Yemen Urges Firm Action Against Houthis to Resume Oil Exports

Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen  (EPA)
Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen (EPA)
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Yemen Urges Firm Action Against Houthis to Resume Oil Exports

Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen  (EPA)
Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen (EPA)

The Yemeni government is calling on the international community to take firm stances and measures against the Houthi group. It also urged efforts to resume oil exports, which have been halted for a year due to Houthi attacks on export ports.

This call from the Yemeni government comes at a time when the Houthi group continues to violate the ceasefire, particularly in southwestern Taiz fronts.

This is happening concurrently with suppression campaigns targeting those demanding their salaries in areas under Houthi control.

With over 80% of Yemenis enduring dire circumstances due to the ongoing war and Houthi insurgency, the government emphasized, during its address to the 54th session of the Human Rights Council, the necessity of enabling it to resume oil exports.

This would allow the government to fulfill its urgent financial obligations to its citizens, including paying salaries that support the population in coping with challenging living conditions and financing food imports into both government-controlled areas and Houthi-run regions.

Nabil Abdulhafiz, the Deputy Minister of Human Rights in the Yemeni government, reaffirmed the support for the National Committee to investigate allegations of human rights violations.

The committee is regarded as an independent national mechanism that efficiently and independently carries out its work, receiving all necessary facilitations and cooperation to uncover the truth, achieve accountability, justice, and provide reparations to victims.

The Yemeni government called upon the members of the Human Rights Council to address the human rights situation in Yemen.

The appeal stems from Yemen’s need for support, technical assistance, and capacity-building to enable the government to meet its human rights commitments.

The government is also seeking to encourage and support the committee in continuing its mission to ensure accountability and justice.

Moreover, Abdulhafiz said that recent steps taken in reshaping the Supreme Judicial Council are evidence of the Presidential Leadership Council’s commitment to achieving justice and revitalizing its institutions.

Abdulhafiz further noted that his country’s government “remains committed to the humanitarian ceasefire and the execution of all its provisions, while militias continue to defy their obligations, including opening crossings and roads between all Yemeni cities and lifting the siege on the city of Taiz.”

The Yemeni official accused the Houthi group of persistently violating and attacking civilians and displacement camps in areas such as Marib, Al-Dhale, Hodeidah, and Taiz.

These provocations manifest in their military build-up, parades, threats, and the unlawful use of military force.

Abdulhafiz urged the international community and the Human Rights Council to press the Houthi militias to cease their violations, halt their looting of Yemeni resources, and cease targeting vital facilities and infrastructure.



Report: Russian Government Delegation Arrives in Syria for Talks 

People stand on a balcony of the historic Hejaz train station in Damascus on January 26, 2025. (AFP)
People stand on a balcony of the historic Hejaz train station in Damascus on January 26, 2025. (AFP)
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Report: Russian Government Delegation Arrives in Syria for Talks 

People stand on a balcony of the historic Hejaz train station in Damascus on January 26, 2025. (AFP)
People stand on a balcony of the historic Hejaz train station in Damascus on January 26, 2025. (AFP)

The first Russian official delegation to visit Syria since the toppling of Moscow ally Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Damascus, Russian news agencies reported Tuesday.  

The delegation includes deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also President Vladimir Putin's special representative on the Middle East and Africa, as well as Alexander Lavrentiev, the president's special representative on Syria, the RIA Novosti agency reported.  

It said it was "the first visit by Russian officials to Damascus" since Assad fled in December in the face of a lightning opposition advance across the country.  

Moscow was one of Assad's key backers, intervening in Syria's civil war in 2015 in his favor. He and his family fled to Russia after his ouster. 

Russia is now seeking to secure the fate of its naval base in Tartus and its air base at Hmeimim - both on Syria's Mediterranean coast and Moscow's only military outposts outside the former Soviet Union - with the new Syrian authorities.  

The group led by Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa - Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - is banned in Russia as a "terrorist" organization.  

The organization is rooted in Al-Qaeda's Syria branch but has more recently adopted a moderate tone. 

Sharaa in December noted the "deep strategic interests between Russia and Syria" in an interview with the Al-Arabiya TV channel.  

"All Syria's arms are of Russian origin, and many power plants are managed by Russian experts... We do not want Russia to leave Syria in the way that some wish," Sharaa added.  

US and Ukrainian diplomats visited Syria's new rulers in December.