UN envoy 'deeply concerned' about Yemen hostilities

Houthi militants on Thursday patrolling the streets of Sanaa, which they seized from the government in 2014. (AFP)
Updated 01 February 2019
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UN envoy 'deeply concerned' about Yemen hostilities

LONDON: The United Nation's Yemen envoy warned Thursday that he was deeply concerened about "recent hostilities" in Yemen where a precarious regional truce is under increasing pressure.

Shortly after his comments, the Arab coalition said it was carrying out an operation targeting a Houthi drone storage site in Sanaa.

Martin Griffiths did not specify which hostilities, but the Yemeni government on Wednesday accused Houthi militants of attacking an explosives safety team who were on their way to clear land mines from near a food store in Hodeidah.

The Arab coalition supporting the government also said Wednesday that it had shot down a Houthi drone over Saudi Arabia.

Griffiths traveled to Yemen this week to shore up the Hodeidah ceasefire deal signed in Sweden in December. Since the agreement, the coalition have accused the Houthis of dozens of violations and of failing to withdraw its troops from certain areas. They have also been accused of opening fire on the UN team sent to monitor the deal.

"Deeply concerned about recent hostilities in Yemen," Griffiths tweeted. He called on all sides to "exercise utmost restraint and de-escalate tensions."

On Wednesday, Anwar Gargash, the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, said the Arab coalition is prepared to use “calibrated force” to push the Iranian-backed Houthis from Hodeidah as per the Sweden deal.

Gargash said the coalition struck 10 Houthi training camps outside Hodeidah governorate on Wednesday.


Syrian government says it controls prison in Raqqa with Daesh-linked detainees

Updated 23 January 2026
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Syrian government says it controls prison in Raqqa with Daesh-linked detainees

  • Prison holds detainees linked to Daesh, and witnessed ⁠clashes in its vicinity between advancing Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters

Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Friday it had taken over Al-Aktan prison in the city of Raqqa ​in northeastern Syria, a facility that was formerly under the control of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The prison has been holding detainees linked to the militant group Daesh, and witnessed clashes in its vicinity this week between advancing Syrian government forces and the SDF.

It ‌was not ‌immediately clear how many ‌Daesh ⁠detainees ​remain in Al-Aktan ‌prison as the US military has started transferring up to 7,000 prisoners linked to the militant Islamist group from Syrian jails to neighboring Iraq. US officials say the detainees are citizens of many countries, including in Europe.

“Specialized teams were ⁠formed from the counter-terrorism department and other relevant authorities to ‌take over the tasks of guarding ‍and securing the prison ‍and controlling the security situation inside it,” ‍the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Under a sweeping integration deal agreed on Sunday, responsibility for prisons housing Daesh detainees was meant to be transferred to ​the Syrian government.

The SDF said on Monday it was battling Syrian government forces near ⁠Al-Aktan and that the seizure of the prison by the government forces “could have serious security repercussions that threaten stability and pave the way for a return to chaos and terrorism.”

The US transfer of Daesh prisoners follows the rapid collapse of Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria. Concerns over prison security intensified after the escape on Tuesday of roughly 200 low-level Daesh fighters from Syria’s ‌Shaddadi prison. Syrian government forces later recaptured many of them.