Yemeni Ambassador asserts Sanaa remains capital of Republic

Ezz al-Din al-Asbahi, the Yemeni Ambassador to Morocco, stated that the Houthi group's control over Sanaa through armed force does not grant them the right to represent the city or its residents. He emphasized that Sanaa remains the capital of the Republic of Yemen and is not the property of a militia imposing influence by force.

Al-Asbahi criticized efforts to link the names “Sanaa” or “Sanaa forces” to military control, arguing that possessing weapons does not equate to political recognition or legitimacy. He warned that treating armed groups as official state forces blurs the line between the legitimate state and insurgent militias.

Furthermore, the Ambassador cautioned that using military force as a standard for political recognition could set a dangerous precedent, potentially allowing other terrorist organizations, such as ISIS or Al-Qaeda, to claim representation over territories they control. He noted that the normalization of militia-related terminology in media could eventually turn these forced realities into political axioms at the expense of international law and national sovereignty.