Saudi-led coalition saved Yemen from civil war:FM

The Saudi-led military action against the Huthis has averted a civil war, one that would have changed the demographics of not only Yemen but the entire region, Foreign Affairs Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said yesterday.

In an interview with a regional daily, Asharq Al-Awsat, Shaikh Khalid opined: “Had it not been for the intervention of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of King Salman Bin Abdulaziz at a critical moment in history, the shape of the region would have changed for the worse for decades to come.”

“If Operation Decisive Storm (the military campaign in Yemen by Saudi-led coalition) had not come on time, the situation would have been more dangerous and the insurgents would have wrested full control of Yemen, which means a non-stop civil war,” Shaikh Khalid remarked.

Yemen descended into chaos when Huthis rebellious militias and supporters of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh took over large parts of Yemen, including the capital, Sana’a, in September of 2014, prompting Hadi to flee to the southern city of Aden and then to Saudi Arabia.

All Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, except Oman, are part of the military campaign that Saudi Arabia has begun at the request of Hadi.

Shaikh Khalid, however, denied that the GCC was divided over Operation Decisive Storm or the developments in Yemen. “There is a divergence of views over how to deal with the issue between non-participant Oman and others, who participated to the degree that they deployed troops in Yemen.”

Commenting on the Iran nuclear deal, the Minister said, “Finding a solution for Iran’s nuclear programme has been the priority for the Gulf’s Western allies despite their knowledge of the Islamic Republic’s destabilising role in the region.”

He called Iran’s nuclear programme “backward” but said it could pose further risks to the region if developed.