Yemeni minister says Houthis abducted 70 Yemenis, including 18 UN staff

Special Yemeni minister says Houthis abducted 70 Yemenis, including 18 UN staff
Protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, July 5, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 08 July 2024
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Yemeni minister says Houthis abducted 70 Yemenis, including 18 UN staff

Yemeni minister says Houthis abducted 70 Yemenis, including 18 UN staff
  • UN envoy Hans Grundberg reiterates call for militia to halt human rights violations against Yemenis
  • Centcom said that its forces destroyed two drones in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s human rights minister demanded on Monday that the UN close its offices in Sanaa and shift its workers to the southern city of Aden to safeguard them from the Houthis’ escalating crackdown.

Ahmed Arman told Arab News that the number of Yemeni personnel abducted by the Houthis during their continuing crackdown has risen to 70, and the Houthis have broadened their campaign to include employees of public institutions.

“We urge the United Nations to shut its Sanaa offices, boycott talks with the Houthis, and transfer humanitarian relief from Houthi-controlled regions to the legitimate government crossings and ports,” the Yemeni minister said.

Since late May, the Houthis have attacked the homes and offices of Yemenis working for the UN Yemen envoy’s office, the World Food Programme, the UN Development Programme, UNESCO, and other UN agencies, as well as Yemenis working for the US-funded National Democratic Institute, Partners Yemen, the German-funded GIZ, and Resonate Yemen.

The Houthis also seized former Yemeni personnel at the US, Japanese, and Dutch embassies in Yemen, as well as Ahmed Hussein Al-Nunu, a senior official and educationalist at the Ministry of Education in Sanaa.

Arman said that the number of abducted persons has increased from 50 in the early days of the operation to 70 presently, including five women and 18 UN personnel, who were held incommunicado at an intelligence and security detention facility in Sanaa.

The arrests occurred as the Houthis claimed to have unearthed an espionage network connected to the US and Israel, which was responsible for transferring important military intelligence to the two countries while also causing damage to Yemen’s education, agricultural, and health sectors.

At the same time, international rights groups and UN officials have urged the Houthis to free the workers, saying that the militia’s persecution of foreign relief organizations is exacerbating Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.

CARE International, Oxfam, and Save the Children repeated their request in a joint statement on Sunday for the Houthis to provide information on the kidnapped workers and release them, saying that the “unprecedented” crackdown will delay relief deliveries to Yemen’s 18.2 million people.

“Humanitarian organizations and aid workers dedicate their efforts to support the people of Yemen and do so by abiding with humanitarian principles,” the three organizations that operate in Yemen said in the statement.

“Targeting of humanitarian, human rights, and development workers in Yemen must stop. All those detained must be immediately released,” they said.

On Sunday, UN Yemen envoy Hans Grundberg reiterated the same call for the Houthis to free the workers and halt their human rights violations against Yemenis in regions under their control.

“He specifically repeated the demand for the immediate and unconditional release of UN personnel and aid, and civil society workers who were arbitrarily detained in Sanaa and continue to be held in incommunicado detention,” Grundberg’s office said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, the US Central Command said on Monday that its forces destroyed two drones in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen, while US-led marine task forces intercepted two Houthi drones over the Gulf of Aden in the last 24 hours.

This comes as maritime security groups that monitor ship attacks have not reported any new attacks in international trade lanes off Yemen in the last seven days, despite the militia saying it would increase its anti-ship campaign in support of the Palestinian people.

Since November, the Houthis have carried out over 100 drone, missile, and drone boat strikes on commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean. The Houthis claim they solely target Israel-linked ships to pressure Israel to halt its war in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. 


Syria interim president pledges ‘national dialogue conference’

Syria interim president pledges ‘national dialogue conference’
Updated 4 sec ago
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Syria interim president pledges ‘national dialogue conference’

Syria interim president pledges ‘national dialogue conference’
DAMASCUS: Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, promised Thursday to hold a “national dialogue conference” during his first speech to the nation since the fall of ousted leader Bashar Assad.
“We will announce in the coming days a committee charged with preparing the national dialogue conference, a direct platform for discussions, to listen to different points of view on our future political program,” Sharaa said during the prerecorded televised address. He also promised a “constitutional declaration” to serve as a “legal reference” during the country’s transition period after the old constitution was suspended.

Sudanese teenager raps of loss and hope amid war

Sudanese teenager raps of loss and hope amid war
Updated 8 min 28 sec ago
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Sudanese teenager raps of loss and hope amid war

Sudanese teenager raps of loss and hope amid war

PORT SUDAN: In a makeshift shelter carved out of a schoolyard in eastern Sudan, 14-year-old Hanim Mohammed uses her rap music to comfort families displaced by the country’s ongoing war.

For a few fleeting moments, the scars of 21 months of war seem to fade when families huddle together to hear Mohammed’s nostalgic rap lyrics about life before the war.

“When I play rap songs, everyone sings with me,” said Mohammed.

“This makes me so happy,” she said, lighting up with a radiant and captivating smile.

At a UN-sponsored space in the shelter, the young rapper, Nana, commanded the stage with electrifying energy.

Laughter and claps echoed through the air as women and children swayed and twirled to the beat — defying a war that has gripped the country since April 2023.

The conflict in Sudan has claimed the lives of tens of thousands, uprooted over 12 million people, and pushed Sudanese to the brink of famine.

The war, which has pitted army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan against his erstwhile ally Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, triggered the “biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded,” according to the International Rescue Committee.

Nana’s fans say her songs resonate deeply.

“The joy she brings is indescribable,” said Najwa Abdel Rahim, who attends Mohammed’s performances.

“I feel comfort and excitement when I listen to her music,” said Deir Fathi, another jubilant fan.

When the war erupted, Mohammed fled her hometown of Omdurman, the twin city of the capital Khartoum, with her family.

Now residing in a secondary school in Port Sudan, she uses rap to articulate her grief and preserve cherished memories of home, she said.

Her recollections of a once-vibrant city now fuel her creative expression, particularly in her poignant track “The Omdurman Tragedy.”

“You sit silently, and a fire breaks out. What do you do? Your brain itself is confused,” goes the song.

Mohammed’s love for rap took root for years, but the outbreak of war brought it home, pushing her to start writing her lyrics, she said. 

She has so far written nine songs.

“Most of the songs I composed were for the place I love the most and where I grew up — Omdurman,” she said.

“When the war erupted, this gave an even greater drive,” she added.

The teen rapper and her family share cramped quarters with dozens of displaced families at the shelter. Basic necessities are a daily struggle.

“The most difficult thing I faced was the water,” she said.

“Sometimes I found it salty, and other times it was bitter,” she added.

Conflict-ravaged Sudan, despite its many water sources, including the mighty Nile River, has long been parched and grappling with a water crisis.

Even before the war, a quarter of the population had to walk over 50 minutes to fetch water, according to the United Nations.

Now, from the arid western deserts of Darfur, through the lush Nile Valley, and to the shores of the Red Sea, a water crisis has hit 48 million war-weary Sudanese.

Yet Mohammed refuses to let such hardships keep her down.

Her music has become a lifeline for herself and the people who gather to watch her perform.

And Mohammed is not stopping there. In a small room at the shelter, she sat bent over her books — hoping to fulfill her dreams of becoming both a surgeon and a celebrated rapper.

But above all, she has one overriding wish: “The biggest wish I hope for is for the war to stop.”


EU to hold talks with Israel, Palestinians

EU to hold talks with Israel, Palestinians
Updated 16 min 17 sec ago
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EU to hold talks with Israel, Palestinians

EU to hold talks with Israel, Palestinians

BRUSSELS: The EU will hold separate talks with Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the coming weeks, the European Commission said on Thursday, as a ceasefire in Gaza continued to hold.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is expected to meet with his counterparts from the EU’s 27 nations and the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, in Brussels on Feb. 24, the commission said.

“We will discuss the full range of issues with Israel, including the war in Gaza, regional issues, global issues, and bilateral EU-Israel relations,” said commission spokesman Anouar El-Anouni.

The gathering will take place on the sidelines of the EU’s foreign affairs council.

Similarly, Kallas will co-chair with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa “the first ever EU Palestinian high-level dialogue” on the margins of the following foreign affairs council — a meeting of EU top diplomats — on March 17.

“This will be an opportunity to discuss the EU support for the Palestinians and the full range of regional and bilateral issues,” El-Anouni said.

Mustafa represents the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank.

The announcement came as Israel and the Palestinians took part in the third prisoner-hostage exchange under the Gaza ceasefire.

EU countries, which include staunch allies of Israel as well as firm supporters of the Palestinians, have struggled for a unified position in the Gaza war.

“The EU is fully committed to a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace based on the two-state solution, where Israel and Palestine live side-by-side in peace and security,” the commission said.


Rebuilding Gaza could take 10-15 years, Trump envoy tells Axios

Rebuilding Gaza could take 10-15 years, Trump envoy tells Axios
Updated 46 min 59 sec ago
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Rebuilding Gaza could take 10-15 years, Trump envoy tells Axios

Rebuilding Gaza could take 10-15 years, Trump envoy tells Axios
  • “It is stunning just how much damage occurred there,” Witkoff told the news website after visiting Gaza
  • The debris is believed to be contaminated with asbestos

WASHINGTON: There is “almost nothing left” of Gaza and rebuilding the war-ravaged enclave could take 10 to 15 years, US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios in an interview at the end of his trip to the region on Thursday.
“People are moving north to get back to their homes and see what happened and turn around and leave ... there is no water and no electricity. It is stunning just how much damage occurred there,” Witkoff told the news website after visiting Gaza.
Witkoff, a real estate investor and Trump campaign donor with business ties to Qatar and other states, was in the region to oversee implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
His assessment comes days after Trump floated the idea that some of Arab nations should get involved with and build “housing at a different location where they (Gazans) can maybe live in peace for a change.”
Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza, territory they want to form part of an independent state, has been anathema to the Palestinian leadership for generations and repeatedly rejected by neighboring Arab states since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
Witkoff told Axios he had not discussed with Trump the idea of moving Palestinians from Gaza.
A UN damage assessment released this month showed that clearing over 50 million tons of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel’s bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion.
The debris is believed to be contaminated with asbestos, with some refugee camps struck during the war known to have been built with the material. The rubble also likely holds human remains. The Palestinian Ministry of Health estimates that 10,000 bodies are missing under the debris.
“There has been this perception we can get to a solid plan for Gaza in five years. But it’s impossible. This is a 10 to 15 year rebuilding plan,” Witkoff told Axios.
“There is nothing left standing. Many unexploded ordnances. It is not safe to walk there. It is very dangerous. I wouldn’t have known this without going there and inspecting,” he said.


UN says UNRWA aid agency will continue work in all Palestinian territories

UN says UNRWA aid agency will continue work in all Palestinian territories
Updated 30 January 2025
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UN says UNRWA aid agency will continue work in all Palestinian territories

UN says UNRWA aid agency will continue work in all Palestinian territories
  • Israel decided to ban UNRWA following accusations some of its staff belong to Hamas
  • UNRWA has long been the lead agency in coordinating aid to Gaza

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations said Thursday its humanitarian relief agency UNRWA would continue working in all Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, despite Israeli legislation coming into force that cuts ties with the organization.
Israel decided to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees following accusations some of its staff belong to Hamas.
“UNRWA clinics across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are open. Meanwhile, the humanitarian operations in Gaza continues, including with UNRWA work there,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres.
UNRWA has long been the lead agency in coordinating aid to Gaza.
A series of investigations found some “neutrality related issues” at UNRWA — but stressed Israel had not provided evidence that a significant number of its staff belonged to “terrorist” organizations.
“UNRWA will continue to deliver on its mandate... until they’re no longer able to do so,” Dujarric said.
However he clarified that no staff were present at the agency’s headquarters in East Jerusalem, which mainly deals with administration. Palestinian employees are however working from other locations, while foreign employees had to leave Israel.
“We had taken precautions,” Dujarric said. “All the equipment inside, files, computers, everything had been removed, our vehicles as well.”