Hezbollah Commander Fighting for Houthis Killed in Yemen’s Marib

Pro-government fighters in Marib. (EPA)
Pro-government fighters in Marib. (EPA)
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Hezbollah Commander Fighting for Houthis Killed in Yemen’s Marib

Pro-government fighters in Marib. (EPA)
Pro-government fighters in Marib. (EPA)

The legitimate Yemeni government confirmed on Tuesday reports of the killing of a Lebanese Hezbollah commander, fighting for the Iran-backed Houthi militias, in the ongoing battles in the Marib province.

Mustafa al-Ghrawi was killed in a Saudi-led Arab coalition air strike on Houthi positions on the Sirwah front in Marib.

Information Minister Mommar al-Eryani identified Ghrawi as a commander of Hezbollah’s military wing.

He slammed the party’s meddling in Yemen, saying it reflects the extent of Iran’s involvement in the Houthi military escalation on all fronts in Marib.

This Iranian involvement is evident through its deployment of hundreds of Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah experts and operations commanders, he added.

He also cited Tehran’s smuggling of weapons, such as ballistic missiles and drones, to the Houthis and its dedication of a political and media campaign to promote its battle.

All of these actions are an extension of Iran’s expansionist agenda in the region, warned Eryani.

He called on the international community, United Nations and permanent members of the Security Council to take “firm stances against the flagrant Iranian meddling in Yemeni affairs and put an end to Tehran’s role in escalating the military operations and undermining peace efforts.”



Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Meets HTS Leader in Damascus

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
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Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Meets HTS Leader in Damascus

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Sunday, Türkiye’s foreign ministry said, without providing further details.

Photographs and footage shared by the ministry showed Fidan and Sharaa, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which led the operation to topple Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, walking ahead of a crowded delegation before posing for photographs.

The two are also seen shaking hands, hugging, and smiling.

On Friday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Türkiye would help Syria's new administration form a state structure and draft a new constitution, adding Fidan would head to Damascus to discuss this new structure, without providing a date.

Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Türkiye’s MIT intelligence agency, also visited Damascus on Dec. 12, four days after Assad's fall.

Ankara had for years backed opposition fighters looking to oust Assad and welcomed the end of his family's brutal five-decade rule after a 13-year civil war. Türkiye also hosts millions of Syrian migrants it hopes will start returning home after Assad's fall, and has vowed to help rebuild Syria.

Fidan's visit comes amid fighting in northeast Syria between Türkiye-backed Syrian fighters and the Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast and Ankara regards as a terrorist organization.

Earlier, Türkiye’s defense minister said Ankara believed that Syria's new leadership, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive YPG fighters from all territory they occupy in the northeast.

Ankara, alongside Syrian allies, has mounted several cross-border offensives against the Kurdish faction in northern Syria and controls swathes of Syrian territory along the border, while repeatedly demanding that its NATO ally Washington halts support for the Kurdish fighters.

The SDF has been on the back foot since Assad's fall, with the threat of advances from Ankara and Türkiye-backed groups as it looks to preserve political gains made in the last 13 years, and with Syria's new rulers being friendly to Ankara.