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
TT

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.



Franjieh Withdraws from Lebanon’s Presidential Race, Backs Army Commander

 People look at a ballot box displayed inside the parliament building, a day ahead of Lebanon's parliament's attempt to elect a new head of state in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, January 8, 2025. (Reuters)
People look at a ballot box displayed inside the parliament building, a day ahead of Lebanon's parliament's attempt to elect a new head of state in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, January 8, 2025. (Reuters)
TT

Franjieh Withdraws from Lebanon’s Presidential Race, Backs Army Commander

 People look at a ballot box displayed inside the parliament building, a day ahead of Lebanon's parliament's attempt to elect a new head of state in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, January 8, 2025. (Reuters)
People look at a ballot box displayed inside the parliament building, a day ahead of Lebanon's parliament's attempt to elect a new head of state in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, January 8, 2025. (Reuters)

Head of the Marada Movement Suleiman Franjieh announced on Wednesday that he was withdrawing from Lebanon’s presidential election and backing the candidacy of army commander Joseph Aoun.

Lebanon is holding the much-awaited election on Thursday.

In a post on the X platform, Franjieh said: "Now that the conditions are ripe for the election of a president tomorrow, I am withdrawing my candidacy, which has never been an obstacle in the electoral process."

He added that Aoun "enjoys the qualities that would preserve the standing of the country’s top post."

He hoped "the nation would overcome this stage with unity, diligence and responsibility."

Parliament will try to elect a president on Thursday, with officials seeing better chances of success in a political landscape shaken by Israel's war with Hezbollah and the toppling of the group's ally Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria.

The post, reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country's sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022. The former president is not related to army commander Aoun.

None of the political groups in the 128-seat parliament have enough seats to impose their choice, and they have so far been unable to agree on a consensus candidate. The vote marks the first test of Lebanon's power balance since the Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah - which propelled its then Christian ally Aoun to the presidency in 2016 - emerged badly pummeled from the war with Israel.

The Lebanese parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)

It takes place against a backdrop of historic change in the wider Middle East, where the Assad-led Syrian state exercised sway over Lebanon for decades, both directly and through allies such as Hezbollah.

Before Franjieh withdrew from the race and reflecting the shifts, Hezbollah and its ally the Shiite Amal Movement led by parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dropped their insistence on Franjieh, their declared candidate for the last two years, and said they are ready to go with a less divisive figure, three senior sources familiar with their thinking said.

Candidates in focus include army commander General Joseph Aoun - said by Lebanese politicians to enjoy US approval - Jihad Azour, a senior International Monetary Fund official who formerly served as finance minister, and Major-General Elias al-Baysari - head of General Security, a state security agency.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he felt happy because "God willing, tomorrow we will have a new president", according to a statement from his office.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also expressed hope in comments to France Inter radio, saying the election was "a prerequisite for the continuation of this dynamic of peace" and also for Lebanon's economic and social recovery.

However, two of the sources and an analyst cautioned that it was not yet certain any candidate would be elected. To win, a candidate must secure 86 votes in a first round, or 65 in a second round.

Rice is thrown on Newly-appointed General Joseph Aoun (C) as army commander, upon his arrival at his family's house in Sin El Fil, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon March 8, 2017. (Reuters)

‘National awakening’

Joseph Aoun would still need 86 votes because his election requires a constitutional amendment, as he is a still-serving state employee, Berri has said.

A State Department spokesperson said it was "up to Lebanon to choose its next president, not the United States or any external actor".

"We have been consistent in our efforts to press Lebanon to elect a new president, which we see as important to strengthening Lebanon’s political institutions," the spokesperson said.

Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa said last week there was "no veto" on Aoun. But the sources said Hezbollah, designated a terrorist group by the United States, will not support him.

Aoun has a key role in shoring up the ceasefire brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.

Still reeling from a financial collapse in 2019, Lebanon desperately needs foreign aid to rebuild. Much of the damage is in Shiite majority areas.

Hezbollah, its supply line to Iran severed by Assad's ousting, has urged Arab and international support for Lebanon.

Lebanon's Maronite Bishops called on lawmakers to elect a president, urging a "national awakening".