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Yemen Forms ‘National Shield Forces’ Headed by Al-Alimi

Al-Alimi upon his return to Aden on Saturday. (Saba)
Al-Alimi upon his return to Aden on Saturday. (Saba)
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Yemen Forms ‘National Shield Forces’ Headed by Al-Alimi

Al-Alimi upon his return to Aden on Saturday. (Saba)
Al-Alimi upon his return to Aden on Saturday. (Saba)

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi issued a presidential decree to form the “National Shield Forces,” a military force under his direct command.

The decree is part of efforts, carried out by the higher military and security commission, to restructure the many military formations in Yemen and bring them under the Defense Ministry.

The National Shield Forces will act as a reserve force that answers to the commander of the armed forces, al-Alimi.

Al-Alimi will determine the number of the members of the force, its duties and area of operations.

Al-Alimi had returned to the Yemeni interim capital Aden from Riyadh. He has been away from Aden for nearly 50 days.

In official statements, he underscored the keenness of the PLC and government in committing to their pledges to the Yemeni people.

The pledges include working from inside Yemen, rebuilding state institutions, improving living and economic conditions and consolidating Yemen’s standing in its regional and international surroundings.

Al-Alimi said the new year will witness the laying of the foundation stone of several service and development projects with the support of the Arab coalition that is led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

He expressed his gratitude to the coalition and donor countries that “constantly respond” to Yemen’s appeals to ease the humanitarian suffering of its people.

He blamed the dire humanitarian crisis on the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist militias.

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Arab World

8 Dead, Dozens Missing as Gaza Apartment Block Collapses

Ambulance crews transport injured Palestinians to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, 15 September 2026. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD
Ambulance crews transport injured Palestinians to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, 15 September 2026. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD
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8 Dead, Dozens Missing as Gaza Apartment Block Collapses

Ambulance crews transport injured Palestinians to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, 15 September 2026. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD
Ambulance crews transport injured Palestinians to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, 15 September 2026. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD

Rescuers searched on Wednesday for dozens of people missing after an apartment block in Gaza collapsed, killing eight people including children, authorities in the war-torn enclave said.

Gaza's civil defense agency said the six-story building in the Tal al-Hawa area was home to people displaced by the war with Israel, and collapsed onto residential and nearby tents.

Agency spokesman Mahmoud Basal told AFP the building had sustained structural damage from Israeli strikes.

"The bodies of eight martyrs including children and 15 injured individuals have been recovered from the rubble," Basal said.

He said more than 60 people were missing.

Arab World

Al-Zaidi: Iraq Eyes Europe as It Seeks to Diversify Oil Exports

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi attend a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi attend a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP)
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Al-Zaidi: Iraq Eyes Europe as It Seeks to Diversify Oil Exports

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi attend a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi attend a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP)

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Tuesday that he discussed selling oil to Europe during visits to France and Germany, as Baghdad seeks to diversify its export routes and reduce its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz.

During a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, al-Zaidi said: "We want to expand and diversify our export routes".

He added that "Iraq cannot remain hostage to a single corridor" as recent events have demonstrated, referring to the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blockaded by Iran during the Middle East war.

Al-Zaidi said that he had discussed oil exports to Europe with Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, whom he met in Paris on Monday.

Crude oil sales account for nearly 90 percent of Iraq's revenue but its exports have been hurt by the outbreak of the Middle East war between Iran and the United States.

Before the war began in February, Iraq produced around four million barrels per day, and exported an average of 3.4 million bpd, mostly via Hormuz.

Most of its oil exports go to East Asia, with China and India its largest buyers.

Due to the disruption, Iraq began exporting crude using tanker trucks through Syria, as well as through a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, although these routes can handle only a fraction of its usual sea-bound trade.

Al-Zaidi said that Baghdad could "double its oil exports through the Mediterranean" to supply markets in Europe and the United States.

Al-Zaidi, who hopes to increase Iraq's oil production to 10 million barrels per day, said that "a large share, or nearly half, can go to European countries and the West".

He said that Iraq and Germany were expected to reach "an understanding on the export of crude oil" while Baghdad would purchase German technology and equipment.

Merz said that the main focus for Iraqi-German cooperation is the economy.

"Many German companies are now active in Iraq. They are developing new solutions, for example for energy supply," he said, adding that "the best example is an agreement on Iraq's electricity supply, which we will sign today".

Merz also expressed his concerns after Yemen's Houthis cemented their control over the Bab al-Mandeb waterway at the entrance to the Red Sea.

"This further exacerbates the situation on the energy markets, and also affects Germany," he said.

Arab World

Lebanon Prosecutor Requests Charges for Ex-President Aoun Over Beirut Port Blast

Lebanon's then President Michel Aoun is pictured at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon April 7, 2021. (Dalati Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanon's then President Michel Aoun is pictured at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon April 7, 2021. (Dalati Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
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Lebanon Prosecutor Requests Charges for Ex-President Aoun Over Beirut Port Blast

Lebanon's then President Michel Aoun is pictured at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon April 7, 2021. (Dalati Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanon's then President Michel Aoun is pictured at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon April 7, 2021. (Dalati Nohra/Handout via Reuters)

A Lebanese prosecutor on Tuesday requested that former president Michel Aoun be indicted over the 2020 Beirut port blast that killed more than 200 people, a judicial official told AFP. 

The prosecutor at Lebanon's Court of Cassation asked the judge overseeing the case, Tarek Bitar, to "press charges against (former) president Aoun," said the official, requesting anonymity. 

The official added that charges were being sought against Aoun because he "had prior knowledge of the presence of ammonium nitrate at the port and its danger, without taking the necessary measures" or referring it to the country's Higher Defense Council. 

The massive explosion on August 4, 2020 killed more than 220 people, injured more than 6,500 and laid waste to swathes of the capital. 

Lebanese authorities have said the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer had been stored haphazardly for years, despite repeated warnings to senior officials. 

Nobody has been punished for the blast despite public anger and families of the blast victims demanding justice in a country long plagued by official impunity. 

In March, a judicial official told AFP that judge Bitar had completed his probe. 

He referred the case to the public prosecutor who was to study it, and prosecutor Mohammad Saab submitted his review on Tuesday, the official said. 

The review specified the responsibility of more than 70 defendants, including current and former politicians, security and military officials, and civil servants, some of whom were previously charged by Bitar. 

The charges remain up to Bitar, who could issue them in the coming weeks. 

The case had been bogged down by political and legal wrangling since 2023, after Iran-backed Hezbollah led a campaign demanding Bitar's removal and dozens of lawsuits also sought to remove him from the case. 

However, Bitar resumed his investigations last year as Lebanon's balance of power shifted. 

President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam took office following a 2023-2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah, which weakened the Lebanese armed group. 

Since then, several legal impediments to Bitar's work have also been removed, including the lifting of a travel ban against him.