UN Appoints Lise Grande As Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen

Lise Grande, then-UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Erbil, Iraq October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
Lise Grande, then-UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Erbil, Iraq October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
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UN Appoints Lise Grande As Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen

Lise Grande, then-UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Erbil, Iraq October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
Lise Grande, then-UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Erbil, Iraq October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

The United Nations has recently chosen its former humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Lise Grande, to assume the same task in Yemen, succeeding Jamie McGoldrick, who was accused by the Yemeni legitimate government of being biased towards the Houthi rebels.

In the first meeting between Grande and the Yemeni leadership in Riyadh on Sunday, Foreign Minister Abdul Malik al-Mekhlafi asked the new UN coordinator to take decisive positions on the violations committed by the Houthi rebels, as well as to set clear criteria for the distribution of humanitarian aid in different regions of the country.

The legitimate government is expecting that Grande would be able to overcome the multiple obstacles imposed by the Houthi militias on the work of the humanitarian organizations operating in their areas of control and to succeed in the smooth implementation of the desired relief projects and the flow of various aid to the targeted groups.

The new UN coordinator in Yemen has a wide experience in humanitarian and relief work with the United Nations since 1994. She has previously served as the United Nations resident coordinator and representative of a UN development program in India. She was responsible for coordinating humanitarian affairs in Iraq during the last three years.

Grande has also served in UN missions in Armenia, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor, Haiti, Palestine, Southern Sudan, Sudan and Tajikistan, in addition to her wide participation in UN peacekeeping missions.

Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi underlined, during his meeting with Grande on Sunday, the importance of UN efforts in Yemen to provide the urgent needs of the war-stricken population, which is suffering from the repercussions of the coup imposed by Houthi militias.

He added that he hoped that all UN representatives would “support the Yemeni people and convey the reality of their sufferings and the tragedies and violations committed by the militias against them while disregarding the relevant international and UN resolutions, including resolution 2216,” according to Yemen’s national news agency.

The UN official hailed President Hadi’s efforts to get Yemen out of the current crisis and move towards the future.

“We are ready to provide all kinds of support to Yemen to overcome its difficult challenges at the humanitarian and medical levels,” she said, expressing gratitude for the support and facilitation provided by the Yemeni government to the UN staff.



Sudan Lashes Out at Kenya's 'Hostile' Support for Rival Govt

Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)
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Sudan Lashes Out at Kenya's 'Hostile' Support for Rival Govt

Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)

Sudan's army-aligned administration lashed out Monday at what it called Kenya's "irresponsible and hostile" support for efforts by Khartoum's paramilitary rivals to form a parallel government.

Since April 2023, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, once allies, have been locked in a power struggle that has dragged the country into war.

Late Saturday, the RSF and a coalition of political and armed groups signed in Nairobi a charter that would pave the way for a "peace and unity" government in rebel-held areas, with Kenya's foreign minister later saying the proposed administration would restore "democratic governance" in Sudan.

Sudan's foreign ministry condemned the "dangerous precedent" on Monday, saying that "in a grave threat to regional security and peace, the Kenyan leadership has adopted the parallel government that the genocidal militia and its followers intend to declare in some of the remaining pockets under their control".

The government, it added, would take "the necessary steps to respond to this irresponsible and hostile behavior".

Those steps appeared to be taking shape Monday, with foreign ministry undersecretary Hussein Al-Amin Al-Fadil telling a press conference in Port Sudan that "measures against Kenya are escalating, and there are arrangements for economic measures, including a ban on importing Kenyan products".

He also said Sudan was in the process of withdrawing its ambassador from Nairobi and would file a complaint against Kenya through regional and international channels.

Among the signatories of the charter was a faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, which controls parts of the southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

The United Nations warned that the signing of the charter would "increase the fragmentation" of the war-torn country.

But in a post on X on Sunday, Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi called the charter "a peace agreement", describing the proposed administration as a "a unity government" that would restore "peace, stability, and democratic governance in Sudan".

In its statement, Khartoum accused Nairobi of creating a "false facade for the militia to directly obtain weapons", while "relieving regional sponsors of some embarrassment".

The foreign ministry said that this "would expand the scope of war and prolong its duration" and warned of potential damage to bilateral ties with Kenya.

Fadil said Monday that Kenyan President William Ruto "has known personal interests with the militia leader and its sponsors, and is betting on losing cards".

Saturday's signing of the charter comes as the army and its allied factions are making advances against the RSF in the capital Khartoum and in central Sudan.

The war in Sudan, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, erupted after a rift emerged between Burhan and Daglo over the future structure of the government.

The war has triggered the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.

Both warring sides face accusations of committing grave atrocities against civilians, with their leaders sanctioned by the US.