عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Britain Criticizes Houthis Ahead of 3rd Extension of UN Truce

Houthi fighters at an event (EPA)
Houthi fighters at an event (EPA)
    Aden, London - Asharq Al-Awsat
TT
TT

Britain Criticizes Houthis Ahead of 3rd Extension of UN Truce

Houthi fighters at an event (EPA)
Houthi fighters at an event (EPA)

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly accused the Houthis of obstructing the truce extension talks and depriving the Yemenis of peace.

In a statement published by the British Foreign Office, Saturday Cleverly said Yemen must not return to conflict, cautioning that the truce ends on Sunday, “but the Houthis continue to endanger the talks and deny Yemenis a peaceful future.”

Yemeni officials criticized the UN envoy for not holding any meeting of the Road Opening Committee during the second extension period in the past two months, which is the only point that had not seen any progress since April 2022, when the truce was first announced.

The British Foreign Secretary called on the Houthis to engage constructively with UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg’s efforts to “broker an extension to the truce, so that serious dialogue about achieving a peaceful, inclusive and Yemeni-led future can take place.”

“The truce has brought tangible benefits to both Yemenis and regional security, and we welcome the Government of Yemen’s commitment to extend it further if an extension can be agreed,” he stated.

The Minister commended the Yemeni government’s commitment to continue delivering the benefits of the truce by enabling Yemeni people to move more freely and safely around Yemen, to access fuel throughout the country, fly in and out of Yemen to visit families and access healthcare, and through restarting payments for civil servants.

He recalled that during the truce period, civilian casualties had fallen dramatically in Yemen, and cross-border attacks by the Houthis into Saudi Arabia and the UAE had stopped.

“The Yemeni people will only experience these benefits beyond Sunday if the parties agree to extend.”

Meanwhile, UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, stressed that extending the humanitarian truce is an urgent humanitarian and political necessity, hinting that the opportunity will not come again.

A source in the Yemeni government confirmed that it had received Saturday an updated proposal from Grundberg to extend and expand the armistice.

The source indicated that the Yemeni government is reviewing the updated proposal and will deal with it positively, based on its keenness and efforts to alleviate the human suffering of all our people in all governorates without any discrimination.

He explained that the government is seeking to expand the benefits of the truce and reach all Yemenis, facilitate their movement, and ensure the payment of salaries to alleviate their suffering caused by the Houthi militia.

According to the source, the Yemeni government spares no effort in cooperating with the Special Envoy to overcome the obstacles created by the Houthi militias, despite Houthis’ failure to fulfill their obligations in lifting the siege on Taiz and stopping the looting of Hodeidah ports revenues.

He stressed the Yemeni government’s call for the Security Council and the international community to pressure the Houthi militias to stop their daily deal violations and engage positively with the Special Envoy’s efforts.

The Yemeni government supports the efforts of the Special Envoy to achieve a comprehensive, just, and sustainable peace based on the three references, namely the Gulf initiative, the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference, and Security Council resolutions, according to the source.

Last week witnessed intense efforts to reach an agreement to extend the UN truce for another six months.

Last Thursday, Grundberg left Sanaa after he met Houthi militia leaders amid efforts to renew the truce in Yemen, without commenting on the condition placed by the group on expanding the ceasefire.

In several tweets, the Office of the Special Envoy announced that Grundberg concluded a visit to Sanaa, where he held intense discussions on how to pay salaries for civil servants as well issues around the ports and airport and to maintain calm on the front lines.

Grundberg emphasized that “the renewal and expansion of the truce is a humanitarian imperative and a political necessity. It is also an opportunity that we cannot afford to waste”.

“We have a chance to build on & expand it. But placing the pursuit of peace over war will require courage & leadership from all sides. If there is a return to war, we might not have this opportunity again for a long time.”

Furthermore, the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that he over the phone with Grundberg efforts to extend an armistice in Yemen.

In his tweet, Blinken expressed his strong support for the Envoy’s efforts to extend and expand the UN-led truce in Yemen on October 02.

“I also expressed our concerns with recent Houthi actions that obstruct the truce’s benefits from reaching millions of Yemenis.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Thousands of Lebanese Return to their Homes as Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Takes Hold

Displaced residents sit in traffic as they return to their villages following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Ablah, eastern Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Displaced residents sit in traffic as they return to their villages following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Ablah, eastern Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
TT
TT

Thousands of Lebanese Return to their Homes as Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Takes Hold

Displaced residents sit in traffic as they return to their villages following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Ablah, eastern Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Displaced residents sit in traffic as they return to their villages following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Ablah, eastern Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war between Israel and Hezbollah militants returned home Wednesday as a ceasefire took hold, driving cars stacked with personal belongings and defying warnings from Lebanese and Israeli troops to avoid some areas.
If it endures, the ceasefire would end nearly 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated in mid-September into all-out war and threatened to pull Hezbollah's patron, Iran, and Israel's closest ally, the United States, into a broader conflagration.
The deal does not address the war in Gaza, where Israeli strikes overnight on two schools-turned-shelters in Gaza City killed 11 people, including four children, according to hospital officials. Israel said one strike targeted a Hamas sniper and the other targeted militants hiding among civilians.
The truce in Lebanon could give reprieve to the 1.2 million Lebanese displaced by the fighting and the tens of thousands of Israelis who fled their homes along the border.
“They were a nasty and ugly 60 days,” said Mohammed Kaafarani, 59, who was displaced from the Lebanese village of Bidias. “We reached a point where there was no place to hide."
The US- and France-brokered deal, approved by Israel late Tuesday, calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border.
Thousands of additional Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor compliance.
Israel says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah should it violate the terms of the deal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said troops arrested four Hezbollah operatives, including a local commander, who had entered what it referred to as a restricted area. It said troops have been ordered to prevent people from returning to villages near the border.
Israel is still fighting Hamas militants in Gaza in response to the group’s cross-border raid into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But President Joe Biden on Tuesday said his administration would make another push in the coming days for a ceasefire there and the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas.
Hezbollah supporters declare victory despite devastation Israel can claim major victories in the war, including the killing of Hezbollah’s top leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of its senior commanders, as well as the destruction of extensive militant infrastructure. A complex attack involving exploding pagers and walkie-talkies, widely attributed to Israel, appeared to show a remarkable degree of penetration into the secretive militant group.
The battered Hezbollah has lost much of the mystique it acquired by fighting Israel to a stalemate in the 2006 war. Yet the Shiite militant group still managed to put up heavy resistance, slowing Israel’s advance while firing scores of rockets, missiles and drones across the border each day.
“This is a moment of victory, pride and honor for us, the Shiite sect, and for all of Lebanon,” said Hussein Sweidan, a resident returning to the port city of Tyre. Sporadic celebratory gunfire was heard at a main roundabout in the city, as drivers honked their horns and residents cheered.
Israel carried out heavy strikes until the ceasefire took hold, pounding targets in the already hard-hit southern suburbs of Beirut known as the Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah was headquartered. Residents returning to its rubble-strewn streets on Wednesday projected defiance.
“We don’t care about the rubble or destruction. We lost our livelihood, our properties, but it’s OK, it will all come back," said Fatima Hanifa, evoking the rebuilding after the 2006 war.
"It will be even more beautiful. And I say to Netanyahu that you have lost, and lost, and lost because we are back and the others (Israelis) didn’t come back.”
Other Lebanese are more critical of Hezbollah, accusing it of having dragged the economically devastated country into an unnecessary war on behalf of its patron, Iran.
“They control us and we can’t do anything about it. This war killed whoever it killed and now they’re telling us it’s a victory,” said a young man who was returning from neighboring Syria after being displaced from the eastern Bekaa province. He spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution.
Some Israelis are concerned the deal doesn’t go far enough. In Israel, the mood was far more subdued, with displaced Israelis concerned that Hezbollah had not been defeated and that there was no progress toward returning hostages held in Gaza.
“I think it is still not safe to return to our homes because Hezbollah is still close to us,” said Eliyahu Maman, who was displaced from the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, which was hit hard by the months of fighting.
A handful of people milled around the city on Wednesday, inspecting damage from earlier rocket attacks. The town’s shopping mall, which had been hit before, appeared to have new damage, and a rocket was planted in the ground next to an apartment building.
A significant return of the displaced to their communities, many of which have suffered extensive damage from rocket fire, could take months.
Israel warns Lebanese not to return to border as troops remain The Israeli military warned displaced Lebanese not to return to evacuated villages in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops were still present following their ground invasion in early October. Israeli forces opened fire to push back a number of vehicles that were entering a restricted area, it said.
Three journalists, including a freelance photographer working for The Associated Press, said they were shot and wounded by Israeli troops while covering the return of displaced people to the town of Khiam, around 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the border, which had seen heavy fighting in recent days. The Israeli military said it was investigating.
An Israeli security official said Israeli forces remained in their positions hours after the ceasefire began and will only gradually withdraw.
The official said the pace of the withdrawal and the scheduled return of Lebanese civilians would depend on whether the deal is implemented and enforced. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the deal and its implementation with the media.
The Lebanese military asked displaced people returning to southern Lebanon to avoid frontline villages and towns until Israeli forces withdraw.
Residents will return to vast destruction wrought by the Israeli military, with entire villages flattened. The military said it found vast weapons caches and infrastructure it says was meant for Hezbollah to launch an Oct. 7-style attack on northern Israel.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the start of the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel, more than half civilians, as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.