عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Yemen Asserts Need to Move UNMHA HQ to Neutral Zone

UNMHA personnel inspect markings of an unexploded ordnance site at Hodeidah Port (UN Photo)
UNMHA personnel inspect markings of an unexploded ordnance site at Hodeidah Port (UN Photo)
TT
TT

Yemen Asserts Need to Move UNMHA HQ to Neutral Zone

UNMHA personnel inspect markings of an unexploded ordnance site at Hodeidah Port (UN Photo)
UNMHA personnel inspect markings of an unexploded ordnance site at Hodeidah Port (UN Photo)

The Yemeni government reiterated the importance of moving the headquarters of the UN Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) to a neutral zone after the mission became hostage to Houthi restrictions during the past years.

Yemeni political observers believe the mission, established under UN Security Council resolutions, is no longer important, especially after the authorities loyal to the legitimate government repositioned their forces outside the areas stipulated in the Stockholm Agreement.

Official sources stated that the Foreign Minister, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, met in Aden with the head of UNMHA, General Michael Perry, to discuss the mission's performance in light of recent developments in Hodeidah.

Saba news agency reported that the FM stressed the importance of improving the mission's work and overcoming past mistakes, reiterating the need to move the mission's headquarters to a neutral zone.

The Minister indicated that relocating UNMHA will free the mission from the restrictions imposed by the Houthi militia that limit its movement and obstruct its mandate.

During the meeting, bin Mubarak referred to the total violations committed by the Houthi militia in Hodeidah and its exploitation of the Stockholm Agreement to launch military aggression against the Maerib governorate.

He noted that Houthis use Hodeidah ports to launch military attacks, plant landmines, naval mines, and jeopardize maritime navigation.

Bin Mubarak believes the mission should be honest and transparent, adding that it must take clear positions regarding Houthis' violations.

Sources stated that Perry confirmed he was ready to discuss any ideas to advance the mission's work, noting that he would cooperate and address any issues.

The government team engaged in the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) suspended its membership in the committee in March 2020 after the Houthi militia targeted the liaison officer for the government, Colonel Muhammad al-Sulaihi.

During an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdul-Malik described the Stockholm Agreement on Hodeidah in the wake of the recent developments as "practically clinically dead."

Many observers believe the UN mission, which four generals have headed, has failed to implement any provision of the terms of the Stockholm Agreement regarding the redeployment of Hodeidah, especially with the city and its ports remaining under the militias' control.

The Yemeni government accuses the UN mission of losing legitimacy and being controlled by the will of the Houthi militia. It indicated that Houthis use Hodeidah and its ports to smuggle weapons and threaten maritime navigation in the southern Red Sea.

The Stockholm Agreement was signed in December 2018. However, the UN has failed to pressure the Houthis to implement its provisions, and the militias continued to violate the truce.

The Yemeni government warned that Houthis' violations led to the death and injury of thousands of civilians after the agreement entered into force.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

IMF Says Lebanon Needs Key Reforms for Program

People walk along the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as the sun sets in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2026. (EPA)
People walk along the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as the sun sets in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2026. (EPA)
TT
TT

IMF Says Lebanon Needs Key Reforms for Program

People walk along the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as the sun sets in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2026. (EPA)
People walk along the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as the sun sets in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2026. (EPA)

Lebanon must push through a number of key economic and banking sector reforms to secure a new International Monetary Fund program, the Fund said on Thursday.

"It will require continued progress on key reforms, including the entry into force of the bank resolution ‌law, and appropriate ‌financial gap laws ‌consistent ⁠with international standards," IMF ⁠spokesperson Julie Kozack told reporters during a press conference.

She added a 2027 budget and medium-term fiscal framework that were "consistent with debt sustainability for the country" were also ⁠required.

Lebanon first signed a ‌preliminary agreement ‌with the IMF in April 2022, more ‌than two years after its ‌financial system imploded following decades of profligate spending and corruption in the ruling elite.

It recently passed a new ‌banking restructuring law which was welcomed by the IMF, but ⁠this ⁠week Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun quietly referred that law to the country’s constitutional council, triggering a review.

The move has sparked concerns among reformists in Lebanon that the country is backtracking on the key piece of legislation and potentially putting its IMF support hopes at risk.

Arab World

Lebanon Army Says Seized 245 Kg of TNT at Syria Border

An army unit seized approximately 245 kg of TNT. (Lebanese Army on X)
An army unit seized approximately 245 kg of TNT. (Lebanese Army on X)
TT
TT

Lebanon Army Says Seized 245 Kg of TNT at Syria Border

An army unit seized approximately 245 kg of TNT. (Lebanese Army on X)
An army unit seized approximately 245 kg of TNT. (Lebanese Army on X)

The Lebanese army announced on Thursday that it had seized nearly 250 kilograms (around 550 pounds) of explosives being transported from neighboring Syria into Lebanon, though it was unable to apprehend the smugglers.

"An army unit seized approximately 245 kg of TNT, four explosive devices, eight detonators and electrical wiring for the detonators", which were being "smuggled from Syrian territory into Lebanese territory", the army said in a statement.

"The smugglers fled back toward Syria as soon as an army patrol arrived at the scene," it added.

Lebanon and Syria share a 330-kilometer (205-mile) border known for being porous.

Since the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, both Lebanon and Syria have been working to stamp out overland smuggling along their shared border -- including the trafficking of weapons and captagon.

Damascus regularly announces the interception of arms shipments destined for Lebanon on behalf of Hezbollah, an organization that denies any presence or activity in Syrian territory.

Arab World

UN Worried about Impact of Latest Lebanon War on Agriculture

Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)
Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

UN Worried about Impact of Latest Lebanon War on Agriculture

Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)
Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)

The deputy director-general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization told AFP on Thursday that she was "deeply concerned" about the impact of the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict on agriculture in south Lebanon.

The latest war "puts additional pressure on farmers and rural communities that, frankly, were already facing considerable hardships", said the FAO's Beth Bechdol.

"We're deeply concerned" about the situation in south Lebanon, where agriculture is "at the heart" of livelihoods, she said in an interview in Beirut.

"It is our best assessment that 56,000 hectares, which is more than 22 percent of Lebanon's agricultural land, has been reported as affected or damaged," including burned or physically damaged, she said.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah group drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel, which responded with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people.

The conflict came after hostilities that erupted in 2023 and all-out war the following year.

While the latest violence has decreased since a June ceasefire, hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, mainly from the south, and Israel maintains troops in a self-declared "security zone" running around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside Lebanon along the border.

Israeli forces have been carrying out widespread demolitions affecting villages and farmland.

"Farmers and their families are no longer able to be connected to their agricultural land," Bechdol said, noting that the conflict has also "disrupted markets and reduced access" to essentials for food production including fertilizers.

In June, a UN-backed assessment from Lebanese authorities estimated agricultural production losses in south Lebanon this year had reached at least $530 million.

Bechdol also expressed concern about potential contamination and soil damage in south Lebanon due to unexploded ordnance and residues from military operations.

She said she had held discussions in recent days on the possibility of the FAO getting involved in partnerships on de-mining work in south Lebanon.

She also said she was "very concerned about just general food security levels" in Lebanon.

In April, a UN-backed report said more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon were expected to face acute hunger in the following months due to the latest war.

This week, UNICEF said four in five households in Lebanon "are struggling to afford basic necessities as conflict compounds years of economic crisis".