DUBAI: Omani Foreign Minister Sayyed Badr Al-Busaidi met with his Yemeni counterpart Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak in Muscat to discuss the international efforts aimed at achieving a state solution in Yemen, sources told Al-Arabiya TV.
The Yemeni minister arrived in Muscat on Saturday. He said his visit, which is part of his Gulf tour, aims to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
The delegation's arrival, which would have required approval from Riyadh, demonstrates something of a step forward in negotiations. The Houthis have repeatedly demanded the re-opening of Sanaa airport before any ceasefire agreement.
Oman, which borders both Yemen and Saudi Arabia, is a close US ally but at the same time has good relations with Iran. It has regularly played the role of mediator in regional conflicts.
Muscat has hosted UN special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths and US envoy Tim Lenderking in recent weeks, while Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Abdul Salam in Oman in late April.
On Monday Griffiths urged rival Yemeni forces to "bridge the gap" to reach a ceasefire, following talks in Sanaa with Houthi members.
Omani FM, Yemeni counterpart meet to discuss Yemen’s state solution
https://arab.news/zp52w
Omani FM, Yemeni counterpart meet to discuss Yemen’s state solution
- The Yemeni minister arrived in Muscat on Saturday
- The delegation's arrival, which would have required approval from Riyadh, demonstrates something of a step forward in negotiations
Strikes kill nine Iran-backed fighters near Iraq-Syria border: security officials
- Iraqi authorities denounced the “blatant attacks” on bases that belong to the Hashed Al-Shaabi
- Nine fighters were killed and another 10 wounded in the strikes
BAGHDAD: Air strikes killed at least nine Iran-backed fighters in Iraq on Thursday near the Iraqi-Syrian border, two senior security officials told AFP.
Iraqi authorities denounced the “blatant attacks” on bases that belong to the Hashed Al-Shaabi, a former paramilitary group now integrated into the regular army, which also encompasses brigades from Iran-backed armed groups.
Nine fighters were killed and another 10 wounded in the strikes that targeted a base housing the US-blacklisted Harakat Ansar Allah Al-Awfiya, two security officials said.
“The base was destroyed, and the rescue teams who arrived at the site were also targeted,” one of the officials said on condition of anonymity.
The base belongs to the Hashed Al-Shaabi or the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) whose positions have been repeatedly targeted in attacks blamed on the United States and Israel since the start of the war.
The PMF said nine of its members were killed in Thursday’s attack.
It accused the US of striking its sites, and said that these bases “had no role in targeting US bases in Iraq or elsewhere.”
The PMF added that “all fighters killed were carrying out their official duties, and some were stationed near the borders.”
And it called the Hashed Al-Shaabi an “essential part of Iraq’s security apparatus.”
Iraq has long been a proxy battleground between the United States and Iran, with the country’s successive governments struggling to balance relations between the two rivals.
It was immediately dragged into the Middle East war triggered when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of several Iran-backed groups, have been claiming daily attacks against US bases in Iraq.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani denounced what he called “blatant attacks” on the PMF, whose members were “performing their sacred duty within the missions of our security forces.”
“This systematic and repeated aggression, and the targeting of sites and headquarters without distinction, is not merely a military violation. It represents a desperate attempt to create confusion” and weaken Iraq’s security.
