Iran’s help has transformed Yemen's Houthi rebels into a potent military force, UN experts say

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Iran’s help has transformed Yemen's Houthi rebels into a potent military force, UN experts say

2024-11-03 23:36 Last Updated At：23:40

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been transformed from a local armed group with limited capabilities to a powerful military organization with support from Iran, Iraqi armed groups, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants and others, U.N. experts said in a new report.

The Iranian-backed Houthis have exploited the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and worked to enhance their status in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” to gain popularity in the region and beyond, the experts monitoring sanctions against the Houthis said in the 537-page report to the U.N. Security Council.

To support Iranian-backed Hamas militants, whose surprise attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the war in Gaza, the Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, disrupting global shipping in a key geopolitical area.

Despite Houthi claims that they would target ships linked to Israel, the panel said its investigations revealed the rebels have been targeting vessels indiscriminately.

Its analysis of data from the International Maritime Organization, the U.S. and the United Kingdom revealed that at least 134 attacks were carried out from Houthi-controlled areas against merchant and commercial vessels and U.S. and U.K. warships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden between Nov. 15, 2023, and July 31, 2024.

“The group’s shift to actions at sea increased their influence in the region,” the U.N. experts said. “Such a scale of attacks, using weapon systems on civilian vessels, had never occurred since the Second World War.”

In their attacks, the experts said, the Houthis used a new and previously undisclosed ballistic missile, the Hatem-2.

The five-member U.N. panel includes experts on arms, finance, regional affairs, international humanitarian law and armed groups. The experts hail from India, Egypt, Switzerland, Belgium and Cabo Verde. Confidential sources told the panel that the Houthis are coordinating operations with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and strengthening ties to the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militant group in Somalia.

The Houthis have been engaged in a civil war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, since 2014, when they took control of the capital Sanaa and most of the north. Hopes for peace talks to end the war vanished after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

The U.N. experts said the Yemen conflict, which started as an internal fight and expanded into a regional confrontation, “has now escalated into a major international crisis.”

According to the experts, the number of Houthi fighters is estimated at 350,000 now, compared with 220,000 in 2022 and 30,000 in 2015.

“The panel observes the transformation of the Houthis from a localized armed group with limited capabilities to a powerful military organization, extending their operational capabilities well beyond the territories under their control,” the report said.

The experts said the transformation has been possible due to the transfer of military materiel and training provided by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, Hezbollah and Iraqi specialists and technicians.

Military experts, Yemeni officials and even officials close to the Houthis indicated that the rebel group couldn’t produce complex weapons systems such as ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, surveillance and attack drones, portable air defense systems, and thermal sights, which they have used without foreign support, the U.N. experts said.

“The scale, nature and extent of transfers of diverse military materiel and technology provided to the Houthis from external sources, including financial support and training of its combatants, is unprecedented,” the experts said.

The panel said it observed similarities between multiple military items used by the Houthis and those produced and operated by Iran or its allies in the Axis of Resistance, which includes Hezbollah and Hamas and armed groups in Iraq and Syria.

It said joint operations centers have been set up in Iraq and Lebanon with Houthi representatives “aimed at coordinating joint military actions of the Axis of Resistance.”

Inside Yemen, the panel said the Houthis have been intensifying military operations against the government. “The internal military situation is fragile, and any internal or external trigger could lead to the resumption of military confrontations,” it said.

The Houthis also have been recruiting large numbers of Yemeni youths and children as well as exploiting Ethiopian migrants, forcing them to join the fight against the government and engage in trafficking narcotics, it said.

“Exploiting high illiteracy rates, particularly in tribal areas, they have reportedly mobilized boys as young as 10 or 11, often despite parental opposition,” they said. “Recruitment sermons and weekly classes on jihad are reportedly delivered in schools.”

Child recruitment reportedly increased after the war in Gaza started and the U.S. and U.K. airstrikes in Yemen, the experts said. Yemen’s government said it received 3,298 reports of child recruitment in the first half of 2024, with youngsters reportedly used as human shields, spies and in combat — and for planting landmines and explosives, reconnaissance and as cooks.

McMillian's pick-6 helps Broncos spoil career nights by Winston, Jeudy and beat Browns 41-32

2024-12-03 14:13 Last Updated At：14:20

DENVER (AP) — Jameis Winston had a night to remember — and one to forget.

Ja’Quan McMillian returned an interception 44 yards for a game-sealing touchdown with 1:48 remaining, and Denver spoiled career-best performances by Winston and ex-Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, beating the Cleveland Browns 41-32 on Monday night.

The good for Winston: He threw for a franchise-record 497 yards and four touchdowns.

The not-so-good: He threw two interceptions that Denver returned for scores. The Broncos had three picks for 171 interception return yards against him.

“It was my fault," Winston said. "I’ve got to play better.”

It was fully reminiscent of his best — and worst — year, 2019 with Tampa Bay, when he led the league in yards (5,109) and was second in TD passes (33) but also led the league in picks (30).

“I know I’m better than this,” Winston said. “I’m just praying for the Lord to deliver me from pick-sixes. It’s not me. Phenomenal game on offense, do some great things, but I mess it up.”

Meanwhile, Jeudy had nine catches for 235 yards — the most in NFL history by a receiver against his former team — and a TD. Jeudy played his first four seasons with Denver and was booed every time he caught the ball.

“They only boo you,” Jeudy said, "when they know there’s something great in you.”

Nik Bonitto intercepted Winston and took it 71 yards to the house late in the second quarter. Winston became the first NFL quarterback to throw for 400 or more yards with four or more TD passes and two pick-sixes.

Bo Nix finished with 294 yards passing, including a gorgeous deep ball from his own end zone that Marvin Mims Jr. hauled in for a 93-yard touchdown. Nix also threw two picks.

The Broncos (8-5) enter their bye week in the seventh and final playoff spot. Denver has a 76% probability of making the postseason, according to the NFL. The team hasn't been in the playoffs since winning the Super Bowl after the 2015 season.

“It wasn’t perfect, by any means, but we were able to finish,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. ”Big plays — the game was full of them."

Winston surpassed the Browns record of 457 yards set by Josh McCown in 2015 against Baltimore. He threw a 70-yard TD pass to Jeudy and a pair of scores to tight end David Njoku in falling to 2-3 as a starter for the Browns (3-9) since replacing the injured Deshaun Watson.

Cleveland led 32-31 on Winston’s 5-yard TD pass to Nick Chubb when Nix drove the Broncos to the Browns 9. On fourth-and-1, Payton lined up to go for it but changed his mind after a timeout. Wil Lutz kicked a go-ahead 27-yard field goal with 2:54 remaining.

Winston and the Browns had plenty of time to drive for a winning score, but Winston's throw to Elijah Moore was late and McMillian jumped the route. He fell to the turf untouched after making the catch, got up and sprinted to the end zone.

“The fact they did it twice was kind of crazy,” Nix said of the interception returns. “I'm over there sitting, the benches, have the heaters over there, and I don't even have to move. It's pretty nice for the offense when they bail us out like that.”

Jeudy, a first-round draft pick in 2020, was traded to Cleveland this spring after an up-and-down four seasons with Denver. He paused at the goal line before falling backwards into the end zone on his long TD catch. He also caught a 2-point conversion to get the Browns within 28-25.

“We had a plan going into it in terms of trying to get him open. I thought the plan was solid,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. "Jerry executed the plan really well. Got him open. Jameis made some throws. It’s hard in the losing effort to feel good about anything.”

The play by Jeudy came just 11 seconds after Nix threw a laser from about 4 yards deep in his end zone to Mims at around the 42. Mims caught it in stride, raced to the end zone and jumped into the stands to celebrate.

The Broncos relied on their running game in the first half, with Javonte Williams and Michael Burton scoring short TDs. It was Burton’s second TD of his 10-year career.

The Browns fell to 4-13 in the Mile High City. Dustin Hopkins missed a 47-yard field goal to the left on Cleveland’s opening drive.

Nix, who’s earned the NFL Rookie of the Week three consecutive times, threw his first interception since Nov. 3. Chased by Myles Garrett, Nix tried to force a pass to Tony Franklin over the middle. Denzel Ward reached in and deflected the ball into the air and it was caught by Greg Newsome II.

Winston and Jeudy got rolling early with a 44-yard completion on the Browns' first offensive play.

“That wasn’t supposed to go to me,” Jeudy explained.

Winston delivered a fiery pregame oration to his teammates, yelling, “It’s got to come from your heart. I don’t care about no Mile High. I care about how the Browns get down.”

Broncos: WR Jamari Thrash (shoulder) left the game. ... Ward (calf) and S Grant Delpit (head) were both off the field on Denver’s late drive for the go-ahead field goal.

Broncos: S Brandon Jones suffered a groin injury.

Browns: At Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Broncos: After a bye, host Indianapolis on Dec. 15.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl