Yemen’s Houthis Accused of Violating Stockholm Agreement

FILE PHOTO - Ships are seen at the Hodeidah port, Yemen May 14, 2019. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad
FILE PHOTO - Ships are seen at the Hodeidah port, Yemen May 14, 2019. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad
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Yemen’s Houthis Accused of Violating Stockholm Agreement

FILE PHOTO - Ships are seen at the Hodeidah port, Yemen May 14, 2019. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad
FILE PHOTO - Ships are seen at the Hodeidah port, Yemen May 14, 2019. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad

A report released by the Yemeni Joint Forces operating on Yemen’s west coast accused Houthi militias of committing over 13,000 violations against the Hodeidah ceasefire, also known as the Stockholm Agreement.

Waddah Al-Dubeish, a spokesman for the Yemeni Joint Forces in the west coast, said that chances of reaching a political settlement “were aborted.”

Dubeish blamed Houthis for sabotaging the Agreement which was signed in Sweden last December.

He also lambasted the international silence Houthi violations were met with, and said that it was complicit in the deadly crimes that killed finding a peaceful solution.

According to data collected by the west coast operations taskforce, violations took place in different areas.

Dubeish stated that at least 1,567 violations were large enough to constitute full-fledged acts of war. These violations took place mostly in the Durayhimi, Hays and Tuhayta districts, all of which belong to the Hodeidah governorate.

These violations have resulted in hundreds of deaths of women, children and the elderly. Hundreds of others were severely injured.

According to the report, the militias partially and totally destroyed 446 homes, mosques and farms in Hodeidah. Houthis did not only kill people, but also animals and trees.

The insurgents have also exploited the calm ensured by the Stockholm Agreement to detain and kill anti-coup activists in Hodeidah.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.