BEIRUT: Houthi militia and forces loyal to deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh repeatedly and indiscriminately shelled populated neighborhoods of Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city, in violation of the laws of war, a rights group said on Wednesday.
At least 30 civilians died and more than 160 were injured in the artillery bombardment over a 10-day period in May.
“Houthi-Saleh forces’ shelling of populated areas of Taiz has taken a terrible toll on civilians,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, the group’s Middle East director. “Their commanders should immediately halt these indiscriminate attacks.”
Houthi-Saleh forces have repeatedly fired mortar bombs and artillery shells from an elevated area in Al-Hawban district indiscriminately into populated areas in Taiz over the past two years, Human Rights Watch said.
The government-affiliated forces of internationally recognized President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi have controlled most of Taiz since March 2016. Local monitors, including one in Al-Hawban district, have reported numerous indiscriminate attacks by Houthi-Saleh forces into the city.
Mwatana, a leading Yemeni human rights organization, said Houthi-Saleh forces were responsible for most of the dozens of indiscriminate shelling incidents they documented in Taiz between April 2015 and March 2016.
A local activist, Faris Al-Obidi, prepared a list of casualties from attacks over the three days in May when shelling in Taiz was particularly heavy, after speaking with witnesses and survivors and consulting logs at Taiz’s three hospitals. The list, which he shared with Human Rights Watch, had the names, ages and dates of injuries for 54 civilians. Among the 14 dead were three children and two women.
Dr. Ahmad Al-Dumaini, technical director at Al-Thawra, Taiz city’s main hospital, said the hospital received 58 war-wounded civilians between May 20 and 26, including 20 children, plus three people who died before arrival, including a child. He said the vast majority of these casualties were from shelling.
Dr. Walid Al-Watiri, the laboratory chief at Al-Safwa Hospital, said Al-Safwa, Al-Thawra, and Al-Rawda hospitals received the bodies of 31 people, including six children, and another 167 wounded, including 60 children, over a 10-day period.
The renewed shelling occurred after local government-affiliated forces pushed Houthi-Saleh forces back from several locations east of the city, said a local activist, Maher Al-Absi.
The areas hit on May 21 were about 800 meters from the front lines while those hit on May 22 and 23 were in the middle of the city, far from the front lines, in “very crowded civilian places,” Al-Absi said.
Witnesses to the six attacks in Taiz that Human Rights Watch documented said no government-aligned military forces were in those areas at the time of the attacks.
Human Rights Watch has previously documented Houthi-Saleh indiscriminate shelling in Taiz. In June 2016, shelling killed at least 18 civilians and wounded 68 others over three days, hitting markets crowded with people shopping for Ramadan, according to the UN.
In August 2015, three Houthi-Saleh attacks on Taiz killed at least 14 civilians, including five women and five children. In February 2017, activists in Taiz provided the rights group with a list of dozens of attacks on Taiz since March 2015 that had resulted in scores of civilian casualties.
Houthi-Saleh forces ‘killed 30 in illegal Yemen shelling’
Houthi-Saleh forces ‘killed 30 in illegal Yemen shelling’
UK sends trade envoy to Israel after suspending talks
- Lord Ian Austin, who is the UK government’s trade envoy to Israel, was welcomed to Haifa, just days after Foreign Secretary David Lammy paused negotiations
- Lord Austin: Trade with Israel provides many thousands of good jobs in the UK and brings people together in the great multicultural democracy that is Israel
LONDON: In a somewhat unlikely turn of events, a British trade envoy has visited Israel to “promote trade” between the two countries — a week after the UK suspended relevant talks.
Lord Ian Austin, who is the UK government’s trade envoy to Israel, was welcomed to Haifa on Monday, just days after Foreign Secretary David Lammy paused negotiations.
The British Embassy in Israel said that Lord Austin had visited a number of projects — such as the Customs Scanning Center, Haifa Bayport, and the Haifa-Nazareth Light Rail project — to “witness co-operation at every stop.”
“Trade with Israel provides many thousands of good jobs in the UK and brings people together in the great multicultural democracy that is Israel,” Lord Austin said.
Last Tuesday, the government confirmed it was suspending its trade negotiations with Israel in the wake of an accelerated military offensive in Gaza and the country’s decision to limit the amount of aid allowed into the Palestinian territory.
Mr Lammy told the Commons that Israel’s actions were “egregious” and amounted to a “dark new phase in this conflict.”
But despite the suspension of any new trade talks with Israel, No. 10 has insisted that the UK still has a trading relationship with the country.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said: “We have always had a trading relationship, but are pausing any new ones.”
The UK has sanctioned a number of individuals and groups in the West Bank, which it said have been linked with acts of violence against Palestinians — including Daniella Weiss, a leading settler activist who was the subject of Louis Theroux’s recent documentary, “The Settlers.”
Writing for Politics Home, Lord Austin said: “It is in our national interest, and the decision this week by the government to pause negotiations on a new Free Trade Agreement does not change that.
“The situation in Gaza is terrible, as it is in all wars, and the quickest way to get the aid in and save lives is for Hamas to stop fighting and release the hostages. That would end the conflict immediately.”
A government spokesperson said: “We suspended talks with Israel on a new FTA because it is not possible to advance discussions with a Netanyahu government pursuing such egregious policies in Gaza and the West Bank.
“Lord Austin is in Israel this week in his capacity as trade envoy to maintain our relationship with Israeli businesses.”
Netanyahu says Hamas Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been eliminated
Mohammad Sinwar was elevated to the top ranks of the Palestinian militant group last year after Israel killed his brother Yahya in combat during the ongoing war in Gaza.
Yahya Sinwar masterminded the October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, and was later named the overall leader of the group after Israel killed his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
UAE summons Israeli ambassador over ‘provocative practices in Jerusalem’
- The ministry strongly condemned what it described as arbitrary practices
DUBAI: The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation summoned the Israeli ambassador on Wednesday to protest what it called “shameful and offensive violations” against Palestinians in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s Islamic Quarter.
The ministry strongly condemned what it described as arbitrary practices, calling them a serious provocation against Muslims and a blatant violation of the sanctity of the Holy City. It warned that repeated attacks by Israeli extremists, accompanied by incitement to hatred and violence, amount to a systematic campaign that threatens not only Palestinians but regional and international stability.
The UAE urged the Israeli government to take full responsibility for the actions of its officials and settlers, hold perpetrators accountable—including ministers—and prevent the exploitation of Jerusalem to advance agendas of violence and extremism. It warned that failure to act would be seen as tacit approval, fueling hatred and instability.
The statement reaffirmed support for Jordan’s custodianship of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem and stressed the need to respect the authority of the Jerusalem Endowments Administration.
The UAE reiterated its rejection of any practices that violate international law and called for full protection of religious sites, emphasizing the importance of preserving the city’s status quo and its symbolism of peaceful coexistence.
Lebanese president holds talks with Emirati delegation in Beirut
- Nawaf Salam in Dubai says reform and sovereignty require arms exclusivity
BEIRUT: A delegation from the UAE arrived in Beirut on Tuesday to review the needs and priorities of the Lebanese state, following the results of the Lebanese-Emirati summit that took place at the end of April in Abu Dhabi.
President Joseph Aoun, who met with the delegation, praised the “interest of the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, in supporting Lebanon.”
The delegation was led by Abdulla Nasser Lootah, deputy minister of cabinet affairs for competitiveness and knowledge exchange.
During the meeting, Aoun said, according to his media office: “The current phase necessitates the expansion of cooperation and the deepening of exchange and integration in education, governance, and public sector management, extending to private sector initiatives and various investments, particularly in knowledge economies, digitization, and advanced technology, where the expertise of our brothers in the United Arab Emirates is significant in these areas.”
Lootah outlined the delegation’s mission to “define partnership frameworks and facilitate data exchange,” emphasizing that “the UAE will stand with Lebanon in realizing the aspirations articulated by President Aoun during his discussions with our leadership. We are committed to delivering comprehensive support that strengthens bilateral cooperation, guided by extensive facilitation measures and leadership’s directives.”
An extensive technical session between Lebanese and Emirati officials addressed key modernization priorities.
Presidential sources indicated the talks concentrated on “collaborative mechanisms for streamlining administrative processes, advancing digital transformation, strengthening legal frameworks, and improving public sector efficiency through bilateral knowledge transfer and technical assistance programs.”
Concurrently, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam addressed the Dubai Media Summit, declaring Lebanon’s emergence “from the debris of multiple crises, determined to reclaim its identity, voice, and statehood after years of debilitating sectarian divisions, conflicts, and external interference.”
Salam outlined his administration’s core principle: “Our governmental approach links reform with sovereignty, necessitating weapons monopolization under state authority. Lebanon must escape the arms duality that created decision-making duality and undermined our national project.
“Our Lebanese vision represents practical policy, not idealistic thinking,” Salam said. “We envision a constitutional state governed by institutions rather than sectarian allocations and patronage networks — a sovereign entity free from external control, a decision-making state rather than a battleground for regional conflicts.”
The prime minister concluded with Lebanon's strategic positioning: “We seek a Lebanon controlling its destiny in both peace and war, firmly anchored in Arab identity while maintaining global openness, serving as an East-West communication bridge.”
Salam believes that “now that Lebanon has returned to the Arab fold, it longs to the active return of its Arab brothers, based on partnership and complementarity.”
He thanked the UAE and its president for “their supportive decisions and for allowing the brotherly Emirati people to visit Lebanon, their second country, again.”
He pointed out that “about 190,000 Lebanese live and work with utmost dedication and sincerity in the UAE, their second country, where they enjoy safety, security and quality of life.”
The Lebanese prime minister mentioned “the ongoing Israeli occupation of our territory,” and the “daily Israeli violations of our sovereignty, while we work on fully implementing decision 1701, and commit to the cessation of hostilities.”
Salam emphasized that “Beirut was and still is a beacon for expression, a hub of freedoms, and a loud Arab voice in the face of darkness and closed-mindedness. Lebanon, this small country in its geography, deep in its wounds, and rich in its cultural and human heritage, is determined to reclaim its place at the heart of the Arab world and on the map of the future despite all the storms,” he said.
Salam also mentioned the challenges facing the media these days, when “media is no longer a true reflection, but a tool that shapes the public opinion, as well as peace and strife.”
Those challenges, he said, required a new discourse.
“Today, we stand at a historic crossroads in the region; a delicate regional moment that calls for a new media discourse. One that counters efforts at marginalization and fragmentation and rekindles hope.
“We seek a modern, dynamic and diverse Arab media that shapes the future and does not dwell upon the past. One that opens windows rather than shuts them. That safeguards freedom rather than exploits it. The discourse, when truthful, can serve as a bridge toward more humane and cohesive societies.”
Women in Sudan’s Darfur at ‘near-constant risk’ of sexual violence: MSF
- The reported attacks in Darfur have been "heinous and cruel, often involving multiple perpetrators," according to MSF emergency coordinator Claire San Filippo
- "Women and girls do not feel safe anywhere," said San Filippo
PORT SUDAN: Sexual violence is a "near-constant risk" for women and girls in Sudan's western region of Darfur, Doctors without Borders (MSF) warned on Wednesday, calling for urgent action to protect civilians and provide support to survivors.
Since war began in April 2023 between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the reported attacks in Darfur have been "heinous and cruel, often involving multiple perpetrators," according to MSF emergency coordinator Claire San Filippo.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and left the country's already fragile infrastructure in ruins.
The RSF has been accused since the start of the war of systematic sexual violence across the country.
"Women and girls do not feel safe anywhere," said San Filippo, after MSF teams from Darfur and neighbouring Chad gathered harrowing accounts of victims.
"They are attacked in their own homes, when fleeing violence, getting food, collecting firewood, working in the fields. They tell us they feel trapped," she added.
Between January 2024 and March 2025, MSF said it had treated 659 survivors of violence in South Darfur, 94 percent of them women and girls.
More than half were assaulted by armed actors, and nearly a third were minors, with some victims as young as five.
In Tawila, a small town about 60 kilometres (40 miles) to the west from North Darfur's besieged capital of El-Fasher, 48 survivors of sexual violence were treated at the local hospital between January and early May.
Most arrived after fleeing an RSF attack on the Zamzam displacement camp that killed at least 200 civilians and displaced over 400,000.
In eastern Chad, which hosts over 800,000 Sudanese refugees, MSF treated 44 survivors since January 2025 -- almost half of them children.
A 17-year-old girl recounted being gang-raped by RSF fighters, saying: "I wanted to lose my memory after that."
According to Ruth Kauffman, MSF emergency medical manager, "access to services for survivors of sexual violence is lacking and, like most humanitarian and healthcare services in Sudan, must urgently be scaled up".
"People -- mostly women and girls -- who suffer sexual violence urgently need medical care, including psychological support and protection services," she added.
