Houthis Step Up Attacks in Hodeidah amid UN Silence

UN vehicles at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)
UN vehicles at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)
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Houthis Step Up Attacks in Hodeidah amid UN Silence

UN vehicles at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)
UN vehicles at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)

The UN observer mission based in Yemen’s western coastal Hodeidah governorate has remained silent over the growing attacks by Houthi militias that are threatening to collapse a fragile UN-sponsored truce agreement that was signed back in 2018.

The militias, backed by Iran, launched missile strikes on Tuesday that targeted an industrial complex and a number of civilian neighborhoods in Hodeidah, war monitors of pro-government joint Yemeni forces reported.

Within a window of eight hours, the militias violated the Stockholm Agreement 86 times, they added, confirming that the Iran-aligned group is waging a hostile military escalation in Hodeidah.

The assaults resulted in substantial material damage and managed to spread fear and panic among locals.

This is not the first time the militants target the “Ikhwan Thabit” industrial and commercial complex.

War monitors also reported Houthis using medium and heavy weapons, mortar shells and drones to target residential areas and farms in the Hays and al-Duraihimi districts, located in Hodeidah’s south.

Military sources have previously confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthis are seeking to expand the range of combat lines and make advances in Hodeidah’s southern and eastern fronts.

The Houthis have stepped up their attacks in the Hays, al-Hok, Tahita and al-Duraihimi districts.

On Monday, Houthis used katyusha rockets to target al-Mandhar residential neighborhood in al-Hok.

Several houses in al-Mandhar were either hit or badly damaged by the attack. At least five houses were totally destroyed by the indiscriminate shelling.

Houthi constant bombardment of populated areas has caused panic throughout Hodeidah and forced hundreds of families to leave their homes.

The UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), led by General Abhijit Guha, failed to condemn the recent aggressions.

Instead, the observer mission keeps to issuing statements denouncing the escalation and calling for restraint.



Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
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Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)

Dozens of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants will hand over their weapons in a ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant first step toward ending a decades-long insurgency with Türkiye.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its armed struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, Reuters said.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Türkiye and the wider region.

Around 40 PKK militants and one commander were expected to hand over their weapons at the ceremony in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, people familiar with the plan said. The PKK is based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Türkiye’s frontier in recent years.

The arms are to be destroyed later in another ceremony attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq's Kurdistan regional government, and senior members of Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party - which also played a key role in facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision.

The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's government to address Kurdish political demands. In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan also urged Türkiye's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK's transition into democratic politics.

Erdogan has said his government would not allow any attempts to sabotage the disarmament process, adding he would give people "historic good news".

Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan's AK Party, said the disarmament process should not be allowed to drag on longer than a few months to avoid it becoming subject to provocations.