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.



More Than 50,000 Refugees Return to Syria from Türkiye

A boy cycles past buildings which were damaged during the war between opposition forces and the Assad regime, in the town of Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A boy cycles past buildings which were damaged during the war between opposition forces and the Assad regime, in the town of Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
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More Than 50,000 Refugees Return to Syria from Türkiye

A boy cycles past buildings which were damaged during the war between opposition forces and the Assad regime, in the town of Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A boy cycles past buildings which were damaged during the war between opposition forces and the Assad regime, in the town of Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Türkiye’s Interior Affairs Minister said Thursday that a total of 52,622 refugees have returned to Syria from Türkiye in the first month following Bashar Assad’s removal from power on Dec. 8.
Speaking at the Cilvegozu border crossing between Türkiye and Syria on Thursday, Ali Yerlikaya said that more than 40,000 Syrians had returned with family members while some 11,000 individuals crossed into Syria alone.
“The voluntary, safe, honorable and regular returns have started to increase,” Yerlikaya said.
Türkiye has hosted the largest number of Syrian refugees since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 — more than 3.8 million at its peak in 2022.