Yemen army makes new gains in Shabwa province

The Arab coalition said it destroyed military vehicles belonging to the militia on several fronts in Shabwa over the past 24 hours. (Reuters/File Photo)
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Updated 04 January 2022
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Yemen army makes new gains in Shabwa province

  • Local officials say that the military advances by the Yemeni military forces will pave the way for seizing back strategic cities and villages from the Houthis

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s army troops and the Giants Brigades on Tuesday seized control of new areas in the southern province of Shabwa after fierce fighting against the Houthis that left a loyalist military commander dead.

The Giants Brigades’ official media said that their forces, backed by air cover from the Arab coalition warplanes, stormed Al-Noqub town and surrounding areas west of Shabwa, including a mountain and a village, as they pushed to expel the Houthis from other districts in the province.

The latest military gains come as the Giants Brigades on Tuesday mourned Col. Sameh Jaradh Al-Subaihi, chief of staff of the group’s 2nd brigade, who was killed in fighting with the Houthis in Shabwa province.

A video posted on social media showed dozens of soldiers storming the outskirts of Al-Noqub town before advancing further in.

Local officials say that the military advances by the Yemeni military forces will pave the way for seizing back strategic cities and villages from the Houthis, further isolating the militia in areas south of Marib and subsequently liberating Marib city.

“The liberation of Al-Noqub will open doors for seizing control of large amounts of land in Bayhan,” a local government official told Arab News on Tuesday.

At the weekend, hundreds of Giants Brigades forces launched an offensive to seize back Ouselan, Al-Ain and Bayhan districts in the oil-rich province of Shabwa..

The fighters first attacked Ouselan from the government-controlled Markha district and managed to seize control of the district’s center after heavy fighting with the Houthis, who fled to their positions in the other two districts.

If government forces succeed in seizing control of the remaining areas in Shabwa, they would effectively cut important supply routes to the Houthis, who are attacking Marib from the south.

The Arab coalition said on Tuesday that its warplanes carried out 36 air raids in support of government troops on the ground, killing more than 182 Houthis and destroying 23 vehicles.

In neighboring Marib province, where government forces have battled aggressive Houthi assaults since early last year, local military officials told Arab News that attacks on the city were weaker this week after the rebel group moved some of its forces to reinforce Shabwa.

Rashad Al-Mekhlafi, a military official in the Yemen Armed Forces Guidance Department, said that army troops and allied tribal fighters seized control of several locations in Al-Balaq Al-Sharqi mountain range, south of Marib, and are now pushing the Houthis from areas in Juba district.

“The national army has taken the offensive on the battlefield, shifting from attrition tactics and defense to offense,” Al-Mekhlafi said, stressing that the coalition warplanes struck Houthi military vehicles and gatherings in Marib province, paving the way for loyalists to strike back at the militia.

“Houthi firepower and manpower have been visibly weakened. They have lost more than 85 percent of their fighters and equipment since last year,” the Yemeni official said.

The Arab coalition also announced on Tuesday the killing of 55 Houthis and the destruction of seven military vehicles in nine air raids in the province of Marib.

The escalation in fighting came as Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdul Malik Saeed said this week that his government was “forced intousing the military option” after exhausting diplomatic methods to convince the Houthis to comply with peace efforts.

“It is a crucial moment for all Yemenis, because it is difficult for them to continue in long wars with no horizon. All other options for peace have been exhausted,” the prime minister told Sky News Arabia on Sunday.


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.