Member of Yemeni Presidential Leadership: The Battle is Existential with Houthis

Member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Tareq Saleh (Saba)
Member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Tareq Saleh (Saba)
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Member of Yemeni Presidential Leadership: The Battle is Existential with Houthis

Member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Tareq Saleh (Saba)
Member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Tareq Saleh (Saba)

Member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Tareq Saleh, described the battle with the Houthi militias as an existential battle on all levels, referring to the "banditry" of its leaders and their attempts to wipe out the Yemeni identity.

The official media quoted Saleh as confirming that the battle with the Houthi militia would continue at various levels.

During a meeting with residents in the Yakhtel area of the al-Makha district, Saleh said the battle with the Houthi militia is "an existential battle against ignorance, poverty, disease, and backwardness."

The official explained that all Yemenis meet on significant issues. Still, Houthis are attempting to erase them, noting that Sanaa streets became a copy of the streets of Iran with pictures of the leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Saleh, the nephew of the late Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, described the leaders of the Houthi militia as "a group of thieves" who sought to plunder people's lands and property.

Meanwhile, the UN and its envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, aim to reach permanent solutions to the Yemeni crisis based on regional momentum and relative calm.

Yemeni political circles believe the Houthi militia will not give up its coup and gains, including the heavy weapons they looted from the Yemeni army's warehouses.

However, observers do not rule out the return of a new round of fighting if the militia continues its intransigence and economic war against the Yemeni government.

During his last briefing to the Security Council, Grundberg urged the Yemeni parties to seize the regional momentum to reach a comprehensive political settlement, expressing his concern over the possibility of a return to violence after months of relative calm.

The envoy emphasized that "despite the dire economic and humanitarian situation, Yemen is still benefiting from the achievements of the Truce. But of course, all Yemenis I have talked to hope for a comprehensive resolution of the conflict."

He indicated that even though the overall military situation in Yemen remains relatively stable, "I am concerned by the uptick in the number and the intensity of clashes in several frontline areas, particularly the fronts in Marib and Taiz."

He called on the parties to exercise maximum restraint during this critical time, including refraining from escalatory public rhetoric, to avoid destabilizing the situation.

Grundberg urged the Yemeni parties to seize the opportunity of renewed regional momentum, referring to the Saudi-Iranian agreement, to maintain a conducive environment for discussions and to allow the time and space needed for the talks to bear fruit.

He warned: "Impatience at this juncture risks a return to a cycle of violence and risks unraveling what has been achieved so far."

Notably, the Yemeni government accuses Iran of supporting the Houthi coup and funding them to control the country by force. It also says they continue to wage military, economic, and cultural war, threatening international navigation and the global economy.

Despite the optimism in Yemen after the Saudi-Iranian agreement, some observers believe it would constitute a gateway to isolating the Houthis from Iran, leading to a settlement and ending the conflict.

However, others believe the Houthi militia will not stop its project to seize power in the country by force and further establish the coup.



Lebanon Begins Removing Palestinian Arms Outside of Refugee Camps

The army enters a position of a Palestinian group. (Lebanese Army)
The army enters a position of a Palestinian group. (Lebanese Army)
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Lebanon Begins Removing Palestinian Arms Outside of Refugee Camps

The army enters a position of a Palestinian group. (Lebanese Army)
The army enters a position of a Palestinian group. (Lebanese Army)

Lebanon kicked off on Saturday the process of removing weapons in possession of Palestinian factions outside of their refugee camps.

The arms are mainly held by groups allied with the ousted Syrian regime that were based in several areas in the Bekaa, South, Beirut and the border with Syria.

The Lebanese army announced on Saturday that it had taken over three military positions that were affiliated with two Palestinian factions that were close to Bashar al-Assad's former regime.

Two of the positions are in the eastern and western Bekaa and belonged to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command. The third, in Rashaya, belonged to the Fatah al-Intifada group.

A security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army intelligence has been working on this issue for some time now and was close to completely resolving it.

The army said it had seized a large number of weapons and ammunition, as well as military gear.

The removal of the weapons outside state control is part of the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hezbollah and which calls for dismantling all non-licensed military facilities that manufacture weapons in Lebanon.

The agreement also calls for removing all unlicensed weapons starting from regions south of the Litani River.

A similar agreement for the removal of Palestinian weapons was reached in March 2006, but it was never implemented.

A Lebanese security source, however, said that the latest progress in removing the Palestinian weapons has nothing to do with the ceasefire. Rather, it is related to the collapse of Assad's regime.

These factions were loyal to the regime, and they received funding and equipment from it, the source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Hisham Debsi, the Director of the Tatweer Center for Studies, said the positions the army has taken over are tied to factions that are affiliated with Syrian security agencies.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army should have been able to take over these locations as soon as United Nations Security Council resolution 1559 was issued in 2004.

The Palestinian Authority at the time agreed to the handover of weapons outside and inside refugee camps, but Hezbollah objected to the move and said it needed to be discussed at a dialogue among Lebanese political powers, Debsi went on to say.

At the dialogue, Hezbollah agreed to the removal of weapons inside and outside the camps, but it later thwarted the plan, he added.

The current removal of arms is tied to the implementation of resolution 1701 and others, notably 1559. It is also directly connected to the sudden and dramatic toppling of the Assad regime, he explained.

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Syria’s interim rulers, had issued orders for Palestinian groups affiliated with the regime to lay down their arms. “These factions, which had raised the Palestinian flag and done nothing but harm the Palestinian and Lebanese people, no longer have their regional and Lebanese backers,” so they had no choice but to yield to the orders, Debsi said.

The conditions are ripe for the Lebanese state to impose its sovereignty, through the army, across all its territories and end the presence of any Palestinian armed groups outside the refugee camps, he stressed.

Moreover, the state has the right to impose its authority over the camps and remove the weapons there, he remarked.

At the moment, the removal of Palestinian weapons does not appear to be a precursor to Hezbollah laying down its weapons in areas north of the Litani.

Such a move demands a “major political decision that is off the table at the moment,” said the sources.