Saudi Arabia and Egypt confirmed the development of maritime transport routes and the strengthening of joint cooperation in various fields of transport, amid international navigation disturbances and their negative effects on international supply chains.
The Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics, Saleh Al-Jasser, discussed with his Egyptian counterpart, Kamel Al-Wazir, ways to enhance joint cooperation between the two countries in the fields of transport, logistics and maritime connectivity, during their participation in the “Eno Trans” exhibition and conference, currently being held in the German capital, Berlin, and continuing until Thursday, according to a statement issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Transport, on Wednesday.
The two sides discussed “the importance of joint work to enhance integration between Egypt and Saudi Arabia in the field of international corridors, in addition to the importance of enhancing connectivity between Saudi and Egyptian ports, in a way that supports the movement of trade between the two countries, and from there to the Arab Gulf countries.”
The two sides stressed “the importance of the South Arab Trade Corridor, which connects Europe and the Arab Gulf countries via Egypt, by exploiting the Egyptian-Italian (RoRo) line between the ports of Damietta and Trieste, and the integrated international logistical corridors up to the port of Safaga, and from there to the port of Neom (formerly Duba) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the fleets of national Egyptian companies, and then to the rest of the Gulf countries,” according to the Egyptian statement.
The Saudi Minister of Transport stressed “the depth of Egyptian-Saudi relations, and the importance of promoting and consolidating joint cooperation in various fields of transport, especially in light of the great development witnessed by the transport and infrastructure sector in Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
About a week ago, Cairo and Riyadh stressed the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation in the Straits of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab, and the Red Sea, during the visit of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, to Cairo, and his meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to a statement issued by the “Egyptian Presidency” at the time.
A few days earlier, at the BRICS summit in India, Sisi called for maintaining freedom of navigation in international lanes, in light of current developments, especially with the passage of a large volume of international trade traffic through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
The Saudi and Egyptian Ministers of Transport stressed that “the next stage requires continuing to build on the cooperation achieved between the two countries, opening broader horizons for partnership in the economic, investment and trade fields, and maximizing the benefit of the capabilities and components available on both sides.”
They also stressed “the importance of increasing the volume of cooperation and joint projects, in a way that enhances the mutual interests of the two peoples, and the importance of the role played by the Egyptian-Saudi Supreme Coordination Council, as an institutional framework for coordinating efforts and pushing bilateral cooperation to levels that meet the aspirations of the two countries.”
During the last meeting, Egyptian Minister of Transport Kamel Al-Wazir confirmed that his ministry “has planned to establish 8 integrated logistical corridors to link industrial, agricultural and mining production areas to seaports, or to link seaports on the Red Sea to seaports on the Mediterranean.”
The latest health and field data in Yemen revealed a sharp increase in human losses resulting from the military escalation initiated by the Houthis during recent weeks, with thousands of dead and wounded recorded, coinciding with the influx of large numbers of bodies into areas under the group’s control, especially Dhamar Governorate. The death toll exceeded the capacity of health facilities to absorb it.
The World Health Organization said that it recorded 3,672 deaths and injuries in Yemen during the period from August 6 to September 18, including 674 dead and 2,998 injured, at a time when it warned of the continued high rate of human losses, as fighting continues on a number of fronts.
The organization explained that during the period between September 13 and 18 alone, 680 new victims were recorded, including 164 dead and 516 injured, noting that the number of daily victims ranged during that period between 78 and 195 people, equivalent at its highest levels to about 194 victims per day.
These numbers indicate the increasing pressure on the Yemeni health system, at a time when the scope of confrontations is expanding in western Taiz and Lahj, in parallel with the continuation of military operations in Marib and other areas, and the accompanying continuous flow of dead and wounded to health facilities.
According to the World Health Organization, Lahj Governorate topped the list of areas with the most casualties during the last six days of the period covered by the report. In Al-Mudaraba and Ras Al-Ara districts, 284 casualties were reported, including 58 dead and 226 injured.
Ma'rib came in second place with 277 casualties, while Taiz recorded 103 casualties, in addition to casualties in Al-Jawf, Shabwa, and Al-Dhalea governorates.
Houthi bleeding
These losses coincide with the intensification of confrontations in the western regions of Taiz and the strategic Kahboub front in Lahj. Violent battles take place in mountainous areas overlooking the vicinity of Bab al-Mandab.
According to Yemeni military sources, the western Taiz and Lahj fronts witnessed continuous attrition among the Houthi ranks, with large numbers of the group’s members falling during daily confrontations, including field and security leaders who were pushed by the group to the front lines during the recent escalation.
The sources say that among those recently killed was the Houthi leader Muhammad Al-Awir, known as “Abu Malik,” who held the rank of colonel and was the security director of the Al-Udayn District in Ibb Governorate, before he was transferred to the fronts west of Taiz and Lahj.
She explained that Al-Awir comes from Saada Governorate, and had previously assumed a number of security and field tasks with the group, and participated in the fighting on the Marib, Taiz, and Al-Dhalea fronts, before he was killed during the confrontations in the vicinity of Jabal Jardad in the Al-Shamaytain District.
His killing - according to the same sources - came a day after the killing of Houthi leader Saddam Ghallab, nicknamed “Abu Attan”, on the Kahboub front on the outskirts of Lahj Governorate. Ghallab had held several security positions, the most recent of which was security director of the Houth and Bani Sarim districts in Amran Governorate.
It was also preceded two days by the killing of the Houthi leader Firaq Al-Assar, known as “Abu Saqr Al-Qafar,” who was leading one of the group’s elite brigades, during the confrontations on the Kahboub front, along with a number of his members.
These losses come in light of Houthi attempts to put pressure on military sites in the mountainous areas overlooking Bab al-Mandab, while government forces continue to confront the attacks, amid large numbers of deaths and injuries.
One hundred corpses to Dhamar
In another indication of the extent of losses among the Houthis, Dhamar Governorate (one hundred kilometers south of Sanaa) witnessed over the past two days the arrival of more than a hundred bodies to a number of government hospitals, according to medical and local sources who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat.
The sources said that the dead fell in the confrontations taking place on the fronts in the governorates of Al-Dhalea, Taiz, and Al-Bayda, noting that among the bodies were military and field leaders, as well as children who the sources said were recruited to fight and sent to the areas of confrontation.
The arrival of the bodies coincided with the influx of infected people, which imposed additional pressure on health facilities in the governorate, which already suffer from limited capabilities and resources.
The sources explained that Dhamar General Hospital received the largest number of bodies, and that the mortuary was filled with dozens of bodies, including 6 of military and field commanders, in addition to 12 dead people who the sources said were no more than 18 years old.
As the number of bodies exceeded the available capacity, the authorities controlling the hospital resorted to exceptional arrangements to preserve the dead, including the use of three refrigerated containers placed in the courtyard of the medical facility.
A medical source at Dhamar General Hospital, who requested anonymity for fear of being subjected to Houthi punishment, said that the number of bodies that arrived during the past two days exceeded the capacity of the morgue to hold.
He added that hospital workers are facing increasing pressure due to the arrival of bodies in successive batches, coinciding with the continued reception of injured people coming from combat zones.
Hide losses
The influx of bodies into Dhamar coincided with tightening security measures around the hospital, amid restrictions on the movement of media and preventing access to some of its facilities, according to sources.
The sources said that the security measures aimed to limit access to information regarding the numbers of dead and wounded and their data, including their names, ages, areas of origin, and the fronts on which they were killed.
According to the sources, the families of some of the dead were summoned to the hospital to receive the bodies of their loved ones, in preparation for their funeral and burial, in an attempt to free up space within the death storage facilities to accommodate other bodies that arrived successively.
The sources indicated that some families received reports of the killing of their relatives after the bodies arrived at the hospital, while other families did not receive detailed information regarding the circumstances of the killing of their relatives, or the areas in which they were killed before their bodies were transported to Dhamar.
A relative of the dead said that his family was informed that one of their members had been killed on one of the fronts, and they were asked to come to the hospital to receive the body and complete the funeral and burial procedures.
A resident of the area also reported that the vicinity of the hospital witnessed an unusual movement of ambulances and vehicles transporting bodies, coinciding with the tightening of security measures and the prevention of approaching parts of the facility.
Financing gap
In the face of rising medical needs, the World Health Organization announced continued support for health facilities receiving cases resulting from the conflict.
The organization said that it had completed the delivery of its third medical shipment, which included surgical supplies, medicines, and antibiotics, to the “공화국 Teaching Hospital” and “May 22” Hospital in Aden, in addition to Kari Hospital and Ma’rib General Hospital in Ma’rib Governorate.
The organization is also working - according to its report - to purchase 17,000 blood bags for adults and 3,000 blood bags for children, at an estimated cost of $32,000, with the aim of strengthening blood stocks in health facilities that are receiving increasing numbers of infected people.
The organization confirmed that it is coordinating with the Ministry of Health of the internationally recognized Yemeni government and its partners, to respond to the increasing health needs resulting from the escalation of the conflict.
However, the humanitarian response faces a wide funding gap. The World Health Organization estimates the amount of unavailable funding at about 78 percent of the total amount requested.
