Houthis loot museum in Yemen’s Dhamar province, south of Sanaa

The fighters stormed the museum and looted valuable artifacts, as well as emptied the national library. (File/AFP)
Updated 28 January 2019
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Houthis loot museum in Yemen’s Dhamar province, south of Sanaa

  • The fighters stormed the museum and looted valuable artifacts, as well as emptied the national library
  • The General Authority of Museums, Antiquities and Manuscripts called on tribal elders to take action to protect their heritage from looting and unify to put an end to provocative Houthi actions

DUBAI: The Houthi militia looted Yemen’s Benoun Archeological Museum in Dhamar, south of the capital Sanaa, Saudi state-news agency SPA reported.

The fighters stormed the museum and looted valuable artifacts, as well as emptied the national library, according to the director of the General Authority of Museums, Antiquities and Manuscripts Fayez Al-Dhibiani.

Al-Dhibiani accused the Iran-backed Houthis of tampering with the history and heritage of Yemen, and called on tribal elders to take action to protect their heritage from looting and unify to put an end to provocative Houthi actions.


Turkiye evaluating potential measures in event of Iran-US conflict, source says

Updated 58 min 16 sec ago
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Turkiye evaluating potential measures in event of Iran-US conflict, source says

  • Iran and the United States resumed negotiations earlier this month as Washington builds up military capability in the Middle East

ANKARA: Turkiye is ‌evaluating all aspects of potential measures that may be taken in the event of a conflict between ​its neighbor Iran and the United States, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Wednesday.

Iran and the United States resumed negotiations earlier this month as Washington builds up military capability in the Middle East. Iran has threatened to strike ‌US bases in ‌the region if it ​is ‌attacked, ⁠but Tehran’s ​top ⁠diplomat said on Tuesday that a deal with the US was “within reach” if diplomacy is prioritized.

NATO member Turkiye, which shares a border with Iran to its east, has said it opposes any military intervention on ⁠Iran and does not want destabilization ‌in the region. ‌Ankara has been in contact with ​both sides to ‌de-escalate tensions and called for a resolution ‌of issues through diplomacy.
“Naturally, all aspects of the measures that could be taken in the event of a negative development are being evaluated,” ‌the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“All scenarios are being ⁠considered; ⁠and steps that can be taken to ensure the safety of our citizens are being worked on,” the person said, but added any steps that would “violate Iran’s sovereignty” were “out of the question.”
The source did not provide details on what measures Turkiye was evaluating.
Earlier, the Turkish presidency’s office for countering disinformation denied media reports that Turkiye ​was planning to enter ​Iranian territory to stop a potential influx of refugees.