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.



Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Meets HTS Leader in Damascus

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
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Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Meets HTS Leader in Damascus

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Sunday, Türkiye’s foreign ministry said, without providing further details.

Photographs and footage shared by the ministry showed Fidan and Sharaa, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which led the operation to topple Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, walking ahead of a crowded delegation before posing for photographs.

The two are also seen shaking hands, hugging, and smiling.

On Friday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Türkiye would help Syria's new administration form a state structure and draft a new constitution, adding Fidan would head to Damascus to discuss this new structure, without providing a date.

Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Türkiye’s MIT intelligence agency, also visited Damascus on Dec. 12, four days after Assad's fall.

Ankara had for years backed opposition fighters looking to oust Assad and welcomed the end of his family's brutal five-decade rule after a 13-year civil war. Türkiye also hosts millions of Syrian migrants it hopes will start returning home after Assad's fall, and has vowed to help rebuild Syria.

Fidan's visit comes amid fighting in northeast Syria between Türkiye-backed Syrian fighters and the Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast and Ankara regards as a terrorist organization.

Earlier, Türkiye’s defense minister said Ankara believed that Syria's new leadership, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive YPG fighters from all territory they occupy in the northeast.

Ankara, alongside Syrian allies, has mounted several cross-border offensives against the Kurdish faction in northern Syria and controls swathes of Syrian territory along the border, while repeatedly demanding that its NATO ally Washington halts support for the Kurdish fighters.

The SDF has been on the back foot since Assad's fall, with the threat of advances from Ankara and Türkiye-backed groups as it looks to preserve political gains made in the last 13 years, and with Syria's new rulers being friendly to Ankara.