Rocket Launched Near Peacekeeper Post in Lebanon on Sunday, UN Says

 Vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol near the Lebanon-Israel border, at Marjeyoun area in southern Lebanon, 27 August 2024. (EPA)
Vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol near the Lebanon-Israel border, at Marjeyoun area in southern Lebanon, 27 August 2024. (EPA)
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Rocket Launched Near Peacekeeper Post in Lebanon on Sunday, UN Says

 Vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol near the Lebanon-Israel border, at Marjeyoun area in southern Lebanon, 27 August 2024. (EPA)
Vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol near the Lebanon-Israel border, at Marjeyoun area in southern Lebanon, 27 August 2024. (EPA)

One of the rockets launched from Lebanon in the heavy exchange between armed group Hezbollah and the Israeli military on Sunday was fired from near a position operated by international peacekeepers, the United Nations force told Reuters on Tuesday.

The UN peacekeeping force for Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said it had detected a "high number of air strikes and rocket launches in its area of operations" starting on Sunday morning.

"One such launch was detected from near one of our positions in Hanniyeh," UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said, referring to a town in southern Lebanon approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the border with Israel.

The spokesperson said another explosion occurred later in the day near a UNIFIL position in Mays al-Jabal, along the border, but said there was no damage and no casualties.

"We continually stress to everyone that using areas near our positions to launch attacks across the Blue Line or targeting that puts peacekeepers in danger is unacceptable and a violation of Resolution 1701," the spokesperson said.

The Blue Line is the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, where parts of the international border are disputed.

UN resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, tasks UNIFIL with ensuring that its area of operations "is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind".

A spokesperson for the Israeli military said on Monday that it had identified Hezbollah rocket launch sites approximately 150 meters (490 feet) away from a UN position in Hanniyeh, without specifically naming UNIFIL.

There was no immediate response from Hezbollah to a Reuters request for comment.

Hezbollah on Sunday fired rockets and drones at Israeli military sites in retaliation for the killing of a top commander by Israel last month, and Israeli jets targeted approximately 40 launch sites in Lebanon.

It was one of the most intense exchanges of fire between the armed foes in more than 10 months of hostilities playing out in parallel with the Gaza war.



Chairman of Yemen’s PLC in Historic Visit to Taiz Despite Security Fears

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi greets the crowd in Taiz. (Saba news agency)
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi greets the crowd in Taiz. (Saba news agency)
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Chairman of Yemen’s PLC in Historic Visit to Taiz Despite Security Fears

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi greets the crowd in Taiz. (Saba news agency)
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi greets the crowd in Taiz. (Saba news agency)

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi made a historic visit to the city of Taiz on Tuesday that has been besieged by the Iran-backed Houthis for nine years.

He was accorded a wide popular and official welcome, with crowds thronging the road to the city which he arrived at from the interim capital Aden.

He kicked off his visit by laying the foundation stone of several development and service projects funded by the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen (SDRPY). They included constructing and equipping a specialized cancer center, power generation plant, technical industrial institute, rural hospital, and exemplary Al-Wahda Joint School.

In official statements, Al-Alimi said: “Taiz will continue to spearhead the national project. It will remain the cradle of change and the capital of perseverance that has been underscored by the years of oppressive siege imposed by the terrorist Houthi militias.”

He added that his meetings with local administrations always focus on improving living conditions and services and exerting efforts to liberate the remaining Yemeni provinces from the Houthis.

Residents of the western province of Taiz are hoping that his visit to the city of the same name will kickstart efforts to build institutions, provide services and focus on infrastructure, while continuing to confront the Houthi agenda and reclaim territories held by the militias.

This was the first visit by a Yemeni president to Taiz in nearly 15 years. He was accompanied by his deputies Abdullah Al-Alimi and Othman Majali.

Activists on social media posted photos of the PLC leader as he greeted the people in the city despite the danger as he passed by areas held by the Houthis.

Former minister and Yemen’s current ambassador to Morocco Ezzedine Al-Asbahi remarked that the people’s warm welcome of Al-Alimi, along the road stretching from Aden to Taiz, demonstrates their eagerness “for every step that consolidates the presence of the state.”

Yemeni journalist Ghamdan al-Yosifi said Al-Alimi's visit helps “tend to the wounds of the city.”

“It certainly was a security risk given that the Houthis have sought to target state leaders with all their might,” he remarked, recalling how the militias had previously attacked a plane transporting former Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik and members of his government when they landed at Aden airport years ago.

He also recalled a Houthi attack on the Taiz governor, who miraculously escaped with his life after they struck and destroyed his vehicle.

Al-Alimi has several thorny files to tackle in Taiz, “which has paid the heftiest of prices and made sacrifices as it rejected the Houthi project and it persevered alone when all support was extended to other provinces,” he added.

Yosifi hoped the visit would be aimed at breaking the siege and ending the tensions between the people of Taiz and the country’s leadership.

Yemeni researcher and political analyst Mustafa Naji al-Jabzi said Al-Alimi's visit helps restore Taiz province’s standing given “the major sacrifices it has given to preserve the republic and its Yemeni and Arab identity.”

“It is the frontline in the fight with the enemy” Houthis, he added.

He also urged political and social forces, especially the youth, to take advantage of Al-Alimi's visit to present a reform program that would address the situation in Taiz so that local authorities can be held to account if they fail to meet their aspirations.

Taiz is the fifth province Al-Alimi has visited since he assumed his post in April 2022 when the PLC was formed. The others are Aden, Hadramawt, al-Mahra and Marib.

Despite the failed efforts to reach peace and end the confict between the legitimate government and Houthis, Yemen has been witnessing relative calm since 2022 through UN efforts.

The Houthis have also been accused of obstructing a Saudi and Omani mediated peace roadmap when they launched their attacks on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November.