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Yemen Urges Int’l Community to Pressure Houthis to Release Detained Journalists

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani. Reuters file photo
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani. Reuters file photo
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Yemen Urges Int’l Community to Pressure Houthis to Release Detained Journalists

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani. Reuters file photo
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani. Reuters file photo

The Yemeni government on Tuesday renewed its calls for the international community to place real pressure on Iran-backed Houthi militias to unconditionally release all detained and abducted journalists.

Dozens of journalists have been held in Houthi prisons since the conflict erupted in 2014.

Speaking on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, Yemen's Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani asserted that all Houthi leaders and militants behind abuses and violations against journalists will not escape punishment.

“The day will come when they (Houthis) will be held accountable,” Eryani promised.

“On the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, we remember the thousands of crimes and violations by the Iran-backed Houthi militias against journalists, including killing, abduction, arrest, enforced disappearance, torture, forced exile, displacement and looting of property,” Eryani said.

“We remember with deep pain our fellow journalists in Houthis prisons, who face execution orders for their political opinions,” Eryani added.

The crimes against journalists reveal the Houthis’ “ugly side,” he said.

“We call on the international community and organizations concerned with protecting journalists to review the tragic conditions experienced by journalists in areas controlled by Houthi militias and condemn the crimes and violations against them,” Eryani said.

The minister also pressed the international community to pressure Houthis into releasing journalists and social media activists without any conditions.

Last month, the insurgents released five journalists who had been detained for years as part of a prisoner swap deal they sealed with the legitimate government.

Even though they released five journalists, Houthis are still holding many others captive.

In Houthi prisons, journalists face the threat of baseless death sentences issued by militant authorities that charge them with treason and other crimes.

Since 2014, Houthis have embarked on raiding all government and private media outlets, arresting hundreds of journalists and media workers and subjecting them to torture.

Yemeni government officials have slammed Houthis for refusing to release remaining journalists as part of the recent prisoner exchange deal that took place in October under UN mediation.

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SDF Responds to ISIS Attacks in Eastern Syria

Members of the SDF in the Deir Ezzor countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat file)
Members of the SDF in the Deir Ezzor countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat file)
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SDF Responds to ISIS Attacks in Eastern Syria

Members of the SDF in the Deir Ezzor countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat file)
Members of the SDF in the Deir Ezzor countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat file)

Suspected ISIS cells have escalated their activities in eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province, staging a series of attacks on security posts and imposing extortion fees on local residents, sources said on Thursday.

Military, security, and civil sources in northeastern Syria said ISIS remnants launched coordinated assaults in recent days, including a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on a security center in the town of Diban, marking one of the most intense waves of violence in the area since the start of the year.

“The cells have become increasingly active, with suspicious movements observed following multiple attacks on checkpoints and security facilities,” one local source said. “They are using intimidation tactics and extorting civilians.”

In a statement on Thursday, the Internal Security Forces, known as Asayish, confirmed that one of their centers in Diban, located in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, was attacked late Wednesday night.

“ISIS-affiliated militants on motorbikes launched an RPG and opened fire on our post in Diban,” the statement said.

Although ISIS lost its territorial control in Syria in 2019, sleeper cells continue to operate in remote desert areas, targeting security forces and civilians in ambushes and hit-and-run attacks.

Farhad Shami, head of the Syrian Democratic Forces’ media center, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Diban attack was one of two coordinated strikes carried out by ISIS-linked cells.

“In the first incident, ISIS fighters used medium-range weapons and rocket-propelled grenades against an Asayish checkpoint in Diban,” Shami said. “Our forces quickly intervened and fought back, forcing the cell to withdraw.”

In a second attack, militants targeted an SDF military vehicle in the nearby town of Jadid Akidat, also in eastern Deir Ezzor, firing an RPG and small-arms rounds at the patrol, Shami said.

“The response was immediate. Our units unleashed heavy fire on the attackers, compelling them to retreat, leaving several of their members wounded,” he added.

A United Nations report published in July last year estimated the number of ISIS fighters in Syria at between 3,000 and 5,000, many of whom are believed to be hiding in the rugged terrain between Syria and Iraq.

The group's enduring presence has raised concerns among regional authorities and international observers about a potential resurgence, particularly in areas where security forces are stretched thin.