HRW: Stop arming Saudi – Dr. Karim and others talking about Yemen – ICC and Yemen war – Saudis buy killer drones – Heritage seriously affected – Health care – Malnourished children – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche/ UN and peace talks
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / saudi Arabia and Iran
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
PH = Pro-Houthi
PS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
14.9.2016 – Stop Arming Saudi (** A P) – for US citizens
Stop Arming Saudi Arabia
In 2015, the Obama administration sold $20 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, assisting a military campaign in Yemen that has wreaked carnage on civilians. Now the US wants to sell another $1.15 billion in arms to the Saudi government. We need your help, tell your Senator to vote for a bipartisan resolution to attempt to block this sale. Time is running out!
ACT NOW
1. Find your US Senator.
2. Call his or her office and say:
“Hello. I am calling to support SJ Resolution 39 to block destructive US arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Thank you.”
Tweet your senator
https://www.hrw.org/StopArmingSaudi
14.9.2016 – Ahlulbayt TV (** B K P)
Behind the Headlines - Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran. Weapons, War & Hajj
Muhammad Ali Carter speaking with Dr. Razim Karim from MONA Relief and Murtaza Jaffer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F6ncIQojI4&feature=youtu.be
14.9.2016 – Just Security (** B K P)
Does the Int’l Criminal Court Have Jurisdiction over Alleged War Crimes by Saudi-Led Coalition in Yemen?
The short answer is yes. Let me count the ways.
It is an uncontroversial statement of law that the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over the nationals of States that have ratified the ICC treaty (Article 12(2)(b)). It is also explicitly written into the ICC treaty that the Prosecutor may seek, on her own accord, authorization from a pre-trial chamber to investigate allegations of war crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court (Article 15).
This opens up two potential avenues for the Prosecutor to pursue alleged war crimes in the Yemen conflict.
First, one of the members of the Saudi-led coalition—Jordan—is a State party to the ICC treaty. The Court thus has jurisdiction over actions committed by Jordanian officials in the conduct of hostilities in Yemen.
Second, three States that are not part of the Saudi-led coalition but directly and publicly support the coalition—France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—are all State parties to the ICC treaty. So how might they be tied into the Court’s jurisdiction for actions committed by the Saudi-led coalition inside Yemen? – by Ryan Goodman
14.9.2016 – The Daily Beast (** A K P)
Now the Saudis Have Killer Drones, Too
Saudi Arabia has got a horrible human-rights record and a bloody war next door. And now it’s about to get its own fleet of flying, death-dealing robots.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s newest drone power. And that could be a problem, since the Saudis are in the midst of a rather nasty war.
Riyadh has signed a contract with Chinese firm Chengdu for an unspecified number of Pterodactyl drones, Saudi media reported in late August and early September.
The 30-foot-long, propeller-driven Pterodactyl, which Chengdu apparently modeled on America’s iconic Predator and Reaper drones, can fly for hours at a time carrying cameras and missiles. Operators on the ground control the unmanned aerial vehicle via satellite.
As far as killer drones go, the Pterodactyl probably isn’t terribly sophisticated—its sensors are certainly less capable than U.S.-made models—and that can mean the difference between life and death for innocent people caught in the crossfire as flying robots hunt militants on the ground.
don’t expect Chinese drones to make Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen any less horrific. Indeed, once the Saudis can park armed robots over Yemen practically around the clock, their war in Yemen might get even worse for civilians – by David Axe
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/14/now-the-saudis-have-killer-drones-too.html
8.2016 – Le Courrier du Maghreb (** B K)
YEMEN – Treasures and Heritage Seriously Affected
Under the Imamate dynasties ruling, Yemen’s ancient history had been systematically targeted. A great deal of Yemeni antiquities were destroyed and wiped out. Once Salafi Wahibists emerged in the 19th century in the land of Hijjaz and Najd, they dispatched their frantic militants to destroy large number of ancient tombs and shrines in several Yemeni cities and towns.
Throughout the reign of former president Ali Saleh, the smuggling business flourished more than ever. Hundreds of Yemeni monuments, inscriptions, manuscripts and old books disappeared from the country. The largest amount of these treasures were acquired by the Al-Saud royal family who are very keen on purchasing Yemeni monuments and manuscripts not to maintain them in museums or to sell them later, but to make sure that they will disappear forever.
Yemen’s historical and national memory has been seriously damaged by the ongoing warfare. All warring factions have been blamed for intentionally targeting archeological and historical sites. However, the largest portion of destruction reported to have been caused by the aerial strikes by the Saudi-led coalition’s warplanes.
Old and ancient cities, archaeological and historical sites, residential and worship buildings, monuments, museums and citadels have not been spared. The historic value and memories enshrined in these sites have been irreparably damaged or destroyed.
Three World Cultural Heritage sites (Old Walled City of Shibam, Old City of Sana’a, Historic Town of Zabid) are now inscribed on the list of World Heritage in danger.
The Old City of Sana’a and the historic centre of Saa’da were hit by shelling and gravely damaged.
Many other sites, some of which figure on Yemen’s World Heritage tentative list, have equally suffered damage, including the archaeological site of the pre-Islamic walled city of Baraqish, the archaeological sites of Marib from the end of the 2nd millennium B.C., and the Great Dam of Marib, a marvel of Yemeni technical engineering.
Additionally, there are several historical sites including castles, mosques and ancient tombs that have suffered serious damages. The Citadel of Taiz, one of the most significant historical sites in the city of Taiz, known as “Qalat Al-Qahira”, erected some 700 years ago, is severely damaged.
The Sirah fort, dating back to the 10th century, overlooking the city of Crater and the Indian Ocean has also come under attack.
Movable heritage has also suffered severe losses, as in the case of the Dhamar Museum, which used to host a collection of 12,500 artifacts, and which was completely destroyed in May 2015.
Yemenis are torn with disbelief as they watch the country’s antiquities crumble. Yemen’s Cultural relics and historic treasures have been destroyed or sold for quick cash. The ongoing conflict has caused Yemeni people unaffordable costs; erasing their history, leaving them with an uncertain future – by Abdulsalam Al-Qarari
http://lecourrierdumaghrebetdelorient.info/yemen/yemen-treasures-and-heritage-seriously-affected/
15.9.2016 – Ärzte ohne Grenzen (** B H)
„Die Gesundheitsversorgung ist am Ende“ - Bericht
Die Krankenschwester Crystal van Leeuwen ist gerade aus dem Jemen zurückgekehrt, wo sie als Mitglied unseres Notfallteams sieben Monate die medizinische Hilfe koordiniert hat. Sie erzählt von der gefährlichen Arbeit im jemenitischen Konflikt, von hoffnungsvollen Momenten und ihrer Bewunderung für die lokalen Mitarbeiter, die oft Frontlinien überqueren, um zur Arbeit ins Krankenhaus zu kommen. Deutlich wird auch, dass die Menschen mit dem unbequemen Wissen leben, dass sie einen Krieg durchleben, der wenig Unterschied zwischen zivilen und militärischen Zielen macht.
Große Teile von Tais sind stark vom Krieg beeinträchtigt, leere Straßen voller Barrikaden, zerstörte Gebäude, Bombenkrater und eine aktive Front mitten durch die Stadt. Zu der Zeit waren das Haus und das Büro von Ärzte ohne Grenzen noch sehr nahe an der Frontlinie. Man konnte Tag und Nacht die Schüsse und Luftangriffe hören – man lernt sehr schnell die Schussrichtung herauszuhören.
Ich werde nie die ersten Zwillinge vergessen, die im Krankenhaus geboren wurden. Sie waren auch die ersten Neugeborenen in kritischem Zustand. Sie waren erst sieben Monate alt, Kinder einer jungen Frau, die zum ersten Mal Mutter wurde und klein genug, um sie mit einer Hand zu halten. Ihre Überlebenschancen waren sehr gering, weil sie so früh geboren wurden, aber das Team wollte ihre Leben retten. Wir benutzten ein Bett mit einer Wärmelampe, um ihre Temperaturen stabil zu halten. Es war sehr riskant, und wir mussten sie oft wiederbeleben. Aber sieben Wochen später entließen wir die sehr gesunden Zwillinge Ola und Osman.
Auf der anderen Seite der Front, die durch die Stadt verläuft, bieten wir ähnliche Dienste an, indem wir eine Einrichtung für Familienplanung und ein Kinderkrankenhaus des jemenitischen Gesundheitsministeriums unterstützen.
Auf beiden Seiten der Frontlinie unterstützen wir Notaufnahmen, in denen wir Patienten mit Verletzungen behandeln, die während des Konflikts entstanden sind. An einem Tag Mitte August, als die Friedensverhandlungen abbrachen und das Gewaltniveau wieder anstieg, haben wir in von uns unterstützten Einrichtungen in Tais 59 kriegsverletzte Zivilisten behandelt, 19 von ihnen waren Frauen und Kinder. Wir sehen Menschen mit Verletzungen von Splittern, Detonationen und Scharfschützenbeschuss.
Der Bedarf an humanitärer und medizinischer Hilfe der Menschen im Jemen ist gewaltig. Wir können dies ganz deutlich sehen: Menschen, die aufgrund der Gewalt aus ihren Häusern vertrieben wurden, benötigen Hilfsgüter, medizinische Ersthilfe und Versorgung bei chronischen Krankheiten. Lebensrettende reproduktive und pädiatrische Medizin sind genauso notwendig wie komplexe Operationen und anschließende Rehabilitation. Aber wir müssen akzeptieren, dass wir nicht alles machen können.
Das Gesundheitssystem im Jemen ist sehr geschwächt – von Crystal van Leeuwen
https://www.aerzte-ohne-grenzen.de/jemen-krieg-bericht-einer-krankenschwester
English version presented YPR 197, cp1: http://www.msf.org/en/article/yemen-%E2%80%9Chealthcare-breaking-point%E2%80%9D = http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/yemens-healthcare-breaking-point-1444886769
15.9.2016 – International Business Times (** B H K)
Women brandishing weapons, malnourished children underscore Yemen crisis
Horrific, haunting images of malnourished children, women brandishing weapons, civilians killed by airstrikes are emblematic of the conflict that continues to rage in Yemen (photos)
cp2 Allgemein / General
15.9.2016 – Near Eastern Outlook (* B K P)
Western Arms Dealers Are Behind the Mounting Death Toll in Yemen
At the second Second Conference of States Parties of the Arms Trade Treaty, which opened in late August in Geneva, human rights activists have accused Paris of exporting arms to the states that are using those against civilians. The Arms Trade Treaty was introduced in late 2014 and was immediately signed by 130 states, that announced their commitment to the cause of prevention of new war crimes being carried out across the globe in violation of human rights.
The Control Arms organization has recently condemned the United States, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and other European countries that are providing all sorts of weapons to the Saudi-led coalition. According to its reports Paris authorized the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia worth 16 billion euros in 2015, but these rifles, armored personnel carriers and bombs kill civilians.
The Mediapart journal has made it its mission to investigate the details of the report that was presented at the Second Conference of States Parties of the Arms Trade Treaty on the use of French military equipment against civilians.
Aymeric Elluin, an arms and international law expert from Amnesty International, says that the organization has been trying to attract the international community’s attention to the events in Yemen for several months. He believes that the coalition should be brought to the International Criminal Court and charged with the crimes it committed in Yemen.
Experts predict that with the expansion of conflict zones acros the world the volume of weapons sold could reach the volume of 100 billion euros. This means that not only in Yemen, but also in other countries the blood of innocent civilians will be spit due the ever growing greed of the Western military contractors, since they do only care about their profits, paying no heed to some poor folks dying every day in far away countries.
It seems it’s high time to force those arms sellers into answering for every drop of innocent blood shed on their part by assembling an international tribunal that will investigate every separate case of unlawful violence – by Jean Perier
http://journal-neo.org/2016/09/15/western-arms-dealers-are-behind-the-mounting-death-toll-in-yemen/
15.9.2016 – Morning Star (* A K P)
Profiteering From Death And Human Misery
Britain and the US continue to sell arms to the Saudi-led coalition despite reports of serious human rights abuses in the Yemeni civil war
Arms sales above flesh and blood, terror, heartbreak and humanity, every time – by Felicity Arbuthnot
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-dfa5-Profiteering-from-death-and-human-misery
Comment: very similar to article presented YPR 197, cp2.
15.9.2016 – Spiegel Online (* B K P)
Saudi-Arabien bombt, Millionen hungern
Mit Waffen aus dem Westen führt Saudi-Arabien Krieg im Jemen, wenn auch ohne großen Erfolg. Tausende starben bereits - weil sich ein junger Prinz profilieren will.
Nach anderthalb Jahren haben Saudi-Arabien und seine lokalen Verbündeten die Huthis zwar aus der Hafenstadt Aden vertrieben, von der Rückeroberung der Hauptstadt Sanaa sind sie aber noch immer weit entfernt. Zwar behauptet der von Riad unterstützte und von den Huthis entmachtete Präsident Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, der Sieg sei nahe, aber das ist Wunschdenken.
Denn noch immer wirkt die Strategie der Saudis konfus: Die Luftwaffe bombardiert die Hochburgen der Huthis zwar permanent und unterstützt lokale Stammesmilizen. Vor einer groß angelegten Bodenoperation mit eigenen Kräften schreckt Riad aus Angst vor Verlusten aber zurück. Die Friedensgespräche mit den Huthis in Kuwait scheiterten, bevor sie richtig begonnen hatten.
Über weite Strecken wirkt der Krieg im Jemen in erster Linie wie eine Kampagne, mit der Saudi-Arabiens Verteidigungsminister Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud an Statur gewinnen will.
Mehr als 10.000 Menschen sind in dem Konflikt bislang getötet worden. Der Westen profitiert, weil er Waffen in Milliardenhöhe nach Riad exportiert. Die humanitäre Hilfe für die notleidenden Jemeniten ist dagegen dramatisch unterfinanziert – von Christoph Sydow
Kommentar: Überblicksartikel, der das Wichtigste zusammenfasst, nur kleinere Ungenauigkeiten. Lesen Sie auch die Leserkommentare, sie sind ganz eindeutig. Die Bundesregierung erwacht immer noch nicht aus ihrem Tiefschlaf, sie schnarcht nur ein bisschen lauter (siehe cp11).
2. Saudi Arabien is eines der grössten Dre...länder die ich jeh beruflich besuchen musste. Und was tun wir, richtig sie mit allen Mitteln unterstützen. Deshalb werde ich keine Partei der jetzigen Regierung mehr wählen! Alle haben diese Waffendeals mit abgenickt. Pfui Deibel !!!
4. Löblich, dass es auch dieser Konflikt mal in die deutschen Medien schafft, nachdem er so lange sträflich vernachlässigt wurde. Jetzt auch noch auf die Kriegsverbrechen der Saudis eingehen, die gerne auch mal Märkte und Krankenhäuser in Schutt und Asche legen. Aus einem Guardian Artikel zitiert, z.B. telepolis so: "Saudi-Arabien hat indes alle Vorwürfe zurückgewiesen, absichtlich Zivilisten anzugreifen und seinerseits interne Untersuchungen durchgeführt. Dabei wurden acht Angriffe untersucht, unter anderem auf Krankenhäuser: Im Ergebnis bescheinigte sich das Königreich, dass die Angriffe gerechtfertigt gewesen seien, weil sich Angehörige der Houthi-Kräfte dort befunden hätten. In einem Fall bot Saudi-Arabien Entschädigungszahlungen an" Nach elchen internationalen Regeln man den Krankenhäuser mit dieser Begründung bombardieren darf, wäre doch eine interessante Frage.
5. Herzlichen Glückwunsch..., An Herrn Gabriel für seine Genehmigungen der Rüstungsexporte auch nach SA. Wenn man all die Kohle, die für Waffen ausgegeben wird, den Menschen zugute kommen lassen würde, wäre die Welt ein besserer Planet. Aber das ist ja Kommunismus und davon werden Aktionäre nicht reicher....
14. Waffen aus dem Westen müssen wir jetzt noch lange diskutieren, wie dieser Konflikt entschärft werden könnte? Aber solange Arbeitsplätze an den Waffenlieferungen hängen, tun wir mal so, als wäre in Saudi Arabien und Jemen alles friedlich.
15. Vielleicht sollte man noch erwähnen, dass auch deutsche Waffenexporte in diese Länder (in beide) genehmigt wurden, von unserer Regierung, die ständig davon plappert Fluchtursachen zu bekämpfen. Ziemliche Heuchelei.
18. Warum dürfen die Saudis ungestraft, was bei anderen Staaten Sanktionen zur Folge hätte. Ein Land, das Terroristen unterstützt (9/11, Syrien) und Krieg in anderen Ländern führt, wird vom Westen nicht etwa sanktioniert, nein, es wied sogar mit Waffen beliefert, um Zivilisten und Krankenhäuser zu bombardieren.
22. So dämlich wie der Westen muss man erstmal sein. Wir stabiliseren mit Waffenlieferungen das Land, das weltweit der größte Förderer des islamistischen Terrors ist. Und somit protegieren wir letztlich genau die Leute, die Terrorgruppen finanzieren, deren Mitglieder uns umbringen wollen. Aber solange einersits der Rubel rollt, und andererseits die Terroristen weder Regierungsmitglieder noch Industrielle umbringen, werden wir auch weiterhin Waffen an die Terrorfinanziers liefern, und werden auch weiterhin deren Öl kaufen.
27. Schande über unsere Regierung, die diese Waffendeals an SA genehmigt hat und weiter genehmigen wird. Hoffentlich dauert der Krieg noch schön lange, damit bei unseren Rüstungskonzernen die Kassen noch schön klingen. Unsere Politiker, an dessen Hände das Blut dieser Getöteten klebt, brauchen sich nicht mit den Phrasen Menschenrechte und Freiheit brüsten, solange solche Regimes unterstützt und hofiert werden.
15.9.2016 – RT (* B K P)
Western capitals (in the name of capitalism) accessories to murder in Yemen
Is it shame and guilt I smell in mainstream media as Yemen’s engineered mass oppression has become a burden no sane journalist can rationalize any longer? Could it be that Western capitals are about ready to flip alliances?
Don’t hold your breath just yet but change is most definitely in the air. Yemen has once again grabbing some media attention
But fear not this budding narrative is still being met by the self-righteous cries of Saudi Arabia’s cheerleaders – those outlets, which, through clever reporting have managed to dirty the waters just enough for you to assume blame on Yemen Resistance Movement.
Allow me to demonstrate: On September 12, on the wake of a Saudi-led attack against civilians the Associated Press went on to subversively rationalize Riyadh’s choice of targets by arguing political legitimacy, all wrapped up in well-chosen adjectives.
“Yemen's conflict pits the internationally recognized government, which is allied with a Saudi-led military coalition, against Shiite Houthi rebels and forces loyal to a former president.”
And: “The Houthis, along with allied forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh, have also waged cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia.”
I’m glad to hear that nations’ sovereign right to self-defend is dependent on their political affiliations, and/or religious identity. In other words, when Wahhabist Saudi Arabia wishes to disappear Yemen under a barrage of missiles we ought to use the word democracy-building, whereas when Yemenis call and act in defense of their territorial integrity they are necessarily committing grave crimes. But then again one person’s resistance fighter is another person’s terror movement!
But what about this noise I hear about war profiteering and ethical politicking?
What about that indeed. A very interesting narrative is being developed there, and one which could potentially prelude to a massive shift in foreign policy and behaviors vis a vis Saudi Arabia – by Catherine Shakdam
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/359406-western-capitals-capitalism-yemen/ = https://www.sott.net/article/328456-War-profiteering-Western-nations-are-accessories-to-murder-in-Yemen
13.9.2016 – BBC (B K)
Why is Yemen too dangerous to report on?
The United Nations says the death toll in Yemen's 18-month conflict has reached up to 10,000.
BBC Arabic's Nawal al-Maghafi has just returned from Yemen where she was in Houthi-held territory in the north of the country.
Talking to Outside Source's Ben Bland she explains why Yemen is a dangerous place for journalists.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p047qjtp
Comment: That is true but not the truth: That are quite other reasons why there is so little reporting from Yemen: Blaming the own government and own allies, the Saudis and the US, for bloodshed in a dirty war, is not the subject mainstream media draw attention on.
13.9.2016 – Al Monitor (B K)
How long can the Houthis hold on to Yemen?
It seems the Houthi rebels are the only ones benefiting from the ongoing war in Yemen, as Saudi Arabia’s and Yemen’s economies have been badly affected.
The Houthi movement, originally outlawed, has been relying on the shadow economy and unofficial sources of funding to finance itself. The rebel group has been successful in capitalizing on its takeover of the state apparatus and territorial expansion to enlarge the size of the shadow economy, thereby diversifying its domestic sources of income. Since the start of the Saudi-led intervention in March 2015, foreign sources of funding for the rebel group have been vastly restricted.
The Houthis also developed a huge black market for fuel and cooking gas — basic commodities for daily survival — when they began issuing licenses for private individuals to import fuel – by Amal Nasser
Comment: Blaming the Houthis for their shadow economy and drawing funds from the state – it’s war, stupid, and meanwhile the Houthis ARE part of the state. And there are no Saudi / Gulf oil billions behind them. (And as far as Iran is concerned, the article is contradictory in itself).
Comment by Judith Brown: A rather one sided view. Much as I deplore the terrible killing and damage of the Houthis and all militias in Yemen, it is ALL PARTIES in this war that are losing out, with maybe the exception of Al Qaeda that has grown dramatically and controls part of the old South Yemen. The Houthis are from Saada and included in their loses are their homes, infrastructure, antiquities, and the loss of many family members attacked from the air by Saudi Arabia. It is amazing that they have managed to survive as they started with very little financially but I guess when it comes to weapons to kill people all sides in this disgusting war have found deep pockets.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154710110183641
9.2016 – RT via Abraham999 (B K)
Film: "Media aren't paying attention to 1000s of kids killed in Yemen"
"Children are killed, buildings destroyed and no-one pays attention" says Ibrahim Abdul Kareem who lost his child in an airstrike.
https://twitter.com/abrahama999/status/775791443839488000
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / See cp1
15.9.2016 – Doctors Without Borders (* B H)
Yemen: As armed conflict intensifies once again, seeking medical care is dangerous
he indirect victims of conflict are numerous. They include people who are unable to access medical facilities for treatment – for example, patients requiring blood transfusions or women requiring emergency caesarean sections. Even where a medical facility is functioning, it will likely lack the capacity to provide medical care due to shortages of key supplies, personnel or medicine, or have no fuel to run its generator. Some health facilities are simply too dangerous to reach, so people have to make do without. On top of that, the war has caused Yemen’s economy to all but collapse, leaving many people with little or no income. Many have to choose between buying medicine and buying food for their family.
“Now that the violence has resumed, traveling to seek care is life-threatening,” says Laurent Sury, MSF’s head of emergency programs. Consequently, in the city of Haydan, located in Yemen’s northern Saada governorate, people are not traveling for health care, MSF has found.
In July, Haydan’s hospital was operating at full capacity and the MSF team provided 60 to 80 daily consultations. “Since the beginning of August, people are not traveling for care because they are afraid of using roads or they fear the hospital will be targeted,” said Sury, though the trip may be risked for emergencies, as was the case on 13 August. Two days before the Abs hospital airstrike, the MSF team at the Haydan hospital admitted 38 children after an aerial attack on what witnesses described as a Koranic school. Ten children were dead upon arrival, and 28 others who were wounded were stabilized before being transferred to the MSF-supported Al Jumhori hospital in Saada.
In the south of Yemen, the situation is critical. In the besieged frontline city of Taiz, active fighting occurs in the city centre.
15.9.2016 – Living in Yemen on the Edge (A H)
When you have people queuieng for food, that's war
Al-Mazraq refugee camp in Hajjah province. )(photo)
15.9.2016 – Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur (* B H)
Lage im Jemen katastrophal
Im Jemen steht das Gesundheitssystem laut Angaben der "Ärzte ohne Grenzen" vor dem Kollaps. Vor allem die medizinische Versorgung im Norden des Landes habe sich massiv verschlechtert, sagte Mitarbeiterin Frauke Ossig im Interview der Katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur (KNA). Die Organisation hatte sich unlängst aus sechs Krankenhäusern zurückgezogen, weil die Sicherheit von Helfern und Patienten nicht mehr gewährleistet war.
Ossig, die in den vergangenen fünf Monaten im Land arbeitete, sagte, dass Atemwegserkrankungen bei Kindern oder chronische Krankheiten wie Diabetes inzwischen lebensbedrohliche Folgen hätten, weil die Menschen sich die Behandlungen nicht leisten könnten oder der Weg zum nächsten Arzt zu gefährlich sei. Derzeit betreuten die "Ärzte ohne Grenzen" allein in Sanaa 660 Patienten, die wegen einer Fehlfunktion der Nieren auf künstliche Blutwäsche angewiesen sind. "Wir gehen aber davon aus, dass 4.400 Menschen eine Dialyse brauchen."
https://cds.kna.de/dzNewsDaten/webnews/kwn09/urn_newsml_kna.de_20130101_160915-89-00057-2.html
14.9.2016 – The American Conservative (* B H)
The Horrifying Starvation of Yemen Continues
Much of the civilian population of Yemen is being starved to death. As I have said many times before, the Saudi-led blockade is primarily responsible for cutting Yemen off from its food supply.
The scale and severity of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis are staggering, and both will only continue to worsen unless the situation changes dramatically and very soon. Not only are the lives of millions of people at risk of being lost right now, but the future development and health of an entire generation are being destroyed as well. Even if the immediate crisis is addressed with an end to the blockade and a massive infusion of aid, Yemen will be living with the destructive effects of this intervention for decades. If the international response remains as limited and halting as it has been, Yemen will suffer massive loss of life from a man-made famine that need never have happened and could have been prevented. This is what the Saudis and their allies have wrought with our government’s help.
Yemen’s ongoing starvation by the Saudi-led blockade is horrifying, but what makes it even worse is that the humanitarian crisis created by the intervention was entirely foreseeable and many warned about it when the Saudi-led war began. The disaster consuming Yemen was entirely to be expected, and it didn’t have to happen, but the Saudis and their allies went ahead and made it happen. U.S. backing for this appalling war is by far the worst thing Obama has done overseas as president, and it stands out as one of the most shameful episodes of modern U.S. foreign policy – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-horrifying-starvation-of-yemen-continues/
14.9.2016 – World Food Programme (* A H)
Yemen Market Watch Report, Issue No. 4, August 2016
Prices of food and fuel commodities further declined in August but still remain significantly higher than the pre-crisis levels.
The cost of the minimum food basket also reduced by 9.5% between July and August 2016 but is still 19.5% higher than the pre-crisis level.
Low level of imports persisted and availability of food and fuel commodities continued to be scarce in most markets of the country.
According to Alert for Price Spikes (ALPS) methodology, in August 2016, normal situation prevailed for vegetable oil and red beans while wheat flour was on alert status and sugar was on crisis.
The national Yemen currency balance outside banks increased by YER 296 billion during January-June 2016 compared to the annual increase by YER 26.1 billion in 2014 and by YER 222.8 billion in 2015. Moreover, the increase was significant in June 2016, reaching YER 133 billion representing 44.9% of the increase in currency outside banks during the first half of 2016. This clearly shows the severe pressure imposed on liquidity in the banking system during June 2016; thereby resulting in an unprecedented liquidity crisis1 .
The economic impact of the ongoing conflict-induced crisis has been devastating for Yemen, aggravating an already deteriorating pre-conflict economic performance. Salary payments are now irregular due to funding constraints of the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY). The black market exchange rate of the Yemen Riyal (YER) in August ranged from 295 to 315 per one US Dollar, which is much higher than the official rate (YER250/USD)2 . The current poor functioning of the country’s financial system coupled with highly depleted foreign currency reserve has created serious obstruction to the traditional trade financing instruments such as Letters of Credit, further complicating the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-market-watch-report-issue-no-4-august-2016 and in full: http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/ena/wfp286824.pdf?_ga=1.139258481.372266853.1473910971 = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/wfp286824.pdf
14.9.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (A H)
Infographic: Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan - Funding Status (As of 11 September 2016)
Comment: 61 % up to now unfounded: $ 998 millian, that’s the cost of 5 days Saudi aerial war against Yemen, and we are in the 540. day today.
14.9.2016 – 7 Days (* A H)
Starving child exposes ‘forgotten crisis’ in Yemen
Salim Musabih was carried into a hospital in south-western Yemen last week. The six-year-old was emaciated and on the verge of death.
He arrived at Al Thawra Hospital with his mother, weary and weak after their village on the Red Sea coast was struck by severe food shortages due to poverty and disruptions to food imports resulting from the ongoing conflict in the country.
The child is one of almost 100,000 children that are currently suffering as the result of critical food shortages in the city of Hodeida alone, aid workers say. Shocking photos of Salim went viral on social media after a hospital volunteer in the port city shared them on Facebook.
“They arrived last week from one of the six villages on the coast,” said Ibrahim Al Kalee, the engineer and hospital volunteer who shared the photos.
“They came from a destroyed area where there is no food, pure water or infrastructure. They were starving, the only food they had was from the sea.”
Their home village of Buqa’ah is one of the six in the Taheita district, one of the poorest areas worst hit by the conflict in Yemen.
“I don’t know how long they will stay, but we have seen many cases like this,” Al Kalee said.
After Houthi forces seized the capital, Sana’a, in September 2014, Hodeida fell under their control soon after. The city, a major supply route of food imports into the country, is choked by a naval blockade imposed by the exiled Yemen government since April 2015, restricting commercial and humanitarian imports, a UN Security Council report in January said.
The loss of food supplies, compounded by growing poverty caused by more than 18 months of conflict, has left more than 100,000 children starving in Hodeida alone, a spokesman from UNICEF told 7DAYS.
“The children are suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in Hodeida governorate,” said Rajat Madhok, Chief of Communication and Advocacy at UNICEF Yemen – by Shoshana Kedem
http://7days.ae/starving-child-exposes-forgotten-crisis-yemen/92605
14.9.2016 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A H)
Trip to local hospitals & pharmacies horrific. Few open & very little to offer. Saudi imposing blockade when #Yemen imports 100% drugs.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/776041658760720385
14.9.2016 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A H)
PT Nearly 10,000 children under 5 died from preventable diseases due to collapse of #Yemen's health system.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/776044736473858048
14.9.2016 – Asharq Al-Awsat (* A E H)
Commodity Prices Continue to Rise in Yemen
A recent economic report regarding the financial situation in Yemen revealed relative increase in prices of basic commodities in June compared to prices in May.
The report studies the prices and availability of basic food commodities in target governorates- Sana’a, Taiz, Aden, Hodeida, Ma’rib and Hadramout.
The report entitled “Yemen’s economy indicators,” which was released by the Studies and Economic Media Center (SEMC), sheds light on the economic and humanitarian conditions in Yemen.
It also includes a summary on the situation in Yemen in terms of public services- health, electricity, water, as well as trade activities at sea ports.
The document also outlines the security and political situation in Yemen during the month of June and monitors the exchange rate of Yemeni Riyal against foreign currencies, including the U.S. Dollar.
The report showed that the average price of basic commodities- wheat, sugar, rice, baby milk, meat, cooking oil, potatoes, tomato, tea, cheese- witnessed an average of 1 percent rise in June in the six governorates.
Regarding currency and exchange rates, June witnessed a drop in foreign currency exchange rate against the Yemeni riyals, while the U.S. dollar recorded an average decline of -11 percent against Yemeni riyals compared to May, the dollar fell to 280 riyals compared to 315 in May.
The average rise of U.S. dollar against the Yemeni riyals is 30 percent compared to the pre-crisis period – by Sabri Najeh
http://english.aawsat.com/2016/09/article55358291/commodity-prices-continue-rise-yemen
Comment: A half-way reasonable article by a Saudi media – my congratulations! But of course, this is right:
Comment: WAR!! Why don't they mention WAR on #Yemen?? Because it's Saudi media
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1109337852452577
Comment by Judith Brown: Not surprising that people are dying. Those who can't afford food just die of starvation.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154709931273641
13.9.2016 – Doctors Without Borders (B H)
1000s can't access the few functioning hospitals.Many develop complications or die before getting there #Yemen (photos)
https://twitter.com/msf_yemen/status/775802205311950848
13.9.2016 – ABC News (* B H K)
Photos of Malnourished Children Show Horrors of Yemen's Forgotten War
A boy lies on a hospital bed in Yemen's port city of Al-Hudaydah. His eyes are full of life, but his skinny body tells another story: His arm is so thin that he can wrap his lips around it. His ribs stick out under his skin. He is one of 1.5 million children in Yemen who are suffering from malnutrition.
“The health care system is about to collapse. Sometimes the children cannot get to the health center. Lack of clean water can give children diarrhea,” Meritxell Relano, UNICEF’s representative in Yemen, told ABC News.
Photos from Yemen show that malnourished children are some of the victims of an overlooked conflict: Yemen’s 18-month-long civil war (photos) – by Lena Masri
Comment: Forgotten war? Made forgotten by mainstream media like ABC news as well. If Americans finally realize what has happened they also must realize that their country has acted just as a war criminal, in Yemen for at least 17 month now. But this truth, the way in which their country has fueled this and other wars and catastrophes, they never will be told.
25.4.2016 – ARD (* B H)
Film: Reportage über Murad in Jemen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9mO7WnyL04
cp4 Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
Siehe / See cp1
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
15.9.2016 – Sputnik News (A P)
Saudi-Led Coalition to Let Houthi Negotiators Return in Yemen From Oman Friday
The Saudi-led coalition will allow an UN plane to bring negotiators representing the Houthi movement, officially called Ansar Allah, from Oman to Yemen on September 16, after blocking their arrival for more than a month, a Houthi source told Sputnik Thursday.
A delegation of Houthi rebels and their allies loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been stuck in Oman since August where it went after failed peace talks with the Yemeni government hosted by Kuwait.
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160915/1045330666/yemen-coalition-rebels-operation.html
Comment: The Saudis block all passenger flights to Sanaa since 40 days, the delegation was stuck in Oman.
14.9.2016 – Al Araby (B P)
Yemen's national airline cancels flights to Cairo
Yemenia Airways has been forced to cancel flights to the Egyptian capital due to an air embargo by the Saudi-led anti-Houthi coalition
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/9/14/yemens-national-airline-cancels-flights-to-cairo
Comment: Strange report, as Sanaa airport already is blocked for all passenger flights by the Saudis for many weeks.
14.9.2016 – Reuters (* A P)
Exclusive: Tankers seized in Yemen port, risking deeper import crisis
Authorities in a port controlled by Yemen's Houthi movement have seized two oil tankers from international traders in a payment dispute, according to the ships' owners, an incident which could make it more difficult for the country to import vital supplies.
Ocean Tankers, the Singapore-based owner of the two 74,000 tonne ships, the Chao Hu and the Hong Ze Hu, confirmed that the vessels were being denied permission to leave the Red Sea port of Hodeida, Yemen's second-biggest port, which is controlled by the Houthi movement that also holds the capital Sanaa.
"The vessels themselves are not under arrest but have unfortunately been caught up in a commercial dispute between cargo interests. The dispute is nothing to do with Ocean Tankers or our ships and we hope the dispute can be settled quickly," an Ocean Tankers spokesman said.
Several trading sources close to the matter said the Yemeni authorities had barred the ships from leaving after failing to pay tens of millions of dollars for their cargoes of gasoline and gasoil.
The cargoes are owned by Swiss-based trading houses Gunvor and Litasco, the trading arm of Russian oil company Lukoil, and were imported via CruGas, a London-based trader and regular supplier for Yemen's main oil company.
Sources at the port of Hodeidah said CruGas and the Yemen Oil and Gas Company (YOGC) were in a payment dispute over the delivery of fuel.
According to Reuters ship tracking data, the two vessels have been anchored off the coast of Yemen for several months – by Ahmad Ghaddar, Ron Bousso and Dmitry Zhdannikov
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-oil-exclusive-idUSKCN11K2BQ
14.9.2016 – Tony Toh (A T)
Houthi security forces dismantled a terror cell in #Hudaydah plotting to carry out attacks (film by Almasirah)
https://twitter.com/tonytohcy/status/775964200078221312
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
13.9.2016 – Shapban (A P)
#Yemen southern resistance cleric says it's OK if southern leaders steal arguing "all are doing it, let them do it"
https://twitter.com/shapban/status/775925328266928128
13.9.2016 – Shuaib Almosawa (A)
A tweet by Aden security suggests the 3 Qatari soldiers were somehow "betrayed"& killed,with pic purportedly of them
https://twitter.com/shuaibalmosawa/status/775854216241872897
16.7.2015 – Souciant (* B P)
Red Nostalgia in South Yemen
It is difficult to understand the appeal of South Yemeni nationalism.
The first is that there is intense bitterness over the conditions for unification with Saleh’s Yemen Arab Republic, which already led to civil war once in 1994. Sana’a imposed massively unpopular policies in the South.
Subsidies were removed. Currency was devalued. The public sector was gutted with dire consequences for housing, health, and education. Electricity and water networks were privatized, and then quickly neglected. Pensions were either reduced or dismantled, plunging many former state employees into poverty.
The second is that Saleh moved to implement cultural policies in the South that he had previously used to neutralize dissent in the North. Saleh’s approach was to mediate amongst various elites in a weak state, with particular emphasis placed on empowering tribal and religious reactionaries in order to control leaders accustomed to significant autonomy.
The reality is that Saleh sought to preserve his rule by disrupting a viable national consensus, and skillfully prevented too much power from accumulating in any one area of the country, where it could then be used to mount a significant challenge to Sana’ani hegemony.
Part of this approach has meant sanctioning the distribution of militantly Sunni Wahhabi rhetoric and orthopraxy. This move was designed to divert Yemenis away from discussions of social and economic governance, and towards cultural politics dominated by mainstream Islamists like the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood. It has occurred to the immense consternation of Southern Yemeni nationalists, who often argue that problems like child marriage, and violent social enforcement of the burqa, became far more widespread after unification.
Al-Hirak has numerous views on independence from the North. Some press for it outright, while others push for local autonomy, and still others desire a highly federalized model similar to the canton system in Switzerland – by Bilal Ahmed
http://souciant.com/2015/07/red-nostalgia-south-yemen/ = http://www.shiachat.com/forum/topic/235042051-insight-into-the-conflict-in-south-yemen/
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
15.9.2016 – Saba Net (* A P)
Supreme Political Council welcomes UNSC's press release
The Supreme Political Council on Thursday welcomed a Sept. 9 press release by the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) relating to the aggression development against Yemen.
In a statement received by Saba, the council affirmed its approval of constructive and positive interaction with the United Nations about the contents of the UNSC's press release.
The Political Council stressed that "as long as there is a continuity of the aggression, blockade and the intransigence of the other parties, the steps by the Supreme Political Council comes to rearrange the internal affairs of the country to face the aggression and the blockade with the door of dialogue is remaining open in case of any serious intention of the other parties."
"And after a comprehensive, permanent cessation of fight, airstrikes and lift of the siege imposed on our country, the political council then is ready to discuss details of Kerry's initiative at a time and venue to be agreed upon," the political council said in the statement.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440374.htm
15.9.2016 – Reuters (* A P)
Houthis study U.S. truce proposal for Yemen: negotiator
A U.S. official has presented a proposal for a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen to the country's dominant Houthis at a meeting in Oman, a member of the Houthi negotiating team said on Thursday.
Negotiators will return to Houthi-controled Sanaa on Friday carrying the plan offered by U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon in talks in Muscat, he said.
Shannon met the Houthi team, officials of the allied General People's Congress (GPC) party and an Omani mediator in Muscat earlier this week to discuss how to end a war which has killed over 10,000 people and displaced more than three million.
U.S. officials had no immediate comment on the report.
The negotiating team member did not disclose details of the proposal. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 25 he had agreed in talks with Gulf Arab states and the United Nations on a plan to restart peace talks on Yemen with a goal of forming a unity government.
(Reporting by William Maclean in Dubai and Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa; Writing by Katie Paul; Editing by Andrew Roche)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKCN11L20M
15.9.2016 – Sputnik News (A P)
Riyadh Calls on UN Security Council to Stop Iranian Arms Deliveries to Houthis
Saudi Arabia's UN ambassador Abdullah al-Mouallimi pointed out that the Iranian arms sales to Yemen's Houthis violate the UN Security Council’s resolution 2216 and pose a threat to the region, according to media reports.
Saudi Arabia sent a letter to the UN Security Council demanding it to put an end to Iranian arms deliveries to Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen, local media reported on Thursday.
In the letter, Saudi Arabia's UN ambassador Abdullah al-Mouallimi pointed out that the Iranian arms sales violate the UN Security Council’s resolution 2216 and pose a threat to Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the whole region. The diplomat said that the kingdom became a target for attacks committed by the Houthi rebels and supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Al Riyadh newspaper reported. Iran-manufactured weapons were used in shelling of the Saudi territory that resulted in casualties among local population and damage to hospitals and schools, al-Mouallimi added.
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160915/1045340499/iran-houthis-saudi-arabia.html
and
15.9.2016 – Al Arabiya (A P)
Saudi Arabia urges UN action on Iran arms to Houthis
Saudi Arabia has called for the United Nations Security Council to put an end to the smuggling of Iranian weapons to militias in Yemen as it constitutes a violation of Resolution 2216.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/09/15/Saudi-Arabia-urges-UN-action-on-Iran-arms-to-Houthis.html = http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/ksa-urges-un-stop-smuggling-iran-arms-houthis/ and some more details in report by KUNA: http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2531916&Language=en
and
15.9.2016 – Bahrain News Agency (A P)
Saudi Arabia submits report to UNSC on Iran's violations
to take the necessary measures to let Iran desist from and stop any illegal action in Yemen and confirming at the same time the Kingdom's right to take the appropriate action to confront the threats posed by the pro-Iran Houthi militias and deposed president Ali Saleh, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
According to the message, the Kingdom said that it was subject to abrupt attacks launched by the Houthi rebels and their supporters loyal to deposed president Saleh, including launching of ballistic missiles across the border from Yemen which resulted in the killing of hundreds of civilians, and damage of the civil infrastructure, including schools and hospitals in the Saudi southern cities of Najran, Jazan and Assir region. The report said the total number of missiles that hit the Kingdom's territories in the last period amounted to nearly 30 ballistic missiles.
Al-Maalami said at least one ballistic missile named Zilzal 3, made in Iran, was launched into Najran on 31 August 2016.
The Kingdom's permanent representative confirmed that Iran was supplying the Houthi militias with weapons and ammunition in a flagrant violation of the UN security council resolution No. 2216, issued in 2015, citing several cases in which foreign naval forces, including Australia, United States of America and France, have intercepted Houthi-militia-bound vessels laden with illegal weapons shipped from Iran.
He said that the trafficking of illegal weapons to the Houthi militia's and deposed Ali Saleh isn't only a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions, but also a real direct threat to the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the region as well as the world peace and security.
He added that the Kingdom confirms its right to take the appropriate measures to confront the threats posed by the Houthis and Saleh forces who are financed by Iran and that it would spare no effort to protect its security and integrity, Yemen and the region according to the UN charter and the international law.
He went on to say that the Houthis and Saleh should be held responsible of their criminal and irresponsible behavior as silence would only encourage them to commit more violations that would pose threats to the security and safety of the people of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the region.
http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/745055
Comment: This is really ridiculous. At first, UNSC resolution 2216 already interdeicts any arms supply to the Houthis. What else the UN should do? And it’s the Saudis themselves who keep up the blockade of Houthi-held Yemen, justifying this blockade by preventing arms supply to the Houthis. So what? Second: It’s really crazy to be upset about any arms supply for the Houthis when the Saudis and their Gulf allies buy arms at least a thousand times more. Third: “he kingdom became a target for attacks committed by the Houthi rebels”, he really wrote this, as if Yemen would never have become a target for attacks committed by Saudi air raids: And Saudi Arabia itself became target of any Houthi attacks just AFTER the Saudis had started their air attacks. And what about “US made weapons were used in bombing of the Yemeni territory” – certainly a thousand times more than the “Iran-manufactured weapons were used in shelling of the Saudi territory”, and so on. This letter is really a remote propaganda plot.
And there is another thing else. On the one side, the Saudi propaganda claims that the Houthis and their allies get their heavy weapons (missiles in special) from Iran and that the Houthis are lying when claiming they have built up an own arms industry. By that, Saudis try to blame Iran and to get Western political support. On the other side, after they had bombed a factory at Sanaa, the Saudis claimed this factory would have been a military target, as they told this factory should have been "a workshop making missile parts". So what???? This story they told to justify their attack. This factory had produced pipes and building material: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKCN11J27V. Thus things are this way: The Houthis get their heavy arms in all causes Saudi propaganda needs it this way. The Houthis have their own arms factories in the case Saudi propaganda needs it that way.
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
15.9.2016 – Reuters (A P)
Saudi prince warns Iran against using force to pursue rivalry
A senior Saudi official, responding to Iranian criticism of Riyadh's management of the haj pilgrimage, urged Iran to end what he called wrong attitudes toward Arabs and warned it against any use of force in its rivalry with the kingdom.
Mecca province governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal, in remarks likely to be seen as a reference to Iran, added that the orderly conduct of the pilgrimage this year "is a response to all the lies and slanders made against the kingdom".
The remarks carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Wednesday evening follow an escalating war of words between Shi'ite Muslim Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia since a crush at the annual haj pilgrimage a year ago in which hundreds of pilgrims, many of them Iranians, died.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-haj-iran-prince-idUSKCN11L0DB
Comment: Nice. The greatest “using force” on the Arab Peninsula is the Saudi aerial war against Yemen – followed by actions of other Yemeni war parties, and by internal oppression in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
12.9.2016 – Doha News (A P)
Qatar Emir urges Iran, GCC countries to have ‘mutual respect’
Iran and Gulf countries should “focus on the principles of good neighborly relations, mutual respect and the need to resolve any Gulf-Iranian differences through dialogue and negotiations,” Qatar’s Emir has said.
According to Reuters, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani telephoned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani this week to wish him a blessed Eid. He also urged Rouhani to work toward resolving rising tensions between it, Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries, who share differing views on Syria, Yemen and other issues.
http://dohanews.co/qatar-emir-urges-iran-gcc-countries-mutual-respect/ and Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-iran-qatar-idUSKCN11J0PH
Comment: Why he then sends more Qatari soldiers to Yemen??? See cp12.
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
15.9.2016 – Gulf News (A P)
Saudi father proud of two sons martyred in Yemen
Man says he is willing to sacrifice more sons for the sake of the nation
A Saudi father who in two consecutive years buried two sons, both of whom died fighting Iran-backed Al Houthi militants in Yemen, said that he was willing and ready to sacrifice more sons for the sake of the nation.
The father showed his deep patriotism and extraordinary resilience as he attended the funeral of the second son in Al Aridha in south-western Saudi Arabia, near the borders with Yemen.
Comment: Poor man. How much his head must have been filled with pseudo-patriotic junk propaganda, as has been ever, in World War II, World War I…
14.9.2016 – Sputnik (* B P T)
Ehemaliger US-Botschafter: Saudis gestanden Islamismus-Finanzierung ein
Ein hochrangiger saudi-arabischer Beamter hat die jahrzehntelange finanzielle Unterstützung islamistischer Radikaler durch sein Land im Gespräch mit dem damaligen Ständigen Vertreter der USA, Zalmay Khalilzad, gestanden. Einen entsprechenden Auszug aus Khalilzads Buch veröffentlichte die US-Zeitschrift Politico am Mittwoch.
Die Saudis haben ihre finanzielle Unterstützung des islamistischen Extremismus immer verneint, so Khalilzad, desto verblüffender sei ein Geständnis für ihn gewesen, das er in Riad von einem saudischen Spitzenbeamten gehört habe.
„Wir haben Sie irregeführt", sagte er. Saudi-Arabien habe die islamistischen Extremisten bereits seit dem Beginn der 1960er Jahre unterstützt, um der Politik des ägyptischen Staatspräsidenten Gamal Abdel Nasser entgegenzuwirken. Diese Gegenmaßnahme habe sich als erfolgreich erwiesen und sei deshalb zu diversen Zwecken auch weiter verwendet worden. „Im Einklang mit ihrer neuen beispiellosen Politik der Ehrlichkeit erklärte mir die saudische Führung, dass ihre Unterstützung des Extremismus eine Art des Widerstandes gegen die Sowjetunion gewesen war, oft in Zusammenarbeit mit den Vereinigten Staaten, an Orten wie Afghanistan in den 1980er Jahren,", schreibt Khalilzad. Später hätten die Saudis die Islamisten gegen die vom Iran unterstützten schiitischen Bewegungen ausgespielt. Mit der Zeit aber habe sich die saudische Unterstützung des Extremismus in eine Bedrohung für das Königreich und den Westen verwandelt, sagten Saudis.
https://de.sputniknews.com/politik/20160914/312555018/ehemaliger-us-botschafter-saudis-gestanden-islamismus-finanzierung-ein.html
14.9.2016 – Politico (* A P T)
‘We Misled You’: How the Saudis Are Coming Clean on Funding Terrorism
On his latest trip, a former senior U.S. official finds a new attitude in Riyadh. But will it stick?
n my most recent trip to Saudi Arabia, I was greeted with a startling confession. In the past, when we raised the issue of funding Islamic extremists with the Saudis, all we got were denials. This time, in the course of meetings with King Salman, Crown Prince Nayef, Deputy Crown Mohammad Bin Salman and several ministers, one top Saudi official admitted to me, “We misled you.” He explained that Saudi support for Islamic extremism started in the early 1960s as a counter to Nasserism—the socialist political ideology that came out of the thinking of Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser—which threatened Saudi Arabia and led to war between the two countries along the Yemen border. This tactic allowed them to successfully contain Nasserism, and the Saudis concluded that Islamism could be a powerful tool with broader utility.
Under their new and unprecedented policy of honesty, the Saudi leadership also explained to me that their support for extremism was a way of resisting the Soviet Union, often in cooperation with the United States, in places like Afghanistan in the 1980s. In this application too, they argued, it proved successful. Later it was deployed against Iranian-supported Shiite movements in the geopolitical competition between the two countries.
But over time, the Saudis say, their support for extremism turned on them, metastasizing into a serious threat to the Kingdom and to the West. They had created a monster that had begun to devour them. “We did not own up to it after 9/11 because we feared you would abandon or treat us as the enemy,” the Saudi senior official conceded. “And we were in denial.”
Why this new frankness? First, it’s fair to ask how far the new policy really goes – by Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/saudi-arabia-terrorism-funding-214241
Comment: At the end of the article, you just understand that also this is propaganda
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1109363919116637
Comment: Saudi propaganda, new style. The spread of Wahabism is a main characteristic of Saudi monarchy and cannot be separated from the story of terrorism. The story told here is –after the Saudis have tried to deny the undeniable now they might try to reshape the undeniable – what results in a try to reshape the unreshapable.
13.9.2016 – New York Times (* B P)
Mohammad Javad Zarif: Let Us Rid the World of Wahhabism
Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, militant Wahhabism has undergone a series of face-lifts, but underneath, the ideology remains the same — whether it’s the Taliban, the various incarnations of Al Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State, which is neither Islamic nor a state. But the millions of people faced with the Nusra Front’s tyranny are not buying the fiction of this disaffiliation. Past experience of such attempts at whitewashing points to the real aim: to enable the covert flow of petrodollars to extremist groups in Syria to become overt, and even to lure Western governments into supporting these “moderates.” The fact that Nusra still dominates the rebel alliance in Aleppo flouts the public relations message.
Saudi Arabia’s effort to persuade its Western patrons to back its shortsighted tactics is based on the false premise that plunging the Arab world into further chaos will somehow damage Iran. The fanciful notions that regional instability will help to “contain” Iran, and that supposed rivalries between Sunni and Shiite Muslims are fueling conflicts, are contradicted by the reality that the worst bloodshed in the region is caused by Wahhabists fighting fellow Arabs and murdering fellow Sunnis.
While these extremists, with the backing of their wealthy sponsors, have targeted Christians, Jews, Yazidis, Shiites and other “heretics,” it is their fellow Sunni Arabs who have been most beleaguered by this exported doctrine of hate. Indeed, it is not the supposed ancient sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Shiites but the contest between Wahhabism and mainstream Islam that will have the most profound consequences for the region and beyond. – by Mohammad Javad Zarif, foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Comment: Of course, this is official Iran and could be labeled as Iranian propaganda – but, in this case, propaganda seems to come quite close to the facts…
13.9.2016 – Khameini.ir (B P)
The Sunni world is realizing Wahhabism is anti-Islam: scholar
Saudis have engaged fraudulently presenting Wahhabism. Although many Muslims went along for the ride (and the money), many of them have started to wake up for their long slumber and have started to speak out. The words and actions recently taken by al-Azhar are a veritable slap in the face to the Wahhabi establishment in Saudi Arabia.
Q: Islam’s heritage as you already know remains under grave threat as radicals have called for the obliteration of shrines, holy sites and whatever tangible proofs we have of our world religious past – but what of Riyadh’s desire to restrict the universality of the hajj. Isn’t this in itself an act of destruction against Islam?
A: The custodians or occupiers of the two holy sites of Islam have been waging a war against sacred history for over two centuries. Despite isolated efforts to expose their crimes against Islamic culture, no collective and concerted effort has surfaced to channel the indignation and outrage of Muslims who have witnessed the systematic destruction of any and all relics related to Islam. In their so-called war against polytheism and innovation, the Saudi authorities have ransacked, destroyed, bull-dozed, and desecrated priceless archeological, historical, cultural, and religious sites and treasures. In fact, they do not even stop short of removing mountains!
Q: Do you feel that there has been an attempt by Saudi Arabia to appropriate the hajj for political reasons, and that therefore the kingdom has betrayed the religious jewel it took upon itself to safeguard?
The Saudis have appropriated, not only the pilgrimage, but the entire Hijaz, and Arabia as a whole. What is more, they think that they have appropriated Islam. So, forget about them betraying the pilgrimage. That is just a single pillar. They have betrayed Islam as a whole: pillar by pillar and principle by principle.
Dr. John Andrew Morrow, Interview by Catherine Shakdam
http://english.khamenei.ir/news/4142/The-Sunni-world-is-realizing-Wahhabism-is-anti-Islam-scholar
Comment: Anyway, be aware that this is the official website of Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei. The Ayatollah is praised in a way fully fitting to Iranian propaganda. But the fact that Wahabism is a threat to Muslims and to all others is a simple fact.
13.9.2016 – Middle East Eye (** B P)
Is Saudi Arabia pricing poorer pilgrims out of Hajj?
With Hajj prices for UK pilgrims soaring to $12,000 from $4,000 in 2010, many pilgrims can no longer afford to take part in the trip
With its glittering skyscrapers, ritzy hotels, and sprawling shopping malls, it is hard to believe Mecca was ever a simple dusty, desert town where the likes of Abraham, Hagar and Muhammad once roamed. The transformation to the landscape over the last few decades has been swift and irreversible.
Both staggering poverty and opulence are on full display in Mecca during the annual Hajj season, which began last week.
The simple resting places of the poorer pilgrims lie in the long shadows cast by the looming clock tower and decadent hotels, which they could never afford, surrounding the Grand Mosque.
According to Dr Ahmad al-Alawi, the executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation in Mecca, all the luxury hotel developments – both older and newer ones – have been built on the Ajyad Fortress, a sprawling stone citadel built in the Ottoman era. When the fortress and the ancient mountain it sat on were flattened in 2002, Turkey’s then-culture minister called it a "cultural massacre". In 1984, the house of the prophet's wife, Khadijah, was also destroyed to make way for public lavatories.
“You certainly wouldn’t find anything like this in Rome or the Vatican,” says Dr al-Alawi. “Why would anyone construct a hotel with sunbathing beds on the canopies as if you were next to the beach?” he asks, in reference to the luxury hotels that already exist outside the Grand Mosque.
The development of the world’s largest hotel, the $3.5bn Abraj Kudai luxury hotel in Mecca, just adjacent to the Grand Mosque, is the greatest driver of that transformation. The Abraj Kudai will feature 12 towers, 10,000 rooms, 70 restaurants and four helipads. It is expected to cover 15 million square feet and rise 45 storey’s high by the time it opens.
Foreign pilgrims too may feel the pinch. It already costs 9,000 pounds ($12,000) on average for a Muslim from the UK to travel to Mecca – a steep climb from about 3,000 pounds ($4,000) in 2010.
“Mecca has lost its spirituality as being the city with the House of God,” argues Dr al-Alawi. “Because when you’re in the Grand Mosque and you look up and see those cranes and clock tower, you think: Am I really in Mecca or Manhattan?” – by Shenaz Kermalli
cp9 USA
15.9.2016 – Real Clear World (* B P)
Why Yemen Isn't an American Priority
Yemen is not in the American public’s eye. The country only really attracts the attention of the military professionals combating al-Qaeda, or U.S. diplomats charged with promoting stability in support of the fight against the terrorist organization. Yemen sits low even on the U.S. State Department’s agenda, overshadowed by its much more important neighbor, Saudi Arabia. The United States may disagree with Riyadh over Yemen, but the heavy gravity of Saudi Arabia in U.S. policy causes a mix of contradictory stances that add up to the kind of failure evident in the recent visit to the region by Secretary of State John Kerry.
The Saudis have staked out a red line in the sand in Yemen -- repeated recently by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir -- that Riyadh will not allow the Houthi movement, who the Saudis see as an Iranian proxy, to take over Yemen. However, the aggressive Saudi military stance in Yemen has only deepened the country’s political troubles.
While the United States at times appears to differ from its close Saudi ally on Yemen, Washington has in reality supported the Saudi campaign with large-scale weapons sales and coordination of military operations.
American priorities in Yemen do differ from those of the Saudis. For Riyadh, as al-Jubeir reiterates, Iran is the principal threat to the region, and the Houthis are Iran’s agents. Washington, on the other hand, sees political instability and terrorist groups as the primary threats, not Iran.
Given the hardened stances in Yemen, only patient, long-term mediation will succeed, and the United States can play a constructive role in pressuring all sides -- including the Saudis -- and providing a forum for negotiations.
The U.S.-Saudi relationship is likely to stabilize in spite of recent rhetoric in Congress against the Saudis. Regardless of recent differences, American and Saudi geopolitical interests will continue to overlap, and any future U.S. administration will no doubt remain attentive to Saudi interests in the region – by Charles Schmitz
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2016/09/15/why_yemen_is_not_an_american_priority.html
Comment: He is wrong when he says the US could play a positive role as peace broker. The US is partisan in this conflict, as the author himself admits.
14.9.2016 – The Intercept (* B K P)
Latest Estimate Pegs Cost of Wars at Nearly $5 Trillion
The total U.S. budgetary cost of war since 2001 is $4.79 trillion, according to a report released this week from Brown University’s Watson Institute. That’s the highest estimate yet.
Neta Crawford of Boston University, the author of the report, included interest on borrowing, future veterans needs, and the cost of homeland security in her calculations.
The amount of $4.79 trillion, “so large as to be almost incomprehensible,” she writes, adds up like this:
The wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and other overseas operations already cost $1.7 trillion between 2001 and August 2016 with $103 billion more requested for 2017
Homeland Security terrorism prevention costs from 2001 to 2016 were $548 billion.
The estimated DOD base budget was $733 billion and veterans spending was $213 billion.
Interest incurred on borrowing for wars was $453 billion.
Estimated future costs for veterans’ medical needs until the year 2053 is $1 trillion.
And the amounts the DOD, State Department, and Homeland Security have requested for 2017 ($103 billion) – by Naomi LaChance
https://theintercept.com/2016/09/14/latest-estimate-pegs-cost-of-wars-at-nearly-5-trillion/
Comment: That are just the US figures!!
14.9.2016 – Reuters (* A P T)
U.S. 'sponsors of terrorism' bill could fuel extremism: Saudi adviser
A senior Saudi policy adviser on Wednesday condemned a U.S. bill that would allow families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue the kingdom for damages, warning it would stoke instability and extremism.
"This legislation sets a dangerous precedent in the field of international relations," Abdullah Al al-Sheikh was quoted as saying by state news agency SPA. Al al-Sheikh is the speaker of the Shura Council, an appointed body that debates new laws and advises the government on policy.
"(The bill risks) triggering chaos and instability in international relations and might contribute to supporting extremism, which is under intellectual siege, as the new legislation offers extremists a new pretext to lure youths to their extremist thoughts," al-Sheikh added "This legislation sets a dangerous precedent in the field of international relations," Abdullah Al al-Sheikh was quoted as saying by state news agency SPA. Al al-Sheikh is the speaker of the Shura Council, an appointed body that debates new laws and advises the government on policy.
"(The bill risks) triggering chaos and instability in international relations and might contribute to supporting extremism, which is under intellectual siege, as the new legislation offers extremists a new pretext to lure youths to their extremist thoughts," al-Sheikh added without elaborating.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-sept11-saudi-idUSKCN11K1SH?il=0
Comment: Al al-Sheihk is more than just an “advisor”, that is official Saudi Arabia speaking here. He’s speaking “without elaborating”, that’s nice, because there is just no logic why a law giving the possibility to sue sponsors of terrorism should fuel extremism and terrorism. But Saudis’ great strength never lied in logic.
14.9.2016 – Zerohedge (* A P)
Saudis Threaten US: "Passage Of Sept 11 Law Will Lead To Instability, Chaos And Extremism"
The Saudis, however, are not taking any chances, and are back to engaging in the same verbal warnings they unleashed in April of this year, when they suggested passage of the law would force the kingdom to sell its US-denominated reserves: threats.
As Reuters reports, a senior Saudi policy adviser on Wednesday condemned a U.S. bill that would allow families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue the kingdom for damages, "warning it would stoke instability and extremism." In other words, if Obama fails too stop a law which everyone in Congress voted for, the US would suffer.
Al al-Sheikh is the speaker of the Shura Council, an appointed body that debates new laws and advises the government on policy.
A bigger question is whether the Saudis have backed off their previous threat to dump US Treasuries in case Obama fails to veto a bill which all of America wants passed; needless to say Obama finds himself in a rather unpleasant situation - deciding how to appease a country which has openly threatened the US if it does not get its way, potentially roiling the bond market at a very sensitive time – by Tyler Durden
12.9.2016 – Middle East Eye (* A P)
Gulf states ‘profoundly worried’ about being sued by 9/11 families
Congressional bill would allow bereaved relatives of 9/11 victims to sue foreign governments, such as Saudi Arabia, for culpability in the attacks
Gulf Arab states expressed concern on Monday over a bill passed by the US Congress that would allow relatives of victims of the 9/11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for compensation.
The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Saudi Arabia is the most powerful member, expressed its "profound worry" according to its secretary general, Abdullatif al-Zayani.
In a statement, he warned that the law "contravenes the foundations and principles of relations between states, notably sovereign immunity".
The US House of Representatives passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act by a unanimous voice vote on Friday. The Senate had already approved the bill four months ago and it now goes before President Barack Obama. However, the White House confirmed Monday that Obama will veto the bill.
"That's not an effective, forceful way for us to respond to terrorism," spokesman Josh Earnest said, adding that the text, which has raised major concerns among Washington's Gulf allies, has yet to reach the president's desk.However, a presidential veto can ultimately be overridden by a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress.
Zayani expressed hope that the US administration "will not endorse this law ... which will create a grave precedent".
and for this subject, also
14.9.2016 – Saudi Press Agency (A P)
Yemen expresses concern over U.S. congress passing a bill on Justice Against Terror Sponsors Act
The Republic of Yemen today expressed profound concern over the consequences of the recently-issued U.S. congress decision passing the Justice Against Terror Sponsors Act.
In a statement carried by the government-run Yemeni News Agency, the Yemeni foreign ministry said Yemen, which condemns all kinds of terrorism, confirms that self-initiated commitment of nations is the corner stone for the international war against terrorism and violent extremism.
It said that this legislation contradicts the firm principles of the international law, particularly the principle of equality of sovereignty among nations according to the United Nations charter and that any breach of this law would have negative reflections on international cooperation to combat terrorism.
http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1538300
Comment: “Yemen” in Saudi and Western propaganda wording just is the Hadi government. If their Saudi masters let cry their Yemeni puppets in this matter being mainly a Saudi and not a Yemeni problem, this reveals how much the Saudis really are affected by this new US congress act.
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
15.9.2016 – Parliament (** A P)
Commons Select Committee
UK arms sales must stop until human rights abuses investigated
Claims that UK-supplied weapons have been used in military actions in Yemen that contravene International Humanitarian Law must be fully investigated by an independent, international inquiry. Until this has been completed, the UK must halt the sale of all weapons that could be used in the conflict between the Saudi-led coalition and rebel forces in Yemen.
The findings come in a joint report published today by the International Development Committee and Business, Innovation and Skills Committee of the House of Commons.
We heard during our inquiry that there have been clear violations of IHL. For example, the UN was told that military aircraft dropped two missiles resulting in the complete destruction of a two-story house during a wedding party. 47 civilians, including 21 women and 15 children were killed, and 58 wounded.
Under criterion 2c of the UK's arms export licensing criteria the Government should not grant a licence where there is a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of IHL. Given the evidence we have heard and the volume of UK-manufactured arms exported to Saudi Arabia, it seems inevitable that any violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by the coalition have involved arms supplied from the UK. This constitutes a breach of our own export licencing criteria.
On publishing the report, Chris White, who chaired the inquiry of the Committees on Arms Export Controls (and is a member of the Business Innovation and Skills Committee), commented:
Stephen Twigg, Chair of the International Development Committee, commented:
"We remain unconvinced that Saudi Arabia is best placed to investigate reports of breaches of humanitarian law – progress so far has been too slow.
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-innovation-and-skills/news-parliament-2015/uk-arms-yemen-report-published-16-17/ and the full report: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmbis/679/67902.htm?utm_source=679&utm_medium=fullbullet&utm_campaign=modulereports
15.9.2016 – Parliament (** A P)
Commons Select Committee
British courts should decide legality of Government arms exports to Saudi Arabia
In response to calls for the UK to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia due to allegations that continued exports would breach the Government’s legal obligations, the Foreign Affairs Committee has published a report which sets out their views.
The Committee considers that the courts are the most appropriate body to judge whether the Government has broken the law. This will now be established in the upcoming judicial review granted to The Campaign Against Arms Trade.
British interest in continued UK-Saudi relations cannot override the UK’s wider legal and moral obligations, say the MPs. The Committee backs calls for an independent inquiry into the allegations of violations of international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen.
Chair's comments
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Crispin Blunt MP, said:
"Saudi Arabia is a key partner of the United Kingdom in addressing our shared challenges in the Middle East. I am yet to hear any persuasive argument for how we better secure our many strategic objectives in the region without a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia. This includes bringing about a political solution to the current conflict in Yemen, that was so deplorably precipitated by the armed Houthi rebellion in 2014.
However, the massive British interest in continued UK-Saudi relations cannot override our wider legal and moral obligations. It is crucial that the UK does everything in its power to ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition.
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/foreign-affairs-committee/news-parliament-2015/yemen-report-published-16-17/ and the full report:
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/688.pdf and summary only: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmfaff/688/68803.htm = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/688.pdf
Comment: Blunt babbling the same lullaby as always. The sense behind it: As long as we babble here, you can continue doing what you want there.
The report gives a high value to the UK-Saudi relations: "A strong and durable relationship with Saudi Arabia has enhanced the United Kingdom’s work in advancing many of our shared and vital strategic interests" and "Saudi Arabia is a crucial and indispensable partner of the United Kingdom in our shared objective of reaching a political resolution to the conflict in Yemen" (this sentence is the most funny). By such sentences the authors of this report clearly admit that for them Human Rights are not an indispensible value but strictness by which violators are treated mainly depends on own interests. - The whole report is a clear expression of partisanship with the Saudis:
"Saudi Arabia’s willingness to bear a greater share of the regional security burden, notably leading the coalition acting under the authority of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216 to restore legal authority in Yemen, is a particularly welcome development." ??? "a greater share of the regional security burden": who does spread the most unrest in the region, whether in Yemen, Bahrain, or Syria, who spreads jihadist thinking = Wahabism everywhere? - And even UNSC resolution 2216 cannot be taken for that "the coalition [would be] acting under the authority of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216". UNSC just had taken notice of the coalition's intervention, it never had been authorised by the UN, the Saudi coalition just declared itself to the let's say UN police for Yemen.
"to restore legal authority in Yemen": Hadi's term expired 18 month ago. Typical: All parts of the story that do not fit just are omitted.
"the use of cluster munitions, which could, although do not necessarily, constitute violations of international humanitarian law": What is that??? it evidently does.
"Whilst we welcome the coalition’s progress in establishing the mechanisms to conduct investigations": Really? ? More tahn whitewashing propaganda did not come yet, and evidently the whole procedure is odd, never a suspect might investigate his own cause.
The odd opinion of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, that there would be any "legal basis for the Saudi military intervention" is cited in length and taken for granted (there must be written more about).
"We heard that the situation in Yemen would have been much worse than the current humanitarian emergency without the Saudi-led military intervention": looking at what happened, that is just ridiculous. it is remarkable that the only witnesses the report cites here are the most blatant saudi supporters they could find: Tobias Ellwood and ret. GenLt. Mayall.
15.9.2016 – The Spectator (* A P)
Britain must end its support for the barbaric Saudi bombing of Yemen
Here’s a chance for Boris Johnson to make a real difference and stop kowtowing to Gulf money
The Saudis’ closest allies in this horrible affair are Britain and the United States. We supported King Salman when he declared war in March last year. In the face of a mountain of evidence that crimes have been committed, Britain repeatedly insisted that the Saudis have not breached international humanitarian law.
The former British prime minister David Cameron, as well as his foreign secretary Philip Hammond, were strong supporters of the war on Yemen. But what of Theresa May and her new Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson?
Within weeks of taking office, Mr Johnson (who contrary to some predictions has got off to a strong and confident start) forced the Foreign Office to correct its convenient but mendacious line that Britain had ‘assessed’ that Saudi Arabia had carried out no breach of international humanitarian law. This assertion, carelessly repeated many times during the Hammond era, was completely false. No such assessment, we now know, had ever been carried out. Then Mr Johnson infuriated the Saudis by restoring full diplomatic relations with Iran, which Saudi Arabia regards as its existential enemy.
However, the Foreign Secretary’s biggest challenge comes over the next two weeks, with the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva – by Peter Oborne
Comment: See also Oborne’s article presented YPR 197, cp1. I think appealing to Boris Johnson is illusional. He clearly has pointed out to support arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Nothing really will change: just some puppets have been exchanged, the play stays exactly the same.
Comment by Daniel Larison, The American Conservative: Oborne suggests that British policy may be starting to change under Theresa May, and I certainly hope that’s true, but I would be surprised if that is the case. Because the Saudi-led war has largely been ignored in the West, there is almost no political price to be paid for continuing to back it, and so continuing with the horrible policy that Cameron started is the path of least resistance. I would be very pleased to be wrong about this, but after seeing the U.S. and British governments enable this disaster for seventeen months I would be shocked if either of them withdrew support now. Of course, this is absolutely what both governments ought to do, and they ought to have never been backed the Saudi intervention in the first place, but I don’t expect much from either one at this point.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/oborne-on-the-war-on-yemen/
15.9.2016 – The Guardian (* A P)
Shelve UK arms sales to Saudis over Yemen, say two MPs' committees
Two committees call for suspension pending independent inquiry into alleged breaches of international law
All sales of UK weapons to Saudi Arabia should be suspended until an independent inquiry into alleged breaches of international law in Yemen has been completed, two select committees have agreed in a joint report.
The committees accuse the Saudi government of obstructing efforts to investigate the alleged violations, which human rights organisations say are the result of its campaign of airstrikes in the country.
The UK government has failed to undertake its own credible investigations, and some ministers had told parliament of checks that had not in fact taken place, the committees said.
They feared British support, principally through arms sales, was “having the effect of conferring legitimacy” on Saudi Arabia’s actions, the report said.
However, plans to have their recommendation to suspend arms sales endorsed by the joint committee on arms controls exports (CAEC) have been blocked by opposition led by Crispin Blunt, the Conservative chairman of the foreign affairs select committee.
In a highly unusual move, the foreign affairs committee simultaneously produced its own report suggesting the legitimacy of UK arms sales should be left for a court to decide.
Even the foreign affairs committee report, however, calls for an independent UN-led investigation into allegations that Saudi Arabia has violated international humanitarian law in Yemen – by Patrick Wintour
Comment by Judith Brown: This is an very disingenuous statement by Blunt. He is on a committee that authorises sales of weapons on behalf if the UK government. It is their job to ensure arms sales are within the law. They should stop sales now. Instead he refers to a court case by CAAT at the end of this year or January challenging the legality of sales to KSA. This means more of Yemen will be destroyed and more people killed. It is a shocking denial of his responsibilities and the responsibilities of the U.K. government.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154713948898641
15.9.2016 – The Guardian (* A P)
Courts must decide on UK arms sales to Saudis, says MPs' committee
Tory-led committee refuses to endorse call for suspending sales, saying legality of exports should be decided by high court
An intervention led by the Tory chair of the foreign affairs select committee has dashed expectations that a powerful joint committee will call for a suspension of UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia over its airstrikes in Yemen.
On Thursday a report by the business and international development committees urged the government to call a halt to arms sales, saying: “It seems inevitable that any violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by the [Saudi-led] coalition have involved arms supplied from the UK. We believe that an independent, United Nations-led investigation of alleged violations by all parties to the conflict is necessary to supplement the internal Saudi investigation.”
But the foreign affairs select committee, chaired by Crispin Blunt, produced a counter-report, saying the legality of arms sales to Saudi Arabia should be decided by the high court.
The parliamentary clash shows the huge sensitivity surrounding UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the depth of the controversy over UK cooperation in the Saudi coalition’s bombing campaign in Yemen – by Patrick Wintour
15.9.2016 – The Independent (* A P)
Britain’s arms control committee can’t agree what to do about selling bombs to Saudi Arabia
The commitee is split into three factions and its consituent parts have released two reports
A parliamentary “super-committee” has been left paralysed and split today after MPs were unable to agree what to do about the sale of British weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.
In a bizarre twist of parliamentary protocol, three competing cross-party factions on Committee on Arms Export Control (CAEC) are putting out two separate reports recommending different conflicting courses of action.
CAEC was due to put out a report recommending a way forward on the arms sales, which Britain makes billions of pounds from despite accusations that they are being used to commit alleged war crimes.
Members of the Business and International Development committees have banded together to recommend a harsher approach against the autocratic petro state. They want a ban on arms to Saudi until an international investigation into alleged war crimes by the autocracy during the course of its operation in Yemen has concluded.
The Foreign Affairs Committee faction, led by Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, however believes that the legality of the weapons sales should be left to the courts. Campaign Against the Arms Trade has already launched legal challenge, set to be heard in the coming months, meaning arms sales will continue for now.
Meanwhile a third group, MPs drawn from the Defence Committee, are understood to be in such deadlock themselves have backed neither report.
The row in the super-committee could put the Government under even more pressure to call a debate and vote on the issue in the wider House of Commons – by Jon Stone
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/saudi-arabian-arms-sales-uk-row-ban-vote-committee-arms-export-control-senate-a7309291.html and by Herald Scotland: http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/14745760.MPs_fail_to_reach_agreement_on_suspension_of_weapons_sales_to_Saudi_Arabia/?ref=fbshr
Comment by Judith Brown: This is appalling. A leaked report called on the British government to end ATMs sales until after an investigation. Two MPs Crispin Blunt and John Spelling blocked it. So they sit in their fancy homes in a UK drawing an a manning Sakarya whilst homes are bombed, hospitals are destroyed, and children are starved to death. Shameful.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154713149843641
15.9.2016 - Mail Online (* B K P)
Locals pick through the rubble of a Yemen factory destroyed in a Saudi bombing campaign which uses British weapons (photos)
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3791740/Locals-pick-rubble-Yemen-factory-destroyed-Saudi-bombing-campaign-uses-British-weapons-MPs-argue-halt-arms-deals-kingdom.html#ixzz4KMF81eA3
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
15.9.2016 – The Mirror (* A P)
Boris Johnson slammed as MPs demand halt to arms sales to Saudi Arabia
The Foreign Office is accused of blocking inquiries into controversial UK arms sales to the Saudis
A separate report by the Foreign Affairs select committee accused the Foreign Office of trying to block investigations into arms sales to the Saudis.
The committee said the Government was deliberately “preventing public scrutiny” of its practices.
“The Government points to its robust licensing regime as evidence that its arms export practices are responsible.
“However, by failing to provide persuasive evidence to support this statement or to respond to reports of breaches of international humanitarian law, the Government is preventing public scrutiny of its practices.
“It is problematic that, at the very time the Government was in receipt of reports documenting violations of international humantarian law by the Saudi-led coalition the processing times for those licence applications were speeded up.
“The Government should provide a detailed explanation for those licensing decisions rather than a simple assertion that we have a rigorous licensing regime,” the MPs said.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/boris-johnson-slammed-mps-demand-8842109
Comment: And also there is a response of the government – telling exactly the same as always has been told.
15.9.2016 – Oxfam (A P)
Yemen: Government exposed as wilfully ignoring law over Saudi arms sales - Oxfam
15th Sep 2016
Reacting to the use of UK-manufactured arms in Yemen, the joint report by the Business, Innovation and Skills and International Development Committees, and the Foreign Affairs Select Committee report with the same title, Mark Goldring, Oxfam GB Chief Executive, said:
"These reports leave the Government exposed as wilfully ignoring both UK and international law in order to keep selling arms which are exacerbating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. With more than 20 million Yemenis in need of aid, ministers need to change course urgently.
"The Government has both a moral and legal obligation to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia immediately and to carry out a rigorous investigation into how British arms are being used. These hard-hitting reports mean it can no longer hide behind the flimsy fig leaf of Saudi assurances."
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
14.9.2016 – Epoch Times (A P)
Menschenrechtsbeauftragte besorgt über Lage im Jemen
"Die Angriffe aller Konfliktparteien auf zivile Ziele im Jemenkonflikt verurteile ich" - Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Menschenrechtspolitik und Humanitäre Hilfe im Auswärtigen Amt, Bärbel Kofler, ist besorgt über die Lage im Jemen.
„Ich bin schockiert über Berichte von der Bombardierung eines Brunnens im Dorf Beit Saadan nördlich der jemenitischen Hauptstadt Sanaa am vergangenen Samstag mit mehr als 30 Todesopfern und vielen Verletzten“, sagte die SPD-Politikerin am Mittwoch. „Die Angriffe aller Konfliktparteien auf zivile Ziele im Jemenkonflikt verurteile ich.“
Der Vorfall müsse schnell aufgeklärt werden. Kofler rief alle Akteure im Jemenkonflikt dazu auf, die Gewalt zu beenden und zu einem Waffenstillstand zurückzukehren.
Kommentar: Ach neee, würde man in Berlin sagen. Nachdem vor ein paar Tagen Herr Steinmeier in Sachen Jemen mal kurz aus seinem Mustopf aufgeschaut hat und dann offenbar wieder darin versunken ist, merkt jetzt nach 17 Monaten Jemenkrieg die „Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Menschenrechtspolitik und Humanitäre Hilfe im Auswärtigen Amt,“ dass im Jemen ein schlimmer Krieg geführt wird. Da kam man schon zu Mohammeds Zeiten schneller an Nachrichten aus dieser Entfernung. Die Information, wer denn den Brunnen nun bombardiert hat, ist dabei offenbar noch unterwegs hängen geblieben und trifft dann vielleicht nach weiteren 17 Monaten in Berlin ein. Dass man dabei selber die ganze Zeit mit den Massenmördern in einem Bündnis-Ehebett gelegen hat, merkt man dann bestenfalls noch einmal 17 Monate später, wenn überhaupt.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
14.9.2016 – Almasdar (A K)
Qatar sends 1,000 soldiers to Yemen
Qatar is the latest Gulf country to mobilize their forces to help the Saudi-led Coalition after four of their own soldiers were killed yesterday in Yemen.
According to a report released by Al-Jazeera News today, approximately 1,000 Qatari soldiers, 200 armored vehicles, and 30 Apache helicopters were deployed to Yemen to participate in the Saudi-led aggression.
"The troops are now reportedly heading to Yemen's Maareb province, to join the Saudi-led coalition already fighting in the area," Al-Jazeera added.
More Qatari servicemen will be deployed to Yemen in the near future, the report concluded.
The reason for the influx of Qatari soldiers is still unknown; however, it is likely to do with yesterday's situation that involved several Qatari military personnel.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/qatar-sends-1000-soldiers-yemen/
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / See cp 1, 2, 9, 10
cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees
14.9.2016 – World Food Programme (A H)
WFP Djibouti Country Brief, August 2016
Djibouti is currently hosting approximately 20,000 refugees Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
According to UNHCR, since the crisis in Yemen started, a total of 35,862 people of mixed nationalities had arrived in Djibouti. Despiet the ongoing conflict in Yemen, UNHCR has not rpeorted any new influx of refugees in recent months. WFP continues to provide food assistance to all registered refugees living in Ali Addeh, Holl Holl and Markazi camps, in the form of general distributions, nutrition interventions and take home rations for school girls to encourage school attendance.
http://reliefweb.int/report/djibouti/wfp-djibouti-country-brief-august-2016 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Djibouti%20CB%20August_OIM.pdf
13.9.2016 – World Bank (* A H)
Djibouti: Where forced displacement and migration meet
In the context of the upcoming UN High Level Meeting on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants, this blog offers a field-level perspective from Djibouti on refugee and migrant movements To prepare theDevelopment Response to Displacement Impacts Project, I visited the Ali Addeh refugee camp in Ali Sabieh region, which has been hosting predominantly Somali refugees for over two decades now, and Obock town, which is hosting Yemeni refugees in Merkazi refugee camp following the 2015 crisis, and Horn of Africa migrants in town.
A visit to Obock town in Djibouti brought to fore another stark reality but this time at the regional level of the Horn of Africa (HOA). In 2015 nearly 100,000 people – nationals from the different HOA countries and inhabitants of refugee camps in the region – had traversed the harsh Djiboutian terrain, where deaths by dehydration is common, to reach Obock. The town is considered the gateway to Middle Eastern countries with Yemen being the first and closest destination.
A visit to IOM’s Migration Response Center brought us face to face with a number of migrants. Some were undergoing medical treatment for injuries sustained and/or diseases contracted either during the journey to Djibouti or while in Yemen and caught in the conflict. Over 3,300 African migrants have died since 2006, through unsuccessful efforts at crossing into Yemen across treacherous waters – by Varalakshmi Vemuru
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
15.9.2016 – Trac Terrorism (A T)
3 militants declared the formation of #IslamicState Wilayat in al-Mahrah, #Yemen
https://twitter.com/TRACterrorism/status/776397854923427840
14.9.2016 – Morocco News (A T)
Five Al-Qaida Operatives Killed by Drone in Yemen
Five operatives of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch were killed when a U.S. drone strike targeted their vehicle in Yemen’s central province of al-Bayda on Tuesday, said a security source.
It also confirmed that missiles destroyed a vehicle carrying al-Qaida operatives in the mountains of Radaa area in central al-Bayda province.
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/09/196674/five-al-qaida-operatives-killed-drone-yemen/
and
14.9.2016 – The Hindu (A T)
5 al-Qaeda operatives killed by US drone in Yemen
Five operatives of the Yemen-based al-Qaeda branch were killed when a US drone strike targeted their vehicle in Yemen’s central province of al-Bayda on Tuesday, a military official told Xinhua.
The military source confirmed that missiles fired from the unmanned US aircraft destroyed a vehicle carrying al-Qaeda operatives in the mountains of Radaa area in central al-Bayda province.
The military source said that “the slain al-Qaeda men were apparently travelling from Marib province and heading to meet their comrades in the al-Bayda province”.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/alqaeda-operatives-killed-by-us-drone-in-yemen/article9106781.ece and Press TV Iran: http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/09/14/484668/Yemen-US-Bayda-dr
and
14.9.2016 – Fuad Rajeh (A T)
National Org for Drone Victims: the five Yemenis killed by US drone btwn Baidha & Marib cities last night were "civilians" not terrorists
https://twitter.com/fuadrajeh/status/776066050974707712
Comment: Nevertheless, it would not be wrong to place the report here at cp14 Terrorism. The question just is: Who actually are the “terrorists”?
Comment by Judith brown: Let's reiterate the point that before US drone attacks commenced there was only a handful of Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen. The numbers increased as the drone attacks increased. When KSA started attacking Yemen the numbers of AQ operatives in Yemen grew exponentially. So what is good news? And how do we know what these men who were killed did belong to AQ? on the ground that is often a disputed area.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154709958243641
cp15 Propaganda
14.9.2016 – Saudi Gazette (A P)
Yemenis thank Salman for saving them from Houthis
Several Yemeni pilgrims have expressed their gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for facilitating their Haj procedures at all checkpoints.
The pilgrims faced many obstacles inside Yemen while on their way to perform Haj and were robbed by Houthi gangs but felt relieved when they reached the Saudi borders and entered the Kingdom, Al-Madina daily reported.
“We felt peaceful and secure in Makkah and Madinah because of the facilities provided by the Saudi government. We prayed to Allah to protect the Saudi government and people against all evils,” said Abdo Hussain, the supervisor of the group.
Houthi rebels in Sanaa put a lot of obstacles to prevent Yemeni pilgrims from performing Haj and refused in the beginning to meet the requirements of Haj placed by the Saudi government, Hussain added.
Despite these obstacles and failure to meet the requirements, Yemeni pilgrims were allowed to enter the Kingdom and perform Haj.
“Many pilgrims were worried that the current political situation in Yemen might prevent them from performing Haj. Because of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Yemen’s legitimate government, we were issued Haj visas and today we are in Mina because of that,” he explained.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/yemenis-thank-salman-saving-houthis/
Comment: Yes, by carpet bombing the entire country. (delusional Saudi media)
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1109365795783116
Comment by Judith Brown: Well this is from Saudi news. Those that do not support the Saudi strikes were not allowed to go to the Haj. So no voices of criticism. And even if there were if a Saudi journalist reported it his head would not fit long on his shoulders.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154710166048641
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
15.9.2016 - Khabar Agency (A K PH)
#Yemen: #Saudi airstrikes bombed #Sanaa international airport
http://khabaragency.net/lasten71937.html
Comment: Might-be to hit the Houthi / Saleh delegation returning from Oman? See cp5
15.9.2016 – Ahmad Alghobary (A K)
#Breaking : More than 10 #Saudi & #UAE air strikes targeted several places in #Sadaa city #Yemen. #Sadaa is bleeding
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/776443658744791040
15.9.2016 – Yemen Post (A K)
New MASSACRE: 12 civilians killed & 10 injured when Saudi airstrikes attacked family homes in #Yemen region Hajjah.
https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/776417439080968192
15.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression launches raids on Serwah
The raids caused huge damage to citizens' houses in the district, he said
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440331.htm
15.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression wages raids on Sa'ada, Jizan
The official said the Saudi aggression targeted a bridge on the main raod in al-Dhaher district in Sa'ada with three raids, adding that al-Hasamah area was hit with two raids.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440350.htm
15.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression wages raids on Jawf
The raids caused huge damage to citizens' houses and their properties.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440342.htm
15.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression wages raids on Hodeida
The Saudi fighter jets launched on Thursday a series of air raids on several sites in Hodeida province, local sources said.
The hostile fighter jets targeted a Medical College with six raids, local sources said, adding that the fighter jets also pounded celebrations platform in al-Dawar area in Corniche in the province.
It is worth to mention that the medical college was destroyed before by the Saudi-led aggression against Yemen and the platform celebrations was hit on the night of Eid al-Adha.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440337.htm
15.9.2016 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
14-9-2016
Targeting and bombing civilians by the warplanes of Saudi Arabia and its alliance
Casualties and damage (full list):
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=690188264464875&id=551288185021551
14.9.2016 – Yemen Today TV (A K PH)
Film:Saudi air raid at Belad al-Arous [14.9.; 12.9. ??]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndAkGYpPFF8
14.9.2016 – Sager Al Surbi (A K)
#hodeidah now on #Yemen #Breaking #news More than ten blows aimed at still fly constant over the Sky the province by Saudi aggression
https://twitter.com/sageralsurbi/status/776170015116623872
14.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Aggression kills four women in Khawlan
Four women were killed as a result of a bomb explosion of the aggression remnants in Khawlan district of Sana'a province, a district director said on Tuesday.
Faisal al-Hayal added the bomb exploded in Wadi Malha area in Khawlan, adding that two children and an elderly man were injured in the blast.
Al-Hayal called for an investigation into the crimes committed by of Saudi-led aggression.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440231.htm
14.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi jets launch raids on Khawlan
The Saudi war jets have waged a series of air raids on several areas in Khawlan district of Sana'a province, a security official said Tuesday.
The hostile raids targeted al-Watada and al-Qamezi junction areas in the district with six raids, the official said, adding that the raids caused huge damage to citizens' houses and their properties.
He said that the aggression war jets targeted also al-Sawael area with five raids causing damage to agricultural land.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440232.htm
14.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi warplanes launch raids on Haifan
The Saudi warplanes have waged raids on rural areas in Taiz province, a local official said Wednesday.
The official added the hostile warplanes targeted al-Ahkom village in Haifan district with an air raid. The second raid targeted a primary school in al-Akbosh area in the district.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440233.htm
14.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi fighter jets wage raids on Capital
The Saudi aggression fighter jets launched on Wednesday raids on the Capital Sana'a, a local official said.
The hostile raids targeted Saref area in the Northeast of the capital Sana'a with violent raids and bombs, the official added.
He said that the aggression also bombed Attan area in al-Sabeen district with a violent raid.
The raids caused huge damage to citizens' houses and public and private properties.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440234.htm
14.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Aggression launches over 15 raids on Baqem
The Saudi warplanes waged on Wednesday more than 15 raids on several areas in Baqem district of Sa'ada province, a security official said.
The warplanes targeted Manbda and Wadi al-Thu'aban areas and Baqem city causing huge damage to citizens' properties and their farms, the official added.
The hostile warplanes targeted also a car on the main road in al-Zamah area with an air raid, he said, adding there is news on casualties as a result of the raid.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440255.htm
14.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression wages raids on Sa'ada
The Saudi warplanes launched on Wednesday raids on Sehar district of Sa'ada province, a security official said.
The warplanes targeted a school in al-Aqab area in Sehar, the official said, adding that the house was destroyed completely, the official added.
He said that the hostile warplanes targeted also a house in Shada district causing the destruction of the house.
The Saudi warplanes pounded al-Shaikh and al-Omar areas in Munabah district with rockets causing huge damage to citizens' properties in the two areas, he added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440248.htm
and
14.9.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A K)
Pix of Uqba bin Nafea school in Sehar area of #Saada after being hit this early morning by #Saudi jets. #Yemen
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/776107919754526720 and film: https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/776175180020379649 = https://www.facebook.com/881240811966559/videos/1104186376338667/
14.9.2016 – Khabar Agency (A K PH)
#Yemen: #Saudi-led airstrikes destroyed a resident home in Nehim east of #Sanaa
https://twitter.com/khabaragency/status/776050661519724544
14.9.2016 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
13-9-2016
Targeting and bombing civilians by the warplanes of Saudi Arabia and its alliance
Casualties and damages (full list):
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=689701847846850&id=551288185021551
13.-14.9.2016 – Hisham Al-Omeisy at Sanaa in the night (A K)
Way fighter jets flying so fast and low seconds before dropping massive bombs now makes you think they're going kamikaze. Sana'a
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/775833395909754880
2AM. HEART ATTACK! Saudi punks just dropped massive bomb within a few hundred meters. Son woke up, bolted & hit wall in dark.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/775830287720865793
Sirens of ambulances echoing thru night, DURING Saudi airstrikes, KNOWING Saudi scum infamous for double tap. Salute to brave souls
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/775834523263197184
13.9.2016 – Dr. Jaiash (A K)
Huge explosions in Sadah while Saudi Jets are flaying over the sky of the city rocking our house ,kids are getting up
https://twitter.com/DrJaiash/status/775778743285641217
13.9.2016 – Dip_Ye (A K)
#Saudi airstrikes targeted today a mosque in Amran #Yemen (photos)
https://twitter.com/Dip_Ye/status/775809713678213120 and https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/776103253352259584 and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUJ9v84TlJk
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
15.9.2016 – AP (A K)
Yemen's Rebels Say They Captured Post Inside Saudi Arabia
Yemen's Houthi rebels and allied troops have captured a Saudi military post in the border region of Jizan, according to military officials from the Shiite movement.
They said the Houthi rebels and their allies attacked the post with artillery, rockets and light arms before taking it over in a Sept. 11 battle.
A Saudi military spokesman has denied the Houthi claim as "lies," but a 15-minute video clip posted on social media networks and aired late Wednesday by the Houthis' al-Masirah TV purportedly shows the shelling of the hilltop post and the attacking force examining weapons and ammunition left behind by the Saudi soldiers who fled.
"We will fight them with their weapons," said one member of the assailing force.
The clip also showed Saudi soldiers abandoning their fortified positions and later helping their wounded into the back of an armored vehicle. The attacking force set ablaze a Saudi vehicle at the post – by Ahmed Al-Haj
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_YEMEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-09-15-06-29-19 = http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemens-rebels-captured-post-inside-saudi-arabia-42106247
15.9.2016 – Al Araby (A K)
Clashes in southwest Yemen leave 15 fighters dead
At least 12 rebels and three pro-government fighters were killed in fierce battles in southwestern Yemen on Wednesday, military sources said.
Loyalist forces attacked rebel positions in Kirsh area in Lahj province, killing seven insurgents, said General Fadhl Hasan, who is leading pro-government troops in the area.
"We will continue our advance towards Taiz (city) to break the siege" imposed for more than a year by the Houthi rebels on Yemen's third city, Hasan said.
In Taiz province, five Houthis and their allies were killed when loyalists backed by coalition airstrikes and artillery fought off a rebel assault in Kahbub area, a loyalist military leader said.
Three pro-government fighters were also killed in the fighting, Colonel Abdul Ghani al-Subaihi said, in a mountainous area overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea.
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/9/15/clashes-in-southwest-yemen-leave-15-fighters-dead
15.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Dozens of mercenaries, commanders, killed in army shelling in Mareb
Dozens of the aggression mercenaries, including field commanders, were killed in rocket shelling by the army and popular committees in Mareb province on Thursday, a military source told Saba.
The shelling targeted a mercenary gathering in Rabiya valley in Serwah district, said the source.
"So-called brigadier-general Abdullah Duhan al-Muradi of the so-called military police, who was appointed from the fugitive Hadi, and so-called commander Saleh bin Mohammed Wahit, as well as so-called Hassan bin Mehsien Ghannam, were confirmed killed," the source said.
Earlier in the day, the army and popular committees' rocket battalion fired ballistic missile, Zilzal 2, against the mercenary gathering in the eastern edge of Sarwah district, accurately hit the target and killing dozens.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440362.htm
15.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army, popular committees purge Mareb's Serwah of mercenaries
The army and popular committees purged large swaths of Serwah district of Mareb province on Thursday, army officials told Saba.
They said the heroes recaptured strategic hill of Himat al-Hashyrj as well as three other surrounding sites and western mountain chain from mercenaries, killing and injuring many during the operation.
The military operation is underway to purge Serwah eastern and southern edges of mercenaries, said the officials.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440354.htm
15.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army fires rockets against 115th military camp in al-Hazm
The missile force of the army and popular committees fired rockets against gatherings of Saudi mercenaries at the 115th brigade camp in al-Hazm city of Jawf province on Thursday, a military official told Saba.
The official said the force fired a barrage of Katyusha rockets on the camp, hitting the target accurately, killing and injuring scores of them
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440332.htm
15.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Three Saudi soldiers killed in Jizan
A Saudi officer, known by the leader of Saudi Battalion Rapid Intervention Force, was killed on Thursday in al-Dukhan site in Jizan region, a military official said.
Two Saudi soldiers were shot dead by the army and popular committees in al-Hamra hill in Jizan region, the official added.
The army and popular committees pounded a Saudi military vehicle in al-Dukhan military site in Jizan, killing its crew, he said.
Moreover, the missile force of the army and popular committees targeted a gathering of Saudi army in al-Tewal outlet in Jizan, he added.
The army and popular committees pounded also al-Ma'anq military site and others sites in Khubah city in Jizan, the official said.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440346.htm
15.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army repulses attempt advance on al-Sabrain area
A military official said that a number of the mercenaries were killed or injured in the attempt.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440356.htm
15.9.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Saudi says 5 soldiers killed in clashes with Yemeni forces
Saudi Arabia has confirmed that five of its soldiers have been killed in separate clashes with fighters of the Yemeni Houthi movement in the kingdom’s southern border regions of Dhahran Janoub, Jizan and Asir.
14.9.2016 – Almasirah TC (A K PH)
Film: #Saudi army ONLY use their #US tank&armourd vehicle2run away&leave their post S #Jizan #KSA 4 barefooted #Houthi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn1_iQWBlxw
14.9.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Mercenaries murder two in Mareb
Two members of a family were executed on Wednesday by mercenaries' militia in Mareb province, a local official said
The militia raided houses of al-Adamesh in Mareb and arrested all family members, killing the two, the official added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news440243.htm
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
15.9.2016 – Project Syndicate (* B H)
Watering the Middle East
The United Nations World Water Development Report confirms what many already know: hundreds of thousands of people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – especially in Algeria, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen – have faced the worst water shortages in decades in 2016. This is the last thing the region needs, as it works toward economic growth and diversification.
Multiple factors have contributed to the current situation, including climate change, desertification, water pollution, and misuse of natural resources. Inadequate information, education, and communication exacerbate many of these challenges.
The situation in Yemen is similarly grim. Racked by sectarian violence and civil war, the country has no functioning government to manage water resources. The capital, Sanaa, could run dry in ten years. And, with half of Yemen’s population lacking access to clean water, crops are failing and disease is spreading. The UN estimates that 14,000 children under the age of five die of malnutrition and diarrhea each year. Meanwhile, farmers are drilling deeper than ever for water – some wells are 500 meters deep – without any regulation.
Effective government intervention may be a long way off in Yemen – by Moha Ennaji
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/middle-east-water-shortages-by-moha-ennaji-2016-09
Addition: #Yemen:
The UN estimates that 14,000 children under the age of five die of malnutrition and diarrhea each year. Meanwhile, farmers are drilling deeper than ever for water – some wells are 500 meters deep – without any regulation.
#Sanaa will have no more water in 10 years time
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1110412125678483
15.9.2016 – International Council Supporting Fair Trial &Human Rights (A P)
Dr.Dashti strongly condemns the cluster bombing of civilians by Saudi Led aggression in #Yemen
https://twitter.com/icsft/status/776325521772871680
14.9.2016 – Arab America
The Exotic Cuisine Of Yemen - The Ancient Happy Arabia
To appreciate the cuisine of Sheba’s land, one must dine in a Yemeni home. Tearing succulent pieces of meat by hand, then washing it down with warm bread, dipped in one of the sauces, was for me an exotic way of enjoying the foods of that ancient part of the world.
http://www.arabamerica.com/exotic-cuisine-yemen-ancient-happy-arabia/
Comment: Saudi blockade is starving Yemen to death in the moment.
14.9.2016 – Haitham Alani (* B H)
Haitham Alaini -- Urges Yemen Officials to Consider World Bank's Recommendations on Qat
Qat is both a national crop of Yemen and an addictive pastime. Upon ingestion, the leaves give an effect similar to that of several concentrated cups of coffee.
At the prohibition's announcement, some citizens felt that the government was intruding into their daily lives, while others, including Haitham Alaini, embraced the idea of removing the leaf entirely from Yemeni culture.
Haitham Alaini maintains that, while it would take time to implement, Yemen should consider theWorld Bank's recommendations to replace qat. The process will prove invaluable to stabilizing Yemen's environment and increase the quantity of water available for the thirsty. The foundation, a proponent of developing countries, advocated assisting farmers in the development of alternative, high-value crops such as olives, almonds, and coffee. The Yemeni government could ease this transition by offering credits for farmers shifting to high-value crops
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/haitham-alaini-urges-yemen-officials-024200071.html = http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2016-09/38573405-haitham-alaini-urges-yemen-officials-to-consider-world-bank-s-recommendations-on-qat-256.htm
Comment: Absolutely right – and if there would be no war and a government which could care for that…
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-198-yemen-war-mosaic-198
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-198: / Yemen War Mosaic 1-198:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm und / andhttp://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
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