US ‘concerned’ by collapse of truce in Yemen; uncertain whether Iran is to blame

US special envoy for Yemen said the Houthis had “imposed maximalist and impossible demands” over a proposed mechanism to pay public sector wages. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 06 October 2022
Follow

US ‘concerned’ by collapse of truce in Yemen; uncertain whether Iran is to blame

  • Tim Lenderking: ‘Last-minute’ demands and backtracking by Houthis had derailed extension talks
  • United States would continue to help its Gulf Arab partners defend themselves

CHICAGO: Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, described the failure to renew the truce with the Houthis, which expired on Oct. 2, as “concerning” but refused to speculate about whether Iran had played a role in preventing an extension.

Speaking during a briefing attended by Arab News on Wednesday, Lenderking said the Houthis made “last-minute” demands that meant they were “essentially backtracking from commitments they had made earlier in the process.”

Asked whether the regime in Iran, which backs the Houthis, might be responsible for this, Lenderking said: “We don’t know.” Tehran supported the UN-backed, two-month truce when it was agreed on April 2, he said, and also when it was renewed without issue on June 2 and Aug. 2.

He attributed the failure this month to agree a third extension to “maximalist and impossible demands” made by Houthi negotiators regarding the payment of salaries to their “military and security personnel.”

Until the truce is renewed, the threat of a resumption of major violence will remain, Lenderking said, and without a return to a “more positive approach,” Iran’s involvement in the process will continue to be viewed as being “quite negative.”

“It remains in our national interest to help our Gulf partners defend themselves from any external aggression and we would do so in the case of aggression coming from Yemen,” Lenderking said.

“The president and the secretary (of state) have been clear that the United States will continue to support our Gulf partners and their legitimate defense needs, in order to meet existing and emerging threats. And that includes the cross-border attacks from Yemen and elsewhere against targets inside Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“After all, there are more than 120,000 US citizens living and working in the countries of the Gulf region. I know that the president and the secretary have no higher objective than ensuring the security of Americans wherever they live abroad.”

Lenderking reiterated that the door remains open to the resumption of peace talks, which he said would bring benefits to the Houthis and all the people of Yemen, but condemned recent threats by the militia.

“Houthi rhetoric that threatened commercial shipping and oil companies, this is completely unacceptable,” he added.

The envoy said the Biden administration had, with support in Congress, approved the “future transfer” of defensive weaponry to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including “additional Patriot missiles to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, to the UAE.”

He added: “These munitions have played a key role in defending both countries from cross-border UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone) and missile attacks originating from Yemen.

“Let me stress the key point here: We, and the international community, are calling for restraint from all parties. At this particularly sensitive time when there is no truce officially on the books that has been agreed and welcomed and adhered to by the parties, we must insist that there be maximum restraint exerted by all sides.”

The truce agreed in April resulted in many benefits for the people of Yemen, Lenderking said, including: A dramatic reduction of about 60 percent in civilian casualties; more than 25,000 Yemeni citizens were able to travel abroad on commercial flights for the first time since 2016; and a five-fold increase in the amount of fuel shipments passing through Hodeidah Port compared with the previous year, which helped to reduce fuel prices.

The ceasefire also allowed humanitarian organizations to operate more easily in the country.

“We are extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen,” Lenderking said, as he warned that the needs of civilians “are great and the funding is not adequate.”

He continued: “The US has contributed $5 billion over the course of the conflict; $1 billion to humanitarian coffers this very year.”

The US will continue to designate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization until a final peace agreement is reached, Lenderking said.

“We are also relying on commitments that the Saudis and the Yemeni government have made to maintain the terms of the truce,” he added.

“So, indeed, let’s look at what commitments the Houthis are willing to make. Pull down the maximalist demands. Get back into the productive conversation that has taken place during the last six months on reaching an expanded truce and driving towards the durable ceasefire and the Yemeni-to-Yemeni political process that we all want to see.”

In an effort to view the latest developments in as positive a light as possible in the circumstances, Lenderking said: “We do see that key elements of the truce continue to hold and that intensive, UN-led negotiations and US diplomacy continue unabated.

“When I talk about key elements of the truce holding, let me be clear what I mean. I mean there is still relatively low levels of violence in the country. Fuel ships continue to off-load into the Hodeidah Port. There will be more continuity in civilian, commercial flights from Sanaa airport. These particular elements of the truce have been extremely effective and have delivered tangible results to the Yemeni people over the last six months.

“In our view, there is a stark choice that lies ahead: On the one hand, there is a return to war, which will bring nothing but casualties and destruction on Yemen and will bring further confusion as to where this conflict is headed.”

If a renewal of the ceasefire can be agreed, however, “there is the opportunity to not only extend but expand the truce. That is, to bring more positive elements of the truce, the likes of which would include flights, as I have mentioned. There have been ongoing and very energetic discussions with numerous countries on additional flight destinations.

“We would anticipate the processing of fuel into Hodeidah would be streamlined even further. We expect to be able to reach agreement on salary payments. This has been a core demand of both parties: To have the ability to pay Yemeni civil servants who have not been paid for many years: teachers, nurses, civil servants — to provide salaries for them.

“These are the kind of benefits that stand in the balance should the parties, particularly the Houthis, choose the path of peace. It is a very clear choice, as viewed by the international community and as viewed by the United States.”

Lenderking again stressed that “all channels remain open” for talks to extend the truce and return to negotiations to avoid an escalation in violence.

A Cup of Gahwa
The taste and traditions of Saudi coffee

Enter


keywords

 


Israel carries out strikes on two Syrian cities, Syrian state news agency says

An Israeli fighter jet fires a rocket as it flies over an area near the Syrian capital Damascus on April 30, 2025. (AFP)
Updated 8 sec ago
Follow

Israel carries out strikes on two Syrian cities, Syrian state news agency says

  • Israel bombed Syria frequently when the country was governed by Assad, targeting a foothold established by his ally Iran during the civil war

CAIRO: Israeli strikes targeted the vicinity of Syria’s Damascus countryside and Hama late on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Friday, without providing further details.
Israel’s repeated strikes on Syria act as a warning to the new Islamist rulers in Damascus, which Israel views as a potential threat on its border.
The Israeli army confirmed the strikes, the latest in a string of attacks targeting Syria’s military infrastructure since mainly Sunni Muslim Islamist fighters toppled President Bashar Assad in December. Israel has said it targeted military headquarters and sites containing weapons and equipment.
Earlier on Friday, Israel bombed an area near the presidential palace in Damascus, in its clearest warning yet to Syria’s new Islamist-led authorities of its readiness to ramp up military action, which has included strikes it said were in support of the country’s Druze minority.
Israel bombed Syria frequently when the country was governed by Assad, targeting a foothold established by his ally Iran during the civil war.

 


Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces claims to have seized strategic western town

Updated 02 May 2025
Follow

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces claims to have seized strategic western town

  • RSF paramilitaries say they took key town of Al Nahud in West Kordofan state
  • Area is home to the headquarters of the 18th Infantry Brigade

CAIRO: Sudan’s notorious paramilitary group claimed a “sweeping victory” Friday saying it took control of the key town of Al Nahud in West Kordofan state in a fight that intensified a day earlier.
A victory there by the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, would mark a strategic loss for Sudan’s military in its war with the paramilitary force as the territory is home to the headquarters of the 18th Infantry Brigade.
The Sudanese army didn’t immediately comment on its social media channels on whether it lost Al Nahud to its rival.
Sudan’s Culture and Information Minister Khalid Ali Aleisir said on his Facebook account on Friday the RSF committed crimes against defenseless citizens in the town, looting their properties and destroying public facilities.
The RSF said on its Telegram channel Friday that it destroyed vehicles belonging to the army and seized their weapons and ammunition during the battle for Al Nahud. The paramilitary group also claimed that it managed to secure the city’s facilities and markets after defeating the army.
The war erupted on April 15, 2023, with pitched battles between the military and the RSF in the streets of the capital Khartoum that quickly spread to other parts of the country.
RSF attacks in Al Nahud have killed more than 300 unarmed civilians, the Preliminary Committee of Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union said on Facebook on Friday. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify that figure.
The Resistance Committees of Al Nahud condemned the RSF attacks, which it said began Thursday morning.
“They invaded the city, stormed residential neighborhoods, terrorized unarmed civilians, and committed cold-blooded murders against innocent civilians whose only crime was to cling to their dignity and refuse to leave their homes to the machine of killing and terror,” the Resistance Committees said Thursday on Facebook.
An army loss of Al Nahud would impact its operational capabilities in Northern Kordofan state, according to the Sudan War Monitor, an open source collaborative project that has been documenting the two-year-war. Al Nahud is a strategic town because it’s located along a main road that the army could use to advance into the Darfur region, which the RSF mostly controls.
Al Nahud also shelters displaced people fleeing from Al-Obeid, Umm Kadada, Khartoum and El-Fasher — the provincial capital of North Darfur province, according to the Darfur Victims Support Organization.
Meanwhile, in North Darfur, the fighting has killed at least 542 people in the last three weeks, though the actual death toll is likely higher, according to UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk. This figure includes the recent RSF attacks on El Fasher and Abu Shouk displacement camp, which killed at least 40 civilians.
“The horror unfolding in Sudan knows no bounds,” said Türk i n a statement on Thursday.
Türk also mentioned “extremely disturbing” reports of extrajudicial killings committed by RSF, with at least 30 men in civilian clothing executed by the paramilitary fighters in Al Salha in southern Omdurman.
“I have personally alerted both leaders of the RSF and SAF to the catastrophic human rights consequences of this war. These harrowing consequences are a daily, lived reality for millions of Sudanese. It is well past time for this conflict to stop,” said Türk.
The war in Sudan has killed at least 20,000 people, but the real toll is probably far higher. Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes, 4 million of them streaming into neighboring countries.
Half the population of 50 million faces hunger. The World Food Program has confirmed famine in 10 locations and warns it could spread further, putting millions at risk of starvation.


Tunisia court jails former officials including former PM Larayedh

Updated 02 May 2025
Follow

Tunisia court jails former officials including former PM Larayedh

  • The sentences are for 18 to 36 years, and apply to eight people

TUNIS: A Tunisian court on Friday handed down lengthy prison sentences against former officials, including former Prime Minister Ali Larayedh, a senior figure in the opposition Ennahda party, on charges of facilitating the departure of militants to Syria over the past decade.
TAP state news agency quoted a judicial official as saying that the sentences are for 18 to 36 years, and apply to eight people.


West Bank residents losing hope 100 days into military assault

Updated 02 May 2025
Follow

West Bank residents losing hope 100 days into military assault

  • Israel’s military in late February deployed tanks in Jenin for the first time in the West Bank since the end of the second intifada

JENIN: On a torn-up road near the refugee camp where she once lived, Saja Bawaqneh said she struggled to find hope 100 days after an Israeli offensive in the occupied West Bank forced her to flee.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced in the north of the territory since Israel began a major “anti-terrorist operation” dubbed “Iron Wall” on Jan. 21.
Bawaqneh said life was challenging and uncertain since she was forced to leave Jenin refugee camp — one of three targeted by the offensive, along with Tulkarm and Nur Shams.
“We try to hold on to hope, but unfortunately, reality offers none,” she said.
“Nothing is clear in Jenin camp even after 100 days — we still don’t know whether we will return to our homes, or whether those homes have been damaged or destroyed.”
Bawaqneh said residents were banned from entering the camp and that “no one knows ... what happened inside.”
Israel’s military in late February deployed tanks in Jenin for the first time in the West Bank since the end of the second intifada.
In early March, it said it had expanded its offensive to more city areas.
AFP footage this week showed power lines dangling above Jenin’s streets blocked with barriers made of churned-up earth.
Wastewater pooled in the road outside the Jenin Governmental Hospital.
Farha Abu Al-Hija, a member of the Popular Committee for Services in Jenin camp, said families living in the vicinity of the camp were being removed by Israeli forces daily.
“A hundred days have passed like a hundred years for the displaced people of Jenin camp,” she said.
“Their situation is dire, the conditions are harsh, and they are enduring pain unlike anything they have ever known.”
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders in March denounced the “extremely precarious” situation of Palestinians displaced by the military assault, saying they were going “without proper shelter, essential services, and access to health care.”
It said the scale of forced displacement and destruction of camps “has not been seen in decades” in the West Bank.
The UN says about 40,000 residents have been displaced since Jan. 21.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said the offensive would last several months and ordered troops to stop residents from returning.
Israeli forces put up barriers at several entrances of the Jenin camp in late April, AFP footage showed.
The Israeli offensive began two days after a truce came into effect in the Gaza Strip between the Israeli military and Gaza’s Hamas rulers.
Two months later, that truce collapsed and Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza, a Palestinian territory separate from the West Bank.
Since the Gaza war began in October 2023, violence has soared in the West Bank.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 925 Palestinians in the territory since then, according to the Ramallah-based Health Ministry.

 


Gaza rescuers say 42 killed in Israeli strikes

Updated 02 May 2025
Follow

Gaza rescuers say 42 killed in Israeli strikes

  • Nine people were killed when an Israeli air strike hit a home in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza
  • In Gaza City, a strike on a community kitchen claimed the lives of six more

GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 42 people Friday in the Palestinian territory, devastated by war and under a total Israeli aid blockade for two months.
Israel resumed its military campaign in the Gaza Strip on March 18 after the collapse of a ceasefire that had largely halted the fighting.
Nine people were killed when an Israeli air strike hit a home in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, civil defense official Mohammed Al-Mughayyir told AFP.
AFP footage in the aftermath of a strike on Bureij camp showed Palestinians searching for casualties in the rubble of a flattened building.
“They gave us no warning, no phone call — we woke up at midnight to smoke, rubble, stones, and shrapnel raining down on us,” said Mohammed Al-Sheikh, standing among collapsed concrete slabs.
“We pulled out martyrs — bodies and limbs from under the rubble.”
Another six people were killed in a strike targeting the Al-Masri family home in the northern city of Beit Lahia, civil defense official Mughayyir added.
In Gaza City, a strike on a community kitchen claimed the lives of six more, the civil defense agency reported.
Across the Gaza Strip, at least 21 other deaths were reported in similar attacks, the agency said.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Thursday that at least 2,326 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll since the war broke out to 52,418.
The war erupted after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Militants also abducted 251 people, 58 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
The Israeli government says its renewed campaign aims to force Hamas to free the remaining captives, although critics charge it puts them in mortal danger.
Israel halted aid deliveries to Gaza on March 2, days before the collapse of the ceasefire which had come into effect on January 19.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned of the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground, with famine again looming.
On Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said the humanitarian response in Gaza was on the “verge of total collapse.”
“This situation must not — and cannot — be allowed to escalate further,” its deputy director of operations, Pascal Hundt, said in a statement.