Yemen anger grows as death toll from Houthi blast climbs to 13 

Special Yemen anger grows as death toll from Houthi blast climbs to 13 
People browse through the rubble of a house destroyed by a Houthi missile attack in Marib, Yemen, Oct. 3, 2021. (Reuters)
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Updated 20 March 2024
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Yemen anger grows as death toll from Houthi blast climbs to 13 

Yemen anger grows as death toll from Houthi blast climbs to 13 
  • Houthis on Tuesday blew up a home in Radaa, in the central province of Al-Bayda, killing nine members of a single family
  • Four other people are said to have died when a Houthi rocket struck their home during a clash with residents

AL-MUKALLA: Hundreds of Houthi troops were sent to the Yemeni town of Radaa on Wednesday amid rising anger at the death toll from a militia attack on a residential area the previous day.

The Houthis on Tuesday blew up a home in Radaa, in the central province of Al-Bayda, killing nine members of a single family, and destroying at least four mud buildings nearby.

Four other people are said to have died when a Houthi rocket struck their home during a clash with residents trying to stop the militia from destroying their properties.

Nasser Ali Al-Sanae, a Yemeni activist from Radaa who fled Houthi repression and now lives in Marib city, told Arab News that friends reported seeing at least 30 vehicles from Houthi security and military units enter the town, hours after the militia suppressed a protest condemning the attacks.

“They have positioned soldiers in every part of town and shot live bullets at people who went out to protest the killing,” Al-Sanae said. 

On Monday, tensions erupted in Radaa when a local tribesman shot and killed two Houthis suspected of murdering his brother.

The Houthis responded by surrounding the man’s home and destroying it with explosives.

In Sanaa, the Houthi Ministry of Interior said that the soldiers made a mistake by using “excessive force in an illegal way” while chasing “wanted criminals” who killed two of their troops.

In an attempt to defuse the rising outrage against the militia, the Houthis sent officials to Radaa to meet with relatives of the dead, vowing to compensate them and punish the security men who destroyed the house. 

Houthi leader Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi said on Wednesday that the militia had compensated victims of the bombing and also questioned security personnel.

Since seizing control in Yemen by force in late 2014, the Houthis have demolished hundreds of opponents’ residences in a bid to quell any opposition, Yemeni activists and authorities say.

“Houthis have blown up hundreds of homes in the past. It’s a common practice and a tactic they use to humiliate their foes, silence dissent, and scare the community at large into submission,” Hisham Al-Omeisy, a Yemeni conflict analyst, said on X.

At the same time, Yemen’s government, the EU, and local and international rights organizations have condemned the Houthi destruction of homes in Radaa and the resulting fatalities, and urged the militia to bring the offenders to justice.

Yemen’s Prime Minister, Ahmed Awadh bin Mubarak, described the Houthi demolition of homes in Al-Bayda and their assaults on ships in the Red Sea as “fascist crimes,” and pledged to take action.

“We have no choice but to cut off and defeat this terrorist arm,“ bin Mubarak said on X.

The EU delegation and the French Embassy in Yemen also denounced the Houthi attacks on homes and the civilian deaths in Al-Bayda.

“We are deeply shocked by reports about the blowing up of a house in Radaa, Al-Bayda province, which killed & injured many innocent people, including women & children. This horrific crime is a serious human rights violation. It should be investigated & those responsible held to account,” the EU mission said on X. 


New UN envoy to Libya vows to pursue ‘peace and stability’

New UN envoy to Libya vows to pursue ‘peace and stability’
Updated 55 min 57 sec ago
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New UN envoy to Libya vows to pursue ‘peace and stability’

New UN envoy to Libya vows to pursue ‘peace and stability’
  • Hanna Serwaa Tetteh said as she took up the role in Tripoli that her task “will not be easy” and called for “working together“
  • She was appointed last month by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his Special Representative and head of UNSMIL

TUNIS: The new United Nations envoy to Libya pledged on Thursday to “spare no effort in achieving peace and stability” in the divided country, said the UN Support Mission in Libya.
Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, a Hungary-born Ghanaian former parliamentarian and minister, said as she took up the role in Tripoli that her task “will not be easy” and called for “working together,” UNSMIL said in a statement.
Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime ruler Muammar Qaddafi.
It remains split between a UN-recognized government in Tripoli and a rival authority in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Tetteh was appointed last month by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his Special Representative and head of UNSMIL, succeeding the Senegalese Abdoulaye Bathily, who stepped down in April last year.
She was previously appointed the UN Special Representative for the Horn of Africa in 2022 and is the 10th official to hold the Libya role since 2011.
Tetteh pledged to “forge a path toward a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned solution.”
She said her mission would also “work with regional and international actors... to preserve national unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty.”
Presidential and parliamentary elections in the oil-rich North African country had been scheduled for December 2021 but were indefinitely postponed due to disputes between rival factions.
“UNSMIL will continue to work tirelessly to support and enable Libyan institutions to hold inclusive national elections and forge a collective national vision to address Libya’s long-standing challenges,” said the statement.


Strike shuts Tunisia mining town over infrastructure woes

Strike shuts Tunisia mining town over infrastructure woes
Updated 20 February 2025
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Strike shuts Tunisia mining town over infrastructure woes

Strike shuts Tunisia mining town over infrastructure woes
  • The regional URT labor union called for the strike to demand improvements
  • The strike followed a road accident on Tuesday when a bus collided with a truck in the town

TUNIS: Schools and businesses in Om Laarayes, a major Tunisian mining town, shut down Thursday as a general strike protested deteriorating infrastructure, days after a deadly road accident.
The regional URT labor union, part of the powerful UGTT trade federation, called for the strike to demand improvements to the southwestern town’s infrastructure and health care.
“All schools, shops and local institutions have shut down in protest against the deteriorating state of infrastructure,” said URT secretary-general Mohamed Sghaier Miraoui.
The strike followed a road accident on Tuesday when a bus collided with a truck in the town, killing six people and injuring nine.
“This tragic accident has sparked outrage among residents of our neglected region,” Miraoui told AFP.
“Such incidents are frequent because we still lack basic infrastructure Public transport is inadequate, and our hospital is poorly equipped even for emergency care, while the morgue cannot properly accommodate bodies.”
Despite its phosphate wealth, Om Laarayes, home to 40,000 people, remains underdeveloped.
“Our town is a mining city and has natural resources,” said Miraoui. “It should be among the main regions with infrastructure.”
Many inland areas of Tunisia struggle with social and economic hardship, unlike wealthier coastal cities.
Protests have been common in these regions since the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings.
In the mining hub of Gafsa, people have long demanded better infrastructure and jobs by reviving phosphate production.
Tunisia produced eight million tons of phosphate in 2010 but has only been producing up to half of that in recent years due to underinvestment and recurring social unrest.
Phosphates, one of Tunisia’s few natural resources, are a key ingredient in fertilizers.


UN denounces Hamas’s ‘abhorrent’ display of hostages’ coffins

UN denounces Hamas’s ‘abhorrent’ display of hostages’ coffins
Updated 59 min 32 sec ago
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UN denounces Hamas’s ‘abhorrent’ display of hostages’ coffins

UN denounces Hamas’s ‘abhorrent’ display of hostages’ coffins
  • “The parading of bodies in the manner seen this morning is abhorrent and cruel,” said the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

GENEVA: The UN human rights group on Thursday denounced the “abhorrent and cruel” manner that Hamas staged the handover of the bodies of four hostages to Israel.

“The parading of bodies in the manner seen this morning is abhorrent and cruel, and flies in the face of international law,” said the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.


Seven civilians killed in Syria leftover munitions blast: monitor

Seven civilians killed in Syria leftover munitions blast: monitor
Updated 20 February 2025
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Seven civilians killed in Syria leftover munitions blast: monitor

Seven civilians killed in Syria leftover munitions blast: monitor
  • “Seven civilians, including a woman and a child, were killed when leftover munitions stored inside a house” in Idlib province exploded, said the Observatory
  • Mohammed Ibrahim, from the civil defense in Idlib, said they received a report “of an explosion of unknown provenance in Nayrab

BEIRUT: Seven civilians, including a woman and a child, were killed Thursday when leftover munitions exploded inside a house in northwest Syrian Arab Republic, a war monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the deadly blast a day after another organization said two-thirds of Syrians risked being killed or wounded by unexploded ordnance.
“Seven civilians, including a woman and a child, were killed when leftover munitions stored inside a house” in Idlib province exploded, said the Observatory, adding the toll was provisional.
An AFP correspondent saw civil defense personnel working to remove rubble and pull victims from the destroyed house.
Mohammed Ibrahim, from the civil defense in Idlib, said they received a report “of an explosion of unknown provenance in Nayrab, and when teams headed to the site, they found unexploded ordnance.”
Syria’s conflict has killed more than half a million people and forced millions from their homes since erupting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
Non-governmental organization Humanity and Inclusion said Wednesday that of the around one million munitions that have landed or been planted across Syria since then, experts estimate that 100,000 to 300,000 had never detonated.
It’s “an absolute disaster,” said HI’s Syria program director Danila Zizi, noting “more than 15 million people (are) at risk” out of the country’s estimated population of some 23 million.
As hundreds of thousands of Syrians return to their homes after Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December, “urgent action is needed to mitigate the risk of accident,” HI said.


Hezbollah readies massive funeral for slain leader Nasrallah

Hezbollah readies massive funeral for slain leader Nasrallah
Updated 20 February 2025
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Hezbollah readies massive funeral for slain leader Nasrallah

Hezbollah readies massive funeral for slain leader Nasrallah
  • Hezbollah has announced strict security measures and urged security forces to help manage crowds
  • Hassan Wehbe, 60, an electrician in Beirut’s southern suburbs, said the funeral would be “a historic day“

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah is preparing for a massive turnout for the funeral on Sunday of its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, an opportunity for a show of strength by the Iran-backed group after a bruising war with Israel.
Nasrallah’s death nearly five months ago in a huge Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs left Hezbollah supporters in disbelief and sent shockwaves across Lebanon and the region.
The country will stop for Sunday’s funeral, to be held at 1:00 p.m. (1100 GMT) at the Camille Chamoun sports stadium on the capital’s outskirts.
Hezbollah has announced strict security measures and urged security forces to help manage crowds that are expected to number in the tens of thousands, with people pouring in from Hezbollah strongholds across the country, as well as from abroad.
Hassan Wehbe, 60, an electrician in Beirut’s southern suburbs, said the funeral would be “a historic day.”
“There will be huge participation. Israel will see that we are not afraid,” he said.
Hezbollah has invited senior Lebanese officials including the president.
Its key foreign backer Iran has said it will participate “at a high level,” without specifying who will attend.
Nicholas Blanford, a Beirut-based Hezbollah expert and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said it was important for Hezbollah “to be able to demonstrate that they haven’t been cowed — that they are still a popular force” within the Shiite community.
The funeral “is going to be exactly the event for that,” he told AFP.
The ceremony is expected to last around an hour, including a speech by current leader Naim Qassem, who has called for a huge turnout.
A procession will follow to Nasrallah’s burial site near the airport road, now lined with yellow Hezbollah flags and images of him and other slain Hezbollah figures.
Civil aviation authorities said Beirut airport will close exceptionally and flights will be suspended from midday until 4:00 pm.
The US embassy has urged Americans to avoid the area.
Hezbollah was battered by more than a year of hostilities with Israel that culminated in two months of full-blown war before a ceasefire took effect on November 27.
After Nasrallah was killed on September 27, the group delayed his funeral due to security concerns.
The ceremony will also be for Hashem Safieddine, who was chosen to succeed Nasrallah before being killed in a later Israeli strike.
Safieddine will be buried on Monday in his southern hometown of Deir Qanun Al-Nahr.
The charismatic, bespectacled Nasrallah has long enjoyed cult status among his supporters.
For Ahmed Hallani, 35, taking part is “a religious and moral duty.”
Nasrallah is “our leader and the leader of our victories. We will stay beside him, alive or dead,” he said.
Iraqi Airways and Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines have increased services between Baghdad and Beirut ahead of the funeral.
Representatives of Iraq’s main pro-Iran factions are to participate, while several Iraqi lawmakers are expected to attend privately.
One of Hezbollah’s founders in 1982, Nasrallah was elected secretary-general a decade later after Israel killed his predecessor.
He won renown in the Arab world after Israel withdrew its troops from south Lebanon under relentless Hezbollah attack in May 2000, ending 22 years of occupation of the border strip.
Nasrallah’s years at the helm saw the group expand from guerrilla faction into the most powerful political force in Lebanon, only to be battered in the latest conflict.
Lebanon has said more than 4,000 people have been killed since hostilities began in October 2023, most of them after Israel ramped up its campaign in September, later sending in ground troops.
Among the dead are hundreds of Hezbollah fighters and a slew of senior commanders.
Israel has missed two deadlines to complete its withdrawal under the ceasefire agreement, and still has troops deployed in five places on the Lebanese side of the border after its latest pullback earlier this week.