Houthis Likely Behind Attack on Yemeni Army Base in Abyan

Part of the defense operations carried out by the Yemeni army in Marib (AFP)
Part of the defense operations carried out by the Yemeni army in Marib (AFP)
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Houthis Likely Behind Attack on Yemeni Army Base in Abyan

Part of the defense operations carried out by the Yemeni army in Marib (AFP)
Part of the defense operations carried out by the Yemeni army in Marib (AFP)

A major explosion rocked a Yemeni army base Sunday in the Modiya district of the southern governorate of Abyan with initial reports saying the attack, likely staged by Houthi militias, killed and injured at least 20 soldiers.

The assault on the army base follows Iran-backed Houthi militants losing ground in battlefields in the central governorate of Al Bayda.

Medics and military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the blast was either caused by a missile or a drone that targeted a mosque in the army’s Fifth Infantry Brigade camp in Modiya district in Abyan governorate when soldiers were performing the afternoon prayers.

At least five were killed, and 15 were injured, sources said, adding some of the wounded were in critical condition.

According to army analysts, Houthi militias stand to benefit the most from the attack, which could have been staged to confuse pro-government forces, like the army and the popular resistance.

They added that the hit took advantage of tensions between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government and Southern Transitional Council (STC) factions in some parts of Abyan.

A probe into the attack was launched, and initial results will be announced as soon as they are ready.

Meanwhile, pro-government armed popular resistance forces, backed by the Yemeni army’s Giants Brigade, continued to advance against Houthi positions in the al-Zahir district in Al Bayda, official sources reported.

The push seeks to secure hold on vital areas like Dhi Mukhshib, Jahour, and AsSwadna that lie on a strategic crossroad in the Jamajim area of al-Zahir.

Such progress ensures that government loyalists would surround the center of the Al-Zahir district, only a few kilometers away from the governorate’s capital city, also called Al Bayda. This will also help in cutting off major supply routes to the militias.



Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.