Yemen Govt. Frees Telecom Sector from Houthi Clutches

A busy street in Aden, the temporary seat of Yemen's government. (Reuters)
A busy street in Aden, the temporary seat of Yemen's government. (Reuters)
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Yemen Govt. Frees Telecom Sector from Houthi Clutches

A busy street in Aden, the temporary seat of Yemen's government. (Reuters)
A busy street in Aden, the temporary seat of Yemen's government. (Reuters)

Yemen’s government dealt a painful blow to Houthis by launching huge telecommunications projects in the interim capital Aden, pulling the rug out from under the Iran-backed Houthis in Sanaa by depriving them of millions of dollars in income from central control of services.

The projects, launched by Yemen’s internationally-recognized government headed by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr, enraged the Houthis and dashed their hopes of taking over the country.

Coup government head Abdul Aziz bin Habtoor called for an emergency meeting to discuss how to respond to the legitimate government’s move.

In its latest 2018 report, the United Nations Security Council's sanctions committee revealed that Houthi militias were taxing more than an annual half a billion dollars just by exploiting the telecommunications sector, collecting tariffs from companies to finance their war effort.

The cost of government-launched telecommunications sector projects amount to $100 million, official sources revealed.

Bin Daghr described the initiative as “a step towards better building a new Yemen, ending the monopoly, pillage and appropriation of public assets” by Houthi militias.

Houthis, after taking over communications and Internet services in Sanaa, have employed public assets to push for their repressive agenda.

“This project is a development project, which is for the good of a greater Yemen and will extend its services nationwide, benefiting every citizen,” bin Daghr said.

Reviewing the project’s objectives, he explained that it will boost the country’s current capacity 80 fold and will provide Internet users with unprecedented speeds, quotas, greater visibility in output and a lower prices.

“The project has provided hundreds of job opportunities… and will contribute significantly to national income,” added Daghr.

He expressed his gratitude to the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, which “provided security conditions for the implementation of the projects.”

On the other hand, the Houthi group in Sanaa issued statements claiming that the projects “violate the sovereignty of Yemen and seek to undermine the telecommunications sector,” threatening to take a series of escalation measures in response to the launch, without disclosing any further details.



Gaza Suffering Has Reached ‘Unimaginable’ Levels, Say 26 Foreign Ministers

 Palestinians scramble to collect aid supplies from trucks that entered through Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, August 12, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians scramble to collect aid supplies from trucks that entered through Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, August 12, 2025. (Reuters)
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Gaza Suffering Has Reached ‘Unimaginable’ Levels, Say 26 Foreign Ministers

 Palestinians scramble to collect aid supplies from trucks that entered through Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, August 12, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians scramble to collect aid supplies from trucks that entered through Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, August 12, 2025. (Reuters)

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached "unimaginable levels", Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said on Tuesday, calling on Israel to allow unrestricted aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave. 

"Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation," the foreign ministers of 24 countries said in a joint statement. 

"We call on the government of Israel to provide authorization for all international NGO (non-governmental organizations) aid shipments and to unblock essential humanitarian actors from operating," the statement said. 

"All crossings and routes must be used to allow a flood of aid into Gaza, including food, nutrition supplies, shelter, fuel, clean water, medicine and medical equipment." 

Israel has denied responsibility for hunger spreading in Gaza, accusing Hamas fighters of stealing aid shipments, which Hamas denies. However, in response to a rising international uproar, Israel late last month announced steps to let more aid into the enclave, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. 

Western capitals, however, say much more aid is needed and some countries have started airdrops with aid over Gaza. 

The statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain. 

The EU later on Tuesday sent an updated statement to include EU member states Italy and Latvia as signatories of the statement. 

The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and two other members of the European Commission also signed the statement. 

Some EU member countries, including Germany and Hungary, did not sign it.