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Houthis Release Faisal Rajab 8 Years after his Arrest

Supporters accompany military commander Major General Faisal Rajab (C), on April 30, 2023, following his release by the Houthis in Sanaa. (AFP)
Supporters accompany military commander Major General Faisal Rajab (C), on April 30, 2023, following his release by the Houthis in Sanaa. (AFP)
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Houthis Release Faisal Rajab 8 Years after his Arrest

Supporters accompany military commander Major General Faisal Rajab (C), on April 30, 2023, following his release by the Houthis in Sanaa. (AFP)
Supporters accompany military commander Major General Faisal Rajab (C), on April 30, 2023, following his release by the Houthis in Sanaa. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthi group unilaterally released on Sunday Yemeni military commander Major General Faisal Rajab eight years after his arrest.

Rajab’s release is stipulated in United Nations Security Council 2216.

He was detained by the Houthis in 2015 when they were attempting to occupy Aden city, now the interim capital.

UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg welcomed the release, tweeting: “I appeal to all parties to build on the progress achieved and intensify the efforts to release all detainees, based on the ‘all for all’ principle as stipulated in the Stockholm Agreement.”

The government warily received the development, saying the Houthis were simply trying to improve their image and drive a wedge between their rivals.

The Houthis claimed that Rajab was released at the initiative of their leader, Abdulmalek al-Houthi.

In the build-up to his release, Houthi media had claimed that the government had abandoned him during the latest prisoner swap negotiations. The government denied the allegations.

Government loyalists described the release as “theatrics”, but still welcomed the initiative and called on the Houthis to free more than thousands of other prisoners according to the “all for all” principle.

A four-member delegation of tribes from Rajab’s Abeen province had traveled to Houthi-held Sanaa to mediate his release with the group. The government said the move was planned so as to polish the Houthis’ image.

A Houthi official said Rajab was being released in honor of the tribal delegation.

Abdul Baset Al-Qaedi, undersecretary at Yemen's Information Ministry, revealed that the governor of Abeen was appointed by the Houthis and every member of the tribal delegation that was in Sanaa “is insignificant and has no influence.”

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthis had refused to release Rajab in the last prisoner swap.

Rather they opted to free him “in the dramatic fashion that we saw play out in boring detail in the media,” he added.

He accused the Houthis of lying when they claimed that the government had disregarded Rajab and did not negotiate his release during the last swap.

Resolution 2216 calls for the release of Rajab; former Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi; Nasser Mansour Hadi, the brother of former President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi; and leading al-Islah Party member Mohammed Qahtan.

Subaihi and Nasser were released during the latest prisoner exchange between the government and Houthis.

The Houthis continue to oppose the release of Qahtan or even allow him to communicate with his family. Rajab reportedly was allowed to communicate with his loved ones only twice during his eight years in prison, said informed government sources.

Fayyad al-Numan, another undersecretary at the Information Ministry, welcomed Rajab’s release.

Such humanitarian files should not be used by the Houthis for political and media extortion, he urged.

The Houthis, he added, continue to “prioritize their discriminatory agenda above all Yemeni interests.”

Rajab’s release is a “failed attempt by the Houthis to improve their ugly image that is stained by the blood of the Yemeni people,” he stated.

“The Houthis are continuing to exploit the prisoner and abductee file to make false media and political gains,” he added.

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Arab World

Barrack Presses Netanyahu to Accept a Turkish Role in Gaza

Photo of the meeting between the US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (Israeli Government). 
Photo of the meeting between the US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (Israeli Government). 
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Barrack Presses Netanyahu to Accept a Turkish Role in Gaza

Photo of the meeting between the US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (Israeli Government). 
Photo of the meeting between the US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (Israeli Government). 

Hebrew-language media reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Monday in Jerusalem with US envoy Tom Barrack, amid what were described as unusually blunt private messages from the administration of President Donald Trump ahead of a planned US–Israel summit later this month in Florida.

According to the reports, the talks focused on three files: Gaza, Syria and Netanyahu’s expected meeting with Trump.

On Gaza, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said Barrack sought to allay Netanyahu’s concerns about a Turkish role in any international force deployed to the enclave during a prospective second phase of a fragile ceasefire that began in October. Barrack, the paper reported, argued that Türkiye has the greatest leverage over Hamas and is best placed to persuade the group to disarm.

The newspaper said Barrack reminded Netanyahu that Ankara had endorsed the Trump administration’s ceasefire framework for Gaza and had pledged, on Hamas’s behalf, to provisions related to weapons handover. He reportedly said that Turkish participation would also encourage other hesitant countries to join an international force.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Barrack warned that excluding Türkiye would cause those states to step back, adding that Trump would not allow the initiative to fail. Netanyahu’s public statements questioning whether Hamas would ever relinquish its weapons — and his assertion that only Israel could enforce that outcome — were described by Barrack as “unacceptable” and as jeopardizing the plan.

Israel’s Channel 12 also reported that the White House delivered a “private and sharp” message to Netanyahu, asserting that the killing of a senior Hamas military figure, Raed Saad, constituted a breach of the ceasefire brokered with Trump’s mediation.

The channel cited growing tension between the Trump administration and Netanyahu’s government over moving to the deal’s second phase and over Israel’s broader regional policies.

Two US officials were quoted as saying that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, were “deeply frustrated” with Netanyahu’s conduct.

One senior US official was quoted as telling Israeli media that the message to Netanyahu was explicit: if he chose to damage his own credibility, that was his decision, “but we will not allow you to damage President Trump’s reputation after he mediated the Gaza agreement.”

US officials were also cited as expressing rising concern over settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and what they termed Israeli “provocations” that undermine Washington’s efforts to expand the Abraham Accords. The United States, one official said, was not asking Israel to compromise its security, but to avoid steps perceived in the Arab world as inflammatory.

On Syria, Israeli assessments quoted in the press said Barrack outlined US “red lines,” stressing Trump’s desire to see stability there and warning that frequent Israeli operations could risk destabilizing the country. Reports added that Washington favors reaching a security understanding and wants to avoid actions it views as undermining the Syrian leadership.

Regarding Lebanon, Trump was said to support continued pressure on Hezbollah through limited operations, while opposing a broader escalation.

Despite recent criticism by Netanyahu of Barrack — including remarks questioning his impartiality — the envoy’s visit went ahead. Columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth that US officials increasingly believe Netanyahu is not serious about advancing Trump’s peace plan and is intent on prolonging the war, language he said has sparked intense anger inside the White House.

Israeli analysts suggested Netanyahu is unlikely to reject all US requests outright, instead seeking partial accommodation to ensure a successful meeting with Trump on December 29. Yet, in a show of independence, Israeli forces reportedly carried out an airstrike in Syria shortly before Barrack arrived.

Netanyahu also announced a trilateral summit with Greece and Cyprus, a move widely interpreted in Israel as a political signal directed at Türkiye.

At the close of the meeting, Barrack was quoted as saying the talks were a “constructive dialogue aimed at achieving regional peace and stability.”

 

 

Arab World

Sudan Once again Tops International Rescue Committee Crises Watchlist

FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo
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Sudan Once again Tops International Rescue Committee Crises Watchlist

FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, who fled the conflict in Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region, receive rice portions from Red Cross volunteers in Ourang on the outskirts of Adre, Chad July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

Sudan has once again topped a watchlist of global humanitarian crises released by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) aid organization, as warring sides press on with a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.

It is the third time in a row Sudan has headed the list, which was published on Tuesday. It highlights the 20 countries most at risk of new or worsened humanitarian emergencies.

"What the IRC is seeing on the ground is not a tragic accident. The world is not simply failing to respond to crisis; actions and words are producing, prolonging, and rewarding it," IRC CEO David Miliband said in a statement.

"The scale of the crisis in Sudan, ranking first on this year’s Watchlist for the third year in a row and now the largest humanitarian crisis ever recorded, is a signature of this disorder."

War erupted in April 2023 from a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, and triggered the world's largest displacement crisis. More than 12 million people have already been displaced by the ongoing war in Sudan, where humanitarian workers lack resources to help those fleeing, many of whom have been raped, robbed or bereaved by the violence.

Sudan is followed by the Palestinian territories, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Haiti, according to the list.

The IRC said although these countries are home to just 12% of the global population, they account for 89% of those in humanitarian need. It added that the countries are projected to host more than half of the world's extreme poor by 2029.

The remaining countries on the list are Myanmar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.

Arab World

Torrential Rains and Flash Floods Kill 37 in Moroccan City of Safi

People inspect the damage caused by flash floods in Safi, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abderrazak Gouach)
People inspect the damage caused by flash floods in Safi, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abderrazak Gouach)
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Torrential Rains and Flash Floods Kill 37 in Moroccan City of Safi

People inspect the damage caused by flash floods in Safi, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abderrazak Gouach)
People inspect the damage caused by flash floods in Safi, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abderrazak Gouach)

Floods triggered by torrential rains have killed at least 37 people in the Moroccan coastal city of Safi, the Interior Ministry said Monday.

Authorities said heavy rain and flash floods overnight inundated about 70 homes and businesses and swept away 10 vehicles. The Interior Ministry reported 14 people hospitalized.

Local outlets reported that schools announced three days of closures. Rains also caused flooding and damage elsewhere throughout Morocco, including the northern city of Tetouan and the mountain town of Tinghir.

Safi, a city on Morocco’s Atlantic shore more than 320 kilometers (200 miles) from the capital, Rabat, is a major hub for the country’s critical fishing and mining industries. Both employ thousands to catch, mine and process the commodities for export. The city, with a population of more than 300,000 people, is home to a major phosphate processing plant.

Videos shared on social media showed cars stranded and partially submerged as floodwaters surged through Safi’s streets.

Climate change has made weather patterns more unpredictable in Morocco. North Africa has been plagued by several years of drought, hardening soils and making mountains, deserts and plains more susceptible to flooding. Last year, floods in normally arid mountains and desert areas killed nearly two dozen people in Morocco and Algeria.

This week's floods came after 22 people were killed in a two-building collapse in the Moroccan city of Fez. Morocco has invested in disaster risk initiatives although local governments often do not enforce building codes and drainage systems can be lacking in some cities. Infrastructural inequities were a focus of youth-led protests that swept the country earlier this year.

"This is a disaster, I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime," Khalil Sidki, 67, a Safi resident and member of the local branch of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, told The Associated Press.

He said the flooding caught people by surprise in a commercial area. In reaction, many shopkeepers locked themselves inside their stores, but as water levels climbed up to 4 meters (13 feet), shops were submerged, killing those trapped inside, he said. Another Safi resident described similar scenes.

Moroccan authorities launched an investigation into the cause of the flooding. Safi received 46 millimeters (less than 2 inches) of rainfall over 24 hours — a level Houcine Youabid from Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology described as “normal” for the region. He said infrastructure issues could have combined with the rainfall to contribute to the flooding.

Parts of the North African nation experienced heavy rain and snow over the weekend, and authorities issued alerts for similar conditions throughout the coming days.