RIYADH: The Arab coalition fighting to restore the legitimate government in Yemen said on Sunday that it views a Yemeni prisoner swap as a “positive agreement.”
Yemen’s warring sides agreed earlier on Sunday to exchange 1,081 detainees and prisoners during the first stage of talks in Switzerland.
The Arab coalition said the prisoner exchange agreement was “purely humanitarian,” and in line with the Stockholm Agreement.
It has almost been two years since an agreement between the Yemeni government and the Iran-backed Houthi militia was signed in Sweden, with the aim of ending the brutal conflict that has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Spokesperson Col. Turki Al-Maliki said the Houthi militia will release 400 government prisoners while the Yemeni government will free 681 Houthi fighters, including on-the-ground deals for 20 prisoners.
Col. Al-Maliki said the coalition’s top priority is to recover the prisoners as soon as possible, adding that the agreement included the release of 15 Saudi soldiers and four Sudanese nationals.
He also said the Red Cross is expected to supervise the prisoner exchange process in Yemen.
Col. Al-Maliki called on the Houthi militia to not undermine the efforts of the UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths, saying there was a real desire to implement all the points of the Stockholm Agreement.
Arab coalition says Yemeni prisoner swap ‘positive’ step
https://arab.news/2qauq
Arab coalition says Yemeni prisoner swap ‘positive’ step
- Agreement includes release of 15 Saudi soldiers, 4 Sudanese nationals
- Red Cross to supervise prisoner exchange process in Yemen
Algeria rejects French deportation drive in latest row
- Algerian authorities would not accept a list handed over by France in recent days with the names of around 60 Algerians set for deportation
- French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has said those selected were 'dangerous' or former convicts
ALGIERS: Algeria on Monday opposed a French bid to deport several dozen Algerians, rejecting “threats” and “ultimatums” by Paris as the two countries’ ties came under increasing strain.
The Algerian foreign ministry said in a statement that the authorities would not accept a list handed over by France in recent days with the names of around 60 Algerians set for deportation.
It cited procedural requirements but also said Algeria “categorically rejects threats and intimidation attempts, as well as.... ultimatums.”
In rejecting the French list, Algeria was “solely motivated by the wish to fulfil its duty of consular protection for its citizens” and to ensure “the rights of individuals subject to deportation measures,” the ministry’s statement said.
Hard-line French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has said those selected for deportation were “dangerous” or former convicts.
Relations between Paris and Algiers have been strained since French President Emmanuel Macron recognized Moroccan sovereignty of the disputed territory of Western Sahara in July last year.
But they have worsened since Algiers refused to accept the return of undocumented Algerian migrants from France.
Retailleau has led verbal attacks on Algeria in the media, fueling tensions between the countries.
In late February, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou warned Paris could revoke a special status given to Algerians in France, the former colonial power.
Macron has since voiced his support for “renegotiating,” though not annulling, the 1968 agreement Bayrou was referring to.
Algeria was a French colony from the mid-19th century until 1962 and for most of that period was considered an integral part of metropolitan France.
On February 28, the French president said that agreements mandating the automatic return of nationals, signed between the two countries in 1994, “must be fully respected.”
In recent months, France has arrested and deported a number of undocumented Algerians on suspicion of inciting violence, only for Algeria to send back one of those expelled.
France warned it could restrict visas as a result, as well as limit development aid.
Algeria’s government has previously criticized Macron for “blatant and unacceptable interference in an internal Algerian affair.”
Israel strikes southern Syria: state media, monitor
- “Israeli occupation jets launch air strikes targeting the surroundings of Daraa city,” said Damascus’s official news agency SANA
- Monitor said Israel targeted military site once belonging to Assad’s army but now used by the forces of Syria’s new authorities
DAMASCUS: Israel struck the area of Syria’s southern city of Daraa, the state news agency SANA reported, with a war monitor saying the latest Israeli attack targeted a military site.
“Israeli occupation jets launch air strikes targeting the surroundings of Daraa city,” said Damascus’s official news agency SANA, without immediately providing further details.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said Israel targeted a military site once belonging to ousted president Bashar Assad’s army but now used by the forces of Syria’s new authorities.
The Britain-based Observatory reported that a fire broke out, with ambulances rushing to the scene amid reports of casualties.
Since Assad’s overthrow in December, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria and deployed troops to a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the strategic Golan Heights.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the air force conducted a strike on Damascus on Thursday, with the military saying it had hit a “command center” of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.
The Observatory reported one fatality in that strike, with SANA saying it targeted a building in the capital.
The Israeli military said the “command center was used to plan and direct terrorist activities by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad” against Israel.
A source in Islamic Jihad said a building belonging to the group had been hit by Israeli jets, adding there were “martyrs and wounded” in the strike.
Ismail Sindawi, Islamic Jihad’s representative in Syria, told AFP the targeted building had been “closed for five years and nobody from the movement frequented it.” Israel was just sending a message, Sindawi said.
Even before Assad’s fall, during the Syrian civil war that broke out in 2011, Israel carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, mainly on government forces and Iranian-linked targets.
Jordan’s FM says Syria’s reconstruction must preserve security, unity
- Ayman Safadi met his Syrian counterpart on the sidelines of an international conference in Brussels
- Ties between Amman and Damascus have improved since the fall of the Assad regime
LONDON: Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Al-Shaibani, in Brussels on Monday on the sidelines of an international conference to support Syria’s political transformation.
Ties between the neighboring countries have improved since the fall of the Bashar Assad regime in December. Interim president of the Syrian Arab Republic, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, visited Amman in late February.
In Brussels, the ministers discussed the most recent developments in Syria. Safadi said that Jordan supports Syria’s reconstruction on the basis of preserving its security and unity while protecting the rights of Syrians, the Petra agency reported.
On Monday, the EU hosted the ninth international conference to support Syria. Representatives from the new interim government were invited to attend for the first time, including Al-Shaibani.
The event aims to bolster international support for Syria’s transition and recovery following more than 13 years of civil war.
Palestinian detainees ministry warns of virus outbreak in Israeli Megiddo Prison
- 90 percent of prisoners have suffered from diarrhea and vomiting in the past 10 days
- Ministry accuses Israel Prison Service of medical negligence for not providing adequate treatment
LONDON: The Palestinian Authority warned on Monday of a virus outbreak among Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails that could severely affect their health and well-being.
The PA’s Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported that prisoners in Megiddo Prison in northern Israel have been suffering from diarrhea and vomiting in the past 10 days. It reported that nearly 90 percent of the prisoners experienced these issues, and some lost consciousness due to the severity of the illness, particularly among the elderly.
The ministry accused the Israel Prison Service of medical negligence for not providing adequate treatment. Megiddo Prison is the second-largest Israeli prison, following the notorious Negev Desert Prison.
Since October 2023, the ministry has recorded the deaths of 53 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, with the most recent being Moataz Abu Zneid from Dura, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank.
By the end of December, Israel had detained 9,619 Palestinians, including 2,216 from the Gaza Strip. However, Tel Aviv released around 600 Palestinians in a ceasefire and captive exchange deal with Hamas in early 2025.
EU vows 2.5 bn euros to help Syrians after Assad ouster
- For the first time, the Syrian authorities were represented at the annual conference in Brussels
- Outbreak of deadly violence this month has rocked confidence in the new authorities
BRUSSELS: The EU led the way on pledging aid for Syria on Monday at a donor drive in Brussels — but the call for funding to help the war-torn country after Bashar Assad’s ouster risked falling short of last year as US support dries up.
Western and regional powers are desperate to steer Syria onto the road to stability after 14 years of civil war that have sent millions of refugees over its borders.
For the first time, the Syrian authorities were represented at the annual conference in Brussels — with interim foreign minister Assaad Al-Shibani attending.
But an outbreak of deadly violence this month — the worst since Assad was toppled in December — has rocked confidence in the new authorities.
European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels was stepping up its commitment for this year and next to almost 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) to help those in Syria and neighboring countries.
“Syrians need greater support, whether they are still abroad, or they decide to go home,” she told the Brussels conference.
The vow from Brussels came on top of significant contributions from individual countries, including some $330 million from Germany and $210 million from Britain.
Last year’s donor drive raised 7.5 billion euros in grants and loans to help the people of Syria. The overall total for this year will be announced later Monday.
Efforts to top that level this time around look set to be hit by US President Donald Trump’s axing of Washington’s foreign aid budget.
Up until now, the United States has been the single biggest individual donor to fund humanitarian efforts in Syria, according to the United Nations.
Syria’s new rulers have been clamouring for assistance to help the country’s recovery.
The EU has eased sanctions on key sectors of the economy, but along with other powers it insists the authorities must make good on promises for an inclusive transition.
“We do appreciate the major measures taken by the European Union, such as the lifting or suspending of the sanctions,” Shibani said.
“However, these measures did not live up so far to our expectations. We want further measures in order to help us secure our recovery.”
There have been positive moves from Damascus, including Sharaa signing a constitutional declaration laying out a five-year transitional period, and rights for women and freedom of expression.
But hopes were shaken by the violence on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, which a war monitor said saw security forces kill nearly 1,500 civilians, most of them members of the Alawite minority to which the Assad family belongs.
Shibani insisted that the new authorities would bring to justice “anyone who perpetrated any crime, whose hands are stained with blood.”
“We believe in the true sense of citizenship, the citizenship of every single citizen of Syria, regardless of their ethnicity or religion,” he said.
The EU has held its annual donor drive for Syria for the past eight years but it mainly focused on supporting refugees in neighboring countries and avoided any contacts with the Assad regime.
Syria’s needs are massive as swathes of the country lie in ruins and the economy has been ravaged by years of international isolation after Assad’s 2011 crackdown on opposition sparked the civil war.
The country still faces a dire humanitarian situation, with an estimated 16.7 million people in need of assistance.
“It would be a mistake to disinvest from Syria now,” said Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“Humanitarian aid remains a lifeline that millions of Syrians depend on. Severing it now would only deepen their suffering and prolong the country’s recovery,” she said.
The United Nations says that, at current growth rates, Syria would need more than 50 years to get back to its economic level before the outbreak of the war.
