BEIRUT: Fighting between government forces and former rebels in the Syrian province of Daraa has displaced more than 38,000 people over the past month, the UN said on Tuesday, as truce talks falter.
Daraa, retaken by government forces in 2018, has emerged as a new flashpoint in recent weeks as government forces tightened control over Daraa Al-Balad, a southern district of the provincial capital, a hub for former rebel fighters. Clashes, including artillery exchanges, between the two sides since late July have marked the biggest challenge yet to the Russian-brokered deal that returned the southern province to government control but allowed rebels to stay on in some areas.
Russian-sponsored truce talks launched in the wake of the latest fighting have made little headway as the government has stepped up its campaign to root out remaining rebel fighters from Daraa Al-Balad.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that 38,600 internally displaced persons are registered in and around Daraa, with most having fled from Daraa Al-Balad. “This includes almost 15,000 women, over 3,200 men and elderly and over 20,400 children,” OCHA said.
It warned of a critical situation in the volatile district, saying that access to goods and services, including food and power, is “extremely challenging.”
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that government forces are restricting the entry of goods into Daraa Al-Balad, where it says 40,000 people still live.
“They are living under siege with families facing shortages of food, medical services, potable water, power and internet,” said the monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.
The Observatory said that many in Daraa Al-Balad reject the truce terms being set by the government and its Russian ally.
Fighting in Syria’s Daraa displaces 38,000
https://arab.news/7mvnr
Fighting in Syria’s Daraa displaces 38,000
- Russian-sponsored truce talks launched in the wake of the latest fighting have made little headway
Lawyers in Sanaa face Houthi repression: report
- Claims of arbitrary arrests and detentions, direct threats
- 159 Houthi violations in 2025, 88 in 2024, 135 in 2023
DUBAI: In Yemen, the Houthis are attacking lawyers, raising widespread concerns about the rule of law and state of the justice system, Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Tuesday.
“Recent reports from local human rights organizations have revealed a recurring pattern of systematic restrictions on the practice of (the) law profession, including arbitrary arrests, prolonged detentions, and direct threats,” according to Arab News’ sister publication.
The publication added that the situation “in Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled cities no longer provides a professional environment for lawyers who themselves are now subject to questioning or targeted for defending their clients, especially in cases of a political or human rights nature.”
The Daoo Foundation for Rights and Development organization have reported more than 382 Houthi violations against lawyers in Sanaa from January 2023 to December 2025.
These include arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention without legal justification, threats of murder and assault, preventing them from practicing law, and restrictions on the right to defense in cases of a political or human rights nature.
The report stated that there were 159 Houthi violations against lawyers in 2025, 88 in 2024 and 135 in 2023, which was described as a “systematic pattern.”
Local and international human rights organizations have called for urgent intervention to protect the legal practitioners in Yemen.
“Human rights activists believe that protecting lawyers is a prerequisite for maintaining any future reform or political path because the absence of an independent defense means the absence of justice itself,” Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
