By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2024-08-13

ADEN -- The secret transfer of Hizbullah experts from Beirut to Sanaa by air in late July underscores the ongoing coordination between the Iranian regime's proxies in Lebanon and Yemen, experts and officials said.

Yemenia Airways resumed its Sanaa-Amman route late last month, with an initial flight departing from Houthi-controlled Sanaa for the Jordanian capital.

On board the flight were Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Lebanese Hizbullah elements who had been wounded in Israel's July 20 strike on the Houthi-controlled port of al-Hodeidah, according to media reports.

The Sanaa-based carrier reportedly diverted its July 26 return flight to Beirut, secretly picking up 16 Hizbullah experts in the Lebanese capital and transporting them to Sanaa.

A Houthi military delegation that included top official Abdullah al-Ruzami and his son Yahya received the Hizbullah experts at Sanaa airport, Yemeni military expert Mohammed al-Kameem said.

'A growing danger'

"It is likely that experts from Lebanese Hizbullah and the IRGC were transferred to Sanaa to carry out attacks with missiles and drones and conduct training operations for the Houthis," said Deputy Minister of Justice Faisal al-Majeedi.

"The secret Yemenia flight transported a number of wounded IRGC and Lebanese Hizbullah experts on the outward journey to receive treatment for the injuries they sustained in the Israeli strike on al-Hodeidah on July 20," he told Al-Fassel.

Flight tracking data show its arrival at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport, he said.

The IRGC also has transferred Pakistani and Afghan nationals from militias under its control to Yemen, in addition to Iraqi and Syrian fighters and experts, in service of its own goals and ambitions, he said.

This "poses a growing danger to the countries of the region," he said.

Transfer of proxy militias

The experts and militiamen transported to Yemen "may be granted passports by the Houthis," al-Majeedi said, expressing concern about the influx of IRGC proxy militias from other parts of the region to Yemen.

In Syria, the IRGC transferred "entire sectarian military brigades under the names of the Fatemiyoun Division and other groups," he said.

These groups have changed the demographic balance in parts of Syria they occupy to the detriment of local residents, while furthering Iran's agenda.

In recent months, the IRGC has transferred thousands of Pakistani and Afghan militiamen to areas of Yemen under the control of the Houthis, Yemeni Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Muammar al-Eryani said.

This dangerous move comes amid the Houthis' escalation in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden targeting the safety of international shipping and the free flow of global trade, he said.