Houthis ban UN special envoy from Yemen for alleged bias

DUBAI — A top official in Yemen's armed Houthi movement said on Monday the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen was banned from returning to the country, accusing him of bias, according to the Houthi's Al Massira TV channel.

Saleh Al Samad, chief of a political council backed by the Houthi insurgents who control large areas of Yemen including the capital Sanaa, was also quoted on Twitter as saying that if the UN chose another envoy, "he should respect the people's will".

Houthi insurgents spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam, referring to that tweet, said the UN's envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, had abandoned his neutrality and did not respect UN resolutions.

Abdul-Salam gave no further details and did not say which UN resolutions he was referring to. 

The Houthi's decision comes two weeks after the UN urged authorities in Sanaa to investigate a "grave attack" on Ahmed's convoy as it travelled from the airport to the UN compound. The Houthi-run Saba news agency denied any such attack.

Ahmed was in Sanaa for three days of talks aimed at preventing military action at the strategic Port of Hodeidah, the entry point for 70 per cent of Yemen's food supplies as well as humanitarian aid.

A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been fighting since March 2015 to end Houthi rule and restore President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power. The alliance has demanded Hodeidah be handed over to international control to spare it an attack.