UN criticizes formation of new Yemen national salvation government

The United Nations has criticized Yemen’s Ansarullah movement as the “national salvation” government is sworn in before the country’s Supreme Political Council.

According to Press TV, the “national salvation” government was sworn in on Tuesday after the Ansarullah movement and their allies announced its formation on the previous day.

The new government replaced the Supreme Political Council, which was established by the Ansarullah and the party of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh earlier in the year.

Despite Ansarullah’s assurances that the new body will not hinder UN-brokered peace talks, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed referred to it as “a new and unnecessary obstacle” for the talks, according to a statement released on Tuesday.

“Yemen is at a critical juncture. The actions recently taken by Ansarullah and the General People's Congress will only complicate the search for a peaceful solution. The parties must hold Yemen’s national interests above narrow partisan ambitions and take immediate steps to end political divisions and address the country’s security, humanitarian and economic challenges,” read the statement.

He added that such new measures should only be based on UN-backed measures and not on unilateral decisions by any side.

“I ask the representatives of Ansarullah and the General People’s Congress to re-think their approach and demonstrate their commitment to the peace process with concrete actions,” added the statement.

Saudi Arabia started an invasion in March 2015 and has sustained the campaign so far at the cost of thousands of Yemeni lives to restore power to Yemen’s former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a steadfast Riyadh ally, who had resigned and fled to the Saudi capital in 2014. He returned to Aden in November 2015.

ME