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)
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Updated 06 October 2022
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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.

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Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

Updated 12 sec ago
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Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

GAZA CITY: A Gaza civil defense official said that 91 people were killed in strikes and attacks throughout Monday as Israel steps up an offensive in the Palestinian territory.
The deaths had been recorded since the early hours of Monday, according to Mohammed Al-Mughayyir, an official in the civil defense agency of the Hamas-run territory. The department had earlier given a toll of 52 dead.


Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

Updated 4 min 18 sec ago
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Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis said Monday that they would target Haifa port in Israel as part of a “naval blockade” in response to Israeli escalation in the Gaza war.
The Houthis would “begin working to enforce a naval blockade of the port of Haifa,” said military spokesman Yehya Saree.
“All companies with ships present in or heading to this port are hereby notified that, as of the time of this announcement, the aforementioned port has been included in the target bank,” the Houthi spokesman added.
The move was “in response to the Israeli enemy’s escalation of its brutal aggression against our people and in Gaza,” he said, adding their attacks on Israel would “cease once the aggression on Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.”
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will “take control” of the whole of Gaza, as rescuers reported dozens killed in a newly intensified offensive.


One SDF fighter killed in attack by Daesh in eastern Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed and another injured in an attack by Daesh.
Updated 19 May 2025
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One SDF fighter killed in attack by Daesh in eastern Syria

  • SDF reached an agreement in March to integrate with the Syrian government
  • Syria’s new authorities have clashed with Daesh fighters, particularly in the east

CAIRO: The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a militia group led by Kurdish fighters, said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed and another injured in an attack by Daesh in Syria’s eastern Deir el-Zor region.
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Daesh in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The SDF reached an agreement in March to integrate with the Syrian government, now led by former militants who toppled President Bashar Assad last year.
Syria’s new authorities have clashed with Daesh fighters, particularly in the east. Last month, Daesh killed five SDF fighters in one of the deadliest recent attacks against the group.


Egypt rejects all Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty, El-Sisi tells Aoun

Updated 40 min 2 sec ago
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Egypt rejects all Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty, El-Sisi tells Aoun

  • During a meeting in Cairo, Egyptian president pledges support for stability in Lebanon and reconstruction of his counterpart’s country
  • Lebanese president says Lebanon needs ‘stability and lasting peace in our region, built on justice’ and his nation cannot be excluded from this just peace

BEIRUT: Egypt rejects repeated Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty and its occupation of parts of the country, and supports Lebanon’s reconstruction efforts, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Monday as he received a visit in Cairo from his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun.

The two leaders discussed ways in which bilateral relations might be strengthened and Egypt can support stability in Lebanon, as well as broader challenges to regional peace.

During a joint press conference following their talks, El-Sisi said that his country remains firm in its support of Lebanon’s internal stability and efforts to safeguard its full sovereignty.

He said Egypt continues to call on Israeli authorities to withdraw their forces immediately and unconditionally from Lebanese territory, respect the 1949 Armistice Agreements with Arab states, and fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Resolution 1701 was adopted in 2006 with the aim of resolving the conflict that year between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

El-Sisi said his country will not interfere in internal Lebanese affairs but is keen to have a strong relationship with the nation. The president added that he wants Egypt to support reconstruction efforts in Lebanon, called on the wider international community also to assume its responsibilities in this process, and affirmed the need to enhance the nation’s internal stability and preserve its full sovereignty.

“On the political level, there should be a voice that supports Lebanon and its president, namely when it comes to calling for the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the five occupied hills, and addressing the remaining issues calmly and regularly in accordance with the Lebanese president’s wish in order to preserve the country’s security and stability,” El-Sisi said.

Turning to the situation in Palestine, he stressed the need to end Israeli hostilities in Gaza immediately. He called for the mobilization of the international community to implement a Gaza reconstruction plan without any displacement of the population, and to enable Palestinian authorities to carry out their role in fully managing the territory.

Aoun praised the depth of the Lebanese-Egyptian relationship, saying it is built on “freedom and openness.” He affirmed the commitment of his nation to Resolution 1701, which he said preserves his country’s sovereignty and territorial unity, and emphasizes the importance of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s role in the south of the country.

He called for a halt to Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and said: “We affirm the necessity to put an end to Israeli hostilities, and adhere to the provisions of the 1949 Armistice Agreement in a way that ensures security and stability in southern Lebanon and the whole region.”

The Lebanese president urged the international community to “fulfill its responsibilities, particularly in compelling Israel to adhere to the ceasefire agreement, reached under US and French sponsorship, in order to maintain security and stability in Lebanon and the region, withdraw from all Lebanese territories up to our internationally recognized and demarcated borders, and facilitate the return of Lebanese prisoners.”

Aoun also emphasized his nation’s “commitment to establishing the best possible relations” with neighboring Syria, and highlighted the importance of “coordination and cooperation between the two countries to address shared challenges, particularly concerning the issue of Syrian refugees.”

He underscored “the necessity of ensuring the safe and dignified return of the refugees to their homeland,” and urged the governments of Syria and Lebanon “to act swiftly through joint committees that have been agreed upon to achieve this, thereby safeguarding the interests of both nations and their peoples.”

He affirmed Lebanon’s support for all efforts to preserve Syrian unity and sovereignty and address the aspirations of its people. He welcomed recent decisions to lift international sanctions against the country, following the fall of the Assad regime, and expressed hopes that this will contribute to its recovery and wider regional stability.

Returning to the situation in his own country, Aoun said Lebanon needs “stability and lasting peace in our region, built on justice by granting all rights to their rightful owners. This is what the Arab countries approved in the Beirut Peace Initiative in 2002 and this is what we look forward to embodying as soon as possible.”

This peace would include “the establishment of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state,” he added, and a battle against “extremism and terrorism, poverty and hunger, ideas of elimination and desires of exclusion,” to “achieve development and prosperity for our people.

“I affirm that Lebanon cannot be outside such an equation. It is not in the interest of any Lebanese person, nor any country or people in our region, to exclude itself from the path of a comprehensive and just peace.”

Aoun called for “the establishment of a system for common Arab interests, one of the first pillars of which would be a body regulating the common interests of our countries and peoples, as a prelude to establishing a common regional market that would begin between two countries and gradually expand across sectors and geographies.”

Aoun’s office said that during his talks with El-Sisi the two leaders agreed to convene a joint high-level committee meeting, chaired by the countries’ prime ministers in Cairo on a date to be announced, to examine Lebanon’s needs and establish a working mechanism to help achieve them.

El-Sisi said he wishes to see Egyptian companies operating in Lebanon and providing assistance, as the Lebanese market represents a promising destination for trade and investment.

The Egyptian minister of electricity and renewable energy, Mahmoud Esmat, highlighted the cooperation between the two countries in the electricity sector, and El-Sisi said Lebanon “must be assisted in repairing its (power) grid and in everything that can help secure electricity.” This will be discussed further during the upcoming high-level ministerial committee meeting, he added.

Aoun’s visit to Egypt formed part of his strategic Arab outreach following his election as president in January. The trip to Cairo followed visits to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in what Lebanese presidential sources described as a concerted effort to “forge a new chapter in Lebanon-Arab world relations.”


Tripoli-based govt ‘pursuing permanent truce after clashes’

Updated 19 May 2025
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Tripoli-based govt ‘pursuing permanent truce after clashes’

  • UN mission welcomes creation of ceasefire committee, calls for protection of all civilians

TRIPOLI: Libya’s UN-recognized government said on Monday it was pressing efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire after days of deadly clashes in the capital and protests demanding the prime minister’s resignation.

The fighting last week pitted an armed group aligned with the Tripoli-based government against factions it has sought to dismantle, resulting in at least eight dead, according to the UN.

The Libyan Defense Ministry said in a statement that “the efforts toward a ceasefire remain ongoing” and that it was “directly” overseeing the process to ensure stability.

The fighting had largely ended by late on Thursday, according to an Interior Ministry official and the UN mission in Libya, but without any formal ceasefire agreement.

The UN mission, UNSMIL, welcomed on Sunday the creation of a “truce committee building on the fragile peace reached last week” after the violence that saw heavy artillery used in central Tripoli.

UNSMIL said the committee “is focused on facilitating a permanent ceasefire with emphasis on the protection of all civilians, and to agree on security arrangements for Tripoli.”

Tripoli saw a return to relative calm late last week as flights resumed, shops reopened, and people returned to work, but the situation remained volatile as calls for Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s resignation grew.

The clashes were sparked by the killing of an armed faction leader by a group aligned with Dbeibah’s government — the 444 Brigade, which later fought a third group, the Radaa force that controls parts of eastern Tripoli and the city’s airport.

It came after Dbeibah announced a string of executive orders seeking to dismantle Radaa and dissolve other Tripoli-based armed groups, but excluding the 444 Brigade.

The 444 Brigade said on Monday it had uncovered a mass grave with 10 bodies in Abu Salim, a district of Tripoli that before last week was controlled by the group of Abdelghani Al-Kikli, whose killing sparked the clashes.

Dbeibah had accused Al-Kikli’s group, the Support and Stability Apparatus, of multiple abuses, including “cold-blooded” executions and forced disappearance of critics.

In an address on Saturday after securing the public support of several dignitaries, Dbeibah called on armed groups in Tripoli to align themselves with “state institutions.”

“Our goal is a Libya free of militias and corruption,” he said.