Yemeni Government Accuses STC of Impeding Its Return to Aden

Cars drive on a road linking two neighborhoods of Aden, Yemen August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo
Cars drive on a road linking two neighborhoods of Aden, Yemen August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo
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Yemeni Government Accuses STC of Impeding Its Return to Aden

Cars drive on a road linking two neighborhoods of Aden, Yemen August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo
Cars drive on a road linking two neighborhoods of Aden, Yemen August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo

The Yemeni internationally recognized government held the Southern Transitional Council (STC) responsible for the delay in its return to the interim capital, Aden.

Pro-STC forces were deployed to impede the return of government officials to Aden, the government said in a statement, adding that the move indicates a lack of responsibility towards implementing the Riyadh Agreement.

The statement stressed that this behavior overlooks the difficult conditions lived by Yemenis who are suffering a lack of services since the events of August, noting that the suffering of Yemenis in Aden has been exacerbated by recent flash floods that drowned the city.

Published by the state-owned Saba news agency, the statement said that impeding the government’s return goes beyond thwarting efforts to implement the Riyadh Agreement and disrupting the work of state institutions.

According to the statement, it also worsens the catastrophe that struck Aden at a time the city needs all efforts to be joined in alleviating the suffering of citizens and working to repair public and private property destroyed by the floods.

"As the government issues this clarification to local and international public opinion, it holds the STC responsible for this reckless behavior and its consequences that effect Aden and the Yemeni people in general,” the statement said.

The government called on all Yemeni components to support the legitimate government headed by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and to stear clear from pursuing personal interests and turning attention to the ethical, national and historical responsibility and to the interests and concerns of the Yemeni people.



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.