Yemen Calls for International Pressure on Houthi Militias

Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Saadi addresses the UN Security Council (Saba)
Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Saadi addresses the UN Security Council (Saba)
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Yemen Calls for International Pressure on Houthi Militias

Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Saadi addresses the UN Security Council (Saba)
Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Saadi addresses the UN Security Council (Saba)

Yemen has called for international pressure to compel Houthi militias to fulfill their commitments related to the April 2 truce agreement.

Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Saadi told the UN Security Council that the Yemeni people continue to suffer as a result of the militias’ ongoing war and escalation of violence, causing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

To end the conflict and alleviate suffering, Saadi said the Presidential Leadership Council and the Yemeni government have sought to support regional and international efforts to achieve a lasting, comprehensive peace based on the agreed upon terms of reference.

These include the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism, outcomes of the comprehensive national dialogue, and the relevant Security Council resolutions, mainly resolution 2216 (2015).

Saadi affirmed that the government has shown flexibility and reacted favorably to all humanitarian actions despite the militias’ daily violations of the truce on all fronts.

Among these violations are establishing new military sites, smuggling weapons, bombing residential neighborhoods in Taiz, Marib, Hodeidah and other Yemeni areas, recruiting children and repositioning.

He pointed to the reopening of Sanaa airport, resuming commercial flights, and allowing the entry of oil derivatives ships through the port of Hodeidah.

He further accused the militias of using the oil revenues in their war against the Yemenis and the personal enrichment of their leaders instead of paying the salaries of public sector employees in the areas they control.

All provisions of the truce must be implemented, including the lifting of the siege of Taiz before discussing any other issues, he stressed, noting that Houthis have not renewed the negotiations on Taiz for some six weeks and are not cooperating on opening the main roads.

He urged the international community to pressure Houthis to respond favorably to peace efforts, respect the truce, release detainees and end the recruitment of child soldiers.

Saadi underscored the importance of prioritizing the issue of prisoners and detainees and carrying on efforts to release them and put an end to the obstacles created by the militias.

He went on to say that humanitarian organizations in Houthi-run areas are encountering obstacles, noting that the militias are preventing Yemeni people from receiving aid, provided that their children join their ranks.

They continue to recruit thousands of children, some not even 15 years old, while the truce is in place, brainwashing them with extremist ideas that glorify death and martyrdom, he said, warning that that could lead to a new escalation of violence.



Sudan Army Says Khartoum State ‘Completely Free’ of RSF

Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)
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Sudan Army Says Khartoum State ‘Completely Free’ of RSF

Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)

Sudan’s military on Tuesday said it took full control of the Greater Khartoum region after a long-running battle against remnants of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the region’s west and south. 

The development was the latest victory for the military in its more than two years of fighting against the RSF, a civil war that has pushed parts of the country into famine. 

Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah, a spokesman for the Sudanese military, said forces retook the Greater Khartoum region, which include the capital city of Khartoum and its sister cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North, or Bahri. 

“Khartoum state is completely free of rebels,” he declared in a video statement, referring to the RSF. 

Earlier, Abdullah said troops battled RSF fighters in the western and southern areas of Omdurman as part of a large-scale operation to kick the paramilitaries out of their pockets there. 

There was no immediate comment from the RSF. 

Sudan plunged into civil war on April 15, 2023, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare in Khartoum and other parts of the country. The war has killed at least 24,000 people, though the number is likely far higher. 

The war has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including 4 million who crossed into neighboring countries. Parts of Sudan have been pushed into famine. 

The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the UN and international rights groups.