Yemeni Parties Denounce Int’l Inaction towards Houthi Violence

A girl plays at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Marib, Yemen October 2, 2020. (Reuters)
A girl plays at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Marib, Yemen October 2, 2020. (Reuters)
TT
20

Yemeni Parties Denounce Int’l Inaction towards Houthi Violence

A girl plays at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Marib, Yemen October 2, 2020. (Reuters)
A girl plays at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Marib, Yemen October 2, 2020. (Reuters)

Pro-government parties in Yemen’s National Alliance of Political Parties (NAPP) have denounced international inaction towards the violence of Iran-backed Houthi militias in the war-torn country.

The parties, in an official statement, urged the internationally recognized Yemeni government to undertake decisive action to end battles waged by Houthis in the oil rich Marib governorate. They called for supplying the army with all means necessary for securing victory and defeating coup militias.

Both Houthi violence in Marib, where millions of Yemenis have sought asylum, and against civilian targets in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

“Reckless Houthi escalation behind which the Iranian regime is standing confirms that these militias are persistent in their war on the Yemeni people and efforts to destabilize security and peace in the region,” the NAPP parties said in their statement, adding that Houthis are blocking international peace efforts.

The statement called for “solidarity with the army in Marib and other battlefronts,” and urged joining army ranks to counter Iranian aggression. It also demanded the government “provides all the support needed by the army and popular resistance to win the decisive battle against Houthis.”

Yemeni parties expressed their “surprise at the international community’s failure to act against the Houthi escalation in Marib, where they have attacked densely populated areas and IDP camps with missiles and drones.”

They also warned against the catastrophic humanitarian risks entailed should Houthis not cease hostilities that threaten the entire region’s stability and peace.

The parties said that the removal of Houthis from the US terror blacklist did not inspire the group to shift towards peace. Counter-actively, it emboldened the militia’s drive for violence against civilians.

Both the UN and its Security Council, according to the parties, must play their role in stopping the military escalation and terrorist attacks targeting Yemenis and pressure Iran-backed Houthi militias to submit to the decisions of international legitimacy.

The parties urged holding Houthis responsible for the repercussions of their criminal escalation against civilians.



Tom Barrack: There Is One Syria

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
TT
20

Tom Barrack: There Is One Syria

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack described on Saturday the lifting of US sanctions on Syria as a “strategic fresh start” for the war-ravaged nation and said that the US was not intending to pursue “nation-building or federalism.”

The Syrian state news agency, SANA, quoted Barrack as telling the Arab News website, that the Trump administration’s removal of sanctions on May 13 was aimed at offering the Syrian people “a new slice of hope” following over a decade of civil war.

He described the Middle East as a “difficult zip code at an amazingly historic time.”

“President (Trump)’s message is peace and prosperity,” Barrack said, adding that “sanctions gave the people hope. That’s really all that happened at that moment.”

He noted that the US policy shift is intended to give the emerging Syrian regime a chance to rebuild.

The envoy clarified that the original US involvement in Syria was driven by counter-ISIS operations, and not aimed at regime change or humanitarian intervention.

He reaffirmed Washington’s position against a federal model for Syria, saying the country must remain unified with a single army and government.

“There’s not going to be six countries. There’s going to be one Syria,” he said, ruling out the possibility of separate autonomous regions.

Barrack added: “The US is not dictating terms but would not support a separatist outcome: We’re not going to be there forever as the babysitter.”

Last Wednesday, the Syrian government welcomed any path with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that would enhance the unity and territorial integrity of the country, reiterating its unwavering commitment to the principle of “One Syria, One Army, One Government,” and its categorical rejection of any form of partition or federalism.

Barrack confirmed that the US is closely monitoring the announcement that the first group of PKK fighters had destroyed their weapons in northern Iraq.

“This could be the first step towards long-term resolution of the Kurdish issue in Türkiye,” he said, but cautioned that questions remain about the SDF’s ongoing ties to the PKK leadership. “They (the SDF) have to decide: Are they Syrians? Are they Kurds first? That’s their issue.”

The envoy stressed that the current US strategy offers a narrow but real chance at stability.