Yemen's government is urging the UN to take a firmer approach in dealing with Houthi rebels as peace talks are expected to continue in Sweden on Friday, an adviser to President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi told The National.
Mohammed Mousa Al Amiri said on Thursday that UN Envoy Martin Griffiths must be "realistic" when negotiating with the rebels, who he claims are "taking advantage" of UN-backed talks to deepen the country's humanitarian crisis.
"A big part of the problem here, and we have spoken about this with the UN envoy, is that we want the mediator to be realistic with the Houthis, to tell them that they are in the wrong and are violating international laws," Mr Al Amiri said, explaining that he believes that such a confrontation is the only way to reach a peaceful settlement.
"Taking a soft stance towards the rebels will enable them to commit further crimes against humanity and to worsen Yemen's destruction and humanitarian catastrophe," Mr Al Amiri said.
A Houthi delegation arrived in the Swedish town of Rimbo, north of Stockholm on Tuesday, in a sign of willingness to engage in negotiations, but the government still believes that rebels are not "serious" about finding a peaceful solution to the war, according to the adviser.
Mr Al Amiri says he believes Houthi rebels are deliberately refusing to make concessions and are rejecting the international community's calls for a political settlement.
The advisor also claimed that Houthis are leveraging a stall in fighting in Yemen, owed largely to talks, to get "their affairs in order".
"The rebels are changing their tactics on the ground because the National Army can easily re-take the strategic port of Hodeidah," he said.
The Yemeni government, backed by the Arab Coalition, accuses the Iran-backed rebels of using their control of the port, the main entry point for Yemen's food imports and desperately needed humanitarian aid, to smuggle in weapons from Iran.
"Hodeidah can fall back into the hands of the government, but we are giving an opportunity to the peace because we want peace," Mr Al Amiri said.
More than three years of fighting have left 8 million Yemenis facing severe food shortages. UN officials say that 14 million people, or half the population, are at risk of famine.
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Yemen peace talks:
Yemen's warring parties appear together for first time since 2015
Cautious optimism reigns over Yemen peace talks
Editorial: Yemen breakthrough looks closer than ever
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Although the Swedish talks are not expected to deliver a breakthrough, they could prevent a catastrophic battle for the port where thousands of civilians are trapped.
Mr Griffiths said the two sides have signalled they were serious about de-escalating the fighting through calls they've made in recent weeks and urged them to work to further reduce the violence in Yemen.
"We anticipate the talks this week will be on Yemen's humanitarian crisis, the release of prisoners, detainees and those abducted by the militia," Mr Al Amiri said.
Although many involved in the negotiations remain skeptical of a peace deal emerging from the talks, Mr Griffiths maintains that contact between the two parties brings them closer to a political agreement.
The last round of talks in 2016 continued for 100 days before the negotiations broke down in hostilities.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Company%C2%A0profile
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQureos%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E33%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESoftware%20and%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%243%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
HOW TO WATCH
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Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
Al Nasr 2
(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
(Jaber 13)
