Aden Airport Receives First Commercial Flight

A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
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Aden Airport Receives First Commercial Flight

A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo

Yemen’s National Airline announced on Tuesday a commercial flight had landed at Aden international airport after acquiring security permits.

A Yemeni airlines official said a flight took off from Cairo and landed in Aden on Tuesday before returning to the Egyptian capital, according to Reuters.

The official said the flights would increase gradually over the coming days.

The new commercial flight came after Saudi Arabia's ambassador to UN Abdallah al-Mouallimi announced Saudi-led coalition's determination to gradually reopen some of the country’s ports and airports.

Mouallimi told reporters that the government-held ports in Aden, Mukala and al-Mokha, as well as airports in Aden, Seiyun and Socotra, would be opened very soon.

“We would like to confirm that steps are being taken by the coalition to start the process of reopening airports and sea ports in Yemen to allow for the safe transfer of humanitarian actors and humanitarian and commercial shipments,” said the Ambassador. 

Meanwhile, military sources reported that the Yemeni National Army carried out a military operation that terminated Houthis' threats against reinforcements to Taiz, south of Yemen.

Deputy spokesperson for government forces in Taiz Colonel Abdul Basit al-Bahar said the army forces cleansed al-Nasira and al-Shouhouj sites, last strategic location in Jashea mountain under insurgents control. He explained that this victory had been achieved with the support of the Saudi-led air force that raided several times on the locations.

After army forces regained control over al-Sawaleh mountain, insurgents transported their injured members to Jashea mountain, and then fled the area while the residents gathered the supplies insurgents had left behind, according to the source.

Military sources reported that army forces attacked insurgent sites in al-Kaous, Asaq, and al-Tawilah mountains in Haifan district on Monday.

Seven armed members of Houthi-Saleh militias were killed and six others injured as they tried to attack military locations, while the army units succeeded in breaking into Houthi bases at al-Khazja and al-Mafalis fronts.

Bahar confirmed that reinforcements were sent to the army on al-Kapetah and al-Maqatrah fronts of Lahj district, while plans were set in preparation for a military operation on Taiz’s southern and western fronts.

Military advancements in Taiz’s countryside coincided with the army forces’ attack on Nahim front, west of Sana’a, as the liberation of Masourah area is being planned.

In Baydah district, clashes continued between insurgents and popular resistance in az-Zahir front. The resistance proceeded to control new sites as the insurgents targeted residential areas and farms. Insurgents also continued to attack civilians through sniper fire, locals told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Political activist Ahmed al-Hamzi also told the newspaper that the popular resistance regained control over new sites in az-Zahir and Dhi Naim following fierce clashes with the insurgents.

Hamzi stated that popular resistance was backed by the coalition air force which raided insurgent sites in al-Jamajim, killing and injuring several militants and destroying a tank as well as a number of weapons and artillery.

The activist stated that Houthi-Saleh militias continue to target civilians with sniper fire. A nine-year-old, was targeted by a militia sniper while sitting in his father’s car in al-Mohsen village.

Vice President Lt-Gen Ali Mohsen Saleh visited on Tuesday the headquarters of Combat Operations Directorate in Maerib province.

He toured the directorate’s departments and was briefed on the significant functions, mechanisms and efforts made by the directorate as well as the results of several combat operations.

Mohsen, then, held a meeting with the directorate’s officers during which he lauded Saudi-led Coalition forces’ contribution and logistic and military support to rebuild the military institution and in thwarting Iran-backed coup.

He praised efforts exerted by the directorate’s leadership and staff and highlighted their significant role in coordinating battlefield operations.



Libya Says UK to Analyze Black Box from Crash That Killed General

Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
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Libya Says UK to Analyze Black Box from Crash That Killed General

Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)

Libya said on Thursday that Britain had agreed to analyze the black box from a plane crash in Türkiye on December 23 that killed a Libyan military delegation, including the head of its army.

General Mohammed al-Haddad and four aides died after a visit to Ankara, with Turkish officials saying an electrical failure caused their Falcon 50 jet to crash shortly after takeoff.

Three crew members, two of them French, were also killed.

The aircraft's black box flight recorder was found on farmland near the crash site.

"We coordinated directly with Britain for the analysis" of the black box, Mohamed al-Chahoubi, transport minister in the Government of National Unity (GNU), said at a press conference in Tripoli.

Haddad was very popular in Libya despite deep divisions between west and east.

Haddad was chief of staff for the Tripoli-based GNU.

Chahoubi told AFP a request for the analysis was "made to Germany, which demanded France's assistance" to examine the aircraft's flight recorders.

"However, the Chicago Convention stipulates that the country analyzing the black box must be neutral," he said.

"Since France is a manufacturer of the aircraft and the crew was French, it is not qualified to participate. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, was accepted by Libya and Turkey."

After meeting the British ambassador to Tripoli on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Taher al-Baour said a joint request had been submitted by Libya and Türkiye to Britain "to obtain technical and legal support for the analysis of the black box".

Chahoubi told Thursday's press briefing that Britain "announced its agreement, in coordination with the Libyan Ministry of Transport and the Turkish authorities".

He said it was not yet possible to say how long it would take to retrieve the flight data, as this depended on the state of the black box.

"The findings will be made public once they are known," Chahoubi said, warning against "false information" and urging the public not to pay attention to rumors.


STC Says Handing over Positions to National Shield Forces in Yemen's Hadhramaut, Mahra

National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
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STC Says Handing over Positions to National Shield Forces in Yemen's Hadhramaut, Mahra

National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)

Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces in Yemen began on Thursday handing over military positions to the government’s National Shield forces in the Hadhramaut and al-Mahra provinces in eastern Yemen.

Local sources in Hadhramaut confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the handover kicked off after meetings were held between the two sides.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said the National Shield commanders met with STC leaderships to discuss future arrangements. The sourced did not elaborate, but they confirmed that Emirati armored vehicles, which had entered Balhaf port in Shabwah were seen departing on a UAE vessel, in line with a Yemeni government request.

The National Shield is overseen by Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi.

A Yemeni official described Thursday’s developments as “positive” step towards uniting ranks and legitimacy against a common enemy – the Houthi groups.

The official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, underscored to Asharq Al-Awsat the importance of “partnership between components of the legitimacy and of dialogue to resolve any future differences.”

Meanwhile, on the ground, Yemeni military sources revealed that some STC forces had refused to quit their positions, prompting the forces to dispatch an official to Hadhramaut’s Seiyun city to negotiate the situation.


One Dead as Israeli Forces Open Fire on West Bank Stone-Throwers

Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
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One Dead as Israeli Forces Open Fire on West Bank Stone-Throwers

Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)

The Israeli military said its forces killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank in the early hours on Thursday as they opened fire on people who were throwing stones at soldiers.

Two other people were hit on a main ‌road near the ‌village of Luban ‌al-Sharqiya ⁠in Nablus, ‌the military statement added. It described the people as militants and said the stone-throwing was part of an ambush.

Palestinian authorities in the West Bank said ⁠a 26-year-old man they named as ‌Khattab Al Sarhan was ‍killed and ‍another person wounded.

Israeli forces had ‍closed the main entrance to the village of Luban al-Sharqiya, in Nablus, and blocked several secondary roads on Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority's official news agency WAFA reported.

More ⁠than a thousand Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between October 2023 and October 2025, mostly in operations by security forces and some by settler violence, the UN has said.

Over the same period, 57 Israelis were killed ‌in Palestinian attacks.