Yemeni Minister: Houthis Holding 2 UN Humanitarian Workers Since 2021

Aid is distributed in the Yemeni governorate of Al-Jawf. (United Nations)
Aid is distributed in the Yemeni governorate of Al-Jawf. (United Nations)
TT
20

Yemeni Minister: Houthis Holding 2 UN Humanitarian Workers Since 2021

Aid is distributed in the Yemeni governorate of Al-Jawf. (United Nations)
Aid is distributed in the Yemeni governorate of Al-Jawf. (United Nations)

Yemen’s Minister of Legal Affairs and Human Rights Ahmed Arman confirmed Tuesday that the Iran-backed Houthi militias have been detaining two UN humanitarian workers since 2021

One works for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) and the other in the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Arman told the Arab World Press (AWP)

“We are working with the United Nations to resolve this major problem,” he said, while denying that any international workers have been harassed or detained in government-held regions.

Moreover, he accused the Houthis of obstructing the work of UN and international organizations, saying they are being harassed, threatened and arbitrarily detained.

Arman said the Houthis often harass or detain aid workers for failing to comply with the militias’ orders or over differences with Houthi “supervisors”.

The Houthis accuse the workers of adopting “ideologies that contradict theirs,” he added.

In addition, some workers have even been barred from entering Sanaa, which is held by the militias, he revealed.

Since December 2021 to this day, they have prevented more than 15 international foreign workers, including representative of the UNHCR in Yemen, from entering Sanaa, he said.

Last week, Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen David Gressly called on all Yemeni parties to ensure the protection of humanitarian workers.

He said continuing misinformation and disinformation campaigns are adding to the challenges of aid workers.

On the occasion of World Humanitarian Day celebrated on August 19, the official said violence against aid workers and their restricted movements are a stark reminder about the challenges and dangers humanitarians face in Yemen.

Last month, World Food Program staff Moayad Hameidi was shot and killed by unknown gunmen in Turbah, Taiz in southwest Yemen.

Arman criticized the “soft” approach adopted by the UN in handling the harassment faced by humanitarian workers in Houthi-held regions.

He remarked that had the Yemeni government been accused of arresting the workers or impeding their work, “we would have seen a different position, but when it comes to the Houthis, they are soft and seek appeasement.”

Last week, US Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said those who attack and kill humanitarian workers must be held accountable.

“Houthi attacks are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. We strongly condemn these senseless attacks, which impede much-needed oil export avenues that fund basic services,” she said.



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)
TT
20

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.