Saudi Arabia serving US, Israeli interests; ongoing aggression won’t go unpunished: Yemeni govt. spox

The spokesman for the Yemeni government has sharply criticized the international community for complicity in the ongoing brutal Saudi aggression and blockade against his nation, emphasizing that Riyadh is serving the interests of the United States and Israel, and that its atrocities will not go unpunished.

“The criminal Saudi enemy is escalating its heinous crimes against the Yemeni nation. Scarcely a day goes by without the House of Saud shedding the blood of Yemenis, and deliberately targeting bridges, schools, health facilities, and all critical infrastructure,” Omar al-Bukhaiti stated on Sunday.

He added that Saudi Arabian fighter aircraft struck a shopping area around the central market of Ta’izz in southwestern Yemen, leaving at least seven people killed and dozens more injured.

Al-Masirah TV channel showed footage of large plumes of smoke and a destroyed warehouse stacked with food in cardboard boxes. It also reported that children were among those wounded.

Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said Saudi warplanes launched two air raids that hit the market, adding that blood was “unjustly and aggressively spilled.” He also vowed that Yemeni military units will retaliate. 

Bukhaiti denounced the targeting of civilians as a vicious, premeditated war crime, stating that Saudi officials should have accommodated the Yemeni nation's legitimate demands regarding a complete cessation of aggression, removal of the blockade, and respect for the principle of good neighborliness.

“They instead persisted in the massacre of an Arab Muslim nation. Riyadh continues to shed the blood of Yemenis at the behest of Tel Aviv and Washington, serves their interests and seeks to advance their agendas against Muslim Ummah,” the Yemeni government spokesman noted.

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Bukhaiti also condemned the continued inaction of the international community vis-à-vis the crimes being perpetrated against Yemenis.

“Yemenis will defend themselves against those who have targeted their compatriots, natural resources and infrastructure. You ought to be ashamed of your complicity and partnership with a criminal enemy that has been relentlessly killing Yemeni women and children for the past 12 years,” he pointed out.

The Sana’a administration declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20, in response to “an unfair and tyrannical siege” on Yemen lasting nearly 12 years.

The Yemeni military has announced several successful operations aimed at ships linked to Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed a blockade on Yemen and launched a sweeping military aggression against the country, backed by military, political, and logistical support from the United States and several Western countries.

The war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis. However, Saudi Arabia has failed to achieve its stated objective of reinstating a puppet regime that serves its interests.

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