Yemeni Govt. Condemns Houthi Deportation of Baha’i Leaders

A file photo of Sanaa, Yemen. (AFP)
A file photo of Sanaa, Yemen. (AFP)
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Yemeni Govt. Condemns Houthi Deportation of Baha’i Leaders

A file photo of Sanaa, Yemen. (AFP)
A file photo of Sanaa, Yemen. (AFP)

The Yemeni legitimate government officially denounced the Houthi militias for forcing six Baha’i leaders into exile, labeling the deportation a crime.

The Iran-backed Houthis, two days ago, had forcibly exiled six Baha’i community members, including Hamid Haydara, the leader of the faith group in Yemen. The leaders had boarded a plane to leave Sanaa after the Houthis gave them given an ultimatum of either departing the country or returning to prison.

"What happened is as heinous as the crime of abducting them from their houses, holding them at detention centers for years, exposing them to the worst physical and psychological tortures and appropriating their properties," Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani said.

In official statements, he blasted the Houthis for forcibly exiling the Baha’i leaders, saying that it constitutes a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions and labeling it a crime against humanity.

Eryani also said that the deportation reflects the level of oppression faced by citizens in Houthi-run areas due to their racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds.

The minister also called upon the international community, the UN chief, UN special envoy to Yemen and all international organizations concerned with human rights and defending minorities to condemn this "dangerous precedent" and to pressure Houthis into stopping their racist acts against religious minorities in Yemen.

Well-informed sources in Sanaa confirmed on Sunday that the Baha’is were initially released in response to UN efforts. The sources, however, revealed that the Houthis gave them an ultimatum of either staying in prison or leaving Houthi-run territory. This comes despite the militias allegedly issuing general amnesty for the Baha’is some four months ago.



Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)

Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.

The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.

The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.

The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.

Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.

After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.

Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.