SDRPY Launches Project to Develop Main Road in Hadhramout

A family sits outside their flooded home on the outskirts of Sanaa (File photo: Reuters)
A family sits outside their flooded home on the outskirts of Sanaa (File photo: Reuters)
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SDRPY Launches Project to Develop Main Road in Hadhramout

A family sits outside their flooded home on the outskirts of Sanaa (File photo: Reuters)
A family sits outside their flooded home on the outskirts of Sanaa (File photo: Reuters)

The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program of Yemen (SDRPY) launched the first phase of rehabilitation and expansion of one of the most important vital roads in Hadhramout, Yemen, linking several governorates with Saudi Arabia through al-Wadiah border crossing.

The expansion and rehabilitation project for al-Abar road includes the rehabilitation of the 40-km Mkhtam-Ghuirban section, 40-km Ghuirban-Dhubaibi, and the 25-km Dhubaibi-Abar section.

The project comes in addition to dozens of others accomplished by SDRPY in most Yemeni governorates, in terms of services and infrastructure, support for farmers, fishermen, health, and education sectors.

Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber explained during his recent meetings in London the Program’s 65 projects established since 2019 all over Yemen.

Jaber, who is also SDRPY Supervisor, indicated that the program supports 7 sectors including health, education, electricity and energy, agriculture and fisheries, water, roads, ports, airports, and government buildings.

He noted that SDRPY works in most governorates such as Aden, Hadhramout, al-Jouf, Maerib, Hajjah, Socotra, and Muhra to help achieve economic stability.

Jaber said the program is keen on reaching the various directorates in the Yemeni governorates, through several representative offices and aims to continuously monitor the projects currently being implemented.

The program also holds continuous meetings with local officials to coordinate efforts and provide help to the governorates.

SDRPY and various international organizations constantly coordinate efforts and hold various meetings and workshops to exchange experiences on sustainable development projects such as greenhouses and a number of projects that depend on solar energy.

Also, the local authority in Maerib celebrated the rehabilitation of a new batch of child recruits as part of the program funded by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief).

The ceremony celebrated the rehabilitation of 27 of the recruited children to bring the total number of rehabilitated children up to 481 through 19 training courses.

Speaking at the occasion, Deputy Governor of Marib governorate for administrative affairs Abdullah al-Bakri highly praised significant efforts of KSRelief in humanitarian actions in different spheres including rehabilitating the children who were recruited by Iran-allied Houthi militia and were badly traumatized as a result.



Jumblatt Hands Over Progressive Socialist Party Arms to Lebanese Army

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt (Reuters)
Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt (Reuters)
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Jumblatt Hands Over Progressive Socialist Party Arms to Lebanese Army

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt (Reuters)
Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt (Reuters)

Lebanon’s veteran Druze leader Walid Jumblatt on Thursday called on the Iran-backed Hezbollah group to hand its weapons over to the state, saying arms must be exclusively under government control.

Speaking at a news conference in Beirut, the former head of the Progressive Socialist Party said, “Weapons should only be in the hands of the Lebanese state,” adding that the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, a long-disputed area on the western slopes of Mount Hermon, are Syrian territory.

Jumblatt’s appeal comes amid growing international calls for Hezbollah to disarm and for the Lebanese government to implement its longstanding pledge—reiterated in its ministerial statement and by President Joseph Aoun during his swearing-in—to ensure that only state institutions bear arms.

His remarks also come as Washington renews its push to resolve files with Syria, including border demarcation, as part of wider regional realignments.

“There’s a new chapter unfolding in the Middle East,” Jumblatt said. “If any Lebanese or non-Lebanese party possesses weapons, I hope they will hand them over to the state in a proper manner.”

He described “the most valuable weapon for future generations” as being one of “memory”—urging the country to pass down stories of resistance against Israel and its collaborators rather than stockpiles of arms.

Jumblatt said he had recently informed the president of the presence of weapons in his hometown of Mukhtara and asked the relevant security agencies to take over the matter. The arms, collected gradually since the May 2008 clashes between Hezbollah and his party, were fully handed over more than three weeks ago.

The arsenal, he said, consisted of light and medium-grade weapons that had been centrally gathered over the years.

He noted that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri—himself a close ally of Hezbollah—remained a “friend and ally,” but added: “The issue of weapons has no bearing on Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.”

Hezbollah has long justified its arsenal as essential to liberating the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba Hills, areas Israel did not vacate during its 2000 withdrawal from south Lebanon. In recent years, the dispute has expanded to include 13 border points and the northern section of the village of Ghajar, which Israel annexed in 2022.

“Shebaa Farms are covered under UN Resolution 242. It is Syrian land occupied by Israel,” Jumblatt said.

He urged support for the Lebanese army and internal security forces, stressing that Israel still occupies territory and that several Lebanese villages remain destroyed.

He also called for the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

“In this round, Israel and the West have won with US backing,” he said. “But nothing lasts forever.”