US Envoy Heads to the Region to Support Yemen Truce

US special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking (Reuters)
US special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking (Reuters)
TT
20

US Envoy Heads to the Region to Support Yemen Truce

US special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking (Reuters)
US special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking (Reuters)

US State Department announced Monday that Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking would travel to the Middle East to continue US diplomatic efforts supporting the UN-mediated truce in Yemen.

The State Department website stated that Lenderking was headed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and that his regional tour would include Oman and Jordan.

"Special Envoy Lenderking will continue our efforts to help advance peace," read the statement, adding that his engagements will "focus on expanding, extending, and renewing the current truce agreement that will further the tangible benefits already reaching Yemenis and build towards a more comprehensive, inclusive peace process and permanent ceasefire."

The statement concluded by calling on "all parties to choose peace and recovery over continued war and destruction for the sake of the Yemeni people."

The US envoy headed to the region again when the extension of the Yemeni truce received regional and international support, despite the Houthi violations and the group's leaders' threats to return to the fighting.

The United Nations concluded a two-month ceasefire, starting April 02, and it later managed to extend the agreement till August 02.

The UN envoy aspires to extend for a longer period of up to six months.

The Presidential Leadership Council in Yemen wants to extend the armistice. However, its president, Rashad al-Alimi, and his deputies insist on implementing the rest of the truce provisions, including ending Taiz's blockade and reopening the roads before negotiating any new issues.



Three Arrested Over Tadamon Massacre in Damascus

The suspected location of the Tadamon massacre in Damascus, Syria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The suspected location of the Tadamon massacre in Damascus, Syria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
20

Three Arrested Over Tadamon Massacre in Damascus

The suspected location of the Tadamon massacre in Damascus, Syria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The suspected location of the Tadamon massacre in Damascus, Syria (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Damascus Security Chief Lt. Col. Abdul Rahman Al-Dabbagh announced on Monday the arrest of a key figure involved in the 2013 massacre in the Tadamon district of Damascus, along with two other individuals who participated in the killings.

Al-Dabbagh stated that the suspects confessed to their involvement in a series of atrocities in the area, where more than 500 men and women were executed.

“After monitoring and investigation, we were able to apprehend one of the key criminals responsible for the 12-year-old Tadamon massacre in Damascus,” Al-Dabbagh said, according to the official news agency SANA.

“Following initial interrogations, we identified several other individuals involved in the massacre and arrested two of them,” he added.

Al-Dabbagh further stated that the three detainees confessed to their participation in the atrocities in Tadamon, where more than 500 men and women were executed without trial or charge.

“We are now coordinating with the relevant authorities to locate the sites of these massacres,” confirmed Al-Dabbagh.

“We assure the people of Syria that these criminals will not escape justice, and we will work to bring them before the courts to face a fair trial,” he said.

Al-Dabbagh did not disclose the identities of the three detainees. However, SANA later reported that one of them is named “Monzer Ahmad al-Jazairi” and that he has been referred to the relevant authorities for further investigation.

In a report published on April 27, 2022, The Guardian revealed details of a massacre carried out by Bashar al-Assad’s forces on April 16, 2013 in the Tadamon district.

The attack resulted in the deaths of around 41 people, who were subsequently buried in a mass grave.