Saudi King Salman sets up Yemen aid committee

Saudi King Salman announced on Tuesday the establishment of a center to coordinate humanitarian assistance for Yemen, and invited the United Nations to join in relief work for the Arab country, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.

“We hope that the United Nations will participate effectively with what this centre will shoulder, including coordinating all humanitarian and relief works for the Yemeni people with the participation of the countries that are supporting the Gulf initiative,” he said in a speech at the start of a summit of Arab heads of state in Riyadh.

King Salman spoke about the late King Abdullah’s contributions to the GCC before addressing the decision to intervene in Yemen and describing it as “necessary to halt the complete collapse of Yemen and its institutions.”

The king further added that “coup leaders in Yemen had rejected the GCC initiative to bring an end to the chaos unfolding in Yemen.”

The king reaffirmed Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners commitment to support Yemen by all means possible.

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The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen had set up a “Committee of Evacuation and Humanitarian aid operations” while Operation Decisive Storm, the name given to the military operation against Houthi militias, was in effect in early April.

Peace talks had collapsed after Houthi militias went on the offensive in recent months, seizing the capital Sanaa and advancing on Aden, forcing President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi to flee into exile in Saudi Arabia.