Aden Introduces New Security Measures to Confront Threats, Terrorism

The governor of Aden chairs a security meeting on Sunday. (Saba)
The governor of Aden chairs a security meeting on Sunday. (Saba)
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Aden Introduces New Security Measures to Confront Threats, Terrorism

The governor of Aden chairs a security meeting on Sunday. (Saba)
The governor of Aden chairs a security meeting on Sunday. (Saba)

The supreme security committee in Yemen's interim capital Aden held on Sunday an emergency meeting and decided to take measures to confront possible acts of terror and sabotage.

At the meeting, chaired by Aden Governor Ahmed Lamlas, security measures were passed that include establishing an operations room and integrated electronic surveillance network in all districts and committing stores to install security camera systems.

They come amid increasing threats since the new government arrived in the city some two weeks ago. Upon its arrival at Aden International Airport, the war-torn country’s newly formed government was targeted by deadly blasts, but none of the ministers was harmed.

The government accused the Iran-backed Houthi militias of carrying out the attack, which received widespread local and international condemnation.

Sunday’s meeting approved more measures including restrictions on the movement of security patrols, including preventing the deployment of security patrols to parks and prohibiting non-state patrols.

Lamlas urged boosting the security to face acts of sabotage aimed at obstructing the return of foreign diplomatic missions and targeting international organizations.

“It is imperative to stand seriously in front of these acts, tracking down perpetrators, apprehending them and holding them accountable,” he stressed.

The governor also wished newly-appointed Aden police chief Maj. Gen. Mutahar Al-Shuaibi success in fulfilling his duties, and reaffirmed the local authority's full support for the entire security apparatus.

Highlighting the need for security units and police stations to assume their responsibilities, Lamlas called for activating the roles of investigation departments intelligence services in general.

He made a point that the “Aden security apparatus is not to blame for the cowardly terrorist attack that targeted the new government.”

The security committee approved a number of measures to enhance the security situation in the directorates of the interim capital.

It decided on limiting the movement of military personnel and vehicles outside official security tasks, and preventing their presence in parks and public venues.



Israeli Leaders Applaud Trump Pledge on Hostages, Gazans Fear the Worst

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Israeli Leaders Applaud Trump Pledge on Hostages, Gazans Fear the Worst

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (AFP)

Israeli leaders hailed on Tuesday a pledge by US President-elect Donald Trump that there would be "hell to pay" in the Middle East unless hostages held in the Gaza Strip were released ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration.

The reaction in Gaza was less enthusiastic.

Writing on Truth Social, and without naming any group, Trump said the hostages had to be freed by the time he was sworn in.

If his demand was not met, he said: "Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America."

During their deadly 2023 attack on Israel, Hamas-led fighters captured more than 250 people. Some have been released or freed but around half of them are still in Gaza, although at least a third of these are believed to be dead.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many of his ministers publicly thanked Trump for his hard-hitting words.

"President Trump put the emphasis in the right place, on Hamas, and not on the Israeli government, as is customary (elsewhere)," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Trump's statement had made clear to everyone who was in the right, and who was wrong.

"This is the way to bring back the hostages: by increasing the pressure and the costs for Hamas and its supporters, and defeating them, rather than giving in to their absurd demands."

Families of the missing hostages also expressed their gratitude. "It is now evident to all: the time has come. We must bring them home NOW," the families forum said.

NEGOTIATIONS STALLED

Israel and Hamas have held on-off negotiations since October 2023, but after an initial hostage release in November, little progress has been made with both sides blaming each other.

Responding to Trump's post, senior Hamas official Basem Naim said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sabotaged all efforts to secure a deal that involved exchanging the hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.

"Therefore, we understand (Trump's) message is directed first at Netanyahu and his government to end this evil game," he told Reuters.

Gaza political analyst Ramiz Moghani said Trump's threat was directed at both Hamas and its backer Iran, and warned that it would embolden Israel to not expel Palestinians from swathes of Gaza but also annex the nearby, Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"These statements have serious implications for the Israeli war in Gaza and the West Bank," he told Reuters.

Mohammed Dahlan, like hundreds of thousands of Gazans, has had to flee his house because of the fighting and is desperate for the war to end. But he said he was shocked by Trump.

"We were hoping that the new administration would bring with it a breakthrough .... but it seems (Trump) is in complete agreement with the Israeli administration and that there are apparently more punitive measures ahead," he said.