Houthi Escalation in Taiz, Marib Undermines Peace Efforts, Truce

A general view of Taiz city that has been besieged by the Houthis for eight years. (Saba)
A general view of Taiz city that has been besieged by the Houthis for eight years. (Saba)
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Houthi Escalation in Taiz, Marib Undermines Peace Efforts, Truce

A general view of Taiz city that has been besieged by the Houthis for eight years. (Saba)
A general view of Taiz city that has been besieged by the Houthis for eight years. (Saba)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias kicked off Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Yemen by committing more crimes in violation of the fragile calm that had prevailed in the country and that had given hope that the militants would agree to a permanent peace roadmap sought by Saudi Arabia and Oman.

The Houthis shelled civilian areas in the western countryside of the Taiz province, killing three civilians, including a child, and wounding nine others.

Local and medical sources identified the child as 12-year-old Najwa Hassan Moqbel Bshaj and the two other victims as Mohammed Abdulbaset al-Habishi and his sister Mariam, reported the Saba news agency.

The wounded suffered various injuries, some serious, added the sources. They are being treated in Mokha city. The sources warned that the death toll from the shelling could rise.

Saba said the attack is part of the daily crimes committed by the terrorist Houthis to “thwart local and regional peace efforts and continue to spill the blood of Yemenis.”

Meanwhile, the Houthis blew up three houses in the Sirwah district in the Marib province on Friday, which was the first day of Eid, revealed a local rights group.

The “Mousawat” rights and freedoms group said the Houthis blew up the homes of Saleh bin Saleh al-Dawla, Abdullah Saleh al-Dawla, and Saleh Nasser al-Dawla al-Jahmy in al-Zour village in Marib.

In a statement, it revealed that the latest attack brought to nine the total number of houses blown up by the Houthis since mid-February as part of their systematic terrorization and forced displacement of opponents.



Sudan’s Ruling Council Reshuffles Cabinet amid Brutal Conflict

A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)
A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)
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Sudan’s Ruling Council Reshuffles Cabinet amid Brutal Conflict

A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)
A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)

Sudan's army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, at war with paramilitaries, has announced a cabinet reshuffle that replaces four ministers including those for foreign affairs and the media.

The late Sunday announcement comes with the northeast African country gripped by the world's worst displacement crisis, threatened by famine and desperate for aid, according to the UN.

In a post on its official Facebook page, Sudan's ruling sovereignty council said Burhan had approved replacement of the ministers of foreign affairs, the media, religious affairs and trade.

The civil war that began in April 2023 pits Burhan's military against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries under the command of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Since then, the army-aligned Sudanese government has been operating from the eastern city of Port Sudan, which has largely remained shielded from the violence.

But the Sudanese state "is completely absent from the scene" in all sectors, economist Haitham Fathy told AFP earlier this year.

The council did not disclose reasons behind the reshuffle but it coincides with rising violence in al-Gezira, south of the capital Khartoum, and North Darfur in Sudan's far west bordering Chad.

On Friday the spokesman for United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he condemned attacks by the RSF on Gezira, after the United States made a similar call over the violence against civilians.

Among the key government changes, Ambassador Ali Youssef al-Sharif, a retired diplomat who previously served as Sudan's ambassador to China and South Africa, was appointed foreign minister.

He replaces Hussein Awad Ali who had held the role for seven months.

Journalist and TV presenter Khalid Ali Aleisir, based in London, was named minister of culture and media.

The reshuffle also saw Omar Banfir assigned to the trade ministry and Omar Bakhit appointed to the ministry of religious affairs.

Over the past two weeks, the RSF increased attacks on civilians in Gezira following the army's announcement that an RSF commander had defected.

According to an AFP tally based on medical and activist sources, at least 200 people were killed in Gezira last month alone. The UN reports that the violence has forced around 120,000 people from their homes.

In total, Sudan hosts more than 11 million displaced people, while another 3.1 million are now sheltering beyond its borders, according to the International Organization for Migration.