Arab League optimistic about achieving progress in Yemen

Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ambassador Hossam Zaki has said the pan-Arab organisation is optimistic about achieving progress on the situation in war-torn Yemen.

"In spite of the difficult situation in Yemen and the humanitarian crisis there, we are optimistic that progress could be achieved in the Yemeni file next year," he said on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The AL official rebuffed the possibility of holding an Arab-Iranian dialogue in an endeavour to bring a solution to the Yemeni crisis, noting that Iran is interfering in Arab affairs.

"Threats by Iran do not go in harmony with the calls for dialogue," he pointed out.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since the Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile.

The war has killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children, and displaced 3 million others, creating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The United Nations has listed Yemen as the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with 7 million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera causing more than 2,000 deaths.

--IANS

pgh/