Houthis Launch Drone, Rocket Attack on Military Camp in Yemen’s Saada

Commander of the Alab axis Yasser Majali is seen at the military parade in Saada. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Commander of the Alab axis Yasser Majali is seen at the military parade in Saada. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Houthis Launch Drone, Rocket Attack on Military Camp in Yemen’s Saada

Commander of the Alab axis Yasser Majali is seen at the military parade in Saada. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Commander of the Alab axis Yasser Majali is seen at the military parade in Saada. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias launched on Saturday an attack against a military camp in Yemen’s northern Saada province, killing one and injuring a number of people.

The attack in the Alab-Baqem area took place days after the Houthis attacked Bahraini troops in the Arab Coalitions to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen deployed on Saudi Arabia’s southern border, killing four servicemen.

Saturday’s attack, using drones and katyusha rockets, targeted a military parade commemorating the September 26 revolution in Yemen.

Member of the Presidential Leadership Council Abdulrahman al-Mahrami condemned the attack, saying it reflects the Houthis’ despair as they are constantly being confronted by the heroics of the military.

The command at the camp said the Houthis are defying regional and international efforts to establish peace in Yemen.

The militias carried out an assault along the Alab-Baqem axis, as well as the camp, it explained.

The military repelled the attack, downing several drones, it added, while stressing its right to respond to such violations in line with performing its national duties.

Spokesman for the military Abdo Majali warned that the repeated Houthi attacks on the legitimate forces or Arab Coalition will impact peace efforts.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he accused the Houthis of rejecting all regional and international peace efforts, as demonstrated by the latest attacks.

He noted that the military has become better trained and equipped in repelling attacks, but it is also keen on ensuring the success of peace efforts and lifting the morale of the people.



Morocco Denounces as 'Biased' ECJ Ruling Annulling its Trade Deals with EU

A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)
A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)
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Morocco Denounces as 'Biased' ECJ Ruling Annulling its Trade Deals with EU

A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)
A bulldozer passes by a hilltop manned by Moroccan soldiers on a road between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, Nov. 23, 2020. (AFP)

Morocco's foreign ministry said a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Friday annulling its trade deals with the EU showed "blatant political bias".

The court said the European Commission had breached the right of people in Western Sahara to self-determination by concluding trade deals with Morocco.

The ruling contained legal errors and "suspicious factual mistakes", the ministry said in a statement, urging the European Council, the commission and member states to uphold their commitments and preserve the assets of the partnership with Morocco.

Western Sahara, a tract of desert the size of Britain, has been the scene of Africa's longest-running territorial dispute since colonial power Spain left in 1975 and Morocco annexed the territory.

Earlier on Friday, the European Union’s top court ruled definitively that fisheries and agriculture agreements reached between the bloc and Morocco five years ago failed to include consultations with the people of Western Sahara.

In its ruling, the European Court of Justice said that for the 2019 EU-Morocco farm and fisheries agreements to enter force, they “must receive the consent of the people of Western Sahara. However, such consent has not been given in this instance.”

It said the deals “were concluded in breach of the principles of self-determination and the relative effect of treaties.” The Luxembourg-based court dismissed “in their entirety” legal appeals by the EU’s executive branch and the council representing the 27 member countries.

The fisheries agreement laid out where European vessels with Moroccan permits could fish and included Moroccan-controlled waters west of the disputed territory. The four-year accord has already expired, so the court’s decision will only influence future agreements.

The court acknowledged that the EU institutions had launched a consultation process before concluding the agreements, but said this involved people who were present in the territory, “irrespective of whether or not they belong to the people of Western Sahara.”

It noted that “a significant proportion of that people now lives outside that territory.”