Saada Governor Says 340,000 People Displaced by War, Says Province Included in ‘Fajr al-Yemen’ Campaign

Yemen Monitor | Newsroom: Saada Governor Major General Turki Ahmed Mazher bin Qamsha said the governorate would be included in the phases of the “Fajr al-Yemen” military campaign, revealing that local authorities had submitted a comprehensive plan to the political leadership and the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government to prepare the province for the restoration of state authority. He said residents of Saada would be at the forefront of efforts to restore government institutions and re-establish security and stability in the governorate. Bin Qamsha said the next phase would require coordinated military, political and community efforts, alongside rebuilding state institutions and restoring trust among different segments of society. Restoring Saada, he stressed, would involve more than changing military control. It would also require reinstating law and order, restoring public services and addressing the social and economic consequences of years of war. In the second part of an exclusive interview with Saudi newspaper Okaz, the governor said Operation “Fajr al-Yemen” was based on carefully planned, integrated phases, with Saada included in the campaign. He expressed hope that the governorate would receive the necessary support given its strategic importance to efforts to restore the state. He said local authorities were working with residents and the political leadership to develop plans and programmes for Saada’s future, stressing that the governorate needed to restore state institutions, rebuild infrastructure, rehabilitate essential services and create conditions for the return of displaced residents and the resumption of economic and agricultural activities. Historic Ties with Saudi Arabia On relations between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, bin Qamsha said the historic ties between Saada’s residents and tribes and the kingdom ran deeper than the years of war, rooted in geographical proximity, brotherhood, intermarriage and longstanding tribal and social connections across the border. He said Saudi Arabia had hosted large numbers of people from the governorate and treated them as its own citizens, adding that these gestures remained deeply appreciated by Saada’s residents. Attempts by the Houthis, with Iranian support, to undermine these relations would fail because of their deep historical and social foundations, he said. Bin Qamsha also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s continued provision of services to residents of the governorate during the war, citing the Saudi Salam Hospital in Saada, which has been providing medical services since the early 1980s to residents of the province and people from other Yemeni governorates. The governor praised Saudi Arabia’s political, economic and humanitarian support for Yemen’s government, saying the kingdom and the Saudi-led coalition had provided significant assistance in confronting what he described as the Iranian project. This included support for Yemen’s central bank, backing for the government in international forums, and the implementation of humanitarian and relief projects through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre. He said Saudi Arabia had handled the Yemeni crisis with wisdom and patience while retaining its right to defend its national security and interests. Residents of Saada’s tribes, he added, understood the challenges facing the kingdom and the efforts it had made to avoid harming civilians and local communities. Condemnation of Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Addressing Houthi attacks on Saudi territory and Islamic holy sites, bin Qamsha said residents of Saada, given their close ties with the kingdom, viewed attacks on civilian infrastructure, airports and holy sites as attacks against them as well. He said they rejected any actions that endangered travellers and Umrah pilgrims or targeted the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Attacks on airports had harmed pilgrims and visitors to Islam’s holy sites, exposing what he described as a contradiction between the slogans promoted by the Houthi group and its actions on the ground, he said. Bin Qamsha also welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to regularise the status of Yemenis who had violated residency regulations, describing it as a generous gesture that brought relief to many Yemeni families, including those from Saada. The measure would allow expatriates to resolve their legal status and continue supporting their families, he said. More Than 340,000 Displaced Bin Qamsha disclosed that more than 340,000 people from Saada had been displaced by 2012, according to international organisation statistics. He described displacement as one of the war’s most significant humanitarian consequences, alongside declining sources of income and extensive damage to vital sectors, particularly agriculture. Saada, historically one of Yemen’s most prominent agricultural regions, was renowned for producing grapes, pomegranates, vegetables and Khawlani coffee. Its products were once distributed across Yemeni governorates and Gulf countries, he said. The war had inflicted extensive damage on the agricultural sector and local livelihoods, while coverage of the conflict had overshadowed the governorate’s productive and developmental identity, he added. Bin Qamsha expressed confidence that Saada could regain its agricultural and economic standing once state institutions were restored. He said the governorate would once again become a land of peace, pomegranates, grapes and coffee, with agriculture, production and development at the centre of reconstruction efforts. The governor rejected attempts to portray Saada as a Houthi stronghold, saying its residents were among the Yemenis who had made the greatest sacrifices and resisted the Houthi movement. Changing the negative perception of the governorate, he said, would require tangible action beginning with the restoration of state institutions, security and public services, revitalising agriculture and development, and addressing the social consequences of the war. Rebuilding Saada would require genuine social reconciliation to restore trust among different communities, as well as rehabilitating security, judicial, educational and healthcare institutions. He also called for support from Saudi Arabia and other coalition countries to rebuild infrastructure and develop roads, hospitals, schools and essential services. Addressing the consequences of the war would also require repairing relations between tribes and families, creating conditions for the return of displaced people and restarting economic and agricultural activities to move the governorate from conflict towards stability and development, he said. Plans for Reconstruction and Reconciliation Bin Qamsha said local authorities were working with residents and the political leadership, represented by Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi and council members, in coordination with Saudi Arabia, to prepare plans and programmes for the governorate’s future across various sectors. He said Saada had historically been known as a centre of learning, agriculture, trade and state leadership, but years of war had obscured that identity. He expressed confidence that the governorate would regain its standing as a cohesive tribal society connected to its land, livelihoods and stability, rather than being defined by an armed group. At the end of the interview, bin Qamsha urged residents of Saada and Yemenis more broadly to unite behind efforts to restore the state and its institutions, overcome the wounds of the past and years of conflict, and build the future on the foundations of justice and equal citizenship. He also called for rejecting projects of fragmentation and sectarian division that had damaged Yemen’s social fabric. Saada was an integral part of Yemen, and Yemen was part of its Arab surroundings, he said, stressing that restoring state institutions was the path towards peace and stability and strengthening Yemen’s role as an active partner in regional security. In a message to Saada’s residents through Okaz, bin Qamsha said: “Be hopeful; relief is near, God willing, and this hardship will pass.” He stressed that Saada, once known for peace, pomegranates, grapes and coffee, would not remain trapped in an image of missiles, war and destruction, adding that restoring state institutions would pave the way for residents to return to their homes and normal lives. The post Saada Governor Says 340,000 People Displaced by War, Says Province Included in ‘Fajr al-Yemen’ Campaign appeared first on Yemen Monitor.