UN Sanctions Committee Team Holds Meetings with Yemeni Officials in Aden

The sanctions committee affiliated with the UN Security Council during a previous visit to Aden, Yemen (Yemeni government media)
The sanctions committee affiliated with the UN Security Council during a previous visit to Aden, Yemen (Yemeni government media)
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UN Sanctions Committee Team Holds Meetings with Yemeni Officials in Aden

The sanctions committee affiliated with the UN Security Council during a previous visit to Aden, Yemen (Yemeni government media)
The sanctions committee affiliated with the UN Security Council during a previous visit to Aden, Yemen (Yemeni government media)

A team from the international sanctions committee concerned with Yemen is holding ongoing meetings in the city of Aden with civilian and military officials, as well as activists, aiming to compile a comprehensive report on the Yemeni situation by the end of 2023.

The team is expected to submit its findings to the UN Security Council.

The report will encompass political, military, security, and economic aspects. This marks the second visit by the team since the beginning of the year.

According to Yemeni government sources, the team, which arrived in Aden a few days ago, has held several meetings with various officials from government, civilian, military, and security entities.

They have also engaged with human rights activists.

These meetings will continue in the coming days to discuss the issues that will be included in the new annual report, covering military and security aspects, human rights, as well as financial, economic, and anti-corruption matters.

Sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the UN team directed a series of inquiries to these entities related to its work and demanded clarifications on a wide range of issues.

It did not suffice to merely send these questions; instead, the team held direct meetings with officials from those entities and requested detailed answers to all the raised concerns.

According to the sources, the team is reviewing the extent to which these entities adhere to the implementation of all agreements concluded by the international bodies with Yemen’s government, as well as previous recommendations included in the reports.

Due to the continuous refusal of Houthi militias to receive the UN team since the formation of the sanctions committee until now, the sources reported that the team relies on activists and confidential sources to gather information about the situation in areas under Houthi control.

Additionally, the team sends written messages to the group; however, Houthis persistently decline to respond to these inquiries and refuse to engage with the committee, especially concerning the ongoing recruitment of underage individuals and the lack of adherence to the agreement made with the UN in this regard.



Hezbollah Fighting Israeli Troops Near Lebanon's Ramiya Village; Third UN Peacekeeper Wounded

FILE - UN peacekeepers hold their flag, as they observe Israeli excavators attempt to destroy tunnels built by Hezbollah, near the southern Lebanese-Israeli border village of Mays al-Jabal, Lebanon, Dec. 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - UN peacekeepers hold their flag, as they observe Israeli excavators attempt to destroy tunnels built by Hezbollah, near the southern Lebanese-Israeli border village of Mays al-Jabal, Lebanon, Dec. 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
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Hezbollah Fighting Israeli Troops Near Lebanon's Ramiya Village; Third UN Peacekeeper Wounded

FILE - UN peacekeepers hold their flag, as they observe Israeli excavators attempt to destroy tunnels built by Hezbollah, near the southern Lebanese-Israeli border village of Mays al-Jabal, Lebanon, Dec. 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - UN peacekeepers hold their flag, as they observe Israeli excavators attempt to destroy tunnels built by Hezbollah, near the southern Lebanese-Israeli border village of Mays al-Jabal, Lebanon, Dec. 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Hezbollah said on Sunday it was fighting Israeli forces trying to infiltrate Ramiya village in southern Lebanon, as a third UN peacekeeper was wounded in Israel's escalating conflict with the Iran-backed Lebanese group.
Israeli strikes have shook the peacekeepers' main base in southern Lebanon, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Western countries to condemn the attacks. The UNIFIL force called it a "serious development" and said the security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed, according to Reuters.
France summoned Israel's ambassador, and issued a statement with Italy and Spain calling such attacks "unjustifiable". US President Joe Biden said he was asking Israel not to hit the UNIFIL forces. Russia said it was "outraged" and demanded Israel refrain from "hostile actions" against peacekeepers.
Israeli military strikes on Gaza on Saturday killed at least 29 Palestinians, medics said, and forces kept pushing deeper into the Jabalia area, where international relief agencies say thousands of people are trapped.
Residents in Jabalia, in the north of the enclave and the largest of its historic refugee camps, said it was being pounded by Israeli forces from the air and ground.
The Israeli army said Hezbollah had fired nearly 320 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on Saturday, without giving further details. It declared areas around some towns in north Israel closed to the public.
Evacuation orders were issued to residents of 23 southern Lebanese villages to move north of the Awali River, which flows from the western Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean.
The military said evacuations were necessary for the safety of residents due to increased Hezbollah activities, claiming the group is using sites to conceal weapons and launch attacks on Israel. Hezbollah denies concealing weapons among civilians.
Israeli military also published new evacuation orders on Saturday for two neighborhoods on the north edge of Gaza City, saying it was a "dangerous combat zone". In a statement, Gaza's Hamas-run interior ministry urged residents not to relocate.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants erupted one year ago when the Iranian-backed group began launching rockets at northern Israel in support of Hamas, at the start of the Gaza war.
Israel has intensified its military operations in recent weeks, bombing southern Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, killing many of Hezbollah's top leaders, and sending ground troops across the border. Hezbollah for its part has fired rockets deeper into Israel.
Israel's expanded operation has displaced more than 1.2 million people, according to Lebanon's government, which says more than 2,100 people have been killed and 10,000 wounded in over a year of fighting. The toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but includes scores of women and children.
US CALLS FOR 'DIPLOMATIC PATHWAY'
The Middle East remains on high alert for further escalation, awaiting Israel's response to an Iranian missile barrage on Oct. 1, which was in retaliation for Israel's assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in the Iranian capital Tehran.
In a sign of a spreading conflict, a Syrian security source said the US-led coalition in Syria had targeted Iran-linked sites near northeastern Syria's Deir el-Zor airport on Friday night.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Saturday that a third peacekeeper was wounded in an Israeli strike when he was hit by gunfire on Friday, adding that the man was stable after undergoing surgery to remove the bullet.
The UNIFIL statement also said its position in the southern Lebanese town of Ramyah sustained significant damage due to explosions following nearby shelling, but did not specify who was responsible for either attack.
Two UN peacekeepers were wounded by an Israeli strike near their watchtower at the UNIFIL's main base in Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Friday. UNIFIL has more than 10,000 personnel, with Italy, France, Malaysia, Indonesia and India among the biggest contributors.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a call with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, expressed "deep concern" about reports that Israeli forces had fired on UN peacekeeping positions in Lebanon in recent days and urged Israel to ensure safety for them and the Lebanese military, the Pentagon said.
Austin also "reinforced the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway as soon as feasible," according to the Pentagon statement.
Israel has rejected calls by the United States and other allies for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.