Southern Separatists Say Captured Al-Qaeda Camp in Abyan

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) Saturday seized an Al-Qaeda camp in Abyan as part of its campaign to eliminate the presence of Al-Qaeda operatives in remote territories. The seizure follows the Al-Qaeda-plotted assassination of a senior military commander last week. According to the sources, the STC fighters took control of the Alhajala camp in the Mudiyah district of Abyan provinces, and the security forces continued the campaign to clear remote areas of Al-Qaeda presence. 

Abdulmalik al-Houthi, the leader of the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group in Yemen, said Saturday his group would not continue accepting the ongoing situation of war in Yemen. In his speech on Saturday, he warned Saudi Arabia of the "negative consequences" if its "hostile policies" continue in Yemen and pledged decisive action if peace efforts make no progress. Houthis took over  Sanaa in 2014 and toppled the UN-recognized government of Yemen. They stretched their control over several Yemeni provinces by the force of weapons. 

Lebanon's top Christian cleric called for state control over weapons on Sunday. This call came following a deadly confrontation between Christian villagers and Hezbollah followers over an overturned ammunition truck. A Hezbollah member and a Christian resident were killed in Wednesday's fire exchange in the Kahaleh village near Beirut. A Hezbollah truck carrying ammunition turned over while driving through the area. The clash between the two sides ensued. 

 The American Center for Justice has urged the Houthi group to pay teachers' salaries, provide them with fair treatment, and end all forms of suffering they have endured. Over 160000 teachers in Houthi-controlled areas have been unpaid since 2016, and their ordeal is set to continue amidst Houthi-government refusal to pay their salaries. Teachers in Sanaa staged a strike this month in Sanaa, demanding their wages be paid. 

Resounding explosions were heard from missile stockpiles of pro-Iran militias east of Syria's capital Damascus before dawn on Sunday, a war monitor said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said residents of the Damascus region heard the explosion which came from "the warehouses of pro-Iran militias" in a mountainous area east of the capital. Whether it was from an air strike or a ground operation was unclear. Syria's war has killed over half a million people and displaced millions.