Houthis Compensate for Losses in Yemen’s Marib by Attacking IDP Camps

A displaced family in a refugee camp near Hodeidah, Yemen (AFP)
A displaced family in a refugee camp near Hodeidah, Yemen (AFP)
TT

Houthis Compensate for Losses in Yemen’s Marib by Attacking IDP Camps

A displaced family in a refugee camp near Hodeidah, Yemen (AFP)
A displaced family in a refugee camp near Hodeidah, Yemen (AFP)

Houthi militias in Yemen are attacking camps hosting internally displaced Yemenis in Marib governorate, where they incurred heavy losses on southern and western battlefronts, official sources reported.

For its part, the internationally recognized Yemeni government raised the alarm on Houthi consecutive attacks triggering a serious deterioration of humanitarian conditions in Marib.

Fierce clashes continue to erupt across Marib’s western Sirwah district, where pro-government forces, backed by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, regained impetus.

Arab Coalition warplanes on Sunday targeted Houthi military reinforcements heading for Marib.

The airstrikes destroyed vehicles and pickups transporting reinforcements to Houthis fighters in Sirwah and al-Makhdarah, the Yemeni armed forces' media center said, leaving all the troops onboard killed or injured and the ordnance destroyed.

Earlier on Sunday, the government artillery shelled Houthi gatherings in different sites in Sirwah, leaving the fighters with gross losses in lives and ordnance, the center added.

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, in a meeting with French Ambassador Jean-Marie Safa, noted that Houthis do not care for losing fighters.

Houthis are sending their deluded fighters to die in Marib, Mubarak said, adding that the Iran-backed group continues to recruit child soldiers and target civilian areas with ballistic missiles.

Mubarak pointed out that Marib has embraced millions of displaced Yemenis who fled oppression in Houthi-run areas and warned that the continuation of Houthi attacks “will lead to a dire deterioration of humanitarian conditions in the governorate.”

Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani also condemned the Iran-backed terrorist Houthi militia for deliberately targeting the camps of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Marib.

“Houthi militias have continued to target IDP camps with the most recent attack including the shelling of Azour camp in Sirwah with a ballistic missile and several Katyusha rockets,” the official Saba news agency quoted Eryani as saying.

According to Eryani, Azour hosts over 20,000 IDPs.

The minister criticized the international community and the UN standing idle on the Houthi military escalation in Marib.



Lebanon Joins Middle East Green Initiative

 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)
 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)
TT

Lebanon Joins Middle East Green Initiative

 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)
 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister announced that the country has joined the Middle East Green Initiative, launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to mitigate the impact of climate change on the region.

“This is an essential step for Lebanon, especially since our southern villages and towns have been exposed to significant environmental and agricultural damage due to Israeli attacks, which requires cooperation with all of Lebanon's friends,” a statement released by the Lebanese Council of Ministers quoted Mikati as saying.

Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan welcomed Lebanon’s participation in the initiative, confirming that a high committee has been established to ensure the project’s sustainability and facilitate relevant cooperation.

He noted that the timing of the announcement “comes in light of the continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and this matter must be drawn to attention, especially since Israel is destroying very large areas, whether agricultural lands, fruit trees or forests.”

Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said that the Middle East Green Initiative has very important goals to plant 40 billion trees across the region and protect the Gulf and the Middle East from climate change, stop land degradation and desertification and find the means to adapt to future challenges.

The Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture estimates that more than 2.8 million square meters of forest and agricultural land were completely burned, while about 6.7 million square meters of agricultural and forest land were partially damaged as a result of Israel’s attacks and its use of internationally-banned incendiary munitions.