14 August 2018•Update: 14 August 2018
CAIRO
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit on Tuesday pledged to continue defending the legitimate government in Yemen.
Aboul-Gheit made the remarks at a meeting with Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi at the league’s headquarters in Cairo, where the latter is currently on a two-day official visit.
“Yemen's security is a key element of the Arab national security system,” a league statement quoted Aboul-Gheit as saying.
Condemning what he described as “Iranian interference” in Yemen, Aboul-Gheit said that Iran still poses a “serious threat” to Red Sea shipping.
The Yemeni president, for his part, thanked Aboul-Gheit for the league’s “ongoing support for Yemen’s legitimate government”.
Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when the Shia Houthi rebel group overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.
The conflict escalated the following year when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at rolling back the Houthis’ territorial gains and shoring up Yemen’s pro-Saudi government.
