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Yemen’s PLC Establishes ‘Crisis Cell,’ Stresses End to Banking Distortions

The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council meets in Riyadh with Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik (Saba News Agency)
The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council meets in Riyadh with Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik (Saba News Agency)
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Yemen’s PLC Establishes ‘Crisis Cell,’ Stresses End to Banking Distortions

The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council meets in Riyadh with Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik (Saba News Agency)
The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council meets in Riyadh with Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik (Saba News Agency)

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has ordered the formation of a “crisis cell” headed by Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik to follow up on economic developments. The PLC also stressed the need to end monetary distortions in the banking market.

Houthi militias, on the other hand, continue to reject proposals to renew and expand the truce.

Instead of agreeing to pay the salaries of civil servants, Houthi leaders are threatening to repeat attacks on oil export ports in government-run areas and restarting battles towards southern governorates.

According to Yemeni sources, PLC head Rashad al-Alimi held a meeting for the ruling council in Riyadh.

All members of the PLC contributed to the discussions. While Sultan al-Errada, Abdurrahman al-Mahrami, Abdullah al-Alimi, and Othman Mujalli were present in person, Aidarous Azaibaid, Tariq Saleh and Faraj al-Bahssani contributed to the meeting via video conference.

“The meeting discussed humanitarian and economic conditions. It also tackled policies required to face the current challenges, including government measures limiting the catastrophic repercussions of the Houthi terrorist attacks on oil facilities and global freedom of trade,” Saba News Agency reported.

“The prime minister provided a detailed report about the latest developments in the national arena and the government's ongoing efforts to handle the economic, services, military and security issues.”

Moreover, Abdulmalik briefed the PLC on policies aimed at maintaining economic, monetary, service and commodity stability, and maintaining the public budget deficit at safe levels, in a way that prevents any side effects on vulnerable social groups.

The PLC, for its part, stressed the importance of “ending monetary distortions in exchange rates, including stopping speculation, depleting reserves of hard currencies, and controlling the value of the national currency, which has achieved relative stability during the last period.”

Also, the PLC “affirmed its support for government policies and moving forward with the implementation of the National Defense Council’s decision to classify the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization.”

The PLC said it will take all measures necessary to dry up funding sources for Houthis, secure national facilities and deter any criminal threats to the interests of citizens.

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Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
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Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led a high-level ministerial delegation to Syria on Monday for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the most significant diplomatic visit between the two countries since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December.

"My visit to Damascus today aims to open a new page in the history of relations between the two countries, based on mutual respect, restoring trust, good neighborliness," Salam said in a statement on X.

At the center of discussions was implementing a March 28 agreement signed in Saudi Arabia by the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers to demarcate land and sea borders and improve coordination on border security issues, Salam said in the statement.

The Lebanese-Syrian border witnessed deadly clashes earlier this year and years of unrest in the frontier regions, which have been plagued by weapons and illicit drug smuggling through illegal crossings.

During Monday’s meeting, Salam and Sharaa agreed to form a joint ministerial committee to oversee the implementation of the border agreement, close illegal crossings and suppress smuggling activity along the border.

The border area, especially near Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and Syria’s Qusayr region, has long been a corridor for illicit trade, arms trafficking, and the movement of fighters — including Hezbollah fighters who backed the Assad government during Syria’s 14-year civil war.

Hezbollah has been significantly weakened in its recent war with Israel and since Assad's ousting, it lost several key smuggling routes it once relied on for weapons transfers.

Lebanon also pressed Syria to provide clarity on the fate of thousands of Lebanese nationals who were forcibly disappeared or imprisoned in Syrian jails in the 1980s and 1990s, during Syria’s nearly 30-year military presence in Lebanon. Human rights groups have long documented the lack of accountability and transparency regarding these cases, with families of the missing holding regular demonstrations in Beirut demanding answers.

Syrian officials for their part raised the issue of Syrian nationals detained in Lebanese prisons, Salam said. Many of the detainees were arrested for illegal entry or alleged involvement in militant activity. Rights advocates in both countries have criticized the lack of due process in many of these cases and the poor conditions inside detention facilities.

Lebanon pledged to hand over people implicated in crimes committed by the Assad government and security forces, many of whom are believed to have fled to Lebanon after the government’s collapse, if found on Lebanese soil, a ministerial source told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly comment.

In return, Lebanese officials requested the extradition of Syrians wanted in Lebanese courts for high-profile political assassinations, "most notably those involved in the bombing of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques, those convicted of assassinating President Bashir Gemayel, and other crimes for which the Assad regime is accused," Salam said.

For decades, Lebanon witnessed a long series of politically motivated assassinations targeting journalists, politicians and security officials, particularly those opposed to Syrian influence. The 2013 twin bombings of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques in Tripoli in northern Lebanon killed more than 40 people and intensified sectarian tensions already heightened by the spillover from the Syrian war.

Syria has never officially acknowledged involvement in any of Lebanon’s political assassinations.

Salam said he also pushed for renewed cooperation on the return of Syrian refugees.

Lebanese government officials estimate the country hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, of whom about 755,000 are officially registered with the UN refugee agency, or UNHCR, making it the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

While Lebanese authorities have long urged the international community to support large-scale repatriation efforts, human rights organizations have cautioned against forced returns, citing ongoing security concerns and a lack of guarantees in Syria.

Since the fall of Assad in December, an estimated 400,000 refugees have returned to Syria from neighboring countries, according to UNHCR, with about half of them coming from Lebanon, but many are hesitant to return because of the dire economic situation and fears of continuing instability in Syria.