Yemen's Houthis Accused of Abducting 120 Civilians in Dhamar

People transfer empty cooking gas cylinders to a truck for resupplying them at a petrol station, amid cooking gas shortages in Sanaa, Yemen, 12 December 2019. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
People transfer empty cooking gas cylinders to a truck for resupplying them at a petrol station, amid cooking gas shortages in Sanaa, Yemen, 12 December 2019. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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Yemen's Houthis Accused of Abducting 120 Civilians in Dhamar

People transfer empty cooking gas cylinders to a truck for resupplying them at a petrol station, amid cooking gas shortages in Sanaa, Yemen, 12 December 2019. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
People transfer empty cooking gas cylinders to a truck for resupplying them at a petrol station, amid cooking gas shortages in Sanaa, Yemen, 12 December 2019. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

Houthi coup militias have abducted 120 civilians from a village in Yemen's Dhamar province, their second stronghold after Saada governorate.

The militias bombed the village, leaving one civilian dead and five others injured, including children and women. Two houses were also destroyed.

“The Iranian-backed militias raided the village a day after its siege, stormed houses, and kidnapped 120 residents, most of them children, taking them to the province’s Marda prison,” Saba news agency quoted local sources as saying on Friday.

The insurgents have established more than 60 new checkpoints around the village since the beginning of their military campaign, Saba reported.

They also continued their military escalation in the coastal Hodeidah province, in the west, shelling National Army positions and targeting the city’s eastern port.

This comes in line with a series of violations of the UN ceasefire deal in Hodeidah.

Also Friday, Yemen's National Army announced the liberation of new positions in al-Jawf governorate, in the north.

An official military source said: “National Army forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, attacked on Thursday the coup militias in the area.”

The attacks resulted in the liberation of areas north of al-Jawf and inflicting the militias significant losses.

“Coalition aircraft raided Houthi reinforcements, causing deaths and injuries in their ranks, and the destruction of three vehicles,” the source added.

Meanwhile, security forces made a drug bust in a smuggling attempt to Houthi-run areas in al-Jawf.

“Security services have managed to seize 64 kilograms of hashish during a handover process between smuggling gangs east of al-Hazm district,” Saba quoted al-Hazm directorate’s Police Chief Major Hazam Shehat as saying.

This operation is the second in the directorate during December, he noted.



Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
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Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo

Lebanon's new government will negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a new program and will work to deal with the country's financial default and public debt, according to a policy statement approved by the cabinet late on Monday.

The statement, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, said the government would work for an economical revival that could only be achieved through restructuring the banking sector.

Lebanon has been in deep economic crisis since 2019, when its financial system collapsed under the weight of massive state debts, prompting a sovereign default in 2020 and freezing ordinary depositors out of their savings in the banking system.

Beirut reached a draft funding deal with IMF in 2022 - contingent on reforms that authorities failed to deliver.

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, who took office as part of a new government agreed earlier this month, told Reuters an IMF mission is expected to visit Lebanon in March.

Jaber said he had met the IMF's resident representative in Lebanon, Frederico Lima, and confirmed that the government plans to move ahead with reforms.

Lebanon's political landscape has been turned on its head since the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, long a dominant player in Lebanese politics, was badly pummelled in last year's war with Israel.

Reflecting the shift in the power balance, the government policy statement did not include language used in previous years that was seen to legitimize a role for Hezbollah in defending Lebanon, saying instead "we want a state that has the decision of war and peace".

The statement said it was required to adopt a national security strategy and a foreign policy that works to 'neutralize' Lebanon from conflicts.

In the field of energy, the Lebanese government will seek to resume work in oil and gas exploration, according to the cabinet statement. It said the government planned to establish a Ministry of Technology and Artificial Intelligence.

With a new administration in neighboring Syria, the statement said the Lebanese government believed it has an opportunity to start a serious dialogue aimed at controlling and demarcating the borders and working to resolve the issue of displaced Syrians in Lebanon.