Hodeidah Operation Reveals Names of Foreign Houthi Trainers

Yemeni pro-government forces advance towards the port city of Hodeidah. (AFP)
Yemeni pro-government forces advance towards the port city of Hodeidah. (AFP)
TT

Hodeidah Operation Reveals Names of Foreign Houthi Trainers

Yemeni pro-government forces advance towards the port city of Hodeidah. (AFP)
Yemeni pro-government forces advance towards the port city of Hodeidah. (AFP)

The Yemeni national army captured on Monday a naval base that the Iranian-backed Houthis were using as a headquarters in the port city of Hodeidah.

The forces also seized plans, documents, Iranian-made equipment and the names of foreign Houthi trainers during the operation.

Lebanese and Iranian names were included in the list.

The operation came at a time when the militias were continuing their violation of the humanitarian truce that was announced in mid-November by the joint forces and Arab coalition.

Spokesman for the Amaleeqa Brigades Waddah al-Dbeish said that the operation was in retaliation to the militias’ violation of the ceasefire and their shelling of liberated residential neighborhoods.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the operation secured a number of buildings and villas in the Khamseen road.

The army also discovered maps of naval mines that the Houthis had planted at sea.

Moreover, they found modern Iranian equipment that are used for naval purposes.

Dbeish vowed that the joint forces will not suffice with simple self-defense, but they will retaliate to any Houthi attack with an operation that will lead to the liberation of positions in Hodeidah.

One such operation, he said, led to the recapture of vast areas of an air base in Hodeidah.

The forces seized planes and equipment and dismantled mines that were planted by the Houthis, including explosives that were placed inside three MiG planes.



Syrian Police Impose Curfew in Homs after Unrest

Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
TT

Syrian Police Impose Curfew in Homs after Unrest

Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
Syrian children play on a damaged tank in Homs, on December 20, 2024. (AFP)

Syrian police have imposed an overnight curfew in the city of Homs, state media reported, after unrest there linked to demonstrations that residents said were led by members of the minority Alawite and Shiite communities.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the demands of the demonstrators nor the degree of disturbance that took place.

Some residents said the demonstrations were linked to pressure and violence in recent days aimed at members of the Alawite minority, a sect long seen as loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled by opposition fighters on Dec. 8.

Spokespeople for Syria’s new ruling administration led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the curfew.

State media said the curfew was being imposed for one night, from 6pm (1500 GMT) local time until 8am on Thursday morning.

The country's new leaders have repeatedly vowed to protect minority religious groups.

Small demonstrations also took place in other areas on or near Syria’s coast, where most of the country’s Alawite minority live, including in the city of Tartous.

The demonstrations took place around the time an undated video was circulated on social networks showing a fire inside an Alawite shrine in the city of Aleppo, with armed men walking around inside and posing near human bodies.

The interior ministry said on its official Telegram account that the video dated back to the opposition offensive on Aleppo in late November and the violence was carried out by unknown groups, adding that whoever was circulating the video now appeared to be seeking to incite sectarian strife.

The ministry also said that some members of the former regime had attacked interior ministry forces in Syria’s coastal area on Wednesday, leaving a number of dead and wounded.