RIYADH: The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council has said the bloc is ready to work with the UN’s new envoy to Yemen in finding a political solution to end the conflict in the country.
Nayef Al-Hajraf welcomed the appointment of Hans Grundberg as the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, who replaces British diplomat Martin Griffiths.
Al-Hajraf said he looked forward to working with the new envoy to continue the efforts of the international community to finding a lasting solution to end the war in the country, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The conflict, which is nearing it’s seventh year, has pitted the internationally recognized government, supported by its Arab allies, against an Iran-backed Houthi militia.
Grundberg, a Swedish diplomat, has been the European Union ambassador to Yemen since September 2019.
Al-Hajraf said he hopes the envoy’s experience will help in continuing efforts to find a solution that ends the Yemeni crisis, and supports the humanitarian and development needs of the Yemeni people.
GCC chief says ready to work with new UN envoy to Yemen
https://arab.news/jjy2t
GCC chief says ready to work with new UN envoy to Yemen
- Grundberg, a Swedish diplomat, has been the European Union ambassador to Yemen since September 2019
Lebanon’s government approves a deal to transfer Syrian prisoners back to Syria
- Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides
- A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Cabinet on Friday approved an agreement to transfer Syrian prisoners serving their sentences in Lebanon back to their home country.
The issue of prisoners has been a sore point as the neighboring countries seek to recalibrate their relations following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led insurgents in December 2024. Former insurgent leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa is now Syria’s interim president.
Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides. Many Lebanese resent the decades-long occupation of their country by Syrian forces that ended in 2005. Many Syrians resent the role played by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah when it entered Syria’s civil war in defense of Assad’s government.
A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial. Damascus had asked Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials said Beirut would not release any attackers and that each must be studied and resolved separately.
The deal approved Friday appeared to resolve that tension. Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said other issues remain to be resolved between the two countries, including the fate of Lebanese believed to have been disappeared into Syrian prisons during Assad’s rule and the demarcation of the border between the two countries.
Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that about 300 prisoners would be transferred as a result of the agreement.
Protesters gathered in a square below the government palace in downtown Beirut ahead of the Cabinet vote to call for amnesty for Lebanese prisoners, including some who joined militant groups fighting against Assad in Syria. Some of the protesters called for the release of Sunni cleric Ahmad Al-Assir, imprisoned for his role in 2013 clashes that killed 18 Lebanese army soldiers.
“The state found solutions for the Syrian youth who are heroes and belong to the Syrian revolution who have been imprisoned for 12 years,” said protester Khaled Al- Bobbo. “But in the same files there are also Lebanese detainees. ... We demand that just as they found solutions for the Syrians, they must also find solutions for the people of this country.”
