Yemen's presidential council chief rules out any new truce with Houthis, calls for lasting peace

The chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council said Wednesday that the government does not want a new truce with the Houthis, calling instead for lasting peace based on a state that holds a monopoly on weapons and sovereignty.

Speaking at a meeting with leaders and representatives of official and local media outlets, Rashad al-Alimi said Yemen's experience over the past decade showed that truces had allowed the Houthis to rebuild their military capabilities before returning to war.

"We are not for a new truce that reproduces previous experiences," al-Alimi said, calling for "lasting and sustainable peace" based on a state that monopolizes weapons and sovereignty, a constitution that applies to everyone, full equality among citizens, and institutions whose officials serve the people rather than rule over them.

He said the government has concluded that the Houthis amount to "a project of war and destruction, not a project of peace."

Al-Alimi said the group's actions had dispelled "international illusions" that the Houthis can be a peace project, accusing the group of being tied to an Iranian project that began in the 1980s whose strategic objective was to reach and control the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

He said the international focus has shifted from how to accommodate the Houthis to how to protect Yemen, the region, and international waterways.

"The Yemeni government, the regional community, and the international community are now moving in one direction: How do we protect Yemenis first, international navigation, the region, and international peace and security?" he said.

Al-Alimi said the government's position is now fundamentally different from previous stages, citing greater domestic unity, a cohesive political and military front, growing public support, and "a major regional and international shift in understanding the Houthi threat."

"There will be no action by the Houthi militias from now on without a response or comprehensive deterrence," he said.

He said Yemen's armed forces now operate under a unified command structure and are ready to defend Yemenis, their facilities, and national institutions.

"Our strategic objective is to restore state institutions and bring down the (Houthi) coup," he said.

Since 2022, Yemen has experienced a relative lull in fighting between government forces and the Houthis, but recent unprecedented clashes resumed last month, leaving dozens killed and injured. The sides have yet to reach a comprehensive political agreement to end the conflict.

The war has damaged most sectors of Yemen's economy and infrastructure and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The UN continues to push for a political process aimed at ending the conflict.