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Arab News
2 days ago
- General
- Arab News
Saudi project clears 1,151 mines in Yemen
RIYADH: Members of Saudi Arabia's Project Masam removed 1,151 explosive devices from various regions of Yemen last week. The total included 1,093 unexploded ordnances, 49 anti-tank mines, four anti-personnel mines and five improvised explosive devices, according to a recent report. Ousama Al-Gosaibi, the initiative's managing director, said that 507,588 mines have been cleared since the project began in 2018. The explosives were planted indiscriminately and posed a threat to civilians, including children, women and the elderly. The demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada. The project trains local demining engineers and provides them with modern equipment. It also offers support to Yemenis injured by the devices. Teams are tasked with clearing villages, roads and schools to facilitate the safe movement of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid.
Forbes
7 days ago
- General
- Forbes
Back To School In Sudan: Hope In A Backpack
With the right tools and support from UNICEF, children in Sudan's Blue Nile State are back in school and back on track. On June 2, 2025, 10-year-old Aden, a pupil of Arabee Aradawiya girls' school in Damazine, Blue Nile State, Sudan, displays the learning materials she received as part of the UNICEF-supported back-to-school campaign. Education is a lifeline for children growing up in conflict zones There's excitement in the air at Arabee Aradawiya girls' school in Damazine, Blue Nile State. More children have recently joined the school thanks to UNICEF-supported back-to-learning campaigns across the state. Enrollment has now reached 500 pupils at Arabee Aradiwiya, including 120 displaced and refugee children. Across Sudan, the education of over 17 million of children has been severely disrupted by the ongoing war. While many families remain displaced, UNICEF and its partners are rallying parents and caregivers to enroll their children so they can get back into learning. Schools not only continue supporting education for millions of children in Sudan, they also serve as safe spaces during the ongoing conflict. 'The campaign is very important because it allows children to continue learning after more than two years away. That's a huge learning loss,' Abdalla Mahamoud Dagot, UNICEF Education Officer. Related: A Perfect Storm for Sudan's Children Watch the video: EMBED At Arabee Aradawiya, girls run, play, share jokes and snacks, and whisper to one another before the bell rings. Classrooms are full — four children per bench, two teachers per lesson. Today is special: the children receive learning materials — schoolbags, pencils, notebooks, erasers, colored pencils, rulers and math sets. Many left everything behind when they had to flee the conflict, and their families cannot afford even basic supplies. 'A child without a pencil is a future without possibilities,' Abdalla Mahamoud Dagot says. Learn more about UNICEF's support for children in Sudan Across the compound, girls beam with excitement, hugging their new backpacks — filled with the tools they need to restart their learning journey and chase their dreams. Ten-year-old Anfal is all smiles. 'Not being able to go to school for a long time really bothered me,' she says. 'Education is very important to us. We must go to school even during the war so we can learn and not lose out for years.' Walaa, a third-grade pupil, missed school deeply. 'What I love most are the colors and the notebooks,' she says. On June 2, 2025, 10-year-old Anfal, a pupil of Arabee Aradawiya girls' school in Damazine, Blue Nile State, Sudan, holds the learning materials she received as part of the UNICEF-supported back-to school campaign. Ten-year-old Aden missed her teachers. Clutching her new geometry set, she looks forward to perfecting her favorite subject, mathematics. 'There's no time to stop education,' she says. 'Education will help us rebuild our country.' Ten-year-old Walaa, right, is excited to be starting a new school year at Arabee Aradawiya girls' school in Damazine, Blue Nile State. Tawasol, displaced from Khartoum, loves art and drawing. With a packet of colored pencils, she is beginning to find joy again — and new friendships in her new school. Renad used a plastic bag to carry her books and pen. Now, with her new backpack, her notebooks are safe and organized. For her, returning to school means more time for learning and precious walks from home to school with friends every morning. Ten-year-old Tawasol is excited to start the new school year with her UNICEF school kit. She loves art and drawing and is looking forward to using her new colored pencils. Empowering teachers, supporting quality learning While more schools are reopening in Sudan, around 40 percent of schools still lack essential teaching materials. As part of the campaign, schools will also receive teacher instructional kits — rulers, compasses, chalk, clocks and notebooks — to enhance lesson delivery and improve learning for displaced and vulnerable children. At Arabee Aradawiya girls' school, displaced children, refugees and children from host communities now learn side by side, fostering social cohesion and healing. With the right tools, they've been given the chance to dream again, their future aspirations now in sight as they remain in the small classrooms. Renad, 10, used to carry her school books and pen in a plastic bag. Education for all: inclusion through learning Headmistress Noor Abdalrahman commended UNICEF for the timely support while highlighting the enormous needs. This girls' school is just one of hundreds of primary schools across the state being reached through enrollment campaigns and learning supplies under the European Union-supported Integration and Mainstreaming of Refugee Children into the Sudanese Education System (IRCSES) initiative. Guided by the principle of leaving no child behind, the initiative will provide safe, inclusive and quality education to more than 170,100 children across all 418 schools in Blue Nile alone — including displaced, refugees and host communities' children. More children in the River Nile and Kassala states will benefit from the same program. Learn more about how UNICEF education initatives changes lives. Your contribution to UNICEF is more important than ever. Please donate today.
The National
22-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Even amid the Gaza war, Yemen peace talks can be revived if the world were to seize the moment
Before the Hamas militant group attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, negotiations to end Yemen's long-standing civil war were more productive than they had been for years. At the very least, there was a horizon for starting a political process. The Houthi rebel group, which took the capital Sanaa in 2014, continued to hold large swathes of the country even after a seven-year campaign by the internationally recognised government and its regional allies to dislodge them. The government, based in the port city of Aden, was the weaker party, but still standing. But the prolonged stalemate was finally growing tiresome enough that both parties were rumoured to be close to a 'roadmap' to making their ceasefire permanent and ending the war. The Hamas attack, despite taking place more than 2,000km from Yemeni soil, along with Israel's brutal and ongoing war of revenge in Gaza, changed all of that. The Houthis have dropped peace talks and instead taken to firing at commercial ships in the Red Sea, ostensibly in solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Punitive air strikes on Yemeni cities by Israel, the US and UK have dealt much damage but failed to cripple the Houthis. What hasn't killed them may even have made them stronger. Emboldened by their perception of invincibility, the Houthis continue to rule with extremism and repression. What hasn't killed the Houthis may even have made them stronger In the absence of any momentum towards a resolution, the government in Aden risks becoming inert, increasingly paralysed by internal disagreements. Its Presidential Leadership Council – an executive committee comprised of often-competing factions – has been unable to tackle an economic crisis in government-held areas. In May, the prime minister, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, resigned after complaining of being blocked by the PLC from carrying out his official duties. Hoping to signal that it takes economic issues seriously, the Council chose the Minister of Finance to replace him. But in the absence of deeper constitutional reform that prevents obstacles of the sort faced by Mr bin Mubarak, it is unlikely to make a difference. This state of affairs has not merely put the prospect of a Yemeni peace on ice but degraded it. The international community has seemingly become indifferent to that reality. Western powers, in particular, have come to treat Houthi actions as a mere extension of the Gaza conflict, behaving as though the Houthi threat will diminish in the event of a deal between Israel and Hamas. This approach is both short-sighted and wrong. There is a chance to revive Yemen's peace talks, as the UN's special envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, reminded everyone during a visit to the country this month. The level of fighting within the country has subsided, Mr Grundberg noted, and the calm provides space for confidence-building measures between the two sides, if others can prod them along. It helps that the Houthis' main backer, Iran, appears to be growing weary of regional conflict, even if the rebels themselves are not. Tehran's security apparatus was badly wounded in its recent war with Israel and has seen its influence both in Syria and Lebanon much diminished. That offers some leverage with which to remind the Houthis that they are not, in fact, invincible, but rather deeply dependent on a network of alliances that is much weaker than it was when they took power. 'The opportunity for peace still exists,' Mr Grundberg told reporters in Aden, 'but it requires courage, compromise and a genuine commitment to the Yemeni people's future.' This may feel like a lot to ask for in a region trying to quell several outbursts of conflict at once, but it is the very least that millions of Yemenis deserve.
Arab News
20-07-2025
- General
- Arab News
Saudi project clears 971 explosive devices in Yemen
RIYADH: Members of Saudi Arabia's Project Masam removed 971 explosive devices from various regions of Yemen last week. The total included 891 unexploded ordnance, 78 anti-tank mines, one anti-personnel mine and one improvised explosive device, according to a recent report. Ousama Al-Gosaibi, the initiative's managing director, said that 506,437 mines have been cleared since the project began in 2018. The explosives were planted indiscriminately and posed a threat to civilians, including children, women and the elderly. The demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada. Project Masam trains local demining engineers and provides them with modern equipment. It also offers support to Yemenis injured by the devices. Teams are tasked with clearing villages, roads and schools to facilitate the safe movement of civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Fox News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump urged to aid Yemen's anti-Houthi forces as terror group escalates attacks on shipping
The State Department on Sunday blasted Yemen's Iran-sponsored Houthi terrorist movement for lethal attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea and on Israel as new calls emerged for President Donald Trump to support Yemen's legitimate government to topple the Houthi regime. Walid Phares, a leading American expert on the Middle East, told Fox News Digital that regarding "negotiations with Hamas and the regime in Tehran, in my view, Iran is simply buying time to rearm and resume its regional expansion." Phares said if the talks fail, there is a need "to reassemble a ground force comprised of units loyal to the legitimate Yemeni government (now in exile in Aden), and—crucially—the Southern Transitional Council (STC), whose forces are based in the Aden region and maintain frontlines adjacent to Houthi-controlled territory. Notably, STC forces have achieved the most significant victories against the Khomeinist militias in past years." Phares, who advised Trump when he was a candidate for president in 2016, continued, saying that "The United States should back, fund, and train these southern forces for renewed ground operations along the Red Sea coast, particularly to retake the vital port city of Hodeidah. Simultaneously, northern units loyal to the Yemeni government could advance toward the capital, Sanaa. Allied airpower would provide the necessary cover to enable a southern-northern pincer movement that could collapse the Houthi hold on Yemen and eliminate the threat entirely." He argued that "This would pave the way for future negotiations—not with Tehran's proxies—but with a federated, pro-Western Yemeni government independent of Iranian influence. " In May, Trump announced that after a military air campaign against the Houthi movement, saying the Houthis "just don't want to fight…and we will honor that. We will stop the bombings." The Houthi terrorists, however, appear to have violated their pledge to Trump to stop attacks in the Red Sea. Department of Defense spokesman Sean Parnell told Fox News Digital, "The DOD remains prepared to respond to any state or non-state actor seeking to broaden or escalate conflict in the region. Secretary Hegseth continues to make clear that, should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people. We will not discuss future operations." Fox News Digital reported on July 7 that Israel exchanged missile fire with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Monday, targeting the group's ports and other facilities. Israel's initial strikes came in reaction to a suspected Houthi attack on a Liberian-flagged ship in the Red Sea. The vessel was targeted with explosives and small arms fire, causing it to take on water and forcing the crew to abandon ship. The Houthis have not yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Israel's military issued a warning prior to its attack, which targeted ports at Hodeida, Ras Isa and Salif. "These ports are used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime, which are employed to carry out terrorist operations against the state of Israel and its allies," the Israeli military said. The Houthi attacks last week resulted in the sinking of the bulk carrier Magic Seas, resulting in the presumed killings of four people and 11 others who are missing, according to an AP report. The announcement came as satellite photos show long, trailing oil slicks from where the bulk carrier Eternity C went down, and another when the Houthis sank the bulk carrier Magic Seas. The Times of Israel reported that both ships were attacked over a week ago by the rebels as part of their campaign targeting vessels over the war in Gaza. The Houthi campaign has upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which $1 trillion of goods usually passes a year. A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital, "The United States condemns these attacks. These recent attacks have led to the loss of life, injury to sailors, and the sinking of cargo attacks continue to endanger the lives of seafarers, harm economies across the region, and risk environmental disaster." The spokesperson added, "Global freedom of navigation and Israel have been under attack by the Houthi rebels for too long. The U.S. supports Israel's ability to exercise its right to self-defense." After the Biden administration de-listed the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, the Trump administration swiftly restored the terrorist designation in March. The official slogan of the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) reads, "Allah is Greater. Death to America. Death to Israel. Curse on the Jews. Victory to Islam."
