Yemen Reviews Options to Counter Houthi Escalation, Vows Punishment

The Yemeni government meeting in the interim capital, Aden. (Saba News Agency)
The Yemeni government meeting in the interim capital, Aden. (Saba News Agency)
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Yemen Reviews Options to Counter Houthi Escalation, Vows Punishment

The Yemeni government meeting in the interim capital, Aden. (Saba News Agency)
The Yemeni government meeting in the interim capital, Aden. (Saba News Agency)

Yemen’s government vowed to punish Houthi militias for stepping up terrorist activities in the governorates of Marib, Shabwah and Taiz. This came during a meeting in the interim capital Aden on Monday.

Late last week, Houthis staged an assassination attempt targeting the governor of Taiz. Moreover, the militia’s leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, threatened another year of naval and aerial terror attacks against Yemenis and neighboring countries using Iranian drones and missiles.

At the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik, the Yemeni cabinet reviewed local and foreign developments considering the Houthi escalation. It also discussed issues related to improving public services and the economy.

“The cabinet extensively discussed available options for dealing with the military escalation of terrorist Houthi militias in the Hareb district in Marib, Merkhah district in Shabwa, and other fronts,” reported the official Saba News Agency.

The meeting, according to Saba, also tackled dealing with Houthi crimes and repeated attacks on civilian targets and public roads.

Warning Houthis against their hostile behavior, the cabinet said that the group’s crimes will not go “unpunished” and that it is unacceptable for Yemenis to remain hostage to crimes and violations of terrorist militias.

The cabinet advised against betting on the militias yielding to peace and said that the Houthis’ history affirms that the group will not submit to reconciliation efforts.

Additionally, the cabinet reiterated that the sole solution to the crisis in Yemen lies in restoring the state and ending the Houthi-waged coup.

Abdulmalik briefed cabinet members on the latest developments at the political, military, security, economic and service levels.

The premier stressed the importance of everyone shouldering their responsibilities and the need to redouble efforts from ministries and relevant authorities to overcome exceptional challenges and focus on implementing tasks that affect the lives and livelihood of citizens.



Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
TT

Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.