UN Envoy to Yemen Stresses Need for Comprehensive Solutions, Inclusive Dialogue

The UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg (OSESGY)
The UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg (OSESGY)
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UN Envoy to Yemen Stresses Need for Comprehensive Solutions, Inclusive Dialogue

The UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg (OSESGY)
The UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg (OSESGY)

The UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, has stressed the need for constructive discussions on political, military, and economic issues that concern all Yemenis.

The envoy concluded Thursday a three-day visit to Taiz governorate.

He held meetings in Taiz city, Turbah, and Mokha and discussed with a wide range of stakeholders the urgent necessity for an end to the conflict in Yemen.

In Taiz and Turbah, Grundberg met the Governor, Nabil Shamsan, political party representatives, civil society, members of parliament, business representatives, and journalists, who raised their concerns on the impact of the conflict, including targeting civilians in residential neighborhoods and severe restrictions on the safe and free movement of people and goods due to the continued road closures.

According to a statement issued by the envoy's office, they also discussed the sharp deterioration of the economy and essential services and its severe impact on businesses and families.

In Mokha, Grundberg met with the local authority, the Political Bureau of the National Resistance, and the al-Hirak al-Tihami, which highlighted the need for de-escalation, inclusivity, and the functioning of state institutions.

"These visits have given me a first-hand experience of the impact of the conflict on civilians in Taiz, including the difficulties they face moving through their daily lives," said Grundberg.

"It has also given me the opportunity to hear directly from Yemeni men, women, and young people on how a UN-led political process can help to address the situation in Taiz as part of a sustainable solution to the conflict in Yemen."

A statement issued by the Southern Transitional Council stated that the envoy met in Aden Chairman Aidarous Qassem al-Zubaidi. The meeting addressed political, economic, and military developments and discussed a comprehensive peace process.

He also reiterated the importance of implementing the economic part of the Riyadh Agreement to address the financial crisis and prevent the collapse of the economy and the exchange rate.

He warned that pivotal measures would exacerbate the situation and push it towards the unknown.

The media center of the political bureau, the political arm of the National Resistance Forces, said that Brigadier-General Tareq Saleh discussed with the UN envoy several issues related to the Yemeni crisis.

The talks addressed the attack of the Houthi militias on Marib and the role of the international community in implementing the Stockholm Agreement to protect the interests of civilians and stop the violations committed by the insurgents.

Saleh told the UN envoy that if the international community wanted to reach a political solution in Yemen, it should stop the Iranian-backed Houthi attack on Marib.

He renewed his call for the participation of all political parties in the dialogue, saying it is the gateway to real and lasting peace.



In Syria's Devastated Jobar, Cemetery Comes Alive for Eid

Syrians visit the graves of their loved ones in the Jobar suburb of Damascus on the first day of Eid al-Adha. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
Syrians visit the graves of their loved ones in the Jobar suburb of Damascus on the first day of Eid al-Adha. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
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In Syria's Devastated Jobar, Cemetery Comes Alive for Eid

Syrians visit the graves of their loved ones in the Jobar suburb of Damascus on the first day of Eid al-Adha. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
Syrians visit the graves of their loved ones in the Jobar suburb of Damascus on the first day of Eid al-Adha. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

Only the cemetery in Damascus's devastated suburb of Jobar showed signs of life on Friday as residents returned to visit and pray for Eid al-Adha, the first since Bashar al-Assad's fall.

Jawdat al-Qais fought back tears as he knelt at the tomb of his father, who died less than a month ago, AFP said.

"His wish was to be buried in Jobar -- and Jobar was liberated and he was buried here," said Qais, 57.

"We carried out his wish, thank God," he said, adding that "many people haven't been able to be buried in their hometowns."

Once home to around 350,000 people, Jobar was turned into a wasteland due to heavy fighting from the start of Syria's civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests.

In 2018, an accord between Assad's government and opposition factions allowed fighters and their families to evacuate.

After being forced out, Jobar's residents have returned for Eid al-Adha, the biggest holiday in Islam, during which it is customary to pay respects to the dead.

Among the utter ruin of the district, the call to prayer rose from damaged mosque's minaret as dozens of faithful gathered both inside and out.

Population 'zero'

In the deathly silence, devastated buildings line barely passable roads in Jobar, which is also home to a historic synagogue.

At the cemetery, which was also damaged, residents -- including former fighters in wheelchairs or using crutches -- came together after years of separation, some drinking coffee or eating dates.

"The irony of Jobar is that the cemetery is the only thing bringing us life, bringing us together," Qais said.

Some visitors struggled to find their loved ones' tombs among the overturned headstones.

A few etched names or drew rudimentary signs to help identify them on the next visit.

"I found my mother's tomb intact and I wept," said Jihad Abulmajd, 53.

He said he has visited her grave regularly since Assad's December 8 ouster.

"We find peace here, with our ancestors and relatives," he told AFP.

The day after Assad was toppled, Hamza Idris, 64, and his family returned to Jobar from Idlib in the country's northwest, where they fled in 2018.

He said a definitive return to the ghost town, whose infrastructure has been destroyed, was impossible.

"Jobar's population... is zero," he said after praying in front of the mosque.

"Even the cemetery wasn't spared the bombs," said Idris, who lost three children during the war and was unable to visit their graves until Assad's ouster.

"The town is no longer habitable. It needs to be entirely rebuilt," he said.