عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

KSRelief’s Al-Rabeeah Discusses Support for Yemen, Exposes Houthi Targeting of Humanitarian Relief

KSRelief’s Al-Rabeeah Discusses Support for Yemen, Exposes Houthi Targeting of Humanitarian Relief
TT
20
TT

KSRelief’s Al-Rabeeah Discusses Support for Yemen, Exposes Houthi Targeting of Humanitarian Relief

KSRelief’s Al-Rabeeah Discusses Support for Yemen, Exposes Houthi Targeting of Humanitarian Relief

Saudi Arabia continues to support the building of neighboring Yemen’s coronavirus vaccination capacity, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) General Supervisor Abdullah Al-Rabeeah reaffirmed on Thursday

Speaking at an online videoconference organized by the National Council of US-Arab Relations, Al-Rabeeah revealed that talks were ongoing between KSRelief and the Yemeni government to extend more support to the war-torn country.

After contacting Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, KSRelief arranged for the delivery of a number of testing kits and machines and cameras to authorities at Yemen’s health ministry, noted Al-Rabeeah.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia has stood in solidarity with the Yemeni health sector and government institutions fighting the spread of the pandemic.

On the challenges facing humanitarian relief work in Yemen, Al-Rabeeah cited security threats and hostility carried out by Houthis against aid workers in the battle-weary country.

“KSRelief convoys have been targeted in more than 35 incidents,” said Al-Rabeeah, adding that 39 arbitrary detentions and 31 muggings have targeted the organization’s workers and aid supplies in Yemen.

Al-Rabeeah also shed light on Houthi militias recruiting and deploying child soldiers to fight on battlefronts.

“Over 25,000 children have been recruited,” he said, adding that KSRelief is working on rehabilitating minors that were drafted by Houthi militias.

According to Al-Rabeeah, KSRelief launched a rehabilitation program that offers psychological, social, educational and family counseling services to prevent those children from becoming a threat in the future.

As for Saudi Arabia’s record of ongoing support for Yemenis, Al-Rabeeah reminded that the kingdom hosts over half a million Yemeni refugees that it treats as “visitors, not asylum seekers.”

Yemenis in Saudi Arabia have been granted official documents all over the kingdom, stressed Al-Rabeeah.

He also pointed out that Yemeni children are offered free access to public schools and health programs in Saudi Arabia.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Al-Sharaa Welcomes Abbas on First Visit to Damascus in 16 Years

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)
TT
20
TT

Al-Sharaa Welcomes Abbas on First Visit to Damascus in 16 Years

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomes Palestinian counterpart in Damascus (Syrian Presidency)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on Friday, marking Abbas’s first visit to the Syrian capital in nearly 16 years.

Al-Sharaa greeted Abbas at the entrance of the Presidential Palace, and the two leaders walked side by side along a red carpet, according to an AFP correspondent.

Al-Sharaa held talks with Abbas and his accompanying delegation on Friday in Damascus, in the presence of Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, the presidency said.

The visit is Abbas’s first to Syria since June 2009 and aims to discuss ways to strengthen Palestinian-Syrian ties, ease administrative procedures for Palestinians living in Syria, and address shared security concerns, a Syrian government source told AFP.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), around 560,000 Palestinians lived in Syria before the outbreak of conflict in 2011. The agency now estimates that number at about 438,000, with more than 40% internally displaced.

Abbas’s visit to Damascus carries exceptional significance due to the complex Palestinian landscape in Syria, observers in the capital told Germany’s DPA news agency.

Analysts noted that the visit comes against the backdrop of a sensitive file involving Palestinian factions that were previously aligned with the former regime and have since had their offices and military posts shut down.

Abbas is expected to raise several key issues, including bilateral relations, the situation of Palestinians in Syria—whose number is currently estimated at more than half a million—and the reconstruction of Yarmouk camp, widely considered the capital of the Palestinian diaspora.

Abbas is accompanied by Hussein al-Sheikh, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee, and committee member Ahmad Majdalani. It is his first trip to Syria since President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024.

His last visit to Damascus was in 2009, when he met Assad as part of a regional tour that also included Saudi Arabia.

In the years following Syria’s civil war, Abbas maintained indirect contact with Damascus, sending messages to Assad through Palestinian officials—the most recent in June 2024.