Tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital, Sanaa, in a show of support for the new Higher Council, formed last month, between members of Saleh’s party the General People’s Congress, and the rebel Houthis who control the capital, several major towns and cities, and the north of the country.
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A coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia and supported by the United States intervened in Yemen in 2015 to help fight the Shiite Muslim rebels, who had forced President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi into exile.
The gathering is believed to be the biggest to have been held in rebel-held Sana’a since the civil war began in Yemen almost two years ago.
Soon after the arrival of president of the new ruling political council, Saleh al-Sumad, the Saudi-led fighter jets bombed the main gate of the presidential palace, which locates about 500 meter from the platform where al-Sumad and his team stood in to welcome the people.
The official Saudi Press Agency issued a statement Saturday saying the formation of the council made “the search for a peaceful solution more hard by unconstitutional and unilateral actions” in Sana.
“The Group of Ambassadors repeats its concern that actions taken by elements of the General People’s Congress and the Houthis as well as their supporters are making the search for a peaceful solution more hard”, the envoys said in a statement posted on the United States Embassy’s Facebook page.
Houthi council chairman Saleh al-Samad declared that “economic affairs will be the priority of our work in the coming period”. But he also said the unilateral formation of the Houthi council was not in the interests of Yemen or the peace process.
A Saudi national was killed and six others injured in a missile attack in the southern city of Najran on Saturday, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Masirah, the Houthis’ television channel, said that three people were killed in a coalition airstrike on the area of Al-Nahdayn in Sana, roughly two miles away from Sabeen square.
The central bank’s governor dismissed the reports of new board appointments as “groundless” in an emailed statement.
During today’s talks in Riyadh, President Hadi praised Sheikh Ahmed’s efforts aimed at implementing the United Nations resolution 2216, re-affirming his government’s keenness on realizing peace on the basis of the declared references, notably the GCC initiative and the United Nations resolutions as well as outcome of the national dialogue.
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The central bank has been considered the last bastion of the impoverished country’s financial system, paying salaries to state employees on both sides of the front lines and guaranteeing food imports as Yemen approaches starvation.
