Yemen Urges Aid for Tihamah Residents After Deadly Floods

Massive losses have been inflicted on the people of Tihamah in Yemen due to the floods, affecting lives, property, and agricultural lands (X)
Massive losses have been inflicted on the people of Tihamah in Yemen due to the floods, affecting lives, property, and agricultural lands (X)
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Yemen Urges Aid for Tihamah Residents After Deadly Floods

Massive losses have been inflicted on the people of Tihamah in Yemen due to the floods, affecting lives, property, and agricultural lands (X)
Massive losses have been inflicted on the people of Tihamah in Yemen due to the floods, affecting lives, property, and agricultural lands (X)

Yemen’s Tihamah region on the Red Sea coast is facing a severe crisis after days of heavy rain caused deadly flash floods. The disaster has killed at least 45 people, with many more missing. The situation is dire, with little to no relief efforts reaching those in need.
The Yemeni government has called for urgent help to aid the residents of the region, which includes Hodeidah province and parts of Hajjah, Al Mahwit, Raymah, and Taiz.
The government has accused the Houthi group of controlling the region’s resources, such as ports and farmland, without offering any assistance to those affected by the floods.
With statistics hard to come by, estimates suggest that over 100 people are missing and more than 500 homes have been damaged in varying degrees. Thousands of families, many living in mud or straw houses, have been displaced. Social media is flooded with images and videos revealing the scale of the disaster.
Local sources in the affected areas told Asharq Al-Awsat that dozens are missing, with some estimating the number could exceed 100 due to the breakdown in communication and road closures.
The Yemeni government has urgently called on UN and international organizations to provide immediate aid to those impacted by the floods.
Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, after speaking with ministers and local officials, received initial reports on the flood damage and called for urgent international support to deliver emergency humanitarian aid.
Ali Hamid Al-Ahdal, the media officer for Hodeidah province, told Asharq Al-Awsat that most of the flood victims are in areas controlled by the Houthis. He called on international and local organizations, as well as charities, to quickly provide aid.
Al-Ahdal accused the Houthis of making the situation worse by constructing large barriers and military trenches in flood zones, which caused the water to overflow into homes, farms, and other properties.
He also warned residents to stay indoors to avoid landmines that the floods have swept from fields into roads and farmlands. Al-Ahdal urged the immediate reopening of the road between Hays and Al-Jarrahi, which the Houthis have blocked.
Social media images and videos show dozens of landmines that were dislodged by the floods, now posing a serious threat to residents and their livestock. These mines had been hidden in fields that the Houthis refused to disclose for years.



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.