Yemeni Minister of Works: Our Projects Include Areas Controlled by the Coup

In this Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017 photo, a Yemeni vendor displays honey for sale in a shop in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP)
In this Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017 photo, a Yemeni vendor displays honey for sale in a shop in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP)
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Yemeni Minister of Works: Our Projects Include Areas Controlled by the Coup

In this Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017 photo, a Yemeni vendor displays honey for sale in a shop in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP)
In this Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017 photo, a Yemeni vendor displays honey for sale in a shop in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP)

A minister in Yemen’s legitimate government said that infrastructure projects in Yemen would also cover areas controlled by the coup forces, in response to claims that reconstruction works were carried out exclusively in regions that are under government’s authority.

Yemeni Minister of Public Works, Dr. Moeen Abdul Malik, underlined on saturday the presence of projects in the areas under the control of the coup forces, such as an urbanization project, with emergency intervention and waste transportation. These projects were carried out in Sanaa, Hodeidah and Aden, according to the minister, noting that works included rehabilitation of roads and the provision of basic electricity services in hospitals.

“We offer projects related to environmental sanitation that deal with the conditions of the population because the coup militia treats citizens as hostages and does not care about environmental sanitation projects or budgets for operating hospitals,” he stated.

The Yemeni minister emphasized the importance of transport projects as “they reduce the delivery cost of basic materials such as water and other services, adding that his ministry was now in a better situation, due to the mobilization of revenues from oil derivatives.

“The rehabilitation of the roads started with the restoration of some 84 square kilometers. The road has been rehabilitated, including repairing some of the bridges,” he stated, explaining that the main line that has been reconstructed was witnessing continuous flow of traffic.

Last week, the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen launched a new humanitarian operation that includes qualitative initiatives, which are not limited to financial support, but extend to the development of infrastructure to increase the capacity to receive aid by air, sea and land, quickly and effectively.



US Journalist Missing in Syria Since 2012 Is Believed to Be Alive, Says Aid Group

A banner for journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, hangs outside the National Press Club building in Washington, US, May 2, 2023. (Reuters)
A banner for journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, hangs outside the National Press Club building in Washington, US, May 2, 2023. (Reuters)
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US Journalist Missing in Syria Since 2012 Is Believed to Be Alive, Says Aid Group

A banner for journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, hangs outside the National Press Club building in Washington, US, May 2, 2023. (Reuters)
A banner for journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, hangs outside the National Press Club building in Washington, US, May 2, 2023. (Reuters)

American journalist Austin Tice is believed to be still alive, according to the head of an international aid group.

Nizar Zakka, who runs the Hostage Aid Worldwide organization, said there has never been any proof that Tice, who has been missing since 2012, is dead.

He told reporters in Damascus on Tuesday that Tice was alive in January and being held by the authorities of ousted Bashar al-Assad. He added that US President Joe Biden said in August that Tice was alive.

Zakka said Tice was transferred between security agencies over the past 12 years, including in an area where Iranian-backed fighters were operating.

Asked if it was possible Tice had been taken out of the country, Zakka said Assad most likely kept him in Syria as a potential bargaining chip.

Biden said Dec. 8 that his administration believed Tice was alive and was committed to bringing him home, though he also acknowledged that “we have no direct evidence” of his status.