Yemeni troops recapture district in Shabwa from Houthis

Fighters loyal to Yemen's government patrol in the Maqbana area of Yemen's southwestern province of Taez, on December 13, 2021. (AFP)
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Updated 02 January 2022
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Yemeni troops recapture district in Shabwa from Houthis

  • With control of Ouselan, government effectively cuts supply routes to militia in Hareb district, south of Marib

AL-MUKALLA: Yemeni government troops pushed deeper into the Houthi-controlled territory in the southern province of Shabwa on Saturday, a day after seizing control of the district of Ouselan, local military officials said.

Fighting broke out between government troops, comprised from the Giants Brigades and army personnel, and the Houthis in Al-Nagoum and Al-Salem between Ouselan and Bayan in Shabwa province, as loyalists push to expel the Houthis from Bayhan and Al-Ain, two remaining districts in Shabwa under Houthi control, an army official told Arab News on Sunday.

The governor of Shabwa, Awadh Mohammed Al-Wazer, announced the liberation of the district of Ouselan from the Houthis during the early hours of a new offensive aimed at expelling them from oil-rich Shabwa.

Army commanders and local officials appeared in videos, taking group photos and speaking to jubilant people outside the center of Ouselan.

Giants Brigades official media also reported that their forces liberated the strategic Bin Ageel Mountain in Ouselan and surrounding areas, and are currently marching towards new areas in Bayhan district.

Warplanes from the Arab coalition on Saturday and Sunday carried out raids in Shabwa, targeting Houthi military vehicles and locations, Yemeni officials said.

By seizing control of Ouselan, the government troops have effectively cut the Houthi supply routes to their fighters in Hareb district, south of Marib, distracting the attention of the Houthis and alleviating pressure on government troops defend the city.

“This is a very important development. We have one goal, one battle and one enemy,” a military official said, adding that the Houthis moved some of their forces in Marib province to defend their territory in Shabwa, relieving pressure on government forces and enabling them to score limited gains on Sunday.

“The Houthis are amassing huge forces to defend Bayhan and are inciting tribal leaders to mobilize and recruit people to fight government troops,” the official said.

If the Giants Brigades and army troops fully capture Bayhan and Al-Aid in the coming days, they would surround pockets of Houthis south of Marib, including in Juba, Al-Abedia and Hareb, significantly weakening Houthi attacks on Marib from the south, and would also pave the way for government troops to attack the Houthis in Abyan and Al-Bayda.

In September, the Houthis besieged the district of Al-Abedia and opened a new front in the war south of Marib, taking advantage of their control of Bayhan in Shabwa.

The deployment of several brigades from the Giants Brigades that have long been positioned along the country’s west coast, in Shabwa province, is part of a new military strategy prepared by the Arab coalition.

The strategy is based on moving forces from less fraught areas such as Hodeidah to reinforce government troops on more intense battlefields such as Marib and Shabwa.

The liberation of large amounts of land in Shabwa has sparked joy in Yemen and has given government troops on the battlefields a big morale boost.

Yemen’s President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi called the governor of Shabwa to congratulate him on the latest military gains in the province and ordered him to press ahead with the offensive until the Houthis are driven out of the province, the official news agency SABA said.

Hadi added that his forces would defeat the Iran-backed militia and return peace and stability to war-torn Yemen.

In a telephone conversation with the governor of Shabwa, Yemen’s Prime Minister Maeen Abdul Malik Saeed, who is currently visiting the UAE, also praised the Yemeni troops and Giants Brigades forces for scoring military gains in Shabwa, pledging support to the governor and other commanders leading the fight against the Houthis.

The Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al-Jaber, also reacted to the news of the military success in Shabwa, by tweeting that the liberation of Ouselan is the “beginning of good.”


Netanyahu appoints Yechiel Leiter as new ambassador to US

Updated 5 sec ago
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Netanyahu appoints Yechiel Leiter as new ambassador to US

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed US-born Yechiel Leiter, an official who previously served as chief of staff in the finance ministry, as the next Israeli ambassador to the United States.
“Yechiel Leiter is a highly capable diplomat, an eloquent speaker, and possesses a deep understanding of American culture and politics,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
His appointment was also welcomed by Yisrael Ganz, the head of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization representing councils of Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a territory Palestinians want as part of a future state.
Ganz said Leiter, who lives in the Gush Etzion settlement area, as “a key partner in English-language advocacy for Judea and Samaria,” a name used by many Israelis for the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Leiter’s appointment came three days after Donald Trump’s election to a second term as US president, celebrated by many Israelis because of his strong support for Israel.
As well as serving in the finance ministry, Leiter also held positions as deputy director general in the Education Ministry and acting chairman of the Israel Ports Company.
His son was killed last year in the Gaza war against Palestinian militant group Hamas while serving with the Israeli military.

Jordan’s King Abdullah returns home after meetings with King Charles, Keir Starmer during UK visit

Updated 5 min 35 sec ago
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Jordan’s King Abdullah returns home after meetings with King Charles, Keir Starmer during UK visit

  • King Abdullah met Starmer at Downing Street on Wednesday to discuss Middle East crises
  • Meeting with Charles III marked the Jordanian monarch’s silver jubilee — 25 years since ascending to the throne

LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan returned home on Friday following a working visit to the UK.

The visit this week featured key engagements with King Charles III and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Earlier in the visit, King Abdullah met Starmer at Downing Street on Wednesday, where discussions reinforced the close ties between the two kingdoms, Jordan News Agency reported.

They also called for an immediate ceasefire and stronger efforts for de-escalation and humanitarian aid in Gaza.

They warned that Israel’s ban on UNRWA activities could worsen the humanitarian crisis and highlighted the need to address violence in the West Bank.

The King emphasized the UK’s crucial role in seeking resolutions to regional conflicts and achieving a just, comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution, JNA added.

King Abdullah then met Charles at Windsor Castle on Thursday.

The occasion marked the Jordanian monarch’s silver jubilee — 25 years since ascending to the throne — and King Charles commemorated the milestone by presenting King Abdullah with a specially engraved silver beaker, featuring the ciphers of the king and queen.

The formal welcome at Windsor began with the Jordanian monarch receiving a royal salute, accompanied by the Jordanian national anthem.

Major Edward Emlyn-Williams, the captain of the guard, invited King Abdullah, in Arabic, to inspect the guard, followed by a military march-past.

The two kings exchanged conversation as they interacted with the guards before proceeding into the castle for tea.

The long-standing relationship between the two monarchs was highlighted by King Charles’s five visits to Jordan as Prince of Wales, most recently in 2021. King Abdullah’s last visit to Charles took place at Buckingham Palace in November 2022.

King Abdullah’s visit comes months after his son and heir, Crown Prince Hussein, and Crown Princess Rajwa welcomed their daughter, Princess Iman, in August.

Britain’s Prince and Princess of Wales attended the wedding of Hussein and Rajwa in June last year.


Israel says it will re-open crossing into Gaza as pressure builds to get more aid in

Updated 08 November 2024
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Israel says it will re-open crossing into Gaza as pressure builds to get more aid in

  • Aid agencies have warned of a gathering humanitarian crisis in the north of the enclave

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said on Friday it was planning to reopen the Kissufim crossing into central Gaza to increase the flow of aid into the southern end of the Gaza Strip.
The move comes amid growing international pressure on Israel to get more aid into Gaza, where aid agencies have warned of a gathering humanitarian crisis in the north of the enclave, where Israeli troops have been conducting a major operation for more than a month.
The new crossing would be opened following engineering work over recent weeks by army engineers to build inspection points and paved roads, the army said.
Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote to Israeli officials demanding concrete measures to address the worsening situation in the Palestinian enclave.
The letter, which was posted to the Internet by a reporter from Axios, gave the Israeli government 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Among the demands included in the letter was for the opening of a fifth crossing into Gaza.


Sudan army govt accuses paramilitaries of causing 120 civilian deaths in 2 days

Updated 08 November 2024
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Sudan army govt accuses paramilitaries of causing 120 civilian deaths in 2 days

  • The Janjaweed militia (paramilitaries) committed a new massacre in the town of Hilaliya

PORT SUDAN: The Sudanese foreign ministry accused paramilitaries late Thursday of causing at least 120 civilian deaths over two days in Al-Jazira state, reportedly in attacks involving gunfire, food poisoning and lack of medical care.
“The Janjaweed militia (paramilitaries) committed a new massacre in the town of Hilaliya in Al-Jazira state over the past two days, resulting in 120 martyrs so far, killed either by gunfire or due to food poisoning and lack of medical care affecting hundreds of civilians,” the ministry of the army-backed government said in a statement obtained by AFP.


Yemen’s Houthi militants shoot down what they say was a US drone as American military investigates

Updated 08 November 2024
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Yemen’s Houthi militants shoot down what they say was a US drone as American military investigates

  • The US military acknowledged the videos circulating online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky
  • The Houthis claimed to have downed an American MQ-9 Reaper drone

DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi militants shot down what they described as an American drone early Friday, potentially the latest downing of a US spy drone as the militants continue their attacks on the Red Sea corridor.
The US military acknowledged the videos circulating online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky and a field of burning debris in what those off-camera described as an area of Yemen’s Al-Jawf province. The military said it was investigating the incident, declining to elaborate further.
It wasn’t immediately clear what kind of aircraft was shot down in the low-quality night video. The Houthis, in a later statement, claimed to have downed an American MQ-9 Reaper drone.
The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft. Iran denies arming the militants, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi militants despite a United Nations arms embargo.
The Houthis have been a key component of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” during the Mideast wars that includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas and other militant groups.
Since Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the militants have shot down MQ-9 Reaper drones in Yemen in 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024. The US military has declined to offer a total figure for the number of drones it has lost during that time.
Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land. The aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA over Yemen for years.
The Houthis have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.
The militants maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran. The tempo of the Houthi sea attacks also has waxed and waned over the months.
In October, the US military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to target underground bunkers used by the Houthis.