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.



Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

Israeli forces have blocked supply routes to the southern Lebanese border city of al-Khiam ahead of storming it.

They have also surrounded the strategic city with Hezbollah fighters still inside, launching artillery and air attacks against them.

Hezbollah fighters have been holding out in Khiam for 25 days. The capture of the city would be significant and allow Israeli forces easier passage into southern Lebanon.

Field sources said Israeli forces have already entered some neighborhoods of Khiam from its eastern and southern outskirts, expanding their incursion into its northern and eastern sectors to fully capture the city.

They cast doubt on claims that the city has been fully captured, saying fighting is still taking place deeper inside its streets and alleys, citing the ongoing artillery fire and drone and air raids.

Israel has already cut off Hezbollah’s supply routes by seizing control of Bourj al-Mamlouk, Tall al-Nahas and olive groves in al-Qlaa in the Marayoun region. Its forces have also fanned out to the west towards the Litani River.

The troops have set up a “line of fire” spanning at least seven kms around Khiam to deter anti-tank attacks from Hezbollah and to launch artillery, drone and aerial attacks, said the sources.

The intense pressure has forced Hezbollah to resort to suicide drone attacks against Israeli forces.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar television said Israeli forces tried to carry out a new incursion towards Khiam’s northern neighborhoods.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that since Friday night, Israeli forces have been using “all forms of weapons in their attempt to capture Khiam, which Israel views as a strategic gateway through which it can make rapid ground advances.”

It reported an increase in air and artillery attacks in the past two days as the forces try to storm the city.

The troops are trying to advance on Khiam by first surrounding it from all sides under air cover, it continued.

They are also booby-trapping some homes and buildings and then destroying them, similar to what they have done in other southern towns, such as Adeisseh, Yaround, Aitaroun and Mais al-Jabal.

Khiam holds symbolic significance to the Lebanese people because it was the first city liberated following Israel’s implementation of United Nations Security Council 425 on May 25, 2000, that led to its withdrawal from the South in a day that Hezbollah has since declared Liberation Day.