Yemen's Houthis told to stop targeting political rivals

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - Houthi rebels in Yemen were Tuesday warned to stop targeting rival political groups in the country.

The statement from the U.K., U.S., United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia called on the group “to cease actions to suppress or eliminate other political parties in Sanaa”.

It followed a meeting of foreign ministers from the four nations to discuss the Yemen conflict.

“They expressed outrage at reports of indiscriminate killings and intimidation by the Houthis in Sanaa, including against members of the GPC and their families,” the U.K. government said in a statement.

The General People’s Congress is the party of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was killed by Houthi militiamen last week.

He had previously allied with the Houthis against the Saudi-led Arab alliance supporting President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.

Yemen has been dogged by violence since 2014, when the Houthis and Saleh’s forces overran much of the country, including Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a devastating air campaign.

Yemen has since become the scene of what the UN has called the worst humanitarian disaster in modern times, with millions on the verge of famine.

More than 17 million Yemenis -- nearly two-thirds of the population -- are food insecure while 8.5 million are on the brink of starvation.

The violence has devastated basic services, including the water and sanitation system, sparking a cholera outbreak that has claimed thousands of lives.

The UN has said the conflict has seen a disregard for international humanitarian law.

The four-nation statement urged a discussion on “providing greater assistance to the Yemeni people and facilitating the entry of humanitarian and commercial goods”.