ADEN // Yemen’s popular resistance, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, repelled attempts by Houthi rebels to take control of the strategic Al Wazeya district in Taez province on Thursday.
The stand came as relentless rebel shelling of the provincial capital pushed the death toll past 80.
Forces loyal to the government reported at least 20 rebel fighters killed in heavy clashes in Taez city on Thursday.
The Houthis started their bombardment of the city on Wednesday morning, indiscriminately firing on civilian homes. The shells were aimed at houses in Jamal Street, Al Modhafar, Al Roudha, 26 September Street, Houdh Al Ashraf, Al Dhaboa’a, Bab Mousa, and A-Tahreer Street.
All the casualties in these areas were civilians, because the Houthis "want to plant fear in the hearts of the civilians in Taez", said Moa'ath Al Yaseri, a senior figure in the popular resistance in Taez.
Mr Al Yaseri said Katyusha rockets fired by the Houthis left “more than 80 [civilians] killed and dozens of others injured” in the two days of fighting.
On Thursday, the popular resistance repulsed several Houthi attempts to seize Al Wazeya district, a focal point of the battle in Taez province.
The district is of key importance to the coalition because it connects Taez to the government-controlled provinces of Lahj and Aden, and will be the main route for the resistance to send military reinforcements to the coastal area of Dhubab, also controlled by pro-government forces.
A day earlier, the resistance liberated some rebel-held areas and public institutions in Taez city, such as the headquarters of the political security, and handed them to the military council that represents the Yemeni army in the province.
Mr Al Yaseri said the Houthis unleashed a barrage of shells at Taez city on Wednesday, when the resistance advanced towards rebel-held areas there.
The shelling set homes on fire, he said, which residents extinguished themselves.
“There are no fire engines in Taez city so the residents tried to put out the fires by bringing water containers in their cars.”
Dozens were killed and others injured in the Al Roudha district when another Houthi missile struck as residents were trying to put out a fire in one of the houses, Mr Al Yaseri said.
Previous Houthi shelling of Taez city had forced many residents to flee to rural areas.
Raed Al Sharabi, a resident of Al Roudha, said that since Wednesday the people in Taez city had been hiding in the basements of their homes.
“I live in a house with four floors, and when there is shelling, all of us – about five families – stay in the basement.”
Even so, he said, the sounds of the exploding missiles terrified the children.
The Red Cross said on Thursday that the intensifying fighting in Taez had plunged the city into a desperate situation, with closed hospitals and acute shortages of medicines, food, water and fuel.
“The situation in Taez is particularly dire ... with nearly half of the hospitals closed and streams of wounded people desperate for treatment,” the head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen, Antoine Grand, said in a statement.
The Red Cross put the toll from Houthi shelling on Wednesday at 22 dead and more than 140 injured.
Yemeni president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi phoned the resistance and military leaders in Taez to offer condolences over the civilian casualties after Wednesday’s bombardment.
Mr Hadi spoke to Hamoud Saeed Al Mikhlafi of the popular resistance and Brig Gen Adnan Al Hamadi, commander of the 35th Armoured Brigade, the state news agency Wam reported.
The president called on the army and resistance forces to stand strong in their fight, stressing that their victory was inevitable.
Mr Hadi reiterated his support to all resistance fronts in Taez province and the rest of Yemen’s governorates and emphasised the importance of solidarity in the face of the Houthi rebels and allied forces loyal to the ousted president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Meanwhile, the nearly 1,000 Sudanese troops who arrived in Yemen last week as part of the Saudi-led regional coalition have been deployed in its operations across the country, according to their commander.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting from Wam, Reuters and Agence France-Presse
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
MEYDAN CARD
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group One (PA) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,200m
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
8.50pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group Two (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,600m
10pm Dubai Trophy Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m
10.35pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
The National selections:
6.30pm AF Alwajel
7.05pm Ekhtiyaar
7.40pm First View
8.15pm Benbatl
8.50pm Zakouski
9.25pm: Kimbear
10pm: Chasing Dreams
10.35pm: Good Fortune
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
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