Yemen Consultations Begin Drafting Roadmap to Bolster State Institutions

GCC Ambassador to Yemen Sarhan Al-Minaikher speaks at a press conference on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
GCC Ambassador to Yemen Sarhan Al-Minaikher speaks at a press conference on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Yemen Consultations Begin Drafting Roadmap to Bolster State Institutions

GCC Ambassador to Yemen Sarhan Al-Minaikher speaks at a press conference on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
GCC Ambassador to Yemen Sarhan Al-Minaikher speaks at a press conference on Tuesday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

After six days of discussions in Riyadh, gatherers at the intra-Yemeni consultations began drafting solutions and a roadmap that would address the challenges confronting their country's security and stability.

The Gulf Cooperation Council is sponsoring the talks that kicked off last week.

GCC Ambassador to Yemen Sarhan Al-Minaikher said consensus has prevailed throughout the talks.

Speaking at a press conference at the conclusion of Tuesday's talks, he stressed that "everyone, without exception, is in agreement on the need to lead their country to stability and prosperity."

"We are celebrating the success of the talks," he declared.

"Everyone is optimistic. The Yemeni people are pinning their hopes on their representatives at these consultations," he added. "They have started to draft a roadmap that would lead Yemen to safety and prosperity."

Yemen will find the needed support from its brothers at the GCC, stressed the ambassador.

In recent days, the gatherers tackled the challenges and obstacles facing their country. On Monday they met with the government. Everyone, without exception, is keen on dedicating themselves in service of the citizen inside and outside Yemen, continued Al-Minaikher.

They are determined to bolster state institutions and enable them to serve the people, he stressed.

He reiterated that the solution to Yemen's problems lies in the hands of Yemenis themselves. The GCC will not oppose any agreement they reach.

He said the gatherers are holding open and expanded meetings with the government to address all pressing issues.

They started to draft solutions on Tuesday. The consultations are set to conclude on Thursday.

Al-Minaikher also reiterated that the consultations are not a substitute to UN negotiations or the Gulf initiative. Rather, the consultations are a path that boosts the chances of peace and the UN negotiations.

Lutfi Numan, a participant at the talks, spoke of a "more realistic approach" being adopted in addressing the performance of the legitimate government, underscoring the need to reform it.

This is an issue that enjoyed consensus at the consultations, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The gatherers discussed the relationship between the various components of the legitimate authority, including between the legitimacy and member states of the Saudi-led Arab coalition. They also tackled the fight against the Iran-backed Houthi militias.

On whether he believes the consultations will be a success, he remarked that whenever Yemenis come together, they appear united, but when they depart, "they return to battle."

Another participant, Abdulkarim Saeed, attended the discussions on security and the fight against terrorism.

He revealed that security challenges in all provinces were on the table. The gatherers met with the prime minister and members of government to exchange views and ideas.

Tuesday's discussions covered security solutions and recommendations that will be adopted by the consultations, he added. The government will be responsible for applying them, as well as uniting national ranks.

Discussions also covered the possibility of merging various military formations with the several security agencies active in liberated regions, he added.



Israel Launches Intense Airstrikes in Lebanon as Deadline Looms to Disarm Hezbollah

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the site of a series of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of al-Katrani on December 18, 2025.  (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the site of a series of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of al-Katrani on December 18, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
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Israel Launches Intense Airstrikes in Lebanon as Deadline Looms to Disarm Hezbollah

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the site of a series of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of al-Katrani on December 18, 2025.  (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the site of a series of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of al-Katrani on December 18, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on southern and northeastern Lebanon on Thursday as a deadline looms to disarm the militant Hezbollah group along the tense frontier.

The strikes came a day before a meeting of the committee monitoring the enforcement of a US-brokered ceasefire that halted the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah a year ago.

It will be the second meeting of the mechanism after Israel and Lebanon appointed civilian members to a previously military-only committee. The group also includes the US, France and the UN peacekeeping force deployed along the border.

In Paris, Lebanon’s army commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal is scheduled to meet on Thursday with US, French and Saudi officials to discuss ways of assisting the army in its mission to boost its presence in the border area.

The Lebanese government has said that the army should have cleared all the border area south of the Litani river from Hezbollah’s armed presence by the end of the year.

The Israeli military said the strikes hit Hezbollah infrastructure sites and launching sites in a military compound used by the group to conduct training and courses for its fighters. The Israeli military added that it struck several Hezbollah military structures in which weapons were stored, and from which Hezbollah members operated recently.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the intense airstrikes stretched from areas in Mount Rihan in the south to the northeastern Hermel region that borders Syria.

Shortly afterward, a drone strike on a car near the southern town of Taybeh inflicted casualties, NNA said.

“This is an Israeli message to the Paris meeting aiming to support the Lebanese army,” Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said about the strikes.

“The fire belt of Israeli airstrikes is to honor the mechanism’s meeting tomorrow,” Berri added during a parliament meeting in Beirut.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon in September last year that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.

Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes since then, mainly targeting Hezbollah members but also killing 127 civilians, according to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Over the past weeks, the US has increased pressure on Lebanon to work harder on disarming Hezbollah.


UN: Over 1,000 Civilians Killed in Sudan's Darfur when Paramilitary Group Seized Camp

The Sudanese flag flutters in Omdurman, part of greater Khartoum on December 13, 2025. (AFP)
The Sudanese flag flutters in Omdurman, part of greater Khartoum on December 13, 2025. (AFP)
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UN: Over 1,000 Civilians Killed in Sudan's Darfur when Paramilitary Group Seized Camp

The Sudanese flag flutters in Omdurman, part of greater Khartoum on December 13, 2025. (AFP)
The Sudanese flag flutters in Omdurman, part of greater Khartoum on December 13, 2025. (AFP)

Over 1,000 civilians were killed when a Sudanese paramilitary group took over a displacement camp in Sudan's Darfur region in April, including about a third who were summarily executed, according to a report by the UN Human Rights Office on Thursday.

"Such deliberate killing of civilians or persons hors de combat may constitute the war crime of murder,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in a statement accompanying the 18-page report.

The Zamzam camp in Sudan's western region of Darfur housed around half a million people displaced by the civil war and was taken over by Rapid Support Forces between April 11-13.


Guterres Says Operating Environment 'Untenable’ in Areas Held by Houthis

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg on November 21, 2025, ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP)
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg on November 21, 2025, ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP)
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Guterres Says Operating Environment 'Untenable’ in Areas Held by Houthis

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg on November 21, 2025, ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP)
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg on November 21, 2025, ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urged all parties in Yemen to exercise maximum restraint after an advance by southern separatists that risks rekindling a 10-year-old civil war after a long lull.

He also said the operating environment had become untenable in the areas held by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement - Yemen's capital Sanaa and the heavily populated northwest.

"I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, de-escalate tensions, and resolve differences through dialogue," Guterres said. "This includes regional stakeholders, whose constructive engagement and coordination in support of UN mediation efforts are essential for ensuring collective security interests."

Guterres also condemned the Houthis' continued arbitrary detention of 59 UN staff, calling for their immediate and unconditional release.

"In recent days, Houthi de facto authorities referred three of our colleagues to a special criminal court. This referral must be rescinded. They have been charged in relation to their performance of United Nations official duties. These charges must be dropped," he said.

The United Nations has repeatedly rejected Houthi accusations that UN staff or UN operations in Yemen were involved in spying.

"We must be allowed to perform our work without interference," Guterres said. "Despite these challenges, we remain committed to providing life-saving support to millions of people across Yemen."

He said 19.5 million people in Yemen - nearly two-thirds of the population - need humanitarian assistance.