UN Experts Call for Releasing Detained Baha'i Followers in Yemen
Human rights experts working for the United Nations on Monday urged Yemen's Houthi rebels to release five people from the country's Baha'i religious minority who have been in detention for a year. The five are among 17 Baha'i followers detained last May when the Houthis raided a Baha'i gathering in the capital of Sanaa. The experts said in a statement that 12 have since been released "under very strict conditions," but that five remain "detained in difficult circumstances." There have long been concerns about the treatment of the members of the Baha'i minority at the hands of the Houthis, who have ruled much of Yemen's north and the capital, Sanaa, since the civil war started in 2014. The Baha'i have been particularly vulnerable to persecution and pressure to convert to Islam by the Houthis, who consider Baha'i religious thoughts heresy.
Yemen's Ministry of Endowments and Guidance has teamed up with Yemenia Airways to fly Yemeni pilgrims from five airports, including Sanaa International Airport. The agreement comes after coordination with Saudi Arabia. Mukhtar Al-Rabash, a deputy from the ministry, highlighted the cooperation between Yemen and Saudi Arabia in facilitating flights from Aden, Seiyun, Al Rayyan, Al Ghaydah, and Sanaa to the Kingdom. According to the Yemeni Ministry of Endowments, this year's number of Yemeni pilgrims reached 24,255.
Yemen's Houthi group launched an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) over the Gulf of Aden, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday. "There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition or merchant vessels," CENTCOM said in a statement. It added, "This continued malign and reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden."The Houthi group has been targeting shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and the group says its attacks are part of support for Palestinians in Gaza, where over 35000 people have been killed by Israel over the last seven months.
Israel made a new push in central Gaza on Monday, bombarded towns in the north of the Strip and said it intended to broaden its military operation in Rafah despite U.S. warnings of the risk of mass casualties in the southern city. Gaza medics said at least 23 people had been killed in the latest fighting, and residents said battles were intense in Jabalia in the north of the Palestinian enclave. Israeli tanks also carried out a limited incursion into areas of Wadi Al-Salqa and Al-Karara near Deir Al-Balah, a central Gazan city that Israeli forces have not entered during more than seven months of war, local residents said.
