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Vessel Awaits 23 Days to Unload Cargo in Hodeidah

Smoke rises in Sanaa, Yemen. Reuters
Smoke rises in Sanaa, Yemen. Reuters
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Vessel Awaits 23 Days to Unload Cargo in Hodeidah

Smoke rises in Sanaa, Yemen. Reuters
Smoke rises in Sanaa, Yemen. Reuters

The Saudi-led coalition announced Friday that Houthi militias have prevented Bahia Damas vessel, which has been waiting in Hodeidah port for 23 days, to unload its diesel cargo.

The coalition stressed that it has issued seven permits to ships heading to Yemeni ports carrying food and oil derivatives, pointing that four ships docked in the port of Hodeidah on Friday and five others were waiting to enter the port.

Meanwhile, Yemeni forces backed by the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen have made progress on various fronts in Saada at a time when coalition fighter jets eliminated four insurgent commanders east of Sanaa.

The joint forces in the West Coast also sent new military reinforcements to take part in the battle with the Houthi militias.

The Joint Yemeni Resistance Forces also combed all the farms and liberated areas in the vicinity of Tahita directorate and the remaining insurgent pockets south-west of the directorate.

Forces also advanced towards the historic Zabid directorate which the militias have turned into a military barracks.

Saudi-led coalition forces pushed ahead in the operation against the Houthis in their stronghold in Saada governorate and liberated new areas in Kitaf, north of the city, few hours after besieging militias in Baqam district, north of Saada.

Battles continued in the east and southwest fronts in Taiz, and four prominent Houthi leaders were killed in Nahm Front, the eastern gate of Sanaa.

Moreover, Saudi-led coalition jets raided a meeting of field militia commanders in Nahm front, east of Sanaa.

The Yemeni national army said in a statement that the air raid killed Yasser Abdullah Amer and three other Houthi leaders and their associates from Saada governorate, according to Al Arabiya.

The army statement confirmed that Amer is an influential militia figure in Nahm front whereas the other slain commanders have recently arrived from Saada to supervise over the front.

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Libya's Anti-NGO Push Seen as Diversion from Internal Failures, Analysts Say

Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo
Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo
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Libya's Anti-NGO Push Seen as Diversion from Internal Failures, Analysts Say

Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo
Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo

Libya's suspension of 10 international humanitarian groups, part of a broader crackdown on African migrants, is aimed at masking domestic failures and securing external concessions, particularly from Europe, analysts have said, AFP reported.

Libya's Tripoli-based authorities announced on Wednesday a decision to suspend the Norwegian Refugee Council, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Terre des Hommes, CESVI and six other groups, accusing them of a plan to "settle migrants" from other parts of Africa in the country.

War-torn Libya is a key departure point on North Africa's Mediterranean coast for migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan African countries, risking dangerous sea voyages in the hope of reaching Europe.

Anas al-Gomati, director of the Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute think tank, said "this isn't about NGOs -- it's about creating enemies to distract from failures".

The UN-recognized government of Abdulhamid Dbeibah is "tapping into conservative anxieties while masking their inability to provide basic services", he told AFP.

The ultimate goal, according to Gomati, is to "extract concessions from Europe which, fearing potential migration surges, will offer new funding packages and prop up the government in Tripoli".

On Wednesday, Rome announced the allocation of 20 million euros to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to finance "voluntary repatriations" for 3,300 sub-Saharan migrants who arrived in Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

"This isn't coincidence -- its coordination. The Libyan authorities shut down NGOs providing monitoring and protection (for migrants) precisely as Italy announces 20 million euros for 'voluntary' returns," said Gomati.

"Italy gets to claim they're funding 'voluntary' returns while Libya gets to demonstrate 'sovereignty', all while vulnerable migrants face extortion in detention before being labelled 'volunteers' for deportation."

Libya analyst Jalel Harchaoui noted that the Tripoli government is adopting a similar tone to Tunisian President Kais Saied, who in early 2023 denounced what he called "hordes of sub-Saharan migrants" who threatened to "change the country's demographic composition".

Harchaoui, of the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said Dbeibah was facing considerable difficulties, particularly in gaining access to public funds, and his once pragmatic relationship with the Haftar family in the east had deteriorated.

Following the NGO ban, aid groups have expressed concern for both their Libyan colleagues and the migrants who have been made more vulnerable in a country that, according to the IOM, is home to more than 700,000 residents from sub-Saharan countries.

The International Commission of Jurists on Friday condemned the "recent collective expulsions, arrests, violent attacks and the surge of hate speech, including that which constitutes incitement to violence, against migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Libya".

The organization noted that the Libyan interior ministry has pledged "the deportation of 100,000 migrants every four months".