Yemen - Civil War

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KSRelief Delivers Aid to Orphans' Families in Yemen
7 May, 2019

Asharq Al-Awsat

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has distributed food baskets for May 2019 to 420 orphans in Yemen's governorates of Marib, Sanaa, Baiyda, Jouf and western coast.

This project comes within the framework of the humanitarian and relief efforts being exerted by KSrelief, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's humanitarian and relief arm to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people in their humanitarian crisis, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The center distributed 4,900 cartons of meat to the poor, widowed, displaced and affected families across the Yemeni governorate of Al-Mahrah benefiting 19,600 people.

Also, in the directorates of Masila, Saihout, Qashan and Hasween in Al-Mahra governorate 3,100 cartons of meat to the needy were distributed benefiting 12,400 people.

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Griffiths Confronted with Houthi Intransigence as Militias Threaten ‘Painful’ Measures
07 May, 2019

UN envoy Martin Griffiths in Sanaa. (AFP file photo)

Sanaa - Asharq Al-Awsat

UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths’ truce efforts suffered a new disappointment as the Iran-backed Houthi militias continued to refuse to implement the Sweden deal and redeploy from the Hodeidah province, informed political sources in Sanaa said Monday.

“Houthi leader (Abdul Malek al-Houthi) told Griffiths that he agrees to implement the first phase of the redeployment plan in the two ports of Ras Isa and Saleef on condition that the Houthis are allowed to keep their militias in control of security and administrative affairs there,” the sources added.

Griffiths has traveled to Houthi-held Sanaa on Sunday to meet with militia leaders with hopes to overcome obstacles set by the Houthis in the implementation of the deal, particularly items related to the redeployment of forces in Hodeidah and its three ports.

According to the same sources, al-Houthi linked implementing the Sweden agreement to new conditions, including a request to allow his group use the Sanaa airport and transport the body of Houthi former interior minister Abdul Hakim al-Maori from Beirut onboard a UN plane.

He also asked the envoy to facilitate the group’s selling of oil stored in the Safer tanker in Ras Isa and to annul a decision by the legitimate government to limit illegal oil trade in Yemen.

In a statement published Monday by Houthi-owned media outlets, militia spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said al-Houthi discussed with Griffiths “a number of ideas that might help move the Sweden agreement forward, in addition to a number of humanitarian issues, stressing the importance of facilitating the return of al-Maori’s body from Beirut to Yemen.”

Sources said that before meeting with al-Houthi, Griffiths held talks with several leaders, including president of the self-proclaimed Houthi Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat, Speaker of the illegitimate government Yahya Ali al-Raee and head of the insurgents' government Abdulaziz bin Habtoor.

The sources said that Mashat threatened to prevent Griffiths and all UN employees from reaching Sanaa through the airport if Houthi leaders are not allowed to use it for international flights.

He also threatened to blow up the Safer tanker, a floating oil storage located about eight kilometers off the coast of Ras Isa terminal in the Red Sea, if the legitimate government continues to prevent smuggled Iranian oil from reaching Hodeidah port, the same sources said.

“There are painful choices and steps that can be taken if coalition states do not remove their aggressive economic measures,” they quoted Mashat as saying.

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Houthis Respond to Government Economic Measures with Terror Threats 8 May, 2019

A view of the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden, Yemen. Picture taken December 13, 2018. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman

Aden - Ali Rabih

Economic measures enforced by the Yemeni government and the Aden-based Central Bank of Yemen (CBY) has managed to close the tap on money laundering by the Houthi militias.

The host of regulations has sent shockwaves of panic among Houthis, who rely heavily on Iranian smuggled oil and their coercive monopoly over banks in areas under their control.

Contrary to counteractive measures targeting hostile Houthi banking practices, the Yemeni government eased some red tape in support of major importers and local commercial banks.

CBY crediting services were also expanded as to ease trade and cover commodity bills, including the country’s needed oil supply. This move pulls the rug from under Houthis who have, for years now, funneled money by trading oil obtained from Iran in the ailing country’s black market.

Many analysts agree that the Iran-backed militia has no viable defense against economic strangulation impacted by the CBY and Yemeni government.

Ruffled by the sudden and serious countermeasures, Houthis resorted to making terror threats such as blowing up oil reserves kept at the Ras Isa port in Hodeidah, which is run by militiamen since 2014.

Houthis also threatened to destroy Red Sea marine ecosystems and to target all commercial shipments sailing through Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The militia has managed to tank Yemen’s economy through barring traders, importers and commercial banks from dealing with the CBY in Yemen. Instead, Houthis force all business owners to conduct their dealings through its own shadow central bank, where the group can actively plunder funds.

This week, CBY, at a board meeting in the interim capital, Aden, which included heads of commercial banks and prominent businessmen, announced a number of measures to protect banks operating in Sanaa and which have come under Houthi pressure.

The bank explained that it aims through these procedures, which were not entirely disclosed, to secure channels away from Houthi control so that CBY could safely cover the letter of credit and needs for hard currency.

Among these measures was, the CBY approving to sell banks foreign currency at a rate of 506 rials to the US dollar or at market rates.


https://aawsat.com/english/home/art...d-government-economic-measures-terror-threats

 

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UN Welcomes Saudi, UAE Support for WFP in Yemen
08 May, 2019

A man carries sacks of grain he received from a distribution center in Bajil, Yemen, December 13, 2018, 2018. (Reuters)

Hodeidah - Asharq Al-Awsat

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has welcomed a $240 million contribution from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to support the food needs of vulnerable people in Yemen during the holy month of Ramadan.

“The generous contribution will greatly help Yemenis follow their practices and traditions during this important time,” WFP said in a statement.

“WFP plans to use this contribution to provide millions of families with monthly food rations of flour, pulses, vegetable oil, sugar and salt.”

On the other hand, Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Lise Grande said Tuesday that it is a relief that the UN has finally been given the green light to use an existing corridor to gain access to the Red Sea Mills, adding that it is very positive that the parties have taken this step.

“Securing access to the Mills has been a long, difficult and frustrating process,” she said.

Grande also stressed the importance of doing everything possible to ensure that all humanitarian partners have free, unimpeded and immediate access to people who need and deserve assistance.

“Everyone knows we need the food in the Mills. It’s now a race against time to salvage supplies that can feed 3.7 million people for a month,” she added.

The WFP, for its part, announced that a technical team led by it has gained access to the Red Sea Mills on the eastern outskirts of Hodeidah city as part of initial efforts to salvage a stock of 51,000 tons of wheat flour stored at the facility.

The Mills have been inaccessible for the last eight months due to intense fighting.

“The technical team will remain at the site to clean and service the milling equipment in preparation for the milling and eventual distribution of the wheat,” WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel explained.

“We will need to send more workers and technical experts to the mills in due course and send supplies to the team now working at the site.”

He noted that in order for works to continue, “ongoing safe access to the Mills, which lie close to sensitive frontline areas” is needed.

In March, the WFP distributed food to more than 10.6 million people in Yemen, the largest number ever reached in a single month.

“We are scaling up to support 12 million people in urgent need of food in the coming months. WFP Operations in Yemen are the biggest for WFP in the world,” the spokesperson added.

WFP explained on its official website that its Deputy Executive Director Amir Abdulla traveled to Yemen on a three-day mission.

He first traveled to Aden, where he met with the legitimate government of the country’s premier and other senior officials before heading to Sanaa, where he met UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths and leaders from the Iran-backed Houthi militias, the statement said.

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Group accuses Yemen rebels of storing weapons near civilians
AP
May 09, 2019

• Rights groups asked Houthi militants to stop storing unstable materials in civilian areas
• Houthi militants control the capital Sanaa

CAIRO: A prominent international rights group says Houthi rebels have stored explosives in a warehouse in a residential area in the capital that caught fire last month, killing at least 15 children and wounding more than 100 people.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch and an independent Yemeni rights organization released a joint statement on Thursday urging the Houthis to “stop storing large concentrations of volatile materials in densely populated areas.”

In Yemen’s civil war, the Iran-backed Houthis have been fighting a Saudi-led military coalition backing Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's forces since March 2015.

The Houthis control the capital, Sanaa.

The statement said the initial cause of the fire remains unknown.

Group accuses Yemen rebels of storing weapons near civilians

CAIRO: A prominent international rights group says Houthi rebels have stored explosives in a warehouse in a residential area in the capital that caught fire last month, killing at least 15 children and wounding more than 100 people.

www.arabnews.com

 

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U.N. says Houthis to redeploy from Yemen ports
May 10, 2019
Tom Miles

GENEVA (Reuters) - Yemen’s Houthi group has agreed to unilaterally redeploy forces out of three key ports between May 11 and May 14, a U.N. statement said on Friday, a move needed to pave the way for political negotiations to end Yemen’s four-year war.

The statement from the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) said the Houthis would make an “initial unilateral redeployment” from the ports of Saleef, which is used for grain, and Ras Isa, used for oil, as well as the major port of Hodeidah.

The committee, led by Danish general Michael Lollesgaard, head of the U.N. observer team in Hodeidah, drew up the redeployment plans under a pact agreed last December in Sweden, the first major breakthrough in peace efforts to end a war that has killed tens of thousands and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

The U.N. mission will monitor the redeployment, a first step toward concluding the peace agreement, the statement said, adding that it must be followed by “the committed, transparent and sustained actions of the parties to fully deliver on their obligations”.

The redeployment should allow the United Nations to take “a leading role in supporting the Red Sea Ports Corporation in managing the ports” and to enhance U.N. checks on cargoes.

The Sunni Muslim coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates say the Houthis use the port to smuggle weapons. The Iran-aligned Houthis say the government would try to choke them off if it gained control.

Western states, some of which supply arms and intelligence to the coalition, are pressing for an end to the conflict, seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The statement did not mention any reciprocal move by pro-government forces, who are also expected to leave positions around Hodeidah city’s outskirts in the initial redeployment, before a second phase in which both sides pull back further.

The spokesman for the Yemeni government’s delegation to the RCC, Sadiq Dweid, wrote in a tweet that the move was “the first step of the first phase” but did not specify what his side would do next.

“We support the implementation of the agreement and hold the United Nations responsible for implementing it as agreed in terms of verification, monitoring, the removal of mines, obstacles and military manifestations.”

Last month U.N. special envoy Martin Griffiths told Reuters the Saudi-backed government and the Houthi group had formally agreed a first phase of troop redeployments, while discussions were still underway for the second phase.

Humanitarian officials have long pleaded with Yemen’s warring sides to spare Hodeidah port, a lifeline for the crippled economy, dependent on the World Food Programme’s biggest aid operation to feed more than 10 million people.

U.N., Houthis say Yemen ports withdrawal to start on Saturday

Yemen's Houthi group will on Saturday start to unilaterally redeploy forces out of three key ports, the United Nations and a Houthi spokesman said, a move to pave the way for political negotiations to end Yemen's four-year war.

www.reuters.com

 

[Khafee]

Houthis are staging a fake pullout: Yemen
AFP/Dubai
Filed on May 12, 2019 |

(AFP file)
Rebels, United Nations have said the Houthis were to withdraw unilaterally from the three aid ports.

A senior pro-government official accused Yemen's Houthi rebels of faking an announced pullout from three Red Sea ports in the flashpoint province of Hodeida on Saturday.

"The Houthis are staging a new ploy by handing over the ports of Hodeida, Saleef and Ras Issa to themselves without any monitoring by the United Nations and the government side," provincial governor Al Hasan Taher said.

The rebels and the United Nations have said the Houthis were to withdraw unilaterally from the three aid ports starting from Saturday, in the first practical implementation of a ceasefire deal struck in Sweden in December.

Taher's accusation came after the Houthi rebels, who have been in control of the ports since 2014, said they had carried out their obligations.

"We have implemented all obligations of the first phase of redeployment. The UN must commit the other side to implement its obligations," Brigadier Mohammed Al Qaderi, the Houthi representative in a joint coordination team, said on Twitter.

Sources close to Houthis said the ports were handed over to coast guard personnel who were in charge before the rebels took over almost five years ago.

Houthis are staging a fake pullout: Yemen

A senior pro-government official accused Yemen's Houthi rebels of faking an announced pullout from three Red Sea ports in the flashpoint province of Hodeid..

www.khaleejtimes.com

 

[Khafee]

UN monitors Houthi withdrawal from Yemen’s Hodeidah
Updated 17 sec ago
AP
May 12, 2019

• Yemen's information minister dismissed the Houthis' withdrawal announcement, accusing them of "a policy of deception"
• The governor of Hodeidah, Al-Hasan Taher, said Saturday the Houthis were merely reshuffling personnel

CAIRO: The UN says it is monitoring the redeployment of Houthi forces from three key ports in Yemen after the government dismissed the withdrawal as a “farce.”

Lt. Gen. Michael Lollesgaard, the head of a UN mission monitoring the cease-fire in Hodeidah, said Sunday that monitors will verify the Houthi withdrawal from the ports of Hodeida, Salif and Ras-Issa on Tuesday.

The Houthis say they began withdrawing on Saturday, in line with a long-delayed agreement reached in in December. Both sides agreed to withdraw from Hodeidah, which handles 70 percent of Yemen’s food imports and humanitarian aid, but remain divided over who will administer the ports after they leave.

The pullback is considered a first step in implementing a hard-won truce agreement for Hodeidah struck in Sweden in December between Yemen's internationally recognised government and the Iran-backed Houthis.

Yemen's information minister dismissed the Houthis' withdrawal announcement, accusing them of "a policy of deception."

"What the Houthi militia did is a repeated theatrical play of handing over control of the port to its own forces (in different uniforms)," Moammer Al-Eryani tweeted.

"This shows its continued manipulation and evasion to implement the Sweden agreement... by adopting a policy of deception."

The governor of Hodeidah, Al-Hasan Taher, said Saturday the Houthis were merely reshuffling personnel.

"The Houthis are staging a new ploy by handing over the ports of Hodeidah, Saleef and Ras Issa to themselves without any monitoring by the
United Nations and the government side," said the official.

"This is totally rejected by us, and the agreement must be implemented in full, especially with regards to the identity of the troops that will take over from the Houthis," he added.

UN monitors Houthi withdrawal from Yemen’s Hodeidah

CAIRO: The UN says it is monitoring the redeployment of Houthi forces from three key ports in Yemen after the government dismissed the withdrawal as a “farce.” Lt. Gen. Michael Lollesgaard, the head of a UN mission monitoring the cease-fire in Hodeidah, said Sunday that monitors will verify the...

www.arabnews.com

 

[Khafee]

Yemen: Lollesgaard Inspects Houthi Withdrawal on Tuesday
13 May, 2019

Houthis near Hodeidah Port. Reuters

Riyadh - Asma al-Ghabri

Lt. Gen. Michael Lollesgaard, the head of a UN mission overseeing the ceasefire in the Yemeni city of Hodeidah, announced that the first day of the withdrawal of Houthi militias from three ports went "in accordance with established plans,” adding that monitors will verify the pullout on Tuesday.

"All three ports were monitored simultaneously by United Nations teams as the military forces left the ports and the Coast Guard took over responsibility for security," said a statement issued by the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) on Sunday.

It added that the coming days will witness demining operations.

Under the UN plan, Houthis should make an “initial unilateral redeployment” between May 11 and May 14 from the ports of Saleef, which is used for grain, and Ras Isa, used for oil, as well as the country’s main port of Hodeidah.

Lollesgaard, who chairs the Redeployment Coordination Committee, said last week that the redeployment in the Yemeni port city must be followed by committed, transparent and sustained actions of the parties involved to fully deliver on their obligations.

Meanwhile, West coast liberation operations spokesman Waddah al-Dbish told Asharq Al-Awsat Sunday that UN monitors began arriving in Hodeidah.

He said the monitors are expected to allow the entry of observers from the government team to verify the militias’ pullout.

“Now, the withdrawal is not unilateral anymore,” Dbish said, adding that it became part of the first phase of the redeployment plan in Hodeidah and its three ports.

“A meeting was held two days ago between Lollesgaard and the government team to discuss aspects of the withdrawal within a certain timeframe and to activate the UN role in Hodeidah,” he said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Program said Sunday it was ready to help improve the efficiency and productivity of the ports of Hodeidah, Ras al-Isa and Salif.

The agency said that as soon as redeployment is complete, it would help upgrade port facilities including watch towers, berths and the navigation channels.

“We are drawing upon our extensive experience, as well as national and international expertise, to ensure we can fully restore the functionality of the ports as soon as possible,” said Auke Lootsma, UNDP Yemen’s Resident Representative.

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British Ambassador to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthi Pullout from Hodeidah Will End Arms Smuggling
13 May, 2019

Yemen's port of Hodeidah. (Reuters)

Riyadh – Abdulhadi Habtor

British Ambassador to Yemen Michael Aron stressed that the unilateral withdrawal of the Iran-backed Houthi militias from the ports of Hodeidah will put an end to arms smuggling and cut off the financing of their war effort.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that after the pullout, the United Nations and Red Sea port authority, which is affiliated to the legitimate government, will assume control of the management of the ports.

All the customs revenues will go into the Central Bank in Hodeidah once the port authority assumes control, added Aron. The revenues will go into paying the salaries of employees in Hodeidah and other provinces.

Smuggling operations will no longer be possible with the UN at the ports, Aron remarked.

He stressed that it was important for all of these measures to be fully implemented, revealing that a meeting will be held with the UN in Amman this week to follow up on the issue.

The UN announced last week that the Houthis have started to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Saleef and Ras Issa. Local forces and UN monitors will deploy at the ports after the pullout.

Aron had come under fierce criticism over a tweet in which he rejected skeptical stances about the withdrawal, acknowledging that the Houthis may very well fail to implement their pledges.

Apologizing for his tweets, he added that he wanted people to wait and see whether the operation was a success before jumping to conclusions.

Explaining London’s stances on Yemen, he stressed that it recognizes the legitimate government and helps its goals and the goals of the Arab coalition.

Britain’s stance towards the legitimacy cannot be doubted, but it also wants to achieve peace and progress and help the efforts of the UN, Aron went on to say.

People are wrong in believing that he supports the Houthis, he added, saying that Britain seeks peace and stability for Yemen and its people.

According to the UN, the Houthis began to withdraw from the ports on Saturday in line with the Stockholm agreement that was reached with government representatives in December.

The pullback is considered a first step in implementing a hard-won truce agreement.

The move was met with skepticism from the legitimate government, which accused the Houthis of deception.

Government officials cast doubts over the handover process, saying it was unclear who was taking control of the ports.

The information minister accused the militias of faking the pullout.

"What the Houthi militia did is a repeated theatrical play of handing over control of the port to its own forces (in different uniforms)," Moammer al-Eryani tweeted on Sunday.

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U.N. says Hodeidah withdrawal "executed, partly as agreed" by parties
14 May 2019


DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Tuesday a withdrawal by Yemen’s Houthi movement from three Red Sea ports had been carried out “partly as agreed” by warring parties under a peace deal that it hopes will pave the way for wider peace talks.

The Iranian-aligned Houthi movement’s unilateral pullout from the ports, used for grain, oil, commerce and aid, began on Saturday, in the most significant advance yet for efforts to end the four-year-old war and relieve a hunger crisis.

Hodeidah is Yemen’s main port and a lifeline for millions of Yemenis on the brink of starvation, a situation exacerbated by restricted imports of food and other supplies due to the war.

Houthi forces are also pulling out of Saleef and Ras Isa.

The withdrawal was a diplomatic breakthrough after months of stalling by both parties and takes place at a time of heightened tension in the Arab Gulf region that could complicate peace efforts led by U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths.

Saudi Arabia said armed drones struck two oil pumping stations on Tuesday, after Houthi-run Masirah TV earlier said the group had launched drone attacks on Saudi installations in response to what it called Saudi aggression and a blockade on Yemen.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched drone and missile attacks on Saudi cities, but two Saudi sources told Reuters this was the first time a facility belonging to the state-run oil company Aramco had been hit by drones.

And on Sunday four ships, including two Saudi tankers, were damaged off the coast of the UAE emirate of Fujairah, a bunkering hub. Saudi Arabia said they had been sabotaged, but the origin of the attack remains unclear.

Lieutenant General Michael Lollesgaard, head of the U.N.’s Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) in Hodeidah, welcomed the fact that the ports had been handed over to local coast guards. He urged parties to finalize negotiations for a full implementation of the next stages of the Hodeidah deal.

“U.N. teams have been monitoring this redeployment which has been executed, partly as agreed by the Yemeni parties in the concept of phase one,” Lollesgaard said in a statement after visiting the ports.

“There is still a lot of work to be done on the removal of the (military) manifestations, but cooperation has been very good,” he said.

Meanwhile, the warring sides were meeting in the Jordanian capital Amman to discuss the management and distribution of revenues from the ports.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, leaders of the coalition backing President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s internationally recognized government, did not comment on the Houthi withdrawal.

A ceasefire in Hodeidah has largely held but violence continues elsewhere in the country.

The U.N.’s Griffiths said on Tuesday he was “deeply concerned” about an escalation of fighting in recent weeks in the al-Dhalea region, which lies on
the main south-north transport route, and urged restraint from all parties.

Reporting by Michelle Nichols at the UN; Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Angus MacSwan

U.N. says Hodeidah withdrawal "executed, partly as agreed" by parties

The United Nations said on Tuesday a withdrawal by Yemen's Houthi movement from three Red Sea ports had been carried out "partly as agreed" by warring parties under a peace deal that it hopes will pave the way for wider peace talks.

www.reuters.com

 

[Khafee]

Fighting breaks out in Yemen's Hodeidah as Houthis pull out
May 15, 2019

DUBAI (Reuters) - Houthi fighters and pro-government forces battled in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday, breaching a ceasefire and potentially complicating a troop withdrawal agreement intended to pave the way for wider peace talks.

Hodeidah port, which has been under Houthi control, is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis threatened by starvation because of the war as it is the main entry point for food imports and aid.

The Houthi withdrawal from Hodeidah and two other Red Sea ports began on Saturday and was the most significant advance yet in efforts to end the four-year-old war. The United Nations said on Tuesday the ports had been handed over to a coast guard and the pullout was going to plan.

But both sides reported renewed clashes on Wednesday.

Houthi-run media said pro-government forces had hit various parts of Hodeidah city, including the airport, with heavy and medium weapons.

It did not say if they were Yemeni troops or members of an international military coalition led by Saudi Arabia which backs
President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s Aden-based government

The coalition-backed forces said in a report that Houthi fighters tried to infiltrate Hodeidah and the al-Duraihmi area to its south but pro-government troops foiled them.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a leading member of the coalition, have yet to comment on the Houthi withdrawal.

The coalition has forces massed on Hodeidah’s outskirts and under the withdrawal plan’s first phase, they are supposed to eventually also draw back.

ATTACKS ON SAUDIS
The flare-up in fighting took place a day after the Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed a drone attack that Saudi Arabia said had hit two of its oil pumping stations.

Lieutenant General Michael Lollesgaard, the head of the U.N. committee overseeing the withdrawal, said Hodeidah on Tuesday that phase one would be completed after the parties had agreed details of the second phase.

The United Nations now has full access to the ports, which would allow its inspectors to check ships docking in the ports for any Houthi arms imports, he said.

But it was not clear what effect the renewed fighting might have on the process.

The ceasefire in Hodeidah, agreed during peace talks in Stockholm in December, has largely held despite intermittent shelling and skirmishes, but violence continues elsewhere in the country.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said on Wednesday that government forces had killed 97 Houthi fighters in the governorate of Al-Dhalea in southwest Yemen. There was no confirmation from the Houthis and Reuters could not immediately verify this.

The Saudi-led coalition, which receives weapons and other support from the West, intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthi movement ousted Hadi from the capital Sanaa. Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia while his internationally-recognized government based itself in the southern port city of Aden.

The war is seen as part of a wider regional conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, many of them civilians, and aid agencies say the humanitarian crisis is the worst in the world.

Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Cairo, Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Angus MacSwan

Fighting grips Yemen's Hodeidah port, complicating peace moves

Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed pro-government forces battled in Yemen's port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday, breaching a ceasefire and potentially complicating a troop withdrawal agreement intended to pave the way for wider peace talks.

www.reuters.com

 

[Khafee]

Arab coalition strikes kill Houthi militia, destroys combat vehicles
Updated 4 min 13 sec ago
SPA
May 15, 2019

• World condemns Houthi drone attack on oil-pumping stations in Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH: Fighter jets of the Arab coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen carried out airstrikes on a Houthi camp, killing insurgents and destroying combat vehicles, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.

According to “SeptemberNet,” the attacks hit rebel targets in the Abs district west of the city of Hajjah, leaving several Houthi terrorists dead and wounded and wiping out six tanks.

Similar airstrikes targeted sites of Houthi militia at Al-Jar farms in the same Yemeni district, wrecking two vehicles and two platforms used by Houthi rebels to fire Katyusha rockets.

Rallies and gatherings of Houthi militia in central Al-Baidha province were also attacked, this time by Yemeni national army forces, backed by popular resistance. Rockets were reportedly fired on rebel gatherings at the Qashash site, in the Qirba area of Zahir district. The operation destroyed a combat car and killed three Houthis.

The coalition strikes follow Tuesday’s Houthi drone attacks on two Saudi oil-pumping stations in the desert west of Riyadh.

World leaders, Arab and Muslim organizations have condemned the attacks on the Kingdom’s east-west oil pipeline and called for a united international effort to combat terror in the region.

The Muslim World League and the Council of Arab Ministers of Interior were among the first to slam the acts of sabotage which they described as not only a threat to Middle East and world security but also the stability of global energy supplies.

Leaders from the UK, France, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Pakistan, Egypt, and Afghanistan joined the chorus of international condemnation against the Iranian-backed Houthi militias whose explosive-laden drones hit targets in Al-Duadmi and Afif. The attacks did not interrupt production or export of Saudi oil.

The Council of Ministers of Yemen, in a statement following its weekly Cabinet meeting under the chairmanship of Dr. Mueen Abdulmalik, in Aden, expressed full solidarity with Saudi Arabia.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that the attack was not only a wrong act, but would reduce the confidence needed to end the conflict in Yemen.

French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes Von der Muhll said: “These attacks, which threaten the security of Saudi Arabia and the stability of the region, are unacceptable.”

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation gave its support to measures being taken by the Kingdom to tackle extremism and terrorism.

The Bahrain Foreign Affairs Ministry said the attacks threatened the safety of world energy supplies and stressed the need for the international community to combat all groups and terrorist organizations, and any parties or states supporting them.

Pakistan reiterated its full support for Saudi Arabia against any threat to the stability and security of the Kingdom.

Libya expressed the solidarity of its people, and the Sudanese Foreign Ministry affirmed its unlimited support for all measures being taken to protect its security and oil supplies, calling on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities for protecting peace and stability in the Gulf and Arab regions.

Jordan, Afghanistan, Djibouti and Lebanon also pledged backing to the Kingdom.

Muslim World League Secretary-General Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa said the attacks reflected the level of hatred terrorist organizations felt toward the Kingdom but added that would only increase Saudi Arabia’s determination to confront the “forces of evil.”

The Secretariat General of the Senior Scholars Council said the attacks would make the leadership and people of Saudi Arabia stronger and more determined in the face of terrorism.

Arab coalition strikes kill Houthi militia, destroys combat vehicles

JEDDAH: Fighter jets of the Arab coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen carried out airstrikes on a Houthi camp, killing insurgents and destroying combat vehicles, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday. According to “SeptemberNet,” the attacks hit rebel targets in the Abs district west...

www.arabnews.pk

 

[Khafee]

45 Houthi militiamen killed north of Al-Dhale
15 May 2019

At least 45 Houthi rebels were killed on Wednesday during clashes with the national army in Al-Dhale province.

The confrontations erupted at Wadi Shadad, west of Qataba, north of the province. 45 Houthi militiamen were killed and more wounded, while the rest elements were forced to flee and retreat towards Al-Fakhir region.

In the same context, the national army artillery hit and destroyed a truck loaded with weapons and ammunition bound for the Houthi militia stationed between Mazoob region and Qataba district.

A number of Houthi rebels were also killed and wounded during battle with the national army forces in Al-Kahra region in the northern frontof Murais, north of Al-Dhale province.

45 Houthi militiamen killed north of Al-Dhale - 26 September Net

September Net At least 45 Houthi rebels were killed on Wednesday during clashes with the national army in Al-Dhale province. The confrontations erupted at Wadi Shadad, west of Qataba, north of the province. 45 Houthi militiamen were killed and more wounded, while the rest elements were forced to...

en.26sepnews.net

 

[Khafee]

11 Houthis killed and injured north of Al-Jawf
15 May، 2019

At least 11 Houthi rebels were killed and injured on Wednesday in clashes with the national army, north of Al-Jawf province.

The confrontations broke out as militia elements attempted to infiltrate the army positions in Al-Aqaba front, north of the province.

The army forces defeated the militia’s attempt and forced it to retreat after six of its elements were killed and five injured.

In the meantime, the national army artillery targeted the Houthi militia, east of Al-Aqaba mountains, on the same front.

The shelling resulted in deaths and injuries among the militia and the destruction of a number of its vehicles.

11 Houthis killed and injured north of Al-Jawf - 26 September Net

September Net At least 11 Houthi rebels were killed and injured on Wednesday in clashes with the national army, north of Al-Jawf province. The confrontations broke out as militia elements attempted to infiltrate the army positions in Al-Aqaba front, north of the province. The army forces...

en.26sepnews.net