Aden Security: Attack on Investigation Department Is Over

People check the site of a suicide bombing in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman
People check the site of a suicide bombing in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman
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Aden Security: Attack on Investigation Department Is Over

People check the site of a suicide bombing in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman
People check the site of a suicide bombing in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman

Security forces in Yemen's temporary capital, Aden, announced that the militants' attack on the Criminal Investigation Department had been contained and the building is now under complete control after 24 hours of clashes. The militants are believed to be members of al-Qaeda.

Aden security stated that 20 soldiers and a number of civilians were killed during the attack and dozens others injured. Security forces also stated that 11 prisoners had been freed during the attack, however, one of the militants was arrested after he had been identified by one of the jail keepers.

The attack of Qaeda suspects resembles the times following the liberation of Aden from Houthi and Saleh where several assassinations and attacks took place. Since then, assassinations didn't stop, but they had been fewer ones due to security measures that stabilized the situation in the region. In addition, security forces had been able to establish their control on Aden through a series of arrests and high security measures.

However, observers stated that the attack unraveled security vulnerabilities in the city due to several armed forces hiding behind resistance facade and claiming control of several areas. This made it is easier for terrorist clusters to operate under the same mechanism.

Military and security analyst Brigadier General Thabet Saleh stated that the incident in Aden is not only a terrorist attack that ISIS rushed into claiming responsibility for. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the attack is far more dangerous than people can imagine.

Saleh said that it was a planned and calculated attempt to shift the military and security power in Aden and the south to the forces of terrorism and corruption.

Analysts believe that the attack didn’t only aim to release prisoners, but it was also a response to all the recent successes of the security forces over Qaeda in Aden and nearby governorates Lahij and Abyan. They stated that recent achievements of the security forces were uncovering huge amounts of weapons, ammunition, and directed shells in one of Qaeda’s clusters in al-Mahfad district, east of Abyan.

Asharq al-Awsat spoke to several civilians who indicated that the bigger problem lies in the proliferation of arms in Aden which encourages outlaws to execute operations that could harm the country’s security and people’s interests, including terrorist attacks.

They added that a comprehensive security force should be established to manage Aden’s security, and performs the security and intelligence functions as well as directing the counter-terrorism force.

Citizens rely heavily on the joint coordination between the coalition and the legitimate forces in security matters.



UN Chief Outlines Four Options for Embattled Palestinian Relief Agency UNRWA

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Center des Expositions conference center in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Center des Expositions conference center in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Chief Outlines Four Options for Embattled Palestinian Relief Agency UNRWA

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Center des Expositions conference center in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Center des Expositions conference center in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)

A review of the embattled United Nations Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, ordered by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has identified four possible ways forward for the organization that has lost US funding and been banned by Israel.

The proposals, seen by Reuters, are: inaction that could see the potential collapse of UNRWA; a reduction of services; the creation of an executive board to advise UNRWA; or maintaining UNRWA’s rights-based core while transferring services to host governments and the Palestinian Authority. While Guterres ordered the strategic assessment of UNRWA in April as part of his wider UN reform efforts, only the 193-member UN General Assembly can change UNRWA’s mandate.

UNRWA was established by the General Assembly in 1949 following the war surrounding the founding of Israel. It provides aid, health and education to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

“I believe it is imperative that Member States take action to protect the rights of Palestine refugees, the mandate of UNRWA and regional peace and security,” Guterres wrote in a letter dated on Monday and seen by Reuters submitting the UNRWA assessment to the General Assembly. The review comes after Israel adopted a law in October, which was enacted on January 30, that bans UNRWA's operation on Israeli land - including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognized internationally - and contact with Israeli authorities.

UNRWA is also dealing with a dire financial crisis, facing a $200-million deficit. The US was UNRWA's biggest donor, but former President Joe Biden paused funding in January 2024 after Israel accused about a dozen UNRWA staff of taking part in the deadly October 7, 2023, attack by the Palestinian Hamas group that triggered the war in Gaza. The funding halt was then extended by the US Congress and President Donald Trump.

FOUR OPTIONS

The UN has said nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Hamas attack and were fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon - killed in September by Israel - was also found to have had an UNRWA job. The UN has vowed to investigate all accusations and repeatedly asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been provided. Israel has long been critical of UNRWA, while UNRWA has said it has been the target of a "fierce disinformation campaign" to "portray the agency as a terrorist organization." Guterres and the UN Security Council have described UNRWA as the backbone of the aid response in Gaza.

The first possible option outlined by the UNRWA strategic assessment was inaction and the potential collapse of the agency, noting that “this scenario would exacerbate humanitarian need, heighten social unrest, and deepen regional fragility” and “represent a significant abandonment of Palestine refugees by the international community.”

The second option was to reduce services by “aligning UNRWA’s operations with a reduced and more predictable level of funding through service cuts and transfer of some functions to other actors.”

The third option was to create an executive board to advise and support UNRWA’s commissioner-general, enhance accountability and take responsibility for securing multi-year funding and aligning UNRWA’s funding and services. The final potential option would see UNRWA maintain its functions as custodian of Palestine refugee rights, registration, and advocacy for refugee access to services, “while progressively shifting service provision to host governments and the Palestinian Authority, with strong international commitment to funding.”