[04/10/2017 07:52]

RIYADH-SABA
Vice President Lt. Gen. Ali Mohsen Saleh has headed a meeting for the Security Taskforce, an offshoot of the Friends of Yemen Group.
The meeting discussed the latest developments in the country and the progress of the taskforce's work.

The Vice President expressed his appreciation of the taskforce 's enormous efforts in transferring expertise in security, military and intelligence fields to the ground. And in the field of promoting coordination, building military unit, fighting terrorism and clamping down on acts of smuggling.

The Vice President acquainted the team about the efforts of the political leadership, headed by President Hadi, in tackling the military challenges including the fight against extremism, terrorism and state restoration on all Yemeni soil.

The Vice President noted that the Saleh-Houthi militias continue to take control of the military's weapons, kill members of the military institution or dismiss them from jobs, and replace them with loyalists in the leadeup to form a sectarian army similar to Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

He said that military colleges under the control of the militias are being used to graduate sectarian combatants who are later given promotions on no merit other than loyalism. "Besides that, the militias commit atrocities against critics, whether they are military personnel, politicians, journalists, media activists.
He affirmed the government's interest in peace based on the three respective references.

He said that "the continuity of the Iran-backed coup exacerbates the already wretched humanitarian and security conditions, complicates the military situation further and puts the safety of the international shipping and interests of foreign countries in Yemen at stake.

Members of the taskforce thanked the Vice President for his efforts in forming the team and providing it with the different directives in the military and counterterrorism fields. The team members said they will do their utmost to keep up their performance and translate their plans into actions in a manner that boosts the country's military and intelligence capabilities.

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