Battle for Ma'rib
The Yemeni Army and its allied forces are moving closer to fully liberating Ma'rib province. They have just captured a new strategic region. The Ansarullah movement says the military and popular groups have retaken al-Abdiyah district from forces affiliated with former Saudi-backed president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. With this advancement, Yemeni forces now have only two more of the 14 districts left to liberate. Ansarullah says Washington’s call for a halt to fighting and the opening of a safe passage for militants clearly indicates that Washington is linked to al-Qaeda and Daesh operatives. The call comes just as the movement is inching closer to final victory in the battle for Marib. It says US officials are advocating for peace, but they are the real enemies of peace in Yemen and elsewhere.
No to French 'colonialist thought'
Now a piece of advice from Algeria's president for French leaders: Paris must put aside any colonialist thought when dealing with historical issues related to his country. In a message marking the 1961 killings of Algerian protesters by Paris police, Abdelmadjid Tebboune says historical issues should be treated with a sense of responsibility. He says massacres and crimes against humanity will remain in collective memory. Emmanuel Macron has become the first French president to recognize the crimes committed that day, without however, offering a formal apology. Some anti-racism groups are welcoming Macron’s stance, but say it isn’t enough. Back in October 1961, Algerians in Paris organized a march against a night curfew. Hundreds are believed to have lost their lives after French police turned on the demonstrators.
Venezuela talks suspended
Venezuela’s negotiations with the opposition heading for a possible deadlock, with the government now saying it will not attend the weekend talks in Mexico. That came in reaction to Cape Verde, extraditing a close aide to President Nicolas Maduro to the US. Caracas accuses Washington of kidnapping diplomatic envoys and says the suspension is in protest against the brutal aggression against its delegate. The government has been holding negotiations with the opposition to resolve a long-running political crisis. Alex Saab was appointed a member of that negotiating team. But he was detained in Cape Verde in 2020 on a US arrest warrant. Saab blames political motives for the money-laundering charges against him.