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Yemeni Government Stresses Need to Fight Houthi Evasiveness with Prisoner Swap Deal

At left, Abdelqader al-Murtada and Saelem Mohammed Noman Al-Mughalles, representatives of the Ansar Allah delegation and at right, Askar Zaeil and Hadi al-Hayi representing the delegation of the Government of Yemen sit at the negotiating table together with representatives from the office of the U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen and the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) when lists of prisoners are exchanged, a first step to implement the agreement to release all prisoners by the two parties, during the ongoing peace talks on Yemen held at Johannesberg Castle, in Rimbo, near Stockholm, Sweden, December 11, 2018. TT News Agency/Claudio Bresciani via REUTERS
At left, Abdelqader al-Murtada and Saelem Mohammed Noman Al-Mughalles, representatives of the Ansar Allah delegation and at right, Askar Zaeil and Hadi al-Hayi representing the delegation of the Government of Yemen sit at the negotiating table together with representatives from the office of the U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen and the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) when lists of prisoners are exchanged, a first step to implement the agreement to release all prisoners by the two parties, during the ongoing peace talks on Yemen held at Johannesberg Castle, in Rimbo, near Stockholm, Sweden, December 11, 2018. TT News Agency/Claudio Bresciani via REUTERS
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Yemeni Government Stresses Need to Fight Houthi Evasiveness with Prisoner Swap Deal

At left, Abdelqader al-Murtada and Saelem Mohammed Noman Al-Mughalles, representatives of the Ansar Allah delegation and at right, Askar Zaeil and Hadi al-Hayi representing the delegation of the Government of Yemen sit at the negotiating table together with representatives from the office of the U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen and the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) when lists of prisoners are exchanged, a first step to implement the agreement to release all prisoners by the two parties, during the ongoing peace talks on Yemen held at Johannesberg Castle, in Rimbo, near Stockholm, Sweden, December 11, 2018. TT News Agency/Claudio Bresciani via REUTERS
At left, Abdelqader al-Murtada and Saelem Mohammed Noman Al-Mughalles, representatives of the Ansar Allah delegation and at right, Askar Zaeil and Hadi al-Hayi representing the delegation of the Government of Yemen sit at the negotiating table together with representatives from the office of the U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen and the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) when lists of prisoners are exchanged, a first step to implement the agreement to release all prisoners by the two parties, during the ongoing peace talks on Yemen held at Johannesberg Castle, in Rimbo, near Stockholm, Sweden, December 11, 2018. TT News Agency/Claudio Bresciani via REUTERS

Yemeni Foreign Ministry Khaled al-Yamani confirmed the government delegate, alongside Saudi and UAE representatives, has prepared and presented a strong letter criticizing violations committed by Iran-backed Houthi militiamen.

Houthis, despite signing to the UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement, have carried continued amassing fighters, building weapon capacities, digging trenches and looting humanitarian relief and exploiting it for the group’s apparently ongoing war effort.

“Coupists, given the group’s evasive behavior when it comes to the prisoner swap issue, seem to be practicing multi-faceted extortion against the international community,” al-Yamani told Asharq Al-Awsat on the eve of launching prisoner exchange talks in Amman, Jordan.

Yemen’s warring sides have started talks in the Jordanian capital about a deal to free thousands of prisoners as part of UN-led peace efforts.

The top diplomat said that the Yemeni government wishes for the international community and the humanitarian relief groups to weigh in and place pressure on Houthis so that they comply with commitments.

Houthis do not seem determined on fulfilling agreements, al-Yamani said while pointing out that the international community is well aware that the Iran-backed militia is unwilling to comply with peace efforts and doesn’t seriously want a solution for the conflict.

He went on to reaffirm the unquestionable support the internationally-recognized Yemeni government, headed by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, holds for UN-led peace efforts, saying that it stems from a conviction that diplomacy is the only solution to empower state institutions and to dismantle the detrimental agenda upheld by coupists.

According to al-Yamani, Houthis refusing to provide details on 232 detainees covered by the UN Security Council resolution 2216 is a grave violation that undermines confidence-building measures initiated by the Stockholm agreement.

Adressing questions on the arrival of a number of European ambassadors to Aden, al-Yamani said that this visit is meant to explore efforts undertaken by the legitimate Yemeni government.

The EU mission and a group of ambassadors will meet with the government in the interim capital of Aden.

Al-Yamani said that the visit restores clarity to confusion previously induced by understating positive efforts exerted by the Yemeni government.

The hard labors of the Yemeni government, according to al-Yamani, cannot be overlooked, especially as it first and foremost has the service of Yemenis at heart.

The Yemeni government works around the clock to strengthen the financial and administrative institutions to ensure that workers in all sectors of the country are paid, the diplomat said.

Backed by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, al-Yamani said that the government is keen on restoring life in Yemen.

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Arab World

Syria Says its Forces Have Taken over al-Tanf Base after a Handover from the US

FILE: Members of the Maghawir al-Thawra Syrian opposition group receive firearms training from US Army Special Forces soldiers at the al-Tanf military outpost in southern Syria in 2018. (AP/Lolita Baldor)
FILE: Members of the Maghawir al-Thawra Syrian opposition group receive firearms training from US Army Special Forces soldiers at the al-Tanf military outpost in southern Syria in 2018. (AP/Lolita Baldor)
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Syria Says its Forces Have Taken over al-Tanf Base after a Handover from the US

FILE: Members of the Maghawir al-Thawra Syrian opposition group receive firearms training from US Army Special Forces soldiers at the al-Tanf military outpost in southern Syria in 2018. (AP/Lolita Baldor)
FILE: Members of the Maghawir al-Thawra Syrian opposition group receive firearms training from US Army Special Forces soldiers at the al-Tanf military outpost in southern Syria in 2018. (AP/Lolita Baldor)

Syrian government forces have taken control of a base in the east of the country that was run for years by US troops as part of the war against the ISIS group, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

The al-Tanf base sits on a strategic location, close to the borders with Jordan and Iraq. In a terse statement, the Syrian Defense Ministry said the handover of the base took place in coordination with the US military and Syrian forces are now “securing the base and its perimeters.”

The US military did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press regarding the Syrian statement.

The Syrian Defense Ministry also said that Syrian troops are now in place in the desert area around the al-Tanf garrison, with border guards to deploy in the coming days.

The deployment of Syrian troops at al-Tanf and in the surrounding areas comes after last month’s deal between the government and the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, to merge into the military.

Al-Tanf garrison was repeatedly attacked over the past years with drones by Iran-backed groups but such attacks have dropped sharply following the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in Syria in December 2024.

Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has been expanding his control of the country, and last month government forces captured wide parts of northeast Syria after deadly clashes with the SDF. A ceasefire was later reached between the two sides.

Al-Tanf base played a major role in the fight against the ISIS group that declared a caliphate in large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014. ISIS was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later.

Over the past weeks, the US military began transferring thousands of ISIS prisoners from prisons run by the SDF in northeastern Syria to Iraq, where they will be prosecuted.

The number of US troops posted in Syria has changed over the years.

The number of US troops increased to more than 2,000 after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas in Israel, as Iranian-backed militants targeted American troops and interests in the region in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

The force has since been drawn back down to around 900.

Arab World

Appeal Trial of Tunisia Jailed Prominent Lawyer Starts

People stand outside a closed court during a nationwide strike in Tunis, Tunisia November 22, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
People stand outside a closed court during a nationwide strike in Tunis, Tunisia November 22, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
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Appeal Trial of Tunisia Jailed Prominent Lawyer Starts

People stand outside a closed court during a nationwide strike in Tunis, Tunisia November 22, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
People stand outside a closed court during a nationwide strike in Tunis, Tunisia November 22, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

The appeal trial of a prominent Tunisian lawyer jailed on anti-terror charges started on Thursday, after the judge rejected the defense's demand of his provisional release on health grounds.

Ahmed Souab's lawyers and relatives said his health condition had become critical since his jailing in April last year as part of what many said was a crackdown on political dissent.

The court rejected his provisional release and postponed the hearing to February 23, his lawyer, Fedi Snene, told AFP.

Souab -- also a rights advocate and a former judge -- was detained after claiming that judges were under political pressure to hand down hefty sentences last year in a mass trial of critics of President Kais Saied.

He had been a member of the defense team during the high-profile mass trial, and last October he was sentenced to five years in prison in a speedy trial that lasted less than two minutes.

UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders Mary Lawlor said on Wednesday Souab had been convicted on "baseless charges" and called for his "immediate release".

Snene rejected accusations against Souab, saying "he should not be in prison".

"He is a well-known man of law, who served for nearly 30 years as a judge before becoming a lawyer," Snene added.

Souab's son, Saeb, told AFP the family had submitted a "substantial medical file" asking the judge for his release pending a verdict.

Saeb said his father suffered a heart attack in 2022 and that his cardiologist had certified that prison conditions could worsen his health.

Souab had accused authorities of putting "a knife to the throat of the judge who was to deliver the verdict" during the mass trial that saw around 40 public figures sentenced to long terms on charges including plotting against the state.

Arab World

At Least 21 Drown in Nile Boat Sinking in Sudan

At least 21 people drowned when a boat sank in the Nile River in northern Sudan, according to the local state government and eyewitnesses interviewed by AFP. (REUTERS)
At least 21 people drowned when a boat sank in the Nile River in northern Sudan, according to the local state government and eyewitnesses interviewed by AFP. (REUTERS)
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At Least 21 Drown in Nile Boat Sinking in Sudan

At least 21 people drowned when a boat sank in the Nile River in northern Sudan, according to the local state government and eyewitnesses interviewed by AFP. (REUTERS)
At least 21 people drowned when a boat sank in the Nile River in northern Sudan, according to the local state government and eyewitnesses interviewed by AFP. (REUTERS)

At least 21 people drowned when a boat sank in the Nile River in northern Sudan, according to the local state government and eyewitnesses interviewed by AFP.

River Nile State said Thursday that 21 bodies had been recovered after the accident, listed their names and warned that some passengers were still missing.

The boat was crossing the river between the villages of Tayba al-Khawad and Deim al-Qarai, according to the local government's statement.

The statement did not explain the cause of the accident.

Eyewitnesses told AFP the boat was carrying 30 people.

The Sudanese Doctors Network said in a statement that six of the boat's passengers survived.

The group said the incident exposes "the fragility of river transport and the absence of basic safety requirements, as well as the complete absence of local authorities and civil defense rescue teams in the early hours of the incident".

Many Sudanese rely on river transport via single-engine boats captained by solo operators.

The country's infrastructure has been collapsing due to a war that has been ongoing for nearly three years.

The war has divided the country between the army and their enemy, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, with road closures and a severe deterioration in public services and medical and educational infrastructure.