Yemen.. UN moves to declare a new truce. And piracy in the Red Sea

The United Nations has intensified its moves to return to calm in Yemen, announcing the latest developments in the movements of its special envoy to Yemen, after his recent visit to the Presidential Leadership Council and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

While the office of the envoy to Yemen stated that Hans Grundberg concluded a visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, during which he discussed with senior officials the situation in Yemen and discussed the prospects for a political settlement, Yemeni diplomatic sources confirmed that the envoy will visit the Sultanate of Oman and Sana'a within the next two days, to complete his efforts to announce a new truce.

The sources pointed out that the upcoming visit to Amman and Sana'a aims to discuss ways to build on the current momentum towards an inclusive and sustainable political settlement.

In Geneva, Switzerland, negotiations for the release of prisoners continue between the delegation of the Yemeni government and the delegation of the Houthi militias for the sixth consecutive day, during the past hours more lists submitted by the two delegations were discussed.

Sources familiar with the course of the negotiations confirmed that the Houthi delegation refuses to disclose some of the forcibly hidden names provided by the government delegation, and tries to evade the names of military leaders, and civilian ones who were kidnapped from their places of work, explaining that if a large number of names are agreed upon, they will be announced by the Office of the UN Envoy, which manages the negotiations along with a delegation from the International Red Cross.

On the other hand, Yemeni shipping sources confirmed that a Greek merchant ship flying the flag of "Liberia" was subjected to an armed attack off the western coast of Yemen in the Red Sea.

The UKMTO's Maritime Trade Reporting Authority said Saturday that the merchant ship was 38 nautical miles (70 kilometres) south of Hodeidah port when the attack occurred.

It added that one of the boats in the dark approached within a nautical mile from the right side of the ship, where the cargo ship reported four or five bursts of motorized fire, and stated that a security team on board returned fire and the attacking boat moved away, while the safety of the ship and its crew was reported.

Security firm Ambury said the ship's name had been withheld, saying only that it was flying the Liberian flag, noting that it was sailing northward, and was last recalled in Phu Mai, Vietnam, sailing through Singapore.

This comes a few days after the Houthi militias deployed naval radars, planted mines freely and booby-trapped self-propelled boats in several areas on the coast of Hodeidah in western Yemen.

The militias, under the supervision of foreign experts, have also trained elements to carry out acts of maritime piracy, as part of their preparations to launch a naval offensive to lift the siege on Hodeidah ports, according to Houthi leaders, which poses major threats to navigation in the Red Sea.

This comes as the Houthi militias launched sporadic attacks with rockets, drones and heavy artillery, towards the positions of the joint Yemeni forces and civilians in the seam areas in the districts of Al-Tuhayta, Al-Jarrah and Hays, south of Hodeidah.

Field sources said that the recent Houthi attacks caused the death and injury of a number of civilians, and burned farms, noting that the aim of the attacks is to cause the displacement of residents of those areas and villages, with the aim of advancing to them and creating combat positions near the sea coasts.

In Marib, the Houthi militias continued their attacks on the positions of the forces stationed south of Marib, and the attacks expanded to include sites in the Sirwah district, west of the governorate, and in Raghwan, northwest, which were confronted and inflicted heavy losses on the Houthis.

Field sources confirmed that Houthi prisoners were captured in the Al-Yahmam area in southern Marib, which turned out to be prisoners who were released by the Houthis in exchange for fighting on the fronts.

She added that the Houthis took advantage of the prisoners who were released during the current year, who obliged them to control geographical areas in exchange for their freedom, and as a result, they exploited the rains in a failed attempt to create advances in Marib, and another in the western coast and west of Taiz.

In addition, the Houthi militias continued to blow up the homes of citizens in the Sirwah district, west of Marib, and on Saturday, blew up a house in the Al-Zour area of Sirwah district, where the bombing operations began in mid-February, in which six houses owned by civilians in the same area were blown up with explosive devices, bringing the number of houses that were blown up in Marib to 62 houses.

The militia attacks in Marib coincided with an expanded meeting of Yemeni army commanders in the governorate, chaired by Yemeni Defense Minister Mohsen al-Daari, attended by the commander of the coalition's support forces, Major General Sultan al-Buqami, who discussed the latest military and field developments.

The meeting urged raising combat readiness and readiness to defeat the terrorist Houthi militias unless they submit to a just peace in accordance with the agreed references, stressing the irreversibility of restoring the state and its institutions and achieving security and stability throughout Yemen, appreciating the support and support provided by the Arab coalition to the Yemeni people and their armed forces in the battle of common destiny.

In Saada, Houthi militias shelled an area where African migrants gather in the Munabbih district bordering Saudi Arabia, killing six Africans and wounding three others.

In Abyan, two soldiers from the joint and southern forces were injured when an explosive device planted by terrorist elements exploded while passing a military course on a secondary road in al-Mahfad district.

:

• #اليمن