European Delegation Supports Yemeni Efforts to Implement Riyadh Deal

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik during his meeting with the EU delegation in Aden on Sunday. Saba news agency
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik during his meeting with the EU delegation in Aden on Sunday. Saba news agency
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European Delegation Supports Yemeni Efforts to Implement Riyadh Deal

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik during his meeting with the EU delegation in Aden on Sunday. Saba news agency
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik during his meeting with the EU delegation in Aden on Sunday. Saba news agency

A number of European Union ambassadors visited Sunday the temporary capital Aden to mainly discuss the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement as part of their international efforts to support the legitimate Yemeni government, official sources said.

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik sat down with a delegation of European ambassadors to discuss the risks of Iran’s ongoing support for the Houthi militias in light of the recent international developments.

Yemeni sources said the EU delegation included EU Ambassador to Yemen Hans Grundberg, the head of the French mission, Christian Testo, and Deputy Head of the EU Mission and Head of the Political, Press and Information Section Riccardo Villa.

Saba news agency reported that the meeting between the ambassadors and Abdulmalik tackled the government’s achievements since its return to the temporary capital following the Riyadh Agreement.

They also discussed the Houthis’ ongoing violations of the ceasefire in the areas falling under their control.

The Yemeni PM asked the European countries to stop the militias from continuing to wage their war against Yemen and to contribute to ending the suffering of the Yemeni people.

Sunday’s meeting also tackled the humanitarian situation in Yemen, given that Houthis loot relief aid, hinder the transfer of patients from Sanaa for treatment and prevent UN experts from carrying out maintenance work on the Safer floating storage and offloading terminal to avoid an environment disaster.

The Yemeni PM said the visit of the EU delegation to Aden constitutes a support to the Yemeni government and asserts that the international community backs the legitimacy in implementing the Riyadh Agreement.

The deal was signed on Nov. 5 between Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Southern Transitional Council under the auspices of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

On Nov. 18, Yemen's PM and four other ministers flew back to Aden under the terms of the agreement.

On Sunday, Abdulmalik also stressed that the deal, which is highly supported by Saudi Arabia, should allow for the building of active partnerships to fight terrorism and extremism.

The EU ambassadors expressed their support to the efforts of UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths to achieve sustainable peace in Yemen.

They also stressed the need to implement the Stockholm agreement as a prelude towards a political solution in Yemen.



Syrians Recover Human Remains from Site Used by Hezbollah and Other Assad Allies

An aerial view taken with a drone shows members of the Syrian Civil Defense group, the White Helmets, loading human remains in body bags on a truck in the Sayyida Zeinab district of Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
An aerial view taken with a drone shows members of the Syrian Civil Defense group, the White Helmets, loading human remains in body bags on a truck in the Sayyida Zeinab district of Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
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Syrians Recover Human Remains from Site Used by Hezbollah and Other Assad Allies

An aerial view taken with a drone shows members of the Syrian Civil Defense group, the White Helmets, loading human remains in body bags on a truck in the Sayyida Zeinab district of Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
An aerial view taken with a drone shows members of the Syrian Civil Defense group, the White Helmets, loading human remains in body bags on a truck in the Sayyida Zeinab district of Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024. (EPA)

The Syrian Civil Defense group, known as the White Helmets, uncovered at least 21 corpses as well as incomplete human remains on Wednesday in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb of the capital Damascus.

The discovery was made at a site previously used by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran-backed Iraqi militias, both allies of deposed President Bashar al-Assad during the country’s civil war.

The site included a field kitchen, a drugstore and a morgue, according to Ammar al-Salmo, an official with the White Helmets, a volunteer organization that operated in areas that were controlled by the opposition.

Rescue teams in white hazmat suits searched the site, located not far from the revered shrine of Sayyida Zeinab. The remains were placed into black bags and loaded onto a truck as bystanders from the neighborhood looked on.

“Some (of the remains) are skeletons, others are incomplete, and there are bags of small bones. We cannot yet determine the number of victims,” al-Salmo said.

“Damascus has become a mass grave,” he said, pointing out the growing reports of war-related graves and burial sites in the capital and other places in Syria.

Iran and Hezbollah provided Assad’s government with military, financial and logistical support during the civil war.