Sources: Houthi efforts to obtain UN support for mine clearance in Hodeidah
English - Wednesday 08 February 2023 الساعة 08:25 am
Hodeidah, NewsYemen, exclusive:
The United Nations Mission in Support of the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) came out with new statements about the visit of its head, General Michael Beary, to areas in the south of Hodeidah Governorate, and his meeting with a number of the civilian population there.
The mission published on its Twitter account a statement about General Beary's visit to the civilian population in the southern districts of Al Hudaydah Governorate, and that he interacted with people, listened to their stories, and witnessed the devastating impact of the conflict on their lives and livelihoods.
The mission explained: “In Al-Durayhimi, General Beary visited a school and met eight-year-old (Mawada) who, like many young girls in Yemen, deserves a future in which she can grow up and learn in peace. In Zabid, Beary spoke to a mother who lost her son and met Men, old and young, have sustained life-changing injuries.”
According to the statement: "Berry was amazed at the ability of the Yemenis he met today to adapt, and affirmed the commitment of the UNMHA mission to continue working with the parties to achieve permanent stability and return to normal life for the residents of Hodeidah."
The movements of the head of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) were directed and supervised by prominent leaders of the Houthi militia. It was confined to areas under their control, away from areas experiencing difficult living conditions.
In addition, the visit of the head of the mission was limited to areas in Al-Durayhimi and Zabid, and its route was determined by the Houthis, who refused to allow the mission to move and head towards the areas of the contact line and areas liberated from their control, for fear of identifying and exposing the crimes it is committing against civilians there.
Contrasting details
The Houthi militia appeared through its media with different details from what was reported by the UN mission office in Hodeidah and the reasons for the visit by the head of the mission, General Beary, to areas south of Hodeidah.
According to local sources in Hodeidah to "NewsYemen": the visit of the head of the UN mission and his accompanying delegation was prepared and approved quickly by the Houthis, who have been procrastinating and refusing, during the past months, that the mission conduct any field visits or movements.. explaining that the visit he made The head of the mission, General Beary, a few days ago was limited to some areas specified by the Houthis, and he was dropped off at specific locations and places that were the scene of previous military operations, and the militias claimed that they were destroyed by the bombing of the coalition and the joint forces on the western coast.
The sources indicated that the head of the mission met citizens who were hit by Houthi mines and explosives, and were forced by the Houthis to give false testimonies with the aim of holding the joint forces and the coalition responsible and obtaining UN support for demining.
The sources added that some of the elements that were met by the head of the UN mission, General Michael Beary, were Houthi militants who were injured in battles with the joint forces on the western coast during the last period. They were presented as wounded by mines and explosives planted by the joint forces.
The secrets of the visit
The sources revealed the secrets of the quick visit made by the head of the UN mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement to southern Hodeidah under the supervision and control of the Houthis. She explained that the reason for the visit is the Houthis' attempt to obtain significant support that the mission will provide in favor of the government side in terms of demining, which the militias reject and try to obstruct by persuading the mission of their entitlement to the upcoming support through sham visits and presenting victims and false testimonies.
The statements of the Houthi leaders accompanying the head of the UN mission, including a member of the Redeployment Committee called Muhammad al-Qadri, have emerged to confirm the Houthis' demand to hand them over the full support for demining that the mission will soon provide.
And the Saba Agency, which is under their control, published statements by the Houthi leader, Al-Qadri, in which he said: The United Nations mission is delaying in handing them equipment and equipment needed to clear mines in the districts of Hodeidah, which resulted in casualties and environmental and health risks to civilian objects, as he described it. The Houthi leader made claims that areas south of Hodeidah are contaminated with mines and cluster bombs, and called on the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement to work on implementing the outputs of the Sweden Agreement represented in protecting civilians and handing them mine-clearing equipment to reduce the human losses suffered by those areas.
Former collusion
The militias had received previous support from the United Nations Mission in Support of the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) and its development program in Sana'a, with an amount of $167,221,136 million during the period from 2016 to 2022, under the name of demining.
He refuted a previous report by a number of human rights organizations titled "Supporting Death...Partnership in Crime"; Types of international support for the Houthis, which included 420 modern cars, including 20 four-wheel drive cars, delivered by the Development Program to the Houthis under the pretext of supporting mine clearance and combating efforts, and 400 four-wheel drive cars under various names, including emergency services and spraying services.
Yemeni sources re-established the reason for the UN mission in Hodeidah's delay in handing over support to the Houthis is the corruption scandals that were leaked and documented in numbers by civil, non-governmental organizations, late last year.
