The Saudi-led air war on Yemen was launched to foil a plot by a “sectarian group” to undermine security in the region, King Salman says.
The operation has prevented Yemen from “becoming a theater for terrorism, discord, and internal fighting, similar to some countries,” says Salman, in remarks published by the official SPA news agency.
Saudi Arabia wanted to “support Yemen and confront the attempt to transform it into a base for launching a plot to undermine regional security and stability,” he adds.
The kingdom and members of the coalition began the campaign to “save Yemen and its brotherly people from a group entrenched with the spirit of sectarianism,” continues Salman, referring to the Shiite Houthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman attends a ceremony at the Diwan royal palace in Riyadh, January 24, 2015. (photo credit: AP/Yoan Valat, Pool)
He says the rebels had “threatened neighboring countries, especially Saudi Arabia, with backing from foreign parties seeking to spread their influence across the region and sow sedition,” implying Iran.
This is an example of “using sectarianism to achieve political” goals, he claims.
The Houthis were also “backed by internal Yemeni groups that broke their agreements,” he says of Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose loyalists have been fighting alongside the Houthis.
— AFP
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