Yemen Govt. Proposes Initiative for Complete Houthi Withdrawal from West Coast

Yemeni soldiers stand on their position on a mountain on the frontline of fighting with Houthis in Nihem area, near Sanaa. (Reuters)
Yemeni soldiers stand on their position on a mountain on the frontline of fighting with Houthis in Nihem area, near Sanaa. (Reuters)
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Yemen Govt. Proposes Initiative for Complete Houthi Withdrawal from West Coast

Yemeni soldiers stand on their position on a mountain on the frontline of fighting with Houthis in Nihem area, near Sanaa. (Reuters)
Yemeni soldiers stand on their position on a mountain on the frontline of fighting with Houthis in Nihem area, near Sanaa. (Reuters)

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani revealed on Tuesday that his government had proposed a new comprehensive initiative to the Iran-backed Houthi militias to withdraw from all regions of the West coast.

It calls for their withdrawal from Hodeidah province and its strategic port and the ports of al-Salif and Ras Isa. The Interior Ministry and police department will be tasked with controlling these areas, he explained from his ministry’s temporary headquarters in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Legitimate powers, in turn, will oversee the performance of the police in the West coast. It will also supervise all other state institutions there, Yamani told a press conference.

All state resources will be transferred to the central bank, he revealed in detailing the government initiative.

“Should the militias reject the proposal, then the government will have no choice but to employ its means to liberate Yemeni territory, as we did in Aden. We will eventually liberate Sanaa,” he vowed.

Yamani stressed that Yemen refuses to adopt a selective solution to the country’s crisis. He instead demanded that the Houthis withdraw from regions they have occupied and lay down their arms in accordance to United Nations Security Council resolution 2216.

“This resolution is the most important legal tool for the international community to address the Yemeni crisis,” he stated.

Asked by Asharq Al-Awsat about the latest round of peace negotiations, the minister replied: “Up until this moment, we are awaiting for the Houthis to accept our demand for a complete and unconditional withdrawal.”

“They have been completely uncooperative in this respect,” he continued, saying that they have instead been focusing on “de-escalating” tensions and reducing the number of their forces.

“These are proposals that are unacceptable by the legitimate government,” the minister declared.

He added that international partners are imposing pressure on the legitimate government despite their acknowledgment that the militias are the main source of the problem.

The Houthis should be the ones being held accountable, he urged.

Moreover, Yamani noted that UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths had exerted “severe pressure” on the legitimate government and Saudi-led Arab coalition from the very moment that he assumed his duties.

His pressure focused on humanitarian issues in order to reach results on the political level, he explained, while expressing reservations over the UN’s assessment of the humanitarian situation.



Syria Reaches Deal to Integrate SDF within State Institutions, Presidency Says

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shaking the hand of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi after the signing of an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shaking the hand of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi after the signing of an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
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Syria Reaches Deal to Integrate SDF within State Institutions, Presidency Says

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shaking the hand of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi after the signing of an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shaking the hand of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi after the signing of an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)

The Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls much of Syria's oil-rich northeast, has signed a deal agreeing to integrate into Syria's new state institutions, the Syrian presidency said on Monday.

The deal, which included a complete cessation of hostilities, was signed by interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the SDF's commander, Mazloum Abdi.

Under the deal, whose text was posted online by the presidency, all civilian and military institutions in northeast Syria will be integrated within the state, which will thus take over control of borders, airports and oil and gas fields.

The SDF agrees to support the government in combating remnants of deposed president Bashar al-Assad's regime, and any threats to Syria's security and unity.

Since Assad was overthrown by Sharaa's Islamist forces in December, groups backed by Türkiye, one of Sharaa's main supporters, have clashed with the SDF, the main ally in a US coalition against ISIS militants in Syria.

The SDF is spearheaded by the YPG militia, a group that Ankara sees as an extension of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought the Turkish state for 40 years.

Türkiye regards the PKK, YPG and SDF as terrorist groups, and Sharaa's new Damascus administration had been pressing the SDF to merge into newly-minted state security forces.

Abdi had previously expressed a willingness for his forces to be part of the new defense ministry, but said they should join as a bloc rather than individuals, an idea that was rejected by the new government.

The US and Türkiye’s Western allies list the PKK as a terrorist group, but not the YPG or the SDF.