Yemen Urges Firm Action Against Houthis to Resume Oil Exports

Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen  (EPA)
Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen (EPA)
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Yemen Urges Firm Action Against Houthis to Resume Oil Exports

Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen  (EPA)
Houthis aboard a vehicle in one of the streets of Sanaa, Yemen (EPA)

The Yemeni government is calling on the international community to take firm stances and measures against the Houthi group. It also urged efforts to resume oil exports, which have been halted for a year due to Houthi attacks on export ports.

This call from the Yemeni government comes at a time when the Houthi group continues to violate the ceasefire, particularly in southwestern Taiz fronts.

This is happening concurrently with suppression campaigns targeting those demanding their salaries in areas under Houthi control.

With over 80% of Yemenis enduring dire circumstances due to the ongoing war and Houthi insurgency, the government emphasized, during its address to the 54th session of the Human Rights Council, the necessity of enabling it to resume oil exports.

This would allow the government to fulfill its urgent financial obligations to its citizens, including paying salaries that support the population in coping with challenging living conditions and financing food imports into both government-controlled areas and Houthi-run regions.

Nabil Abdulhafiz, the Deputy Minister of Human Rights in the Yemeni government, reaffirmed the support for the National Committee to investigate allegations of human rights violations.

The committee is regarded as an independent national mechanism that efficiently and independently carries out its work, receiving all necessary facilitations and cooperation to uncover the truth, achieve accountability, justice, and provide reparations to victims.

The Yemeni government called upon the members of the Human Rights Council to address the human rights situation in Yemen.

The appeal stems from Yemen’s need for support, technical assistance, and capacity-building to enable the government to meet its human rights commitments.

The government is also seeking to encourage and support the committee in continuing its mission to ensure accountability and justice.

Moreover, Abdulhafiz said that recent steps taken in reshaping the Supreme Judicial Council are evidence of the Presidential Leadership Council’s commitment to achieving justice and revitalizing its institutions.

Abdulhafiz further noted that his country’s government “remains committed to the humanitarian ceasefire and the execution of all its provisions, while militias continue to defy their obligations, including opening crossings and roads between all Yemeni cities and lifting the siege on the city of Taiz.”

The Yemeni official accused the Houthi group of persistently violating and attacking civilians and displacement camps in areas such as Marib, Al-Dhale, Hodeidah, and Taiz.

These provocations manifest in their military build-up, parades, threats, and the unlawful use of military force.

Abdulhafiz urged the international community and the Human Rights Council to press the Houthi militias to cease their violations, halt their looting of Yemeni resources, and cease targeting vital facilities and infrastructure.



Türkiye’s Erdogan Urges World to ‘Immediately’ Start Rebuilding Gaza

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)
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Türkiye’s Erdogan Urges World to ‘Immediately’ Start Rebuilding Gaza

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)

The world must immediately start the reconstruction of the devastated Gaza Strip, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

"We must begin the reconstruction of Gaza immediately," he told the United Nations General Assembly, urging world leaders to "exert greater pressure on Israel."

Since Hamas fighters launched their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, triggering a massive response, the tiny Palestinian territory has been devastated by countless Israeli airstrikes, which by October 2025 had left 84 percent of all structures damaged or destroyed, UN figures show.

Despite a US-brokered ceasefire in October 2025, Israel has continued its airstrikes and restricted entry of equipment that international NGOs say is needed for the territory's reconstruction, which has yet to begin.

According to a joint assessment published by the United Nations, the World Bank and the European Union in April, Gaza will require $71.4 billion in recovery and reconstruction spending over the next decade.

Erdogan also urged all nations that have yet to recognize Palestine as an independent state to "reconsider," with his words prompting the Israeli delegation to walk out of the hall.

"I would like to call upon all those countries who have yet not recognized the state of Palestine to reconsider their decisions," he said.

A year ago, France led a special UN summit to recognize a Palestinian state at which 10 countries formally made the move, among them Britain, Canada and Australia, bringing the number of UN member states to do so to around 157, more than four-fifths of the UN membership.

The move has been roundly rejected by Israel.


In UN Farewell, Macron Denounces Trump’s Gaza Diplomacy as Spectacle of Shame

President of France, Emmanuel Macron speaks during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly at UN Headquarters on September 22, 2026 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
President of France, Emmanuel Macron speaks during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly at UN Headquarters on September 22, 2026 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
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In UN Farewell, Macron Denounces Trump’s Gaza Diplomacy as Spectacle of Shame

President of France, Emmanuel Macron speaks during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly at UN Headquarters on September 22, 2026 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
President of France, Emmanuel Macron speaks during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly at UN Headquarters on September 22, 2026 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)

France's President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday dismissed US President Donald Trump's claims of having secured peace in Gaza, saying not a single humanitarian corridor had been reopened in the enclave despite the proclaimed peace.

In his final address to the United Nations before leaving office next year, Macron said the world was witnessing a spectacle that should shame everyone, rebuking Trump's portrayal of his Gaza peace plan as a diplomatic triumph.

He spoke at the United Nations General Assembly hours after Trump had from the same rostrum hailed his Gaza peace plan as a diplomatic triumph.

"A year ago, here in this very hall, about a dozen states had recognized Palestine. I hear the cynicism of some people: 'Recognition is just a ‌piece of paper, ‌look at the reality,'" Macron said, banging his fist on the podium ‌in ⁠his last speech at ⁠the United Nations before stepping down next May.

"But what credibility do we have if we continue to remain inactive in the face of Gaza? Some boast of a supposed peace. But that peace has not reopened humanitarian access for a single second. Are we simply to stand by and watch this spectacle that should shame us all?"

WHITE HOUSE RESPONDS

In response to Macron's criticism, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said: “President Trump ended the war between Israel and Hamas, freed all living hostages, returned the bodies of the deceased to their loved ones, and ⁠is now leading the implementation of the 20-Point Plan for Peace in ‌Gaza. While others talk, this President took this complex problem head ‌on. No one has done more for peace and stability in the region.”

Macron has faced criticism among some politicians ‌and activists in France that he has done little since recognizing a Palestinian state last September.

Despite the ‌criticism, Paris has toughened its stance on settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, imposing some national sanctions and launching a process to ban products from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

"Look at what is happening in the West Bank, where every day violations are committed. In whose name? Hamas has never operated in the West Bank," ‌Macron said.

"What is happening there is building, day by day, the impossibility of a project that should be based on respect for the legitimate right ⁠of the Palestinian people ⁠to exist."

France's ties with Israel have been particularly strained over the last year. Macron said those who believed that violating the sovereignty of all of Israel's neighbors would ensure its security were mistaken.

"They are weakening Israel's security, both today and in the future," he said.

'LONG LIVE THE UNITED NATIONS'

Seven months from France's next presidential election, Macron was making his last appearance after first taking to the rostrum in 2017.

Often showing a keen eye for the trappings of diplomacy — the grand settings, the symbolism, the personal connections — he has at the same time failed to translate this into lasting strategic gains, analysts say.

However, he has always been a staunch defender of the multilateral system and the United Nations.

Macron warned against a global "return to the law of the jungle", saying countries faced a choice between a world governed by power and coercion and a "civilized international society."

"Our duty, more than ever, is to stand alongside the United Nations. We cannot accept the new order of impunity that some would like to build," he said.

He ended his speech with "Long Live the United Nations!"


Yemen Govt Expands Community Mobilization to Support Fighters on Frontlines

This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage shows fighters affiliated with the Yemeni government engaging in clashes with Houthi militants in Al-Jawf province on September 15, 2026. (AFPTV / AFP)
This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage shows fighters affiliated with the Yemeni government engaging in clashes with Houthi militants in Al-Jawf province on September 15, 2026. (AFPTV / AFP)
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Yemen Govt Expands Community Mobilization to Support Fighters on Frontlines

This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage shows fighters affiliated with the Yemeni government engaging in clashes with Houthi militants in Al-Jawf province on September 15, 2026. (AFPTV / AFP)
This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage shows fighters affiliated with the Yemeni government engaging in clashes with Houthi militants in Al-Jawf province on September 15, 2026. (AFPTV / AFP)

The Yemeni government has expanded community support for the armed forces and frontlines by mobilizing various social groups and provinces to participate in backing fighters and providing essential supplies to the frontlines.

Nayef Al-Bakri, Minister of Youth and Sports and head of a committee for popular support and government backing for the armed forces, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the committee operates under the directives of Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Muhammad Al-Alimi, council members, and the prime minister.

The committee aims to organize and activate popular support for the armed forces and fighters across various frontlines, which includes providing food, petroleum products, fuel, and essential materials needed for fighters to maintain their positions, he added.

The committee includes representatives from several ministries, including Interior, Defense, Social Affairs, Transport, Health, and Industry. A broader committee includes representatives from more than 15 provinces, aiming to unify popular efforts and strengthen the state of mobilization.

Several provinces, including Socotra, are preparing to dispatch relief convoys to battle areas, Al-Bakri revealed.

Community support encompasses the health sector through blood donations and backing provincial blood banks. Various social groups have become part of the support system, he went on to say.

Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Dhale, Marib, Al-Jawf and Shabwa are priority frontlines, the minister said.

Taiz is witnessing a "decisive battle," he stressed.

On whether the support committee would handle preparing youths to join the frontlines, Al-Bakri explained that the responsibility for recruitment is the responsibility of military authorities.

The minister said that the Iran-backed Houthi group is threat to Yemen and regional stability, especially in light of its "attempts to undermine the security of navigation and regional waters."

He stressed that Saudi Arabia stands as the primary supporter of Yemen, a role that encompasses all economic, political, and military sectors, in addition to relief and development aid.

Al-Bakri was optimistic that the Yemeni armed forces would make progress on several fronts, including in Taiz, Kahbub, and Shabwah.