Spotlight: Yemen's warring parties focus more on military activities despite coronavirus threat

Source: Xinhua| 2020-03-27 06:03:04|Editor: huaxia

ADEN, Yemen, March 26 (Xinhua) -- As many nations around the world are fighting the spread of the novel coronavirus, Yemen's warring factions are still focusing on their military activities rather than preparing for a possible outbreak.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group are intensifying their efforts to spark new battles in different parts of the war-ravaged Arab country despite the United Nations' call for cease-fire.

Last week, hundreds of the government troops backed by modern armored vehicles arrived in the strategic city of Shuqrah on the Arabian Sea and began preparing for military offensives in the country's southern part.

In the strategic city of Shuqrah, the Yemeni government forces also began conducting military maneuvers attended by high-ranking commanders who arrived recently from the northeastern province of Marib.

An official of the Yemeni government forces told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the Saudi-brokered power-sharing deal signed between the Southern Transition Council (STC) and his government has completely ended.

"We are determined to come back to expel the STC's forces out from the state institutions in the southern provinces after the failure of Riyadh deal," the source said.

The rival parties didn't focus on the efforts on preventing a potential outbreak of the coronavirus in Yemen which is already facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

On Tuesday, the forces linked to Yemen's government clashed with the STC's security units tasked with securing the strategic southern city of Aden, causing panic among the local residents.

An official of the Aden-based STC told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that Yemen's government did not want to combine the efforts to focus on fighting the coronavirus.

He said that Aidarous Zubaidi, president of the STC, called on all the political parties in Yemen to work together in order to jointly fight the coronavirus.

Zubaidi ordered the security units that are controlling Aden to shut down crowded markets as a precautionary measure to fight the coronavirus and also direct an emergency committee to increase cooperation with the local health organizations.

"Most of the government officials are based in other countries and paid no attention to our calls aimed at combining the efforts and reducing the suffering of the Yemeni citizens," the source said.

He accused other factions of preparing for invading Aden with no regard to humanitarian risks that will affect the people living there.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate global cease-fire and ending the hostilities, to focus on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the Iranian-backed Houthis continued pushing for more military offensives against several areas in the country's northeastern part.

During the past two days, the Houthis mobilized hundreds of young fighters and pushed for invading the oil-rich province of Marib just days after capturing the strategic neighboring province of al-Jawf.

Elsewhere in Yemen, the Houthis launched sporadic attacks against the southern province of Dhalea that's considered the main gate of the neighboring provinces such as Lahj and Aden.

Many Yemeni people complain that all the warring factions are paying more attention to their military activities than improving the health system to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

"We hear that there are preparations for a new round of fighting over the control of our city and that's doubling our suffering amid the coronavirus global pandemic," said Ameed Ahmed, a Aden-based resident.

Ahmed fears that "a new attack against Aden will lead the already weakened health system to a more catastrophic situation and destroy the few hospitals that are still operating in the city," he added.

Both health authorities in the government-controlled southern provinces and in the Houthi-controlled northern provinces have not reported any coronavirus cases so far.

KEY WORDS:
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011105521389211261