Yemen’s PLC Stresses Need for Mobilization of ‘Capabilities’ to End Houthi Coup

Yemen’s National Defense Council gathered in Aden after the Houthi attacks on the oil export ports in Hadramout and Shabwa (Saba News Agency)
Yemen’s National Defense Council gathered in Aden after the Houthi attacks on the oil export ports in Hadramout and Shabwa (Saba News Agency)
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Yemen’s PLC Stresses Need for Mobilization of ‘Capabilities’ to End Houthi Coup

Yemen’s National Defense Council gathered in Aden after the Houthi attacks on the oil export ports in Hadramout and Shabwa (Saba News Agency)
Yemen’s National Defense Council gathered in Aden after the Houthi attacks on the oil export ports in Hadramout and Shabwa (Saba News Agency)

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has stressed the need for mobilizing “capabilities” and “efforts” to end the coup waged by Houthi militias and restore state institutions. Last Saturday, the Yemeni National Defense Council declared Houthis a terrorist group.

Following the designation, the internationally recognized Yemeni government will take strict measures against people and entities that support Houthis.

The PLC’s call for action and mobilization of capabilities come against the backdrop of expectations for the Yemeni government ordering the sanctioning of senior Houthi leaders and their affiliates in the coming few days.

Moreover, the government will likely make decisions in the telecommunications and transportation sectors to further tighten the noose on Houthi funding channels. 

PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi had convened a meeting that was attended by all PLC members save for Faraj Salmin al-Buhsani, according to Yemeni official sources.

The Yemeni leaders reviewed reports and briefings on the country’s internal affairs. They also examined the repercussions of threats made by Houthi terrorists.

“The meeting checked options for dealing with Houthi threats to protect the interests of the Yemeni people, global energy supplies, and freedom of international navigation,” reported the official news agency, Saba.

The PLC reassured Yemenis, relief organizations, and the private sector that humanitarian and commercial activity will receive special consideration and be kept aside when implementing the procedures and mechanisms entailed by the National Defense Council’s classification of Houthi militias as terrorists. 

Furthermore, the PLC commended the “honorable” positions taken by the Arab Coalition.

Houthi attacks and violations drew massive Arab and international condemnation especially after the Iran-backed group waged an assault with explosive drones on oil terminals in the Hadramout and Shabwa governorates.



Fighting Intensifies between Pro-Türkiye Factions, SDF Near Syria’s Manbij

Syrian opposition fighters secure the area near Manbij city, northern Syria, 04 January 2025. (EPA)
Syrian opposition fighters secure the area near Manbij city, northern Syria, 04 January 2025. (EPA)
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Fighting Intensifies between Pro-Türkiye Factions, SDF Near Syria’s Manbij

Syrian opposition fighters secure the area near Manbij city, northern Syria, 04 January 2025. (EPA)
Syrian opposition fighters secure the area near Manbij city, northern Syria, 04 January 2025. (EPA)

Fighting intensified on Saturday between the Türkiye-backed Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Tishrin Dam region southeast of Manbij city in the Aleppo countryside.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Turkish jets struck SDF positions in the area, as well as in the city of Deir Hafir southeast of Manbij.

In a statement, the SDF said the pro-Türkiye factions launched a broad attack on several villages south and east of Manbij, but its forces managed to repel them.

The factions have for days been seeking to seize areas surrounding the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates River.

The SDF added that the factions, with support from Turkish drones and modern tanks, launched violent attacks on the villages of al-Atshana, Khirbet Tueni, Khirbet Zamala, al-Mastaha, Alloush and others near Manbij.

The SDF managed to repel “all attacks”, kill several members of the factions and destroy Turkish vehicles, stressed the statement.

SDF members were killed and eight others were wounded in the fighting. Fifty members of the factions were also killed, said the Observatory, which confirmed the attacks on the Manbij countryside.

The SDF has since detonated mines in the area to slow down the factions’ advance. It has also bolstered the deployment of its forces in anticipation of air strikes, added the Observatory.

The fighting has been ongoing since December when the factions seized Manbij and Tal Rifaat. Since then, neither side has managed to claim any major victory against the other or capture any territory.

Meanwhile, Turkish drones struck and damaged a power plant in the Tabaqa countryside in the western Raqqa province.

Two members of the SDF security forces were also wounded in a drone strike on the municipality building in the countryside.

Türkiye has been targeting infrastructure in the regions held by the People’s Protection Forces (YPG) - the military backbone of the SDF - in northern and eastern Syria.

Turkish artillery also targeted areas in Hasakeh. There have been no reports so far of casualties.

Elsewhere, American forces and the US-led international coalition to fight ISIS continued to send military reinforcements to areas held by the SDF.

A 20-truck American military convoy entered Syria through the Iraqi Kurdistan region and headed towards the Tal Baydar and Qasrak bases in the Hasakeh countryside on Saturday.

The Observatory said the US forces sent 13 armored vehicles, as well as fuel tankers, from these bases to Ain al-Arab, or Kobane, in the eastern Aleppo countryside to complete the construction of a military base there.