- Title: YEMEN-SECURITY/PROTEST-HADI RIYADH Yemeni president visits Saudi relief centre
- Date: 29th July 2015
- Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (JULY 28, 2015) (REUTERS) **** WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **** YEMENI PRESIDENT ABD-RABBU MANSOUR HADI ENTERING MEETING ROOM HADI TAKING SEAT MEETING BETWEEN YEMENI OFFICIAL DELEGATION AND ADMINISTRATION FROM KING SALMAN CENTER GENERAL SUPERVISOR OF KING SALMAN CENTER, ABDULLAH AL-RABEEAH, SPEAKING MEETING IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic)YEMENI PRESIDENT, ABD-RABBU MANSOUR HADI, SAYING: "The appropriation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of $270 million for relief in Yemen had a dramatic impact on our people, starting with the launch of this centre for works, followed by the 'Restoring Hope' campaign, then the airlift to Aden, and other miscellaneous activities in various fields." SECURITY GUARD (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic)YEMENI PRESIDENT, ABD-RABBU MANSOUR HADI, SAYING: "I have a great hope to double the efforts of the center to aid Yemen in various medical and humanitarian aspects, as well as the wounded and the urgent needs file in coordination with government agencies and humanitarian organizations. I hope that the centre will think of opening a branch in Aden to overcome difficulties and make things easier." DELEGATES CLAPPING THEIR HANDS AL-RABEEAH PRESENTING THE LOGO OF KING SALMAN CENTER TO HADI VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF KING SALMAN CENTER WITH SIGN READING (Arabic and English): 'KING SALMAN HUMANITY AND RELIEF CENTER' SANAA, YEMEN (JULY 28, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AMRAN CEMENT FACTORY WORKERS GATHERING OUTSIDE UN OFFICE VARIOUS OF WORKERS HOLDING BANNERS READING (Arabic): 'THE TARGETING OF FACTORIES MEANS THE KILLING OF INNOCENT PEOPLE' (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic ) CEMENT FACTORY EMPLOYEE, ABDULLA AL-HIMI, SAYING: "In the Amran cement factory some 1600 employees are now without an income. What was their intention when they bombed the factory? Their actions push people to resort to carrying weapons and fighting. We lift and we build and we produce - that's all. We have nothing to do with politics. We're only trying to make a living." WORKERS GATHERING AND HOLDING BANNERS WORKERS HOLDING POSTER WITH PICTURES OF DAMAGED CEMENT FACTORY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CEMENT FACTORY EMPLOYEE, KHALED MOHAMED, SAYING: "As workers from the cement factory in Amran we were surprised by the strike on the factory. It's a civilian factory that has no weapons and no military bases and no Houthis from Ansar Allah, but rather only hard workers." SECURITY GUARD BEHIND SAND BAGS AT UN OFFICE EXTERIOR OF UN OFFICE BUILDING WORKERS, SOME IN HARD HATS, GATHERED (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AMRAN CEMENT FACTORY MANAGER, YAHYA ABU HELFAH, SAYING: "We demand the United Nations fulfills its role and its duty to protect these workers, these employees that make a living from their work. This is a civilian facility and targeting it in any shape or form defies all international norms and charters." VARIOUS OF WORKERS GATHERING WITH BANNERS
- Embargoed: 13th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Yemen
- Country: Yemen
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAB9X1PDWPEVM5E1QW3XRG72EYZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Exiled Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi made his first visit to the newly-established King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday (July 28).
The visit coincided with Oxfam announcing that more than six million people in Yemen were on the verge of starvation, adding that months of war and a blockade on imports were pushing an additional 25,000 people into hunger every day.
Saudi King Salman established the center in May 2015 to coordinate humanitarian assistance for Yemen.
During Tuesday's visit Hadi met with the center's administrators and thanked them for the positive impact their work was having on the lives of Yemen's people.
"The appropriation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of $270 million for relief in Yemen had a dramatic impact on our people, starting with the launch of this center for works, followed by the 'Restoring Hope' campaign, then the airlift to Aden, and other miscellaneous activities in various fields," Hadi said, referring to Saudi Arabia's King Salman.
On Tuesday warplanes attacked Houthi militia in control of Yemen's largest air base north of Aden, seeking to expand territorial gains made by Saudi-led coalition forces since they captured the southern port city last week.
Speaking in Riyadh, Hadi expressed hope for the possibility of a branch of the centre opening in Aden, now in the hands of forces loyal to him.
"I have a great hope to double the efforts of the centre to aid Yemen in various medical and humanitarian aspects, as well as the wounded and the urgent needs file in coordination with government agencies and humanitarian organizations. I hope that the center will think of opening a branch in Aden to overcome difficulties and make things easier," he said.
Meanwhile, in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Tuesday, dozens of workers from a cement factory that was bombed by Saudi-led fighter jets on May 12 protested in front of the U.N. building.
Some 1600 employees of the factory in the Yemeni town of Amran were rendered jobless after the airstrike damaged much of the facility and forced it to shut down.
Holding banners and chanting slogans, factory employees questioned why they were targetted.
"In the Amran cement factory some 1600 employees are now without an income. What was their intention when they bombed the factory? Their actions push people to resort to carrying weapons and fighting. We lift and we build and we produce - that's all. We have nothing to do with politics. We're only trying to make a living," said Abdulla al-Himi.
Employee Khaled Mohamed added that they had been surprised by the strike.
"It's a civilian factory that has no weapons and no military bases and no Houthis from Ansar Allah, but rather only hard workers," he added.
The factory's manager called on the U.N. to fulfill its responsibility by protecting civilian targets in Yemen.
"We demand the United Nations fulfills its role and its duty to protect these workers, these employees that make a living from their work. This is a civilian facility and targeting it in any shape or form defies all international norms and charters," he said.
Yemen's four-month-old conflict is rooted in political strains that spread across the Arabian Peninsula country last year, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and pushed aside President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a U.S. ally.
This angered the Sunni Muslim-ruled Gulf Arab states led by Riyadh, which regards the once obscure Houthis, who hail from Yemen's northern highlands, as terrorists.
In March a Saudi-led coalition backing Hadi began bombarding the Houthis and imposed a blockade in a bid to cut off arms supplies.
On Tuesday, United Nations aid chief Stephen O'Brien said none of the warring parties in Yemen had observed a humanitarian pause in fighting announced by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces and accused both sides of failing to respect international law. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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