عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Houthis Target Marib Mosque, Govt Denounces Attack Against Mills

Houthi militiamen at an armed gathering in Sanaa | EPA
Houthi militiamen at an armed gathering in Sanaa | EPA
TT
TT

Houthis Target Marib Mosque, Govt Denounces Attack Against Mills

Houthi militiamen at an armed gathering in Sanaa | EPA
Houthi militiamen at an armed gathering in Sanaa | EPA

Houthi militias on Friday fired a ballistic missile at a mosque in the Yemeni Marib governorate, killing and injuring 20 people during dawn prayers, military sources reported.

This coincided with Houthis stepping up their attacks against western Hodeidah governorate and targeting wheat mills there.

Local sources confirmed that the Houthi missile had hit a mosque inside the military camp of pro-government special forces in Marib. The attack is perceived as a desperate Houthi attempt to balance losses sustained on multiple battlefronts, especially those incurred in the vicinity of Marib.

Sources predicted that the number of victims killed by the missile will rise due to the critical injuries recorded.

An official statistic released last July revealed that the number of victims of Houthi attacks in Marib alone reached 700 deaths and injuries. The cases included women and children.

Covering the time period between April 2015 and July 2020, the statistic recorded 244 rocket attacks that killed and injured 689 Yemenis, 92 of which were children and women.

Caretaker Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani denounced the militias' attack against Red Sea mills.

“We strongly condemn the targeting of Iran-backed Houthi militia to the Red Sea mills, in Hodeidah, with artillery shelling, resulted in severe damage to the buildings of the mills, which are one of the most important development projects and pillars of the national economy,” Eryani tweeted.

Eryani, in an official statement, described that the Houthi attack against the mills constitutes a flagrant challenge to the international community and the UN, and further proves the Iran-backed militia’s lack of commitment to treaties.

He added that the attack is an escalation on behalf of the Houthis and aims to worsen an already bad situation in Hodeidah.

Eryani urged the UN chief, the UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths, and the Head of the United Nations Mission in support of the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) Lieutenant General (retired) Abhijit Guha to shoulder their responsibility and condemn the Houthi-committed atrocity.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
TT
TT

Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.