The World Food Programme (WFP) has reported that the food security situation in Yemen continues to worsen across the country. In its report for August 2023, published yesterday, the WFP indicated that government-controlled areas in Yemen witnessed a more significant decline in food security during July compared to areas under Houthi influence, with a difference of approximately five percent. The respective percentages were 52% and 47%. The report highlighted that insufficient food consumption rates increased nationwide by three percentage points from June to July, reaching 49%, marking the highest level since February 2023. According to UN reports, Yemen has witnessed a civil war since 2015, creating one of the worst humanitarian tragedies.
Media reports said Wednesday the Ansar Allah (Houthi) sources abducted dozens of citizens in Sanaa city following their commemoration of the 61st anniversary of the 26 September Revolution, which broke out against the Imamate rule in North Yemen in 1962. Sanaa, Ibb, and other Yemeni cities witnessed popular celebrations over the last two days as citizens waved national flags and chanted revolutionary slogans. However, Houthi officials denied the allegations, saying those who attacked civilians celebrating the 26 September Revolution do not belong to state authorities.
The US Department of Defense condemned the Houthi attack on the southern border of Saudi Arabia, which resulted in the death and injury of several Bahraini soldiers last Monday.In a statement attributed to Pentagon Press Secretary, Major General Pat Ryder, the US Department of Defense strongly denounced the attack on 25 September, resulting in the loss of Bahraini service members' lives and injuries to others. The statement further emphasized that "such unacceptable attacks undermine the longest period of tranquility since the beginning of the war in Yemen."
On Wednesday, the pro-Houthi government will be reshuffled as part of a radical change in state institutions in Sanaa, said Abdulmalek Al-Houthi, the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group's chief. The Sanaa-based National Defence Committee said it held a meeting with Houthi-appointed president Mahdi Al-Mashat, announcing the dismissal of the current government headed by Abdulaziz bin Habtoor, authorizing it to manage public affairs, except for appointment and dismissal, until a new government is formed. Al-Houthi pledged to introduce better policies that will serve citizens better. The group has been ruling many provinces in North Yemen in partnership with the General People's Congress (GPC).
At least 100 people were killed and more than 150 injured when a fire broke out during a wedding at an event hall in the northern Iraqi town of Qaraqosh, officials said early Wednesday. Iraq's official INA news agency reported that health authorities in Nineveh province had "counted 100 dead and more than 150 injured in the fire at a marriage hall in Hamdaniyah."
