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IESCO Condemns Houthi Pillaging of Yemen’s Historic Zabid Library

The ancient city of Zabid in Yemen’s western Hodeidah province is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed as an architectural marvel of early Islam. (AFP)
The ancient city of Zabid in Yemen’s western Hodeidah province is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed as an architectural marvel of early Islam. (AFP)
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IESCO Condemns Houthi Pillaging of Yemen’s Historic Zabid Library

The ancient city of Zabid in Yemen’s western Hodeidah province is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed as an architectural marvel of early Islam. (AFP)
The ancient city of Zabid in Yemen’s western Hodeidah province is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed as an architectural marvel of early Islam. (AFP)

The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IESCO) condemned Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen for stealing manuscripts, historical and scientific books and artifacts from the historic library of Zabid.

The stolen items were valuable artifacts of Zabid, which was the capital of Yemen during the 13th and 15th centuries.

The theft of such heritage constitutes a crime against the Yemeni civilizations and a violation of international declarations and agreements, ISESCO director general Abdulaziz bin Othaman Al-Twajairi said.

Zabid is one of the oldest towns in Yemen, located in Hodeidah province, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.

Al-Twajairi also called on the United Nations and other international organizations, especially UNESCO, to intervene to force Houthi militias to return the stolen items as they are part of human cultural heritage for which The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict criminalizes all attacks against it.

According to Yemeni and military sources, the pro-Iranian group not only looted books and archaeological manuscripts containing the history and civilization of the historic city, but even stole the library’s power generator.

The Houthi group has been stealing large quantities of Yemeni antiquities from museums and archaeological sites and, according to the legitimate government, has set up networks to smuggle antiquities and sell them in black markets abroad.

The group, according to Yemeni observers, is trying to blur the historical identity of Yemen in hopes of establishing sectarianism derived from Khomeini-inspired doctrines in Iran.

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Australia Provided Support for US Airstrikes on Houthis

Houthi footage shows the moment of attacking the sunken Greek ship “M/V Tutor” in the Red Sea (Reuters)
Houthi footage shows the moment of attacking the sunken Greek ship “M/V Tutor” in the Red Sea (Reuters)
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Australia Provided Support for US Airstrikes on Houthis

Houthi footage shows the moment of attacking the sunken Greek ship “M/V Tutor” in the Red Sea (Reuters)
Houthi footage shows the moment of attacking the sunken Greek ship “M/V Tutor” in the Red Sea (Reuters)

Australian officials said on Friday that their country provided support for US strikes conducted on Thursday targeting Houthi facilities in Yemen, according to Reuters.
The US said it carried out strikes on Wednesday against five underground weapons storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, in a strike that used long range B-2 stealth bombers against the Iran-aligned group for the first time.
“Australia provided support for US strikes conducted on 17 October 2024 targeting Houthi facilities in Yemen, through access and overflight for US aircraft in northern Australia,” an Australian defense official said in a statement.
“This support is consistent with our long-standing alliance commitment and close cooperation, demonstrating the interoperability of our militaries,” it added.
The B-2 bomber aircraft involved in the strikes on Yemen did not operate from Australia, however the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported air-to-air refueling had been conducted.
Reuters reported in July that Royal Australian Air Force bases in Tindal and Darwin in northern Australia were being upgraded to cater for US bomber and refueling aircraft with US defense funding, as Australia has re-emerged as a strategically vital Indo-Pacific location for the US amid rising tensions with China.
The US has large jet fuel stores at Tindal and Darwin, according to Reuters.

Precision Strikes
On Thursday, US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said the US military, including air force B-2 bombers, conducted precision strikes against five hardened underground weapons storage locations in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
He said US forces targeted several of the Houthis’ underground facilities housing various weapons components of types that the Houthis have used to target civilian and military vessels throughout the region.
“This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified,” Austin said in a statement.
The Houthis later admitted that airstrikes had hit Sana’a, and the stronghold of Saada. In a statement by its politburo, the group pledged that the attacks “will not go unanswered.”
It said those airstrikes will not deter them from continuing their attacks in support of the Palestinians in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Houthis said they received more than 700 airstrikes after the US and Western strikes on the militia group began on January 12.
Late last year, the US announced the formation of an international escort coalition code-named Operation Guardians of Prosperity in response to the Houthi attacks.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have conducted about 193 attacks in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean, aiming to disrupt Israeli-linked and other vessels, including those from the US and UK.
The strikes, they claim, are in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.