Yemen calls on US for military support as Houthi fighting escalates

The Yemeni government needs military assistance from the United States amid an escalation in fighting by forces of the Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, said Abdullah al-Alimi Bawazir, deputy chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC).

He added that Trump understands the threat posed by the Houthis and that “we hope and expect more support for the Yemeni government in the face of the Houthi militias,” Caliber.Az reports, citing NBC News.

“The aerial campaigns are important. But supporting the Yemeni government and forces on the ground is indeed a guarantor to end the danger of those militias,” the deputy chairman told reporters on the sidelines of events at the UN General Assembly.

“We do not ask the American soldiers to actually go into war on our behalf,” he said. “And we don’t really request that they do nothing.”

He declined to say directly what form US support for the Yemeni government should take. Bawazir also refrained from commenting on media reports that US President Donald Trump rejected a request from PLC Chairman Rashad al-Alimi for direct military assistance on September 20.

By Jeyhun Aghazada