AL-MUKALLA: A local government official was among 13 Yemenis abducted by the Houthis in Ibb province over the past two days, local media reported on Monday, as the militia continues to crack down on people who commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the 1962 revolution in the country.

Al-Masdar Online said Khaled Al-Kerizi, the deputy head of the provincial office of the Ministry of Culture, was taken from his home in Al-Mashannah District.

The Houthis also reportedly snatched eight people in Yarim District and four in Al-Udayn District and the countryside, increasing the number of people abducted in province in the past week to 48.

The Houthi crackdown in areas of northern Yemen under their control has targeted hundreds of people who celebrated the anniversary of the revolution or encouraged others to do so. The revolution, which began on Sept. 26, 1962, toppled the Zaidi imamates that had controlled northern Yemen for centuries and limited the right to rule to Hashemites. Much of their ideology is shared by the Houthis.

In an attempt to suppress pro-revolution celebrations in Sanaa, the Houthis have deployed military forces and vehicles, as well as undercover operatives in civilian clothing armed with batons, who have abducted people from the streets and their homes.

Some of those taken were pictured in videos dancing to a nationalist song commemorating the revolution. Others posted messages on social media platforms praising the revolution or encouraging others to celebrate it.

HuMENA, a human rights organization based in Brussels, strongly condemned the arbitrary Houthi raids on homes and abductions. It said members of the militia have detained about 500 people since Sept. 20, including about 40 journalists and writers, as well as teachers, university professors and students, lawyers, and members of the former ruling party, the General People’s Congress.

“We call on the international community and humanitarian organizations to take a firm stance against these violations, pressuring the Houthi group to end this repressive campaign and immediately release all detainees, ensuring the protection of citizens’ rights and freedom of expression,” HuMENA said.

Meanwhile, relatives of abducted Yemeni employees of international aid and human rights organizations, and diplomatic missions, renewed their appeals to the Houthis to release the detainees or at least allow visitors.

“Today marks four months since my father Ahmed’s detention in Yemen, without hearing from him or checking on his condition; months of anxiety, fear and sadness that consumes our hearts at all times,” Khaled Al-Yemeni, the son of an aid worker abducted by the Houthis on June 6, wrote in a message posted on Facebook on Sunday.

“We appeal to Ansar Allah’s leadership and all concerned parties to take action on my father’s case and release him as soon as possible. Our family is in constant pain, and we hope for relief soon.”

Ansar Allah is the official name of the Houthis. Since May, militia members have abducted dozens of Yemenis working for UN agencies, international aid and human rights organizations, and diplomatic missions in Sanaa and other parts of Yemen under their control, accusing them of using humanitarian work as a cover to spy for the US and Israel.

The UN and other organizations have strongly condemned the Houthis for their actions. They deny the allegations against their employees and demand the militia release the detainees and stop harassing humanitarian workers.

The Houthis said they buried 126 “unidentified” bodies in Hodeidah and Saada provinces in the past few days. The Houthi Yemeni Security Media reported on Sunday that in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the militia buried 66 bodies that had been stored at Al-Thawra Hospital in Hodeidah province.

On Thursday, the same media office said the Houthi Public Prosecution buried 60 unidentified bodies, some of which were those of African migrants, that had been stored at Al-Jamhuri Hospital in Saada province.

JERUSALEM: Israel’s security cannot be guaranteed with military force alone and will require a diplomatic solution, France’s foreign minister said on Monday, and Paris would continue efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Speaking at the end of a four-day tour of the Middle East, Jean-Noel Barrot was in Israel on Monday to mark a year since Hamas militants crossed into Israel killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage back to Gaza.
The assault triggered an Israeli military campaign in Gaza that has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health ministry. The war has spread conflict across the region with Israel stepping up military operations over its northern border in Lebanon against Hezbollah, a Hamas ally.
“Force alone cannot guarantee the security of Israel, your security. Military success cannot be a substitute for a political perspective,” Barrot told a news conference in Jerusalem.
“To bring the hostages home to their loved ones, to allow the displaced to return home in the north (of Israel), after a year of war, the time for diplomacy has come.”
Barrot’s arrival in Israel, where about 180,000 French citizens live, came at a tricky time in Franco-Israeli relations after President Emmanuel Macron was firmly rebuffed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the weekend.
Macron had called for a de facto arms embargo on Israel and, in a veiled attack on the US, said countries that both supplied weapons and called for a ceasefire where they were being used in conflict were being incoherent. French arms supplies to Israel are minimal.
Barrot reiterated that it was odd to call for a ceasefire while giving offensive weapons. He said that France, as a staunch defender of Israel’s security, felt it was vital to be frank about the ongoing suffering of civilians in Gaza, but also the military operation now in southern Lebanon.
France worked with the United States in trying to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon at the end of September. Diplomatic sources had at the time believed this had secured a temporary truce, a day before Israel heavily bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
“We have a responsibility to act today to avoid Lebanon finding itself in a short horizon in a dramatic situation like Syria found itself a few years ago,” Barrot said.
Ceasefire proposals put forward together with Washington remain on the table, he said.