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Swiss organization: Houthis fighting with Russian forces in Ukraine

Political| 28 November, 2024 - 3:44 PM

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A Swiss non-governmental investigative organization reported that Houthis from Yemen are fighting in Ukraine alongside Russian forces through a company involved in arms smuggling, confirming the existence of close communication between the Houthi group and the Kremlin.

Activists say Russia is recruiting men from Yemen to send to the front in Ukraine with the help of the Houthis. The United States has accused Russia for months of seeking to provide weapons to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have been disrupting international trade for a year by targeting ships in the Red Sea.

A de facto rapprochement was recorded between Moscow and Tehran, which are united in particular by their hostility towards Washington.

Contracts between Houthi mercenaries and the Russian military are funneled through an Oman-based company linked to pro-Houthi Yemeni parliamentarian Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri, said Lou Osborne of the Swiss NGO Inpact (an acronym for Investigations with Impact ).

Osborne confirmed to Agence France-Presse on Wednesday (November 27, 2024) that Al-Jabri is "involved in the arms trade between Russia and the Houthis," confirming what was reported by an investigative report conducted by the Financial Times newspaper at the end of this week.

The Houthis did not respond to inquiries from Agence France-Presse, which contacted them on Tuesday. A Ukrainian diplomat, who requested anonymity, said, "We have no evidence," considering that the Russians have "no limits."

For months, the Houthis have been targeting ships in the Red Sea that they say are linked to Israel, the United States or Britain, as part of operations they say are in support of the Palestinians against the backdrop of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

An official Houthi delegation visited Moscow in January, where it discussed with Russian officials the “need to intensify efforts to pressure” the United States and Israel to stop the war in the Gaza Strip, according to Yemeni rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam. Abdul Salam wrote on the X platform that day that the delegation had met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.

The United States accused Russia last September of holding talks with the Houthis, who now control large parts of Yemen as a result of a civil war that has been ongoing for ten years.

“Some of the fighters are recruited in Amman, Jordan, while working in restaurants,” and have no actual military experience, Lou Osborne said. “They are promised $10,000 at first, then $2,500 a month, but when they arrive, the Russian military takes them in and pays them $260 a month,” she said, adding that there are a few hundred of them.

The Financial Times reported that some of the men were promised high-paying jobs and the chance to obtain Russian citizenship. But upon their arrival in Russia, they were forced to fight with the Russian army and were immediately sent to the front line in Ukraine.

The fighters pass through Oman before being sent to Russia. ENPAKT did not have additional information on Tuesday about their possible training before being sent to the front and how language translation would be provided to them.

Source: AFP

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