Int’l Resentment Grows against Houthi Intransigence, Escalation of Violence

Houthi fighters ride on the back of a patrol truck as they secure the site of a pro-Houthi tribal gathering in a rural area near Sanaa, Yemen, on July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Houthi fighters ride on the back of a patrol truck as they secure the site of a pro-Houthi tribal gathering in a rural area near Sanaa, Yemen, on July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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Int’l Resentment Grows against Houthi Intransigence, Escalation of Violence

Houthi fighters ride on the back of a patrol truck as they secure the site of a pro-Houthi tribal gathering in a rural area near Sanaa, Yemen, on July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Houthi fighters ride on the back of a patrol truck as they secure the site of a pro-Houthi tribal gathering in a rural area near Sanaa, Yemen, on July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Concurring with the start of the new UN special envoy’s work in Yemen, international resentment towards Houthis targeting Saudi infrastructure grew fiercer amid warnings against the dangers of protracting the conflict and the militias refusing to cooperate for a political solution in the war-torn country.

The US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking, despite visiting the region seven times since his assignment in February, has failed in achieving any significant breakthrough. He called for a ceasefire and resuming negotiations, but neither has happened so far.

Hoping to lure US public opinion, especially Congress legislators, the Biden administration has adopted a new statement method.

In its latest condemnation of recent Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, it reminded that more than 70,000 US citizens in the Kingdom are in imminent danger from assaults waged by the Iran-backed militia.

This comes when many Yemeni observers fear that the Biden administration’s preoccupation with the crisis in Afghanistan will allow for violence to escalate in Yemen, where the lives of around 130,000 had been claimed.

“Since the beginning of the year, Saudi Arabia has endured more than 240 attacks from the Houthis, who have endangered the Saudi people alongside more than 70,000 US citizens residing in Saudi Arabia,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in a statement.

“The Houthis have also intensified their attacks inside of Yemen in recent weeks, particularly their offensive on Marib,” he added.

“This costly, stalemated offensive is exacerbating Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. The Houthi attacks are perpetuating the conflict, prolonging the suffering of the Yemeni people, and jeopardizing peace efforts at a critical moment,” said Blinken, calling on Houthis to uphold a ceasefire and engage in negotiations under UN auspices.

Despite international and ongoing efforts to end the Yemeni crisis, the UN has acknowledged that there are no signs of the Yemeni conflict ending looming on the horizon.

“No progress has been made by parties in Yemen to reach a political agreement to settle the civil war, which is now in its seventh year,” a senior UN official for the Middle East region told the Security Council on Monday.

Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, affirmed that the 2015 peace plan, which called for a nationwide ceasefire, the reopening of Sanaa airport, the easing of restrictions on fuel and goods flowing through Hodeidah port, and the resumption of face-to-face political negotiations, had not been implemented yet.

Khiari said that the Houthis continue to make the opening of Hodeidah ports and Sanaa airport, as well as on the ending of what they call the “aggression and occupation”, conditions of their renewed participation in the political process.

Two human rights groups Wednesday accused Houthis of using starvation as a tactic of war. They urged the UN Security Council to refer the opposing participants to the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged crimes.

The two groups, in their reports, which The Associated Press published a news article about, documented the Houthis’ restrictions on humanitarian activities, which deprived civilians in areas under their control of “indispensable aid, including food.”

They also documented the Houthis’ widespread and indiscriminate use of land mines, which have killed and maimed shepherds and their livestock and prevented farmers from accessing agricultural land.

Houthis are accused of atrocities in the conflict, which has killed more than 130,000 people and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 18 people on Friday, including 10 who were waiting for aid in the south of the war-ravaged territory.

The fresh deaths came as the United Nations said nearly 800 people had been killed trying to access food in Gaza since late May, when Israel began easing a more than two-month total blockade on supplies.

UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said most of the deaths occurred near facilities operated by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, AFP reported.

"We've recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the GHF sites," from the time the group's operations began in late May until July 7, Shamdasani said Friday.

An officially private effort, GHF operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and frequent reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations.

The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives and violates basic humanitarian principles.

Responding to the UN's figures, Israel's military said it had worked to minimize "possible friction between the population and the army forces as much as possible".

"Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted... and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned," it added.

Gaza civil defense official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that 10 people were shot by Israeli forces on Friday while waiting for supplies in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah, where there are regular reports of deadly fire on aid seekers.

- 'Extremely difficult' -

The civil defense reported six more people killed in four separate Israeli airstrikes in the area of Khan Yunis, in the south of the territory.

Two drone strikes around Gaza City in the north killed two more people, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

There was no immediate comment on the latest strikes from the Israeli military, which has recently expanded its operations across Gaza.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.

A Palestinian speaking to AFP from southern Gaza on condition of anonymity reported ongoing attacks and widespread devastation, with Israeli tanks seen near Khan Yunis.

"The situation remains extremely difficult in the area -- intense gunfire, intermittent airstrikes, artillery shelling, and ongoing bulldozing and destruction of displacement camps and agricultural land to the south, west and north of Al-Maslakh," an area to Khan Yunis's south, said the witness.

Israel's military said in a statement that its soldiers were operating in the area, dismantling "terrorist infrastructure sites, both above and below ground", and seizing "weapons and military equipment".

The civil defense also reported on Friday five people killed in an Israeli strike the previous night on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza.

Nearly all of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during the more than 21-month war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people living there.

Many have sought shelter in school buildings, but these have repeatedly come under Israeli attack, with the military often saying they were targeting Hamas militants hiding among civilians.