JEDDAH: Feeling the heat from the US, Iran is attempting to shift global attention to Yemen, an analyst told Arab News, as Arab Coalition Forces intercepted 12 ballistic missiles launched by Houthi militias toward the Yemeni city of Al-Mokha.
In the early hours of Saturday, the Patriot system intercepted the missiles, which were launched within less than one hour, and prevented the deaths of civilians, Rajeh Badi, Yemeni government spokesman, told Arab News on Saturday.
Twelve ballistic missiles launched in less than one hour is an extraordinary attack, he said.
He called on the international community to move vigorously to disarm the militia, which poses a risk to the lives of Yemenis.
Hamdan Al-Shehri, a political analyst and international relations expert, told Arab News that the launching of a large number of ballistic missiles in a short time constitutes a serious escalation by the Iran-backed rebels. He added that the Houthi attacks call for an international response to curb the Iranian intervention not only in Yemen but in the region.
“The Iranians have been supplying Houthis with weapons for years, and will continue to do so,” Al-Shehri said. “The US strike in Syria in response to the use of chemical weapons was decisive; a similar action must be taken against Iran in Yemen in order to bring the Yemeni crisis to a peaceful settlement.”
He said: “Iran is suspected of having a hand in Syria’s chemical attack just as it is behind the launch of the ballistic missiles on a densely populated Yemeni city of Al-Mokha. Fortunately, the coalition’s air defense system intercepted the missiles and prevented carnage of civilians. The international community should take this Houthi crime as a serious escalation and act without delay.”
Yemeni spokesman Badi said Iran is still supplying the Houthi militia with weapons and missiles via more than one route including Yemeni seaports, which are still under the control of these militias such as Al-Hodeida Port.
He called on the international community to liberate all Yemeni ports from the Houthis. He said missiles are being launched daily on the cities of Marib, Aden and Taiz.
In the meantime, the Yemeni Army has regained two new locations in Hijah Province after a fierce battle with the Houthi militia, army sources said.
The sources said the Yemeni forces captured three members of the Houthi militia in the two captured posts, while a number of deaths and injuries were reported among the militia during the Yemeni Army’s attack on the militia in Tiba Sofa and Bihan fronts.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni Army foiled an infiltration attempt by the Houthis in the Isailan area, sources said.
Feeling the pinch in Syria, Iran ups ante in Yemen
Feeling the pinch in Syria, Iran ups ante in Yemen
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Syrian military tells civilians to evacuate contested area east of Aleppo amid rising tensions
- Syria’s military has announced it will open a “humanitarian corridor” for civilians to evacuate from an area in Aleppo province
- This follows several days of intense clashes between government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces
DAMASCUS: Syria’s military said it would open a corridor Thursday for civilians to evacuate an area of Aleppo province that has seen a military buildup following intense clashes between government and Kurdish-led forces in Aleppo city.
The army’s announcement late Wednesday — which said civilians would be able to evacuate through the “humanitarian corridor” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday — appeared to signal plans for an offensive in the towns of Deir Hafer and Maskana and surrounding areas, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) east of Aleppo city.
The military called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and other armed groups to withdraw to the other side of the the Euphrates River, to the east of the contested zone.
Syrian government troops have already sent troop reinforcements to the area after accusing the SDF of building up its own forces there, which the SDF denied. There have been limited exchanges of fire between the two sides, and the SDF has said that Turkish drones carried out strikes there.
The government has accused the SDF of launching drone strikes in Aleppo city, including one that hit the Aleppo governorate building on Saturday shortly after two Cabinet ministers and a local official held a news conference there.
The tensions in the Deir Hafer area come after several days of intense clashes last week in Aleppo city that ended with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters and government forces taking control of three contested neighborhoods. The fighting killed at least 23 people, wounded dozens more, and displaced tens of thousands.
The fighting broke out as negotiations have stalled between Damascus and the SDF, which controls large swaths of northeast Syria, over an agreement to integrate their forces and for the central government to take control of institutions including border crossings and oil fields in the northeast.
Some of the factions that make up the new Syrian army, which was formed after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a rebel offensive in December 2024, were previously Turkiye-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The SDF for years has been the main US partner in Syria in fighting against the Daesh group, but Turkiye considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkiye. A peace process is now underway.
Despite the long-running US support for the SDF, the Trump administration has also developed close ties with the government of interim Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and has pushed the Kurds to implement the integration deal. Washington has so far avoided publicly taking sides in the clashes in Aleppo.
The SDF in a statement warned of “dangerous repercussions on civilians, infrastructure, and vital facilities” in case of a further escalation and said Damascus bears “full responsibility for this escalation and all ensuing humanitarian and security repercussions in the region.”
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, said in a statement Tuesday that the US is “closely monitoring” the situation and called for “all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid actions that could further escalate tensions, and prioritize the protection of civilians and critical infrastructure.” He called on the parties to “return to the negotiating table in good faith.”
Al-Sharaa blasts the SDF
In a televised interview aired Wednesday, Al-Sharaa praised the “courage of the Kurds” and said he would guarantee their rights and wants them to be part of the Syrian army, but he lashed out at the SDF.
He accused the group of not abiding by an agreement reached last year under which their forces were supposed to withdraw from neighborhoods they controlled in Aleppo city and of forcibly preventing civilians from leaving when the army opened a corridor for them to evacuate amid the recent clashes.
Al-Sharaa claimed that the SDF refused attempts by France and the US to mediate a ceasefire and withdrawal of Kurdish forces during the clashes due to an order from the PKK.
The interview was initially intended to air Tuesday on Shams TV, a broadcaster based in Irbil — the seat of northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region — but was canceled for what the station initially said were technical reasons.
Later the station’s manager said that the interview had been spiked out of fear of further inflaming tensions because of the hard line Al-Sharaa took against the SDF.
Syria’s state TV station instead aired clips from the interview on Wednesday. There was no immediate response from the SDF to Al-Sharaa’s comments.
