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In an unprecedented move, the head of Yemen’s Houthi movement «thanked» Morocco’s for, reportedly, cutting ties with the Saudi-led coalition, launched in 2015.
Houthis’ message was made public by Yemen’s news agency which reported in an article published on Monday, February the 11th, that the head of the Yemeni rebel Houthi movement «Ansar Allah» Abdul Aziz bin Habtoor sent a letter to the Moroccan Prime Minister.
In his message to Saadeddine El Othmani, Habtoor welcomed «Rabat’s recent move to suspend its participation in Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes against the Houthis».
The Houthi movement’s head urged El Othmani to «boost ties between Yemen and Morocco», hoping that «the Moroccan government would support efforts to put an end to Yemeni crisis».
Morocco's participation to the coalition has changed, Bourita said
Houthis’ reaction comes after reports emerged in the Kingdom, suggesting that Rabat has, reportedly, ceased military operations with the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s war.
The information went viral after American news agency AP wrote, citing government officials from both Morocco and Saudi Arabia, that Rabat «no longer takes part in military interventions or ministerial meetings in the Saudi-led coalition».
The American press agency said that Morocco has even recalled its ambassador to Riyadh to protest against a report on the Western Sahara dispute that was broadcast by Saudi TV channel Al Arabiya.
Speaking to France-based magazine Jeune Afrique on Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita denied reports brought by AP, stressing that the information was «unfounded».
«We have not announced anything like this yet. Our position was expressed in the interview with Al-Jazeera», said Bourita, adding : «We are still part of the coalition, but out commitment has changed».
The Minister referred to a recent interview he conducted with the Qatari TV channel, indicating that «Morocco’s participation to the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen has changed».
Speaking to Al Jazeera in January, Bourita said that this change was based on Morocco’s commitments and that this decision was taken after the Rabat «assessed the situation in Yemen, including the humanitarian side».
For the record, Morocco joined the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen in March, 2015, alongside Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Senegal in response to calls from the internationally recognized pro-Saudi president of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
