163 Houthi Violations Recorded in Hodeidah in 2 Days

Houthi militants during a gathering in Yemen's capital Sanaa, March 16, 2019. (dpa)
Houthi militants during a gathering in Yemen's capital Sanaa, March 16, 2019. (dpa)
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163 Houthi Violations Recorded in Hodeidah in 2 Days

Houthi militants during a gathering in Yemen's capital Sanaa, March 16, 2019. (dpa)
Houthi militants during a gathering in Yemen's capital Sanaa, March 16, 2019. (dpa)

The UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement expressed its concern over the mounting violence in the coastal Yemeni province, a day after the Iran-backed Houthi militias attacked the Red Sea grain silos and the frontline in the eastern parts of the city.

Head of the mission General Abhijit Guha said the violent fighting that erupted around Hodeidah on August 27 was a special cause for concern.

He called on all sides to cease undermining the implementation of the Hodeidah Agreement, which was reached in Stockholm in late 2018.

He also urged them against endangering the lives of the people in the province.

Meanwhile, the joint Yemeni forces announced that they had recorded 163 violations of the UN-sponsored truce committed by the Houthis in various regions in southern Hodeidah on Thursday and Friday alone.

It cited Houthi artillery, bomb and machine gun attacks in the areas of al-Tour, al-Jah, al-Tahita, Khays and Hodeidah city. The attacks targeted residential and agricultural areas and public roads and prevented people for heading to their jobs.



Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
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Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)

Hundreds of Tunisians staged two protest rallies on Wednesday against what they say is the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied and demanded the release of political prisoners, while six detained opposition figures held a hunger strike.

Saied seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary. The opposition described his move as a coup, Reuters reported.

Supporters of the opposition Free Constitutional Party gathered in the capital Tunis to demand the release of their detained leader Abir Moussi. They chanted slogans such as "Saied, dictator, your turn has come," and "Free Abir".

"What is happening is true tyranny, no freedom for the opposition, no freedom for the media. Any word can send you to prison," one protester, Hayat Ayari, told Reuters.

Hundreds of supporters of another opposition party, the Salvation Front, staged a separate rally, also in Tunis, to demand the release of detained politicians, activists and journalists.

Six prominent opposition figures detained on conspiracy charges have begun a hunger strike in prison to protest against their impending trial, their lawyers said on Wednesday.

Abdelhamid Jelassi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Khiyam Turki, Ridha Belhaj, Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi - all detained in 2023 during a crackdown on the opposition - have refused to participate in what they say is an "unfair trial".

Saied said in 2023 that the detainees were "traitors and terrorists" and that the judges who acquitted them were their accomplices.

The detainees have denied any wrongdoing and have said they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting Tunisia's fragmented opposition.

Most leaders of political parties are now in prison including two of Saied's most prominent opponents, Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the Ennahda party.

The government says there is democracy in Tunisia and Saied says he will not be a dictator, but that what he calls a corrupt elite must be held accountable.