Yemeni Speaker Complains to UN over Houthi Violations

 Yemeni Speaker (SABA news agency)
Yemeni Speaker (SABA news agency)
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Yemeni Speaker Complains to UN over Houthi Violations

 Yemeni Speaker (SABA news agency)
Yemeni Speaker (SABA news agency)

Yemeni parliament speaker Sultan al-Barakani has called upon the international community to take firm stances on the Houthi atrocities against oppositionists.

“The militia are doing what they are doing amidst international silence,” he said.

The Speaker noted that Houthis are taking control of the houses of parliamentarians in the capital Sanaa and other areas under their control.

Houthis have lately confiscated the house of Yasser Al-Awadhi, a tribal and political leader who led a military uprising against their rule in the central province of Al-Bayda.

Early this year, the Iran-backed Houthi militia had attacked and confiscated properties of 35 Yemeni MPs who back the internationally recognized government.

In a separate letter to the UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, al-Barakani called on the UN to save the Yemeni people from the serial deterioration of their lives since the September 2014 Houthi coup including the proliferation of coronavirus in the population centers they control; the death sentences against MPs, politicians and journalists; and other terrorist acts, in disregard for all UN resolutions and human values.

Meanwhile, Yemen's National Alliance of Political Parties (NAPP), a group of parties loyal to the internationally recognized government, had also called on the UN and its envoy to condemn the ongoing Houthi attacks against Yemeni pro-government leaders.

“Such ill-disciplined actions are considered terrorism and an organized violence and they prove that militias give no considerations to the values and morals of the Yemeni society,” they said in a statement.

The parties added that the militias insist on continuing the series of their crimes against the Yemeni people, rejecting all international efforts to reach peace in the country.

“Such behavior is reflected in their decision issued last March to sentence 35 Yemeni pro-government deputies to death,” after charging them with cooperating with the Saudi-led Arab coalition, the statement added.

The charges include parliament Speaker Sultan al-Burkani, his deputy Abdulaziz al-Jabari, Jawf governor Amin al-Akimi and Chief of Staff Sagheer bin Aziz.



At Least 27 Palestinians Killed Near Gaza Aid Site, Medics Say

Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed REFILE
Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed REFILE
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At Least 27 Palestinians Killed Near Gaza Aid Site, Medics Say

Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed REFILE
Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed REFILE

At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local health authorities said, in the third day of chaos and bloodshed to affect the aid operation. 

The Israeli military said its forces had opened fire on a group of individuals who had left designated access routes near the distribution center in Rafah. 

It added it was still investigating what had happened. The deaths came hours after Israel said three of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, as its forces pushed ahead with a months-long offensive against Hamas that has laid waste to much of the enclave. 

Reuters could not independently verify the reports in northern and southern Gaza. 

A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters that its field hospital in Rafah received 184 casualties, adding that 19 of those were declared dead upon arrival, and eight died of their wounds shortly after. 

More than 35 patients required immediate intervention, the spokesperson added. 

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched its first distribution sites last week in an effort to alleviate widespread hunger amongst Gaza's war-battered population, most of whom have had to abandon their homes to flee fighting. 

The Foundation's aid plan, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the United Nations and established charities which say it does not follow humanitarian principles. 

The private group, which is endorsed by Israel, said it distributed 21 truckloads of food early on Tuesday and that the aid operation was "conducted safely and without incident within the site".  

However, there have been reports of repeated killings near Rafah as crowds gather to get desperately needed supplies.  

On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials reported that at least 31 people were killed and dozens more injured. On Monday, three more Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli fire. 

The Israeli military has denied targeting civilians gathering for aid and called reports of deaths during Sunday’s distribution "fabrications" by Hamas.  

On Tuesday, it said its forces had identified "a number of suspects" moving towards them while deviating from the access routes.  

"The forces fired evasive shots, and after they did not move away, additional shots were fired near the individual suspects who were advancing towards the forces," it said. 

MASS EVACUATIONS ORDERED 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday he was "appalled" by reports of Palestinians killed and wounded while seeking aid and called for an independent investigation. 

The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders to residents of several districts in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip late on Monday, warning that the army would act forcefully against fighters operating in those areas. 

The military told residents to head west towards the Mawasi humanitarian area. Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas in the enclave, and that most of its 2.3 million population has become internally displaced. 

The territory's health ministry said on Tuesday that the new evacuation orders could halt work at the Nasser Hospital, the largest, still-functioning medical facility in the south, endangering the lives of those being treated there. 

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 assault in which Hamas-led gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies. 

In the subsequent fighting, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, local health authorities say.