Yemeni Army Thwarts Houthi Advances in Marib

Yemenis shop at a market in Sanaa ahead of Eid al-Fitr next week. (AFP)
Yemenis shop at a market in Sanaa ahead of Eid al-Fitr next week. (AFP)
TT

Yemeni Army Thwarts Houthi Advances in Marib

Yemenis shop at a market in Sanaa ahead of Eid al-Fitr next week. (AFP)
Yemenis shop at a market in Sanaa ahead of Eid al-Fitr next week. (AFP)

The Yemeni army, backed by tribal fighters and air cover from the Saudi-led Arab coalition, thwarted on Monday several attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militias in western Marib, Yemeni military sources said.

The militias have been pursuing an offensive in Marib for four months now in an attempt to capture the oil-rich northern province from the legitimate government.

The development revealed that tribes in Marib, al-Jawf and nearby provinces have met the rallying call of the local authorities to support the army to push back the Houthis, added the sources.

As the Houthis intensified their attacks on the al-Kasara and al-Mashajah fronts, coalition jets intensified their strikes on militia positions in the Sirwah district, said military media.

Dozens of militants were killed and injured in the raids.

A military spokesman confirmed that the military has achieved victories on several fronts in Marib, Taiz, al-Dhale, Saada, al-Bayda, Hodeidah and Lahj.

In Marib, the people are supporting the army and national resistance’s perseverance to end the Houthi coup and their terrorist acts, he added.

The military and popular resistance have continued to make advances on the ground, thwarting all Houthi attacks and attempted infiltrations on the Sirwah, al-Kasara, Hilan, al-Moshaja, al-Makhadra and al-Jadaan fronts.

The Houthis are incurring dozens of losses every day on these fronts, he stressed. They are also losing weapons, equipment and armored vehicles, which are being seized by the army.

He said that the al-Kasara and al-Mashajah fronts in western Marib are witnessing the fiercest battles, with the military dealing the militias heavy losses.

The Houthis, meanwhile, have continued their ballistic missile attacks against civilians and refugees in the province. They are also continuing their sniper attacks and shelling of Hodeidah.

Several civilians, including women and children, have been wounded by sniper fire, in attacks that are tantamount to war crimes, charged the spokesman.



Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
TT

Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.
The outcome reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year's war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.
The presidency, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate able to win enough votes in the 128-seat parliament.
Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in a first round vote, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in a second round, according to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, after lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally the Amal Movement backed him.
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah's long preferred candidate, Suleiman Franjieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as French envoy shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
Aoun's election is a first step towards reviving government institutions in a country which has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.
Lebanon, its economy still reeling from a devastating financial collapse in 2019, is in dire need of international support to rebuild from the war, which the World Bank estimates cost the country $8.5 billion.
Lebanon's system of government requires the new president to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.
Aoun has a key role in shoring up a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Aoun, 60, has been commander of the Lebanese army since 2017.