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Tunisian President Sacks Trade Minister, Sfax Governor

Kais Saied receives Prime Minister Najla Bouden (Tunisian Presidency)
Kais Saied receives Prime Minister Najla Bouden (Tunisian Presidency)
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Tunisian President Sacks Trade Minister, Sfax Governor

Kais Saied receives Prime Minister Najla Bouden (Tunisian Presidency)
Kais Saied receives Prime Minister Najla Bouden (Tunisian Presidency)

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Friday dismissed the country's minister of trade and export development and the governor of Sfax.

Sfax is the second biggest city in Tunisia.

Without giving further details, the presidency announced in a terse the dismissal of Fadila Al-Rabhi, the minister of trade and export development.

Al-Rabhi was appointed in November 2021 and is the first member of Najla Bouden's government to be removed by Saied.

Saied also removed the governor of Sfax Fakher Fakhfakh from his duties, the statement added.

Fakhfakh was appointed in June 2022.

Sfax, a big industrial city with a one million population, has been witnessing protests since 2021 over the accumulation of garbage on the streets, jeopardizing public health.

The Ukrainian war also impacted Tunisia and led to a hike in the prices of wheat and oil, given that Tunisia imports them in huge quantities.

The political and financial crises during the past months have caused a shortage in basic products such as milk, sugar, rice, and coffee and a relapse in the Tunisians’ purchasing power due to accelerating inflation.

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Arab World

Yemen’s Houthis Move Weapons to Saada to Avoid More US Attacks

A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
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Yemen’s Houthis Move Weapons to Saada to Avoid More US Attacks

A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias have moved large amounts of their weapons to their main stronghold of Saada in northern Yemen to protect them against US strikes that have intensified on the Amran province in a bid to destroy the militias’ underground arms caches.

Informed Yemeni sources said the Houthis have moved rockets and drones from Amran to Saada in the north, fearing they may be targeted by US strikes.

Western strikes have already destroyed several arms depots.

The US conducted its latest strikes against Houthi positions on Friday, targeting the Harf Sufyan district in northern Amran bordering Saada.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi “weapons engineers and military maintenance” personnel moved sophisticated rockets and drones and other types of weapons to fortified caches throughout Saada.

The process was carried out in utmost secrecy and in stages to avoid detection, they added.

In Amran, the Houthis carried out a series of kidnappings against the local population, even its own supporters, on suspicion the people were collaborating with the US and Israel.

The US has carried out dozens of attacks on military positions in Harf Sufyan, destroying facilities that have been used to launch attacks against ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Harf Sufyan is considered the Houthis’ second major stronghold after Saada given its large area that spans around 2,700 square kms. It also borders four other provinces: Hajjah, al-Jawf, Saada and Sanaa.

Moreover, sources in Amran told Asharq Al-Awsat that Harf Sufyan is a major recruitment center for the Houthis, including the forced recruitment of Yemenis.

They revealed that the US strikes in the area dealt the Houthis heavy blows because they directly targeted their military positions, including a drone factory.

The sources suspected that the Americans intensified their strikes on Harf Sufyan after receiving intelligence information that the Houthis had dug tunnels and underground facilities there to hold meetings and recruit new members.