Yemen Minister Questions UNMHA Silence over Houthi Violations

Yemeni Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Moammar Al-Eryani. (Reuters)
Yemeni Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Moammar Al-Eryani. (Reuters)
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Yemen Minister Questions UNMHA Silence over Houthi Violations

Yemeni Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Moammar Al-Eryani. (Reuters)
Yemeni Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Moammar Al-Eryani. (Reuters)

Yemeni Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Moammar Al-Eryani questioned on Saturday the silence of the UN Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) over the violations committed by the Iran-backed Houthi militias in the country.

“We are surprised to see UN Head of Mission in Hodeidah and Chairman of Redeployment Coordination Committee, General Abhijit Guha silent towards the Houthi militias’ continued violations of the Sweden Agreement and their attack on the Mocha port, which is a civilian facility and on aid warehouses, endangering the lives of workers,” the minister said in a series of tweets.

He strongly denounced the “treacherous and cowardly terrorist attack”, saying the militias used four Iranian-made drones in their attack against the historic port of Mocha, where they burned the warehouses of a number of relief organizations operating on the west coast.

The attack took place a few weeks after the port had resumed operation.

“It represents a continuation of Houthi attacks against civilian location and the systematic destruction of infrastructure with an aim to take Yemen centuries back,” said the minister.

He noted that the attack coincides with the anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States. It again confirms that the Houthis are a terrorist organization similar to al-Qaeda and ISIS.

“The intensification of political and military pressure, in addition to designating the Houthis as terrorists remain the only way to establish security and stability in Yemen and the region,” Eryani said.

He called on the international community, the UN and US envoys to clearly condemn the Mocha attack, which comes days after the new UN envoy assumed his duties.

The attack must be deemed a war crime and part of the militias’ continued destruction of infrastructure and obstruction of aid to deepen the country’s humanitarian crisis, he added.



UK Lifts Sanctions on Syrian Central Bank and Petroleum Firms

A general view of the commercial harbor of Syria's coastal city of Tartous, Syria, December 14, 2024. (Reuters)
A general view of the commercial harbor of Syria's coastal city of Tartous, Syria, December 14, 2024. (Reuters)
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UK Lifts Sanctions on Syrian Central Bank and Petroleum Firms

A general view of the commercial harbor of Syria's coastal city of Tartous, Syria, December 14, 2024. (Reuters)
A general view of the commercial harbor of Syria's coastal city of Tartous, Syria, December 14, 2024. (Reuters)

Britain unfroze the assets of Syria's central bank and 23 other entities including banks and oil companies on Thursday, reversing sanctions imposed during Bashar al-Assad's presidency.

The West is rethinking its approach to Syria after opposition forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group ousted Assad as president in December after more than 13 years of civil war.

"We are lifting asset freezes on 24 Syrian entities that were previously used by the Assad regime to fund the oppression of the Syrian people," a foreign office spokesperson said.

"At the same time, sanctions on members of the Assad regime and those involved in the illicit trade in captagon remain in place."

Captagon in an addictive amphetamine-like stimulant widely produced in Syria during Assad's rule.

A notice posted on the British government website said entities including the central bank, the Commercial Bank of Syria and the Agricultural Cooperative Bank had been delisted and were no longer subject to an asset freeze.

Syrian Arab Airlines, Syrian Petroleum Company, Syria Trading Oil Company (SYTROL) and Overseas Petroleum Trading were also among those delisted.

Syria's Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has called repeatedly for the lifting of Western sanctions that were imposed to isolate Assad during the civil war.

Last month, the European Union eased restrictions on the Syrian central bank while keeping in place the sanctions. The US has said its sanctions on the central bank remain in place.

A Syrian government media official did not immediately respond to a request for comment.