Yemen assumes high profile during UNGA

Rashad Al Alimi, chairman of Yemen's Presidential Council, on Thursday spoke to delegates at the UN General Assembly of the need for lasting peace and an end to the conflict in his country.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Iran-backed Houthis took control of the capital Sanaa in September 2014.

The conflict has slowed over the past year, however, and peace efforts have picked up. A Houthi delegation visited Riyadh earlier this week for the first time since the war began and Mr Al Alimi met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

During his speech, Mr Al Alimi thanked the UAE and Saudi Arabia for their “solidarity” and said the two countries had helped to “prevent the collapse of the institutions of the Yemeni state”.

Earlier on Thursday, the Houthis held a massive military parade in Sanaa, during which thousands of soldiers and heavy vehicles carrying ballistic missiles and armed drones were put on display, according to Reuters.