Weekly Regional Brief

Diplomatic Rift in the Gulf

Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi’s critical comments about Saudi Arabia’s involvement in Yemen’s civil war continue as a source of diplomatic conflict for the region. On Thursday, November 11, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah “accused Saudi Arabia of violating Lebanese sovereignty and dismissed calls for the departure of embattled Information Minister George Kordahi.” 

Houthis Breach U.S. Embassy in Yemen

On Thursday, November 11, Houthi forces surged the U.S. embassy in Yemen, detaining Yemeni employees of the building. On Friday, several U.S. senators and representatives released a bipartisan statement: “Breaching the sovereign territory of a foreign embassy and threatening and detaining its staff clearly demonstrate the Houthis have no interest in peace, nor in making the changes necessary to become legitimate members of the international community.”

Sudan Military Coup

On Saturday, November 13, Sudan witnessed mass protests against the country’s military coup, resulting in 8 deaths and 200 injuries. Simultaneously, Sudan has received international backlash, including a joint statement by Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and Switzerland, stating that the “unilateral actions by the military undermines its commitment to uphold the agreed transitional framework.” 

Arabic Sources from the Region

“Sana’a Airport Becomes a Military Base For the Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah”

Today, the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said that the Sana’a Airport has become a military base for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah. The group indicated that the airport is used with legal immunity to carry out cross-border attacks. The Coalition announced that it will take legal action to remove the immunity necessary to protect citizens. At the same time, the Coalition indicated it destroyed vehicles and facilities used to create weapons for attacks. This is in addition to ongoing attacks in Sana’a. The group claims all the attacks fall within proper international and regional laws. The group previously announced 15 attacks against the Houthis in Ma’rib and al-Jawf. The Coalition also announced the destruction of 9 vehicles and casualties in the ranks of the Houthi militia reached 110 members. The group stated that it had video of the Houthis using the civilian airport as a military base that violates international law and that the Houthis used UN planes as practice for targeting. The group believes that Iran is supplying experts to help the weapon training, and is threatening international navigation, a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216.

This article was published by al-Arabia, a Saudi news site, owned by the Saudi Government and based in Dubai.