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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

Colombia Recognizes Israeli Claim Over Syria's Golan Heights

Colombia's new President Abelardo de la Espriella delivers a speech at the Pichincha Battalion after swearing in, in Cali, Colombia, on August 7, 2026. (AFP)
Colombia's new President Abelardo de la Espriella delivers a speech at the Pichincha Battalion after swearing in, in Cali, Colombia, on August 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Colombia Recognizes Israeli Claim Over Syria's Golan Heights

Colombia's new President Abelardo de la Espriella delivers a speech at the Pichincha Battalion after swearing in, in Cali, Colombia, on August 7, 2026. (AFP)
Colombia's new President Abelardo de la Espriella delivers a speech at the Pichincha Battalion after swearing in, in Cali, Colombia, on August 7, 2026. (AFP)

Colombia's newly appointed hard-right government on Monday recognized Israel's claim over the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in 1967.

The United States was until now the only country to recognize Israel's annexation of the territory in 1981.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella took power on Friday, following a bombastic campaign during which he promised tight relations with the US and Israel as a way to combat armed groups in his own country.

His foreign ministry announced recognition of Israel's claim on the same day that a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia, killing at least 111 people and injuring dozens more.

"The Government of Colombia recognizes Israeli sovereignty over this territory, as well as that State's right to protect itself against external threats," read a statement published on X.

"Colombia recognizes that maintaining Israel's control and sovereignty over the Golan Heights is an essential component of its national defense," it added.

The United Nations maintains that the plateau is Syrian territory under Israeli military occupation.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar thanked his "good friend" De la Espriella for the recognition.

The pair had agreed on the move in the Colombian city of Barranquilla, he said, one day before De la Espriella's inauguration.

"Defensible borders are essential to guarantee the continued existence of the Jewish people in our historic homeland," Saar, who attended the swearing-in, posted on X.

Last month, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reiterated that the Golan Heights were part of Syria, describing Israeli occupation as "totally unacceptable."

De la Espriella's leftist predecessor Gustavo Petro had ardently criticized Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip, severing diplomatic relations and halting Israeli arms imports into Colombia.

The US-backed millionaire now in office has promised to restore ties.

Last month, he said he planned to open a Colombian embassy in Jerusalem, which Israel regards as its capital, including the occupied Palestinian part.

This is not recognized internationally, however, and most countries conduct their diplomatic missions from Tel Aviv.

Arab World

Return of Displaced Syrian Kurds to Hometown Suspended After Violence

Onlookers take pictures of Syrian Kurds, who were living in displacement camps in the city of Hasakeh, heading back to the northeastern border town of Ras al-Ain on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
Onlookers take pictures of Syrian Kurds, who were living in displacement camps in the city of Hasakeh, heading back to the northeastern border town of Ras al-Ain on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Return of Displaced Syrian Kurds to Hometown Suspended After Violence

Onlookers take pictures of Syrian Kurds, who were living in displacement camps in the city of Hasakeh, heading back to the northeastern border town of Ras al-Ain on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
Onlookers take pictures of Syrian Kurds, who were living in displacement camps in the city of Hasakeh, heading back to the northeastern border town of Ras al-Ain on August 10, 2026. (AFP)

The return of displaced Syrian Kurds to their northeastern hometown of Ras al-Ain was suspended on Monday after a first group of returnees was attacked, prompting protests in other Kurdish-majority parts of Syria.

Hundreds of people had gone back to the town on Monday, months after a January agreement with the Syrian government on merging Kurdish forces and civil institutions into the state that included provisions for the return of displaced Kurds.

Jawan Isso, from a committee representing displaced people from Ras al-Ain, told AFP that a "first batch" of around 2,500 people were headed home but were later attacked by "armed groups".

Mahmud Khalil Ali, deputy head of security forces in Syria's Hasakeh province where Ras al-Ain is located, said several of those involved in the attacks were arrested, but return trips were "temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of residents".

"These trips will resume as soon as the situation stabilizes and full protection is provided for the returnees."

A second batch of Kurds was supposed to head to the town in the coming days, according to Isso.

Tens of thousands of Kurds were uprooted when Türkiye and allied Syrian fighters seized an Arab-majority strip of territory along the Turkish border, including Ras al-Ain, from Kurdish control in 2019 during Syria's civil war.

The attacks on Monday sparked a demonstration in nearby Kurdish-majority Qamishli, where an AFP correspondent saw angry protesters try to break into the security forces' headquarters, with Syrian officers pushing them back.

In Kobane, a Kurdish-majority town in the north, Syrian state television said people attacked government offices and took down the Syrian flag in front of the local security forces headquarters.

Quoting a security source, state television then said authorities imposed a curfew on Kobane while looking for the perpetrators.

"We condemn the assault to which the displaced Kurdish families were subjected during their return," Mazloum Abdi, leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who signed the January deal with Damascus, said on X.

"We understand the angry reactions in the Kurdish street in response to this assault, and at the same time, we call on our people to exercise self-restraint, refrain from being drawn into any irresponsible acts, and preserve our civil and security institutions," he added.

Ahmad al-Hilali, deputy governor of Hasakeh condemned both the attacks on returnees and on state institutions in other areas like the multiethnic Hasakeh city.

"A number of rioters have already been arrested in several areas," he added, vowing that there will be "no leniency" towards those who threaten "civil peace".

- 'Waiting for this moment' -

Earlier in the day, an AFP correspondent saw dozens of trucks loaded with furniture and other belongings waiting to set off from near the city of Hasakeh, with men, women and children eager to depart.

"I've been waiting for this moment... It's like a dream for a person to return to their home," said returnee Nora Khodor, 37.

Isso said that around 100,000 people from the Ras al-Ain area had applied to return.

Human rights groups say residents' homes and belongings there were seized or looted after the offensive.

Some of the fighters subsequently settled in the area with their families, with some reportedly still living in the formerly ethnically mixed region, known as Sari Kani in Kurdish.

Türkiye launched successive cross-border offensives against Kurdish-led forces in the country's north before Syria's new authorities ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Since then, the authorities have been extending central government control across the country, including formerly Kurdish-held areas.

"We are very happy about returning," said Rawda Mohammed, 39, before the violence erupted.

"I asked about my home. They told me it is totally destroyed, but we did not get pessimistic because we're happy to return, and when we get there we'll see what we can do."

Some 5.5 million people remain internally displaced in Syria following the more than 13-year civil war, according to the United Nations.

Arab World

Car Bomb Kills Eastern Libyan Military Intelligence Chief

A photo of the bombing circulated by Libyan media.
A photo of the bombing circulated by Libyan media.
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Car Bomb Kills Eastern Libyan Military Intelligence Chief

A photo of the bombing circulated by Libyan media.
A photo of the bombing circulated by Libyan media.

The head of military intelligence for eastern Libya's Libyan National Army was killed on Monday when an explosive device detonated in his car outside his home in the Hawari area of Benghazi, two security sources told Reuters.

Brigadier Fowzi Mansouri ‌was killed ‌in the evening ‌blast, the ⁠sources said, speaking ⁠on condition of anonymity.

They did not say who was responsible for the attack or provide further details on the device.

The killing ⁠highlights continuing security challenges ‌in Libya, where ‌rival administrations and armed groups ‌have retained influence despite a 2020 ‌ceasefire that halted major warfare.

Libya split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions after ‌a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime ruler Maammar al-Gaddafi.

The ⁠Libyan ⁠National Army, led by commander Khalifa Haftar, controls much of eastern and southern Libya. It is aligned with authorities based in Benghazi, while the Government of National Unity is based in the capital Tripoli and controls much of the west.