There is conflict within Yemeni government: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Naseer al-Omari, a writer and political commentator from New York, to get his take on the Saudi aggression against the Yemeni people.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Saudi Arabia and its allies in the war against the Yemeni people continue to kill more, while they’re also suffering a hefty number of casualties themselves. What has Saudi Arabia achieved in its relentless campaign against the Yemeni nation?

Omari: Not much. This is turning out to be a real war for Saudi Arabia. What started out as a venture, as a quick war to kick out the Houthis from their positions in Yemen and restore Hadi to government, is turning out to be a real war with real casualties. Saudi Arabia itself is losing soldiers on its own soil. So, this is not an easy ride and it’s becoming more and more costly and there is no end in sight to this war. The political negotiations in search of a solution have stumbled and basically we are looking for a war with no objectives.

Press TV: We know that the fugitive former president has been repeating his and the Saudis’ preconditions for any peace talks to be held to end this conflict, conditions that Ansarullah and the Yemeni fighters have been rejecting. Why is Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi holding his ground, knowing that this means no peace talks?

Omari: These political figures are vying for positions. There’s a conflict within the Yemeni government itself that is hosted by Saudi Arabia. There’s talk of fractions even within the Saudi alliance. These countries have different objectives. Qatar was not on the same page as Saudi Arabia, to begin with, and now they are trying to come together for a possible list of objectives and it is not happening. There’s also the issue of trust, the Houthis can’t trust any of the powers involved in this. And to be honest with you, they are looking for a balance of power to come in and negotiate a settlement out of this.

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