Yemen Seeks Security, Military Integration in Liberated Areas

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg (UN Agencies)
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg (UN Agencies)
TT
20

Yemen Seeks Security, Military Integration in Liberated Areas

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg (UN Agencies)
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg (UN Agencies)

Yemen’s Supreme Security Committee has stressed the importance of cooperation and integration among security and military bodies in liberated areas of the war-torn nation.

The Committee held a meeting on Monday in the interim capital of Aden.

Headed by Defense Minister Lt-Gen Muhammad Al-Maqdashi, the meeting sought examining the latest developments in the military and security fields in various Yemeni governorates.

It also dealt with ways to enhance coordination, cooperation and integration between the security and military agencies to achieve security and stability and impose public peace.

Interior Minister Ibrahim Ali Ahmed Haidan, the head of the political security apparatus, Abdu al-Hudhaifi, and the head of the intelligence and reconnaissance authority at the Defense Ministry, Ahmed Mohsen Al-Yafei, have attended the meeting.

The interlocutors discussed “the achievements of the security services’ during the last period in the liberated governorates, in seizing many terrorist cells and thwarting criminal plots targeting peace and security,” Saba News Agency reported.

The attendees referred to the “importance of the constitutional and national tasks entrusted to the military and security establishment, in light of the process of political transition of power that was agreed upon with the aim of unifying the national ranks.”

According to a statement carried by Saba, the meeting stressed the need to upgrade the work of security and military institutions to meet obligations of an exceptional phase, with the goal of restoring the state and its republican regime from Houthi coup militias.

The meeting also touched on counterterrorism efforts.

The head of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, had confirmed in a speech two days ago that the Council “will move forward with efforts to unify the military and security institutions, as stipulated by the Riyadh Agreement.”

Furthermore, the official twitter account for the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen (OSESGY) Hans Grundberg, said "the UN Envoy kicked off today (Monday) a two-day meeting with Yemeni economic experts, with the participation of international stakeholders, to consult on immediate, short and long-term priorities for economic issues to address in the peace process in Yemen."

Meanwhile, Houthi violations of the UN-sponsored truce continue to take place in various Yemeni governorates.

On Saturday, the Yemeni Army reported 80 Houthi violations on various fighting fronts.



Jumblatt Hands Over Progressive Socialist Party Arms to Lebanese Army

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt (Reuters)
Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt (Reuters)
TT
20

Jumblatt Hands Over Progressive Socialist Party Arms to Lebanese Army

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt (Reuters)
Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt (Reuters)

Lebanon’s veteran Druze leader Walid Jumblatt on Thursday called on the Iran-backed Hezbollah group to hand its weapons over to the state, saying arms must be exclusively under government control.

Speaking at a news conference in Beirut, the former head of the Progressive Socialist Party said, “Weapons should only be in the hands of the Lebanese state,” adding that the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, a long-disputed area on the western slopes of Mount Hermon, are Syrian territory.

Jumblatt’s appeal comes amid growing international calls for Hezbollah to disarm and for the Lebanese government to implement its longstanding pledge—reiterated in its ministerial statement and by President Joseph Aoun during his swearing-in—to ensure that only state institutions bear arms.

His remarks also come as Washington renews its push to resolve files with Syria, including border demarcation, as part of wider regional realignments.

“There’s a new chapter unfolding in the Middle East,” Jumblatt said. “If any Lebanese or non-Lebanese party possesses weapons, I hope they will hand them over to the state in a proper manner.”

He described “the most valuable weapon for future generations” as being one of “memory”—urging the country to pass down stories of resistance against Israel and its collaborators rather than stockpiles of arms.

Jumblatt said he had recently informed the president of the presence of weapons in his hometown of Mukhtara and asked the relevant security agencies to take over the matter. The arms, collected gradually since the May 2008 clashes between Hezbollah and his party, were fully handed over more than three weeks ago.

The arsenal, he said, consisted of light and medium-grade weapons that had been centrally gathered over the years.

He noted that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri—himself a close ally of Hezbollah—remained a “friend and ally,” but added: “The issue of weapons has no bearing on Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.”

Hezbollah has long justified its arsenal as essential to liberating the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba Hills, areas Israel did not vacate during its 2000 withdrawal from south Lebanon. In recent years, the dispute has expanded to include 13 border points and the northern section of the village of Ghajar, which Israel annexed in 2022.

“Shebaa Farms are covered under UN Resolution 242. It is Syrian land occupied by Israel,” Jumblatt said.

He urged support for the Lebanese army and internal security forces, stressing that Israel still occupies territory and that several Lebanese villages remain destroyed.

He also called for the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

“In this round, Israel and the West have won with US backing,” he said. “But nothing lasts forever.”