Yemen: Houthis Accused of Planting Mines in Northern Hodeidah

Yemeni pro-government forces man a barricade in the area of al-Fazah in Yemen's Hodeidah province on June 16, 2018. (AFP)
Yemeni pro-government forces man a barricade in the area of al-Fazah in Yemen's Hodeidah province on June 16, 2018. (AFP)
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Yemen: Houthis Accused of Planting Mines in Northern Hodeidah

Yemeni pro-government forces man a barricade in the area of al-Fazah in Yemen's Hodeidah province on June 16, 2018. (AFP)
Yemeni pro-government forces man a barricade in the area of al-Fazah in Yemen's Hodeidah province on June 16, 2018. (AFP)

The legitimate Yemeni forces accused the Iran-backed Houthi militias of planting mines at the entrance of villages in the northern Hodeidah province.

The national army reported witnesses as saying that the militias planted the mines at the al-Kadan intersection in the al-Doha district villages.

The Houthi actions are in violation of the truce agreement reached with the legitimate government in Sweden last week.

Moreover, the army accused the militias of shelling military positions in Hodeidah, leaving casualties among the forces.

The army’s Amaleeqa Brigades announced that four of its forces were killed and 16 injured in Houthi attacks in Hodeidah city. The Brigades have meanwhile, respected the truce.

“This commitment to the ceasefire will not last if the United Nations does not put a stop to ongoing Houthi violations,” warned the Brigades.

Field and medical sources said that six civilians have been wounded in the militia attacks in Hodeidah since Thursday.

The truce went into effect on Tuesday.

The sources revealed that the Houthis had opened fire at a wedding convoy in Hays in southern Hodeidah, wounding several people. They also attacked a man and his wife, who were riding on a motorcycle in al-Jah region in the South. The women has incurred severe burns.

Local forces in Hodeidah city said that the militias had deployed Thursday three tanks in the Zayed and Sanaa streets.

The UN-brokered agreement in Sweden calls for a ceasefire in Hodeidah and withdrawal of legitimate forces and Houthis from the province.

On Friday, the Security Council approved a resolution that calls for the deployment of a UN team that would oversee the implementation of the truce.



At Least 6 Killed in Libya’s Tripoli in Clashes Prompted by Killing of Armed Group Leader 

Members of the police are seen in the Libyan capital Tripoli. (EPA)
Members of the police are seen in the Libyan capital Tripoli. (EPA)
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At Least 6 Killed in Libya’s Tripoli in Clashes Prompted by Killing of Armed Group Leader 

Members of the police are seen in the Libyan capital Tripoli. (EPA)
Members of the police are seen in the Libyan capital Tripoli. (EPA)

Clashes between heavily armed militias rocked the Libyan capital, with gunfire and explosions heard across the city following the killing of a powerful armed group leader, officials said. At least six people were killed, they said. 

The hourslong clashes, which involved heavy weapons, took place Monday evening into the early hours of Tuesday and centered in Tripoli’s southern neighborhood of Abu Salim, the officials said. 

The fighting stemmed from the killing of Abdel-Ghani al-Kikli, commander of the Stabilization Support Authority, SSA, on Monday by another rival militia, a senior government and health official said. 

The SSA is an umbrella group of militias that rose to become one of the most powerful groups in western Libya during the country’s long-running conflict. Al-Kikli, who was known as “Gheniwa”, has been accused by Amnesty International of war crimes and other serious rights violations over the past decade. 

Al-Kikli was killed in a facility run by the 444 Brigade, a militia commanded by Mahmoud Hamza, another warlord close to head of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, one of the officials said. 

Hamza’s group and their allies then attacked the offices of SSA across the capital, seizing their assets and detaining dozens of SSA fighters, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety. 

The Health Ministry’s Ambulance and Emergency Services said in a statement that at least six people were killed in the vicinity of Abu Salim, the SSA stronghold. It said it helped evacuate many families trapped in the clashes. 

Residents reported heavy clashes and explosions in multiple areas in the capital, with dozens of vehicles carrying fighters affiliated with different groups in the streets. 

“It was a nightmare,” said Ahmed Ammer, who lives in the city center, adding that the clashes were reminiscent of the war that engulfed the North African country following the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi. 

He said the clashes subsided early Tuesday morning, but the situation has been tense with many fighters in the streets. 

Classes in the capital’s schools were suspended on Tuesday, according to the Tripoli-based education ministry. The University of Tripoli also said it suspended studies, exams and administrative work until further notice. 

Dbeibah’s government posted on its social media platforms early Tuesday that its forces carried out a military operation in Abu Salim and took full control of the area. It didn’t provide further details. 

In a statement, the UN mission in Libya expressed alarm about the “intense fighting with heavy weaponry in densely populated civilian areas” and warned that “attacks on civilians and civilian objects may amount to war crimes.” 

Libya has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west. Currently, it is governed by Dbeibah’s government in Tripoli and by the administration of Prime Minister Ossama Hammad in the east.