Arab Coalition Raids Kill Over 100 Houthi Fighters in Yemen’s Abdiya

Arab Coalition fighter jets (AFP)
Arab Coalition fighter jets (AFP)
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Arab Coalition Raids Kill Over 100 Houthi Fighters in Yemen’s Abdiya

Arab Coalition fighter jets (AFP)
Arab Coalition fighter jets (AFP)

The Arab Coalition announced on Wednesday 19 operations targeting Iran-backed Houthi militia targets and elements in Yemen’s Abdiya in the past 24 hours.

The Coalition said it had destroyed 12 military vehicles belonging to the Houthis in Abdiya, south of Marib governorate, adding that more than 108 militia members were killed.

On Tuesday, the Arab Coalition announced carrying out several airstrikes in Abdiya. The raids killed 300 Houthis within the last 24 hours of the announcement.

“We targeted nine military vehicles of the Houthi militia in Abdiya, and their losses exceeded 134 members,” said a statement carried by official Saudi media.

Hundreds of Houthi militias and military personnel have died since fighting for the strategically vital city flared anew last month.

The Coalition also accused the Houthis of obstructing the delivery of medication, food, and other life-saving supplies to more than 35,000 civilians trapped in the district.

Local authorities in Marib have issued a fresh appeal to international aid organizations and rights groups to rescue thousands of civilians trapped inside the Houthi-besieged district of Abdiya.

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms revealed that 2,451 crimes, violations, and human and material damages were suffered by the civilian population and public and private properties in the besieged district from September 23 to October 13.

More so, the Arab Coalition destroyed two explosive-laden boats used by the Houthis.

“The Houthis continue to threaten shipping lines and international trade in the Bab al-Mandab strait and the southern Red Sea,” the Coalition said.

It added that the Houthis violated the Stockholm Agreement “by launching attacks from the Hodeidah governorate.”



International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Meets with Syrian Leader in Damascus

This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
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International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Meets with Syrian Leader in Damascus

This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan made an unannounced visit Friday to Damascus to confer with the leader of Syria’s de facto government on how to ensure accountability for alleged crimes committed in the country.

Khan's office said he visited at the invitation of Syria’s transitional government. He met with Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria’s new administration and the foreign minister to discuss options for justice in The Hague for victims of the country's civil war, which has left more than half a million dead and more than six million people displaced.

Assad, who fled to Russia in December, waged an oppressive campaign against anyone who opposed him during his more than two decades in power.

Rights groups estimate at least 150,000 people went missing after anti-government protests began in 2011, most vanishing into Assad’s prison network. Many of them were killed, either in mass executions or from torture and prison conditions. The exact number remains unknown.

The global chemical weapons watchdog found Syrian forces were responsible for multiple attacks using chlorine gas and other banned substances against civilians.

Other groups have also been accused of human rights violations and war crimes during the country’s civil war.

The new authorities have called for members of the Assad regime to be brought to justice. It is unclear how exactly that would work at this stage.

Syria is not a member of the ICC, which has left the court without the ability to investigate the war. In 2014, Russia and China blocked a referral by the United Nations Security Council which would have given the court jurisdiction. Similar referrals were made for Sudan and Libya.

Khan's visit comes after a trip to Damascus last month by the UN organization assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria. The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria was created to assist in evidence-gathering and prosecution of individuals responsible for possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide since Syria’s civil war began in 2011.

The group's head, Robert Petit, highlighted the urgency of preserving documents and other evidence before they are lost.