Hizballah leader meets Yemen Houthi delegation

Hizballah leader meets Yemen Houthi delegation
The leader of the Lebanese Shia group met with a delegation from the Houthi rebels to discuss developments in Yemen.
2 min read
19 August, 2018
Hizballah say the Houthis are fighting a war against Saudi and American imperialism [Getty]
The leader of Hizballah met with a delegation from Yemen's Houthi rebels, the Lebanese Shia group said on Sunday.

According to the group, Hassan Nasrallah met with a delegation headed by the Houthi spokesperson Mohamad Abdelsalam, and discussed the latest developments in Yemen's civil war.

The Lebanese militant group is accused of providing training and support to the Iranian-backed Shia rebels, who are at war with a Saudi-led coalition allied with Yemen's internationally recognised government.

Hizballah say that the Houthis are fighting a war against Saudi and American imperialism.

Iran supports the Houthis but denies arming them.

On Friday, the Saudi ambassador to the US released videos which he claims proves that the Lebanese shia group is linked to the Houthi rebels. In footage uploaded on Twitter, a man, described as the leading member in Hizballah, is seen outlining his military expertise, with a picture of the Supreme Leader of the Iran, Ali Khamenei, as the wallpaper on his computer.

Another post shows the same man giving instructions about the need to use civilian vehicles in order to transport fighters, such as the case in the town of Dammaj in the Yemeni province of Saada, when they were transferred in water tanks.

"The existence of militants who belong to the so-called Hizballah in Yemen proves that the Iranian regime has entrusted this terrorist party with the task of training its Houthi loyalists," Prince Khalid Bin Salman said.

More than 10,000 people have been killed since March 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened to support President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government against the rebels, triggering what the UN described as the world's worst humanitarian disaster.

While all sides have been accused of major violations, global outrage in recent days has focused on the coalition after it carried out an airstrike on a bus that killed 40 children in the rebel-held north.

The last attempt at UN-brokered talks broke down in 2016 amid demands for a rebel withdrawal from key cities and power-sharing with the Saudi-backed government.