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Yemen’s Houthis seek regional role as part of Axis of Resistance

Iran-backed Ansar Allah may have ambitions well beyond Yemen.

A Houthi supporter looks on as he carries a weapon during a gathering in Sanaa, Yemen April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi - RC2CWF9RBYKA
A Houthi supporter looks on as he carries a weapon during a gathering in Sanaa, Yemen, April 2, 2020. — REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

As the war in Yemen enters its fifth year, faint hope for an end to the continuing carnage can be felt in large part because of the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

On April 12, United Nations envoys to Syria, Iraq and Yemen, among others, called on warring parties in the region to end hostilities and allow access to medical facilities where needed. 

“We call on all parties to engage, in good faith and without preconditions, in negotiating immediate halts to ongoing hostilities, sustaining existing cease-fires, putting in place more durable and comprehensive cease-fires, and achieving longer-term resolutions to the persistent conflicts across the region,” the envoys said in a joint statement.

Yemen recorded its first COVID-19 case April 10. The prospect of the coronavirus spreading is horrifying in a country where the health care system is already in horrific shape.

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