockholm, among others.

What was the outcome? Any agreement being made Saudi Arabia is pressuring them to delay that agreement so it won't have to bear what?

So Saudi Arabia won't have to bear the consequences, or be held responsible.

So I think Sana'a has reached the point where anything is between us and Saudi Arabia.

As they say in Yemen, I mean— Could confidence-building measures be taken, um, sir— Mr. Hussein, confidence-building measures, like lifting the siege on Taiz by allowing a humanitarian corridor to be established?

No, sister— And don't tell me it's not under siege, Mr. Hussein.

International organizations say it's under siege and that food isn't getting through. There's, um— My dear sister, I mean— There is acute hunger among children now.

Um, my dear sister, I-I'll tell you that the United Nations put Saudi Arabia on its list of child killers, so Saudi Arabia pressured it and said it would stop supporting the United Nations, and in the year the following year, around 2016 and 2017,

it canceled and removed Saudi Arabia's name from That. And regarding my dear sister, the corridors, when I answered you, there is, for example, the Hangar Road, which the guest in Taiz knows, west of Taiz, and I told you that this road is open, and the Taiz-to-Turbah road to Aden is also, uh…

open, though it does not pr— prevent the entry of weapons or any uh… I mean, military support for forces affiliated with Saudi Arabia— Mr. Abdulwasea, you're in Taiz. Mr. Abdulwasea, excuse me.

Let me just make this point. Mr. Abdulwasea, you're in Taiz.

The two roads th—the ones Mr. Hussein spoke about are indeed open here to humanitarian aid, then?

I'm surprised by this statement, uh… I mean, uh… it's as if, as if, as if the Houthis are saying that the people of Taiz are the ones besieging themselves, and that the shells falling on this city are as if they were shells from the National Army, as if they are the ones fighting themselves.

As for the Houthis, they have nothing to do with this.

Just a few days ago, the Houthi group targeted a ferry, And this phrase is about the Hayjat al-Abd road, and it brought out this— the road from the— the operational or readiness perspective.

And also, uh, regarding the— the— the— Why are you targeting a phrase— I mean, there are no roads open.

Come on, brother, think logically. Mr. Abdulwasea, I mean, there are no— The city of Taiz—that the city of Taiz is not, is not— Let me, Let me finish the thought.

I haven't finished the thought, that, that— that the city of Taiz, I mean, that it isn't under siege, as if it were before the Houthi group came and closed all the roads, as if, uh, I mean, uh, this— this— this city I mean, I mean, it didn't, uh, suffer the horrors through the— the— the complete siege imposed on all, I mean,

parts of the city. As for what your guest is saying, there's a huge fallacy.

The road is opened for a few hours, and media outlets affiliated with the Houthi group are brought in and filming to make it look like the road is open.

If the Houthi group is confident in what it's saying, why doesn't it let humanitarian organizations and human rights organizations come to the Hangar checkpoint and You document this and look at the situation from within.

The truth and reality? Why don't they take this step and take the initiative, so the rumors about them will stop as they say, and so the agreements about them— I mean the accusations—will stop, in addition to the fact that there is I mean, uh, a very large creation for the arrival of food supplies. Permission is being granted to—

And now you've taken the time— Dina in exchange for the—people being detained here.

All right, all right. And they are being detained— I get the point. I mean, just so we don't waste Mr. Hussein's time.

Mr. Hussein Al-Bukhaiti.

Yes, I may have taken up your time, but that's all right, my dear sister— I'll give you a few extra minutes. Go ahead.

When he said they were targeted— Yes, thank you very much.

The guest from Taiz, when he said, for example only— This is one of the many fallacies that prove his words are also all fallacies.

He said that Heijat al-Abed, uh, is a road, uh, a road called Al- Najeel, or a mountain road, uh, in the area of Heijat al- Abed, and it connects Taiz, uh… Hayjat al-Abd, at-Turbah, Aden. He said it was targeted by Ansar Allah, the Houthis, two days ago, as he mentioned. How? Why would a ferry be targeted in Hayjat al-Abd?

Hayjat al-Abd and the at-Turbah area were liberated and brought under control about two weeks ago, or—or ten days ago.

So why would they target a ferry on your route? And he also said earlier that a house had been targeted and a civilian killed and that— that was Bajash's house, in areas that had been liberated and were under the control of the,

uh, Yemeni army, or as they call it, Ansar Allah.

Why would they target a house in, in, in, in, in an area under their control?

Didn't the Houthis target the Al-Saqiya Health Center?

Didn't the Houthis— My dear sister— Didn't the Houthis target the Al-Saqiya Health Center?

The Saudi air force. The Al-Saqiya Health Center.

Prime Minister al-Zindani says that control was taken of the Seventh Recruitment Center in Mudrab District.

I'm surprised, surprised—no, I'm not surprised by this.

My dear sister, you are speaking now. I find these fallacies surprising.

What al-Zindani said while he was bedridden.

So, a house was targeted by a drone. The confrontation, my dear sister, is my time. I didn't interrupt you.

And they say it was a drone. Could I, could I return to the question I asked?

Let's stay on this subject, because these are the facts the two guests are talking about which are disputed and controversial, and we cannot prove, refute, or confirm the truth of what he says.

Taking steps to build trust, steps to build trust regarding Taiz. Yes, my dear sister.

My dear sister, I think that the subject, the subject— the subject, the subject of Taiz, as I told you, Taiz is not under siege.

So there is no need for any confidence- building steps, especially since what they are talking about is the use of chemical or toxic weapons.

That's the reason, my dear sister. They now want to— they've started to cry and want international forces and inspectors to come in, and things like that, just to prolong the battle because the army is making steady progress in the civil— Many areas have been captured over the past hours, including the Al-Muqatira district, which is also

entirely under control. It is a district of Lahj that belonged to Taiz until 2003, then it was annexed to, to, to, to, to Lahj. So these advances from Sana'a, I think, will accept neither mediation nor anything else.

Just one last point, my dear sister, for Anwar Al- Ansi.

I mean, when he said, “The screams of women and children in Taiz,” I mean, I'm surprised his sixth sense still hasn't kicked in even now, after 300,000 airstrikes on Yemen and millions displaced, and hundreds of thousands killed and wounded because of that siege and those bombings.

And, my dear brother, to the guest next to Professor Anwar Al- Ansi, I apologize, I don't remember his name. He spoke about Marib and said the battles continued for a while before 2022, then returned to how things had been and the clashes resumed, as if back at square one or at the front.

Do you know, my dear brother, that the forces affiliated with Saudi Arabia were in Nihm which is one of the districts east of Sana'a?

And what happened before 2022? There were battles, and most of the districts in Marib Governorate were liberated, where there are 14 districts.

They were liberated, and Sana'a controlled 12 districts, with only Marib City District and Wadi District remaining. So I'm surprised. You may not know what happened in Marib.

So what confrontations did you mean when you said things had gone back to square one and returned to how they were? Only Marib City remained, and they were driven out even from Nihm, near Sana'a, and 12 districts were taken and liberated.

So, my dear sister, the situation— and any mediation or anything else in Yemen— is a confrontation with Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia must stop the war, lift the blockade, and withdraw from Yemen, or the attacks will continue deep inside Saudi Arabia. When Professor Anwar asked whether the Houthis would accept to govern, or share power with others,

the answer is certainly yes, my dear brother.

But they will not accept there being a party beholden to Saudi Arabia, Saudi forces being present, or direct Saudi support.

Whether with weapons or anything else. And this objective is one of the operations being carried out in Yemen. There is a national partnership government in Sana'a, including the General People's Congress, the Socialist Party,

and the Nasserists, representing all political currents, and there are also some among them who are considered Salafists. So, my dear sister, what Sana'a wants is to uproot and cut off Saudi Arabia's hand in Yemen, and none of the battles will stop until that happens. What is happening in Yemen is self-defense

because they are Saudi tools, and Yemen is trying to focus its operations against Saudi Arabia. In short, my dear sister, I mean, the snake—if you want to stop a snake, strike its head, not its tail.

Sana'a is doing that now and sometimes the tail moves, so sometimes they strike it.

Thank you.