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Saudi-UN Cooperation in Yemen to Carry Out Environmental Reforms, Combat Cholera

Saudi-UN Cooperation in Yemen to Carry Out Environmental Reforms, Combat Cholera
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Saudi-UN Cooperation in Yemen to Carry Out Environmental Reforms, Combat Cholera

Saudi-UN Cooperation in Yemen to Carry Out Environmental Reforms, Combat Cholera

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) on Monday signed two projects with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The projects were signed by Advisor at the Royal Court and General Supervisor of KSRelief Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Rabeeah and UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Khairat Kabalari.

The first project aims to fight cholera, rehabilitate household water tanks, provide potable water and chlorination for disinfection, qualify water systems, build and qualify toilets and get rid of solid waste.

While the second one covers providing vaccines against polio, measles, rubella, mumps, whooping cough, tetanus, meningitis, hepatitis B and diphtheria diseases for children under the age of five, benefiting around 1.14 million children.

It aims at reducing morbidity and mortality due to vaccine-preventable diseases, improving the health status of children in Yemen and decreasing the spread of these diseases.

Approximately 390,000 children under age one will be vaccinated against the nine diseases and 750,000 children under five will be immunized against measles and rubella.

The project also covers the training of 2,000 male and female health workers, organizing 600 house visits, implementing health education and distributing one million explanatory brochures.

Rabeeah said that the projects cover all Yemeni areas and follow the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, who provided $66 million to combat cholera.

Kabalari, for his part, said that KSRelief is an important partner in the relief work in Yemen and is doing clear and positive work.

He pointed out that this partnership has been made between the two sides three years ago to meet the needs of children in need in several countries including Yemen, Syria and Bangladesh.

The projects will help fight cholera in Yemen and put an end to the suffering of millions of children, Kabalari stressed.

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Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
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Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)

Syria's new authorities torched a large stockpile of drugs on Wednesday, two security officials told AFP, including one million pills of captagon, whose industrial-scale production flourished under ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

Captagon is a banned amphetamine-like stimulant that became Syria's largest export during the country's more than 13-year civil war, effectively turning it into a narco state under Assad.

"We found a large quantity of captagon, around one million pills," said a balaclava-wearing member of the security forces, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Osama, and whose khaki uniform bore a "public security" patch.

An AFP journalist saw forces pour fuel over and set fire to a cache of cannabis, the painkiller tramadol, and around 50 bags of pink and yellow captagon pills in a security compound formerly belonging to Assad's forces in the capital's Kafr Sousa district.

Captagon has flooded the black market across the region in recent years.

"The security forces of the new government discovered a drug warehouse as they were inspecting the security quarter," said another member of the security forces, who identified himself as Hamza.

Authorities destroyed the stocks of alcohol, cannabis, captagon and hashish in order to "protect Syrian society" and "cut off smuggling routes used by Assad family businesses", he added.

- Manufacturing sites -

Since an opposition alliance toppled Assad on December 8 after a lightning offensive, Syria's new authorities have said massive quantities of captagon have been found in former government sites around the country, including security branches.

AFP journalists in Syria have seen fighters from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group set fire to what they said were stashes of captagon found at facilities once operated by Assad's forces.

Security force member Hamza confirmed Wednesday that "this is not the first initiative of its kind -- the security services, in a number of locations, have found other warehouses... and drug manufacturing sites and destroyed them in the appropriate manner".

Maher al-Assad, a military commander and the brother of Bashar al-Assad, is widely accused of being the power behind the lucrative captagon trade.

Experts believe Syria's former leader used the threat of drug-fueled unrest to put pressure on Arab governments.

Jordan in recent years has cracked down on the smuggling of weapons and drugs including captagon along its 375-kilometer (230-mile) border with Syria.