The United Nations said that the pace of displacement in Yemen has escalated significantly since September 3, revealing that more than 100,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of the month, most of whom headed to the governorates of Taiz and Lahj.
In exclusive statements to Asharq Al-Awsat, Laurent Bokera, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, confirmed the United Nations’ readiness to face additional waves of displacement and an expected increase in humanitarian needs in Yemen, in light of the continuing fighting along the western coast, indicating that more than 60,000 displaced people received aid through the rapid response mechanism until September 15.
Bokera said that the movement of humanitarian workers has been affected in a number of areas of the West Coast, warning that insecurity, restrictions on movement and communications outages continue to impede access to some sites.
The UN official stressed the urgent need to ensure safe and sustainable humanitarian access, secure safe corridors for people fleeing the fighting, and provide the necessary resources for rapid response, as needs continue to escalate.
Displacement of more than 100 thousand
He explained that the pace of displacement in Yemen has increased significantly since September 3, noting that the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration show the displacement of more than 100,000 people since the beginning of the month.
He added that the situation is still changing rapidly, amid expectations of an increase in the number of internally displaced people during the coming period.
He pointed out that the United Nations and its partners in humanitarian work provide support to the most vulnerable groups throughout Yemen, especially the displaced, where considerations of safety, accessibility and available resources allow.
UNICEF had reported that the ongoing fighting in Yemen had caused the displacement of more than 57,000 children in just two weeks, depriving children of basic services, warning that the escalation was exacerbating the crisis of 12.2 million children in need of humanitarian assistance.
Urgent needs and depleted stocks
According to the UN Coordinator, the most urgent humanitarian needs include: emergency shelter, basic household supplies, food, safe water and sanitation services, emergency health care, protection, and cash assistance.
He pointed out that many of the displaced were already living in extremely fragile conditions, while some of them were forced to move more than once.
Bukera stressed that humanitarian response capabilities are under severe pressure, with stocks rapidly depleted and funding shortages continuing, as well as security challenges and restrictions that make rapid access to those in need more difficult.
He added that large gaps still exist in the sectors of shelter, water and sanitation, food security, health, nutrition, protection, and cash assistance, explaining that the rapid response mechanism adopts a planning scenario to deal with any significant increase in needs.
Concerns for workers and warehouses
Regarding the change of control over the city of Mokha, Bokera said that the immediate concern of the United Nations and its partners is the safety and well-being of the population, especially those who were forced to be displaced or whose access to basic services and humanitarian aid was affected by the recent fighting.
He added that UN agencies are working to assess needs and adapt their response to ensure the continued arrival of aid, noting that the safety of humanitarian workers and the security of headquarters, warehouses and other humanitarian assets represent a “source of grave concern.”
He stressed the need to respect and protect humanitarian workers, facilities and assets at all times, and to ensure safe and unimpeded delivery of aid, allowing life-saving relief to continue to reach those in need.
Taiz and Lahj receive the largest number
The UN official stated that humanitarian partners are providing immediate assistance in the affected areas receiving displaced people, including Taiz and Lahj, which are receiving the largest numbers of them.
He explained that the registration of displaced persons is still continuing in conjunction with the increase in their numbers and their increasing needs, noting that, as of September 15, more than 60,000 internally displaced persons had received assistance through the rapid response mechanism, in addition to other forms of support provided to displaced families.
He said that access is still difficult in some locations due to insecurity, movement restrictions, and communications outages, stressing the continued communication of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs with the relevant authorities to facilitate the delivery of aid and ensure safe passage for civilians.
Scenarios for the expansion of the crisis
Bukera stressed that the United Nations is responding to the current situation, in parallel with preparing for additional waves of displacement and increased humanitarian needs.
He explained that the partners are working on preparing planning scenarios that include rapid response mechanisms, multi-purpose cash assistance, and multi-sectoral assistance, including food supplies, to meet the needs of large numbers of the population.
The UN Coordinator called for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure at all times, including displacement sites, roads, schools and hospitals, reiterating the call for ensuring safe corridors for those fleeing the fighting and providing the necessary resources to keep pace with the escalating needs.
Official meetings continue between officials from Egypt and Syria in a way that diplomatic sources who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat believe pushes the pace of bilateral cooperation forward after a period of “stagnation.”
The most recent mutual visits were those initiated by a senior Egyptian diplomatic delegation headed by the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Arab Affairs, Ambassador Ihab Fahmy, to Damascus on Tuesday.
According to the official Syrian channel, the Advisor for Afro-Asian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Muhammad Al-Jaffal, received the Egyptian delegation at Damascus International Airport, and the two sides discussed ways to enhance cooperation and coordination “in a way that contributes to strengthening security and peace in the region.” They also reviewed the most prominent regional and international developments.
The visit comes weeks after Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati announced, in a television interview last August, his intention to visit Damascus. He said at the time that relations between Cairo and Damascus were “going well.”
However, an Egyptian diplomatic source denied, in statements to Asharq Al-Awsat, any arrangements in place with specific dates for Abdel-Ati’s visit to Damascus at the present time. He added: “Communications between the two countries are continuing, and the current diplomatic delegation’s visit comes within the framework of advancing the path of joint cooperation between Egypt and Syria.”
According to the source, the visit was arranged between the two sides “to advance economic and trade cooperation paths, and to strengthen joint cooperation paths between the two countries.”
The visit of the Egyptian diplomatic delegation to Syria is added to a series of successive meetings that brought together officials of the two countries in the recent period, the most recent of which was the meeting of Minister Abdel-Aty and his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Al-Shaibani, in Cairo on the sidelines of the meeting of the 166th session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level, on the seventh of September, where they discussed “ways to enhance cooperation and coordination between the two countries, in a way that contributes to strengthening security and peace in the region,” according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
This was preceded by a visit by a delegation from the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority, headed by the head of the Central Aviation Security Administration, Yasser Mohamed Abdel Halim, to Syria at the end of last August, during which it inspected Damascus Airport in preparation for the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, which have been suspended since 2011.
The diplomatic source said: “The visit of Egyptian officials to Damascus came after joint arrangements between the two sides to discuss strengthening relations in various fields, especially in the fields of economy, investment and trade.”
The source believes that the visit of the Assistant Foreign Minister to Syria “constitutes a new step in the path of rapprochement and cooperation, especially after the Egyptian Foreign Minister announced his intention to visit Damascus.”
He added: “Communication between the foreign ministers of the two countries continues through multiple contacts and meetings held recently.”
Abdel-Ati and Al-Shaibani reviewed developments in joint relations and ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the economic and trade fields, during their meeting on the sidelines of the Arab League meetings. According to what was stated in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s statement at the time, the Egyptian Minister affirmed “his country’s full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.”
Former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister, Ambassador Youssef Al-Sharqawi, says that the pace of bilateral meetings supports the path of rapprochement between the two countries, and that economic cooperation is at the forefront of the agenda of bilateral relations. Stressing that there is “a common will to develop this path in a way that reflects positively on the political rapprochement between the two sides.”
He added to Asharq Al-Awsat: “Egypt views the economic openness with Syria as a window to enhance interdependence and political understanding between the two countries, and the Egyptian government also aims to increase joint investments, especially in the areas of infrastructure and contributing to the reconstruction operations in Syria, in addition to doubling the rates of trade exchange by providing the Syrian market’s needs for goods and industrial products.”
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Egyptian-Syrian relations have proceeded within the framework of cautious bilateral contacts, before developing into economic cooperation between the two sides. Relations have witnessed clear momentum in recent months with numerous meetings between officials of the two countries, including a meeting between the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, and the Syrian Minister of Energy, Muhammad al-Bashir, where they discussed ways to enhance joint cooperation.
During a visit by the Syrian Foreign Minister to Cairo last May, the two countries announced the formation of a joint business council and the expansion of areas of trade and economic cooperation. In January this year, Damascus hosted the first Egyptian-Syrian economic and investment forum, with the participation of 26 leaders of the Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, Finance and Business.
In addition to bilateral cooperation, the former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister believes that there is “dialogue and coordination” between Cairo and Damascus on regional issues. Pointing out that the situation in the region “requires continuous communication to support the stability and sovereignty of Syria and its neighboring countries.”
Dozens of workers were killed in the collapse of a gold mine in the state of West Kordofan in Sudan, two survivors reported on Wednesday, while many are still missing and feared to have died under the rubble.
The accident occurred on Tuesday in the “Al-Zar’a Mine” near the city of Al-Nahud in the southern state of the country, and by Wednesday morning, paramedics had recovered 60 bodies.
One of the survivors, Khair Al-Sayyid Jabara, told Agence France-Presse: “We do not know how many people are still inside (...) People are making an effort to remove the bodies or the living, but the situation is difficult. “We need heavy machinery to lift stones and dirt.”
Since the outbreak of war in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, both parties have relied heavily on the gold sector to finance their war effort, according to the United Nations, in addition to the support of external parties.
The conflict caused great harm to the Sudanese economy, which was already weak, and a large number of Sudanese lost their jobs, which prompted many to engage in dangerous gold prospecting operations.
Manual excavation operations take place in informal areas or in decommissioned mines.
Al-Amin Suleiman, a worker in the mine, said, “The wells in the area are adjacent, and demolishing any well leads to the demolition of the one next to it, and this is what happened.”
He added: “There are people underground since yesterday (Tuesday), and I do not think they are alive.”
It is difficult to carry out a large-scale rescue operation in West Kordofan, which is controlled by the Rapid Support Forces, as well as the neighboring Darfur region, where it has been accused of “committing genocide”... Despite its declaration, a parallel government, its capabilities to manage the areas under its control remain limited, and the population in western Sudan depends, to a large extent, on aid and local community networks to survive.
Even before the war threatened millions of Sudanese with hunger, mining provided work for more than two million people, according to sector data.
Sudan, the third largest country in Africa in terms of area, is one of the most prominent gold producers on the continent, and last year recorded the highest level of production in five years, amounting to 70 tons, according to the data.
But officials say most of the gold is smuggled across Sudan's borders, including through Chad, South Sudan and Egypt, before reaching other countries.
