Panic-stricken Houthis Mount Arrests Campaign in Sanaa against Protesters

People shout slogans as they demonstrate to demand the prosecution of five men accused of torturing to death a young mobile phone shop worker in Sanaa. (Reuters)
People shout slogans as they demonstrate to demand the prosecution of five men accused of torturing to death a young mobile phone shop worker in Sanaa. (Reuters)
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Panic-stricken Houthis Mount Arrests Campaign in Sanaa against Protesters

People shout slogans as they demonstrate to demand the prosecution of five men accused of torturing to death a young mobile phone shop worker in Sanaa. (Reuters)
People shout slogans as they demonstrate to demand the prosecution of five men accused of torturing to death a young mobile phone shop worker in Sanaa. (Reuters)

Houthi militias have detained 30 people who took part in a protests in Yemen's Sanaa over the killing of a young man, demanding that the perpetrators be brought to justice.

The arrests were denounced by the Yemeni government and human rights groups.

The protests demanded revealing the details of the murder of the young man, who was apparently tortured by Houthi militiamen before his death.

Human rights sources based in Sanaa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Iran-backed Houthi group, out of panic, intensified its deployment of militants across the capital's streets for the past two days.

Houthis had up scaled deployment out of fear of renewed demonstrations that accuse them of torturing and killing Abdullah Al-Aghbry, sources added.

The sources also clarified that Houthis have resorted to wide-spread arrests as a tactic to counter the possibility of Yemenis breaking the barrier of fear and protesting against Houthi corruption inside Houthi-held territories

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms denounced the Houthis’ detaining of 30 protesters who took to street in support of Al-Aghbry’s case.

A video circulating on social media that showed five people torturing Al-Aghbry enraged the public and have triggered protests in Sanaa since Saturday.

In an official statement, the Network called for unveiling the details and truths behind the torture and killing of Al-Aghbry and making them public. It also demanded holding the perpetrators accountable.

Houthi militias have banned the organization of any protest in Ibb governorate, located 170 kilometers south of Sanaa, the Network reported.

The Iran-backed group also barred a team of seven lawyers from attending the investigation sessions held with the five perpetrators in Al-Aghbry’s murder.

Information Minister Muammar Al-Aryani shared a video of the protest and said it showed that people did not trust Houthi security services or judicial authorities.

“The massive popular protests in Sanaa against the torture and killing of Abdullah Al-Aghbry by five murderers, including an officer in the Houthi-run Preventive Security, confirms the lack of confidence in the militia's procedures and fears that it might manipulate the case and hide involvement of its leaders,” the minister tweeted on Monday.



Hezbollah Chief Says Israel Must Fully Withdraw from Lebanon by February 18

 A photo taken from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Hamam shows smoke rising after an explosion during an Israeli army operation in the village of Kfar Shouba near the border on February 16, 2024. (AFP)
A photo taken from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Hamam shows smoke rising after an explosion during an Israeli army operation in the village of Kfar Shouba near the border on February 16, 2024. (AFP)
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Hezbollah Chief Says Israel Must Fully Withdraw from Lebanon by February 18

 A photo taken from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Hamam shows smoke rising after an explosion during an Israeli army operation in the village of Kfar Shouba near the border on February 16, 2024. (AFP)
A photo taken from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Hamam shows smoke rising after an explosion during an Israeli army operation in the village of Kfar Shouba near the border on February 16, 2024. (AFP)

The head of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said on Sunday that Israeli troops must withdraw from Lebanese territory in full by a February 18 deadline, saying it had "no pretext" to maintain a military presence in any post in southern Lebanon.

Under a truce brokered by Washington in November, Israeli troops were granted 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon where they had waged a ground offensive against fighters from Iran-backed Hezbollah since early October.

That deadline was later extended to February 18, but Israel's military requested that it keep troops in five posts in southern Lebanon, sources told Reuters last week.

In a recorded televised speech, Hezbollah secretary general Naim Qassem said: "Israel must withdraw completely on Feb. 18, it has no pretext, no five points or other details... this is the agreement."

Qassem said any Israeli military presence on Lebanese soil after February 18 would be considered an occupying force.

"Everyone knows how an occupation is dealt with," Qassem said, without explicitly threatening that his group would resume attacks against Israel.

Israel's public broadcaster said on Wednesday the US had authorized a "long term" Israeli troop presence in southern Lebanon.

During the broadcast of Qassem's speech, at least three Israeli air strikes hit Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley. Israel's military said it conducted strikes after identifying Hezbollah activity at sites containing rocket launchers and other weapons.

Qassem also called on the Lebanese government to reconsider its ban on Iranian flights landing in Beirut.

Lebanese authorities banned the flights from landing until February 18 following Israeli accusations that Tehran was using civilian aircraft to smuggle cash to Beirut to arm Hezbollah.

The decision stranded dozens of Lebanese nationals in Iran, where they had been on a religious pilgrimage with plans to return via Iran's Mahan Air. Lebanon sent two of its own planes to retrieve them, but Iran barred them from landing in Tehran.

Hezbollah organized a protest outside Beirut airport on Saturday, where its supporters were tear gassed by Lebanese troops.

Qassem described Lebanon's ban on Iranian planes as "the implementation of an Israeli order".

"Let the plane land and we will see what Israel will do," he said.