Yemen president slams UN envoy's bias for Houthi rebels in a letter

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Yemen's internationally-recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was ousted from power by Houthis rebels in 2014, criticized the UN's special envoy to the country in a sharply-worded letter to the UN chief, complaining about the envoy's bias in favor of Yemeni Houthi rebels, an official said Friday.

The attacks come the same month the UN special envoy Martin Griffiths appeared to have achieved a diplomatic breakthrough, getting the Iranian-aligned Houthis to agree with a unilateral withdrawal of their forces from Hodeidah and two other Yemeni ports.

In the five-page letter, addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and dated May 22, Hadi outlines a litany of grievances directed at Griffiths, criticizing "his insistence on dealing with the rebels as a de-facto government," referring to the Houthis.

Soldiers loyal to Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi secure a road in the country's northwestern province of Marib, December 18, 2015. /VCG Photo

Hadi complained that the envoy allegedly worked in helping the Houthis stay longer in the strategic ports of Hodeidah under the umbrella of the United Nations.

The letter states that Griffiths has failed to properly oversee an agreement struck last year in Stockholm for a ceasefire and withdrawal plan for the port city of Hodeidah, and has not dealt with issues surrounding detainees and hostages.

"It is clear the envoy has a weak understanding of the nature of Yemen's ongoing conflict, especially the ideological, intellectual, and political elements of the Houthi militias and their fundamental rejection of the principles of democracy and the peaceful rotation of power," stated the letter.

Saudi-led air strikes destroy the offices of the education ministry's workers union in Amran, northwestern Yemen, August 19, 2015. /VCG Photo

The Yemeni president said he could no longer accept the special UN envoy for Yemen unless UN provided full guarantees that such transgressions would not be repeated.

"Actions of the United Nations deeply disappointed Hadi who decided to give its envoy Martin Griffiths a warning letter," the official of Yemen's presidential compound in Aden told Xinhua.

"The envoy repeatedly wanted to meet Hadi or other government officials during the past days in Saudi Arabia, but all the requests were rejected as Griffiths became unwelcomed," another source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

On Friday the Guterres wrote back and reiterated his confidence in Griffiths after receiving the letter, a UN spokesman said adding, the special envoy would double down on efforts to support both sides in the conflict and ensure that the Stockholm agreement is fulfilled.

Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi attends a meeting with local officials during a visit to the country's northern province of Marib, July 10, 2016. /Reuters Photo

The agreement reached in the Swedish capital in December called for the removal of troops in and around the major port of Hodeidah and other ports of Ras Issa and Saleef to enable the transport of humanitarian aid to civilians who are on the brink of famine.

Yemen has been in the civil war in the past four years, pitting the Houthi rebels against forces loyal to the government of Hadi. Saudi Arabia and the UAE head a Western-backed coalition of Sunni Muslim states that backed Hadi and intervened in Yemen in 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized government.

(With inputs from Xinhua and Reuters.)