Houthis Block 35 Humanitarian Initiatives, Arrest Dozens of Volunteers in Yemen

A Yemeni walks through a pedestrian bridge in front of historic buildings in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen. (EPA)
A Yemeni walks through a pedestrian bridge in front of historic buildings in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen. (EPA)
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Houthis Block 35 Humanitarian Initiatives, Arrest Dozens of Volunteers in Yemen

A Yemeni walks through a pedestrian bridge in front of historic buildings in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen. (EPA)
A Yemeni walks through a pedestrian bridge in front of historic buildings in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen. (EPA)

The Houthis in Yemen are repressing dozens of Ramadan-inspired charity campaigns while completely disregarding poverty and famine levels hitting unprecedented highs in areas run by the Iran-backed militias.

Youth and volunteer campaigns taking place in government-controlled parts of Yemen, the war-torn country’s poor.

Since the start of Ramadan in mid-April, Houthis have suspended 35 volunteer humanitarian initiatives that planned to help out thousands of poverty-stricken Yemenis living in areas run by the militias, Sanaa-based human rights sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

About two weeks ago, the Houthis deployed scouts in Sanaa neighborhoods and other cities they control to monitor youth initiatives that provide aid to some of the poorest families there, they said.

Militias arrested dozens of young men and women who were delivering aid to the destitute in Sanaa and its countryside and in the cities of Ibb, Dhamar, Hajjah, Taiz, Mahwit and Amran, sources added, noting that those apprehended were held in militia detention centers.

“Last Monday, Houthi gunmen prevented activists from distributing food to more than 100 needy families in separate neighborhoods in Sanaa,” a local volunteer, who was threatened by the militias, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the volunteer voiced his anger at Houthi efforts to block charities that are trying to “put a smile on the faces of the poor and needy and relieve some of their pain and deprivation.”

Moreover, the militias appropriated cash, food, blankets, clothes, sewing machines and rainproof tents that were bound for some of the country’s neediest families.

Sources reported that the seizure of the different forms of aid took place in large quantities, pointing out that the Houthis reroute the assistance to reach members involved in its war effort.



Blaze at Cairo Telecom Building Kills 4 and Disrupts Internet, Phone

A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Blaze at Cairo Telecom Building Kills 4 and Disrupts Internet, Phone

A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Four workers were killed and at least 22 others were injured in a fire that broke out on Monday at a key data center in Cairo, Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the spokesperson at Egypt's Health Ministry, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The blaze at a Telecom Egypt facility, which state TV said was contained on Monday, caused disruptions to communications across the capital.

Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, said in a statement on Tuesday that services will be gradually restored within 24 hours.

In a statement on Tuesday, Telecom Egypt said it mourned the employees that lost their lives and offered support for their families.

The fire halted phone calls, and disrupted internet access, with internet monitoring group Netblocks saying network data showed national connectivity at 62% of ordinary levels.

The health ministry posted alternative numbers for ambulance services across different governorates in case people were unable to reach its main hotline.

Besides phone calls, some digital banking services were also impacted including credit cards, ATM machines and online transactions, a bank source and residents said on Monday. Banks had already been closed for the day.

The injuries were mostly because of smoke inhalation, health ministry spokesperson Ghaffar said on Monday.

The state news agency MENA said on Monday the fire had been prevented from spreading to the entire building and neighboring rooftops.

An initial examination indicated that the fire was likely to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, MENA cited a security source as saying.