Yemen: American-made catastrophe – Yemen being starved to death – Central Bank and chance of peace – Starving Yemen – Attack at Emirati vessel – Blacks in Saudi Arabia
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
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Zentralbank / Central Bank
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
6.10.2016 – Southfront (** A B P)
Yemen: The Attacks of a Forgotten War
The decree on the transfer of its activities to Aden is the attempt by the KSA to create an alternative banking authority, to push back opponents of A.M. Hadi from the management of external assets in the attempt to centralise the country under their auspices.
Questions arise about the content of the new accounts of the Central Bank and the transfer of communications and management to Aden.
To return to the decree of the transfer of the Central Bank to Aden, we note that the Houthis blocked this decision and froze the bank assets, which panicked the financial traders, confused in the contradictory directions that they received. They hold meetings with the leadership of the Central Bank, trying to clarify the situation. Against this backdrop it is interesting and indicative to note the position of the World Bank, officially supporting President Hadi and his government, but conducting routine operations with the Central Bank in Sana’a. The bank does not advertise this, and in an unspoken directive from its leadership the employees are instructed not to express their support for whichever side of the conflict. In all this, we can recall that the USA at different levels indicates to Riyadh and Hadi that the storming of Sana’a in a classic sense is pointless.
Meanwhile the Yemeni foreign exchange currency reserves, amounting to 5.2 billion dollars in 2014, were reduced to 700 million dollars in August 2016, which in the short term bodes the country serious humanitarian problems. This is explained by the fact that Yemen needed to spend its foreign currency on the purchase of fuel and foodstuff. The situation is so critical that the Houthis appealed to the population with a request to donate 50 riyals (20 USD cents) to the Central Bank fund, however without any results.
In addition, President Hadi’s decree on the transfer of the office of the Central Bank to Aden gives Riyadh the possibility to start transferring large sums of money to his account to increase its influence on Hadi’s government over the population in the North and South of the country. This is another reason for Washington’s strange position, which carefully conducts a policy not only with Hadi but with the Houthis and with former President Saleh. They do not reject them as political outcasts as is demonstrated in Syria against Assad – by Evgeny Satanovsky
https://southfront.org/the-attacks-of-a-forgotten-war/ = http://www.therussophile.org/yemen-the-attacks-of-a-forgotten-war.html/
Comment: A very informative articled. dealing with: The Central Bank problem; changes in the Hadi government; the military situation; the involvement of Somaliland and Eritrea in the Yemen war. The article is somewhat nested. Here are cited just the paragraphs on the Central Bank.
5.10.2016 – Middle East Eye (** B K P)
The American-made catastrophe in Yemen
While US officials condemn Russian war crimes in Syria, the US-Saudi coalition in Yemen is committing the same - but the media is silent
Where the unfolding tragedy in Syria has grabbed media attention in the US over the course of the past five years, at least intermittingly, America’s participation and contribution towards alleged war crimes and the unmitigated humanitarian crisis in Yemen is yet to have even grabbed the attention of CNN’s scrolling news ticker.
Effectively what this means is this: the US mainstream media is choosing to broadcast to US viewers news stories that reflect only the geopolitical positions of the US administration. While this is hardly breaking news or some kind of deep revelation, given how US media behaved as cheerleader-in-chief for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it’s still worth noting.
For instance, when Russia bombs an aid convoy, attacks a hospital or a school in Syria, a spokesperson for the US administration will come forward to denounce Russia’s intervention, and the media will cover it. But when US taxpayer bombs, using US military guidance systems, blow up wedding parties, schools, anything, you can cut the silence with the proverbial knife.
Where US Secretary of State John Kerry condemned Russia’s attack on the aid convoy, calling for an immediate grounding of all Russian warplanes so that aid deliveries could continue, which was reported by most major media outlets, the US-led attack against civilians in Yemen went widely unnoticed.
Sorry – my bad – the US government did make an announcement on Yemen that very same day: “Senate clears way for $1.5 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia.” Which now means Obama has shipped more weapons to Saudi Arabia than any previous US president, taking the kingdom’s haul to an eye-popping $115 billion since 2009.
These weapons have inflicted an almost unimaginable human catastrophe on the people of Yemen.
Where US complicity in alleged war crimes have been met with total media silence in the United States, there is growing pressure on the European Union and the United Nations, led by The Netherlands, to investigate Britain’s contribution in the conflict.
Muted criticism of the United States’ role in Yemen, however, is centred less on the plight of Yemen’s internationally forsaken citizens, and fixated more on what Yemen means for the endurance of the Obama Doctrine. In other words, Yemen is seen merely through the prism of a political football, and not a moral balance.
Not only is it extraordinary that Obama has been forced to say very little about a conflict in which US involvement has led to an almost unrivalled human catastrophe, but it’s equally disturbing to learn that Obama has determined Yemen to be a problem unworthy of a solution, dismissing the country as a “complete shit show,” according to one US official who briefs the president on national security matters.
Yes, Yemen is a “shit show” but it is a “shit show” that is exacerbated by a US-backed coalition, and it’s a only a US-backed coalition that can bring an end to a “shit show” that has led to the deaths of 10,000 Yemenis and the pending doom of tens of millions more – by CJ Werleman
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/american-made-catastrophe-yemen-2117766545 = http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/10/06/american-made-catastrophe-yemen
6.10.2016 – The American Conservative (** B H K)
Yemen Is Being Starved to Death
Since the war on Yemen is mostly ignored, the U.S. and Britain don’t have to worry about getting too much “bad PR.” They can enable an atrocious war and support the Saudi-led coalition as it creates famine conditions in Yemen without facing much scrutiny at all. By helping to thwart independent inquiries into war crimes committed by all sides, the U.S. and U.K. governments work to whitewash the coalition’s record and thus shield themselves from criticism for making the coalition’s crimes possible. Even so, the quote gets at something important about the cynical and disgraceful policy of backing the Saudis and their allies: the effect of the war on the people of Yemen is irrelevant to the coalition’s patrons so long as their despotic clients are satisfied.
The CNN article refers to Yemen as the “forgotten war” as many other reports have done in the past, but that’s not quite right. The war hasn’t been forgotten, since that suggests there was some point when the world was paying close attention to it. Rather, the war has been ignored as much as possible, and it is ignored as much it is now because it embarrasses the U.S. and its clients. As soon as it is brought to the attention of the governments in the West that are fueling it, the war is then either dismissed as unimportant or distorted beyond recognition as a mission of Saudi “self-defense.” When it comes to the Obama administration and the British government, the war on Yemen is the one they’d rather not talk about and would like us to forget, but the longer it goes on the more likely it is that others take notice of it.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s humanitarian catastrophe is about to get even worse:
The Saudi-led coalition has blockaded the country with U.S. approval and support, and that blockade has deprived much of the country of essential food and medicine. They have bombed the port in Hodeidah to make it even harder for supplies to be brought into the country. They have also bombed out bridges leading to the capital, which has made it still more difficult to get food to the people living there. Then the Saudi-backed Hadi government moved the central bank in a move that everyone agrees will inflict even more harm on the civilian population. Millions of Yemenis are starving in large part because of the coalition’s actions over the last eighteen months, and our government has reliably backed those actions. This is the war effort that the U.S. and Britain have been enabling every day for the last year and a half, and there are no signs that either one is inclined to stop – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/yemen-is-being-starved-to-death/
5.10.2016 – Washington Post (** A P)
The United States must help pull Yemen back from total collapse
As the United States accuses Russia of “barbarism” in Syria over the targeting of a humanitarian convoy in Aleppo, Washington continues to support a brutal military campaign in Yemen that has repeatedly struck hospitals, schools, residential areas and civilian infrastructure, without apparent consequence.
For 18 months, the Obama administration has begrudgingly supported Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen
Now the situation is about to get worse.
On Sept. 19, President Hadi fired Yemen’s central bank governor and announced he would move the bank from the Houthi/Saleh-controlled capital, Sanaa, to the government’s temporary base in the port city of Aden. The decree appears to mark a turn toward economic warfare aimed at strangling the Houthi/Saleh alliance financially. Yet ordinary Yemenis will suffer the most.
The move appears to be ill-planned, opening a host of uncertainties, including the possible collapse of the banking system and an inability or unwillingness to pay salaries nationally, which would accelerate economic collapse and could tip large parts of the country into famine. It almost certainly will encourage the Houthi/Saleh forces to escalate countermeasures, including attacks inside Saudi territory. Not least, it will deepen the political divide between north and south Yemen.
The Hadi government’s move to relocate the Central Bank has already complicated any further prospects for negotiation. And now, as part of the latest in a tit-for-tat escalatory cycle, the Huthi/Saleh coaliton attacked a UAE vessel on October 1 in the Red Sea and on October 3 announced that they would form a rival government.
International economists say that the bank has remained largely impartial under extraordinary circumstances. But it is now near insolvency and increasingly politicized. The bank’s monthly payments to the Houthi-controlled defense ministry in particular have rankled the Hadi government and its backers. Saudi Arabia, which has propped up Yemen’s economy in the past, is no longer prepared to put cash into a bank it sees as being used to finance a war against it. It seems less concerned that the bank’s demise in Sanaa could precipitate Yemen’s total economic collapse. Paradoxically, Hadi issued his decree on the heels of a push by his international backers to revive collapsed U.N. peace talks. If the United States fails to get negotiations back on track, the next administration will inherit yet another unwinnable war in the Middle East – by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, president and chief executive of the International Crisis Group, an independent organization that works to prevent and resolve deadly conflict
5.10.2016 – The Guardian (** B H K)
We saw how Yemen’s children are slowly starving to death
People are gathered around a bed in the emergency ward of Al-Sabeen children’s hospital in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital. Five-month-old Atan is being examined while lying next to another struggling baby. He’s tiny, and his breathing is fast and shallow. His father is staring glassy-eyed while his mother holds an oxygen tube near the boy’s face. She’s wearing a niqab so all I can see are her eyes. There are no tears, but a terrible look of fear. Across the bed, a doctor frantically checks the baby over and demands urgently: “When was the last time he ate?” There is no answer.
Those who are malnourished are set to be, by far, the biggest casualties of Yemen’s war.
Hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen, like Atan, are suffering from severe malnutrition, and possibly millions are in the early stages. Statistics in countries like this are unreliable, but the doctors say there is a procession of children coming through the emergency unit every day.
Patients with other conditions are made worse by malnutrition.
To the south of rebel-held territory, lies the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, where the vast majority of imports are brought in. Yemen is almost entirely reliant on imported food, but the port was one of the first areas to be bombed by the Saudi-led coalition. The giant cranes used to unload ships were destroyed by guided bombs. It means the only ships that can dock now are those that have their own small cranes on board. It makes the whole process painfully slow.
Food warehouses, storage silos and maintenance depots at the docks have also been hit. And beyond the port, bridges across the country have been bombed, making road transport slow and hazardous. The infrastructure Yemen needs to distribute food has been effectively crippled.
The port manager shows me bomb fragments gathered after the airstrikes.
The villages around Hodeidah are also suffering a malnutrition crisis. A mobile team of doctors and nurses provide what help they can, but they have few supplies. Parents told to take their children to hospital often can’t afford to do so – by Krishnan Guru-Murthy
and here by the same author:
30.9.2016 – Channel 4 (** B H K)
Film: Yemen: Britain's Unseen War
Krishnan Guru-Murthy reveals the catastrophic effect of a Saudi-led coalition's bombing campaign in Yemen - which uses British-supplied weapons - with millions of people consequently facing starvation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RLaLw1HLgc
4.10.2016 – Democracy Now (** B H K)
Starving Yemen
Is the forgotten war turning into a forgotten famine? What answers will we give when the next generation ask how we could watch these tragedies and do nothing? For a year, the UN has been predicting famine in the war-torn country. Some of us have pointed out that Yemenis, unlike people elsewhere, don’t go out and starve to death in public. They have a different culture and do it at home and in private.
These horrors are caused by war, they are not climate change ‘natural’ disasters. They happen because politicians (is that the right word?) pursue their narrow interests and objectives at the expense of the welfare and lives of millions of their people. Are these men (at the moment few women are involved here) completely deprived of any sense of humanity?
Visible suffering in hospitals
While many die at home some Yemenis, particularly children, do die in hospitals and their suffering is visible. Two journalists have just reminded us of this. On channel 4’s Unreported World, Yemen: Britain’s unseen war, Krishnan Guru-Murthy shows us harrowing scenes from hospitals in Sana’a and camps in the northern Tihama coastal plain near one of the war’s fronts. Nawal al Maghafi’s film Starving Yemen was filmed in Hodeida itself and in Beit al Faqih,
Both films were made about two months ago, and in areas relatively easy to reach. Since then the situation has only worsened. In both films, we see children dying of starvation and the diseases associated with malnutrition; they also explain the role of war-worsened poverty in the suffering.
Food
Why is neither food aid from the WFP nor commercial food reaching them? Some blame the Saudi-led coalition’s blockade. This is supposedly no longer a problem as the coalition and the internationally-recognised regime have given the UN authorisation to implement a Verification and Inspection Mechanism to speed up the docking of ships at Red Sea ports under the control of the Huthi-Saleh faction. It has approved the landing of almost one million tons of food, and 923,000 tons of fuel since May this year and checked 149 ships. However, the earlier Saudi-led coalition planes’ extremely precise and efficient targeting of the cranes in Hodeida port disabled them, thus slowing down all unloading, and extending ships’ waiting time to dock.
Disease
Malnourished people are more vulnerable to all diseases. So the overall worsening of medical services is a further contributor to a death toll which, up to now, has been systematically under-estimated by the UN. Recently raised to over 10,000, as Dr Ashwak Muharram, the doctor in Starving Yemen says, “they only count those killed directly and ignore those who are killed for lack of medication, electricity in hospitals, or starvation. Do you have to be killed by an airstrike to count? What about the rest?”
Estimates of total deaths to those directly associated with military action vary widely, but the lowest figure is that as many people die of indirect causes. This would mean that the current death toll in Yemen would be over 20,000. Many observers, particularly those with experience of the medical situation, think this is a considerable under-estimate.
Meanwhile, war and the arms trade
Meanwhile the war goes on. The usual fronts have seen more violent fighting since the breakdown of the peace negotiations in early August. The Saudi-led coalition air strikes have intensified. The military stalemate has certainly been a factor in the decision to end the truce on the Central Bank, a decision guaranteed to worsen suffering. The death toll mounts, from strikes, from malnutrition and starvation – by Helen Lackner
https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/helen-lackner/starving-yemen
and more websites writing on hunger in Yemen, relying on the great Reuters article presented at YPR 208, cp1, and also showing Reuters’s photos:
5.10.2016 – International Business Times (** GB H)
Heartbreaking photos of children on the brink of starvation in war-torn Yemen
Intensive care wards in hospitals are filled with emaciated and stunted children
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/heartbreaking-photos-children-brink-starvation-war-torn-yemen-1584973
4.10.2016 – Mirror (** B H)
Heartbreaking picture of boy, 6, left close to death through starvation amid fears of famine in war-torn Yemen
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/heartbreaking-picture-boy-6-left-8979511
5.10.2016 – Mint Press News (* B H)
UN: Half Of Yemen Suffering Malnutrition, Famine Looms Under Saudi Blockade
The UN said much of Yemen is on the brink of famine while calling for aid workers to be given free access to help a desperate population.
5.10.2016 – Middle East Eye (** B H)
Half of Yemenis suffering malnutrition as famine looms: UN
The UN said much of Yemen is on the brink of famine while calling for aid workers to be given free access to help a desperate population
More than half of Yemen's population is suffering from malnutrition, the United Nations told MEE on Wednesday, while warning the war-torn nation faces imminent famine.
A spokesperson for the UN’s office of humanitarian affairs said 51 percent of the population - some 14.1 million people - “are suffering from food insecurity and malnutrition today”.
Deputy spokesperson Jens Laerke said areas of Yemen have been designated either in crisis or in emergency - just one level below famine.
“We are highly concerned about these pre-famine conditions,” Laerke told MEE.
The UN children's agency UNICEF has reported that 1.5 million children are suffering malnutrition, including 370,000 enduring very severe malnutrition that weakens their immune system.
Whilst Yemen has long been the Arab world’s poorest country, its two-year-old civil war has exacerbated poverty, particularly since Saudi Arabia launched a military coalition in March 2015 to push back Houthi rebels viewed by Arab Gulf states as proxies for regional rival Iran.
Laerke said the number of people who are food insecure in Yemen has risen 10 percent since June 2015, with seven million people described as being “severely food insecure”.
His comments come on the back of senior UN official Stephen O’Brien saying it is “outrageous” that 80 percent of 24.4 million people require some form of humanitarian assistance.
“I am particularly concerned about the healthcare system as most of the health facilities in 16 out of 22 governorates are either not functioning or only partially functioning, denying thousands of Yemenis access to much-needed essential health services,” said O’Brien, who is the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.
On a visit to Saudi Arabia, O'Brien told reporters that aid flow needed to increase at the Red Sea port, through which 80 to 90 percent of Yemen's supplies transited before the war.
"The real issue is the restriction of unloading capacity at the port because the cranes are smashed," said O'Brien, who heads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
He did not mention the cause of the damage to the cranes, but in August last year he said coalition air strikes on the port were in contravention of international humanitarian law – by Rori Donaghy
Comment by Judith Brown: More warnings - every news agency all over the world seems to carry the pictures of Salem. But the story of Yemen's famine still doesn't seem to reach the front pages of our news in UK, and it is ignored by the mainstream news on the television in UK - it appears as a one-off documentary on the less watched channels only.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154774633733641
5.10.2016 – Radio Vaticana von Asia News (** B H)
Jemen: UNO schlägt Alarm
Als „absolut verheerend“ hat der Nothilfe-Koordinator der Vereinten Nationen, Stephen O’Brien, den Zustand der minderjährigen Kriegsopfer im Jemen bezeichnet. Mindestens 1,5 Millionen Kinder litten aufgrund des nunmehr seit 18 Monaten andauernden Konfliktes zwischen Rebellen und der von einem arabischen Bündnis gestützten Landesregierung unter Unterernährung, davon befänden sich 370.000 in „kritischem Zustand“. Das berichtete der Sprecher vor Journalisten in der jemenitischen Hauptstadt Sanaa. Er habe ganz kleine Kinder gesehen, die schon unterernährt seien, berichtete O’Brien von einem Besuch in der Stadt Hodeida am Roten Meer. Die Hälfte aller Kinder unter fünf Jahren weise Krankheiten in Folge von Mangelernährung auf. Die internationale Gemeinschaft müsse „das eben Mögliche“ tun, um „in breitem Spektrum“ auf die Notsituation zu reagieren, mahnte O’Brien.
Nach Angaben des Kinderhilfswerkes Unicef brauchen drei Millionen Menschen in Jemen unverzüglich Zugang zu Essen und anderen Grundmitteln; mindestens die Hälfte der 28 Millionen Einwohner hat regelmäßig mit Nahrungsmittelmangel zu kämpfen.
Ursache für die Notsituation ist eine Meerblockade der von Rebellen besetzten Gebiete, die das Durchkommen von Hilfsgütern und Lebensmitteln verhindert. Verantwortet wird die Blockade von der arabischen Koalition unter saudischer Führung, die die Regierung des Jemen gegen die Rebellen unterstützt.
http://de.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/10/05/jemen_uno_schlägt_alarm/1263021
cp2 Allgemein / General
6.10.2016 – Critical Threats (* A K P)
Gulf of Aden Security Review - October 6, 2016
AQAP militants attack security forces in Abyan and Shabwah governorates; Hadi government and allied forces continue offensive in northern Hajjah governorate; southern Yemeni leaders call for demonstrations on October 14 in Aden’s Freedom Square; Hadi government and allied forces clash with al Houthi-Saleh forces in Kahboub district, Lahij governorate
http://www.criticalthreats.org/gulf-aden-security-review/gulf-aden-security-review-october-6-2016
6.10.2016 – CNN (* B K)
Yemen: The 'forgotten war' cloaked in the shadow of Syria
unlike Syria, the world's gaze has largely missed a conflict that has left millions in need of aid and pushed communities to the brink of famine.
As such, many term it the "forgotten war."
"It's probably one of the biggest crises in the world but it's like a silent crisis, a silent situation and a forgotten war," UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Jamie McGoldrick told CNN.
The health service has "completely collapsed" and "children are dying silent deaths," McGoldrick said, as medical facilities continue to be bombed relentlessly.
Since the conflict began in 2015, an estimated 10,000 people have been killed, according to the UN.
Harrowing photos of children wasting away are undoubtedly the most telling images of Yemen's war. UNICEF reports that 1.5 million children are currently malnourished in the country, 370,000 of them severely. On top of this, 178 schools have been attacked, according to data collected by the Yemen Post – By Hakim Almasmari and Angela Dewan
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/06/middleeast/yemen-conflict/index.html
Comment: Overview article; but why ending with one of the most ugliest statements of Saudi propaganda?
Comment: It must never be a race between two wars to reach the headlines.
#Syria and #Yemen know by experience that actually being narrated does not imply the horrors showered on the country changes anything on the ground.
Let's be frank: does anyone see a determination from the 'source' to end these wars?
The war in Lebanon lasted 15 years. Iraq? Afghanistan? The struggle of Palestine?
People may be informed, most of the times misinformed, but the yous and mes cannot change anything, apparently.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1127969453922750
5.10.2016 – Euronews (B K)
Film: Jemen, Schauplatz eines vergessenen Krieges
[Überblick; und wieder die falsche Geschichte vom iranisch-saudischen Stellvertreterkrieg]
http://de.euronews.com/2016/10/05/jemen-schauplatz-eines-vergessenen-krieges und nur Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3NVznnlDJQ
and in English:
Film: YEMEN : THE FORGOTTEN WAR
[Overview; introductionary text again telling the false story of Saudi-Iranian proxy war]
http://www.euronews.com/2016/10/05/yemen-the-forgotten-war
5.10.2016 – Living in Yemen on the Edge (* A P)
"Amnesty International" called on the United States and Britain to immediately halt the sale of arms used by the alliance of aggression led by Saudi Arabia in #Yemen.
The organization called for "an international inquiry in order to bring those responsible for these illegal attacks to be brought to justice."
Philip Luther, research and activities director of advocacy for the Middle East and North Africa in the organization, confirmed it was "outrageous that some countries still provide the alliance led by Saudi Arabia with arms, despite flagrant evidence confirming that these weapons are used to attack hospitals and civilian targets again and again, in serious violations of international humanitarian law. "
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1127133407339688
4.10.2016 – Khamenei (* B K P)
Saudi’s campaign in Yemen is like that of the U.S. in Vietnam: analyst
Robert Carter, also known by his Muslim name Muhammad Ali Carter, is a journalist, news editor and TV presenter and formerly a docmuntary maker and presenter working for the London-based Islamic religion, culture and news channel, Ahlulbayt TV. The official website of Ayatollah Khamenei has conducted an interview with Mr. Carter on the ongoing war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia as well as a few more issues within the MENA region. The following is the full text of the interview:
The situation in Yemen is much more complex than the mainstream media likes to admit. In fact, I would argue that the Yemen crisis is the most oversimplified conflict in recent history. Virtually all media outlets are reporting the Yemen conflict as a sectarian ‘Sunni-Shia’ civil war which is part of a bigger, regional sectarian ‘cold war’ between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, the truth is (as often is the case) absent from the general public’s vision.
Anyone who has spoken to people living in Yemen, as I have, will know that this is not considered a civil war by the natives, but an invasion.
None of these vital facts is mentioned, nor is the fact that Saudi Arabia has ignored all attempts by the new Yemeni administration to resolve their internal conflicts peacefully without foreign intervention or war.
The media has stuck to the same tedious and lazy narrative, it’s a Sunni-Shia sectarian struggle and the “Iran-backed” Shia Houthi rebels must be defeated at all costs, due to decades old paranoia of the Iranian Islamic revolution.
Partly due to ignorance, partly due to the fact the media refuses to allow journalists to cover the counter arguments made by Yemenis in response to the Saudi propaganda but most importantly the Saudi-led war against Yemen deeply involves both USA and UK support.
Grass root journalists are not given the opportunity to ask these questions, when they do, are dismissed by the mainstream media as anti-Saudi or conspiracy theorists.
This “partnership from hell” as Kim sheriff, a Yemeni human rights lawyer and activist based in London so eloquently put it, is what keeps the bombs dropping and the media silent.
Hypocrisy, corruption and unprofessional media bias sadly exist in the world of big money media. Fox news, a huge American international news network, which is currently partly owned by the wealthy Saudi Prince Al-Waleed is a prime example of how big media giants are exposed to corruption. It is only natural a big western news giant who accepts investment from foreign Saudi billionaires would not have the freedom to criticize in depth the Saudi goose that lays its financial golden eggs.
There is an abundance of evidence to suggest that the new leadership of Saudi Arabia is dangerously compulsive and inexperienced. It seems that the Saudi’s are playing a game of checkers while the Iranians are playing chess; while the Saudis think in years, the Iranians think in decades.
http://english.khamenei.ir/news/4201/Saudi-s-campaign-in-Yemen-is-like-that-of-the-U-S-in-Vietnam
Comment: What he tells is all sound, even if it is published on Ayatollah Khameneis website – who himself hardly cares for any human rights, as far as what happens in Iran itself is concerned. But this here is on Yemen, and in the case of Yemen Iranian media are in the happy position that the mere facts are the best propaganda for them – just the opposite to the situation Saudi propaganda meets in the case of Yemen.
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe cp1 / See cp1
6.10.2016 – RT (* B H K)
‘Cancer connected with nuclear disasters develops in Yemeni children’
The humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, where people are dying of famine, lack of medical supplies and chemical weapons, may amount to genocide if the international community doesn’t act, says Kim Sharif of Human Rights for Yemen.
Yemen is heavily dependent on imports. But the blockade imposed by the Saudi-led coalition – which is backed by the US and the UK – has made it impossible for any goods to be imported into the country and “all commercial activity” in Yemen has been halted, according to the rights lawyer.
Sharif went on to say, “people are dying of chemical type of weapons, where children are developing very unusual cancers that are usually connected with a nuclear type holocaust.”
“This is very shocking and so frequent in the northern parts of the Yemen that there is a disproportionate development of rare types of cancers that are usually connected with nuclear types of disasters,” said Sharif.
She insists that an independent investigation into the situation in Yemen and the alleged war crimes committed by the Saudi coalition is necessary.
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/361818-yemen-saudi-humanitarian-crisis/
5.10.2016 – MONA Relief (A H)
Study bags are ready to be delivered very soon to students at Sanaa'a schools. Thank u dondrs for ur support. @monarelief (photos)
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/783974764469682176
5.10.2016 – Hakim Almasmari (A H)
Crying of Hunger... Last time this child ate food was 32 hours ago as 80% of children in #Yemen sleep hungry or starve in war torn country (photo)
https://twitter.com/HakimAlmasmari/status/783609205102153728
5.10.2016 – The National UAE (* B H)
Local councils should play a role in stopping famine in Yemen
local communities have a strong capacity to stop famine that is not being utilised.
Over recent months, we have been undertaking research to identify credible ways to provide sustainable and effective relief to Yemen’s beleaguered citizens. This research has been driven by an effort to understand whether techniques used in Syria, where local organising bodies got basic services running, could be effective in avoiding famine in Yemen. Our findings, published late last month, indicate that Yemen’s local councils are ready and capable of taking on such a role. Since the conflict began, local councils have played a key role in mitigating the impact of war. If fully supported by the international community, they could do more to prevent this unfolding disaster.
Councils have helped mediate local ceasefires, navigate armed groups and facilitate the movement of humanitarian supplies across front lines.
Our research points to channelling more support through councils.
Locally designed solutions could kick-start local economies so basic markets can function, and maintain the institutional structures that will play the most significant role in post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction. This assistance can and should be delivered now.
Local councils are among the few functioning institutions in Yemen capable of keeping local services running and avoiding suffering reaching unbearable extremes. By not channelling aid more effectively to the local level we are depriving Yemeni society today of the means by which they can stop famine tomorrow – by Andrew Cummings and Maged Al Madhaji
5.10.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (A H)
Maps: Yemen: Organizations 3W Operational Presence (as of 31 August 2016)
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/3W%20August%202016%2028092016.pdf
5.10.2016 – Press TV Iran (* A H)
Two million children out of school in war-torn Yemen: UNICEF
The United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, says violence has left over two million children out of school in Yemen, which has been under relentless Saudi attacks for more than a year.
On Tuesday, the agency’s Yemen Representative, Julien Harneis, said 350,000 children got no education last year amid the deadly violence, which led to the closure of many schools across Yemen.
With last year’s figures, there are currently over two million out-of-school kids across the war-torn country, added the UNICEF official.
“Children were killed on their way to school or while at school,” Harneis said. “Parties to the conflict should keep children and schools out of harm to give education a chance.”
http://presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/05/487699/Yemen-UNICEF-Saudi-Arabia
4.10.2016 – Zaid Al-Qadhi (A H)
Save #Yemen, ordinary ppl are being collectively punished. Sharp famine is taking place not only in rural areas, but also in big cities (see text in image)
https://twitter.com/QadhiZaid/status/783414351986302976
Comment: “President” Hadi having destroyed the Central Bank.
4.10.2016 – Yemen Updates (A H)
Hundreds of thousands of children and elderly face death in Hodeidah and other provinces in #Yemen. The world is silent! (photos)
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/783401036631437314
4.10.2016 – Ahmad Alghobary (A H)
Ppl in all #Hodeidah costal line r starving 2death cos of #Saudi #UAE blockade&destruction of fish industry (photos)
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/783371106799456257
4.10.2016 – Judith Brown (* B H)
This is a scene in Hodeida, where people are starving. Formerly an area where people fished and worked in agriculture providing food for Sanaa, now boats have been bombed by the Saudi led coalition and the farms are not operating because of the difficulty in irrigation and distribution. People have no jobs. Meanwhile although they are close to the port of Hodeida food aid is not arriving because the Saudi led coalition has bombed the cranes that unload ships and ships sometimes have to wait for weeks or months to get into the port to be unloaded. And people starve and die. The British government in case you want to know helps the Saudis to enforce the embargo on Yemen and despite the bombing of the port was described as a war crime the British government still supplies Saudi Arabia with weapons. Shameful. (photo)
4.10.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (* A H)
UN humanitarian chief calls for urgent protection of civilians and scaling up of support to Yemen
Stephen O’Brien, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, concluded his three-day mission to Yemen today calling for all parties to grant humanitarian access and uphold their responsibilities to protect civilians in a conflict that has displaced three million people, injured and killed thousands of innocent civilians, shattered the civilian infrastructure, and destroyed livelihoods in a country which was already suffering from endemic poverty.
“In Yemen, four out of five people are in need of humanitarian assistance. In the 21st century that is outrageous by any measure. I am particularly concerned about the health care system as most of the health facilities in 16 out of 22 governorates are either not functioning or only partially functioning, denying thousands of Yemenis access to much needed essential health services,” Mr. O’Brien said in Sana’a.
Mr. O’Brien met with humanitarian partners and authorities and stressed that “we must do more to deliver in this protracted emergency. Humanitarians are ready, but it is essential that we have safe and unhindered access and that people in need be afforded freedom of movement to access the services that humanitarian partners can provide”.
Mr. O’Brien travelled to the field to meet with people affected by the crisis. “My visit to Al Hudaydah hospital was heart-breaking,” said the Emergency Relief Coordinator. “Mothers bring their malnourished children for treatment but there is simply not enough medicines to treat them. The quantities of food, medicine and fuel entering the country are way below the needs and must be increased as a matter of urgency“.
The Emergency Relief Coordinator also witnessed the effects of the destruction of bridges and listened to the concerns and grievances of a community affected by airstrikes in central Hudaydah.
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Press%20release%20USG%20Yemen%204.10.16.pdf = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/un-humanitarian-chief-calls-urgent-protection-civilians-and-scaling-support-yemen and see also http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/yemen-devastating-malnourished-children-161004191246746.html and see films by Press TV Iran: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLvhIWt3KFs and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwK2wufe8ao
Comment by Judith Brown: Why oh why is this not the top news item in the world today? We hear about Syria day after day and Yemen that is just as bad with more people on the verge of starvation due to the Saudi led embargo and now the disruption of the Yemen central bank by Hadi. There are more people at risk of starving to death in Yemen than the whole population in Syria. And as well as the starvation they are bombed day after day in many area
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154772032953641
Comment: Headlines today. Press conferences and promises.
They knew #Yemen was starving also prior to the war. Nobody cared. Everyone allowed this inferno to reach unprecedented levels.
Tomorrow spotlights will be turnt off. And Yemen will continue to die. Unnoticed. Forgotten. Bombed. Sieged. Starved.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1126578090728553
4.10.2016 – Oxfam (* A H)
Yemen crisis
Deadly clashes and air strikes in Yemen have forced over 3.1 million people to flee their homes, killed over 6,700 people and injured over 33,000 since March 2015.
21.1 million people are in need of life-saving aid, over 80% of the population. Now the country stands on the brink of famine.
We are delivering clean water to people in the north and south of the country and have reached more than 913,000 people with water, food vouchers, hygiene kits and other essential aid.
Please help Yemen - give what you can and get clean drinking water to people who urgently need it.
Donate to Oxfam's Yemen response
The UK is fuelling the Yemen crisis by selling arms to Saudi Arabia.
Tell the Foreign Secretary this has to stop
he humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate with fuel shortages, rising food prices and a severe lack of basic services making daily survival a painful struggle for millions.
Before this latest escalation in the conflict, more than 10 million Yemenis - almost half the population - were already going hungry every day. Yemen was the poorest country in the Middle East and poverty and inequality was increasing when fighting escalated in March 2015.
Now half of the population - 14.4 million people - require help with food.
In response to the Yemen crisis, Oxfam has supported more than 913,000 people and aims to reach 1.2 million. Help has included:
cp4 Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
6.10.2016 – l4Yemen (A K)
Pic. of BeitBaaos village, appears above the Archaeological Fort Which seems be bombed tonight by Saudi/UAE aggression fighter's
https://twitter.com/I4Yemen/status/784097227073519616
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
6.10.2016 – Saba Net (A P)
Human Rights Ministry says will not deal with latest UNHRC resolution on Yemen
The Ministry of Human Rights said in a statement on Thursday that it will not deal with a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on Yemen, issued on its 33rd session in Geneva last September.
"The ministry rejects the notorious resolution altogether, and will not deal with it or with anybody working in the line of such decision," the ministry said in the statement obtained by Saba.
However, the ministry reaffirmed that it will keep cooperation and provide all facilities to the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Sanaa in line with a memorandum of understanding signed in September 2012 in New York by the foreign minister and the high commissioner for human rights.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news442672.htm
Comment: Ministry at Sanaa in Houthi-held Yemen.
6.10.2016 – AFP (A P)
Yemen rebels form rival government, with more women than ever before
The cabinet led by Abdel Aziz Ben Habtoor, who was named on Sunday to form a government in rebel-held Sanaa, will have 27 ministers, the rebel's "supreme political council" said in a statement.
The council was created in July by the Huthis and the party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Ben Habtoor is a former governor of the southern port city of Aden and a member of the political bureau of Saleh's General People's Congress.
Abu Bakr al-Kerbi, a former foreign minister of Yemen and member of Saleh's party, will head the foreign ministry while the defence ministry was given to General Hussein Khayran, who held the same portfolio in the Huthis' revolutionary committee.
The rebel government also includes five women -- a number never seen before in Yemen -- as well as representatives of southern separatists and ministers considered independents.
Comment: How many times did they say 'rebels' in this article?
The rebel government also includes five women -- a number never seen before in Yemen -- as well as representatives of southern separatists and ministers considered independents.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1127964977256531
Comment to comment: That’s right. The wording of Western media is propaganda-based and quite odd. The “rebels” are governing for a long time now, but they must be labeled as “rebels” as long as this so-called “legitimate” government (of “president” Hadi) still exists. And even if it will take 20 years…
5.10.2016 – Press TV Iran (A P)
People's power getting momentum in Yemen: Academic
The formation of Yemen’s salvation government is an effort to keep the country away from being Balkanized, says professor of Globalization at Lethbridge University Anthony Hall.
Hall said creation of the Supreme Political Council and formation of a salvation government in Yemen was a milestone where “people’s power is showing itself.”
A tremendous display of solidarity in Sana’a, the combination of different constituencies into the unity government and the representation of five women in the national salvation government are asserting a form of “people-granted legitimacy” as opposed to money-granted legitimacy, he said, referring to a Saudi-funded regime in Yemen, which was headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, the country’s president who has resigned and fled the capital.
Western powers are supporting the Saudi aggression against Yemen, the analyst said, adding that Yemen was a place for testing the “weaponry of the Western corporations” and “all the new technology of mass murder” and destruction.
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/10/05/487776/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Salvation-Government-Hall
Comment: There is no reason for glorifying the Houthis as Hall does.
5.10.2016 – Saba Net (A P)
President meets UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
President of the Supreme Political Council Saleh al-Sammad met with United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O'Brien and his team here in the capital Sanaa.
The meeting held on Tuesday, in which they discussed the UN efforts in the humanitarian and aid fields, as well as the UN responding plan to face the humanitarian issue in Yemen, which worsened by the continuing aggression and its U.S.-Saudi air, sea and land blockade since 19 months ago.
The meeting also reviewed the results of the UN officials visit to Hodeidah province, in which O'Brien expressed his sorrow and strongly condemned the Saudi-led air strikes against civilian targets in the port city that damaged infrastructure and cranes, which affected shipments of food, fuel and medicine to Yemen.
President al-Sammad thanked O'Brien and his team for their fact-finding adventuring visit to Yemen.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news442519.htm
4.10.2016 – Al Araby (* A P)
Popular WhatsApp messaging platform 'blocked' in rebel-held Yemen
Users of "WhatsApp" in Yemen were unable to use the instant messaging mobile app after it was blocked by the YemenNet, the only internet service provider in the country, Gulf news website Gulf Eyesreported on Tuesday.
Gulf Eyes apportioned blame for the breakdown in Whatsapp services to Houthi rebels who have controlled the country’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, based in Sanaa, since orchestrating a coup against the government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in 2014.
Since the 2014 coop, Gulf Eyes reported, dozens of news websites and applications have been blocked, including the photo-sharing app Instagram.
According to Citizen Lab, a research and development hub at the University of Toronto, since Houthi forces took control of the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology in Sanaa, content filtering has "changed substantially" and includes blocks on a wide variety of political content targeting local and regional news and media "in a non-transparent way, with fake network error pages delivered back to users."
Comment by Judith Brown: This is a system widely used in Yemen because it's free. So the blockage will affect a lot of people.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154774068038641
Comment: Amazing how the media fabricates news.
Re: Yemeni Ministry of Telecom closing WhatsApp in #Yemen, we want to confirm that we are currently using it.
If you are in an area where it stopped working, please do drop us a line
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi government
6.10.2016 – Saudi Arabia War Crimes (B K)
Film: These are samples of the groups of militia supported by the Saudi Coalition in Yemen.
Which they call the resistance and National Army (in their view but not in Yemenis view).
So as you can see, are these the so-called resistance or the ISIS.. ?
You can watch and judge for yourself.
The video was made in #Taiz city
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/videos/1588855718077083/
5.10.2016 – Shapban (A)
situation n Aden, #Yemen getting worse & sewage flood the streets despite #UAE control of the city & relative peace (photos)
https://twitter.com/shapban/status/783914740099809280
5.10.2016 – Shapban (A H)
video - retired woman in Aden, #Yemen starts begging b/c she didn't receive her salary
Comment: Thanks to Hadi’s Central Bank maneuver.
5.10.2016 – Fars News (* A P)
S. Arabia Cuts Budget for Pro-Hadi Officials, Militants
Saudi Arabia stopped providing Mansour Hadi, the fugitive Yemeni president, his cabinet and militia supporting him with financial aid and advantages.
According to al-Akhbar newspaper, the development came only a few weeks after Saudi Arabia and the UAE said they would back the decision of the Yemen Central Bank to relocate its offices from Sana'a to Aden provided that Ahmad Abid Bin Dagar's cabinet which was supported by the Saudis returns to Aden to rule Yemen.
Riyadh also cut off all its financial aids and payments to the Yemeni figures and politicians who have long supported the Saudi-led coalition, and now even avoids issuing entry visas for hundreds of Yemeni workers who have supported the Saudi-backed fugitive president and go to Saudi Arabia in pursuit of a job.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950714001404
5.10.2016 – Almasirah TV (A P)
Escalating protests in Aden (from min. 2:14)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKIs3V-8CbI
Comment: Mind the South Yemen flag: Separatist Hirak movement involved.
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
6.10.2016 - Living in Yemen on the Edge (A K P)
There are rumors of an imminent 72-hour ceasefire in #Yemen.
72 hours is nothing. They will not bring our children back or erase the trauma to those injured.
Peace must be. NOW. With immediate effect.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1128161353903560
6.10.2016 – Ahram Online (* A P)
Yemen: The Muscat process
While talks on peace in Yemen in Kuwait failed, parallel discussions have been ongoing in Muscat with some observers hopeful further progress can be made, and others not
The compass of the Yemeni question has turned to the Omani capital, Muscat, where stakeholders in the Yemeni crisis and international mediators are trying to hammer out a formula that could pave the way to a final agreement on a comprehensive solution that could be eventually signed in Kuwait. Kuwait had hosted negotiations between the Yemeni factions that lasted three months without making significant progress in putting Yemen back on the track towards peace and ending the civil war that erupted in the summer of 2015.
UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has proposed a working plan that would start with efforts to generate a climate conducive to negotiations. The plan calls for a ceasefire along all fronts, including a cessation of all aerial assaults, between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi-Saleh militias and arrangements to allow urgent humanitarian relief to reach war torn areas. The UN secretary general’s assistant for humanitarian affairs flew to Sanaa Sunday to promote this process.
An observer of the current diplomatic activity in Muscat told Al-Ahram Weekly by phone that the proposed 24-hour truce would require that Houthi militias halt cross-border missile fire into Saudi Arabia and that the Saudis halt their aerial bombardments of areas controlled by the forces of the Houthi militias and Yemeni military forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. On the framework of the negotiations, the source said that there is a basic consensus over what the agreement should contain, but there remain differences over scheduling and how to prioritise the political versus security tracks. If the parties’ positions on these questions can be bridged, it will be possible to draw up the articles of a final agreement that could be signed in Kuwait.
According to Mohamed Yahya Al-Saberi, a Yemeni political analyst, the dependable way out of the Yemeni crisis is to be found in the roadmap that was formulated in Kuwait. That roadmap suggests the possibility of implementing the security and political tracks simultaneously. Depending on the current conditions and climate, a committee of local military experts could be created to carry out the details under international supervision. “There is a neutral military sector that could undertake this role,” he said – by Ahmed Eleiba
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/245234/World/Region/Yemen-The-Muscat-process.aspx
Comment: The last plans from Kuwait still more or less required the Houthis to capitulate first, which simply does not work. New ideas are required.
5.10.2016 – Middle East Monitor (A P)
Saudi refuses support for UN probe into war crimes
Saudi Arabia rejected a request by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Bin Al-Hussein to form an international commission of inquiry into war crimes committed in Yemen, reported the Arab news agency Al-Manar.
According to reports, the Saudi Minister of Culture and Information Adel Tarifi said: “Riyadh does not support calls by the High Commissioner to form an international investigation committee.”
He added that the work of the Yemeni National Commission of Inquiry, which was set up by the President of Yemen, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, to probe into human rights violations was sufficient and a new inquiry was not required.
The Human Rights Council of the United Nations last week refused to open an independent investigation into war crimes in Yemen, demanding instead a national commission of inquiry to investigate attacks on hospitals and the killing of civilians.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161005-saudi-refuses-support-for-un-probe-into-war-crimes/
Comment: And, why anybody should care for that? “Saudi refuses”: Why anyone needs Saudi consent???
5.10.2016 – WAM (A P)
UN recognises Presidency of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi as Yemen’s only legitimate government
Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said yesterday that the government which the Houthis are discussing the formation of, is not recognised by the UN, which only recognises the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi as the legitimate government of Yemen.
https://www.wam.ae/en/news/international/1395300760266.html
Comment: Welcome in the dead end, UN. Anyway, Hadi’s legitimacy ended on February 27, 2015.
5.10.2016 – UN News service (A K P)
Yemen: Security Council strongly condemns attack on vessel by Houthi forces
The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned an attack by Houthi forces on a United Arab Emirates vessel operating near Bab al-Mandeb Strait on 1 October.
“The members of the Security Council take threats to shipping around Bab al-Mandeb, a strategically important shipping passage, extremely seriously,” a statement issued by the 15-member body said. The Council also stressed that the continued exercise of freedom of navigation in and around Bab al-Mandeb Strait in accordance with relevant international law must be upheld.
The members of the Security Council called for such attacks to cease immediately and urged necessary steps to be taken to de-escalate the situation.
They also reiterated their support to the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, to pursue his efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Yemen.
https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=55211 = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-security-council-strongly-condemns-attack-vessel-houthi-forces
Comment: Look at cp17a for this matter. The security Council is showing its hypocrisy here: A warship was sunk during war – that’s nothing special targeting military targets. The Security Council just is silent on Saudi Arabia relentlessly bombing half of Yemen into ruins since 18 month. But hypocrisy is even more hitting the spot: If the Security Council really would care for the “freedom of navigation in and around Bab al-Mandeb Strait”, how can it be that Saudi air raids at Yemeni fishing boats (as happened now and several times before as well) did not care the Security Council at all????
Comment by Judith Brown: I just hate war and wish that this this disgusting war would end. But what does irk me is I how the attack on a warship has been condemned (perpetrated by the Houthi-Saleh alliance against the Saudi-led alliance) when it was after all a warship and Yemen is at war, whereas the civilian deaths and starvation, highlighted this week by Stephen O'Brien, seems to have bypassed the Security Council as if the deaths of innocent children is somehow rather unfortunate but a necessary consequence of this terrible,
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154774622813641
5.10.2016 – Josephjo1221 (A P)
We heard, we saw, UN Secretary General condemn Yemenis of launching missiles towards Saudi but not jets which killed Yemenis
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/783655608142659584
5.10.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)
Film: Nasser Arrabyee talking To UN chief for Humanitarian aid, Stephen O'Brien. On US-backed Saudi war crimes in Yemen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=qfuojpCLpjw&app=desktop
5.10.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (A P)
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien Remarks to the Press
Riyadh, 5 October 2016: I would like to thank the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as well as the Government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for the warm welcome I have received on my second visit as the UN’s humanitarian chief. I would also like to thank the Kingdom for its generosity towards those in the world who have the least.
I have had the pleasure to meet key officials of the Kingdom and conveyed my great appreciation of the strong and growing partnership that we in the UN have with the Kingdom as we carry out our humanitarian work both in the region and in the world.
The establishment of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center in 2015 has been a continuation of the Kingdom’s philanthropy to the international community’s efforts to support people in need. Its generosity has made a real impact in Yemen and elsewhere. In my meeting with H.E. Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of KSRelief, we discussed how our two entities can better work together in a more complementary and efficient way.
It is critical that we collectively do our utmost to help families and communities in urgent need through respecting core humanitarian principles and values. I am encouraged by the willingness of the authorities in the Kingdom to work closely with the UN and our humanitarian partners to improve and facilitate humanitarian action in the MENA region and beyond.
My visit here was also an opportunity to discuss the desperate humanitarian situation in Yemen. This morning, I met with key officials and officers from the Ministry of Defense including members of the Evacuation and Humanitarian Operation Cell (EHOC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We all agreed that the utmost must be done to save and protect lives in Yemen in accordance with international humanitarian law. We also discussed facilitation of humanitarian access and that we must rely on facts for impartial and neutral action.
I also had the pleasure of meeting H.E. AbdulLatif Al Zayani, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, to discuss the situation in Yemen and how we can mutually support our efforts to alleviate the human suffering of the Yemeni people.
I have also met President Hadi, Government of Yemen, here in Riyadh to discuss the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Yemen and the need to ensure the protection of civilians as hostilities sadly continues and even intensify in Yemen.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/under-secretary-general-humanitarian-affairs-and-emergency-relief-coordinator-stephen-8 = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/USG%20remarks%20to%20the%20press%20Riyadh%205%20Oct%202016.pdf and also http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=55220#.V_Y-VyRpn3F
Comment: For me, this is a document of toadyism which should be obligatory school reading as a typical example of this genre. Just having seen the effects of Saudi air raids (he himself was at Sanaa when the city was bombed and had to be evacuated somewhere) and blockade (famine at Hodeida) is adulating those who are mostly responsible for all that, even twisting truth beyond recognition: “thank the Kingdom for its generosity”; “continuation of the Kingdom’s philanthropy”; “Its generosity has made a real impact in Yemen and elsewhere” (!!!!!!!!!!!!; LOL; most generous in bombs anyway). Ant that is the impact of this adulation on Twitter, critically commented:
5.10.2016 – Stephen O’Brien (A P)
Principled hum action + partnership in focus w H.E. Al Zayani, SecGen of GCC. Important in #Yemen and other crises
https://twitter.com/UNReliefChief/status/783702195615178752
Comment by Dr. Karim: And this is how real things work. @UNReliefChief #Yemen
https://twitter.com/StopDestroYemen/status/783782610879340549
5.10.2016 – Stephen O’Brien (A P)
Constructive meeting w #SaudiArabia Def. Ministry and Evac+Hum Ops cell on better partnership & facilitation of hum action for ppl in #Yemen
https://twitter.com/UNReliefChief/status/783598023851053060
and heavy comments like this.
Hi world, this man is @UNReliefChief appreciate the killers of Yemenis?! Fuck UN. He went to Saudi Arabia to get Cheque for Yemenis blood.
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/783653373136478209
Ridiculous, @UN is appreciating th efforts of killers=#Saudi >towards their victims n #Yemen ,instead of condemning.
https://twitter.com/marwan18/status/783643861604270080
Comment by Jamila Hanan to all this: @UN_News_Centre @UNReliefChief please can you not tweet pics of UN smiling with Saudi officials whilst thousands dying in #Yemen thankyou
https://twitter.com/JamilaHanan/status/784014090930909185
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
6.10.2016 – Fair Observer (A P)
Saudis and Iranians Agree on One Thing: Soccer Poses a Threat
There is little that Saudi Arabia and Iran agree on, except soccer and religion.
Sunni scholars in Saudi Arabia and their Shia counterparts in Iran may be at war overwho is a Muslim, but there is one thing they agree on: soccer detracts from religious obligations
http://www.fairobserver.com/region/middle_east_north_africa/saudi-arabia-iran-soccer-football-32303/
Comment: O my goodness.
5.10.2016 – Press TV Iran (A P)
IRGC warns Saudi vessels to avoid Iran waters
In a statement, the IRGC said the Saudi war games are indicative of efforts to create tensions and diminish security in the Persian Gulf. Therefore, Saudi vessels should not get close to either Iranian waters or international waters near the Iranian territory. The IRGC also stressed that its forces, along with the country’s army, are well-prepared to maintain security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. It said the Iranian forces will immediately respond to any act aimed at undermining peace and security in these areas as well as the Gulf of Oman. Saudi Arabia started its war games on Tuesday.
Guest: Naseer al-Omari, Author and Political Commentator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBcPyoTfJks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
5.10.2016 – Fars News (A P)
Rai al-Youm newspaper reported that Saudi King Salman bin Abdolaziz has cut the financial aid and advantages of many princes over Riyadh's severe budget deficit.
The London-based daily quoted informed sources as saying on Wednesday that King Salman has cancelled all financial advantages of the Saudi princes and is merely paying them their monthly salaries.
According to the source, King Salman may also review the salary of those wealthy princes who have accumulated millions of dollars.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950714000886 and http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950714001404
4.10.2016 – Middle East Eye (* A P)
Saudi building magnate 'told to pay staff or face arrest'
Workers say United Seemac owner Mohammed Owaideh told he will be arrested if he does not stump up $1m in unpaid wages
A labour court in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said they it would issue an arrest warrant for the owner of building firm United Seemac if he does not pay staff owed wages for up to two years work, workers told MEE.
United Seemac’s 500-plus workforce have been battling for months to be paid by company owner Mohammed Owaideh, who owes his staff SAR 3.5m ($932,000) in wages.
The foreign workers, who largely come from Pakistan, India, Yemen, the Philippines, and Indonesia, have publicly protested at not being paid for between seven and 21 months, despite public demonstrations and strikes being banned in Saudi Arabia – by Rori Donaghi
?2016 – Deutsche Welle (B H)
Film: Being a woman in #SaudiArabia is like being a slave. You're completely controlled by your master”
https://www.facebook.com/NotoWahabism/videos/988044317990817/
9.4.2016 – News 7 Tamil (B H)
Film: Nilgiri women being treated like a slave in Saudi : mother complaints to police
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-nfloL7nNw
16.8.2015 – The Real Hidden Colors Of Slavery (B H)
Film: Saudi Arabs Are Still Selling Castrated Black Slaves TODAY
THE SLAVERY AND TREATMENT OF BLACK AFRICANS ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA STILL TODAY NEEDS TO BE CONFRONTED, EXPOSED, AND ERADICATED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XzThnFyjG0
23.2.2014 – Frontpage Mag (** B H P)
Saudi Arabia: The Middle East’s Real Apartheid State
A country whose black population is deprived of civil rights. Where are the boycotts?
There is a country in the Middle East where 10 percent of the population is denied equal rights because of their race, where black men are not allowed to hold many government positions, where black women are put on trial for witchcraft and where the custody of children is granted to the parent with the most “racially superior” bloodline.
This Apartheid State is so enormously powerful that it controls American foreign policy in the Middle East even as its princes and princesses bring their slaves to the United Kingdom and the United States.
That country is Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia abolished slavery in 1962 under pressure from President Kennedy, who accomplished what the Ottoman Empire and the League of Nations had not been able to, but that hasn’t stopped its citizens from selling castrated slaves on Facebook or its princes from beating their black slaves to death in posh London hotels.
The Saudis replaced the 450,000 slaves of the 1950s with 8.4 million guest workers. These workers are often treated like slaves, but they are not property and are therefore even more disposable than the slaves were. Exact numbers are hard to come by, but Nepal alone reported 265 worker deaths in Saudi Arabia in a single year.
Human Rights Watch has described conditions for foreign workers in Saudi Arabia as resembling slavery.
Meanwhile the three million Afro-Saudis are denied equal rights, prevented from serving as judges, security officials, diplomats, mayors and many other official positions. Afro-Saudi women are not allowed to appear on camera.
Equality has always been a foreign concept to the Saudis whose tribal castes determine the right to rule. In Saudi Arabia everyone has their place, from the Afro-Saudi, to the non-Muslim guest worker to the Saudi woman.
“The monarchy’s religious tradition still views blacks as slaves,” Ali Al-Ahmed, the Director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, wrote in Foreign Policy Magazine.
The Institute blames Deputy Saudi Foreign Minister Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah, the son of the Saudi king, for being the architect of the Saudi apartheid state, but Saudi apartheid predates any one man –– by Daniel Greenfield
cp9 USA
Siehe cp1 / See cp1
6.10.2016 – Fair Observer (* B P)
Are US-Saudi Relations Finally Souring?
Political pressure is helping erode the bond between these old political allies, but the results of this election season could squander any chance at change.
the historically cozy US-Saudi relationship is on the decline.
a welcome and overdue change for many who believe that Saudi Arabia’s war crimes in Yemen should not go unpunished, but it’s also an important moment to rethink the entirety of the US alliance with Saudi Arabia, and America’s role in the Middle East.
The tension between Washington and the Saudi monarchy isn’t just manifesting in the legislative branch of the government—the executive branch has also sent clear signals that the tides are turning.
While this eroding relationship is a much welcomed change after years of watching the US government turn a blind eye to human rights abuses committed by Saudi Arabia and other regional allies, the path forward isn’t clear.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both have problematic visions for the United States’ future relationship with the regime – by Alli McCracken
http://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/us-and-saudi-arabia-diplomatic-relations-32303/
4.10.2016 – Asia Times (* A P)
US moral decay? Congress passes arms package to slaughter more Yemenis
On September 21, Congress approved a new $1.15 billion arms package to Saudi Arabia to continue bombing Yemen. The Obama administration has already sold about $100 billion worth of weapons and military equipment to Riyadh, including cluster bombs.
However, while some members of Congress are convinced about their reasons for dissent, it is not clear the Senators who approved the arms package understood fully what they were supporting or knew where Yemen is located
Unfortunately, White House warmongering coupled with Congressional ignorance and abdication of duty has human consequences.
In a September 23 Atlantic article, a CENTCOM spokesperson revealed that U.S. tankers refuel Saudi jet fighters regardless of what a jet’s target is (e.g., whether it’s a school, hospital, residential area, or military target), or whether the mission has been planned and extensively vetted.
According to U.S. officials, the Pentagon had put a bridge on a no-strike list due to its importance to the humanitarian response there, but the Saudis ignored it.[2] A few days after the bridge strike, a CENTCOM spokesperson said the U.S. continued to refuel Saudi jets like the ones that hit the bridge, and will continue to refuel with no questions asked if Saudis decide on more bombing missions.
Knowing someone is guilty of committing murder, yet deciding to sell additional guns and ammunition to commit more murder, is a crime in itself. The Obama administration would need to reflect on the gravity of its role in enabling and supporting Saudi war crimes in Yemen.
Along with this, it seems US has also abdicated its moral legitimacy and no longer has standing to be a leader of the free world – by Christina Lin
http://atimes.com/2016/10/us-moral-decay-congress-passes-arms-package-to-slaughter-more-yemenis/
Comment: “US has also abdicated its moral legitimacy and no longer has standing to be a leader of the free world” this already is the case since many decades ago. And what actually is the “free world”?
4.10.2016 – Law Newz (* A P)
Congress Suddenly Realizes That 9/11 Law Is a Terrible Idea
Congress has apparently just now begun considering JASTA and the results it might create. And get this – Congress is annoyed with the White House for not forcing it to realize that JASTA was a bad idea. Following the veto override, Mitch McConnell actually said that this debacle is “an example of an issue that we should have talked about much earlier,” and that it indicates the White House’s “failure to communicate early about the potential consequences of a piece of legislation was obviously very popular.”
Now, Congress is looking for some kind of legislative morning-after pill to fix the mess it created with this idiotic legislation. Paul Ryan told reporters, “there may be some work to be done to protect our service members overseas from any kind of legal ensnarements that occur, any kind of retribution.” Silly me. I thought “work to be done” on laws was Congress’ job during the drafting, debating, and voting process – by Elura Nanos
http://lawnewz.com/uncategorized/congress-suddenly-realizes-that-911-law-is-a-terrible-idea/
Comment by Glen Greenwald: US Govt: when we passed a bill allowing war criminals to be sued, we obviously meant to exclude ourselves!
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/783407879684558848
Comment: We ,,imagine what US “service members” did worldwide in the last decades.
4.10.2016 – Common Dreams (* A P)
If US Victims of Terror Can Sue Saudi Arabia, Can Victims of American Terrorism Sue the US?
The 9/11 bill's passage - and the rejection of another to halt arms sales to Saudi - should raise questions about what is really motivating politicians
Let's initially review the facts. The JASTA bill is builton hearsay and conspiracy. There is yet to be any evidence connecting the government of Saudi Arabia to the 9/11 attacks. The 9/11 commission, established to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the attacks, concluded in its 585-page report that no evidence had been found linking the Saudi government or senior Saudi officials to al-Qaeda.
Even the hyped up and hugely speculated classified 28 pages failed to outline any such connection when finally released. The FBI itself does not consider the Saudi government complicit in the horrific attacks.
The passage of JASTA is a telling illustration of American exceptionalism. It’s wonderful that families of the victims of terrorist attacks will have the ability to sue those responsible for them.
But if that’s the case then why can’t the families of victims of American terror around the world sue the American government? The families of thousands of victims in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia all targeted by US drone strikes. In Pakistan alone, there were more than 3,000 victims, of which only 2 percent have been high-profile targets. The rest were civilians and children.
There isn’t a better demonstration of what terror looks like than when young Pakistani and Afghan children say they fear blue skies because that is when the drones have visibility to strike. Will they get their day in court? – by Mobashra Tazamal
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
5.10.2016 – The Ferret (** B K P)
US arms firm linked to alleged war crimes had 57 private meetings with UK Government
A US arms firm in Fife linked to war crimes in Yemen has enjoyed at least 57 private meetings with the UK Government.
Raytheon has wined and dined MPs and even treated a minister at the MoD to a slap up Burns Supper with haggis, neeps and whisky.
The multinational also met privately with Philip Hammond MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he was foreign secretary, after claims of war crimes in Yemen emerged.
The scale of Raytheon’s lobbying has been revealed by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) as UK ministers continue to refuse to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Raytheon produces Paveway IV smart bombs at its factory in Glenrothes, which have been supplied to Saudi Arabia and used in Yemen’s war.
Ministers have now been accused of kowtowing to corporate interests after intense lobbying by Raytheon.
CAAT said that the US multinational has enjoyed 74 hours of meetings with the MoD since the Tories came to power in 2010.
The company also had six meetings with the Prime Minister’s Office lasting 10 hours.
Raytheon met with Philip Hammond last September before he was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
While Foreign Secretary, Hammond refused to suspend arms sales to the Saudis despite pleas by organisations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Save The Children.
The Tory MP treated to a Burns Supper in January this year was Mark Lancaster MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence Personnel and Veterans.
Raytheon also wined and dined Tory MP Philip Dunne, when he was Minister for Defence Procurement.
During 26 of the 57 meetings Raytheon had with the government, officials from the Defence and Security Organisation (DSO) were present.
The DSO is a body that promotes arms exports – by Billy Briggs
https://theferret.scot/raytheon-alleged-war-crimes-meetings-government/
5.10.2016 – Sky News (A P)
Film: .@Theresa_May: we will never again let "left-wing human rights lawyers harangue... our armed forces" #CPC16
https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/783625888537554946
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / See cp10
6.10.2016 – The Ferret (A P)
Yemen bombs firm condemned for training children to make drones
Critics of the arms trade have condemned a drone project in schools run by an arms firm linked to alleged war crimes in Yemen.
Four schools in Fife – Auchmuty High, Glenrothes High, Glenwood High and Inverkeithing High – took part in a competition recently when schoolchildren were asked to build a quadcopter, a type of remotely piloted air system also known as a drone.
Designed for second year pupils by an American company called Raytheon, the “Quadcopter challenge” was an attempt – the firm said – to engage young people in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Fife Council said the project would create opportunities for children but Campaign Against Arms Trade and Drone Wars UK have accused the US multinational of trying to “normalise” war and of using schools as “propaganda vehicles” for the arms trade – by Billy Briggs
https://theferret.scot/yemen-bombs-firm-condemned-for-training-children-to-make-drones/
Comment: Arm producers and arm dealers lobbying in schools – disgusting.
cp13b Zentralbank / Central Bank
Siehe / See cp1
5.10.2016 – Alwaght (* A E P)
Yemen’s Central Bank; Target of New US-Saudi Scheme
The decision to move the central bank, seen as the last impartial bastion of the country's financial system which has helped keep the economy afloat in wartime, is viewed as a major blow for suppliers who are mistrustful of the decision and expect even more chaos ahead. Foreign exchange is already scarce and the sources do not have confidence in the new governor. exposed and make it harder to bring in supplies, Reuters reported. Hadi dismissed the bank's governor, Mohamed Bin Humam, named Finance Minister Monasser Al Quaiti in his place and decreed the bank be moved to Aden.
Meanwhile, in defiance to the move by Hadi, thousands of Yemenis have rushed to post offices at the request of the Ansarullah movement leader, Abdel Malik al Houthi to inject cash into a parallel institution.
President Saleh al-Sammad of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council has also directed the formation of a committee to follow the plan approved by the Supreme Political Council to shore up financial position of the central bank of Yemen. Recently, al-Sammad, directed acting prime minister, Talal Aklan, on Friday to form the committee and to follow up the implementation of the approved plan.
According to the Central Bank of Yemen regulations, this bank must always be based in Yemen and till 2018, a board of 8 persons will manage the bank. This board was appointed during the presidency of Mansour Hadi. However, Hadi has violated these regulations and illegally decreed that the bank relocates to Aden.
Yemenis accuse Saudi-backed Hadi of being involved in a scheme to drain old currency notes in the country while preventing the printing on new notes. In response to this devious scheme, Yemeni’s have come out in large numbers to donate what they can to shore up the Sana’a based parallel central bank on the country and defeat Saudi plan to weaken the country’s economy.
Experts believe that the move by Hadi to purport to relocate the central bank to Aden will have no have any major impact on the economy but is a plot to divide the country into north and southern regions.
World central bank governors are set to meet in the next few days at the World Bank headquarters in Washington and it would be interesting to see who will represent Yemen in these meeting.
http://alwaght.com/en/News/69898/Yemen%E2%80%99s-Central-Bank;-Target-of-New-US-Saudi-Scheme = http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/yemen/item/25260-yemen-s-central-bank-target-of-new-us-saudi-scheme
Comment: One thing is got wrong: According to the Law on the Central Bank the Central Bank has not to ne located at “Yemen”, but at Sanaa. Thus, any relocation is simply illegal.
5.10.2016 – Shapban(A E P)
#Yemen Central Bank in Aden announces sale of dollars in auction which will further destabilize local currency
https://twitter.com/shapban/status/783551210624262145
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
5.10.2016 – l4Yemen (A K T)
AQAP Video refute the lies of pro-Saudi aggression Minister of Human Rights, the truth about who targeting civilians in #Taiz
https://twitter.com/I4Yemen/status/783749341160898561
5.10.2016 – Ekathemerini (A T)
Authorities investigate alleged kidnapping of Greek man in Yemen
The Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry and other authorities were investigating on Wednesday the alleged kidnapping of a Greek national in Yemen.
According to reports, a 56-year-old Piraeus businessman, owner of a company specializing in ship repairs, appeared in a video on You Tube and appealed to the Greek government for help, in English, claiming he was being held captive in the last 10 months.
According to a family member who spoke to Kathimerini, the man had been working for a company based in the port city of Aden for two years. He was last seen in December 2015, the family member said.
4.10.2016 – Reuters (A T)
U.S. says strike in Yemen last week killed al Qaeda militant, wounded another
One al Qaeda militant was killed and another wounded in a strike in Yemen's Bayda province by the U.S. military on Sept. 29, U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday.
Local officials told Reuters last week that two senior members of al Qaeda's Yemen branch were killed in a suspected U.S. drone strike in the central province of Bayda.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-usa-idUSKCN1242HN and official statement: http://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/964518/us-strike-in-yemen-kills-1-terrorist-wounds-another and see also http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/10/us-steps-up-attacks-against-aqap.php
Comment: To be doubted at as always.
Comment: Droning for stability
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1127448870641475
Comment: Every drone strike leaves us in doubt whether an innocent civilian has been targeted. It happened in the past. It will continue.
Droning does not seem to be the answer.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1128093277243701
4.10.2016 – Albaladoman (A T)
#NouraneHouas gives her first statement after release. It's a huge relief for her, family, @ICRC and for all humanitarian workers in #Yemen.
https://twitter.com/alasaadim/status/783233743381204992
cp15 Propaganda
6.10.2016 – Al Arabiya (A P)
False rumors and the future of conflict in Yemen
Every now and then the question of when the war in Yemen will end is raised. There are various concerns that trigger this question. It could be keenness to usher in peace and start a political process to prevent bloodshed and protect people’s lives and property.
Concerns have also been raised over whether this war is affecting the economic capabilities of the countries involved in fighting. Will they lead to political and social worries?
These questions are legitimate and should be addressed. However, some ask these questions in a way that serves the Iranian propaganda machinery and the idea of western leftist dailies which have launched a media campaign against Saudi Arabia and the Operation Decisive Storm. They don’t resort to this for humanitarian purposes as they claim but with the aim to besiege Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries.
There are also those within Saudi Arabia and the Gulf – even though they may be few and far between – who echo false rumors. This is probably the most accurate description of what they’re doing. Under these circumstances, it is the opposing party that benefits and helps circulate false rumors suggesting a rift in public opinion.
The bigger issue is that they do not suggest any reasonable solution. According to Saudi Arabia and most Gulf countries, a reasonable solution would be to reject the presence of a “statelet”, which toes the lines of “Khomeini revolution” in Yemen.
This is not a point they are willing to argue and they cannot accept the presence of such a “statelet” even if some politicians think otherwise. Is it possible to coexist with a Yemeni regime which is controlled by the group and ideology of Abdulmalik and Hussein al-Houthi?
Think about it. This is about Saudi interior security, and it’s about most of the Gulf countries’ internal security before it is about a mere foreign war to be won or lost – by Mshari Al Thaydi
Comment: Propaganda again playing the Iranian card. “Iranian propaganda” really plays a minor role in the whole game. – “false rumors”: seem to be simple the facts, the impact of Saudi aerial war and blockade. The author seems to claim that coexistence with Houthis in Yemen is impossible, that means he is anti-peace asking for this enemy to be extinguished.
5.10.2016 – GAVI (A P)
Gavi welcomes contribution of US$ 25 million from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Investment will help Vaccine Alliance partners save children’s lives through immunisation in Yemen
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has agreed to contribute US$ 25 million to support childhood immunisation programs through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The multi-year pledge from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will contribute towards efforts to immunise children and support health system strengthening in Yemen.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a key partner in global health and development and this pledge underlines the country’s unwavering commitment in these areas,” said H. E. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chair of the Gavi Board. “Through the contribution of donors such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia we are able to continue support immunisation programs and strengthen health systems in Yemen, and ensure a healthy future for children today and for generations to come. I would like to thank the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, the Saudi government and the Saudi people for this generous support.”
http://www.gavi.org/library/news/statements/2016/gavi-welcomes-contribution-of-usd-25-million-from-the-kingdom-of-saudi-arabia/= http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/gavi-welcomes-contribution-us-25-million-kingdom-saudi-arabia
Comment: For GAVI, this might be a great thing. For the Saudis, it is the cost of 3 hours aerial war against Yemen – since more than 560 days now. And Saudis get flattery and adulation in a way that sounds very strange when taking the aerial war and the smashed, starving children into account.
4.10.2016 – Zeit Online (* A P)
"Wo die Iraner sind, gibt es Probleme"
Ein saudischer General rechtfertigt die Kriegsführung im Jemen und will sich nicht über Waffenlieferungen aus Deutschland streiten.
Es gibt wenige Bilder aus diesem Krieg und noch weniger verlässliche Nachrichten. Was stimmt von den Berichten über Luftangriffe auf Märkte, Schulen, Krankenhäuser, Fabriken und Hafenanlagen im Jemen? Als ihm diese Frage gestellt wird, redet sich der saudische General, den wir vergangene Woche in einem Berliner Hotel treffen, in Rage. Das Problem sei die westliche Presse, die über die Lage im Jemen "nur aus der Distanz" schreibe. "Die Leute sitzen in Dubai oder in Kairo, sie bedienen sich bei den sozialen Medien. Wenn sie berichten wollen, dann müssen sie an Ort und Stelle sein!"
Vier Tage lang hielt sich der drahtige General in Berlin auf, auch im Auswärtigen Amt schaute er vorbei. Seine Reise hatte vor allem ein Ziel: Die Deutschen vor Illusionen im Umgang mit dem Iran zu warnen. Der dehne seine Macht im gesamten Nahen und Mittleren Osten aus: Libanon, Irak, Syrien und jetzt Jemen – überall sichere sich Teheran mit Hilfe schiitischer Milizen politischen Einfluss.
Das Problem habe 1979 mit der Machtergreifung der Ajatollahs in Teheran begonnen, seither versuche der Iran, seine Revolution in alle Welt zu exportieren. Aber Saudi-Arabien – al-Assiri sagt immer nur "das Königreich" – werde den Umsturz in Sanaa nicht hinnehmen. "Wir werden keine Milizen an unserer Hintertür dulden."
Und zu diesem Zweck ist alles erlaubt? Die saudische Luftwaffe halte sich an dieselben Standards, mit denen die Nato in Afghanistan gekämpft habe, antwortet der Brigadegeneral. Eine professionelle Luftwaffe benutze heute Präzisionswaffen, die Ziele genau treffen und zivile "Kollateralschäden" begrenzen könnten. "Aber Fehler werden gemacht, zivile Infrastruktur wird beschädigt. Das ist die Natur des Krieges." – von Matthias Naß
Kommentar: Über Assiris Äußerungen bei seinem Berlin-Besuch wurde schon berichtet, zuletzt auch von seinen kruden Äußerungen auf Arab News (YPR 208, cp15, mit Kommentar von mir). Herrn Naß ist seine Distanziertheit zu Assiris Äußerungen deutlich anzumerken.
Wieder wird voll die iranische Karte gespielt. Der iranische Einfluss im Jemen ist tatsächlich gering. „Wir werden keine Milizen an unserer Hintertür dulden.“: Es geht um einen Umsturz in einem Nachbarland. Assiri stellt es als selbstverständliches Recht der Saudis hin, deswegen ein Nachbarland in Ruinen zu bomben. Wenn wir in Europa diese Mentalität wieder pflegen wollten… – Nun ja, und wenn tatsächlich mehr ausländische Journalisten in den Jemen fahren würden – was sie zu berichten hätten, wäre wohl kaum nach Assiris Geschmack. – Der Verweis auf die NATO in Afghanistan ist korrekt. Ja, die NATO waren genau solche Kriegsverbrecher in Afghanistan wie die Saudis im Jemen. Schöne Grüße etwa aus dem Krankenhaus von Kunduz oder bzw. von dem, was davon noch übrig ist.
Sehr interessant sind auch die Kommentare in der Zeit:
H: " "Wo die Iraner sind, gibt es Probleme", resümiert al-Assiri. "
Ich würde diesen Satz ja genauso auf Saudi-Arabien anwenden. Wo die Saudis sind, gibt es Probleme. In Syrien, Afghanistan, oder am ehemaligen World Trade Center, um ein paar prominente Beispiele zu nennen. Mehr Heuchelei als seitens der Saudis geht kaum noch. Der Iran verhält sich auch einigermassen verwerflich, mir sind die Saudis als "unsere Verbündeten" erheblich unheimlicher. Der Missionsdrang des saudi-arabischen Steinzeitregimes, das meines Erachtens den Iran an Grausamkeit locker in den Schatten stellt und den wesentlichen Antrieb für den islamistischen Terrorismus finanziert, erscheint mir ziemlich gefährlich.
F: Solange die Strohmänner im Fokus bleiben wird sich auch nichts ändern.
""Wo die Iraner sind, gibt es Probleme""
Das sind auch nur Folgeprobleme.
"Das Problem habe 1979 mit der Machtergreifung der Ajatollahs in Teheran begonnen, seither versuche der Iran, seine Revolution in alle Welt zu exportieren."
Richtig wäre: "Wo die USA sind, gibt es Probleme".
Die Machtergreifung der Ajatollahs war mittelbare Folge des Sturzes von Mossadegh durch die USA. Ob das der erste Sündenfall ist weiß ich nicht, jedenfalls ist es das prominenteste und auswirkungsreichste Beispiel anfangs des 20.Jahrhunderts.
Und überall sonst im nahen Osten und anderswo läuft der Hase genau geich: Ist man nicht willfährig gegenüber den Interessen der USA gibt es Probleme. Entweder in direkter Konfrontation oder finanziert und supported.
Die auf die Bühne geschobenen Protagonisten sind fast ausnahmslos nur Strohmänner oder Opfer in diesem Spiel.
F: Es gab von deutschen Medien noch nie ein ernsthaftes Interesse daran, Verbrechen unserer "Verbündeten" lückenlos zu dokumentieren.
Die Leser könnten ja wohlmöglich anfangen, selbst zu denken, statt die Sichtweise unserer Mainstreammedien kritiklos zu übernehmen.
Beispiele:
Fast täglich sterben unschuldige Menschen durch US Drohnen...
Findet das entsprechende Aufmerksamkeit in unseren Medien?
Nein!
USA bombardieren geziel ein Krankenhaus...
Das war nach kürzester Zeit wieder von der Titelseite verschwunden.
USA bombardieren gezielt eine Stellung syrische Truppen.
Und zur Überraschung(!) folgt absprachegemäß sofort ein koordinierter Angriff des IS auf eben jene Stellung.
Zufall?
Nein!
T: Der Westen...wiedermal mitten drin, ob Waffen, Informationen, politische und Propaganda-Unterstuetzung
O: "Aber Fehler werden gemacht, zivile Infrastruktur wird beschädigt. Das ist die Natur des Krieges." sagt der general .
hat er das vom us -militaer nachdem die das mfs hopsital in kunduz fuer stunden bomabiert haben?
und was ist mit den franzosen und englaendern die dort mitmischen, was sagen die dazu...kolateral damage?
warum wird solchen "gaesten" solch eine buehne der selbstherrlichen rechtfertigung fuer kriegsverbrechen geboten.
schrecklicher journalismus.
S: Was macht ein saudi-arabischer Brigadegeneral vier Tage lang in Berlin u.a. auch im Auswärtigen Amt?
Politische Landschaftspflege in Berlin?
Wie bitte?
Welche Hoffnung will die Operation "Restoring Hope" wiederherstellen?
Von den 6500 Toten sind viele Zivilisten. Ja, wieviele sind viele?
Wieso gibt man diesem General Gelegenheit, seine Propaganda hier zu verbreiten?
Was soll diese ganze Kolumne?
Also,mir fehlen wirklich die Worte ...
N: Die Huthis haben nie Anschläge im Westen verübt oder diese geplant, Saudi-Arabien unterstützt Al-Quaida und andere Islamisten in Syrien - die eine Bedrohung für Europa darstellen, dies ist schon ein Unterschied.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
6.10.2016 – l4Yemen (A K)
Saudi UAE aggression bombarding Enriched Fort in BaitBaaos village southern capital
https://twitter.com/I4Yemen/status/784091446441828352
6.10.2016 – Dr. Bin Ghalib (A K)
#Yemen: 10 civilians killed and injured including a woman by #Saudi-led airstrikes bombed farms in Nehim east of #Sanaa
https://twitter.com/naji1290/status/784073660722208768
6.10.2016 - Tweets Sanaa in the evening (A K)
Airstrikes intensifying now. Looks like Saudi brought whole squadron for party tonight, several places bombed simultaneously. Sana'a
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/784084219538604034
Ironic how just read reps of possible 72 hours ceasefire and massive explosion from airstrike shook ground & blew windows open now.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/784082114098688000
6.10.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
U.S.-Saudi aggression warplanes resume striking capital Sanaa
U.S.-Saudi aggression warplanes resumed striking the capital Sanaa on Thursday, targeting civilian targets, a local official said.
The warplanes hit Attan area five times in less than 12 hours, causing bad damage to people's properties and public infrastructure, the official told Saba.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news442664.htm
6.10.2016 – Sanaa during daytime (A K)
The capital Sanaa now is under heavy bombing by Saudi jets Pix taken by me minutes ago from Nuquim area
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/783995154545934337
Around 2:00 PM, an airstrike on Noqom Mountain in Sanaa #Yemen. As seen, the airstrike hit a spot near a residential area.
https://twitter.com/QadhiZaid/status/784020045366190080
A fresh #Saudi airstrike on mountains surrounding #Sanaa, jets on & off hovering past 14 hours, lots of targets were hit during that!
https://twitter.com/HishamAlRadhi/status/783996772330905600
6.10.2016 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
5-10-2016
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=700990096718025&id=551288185021551 and see also https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1127563300630032
5.10.2016 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
4-10-2016
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=700891286727906&id=551288185021551
6.10.2016 – Khabar Agency (A K PH)
Series of #Saudi-led airstrikes destroyed a resident house and the Technical Institute building in #Amran province
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1128043747248654
5.–6.10.2016 – Tweets Sanaa daytime, eveing, night (A K)
Hello world I just tell you to b known that the capital Sanaa now is under Saudi bombardment. It is the same situation since March26
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/783645840405590018
Massive explosions rocking the capital Sanaa now, as Saudi jets continue roaming over the sky of the city. Wake up world.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/783649315420004352
The capital Sanaa was hit in less than 30 minutes with 12 sorties by Saudi jets. #Yemen
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/783656194393120768
#Sanaa under ATTACK: Powerful Saudi airstrikes shake #Yemen capital at midnight as 100,000s wake up in fear & children crying.
https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/783771479842365440
Atan area in the center Sanaa was hit tonight with 2 sorties. The area was hit since March 26 with more than 500+ sorties
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/783779263749251072
5.10.2016 – Khabar Agency (A K PH)
14 #Saudi-led airstrikes bombed al-Daylami airbase, Nuqum and Attan in the capital #Sanaa
http://www.khabaragency.net/lasten73808.html
#Saudi fighter jet bombed the Professional Institute in #Amran province
http://www.khabaragency.net/lasten73767.html
5.10.2016 – Tweets Sanaa daytime (A K)
Hello world I just tell you to b known that the capital Sanaa now is under Saudi bombardment. It is the same situation since March26
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/783645840405590018
Massive explosions rocking the capital Sanaa now, as Saudi jets continue roaming over the sky of the city. Wake up world.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/783649315420004352
The capital Sanaa was hit in less than 30 minutes with 12 sorties by Saudi jets.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/783656194393120768
5.10.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi brutal air attacks kill mother, destroy houses
A mother was martyred, her home flattened by Saudi brutal air strikes in northern province of Saada late on Tuesday, a security official and residents told Saba.
The air attack hit the mother's house in Khazain area in Sahar district, damaging several neighboring homes.
Meanwhile, the aggression warplanes struck and damaged the main road of Bukua area of Kutaf district.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news442541.htm
photos: https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1588531194776202
4.–5.10.2016 – Sanaa at night (A K)
#Saudi warplanes are roaring over #Yemen's capital at this moment .. appears strikes are imminent
https://twitter.com/shapban/status/783420546516131840
No airstrikes in #Sanaa #Yemen yet? That's unusual. Well I guess their pilots are tired after the mass destruction they caused last night.
https://twitter.com/JamilaHanan/status/783457945375870976
At 4:30 Am an airstrike after that we were able to sleep
https://twitter.com/dwipas2020/status/783538181497090048
4.10.2016 – Khabar Agency (A K PH)
#Yemen: #Saudi fighter jet bombed the Professional Institute in #Amran province
https://twitter.com/khabaragency/status/783395811099107329
4.10.2016 – l4Yemen (A K)
Yesterday the #KSA #UAE aggression bombed dairy farms in #Dhamar and today they hit poultry farms in #Taiz !
https://twitter.com/I4Yemen/status/783279109422153728
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
6.10.2016 – Stratfor (A K PS)
Yemen: Saudi Helicopter Strikes Kill Dozens Of Rebels
Airstrikes by Saudi helicopters killed dozens of Houthi rebels and their allies near the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border on Oct. 6, Al Arabiya reported. The strikes, which took place near Yemen's border with the southwestern Saudi province of Jazan, came a day after a Houthi rocket landed in Jazan, injuring one person.
https://www.stratfor.com/situation-report/yemen-saudi-helicopter-strikes-kill-dozens-rebels
Comment: the reports of both sides differ extremely.
6.10.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Yemeni forces hit several Saudi bases with rockets
Yemeni army soldiers, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees, have struck a number of military bases in Saudi Arabia’s border region of Jizan in retaliation against incessant airstrikes.
They launched a number of artillery rounds at a base in the mountainous Jebel al-Dukhan area on Wednesday evening, setting several military vehicles ablaze and destroying support and communications equipment, al-Masirah television network reported.
Yemenis also targeted a gathering of Saudi troops in al-Khojarah district of Jizan, located 967 kilometers (601 miles) southwest of the Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh.
Separately, Yemeni soldiers and their allies fired a locally-developed al-Sarkha 3 (Shriek 3) missile at al-Madrasah village in al-Khoubah area of Jizan, leaving a number of Saudi soldiers dead and injured.
Early on Thursday, two Katyusha rockets were launched at a gathering of militiamen loyal to resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in al-Wazi'iyah district of Yemen's southwestern province of Ta'izz.
An unspecified number of Saudi-backed militiamen were reportedly killed and injured in the attack
6.10.2016 – Almasdar (A K PH)
Houthis show off new naval forces in west Yemen
The Houthis Movement showed off their new naval forces along the Yemeni coast on Wednesday, as they prepare for a new phase in this 21 month long conflict
Photos of the Houthi Navy Seals were released by Hezbollah's primary media wing over the weekend.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/houthis-show-off-new-naval-forces-west-yemen/
6.10.2016 – Almasdar (A K PH)
[Graphic +18] Houthi forces overwhelm Saudi Army, Hadi loyalists in northern Yemen
The Saudi-led Coalition, alongside the Hadi loyalists, launched a powerful attack at the village of Sarwah in the Mareb Governorate on Wednesday, resulting in a fierce battle with the Houthi forces that lasted most of the day.
Despite their best efforts to infiltrate the Houthi defenses, the Saudi-led forces were ultimately repelled after suffering a significant number of casualties.
In addition to their high death toll, the Saudi-led Coalition also lost a lot of equipment during their failed offensive on Wednesday; this includes several technical vehicles and a large stockpile of weapons.
5.10.2016 – Gulf News (A K PS)
Yemen army in control of vital road in Marib’s Serwah
The new victory would have an impact on Al Houthis’ abilities to fight off government forces
Senior army officers and tribal leaders loyal to president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi said they cut a vital supply line to Al Houthis in Marib after taking control of a strategic road that connects the town of Serwah with the Al Houthi-held capital, Sana’a.
“We have captured the road that links Serwah with Sana’a. Al Houthis in Serwah have used the road to bring in food, arms and fighters,” Ahmad Al Shalif, the commander of tribesmen backing the army, told Gulf News.
Commanders say the primary goals of their assault in Serwah are securing the city of Marib from Al Houthi rockets fired from the area and opening a new front outside the capital through Khawlan district. With the aerial support from the Saudi-led coalition, commanders think that their forces can march quicker towards the capital through Khawlan.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/yemen-army-in-control-of-vital-road-in-marib-s-serwah-1.1907560
Comment: “Yemen army” = “president” Hadi’s forces.
5.10.2016 – Al Arabiya (A K PS)
Capturing Houthis in Marib latest setback for militias
The capturing of a number of Houthis and forces loyal to former ousted Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh in west Marib by Yemen’s national army and popular resistance forces is one of the latest major setbacks for the Iran-backed militias.
Among those captured were Houthi militia leaders were Hussain al-Mutawakel and Abu Jabar Ahmad al-Houthi, according to Al Arabiya sources.
Civilian sources told Al Arabiya that the Yemeni national army were able to regain control – after violent clashes – of the direct route between the capital Sanaa and Marib through Sirwah district.
The news in Marib comes after security sources confirmed that senior Houthi militia leader Abdullah Qayed al-Fadeea was killed on Tuesday in the frontlines near Najran and on Yemeni grounds by Saudi-led Arab coalition forces.
Here is the list of the nine Senior Houthi members that were killed by targeted Saudi-led Arab coalition airstrikes in the months of August, September and October:
4.10.2016 – Ruptly (A K)
Film: Yemen: Pro-Hadi forces oust Houthis from strategic Mount Bahra
Yemeni National Army, loyal to ousted Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, took back control of Mount Bahra, east of Sanaa, on Tuesday, following a fierce battle with Houthi forces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9wbtuOK6Rg
5.10.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
The army and popular committees continued achieving more victories over the past 24 hours in different fronts in a number of governorates and in Jizan, Najran and Assir.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news442628.htm
Comment: To make it clear, here the Houthis and the part of the army allied to them are meant.
4.10.2016 – Al Masirah TV (A K PH)
Aufnahmen: Saudi-Koalition verliert drei Kampfpanzer bei Kämpfen mit den Huthi im Jemen
Die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Militärallianz verlor drei Kampfpanzer bei Zusammenstößen mit dem Houthi-Saleh-Bündnis in der jemenitischen Provinz Narjan, berichtete der Fernsehsender Almasirah am 04. Oktober.
Das Filmmaterial zeigt den Einsatz von Panzerabwehrraketen durch die Kräfte des Houthi-Saleh-Bündnises gegen die saudischen Kampfpanzer. Es gibt keine bestätigten Informationen über Verluste unter den pro-saudischen Soldaten.
Film: FOOTAGE: SAUDI COALITION LOST 3 BATTLE TANKS IN CLASHES WITH HOUTHIS IN YEMEN
The Saudi-led coalition lost some 3 battle tanks in clashes with the Houthi-Saleh alliance in the Yemeni province of Narjan, the Almasirah TV Channel reported on October 4.
The footage shows the Houthi-Saleh alliance forces, using anti-tank missiles against the Saudi battle tanks. There is no confirmed information about the casualties among pro-Saudi fighters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1uHclMIUDE
4.10.2016 – Ali Omer (A K)
Photos of the last Taiz massacre by Houthi shelling (graphic)
https://twitter.com/aliomer1983/status/783239036706127872
cp17a Huthis beschießen Schiff / Huthis target vessel
6.10.2016 – Kieler Nachrichten (A K P)
Fähr-Katamaran beschossen
Der Bürgerkrieg im Jemen bedroht jetzt auch die Schifffahrtsroute im Roten Meer. Kämpfer der Huthi-Milizen stehen nach eigenen Angaben hinter einem Angriff auf einen großen Fähr-Katamaran. Das Doppelrumpfschiff „Swift“ war im Auftrag der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate am Sonnabend auf dem Weg zum Jemen.
In der Meerenge Bab el-Mandab am Südausgang des Roten Meeres wurde die 98 Meter lange Katamaran-Fähre dabei angegriffen und schwer beschädigt. Möglicherweise wurde das bis zu 40 Knoten schnelle Schiff aber auch von einer Rakete oder einem Flugkörper getroffen.
Ein von den Rebellen ins Internet gestelltes Video zeigt angeblich den Abschuss eines Lenkflugkörpers und eine Explosion auf der „Swift“ bei Dunkelheit. Bilder bei Tageslicht zeigen die zerlöchertes und ausgebrannte Fähre in der Meerenge treiben. Nach Mitteilung der Presseagentur WAM aus den Emiraten soll die „Swift“ Hilfsgüter für den Jemen transportiert haben und war angeblich unbewaffnet und hatte auch keine Soldaten an Bord. Die 24-köpfige Besatzung habe den Angriff überlebt, hieß es. Die Crew bestand nach der Mitteilung aus zivilen Seeleuten aus Indien, der Ukraine, Jordanien, den Philippinen sowie Litauen.
Die „Swift“ wurde für den Einsatz zur Versorgung der durch Rebellen eingekreisten jemenitischen Häfen von der staatlichen National Marine Dredging Company der Emirate geleast.
Das aus Aluminium gebaute Schiff gehört zu einer Serie von Schnellfähren der australischen Werft InCat aus Tasmanien – Von Frank Behling
http://www.kn-online.de/News/Aus-der-Welt/Nachrichten-Panorama/Rotes-Meer-Faehr-Katamaran-beschossen
Kommentar:“ für den Einsatz zur Versorgung der durch Rebellen eingekreisten jemenitischen Häfen“??? Die emiratische Propaganda, offenbar vom Autor auch noch falsch verstanden.
5.10.2016 – Al Bab (* A K P)
Yemen: Houthi attack raises tensions in Red Sea
The UAE's government news agency initially reported that the vessel had been involved in "an accident" which caused no injuries. Houthi sources, quoted by Hizbullah's al-Manar TV, claimed the vessel was an "Emirati warship" which had been "completely destroyed".
A video circulated on the internet shows the vessel at sea during daylight followed by a series of explosions at night, but it is impossible to know whether this is a film of the actual attack.
The vessel concerned, HSV-2 Swift, was built in Australia in 2003 with a very unusual design. It is described in Wikipedia as "a wave-piercing, aluminium-hulled, commercial catamaran with military enhancements, such as a helicopter flight deck, vehicle deck, small boat and unmanned vehicle launch and recovery capability, and a communications suite".
This construction, together with its lack of water-tight compartments, probably meant the Houthis could inflict more serious damage on the Swiftusing basic weapons than they could on regular warships. One of its previous commanders was quoted as saying: "We're aluminum, so we crinkle like a beer can if a tug pushes up against us."
More recently it has been leased to the Emirati military, plying frequently between Eritrea and the Yemen ports of Aden and Mukalla.
The Saudi-led coalition has now denounced the attack on the Swift as an act of terrorism against a "civilian" ship in international waters.
According to the coalition, the Swift was was being used to "transfer relief and medical aid [to Yemen] and evacuate wounded civilians". The coalition also says it was carrying civilian passengers at the time of the attack. However, there is no independent confirmation of these claims and it's unclear why, if the vessel was used purely for civilian purposes, it was in the hands of the military – by Brian Whitaker
http://al-bab.com/blog/2016/10/yemen-houthi-attack-raises-tensions-red-sea
5.10.2016 – Josephjo1221 (A K)
More photos for UAE ship in Aden lowered Tanks&armored APCs!
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/783662293355749377
It's clear, this is the UAE vessel during downloading the Tanks & armored APCs in Aden. Also, thier first statement admit its military ship (photos)
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/783649499017318400
Many activists circulated many photos of the UAE vessel Swift 1 when it lowered Tanks&armored vehicle in Aden. How it becomes civilian ship?
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/783647618060656640
More than twenty story about the targeted Emirati ship said by UAE leaders, it shows the extent of the confusion among the UAE leaders.
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/783648566111862784
In first day. The official news agency said all the crew are safe, today they said there are many injuries! Absurd contradiction.
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/783646429147521024
The official Emirates news agency admitted; ship Swift1 is 4 military, today their statement; it was 4 civilians & humanitarian purposes.
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/783645840401395712
Comment: Do these photos really show this ship being loaded before this trip to the Mohka coast, or just a type of this vessel being loaded sometimes somewhere?
4.10.2016 – Reuters (A K P)
UAE says Houthi attack on ship in shipping lane was act of terrorism
The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday Yemeni Houthi forces had attacked a UAE civilian vessel in a strategic Red Sea shipping lane off the coast of Yemen at the weekend and called the incident an act of terrorism.
The UAE foreign ministry, in a statement carried by state news agency WAM, said the civilian ship was targeted by Houthi militia near the Bab al-Mandab strait off Yemen's southern coast on Saturday.
"The targeting of the civilian ship in an international channel has serious implications for freedom of navigation, and is an act of terror...," it said, without elaborating.
In a statement on Saturday the Houthis said their forces had fired a missile that had destroyed a UAE military vessel that was advancing towards the Red Sea port of Al-Mokha.
The UAE military said on Saturday that one of its vessels was damaged in an incident, on which it gave no details, near the strait but there were no injuries to its crew.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-emirates-security-idUSKCN1242DB b
Comment: The propaganda drum still is being beaten – this was a war ship and it was going from Aden to the Houthi held coastline, thus definitely not transporting aid or wounded civilians as claimed. See YPR 208 and 2017, cp17a in both
5.10.2016 – Middle East Eye (A K P)
UAE says crewmen injured in Houthi attack on ship near Yemen
Abu Dhabi described an attack by Yemeni rebels as 'heinous' on a ship they say was civilian and due to deliver aid to war-torn Yemen
The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday that there were injuries among civilian crewmen on a vessel hit by Yemeni rebels in the strategic Bab al-Mandab waterway last week.
The foreign ministry did not say how many were wounded in the Friday night attack but said they were receiving treatment in the UAE.
The UAE military had previously said there were no casualties in the attack in the busy shipping lane that links the Suez Canal and the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
The ministry identified the vessel as the HSV-2 Swift, a high-speed catamaran which it said had been chartered from the Abu-Dhabi-based National Marine Dredging Company.
It said the ship is "civilian" and "does not have any military capability," although the vessel has previously been leased by the US Navy and operated with a mixed military-civilian crew.
Comment: Always a new story. Injured crew or not? – And it was no civilian vessel at all.
And that is about the UAEs official statement, not making things better:
5.10.2016 – WAM (A K P)
Attack on civilian ship is in clear violation of int'l charters and threatens freedom of navigation: UAE Foreign Ministry
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has stressed that the civilian ship (Swift) which was targeted by the Houthi and Saleh militias off the coast of Mocha, Yemen, was carrying assistance, wounded Yemenis and passengers.
In a statement issued today, the ministry said that the ship, which is unarmed and has no military protection, is passing through the Bab al Mandab Strait like any other civilian and commercial ships. It has been conducting routine trips to Aden for one year and that all its crew members are civilians.
The statement said that the civilian ship is owned by the UAE National Marine Dredging Company and does not have any military capacity, a fact which is confirmed by the vessel s inability to counter the attack it came under during an international sea voyage governed by the norms and charters that ensure the freedom of navigation in international waters.
The ministry went on to affirm that the attack on the civilian ship will have serious repercussions on the freedom of navigation if the Houthi-Saleh militias continue to pursue maritime piracy tactics and carry out attacks on civilian ships dedicated to transporting aid and injured people with the aim of exacerbating the suffering of the Yemeni people and using this as a card to play to make fake gains even at the expense of their compatriots.
The ministry's statement revealed that the crew of the ship comprises 24 civilians of six nationalities: 10 Indians, seven Ukrainians, four Egyptians, and three from Jordan, the Philippines and Lithuania. Those who injured in the heinous attack are receiving medical treatment in the UAE.
''In more than a year of operating routine journeys to Aden, the civilian ship has carried thousands of tonnes of humanitarian assistance and more than 1,000 wounded people, along with their companions, in addition to large equipment for the electricity, water and healthcare sectors which had significantly eased the suffering of the residents of Aden through the restoration of the infrastructure in these vital sectors,'' the statement explained.
The ministry stressed that the Houthi-Saleh militias know very well that the civilian ship was dedicated for humanitarian missions and that it had not conducted any military missions in Yemen, which affirms that these militias ignore all international norms and charters that were agreed upon for wars and international conflicts.
http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395300746343.html = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/attack-civilian-ship-clear-violation-intl-charters-and-threatens-freedom-navigation-uae and reported here: http://7days.ae/civilian-crew-treated-heinous-attack-uae-vessel-off-yemen-coast
Comment: Be aware that in the first reports from the UAE after the incident they spoke of a “military vessel”.
5.10.2016 – Gulf News (A K P)
‘We never thought they’d target an aid vessel,’ crew of UAE ship off Yemen
Militias started by firing a shell at the humanitarian vessel, then attacked with gunfire from speedboats
The crew members of a UAE aid vessel attacked by Al Houthi militia in Yemen last week said they never expected that the militia would target a ship carrying humanitarian aid.
Speaking exclusively to Gulf News, crew members of ‘Swift’, said the ship had carried 5,600 tonnes of food and medical supplies that were dropped off in Yemen.
“We never thought we would be subjected to such an assault by militias. We are providing humanitarian assistance by transporting medical and food supplies for the Yemeni people caught in the midst of the ongoing conflict,” said 34-year-old ship crew member Ajit Singh.
The vessel was also being used to move wounded civilians for medical treatment outside the country.
Shenjo Jacob, a 27-year-old Indian cook, said: “We were terrified by the sudden attack and heavy gunfire, taking into account that it’s a civilian vessel carrying aid. We never expected such (an) assault on civilians.” – by Abdulla Rasheed,
Comment: And more propaganda being told.
Comment: The parade of lies continues (aid ship, they claim). Well, We never thought you'd kill our children
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1127450333974662
Comment by Jamila Hanan: Ridiculous headline regarding UAE WARSHIP (manned by Indian, Polish, Filipino and Ukrainian personnel)
https://twitter.com/JamilaHanan/status/783947711187910656
and more:
6.10.2016 – UAE Interact (A K P)
UAE welcomes UNSC condemnation of attack on its aid ship
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has welcomed the statement by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemning the attack by the Houthi militia and Saleh group on its civilian aid ship 'Swift' near Bab Al Mandab.
"This condemnation from the international community represents a clear stand against the irresponsible practices of the Houthi militias and the Saleh group who have violated international norms and conventions with regard to ensuring marine navigation on international waterways and free access to vessels carrying humanitarian aid," Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said in a statement on Wednesday.
http://uaeinteract.com/docs/UAE-welcomes-UNSC-condemnation-of-attack-on-its-aid-ship/77371.htm
Comment: Propaganda reloaded, which is also here:
6.10.2016 – Arab Herald (A K P)
Assault on UAE ship is a dangerous outrage: paper
http://www.arabherald.com/index.php/sid/248290347
5.10.2016 – BBC (A K P)
Yemen conflict: UAE says Houthis attacked civilian ship
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37561749?SThisFB
Comment: And that’s the BBC, just relying on Emirati’s claims (propaganda).
Comment by Judith Brown: This is the story of the ship that was bombed on the BBC website. I would add that note the wording; 'civilian ship' used by the BBC. However, the initial statements of the UAE called this boat a military vessel, although according to Wikipedia it is not equipped with arms as it is used as a military logistics vessel. There has also been some opposing evidence concerning the fate of the ship and its crew - and the alleged cargo of injured persons. A video was released on the night showing a burning vessel, which would imply that there were casualties - the minimum crew for this vessel is 35 persons. However, another report which I read stated that the UAE said that the ship was towed to Ethiopia, with only one casualty - which is strange as Ethiopia doesn't have a port as it is landlocked. So it remains a game of propaganda and with no direct witnesses it is difficult to be certain what is happening, but clearly it is a major incident - but I have to ask, what is the greater sin, the ships that are enforcing the embargo that is killing thousands of innocent civilians, or the destruction of a boat in Yemeni waters. In many senses, this boat and the starvation story do have links but they are not drawn together here.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154774677878641
6.10.2016 – European Commission (A P)
Statement by the spokesperson on the latest developments in Yemen
The attack some days ago on a UAE vessel in the Red Sea is unacceptable. Freedom of navigation and security of shipping passage in Bab el Mandab Strait must be respected at all time, by all, under international law.
https://eeas.europa.eu/node/11240_en
Comment: Warships are targeted in wars.
4.10.2016 – Shapban (A K P)
if #UAE ship hit in Red Sea was aid ship as #Pentagon claimed today, where're the pictures? and aid for who? #Houthis are along Red Sea
https://twitter.com/shapban/status/783421105704927233
4.10.2016 – Inner City Press (A K P)
ICP asked UN if #UAE ship sunk off #Yemen was a warship; spox now...
ICP asked UN if #UAE ship sunk off#Yemen was a warship; spox now says it doesn't sound like humanitarian ship
https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/783397901972213760 = https://vine.co/v/56PYWa939wB
and asked again:
4.10.2016 – Nizar Abboud (A K P)
Film: UAE Swift Warship Was Not Humanitarian in Yemen
UN confirms that sunk Swift warship was not in a humanitarian mission in Yemen when it was hit by a missile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcq-IvCMlL4
5.10.2016 – Hussain Albukhaiti (A K)
#UAE navy HSV2 aftr been targetd by #Houthi #Yemen-i army n Bab Elmandeb n #Mocha (photos of damaged vessel)
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/783743047246946304 and also here: http://www.businessinsider.de/photos-us-navy-ship-damaged-houthi-missile-yemen-2016-10?r=US&IR=T
5.10.2016 – Al Masirah TV (A P)
Film: UAE contradiction on the warship 10/05/2016 (Arabic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH5Q7W24_A4
4.10.2016 – Fars News (* A K P)
Yemen's Navy Vows to Sink Saudi-Led Warships in Territorial Waters
The Yemeni navy and coast guard forces warned Saudi Arabia that they targets any vessel or warship of the Saudi-led Arab coalition that enters the country's territorial waters.
"In case of witnessing any uncoordinated movements near Yemen's territorial waters or trespass of our sea border, the vessels of Saudi Arabia and its allies will be destroyed," the Yemeni navy said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Yemeni navy's statement came after the Yemeni army and popular forces targeted and destroyed an Emirati warship in the waters near Bab al-Mandab Strait on Saturday.
The UAE warship was targeted with Yemeni missiles in the Al-Mukha coastal waters in the province of Ta'iz. Some reports said the warship did not belong to the UAE army and had been rented from the US for the Yemen war.
Some 22 UAE navies were killed in the attack.
The sunken ship had repeatedly fired rockets at residential areas in Ta'iz province, inflicting casualties and destruction there.
Other Saudi-led battleships that were approaching Yemen's coasts retreated fast following the attack.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950713001035 and see also http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/10/04/487600/Yemen-Navy-intruding-vessels-Red-Sea-Gulf-of-Aden
Comment: See already reporting YPR 208. Yemen navy, here: Houthi / Saleh navy, hardly in existence. Only Saudi coalition war ships seem to be affected.
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
6.10.2016 – Global Muslim Brotherhood daily watch (A P)
Muslim Brotherhood In Yemen Renounces “International Organization Of The Muslim Brotherhood”
Saudi media is reporting on the latest attempt by a Middle Eastern Muslim Brotherhood affiliate to distance itself from the movement. According to the Asharq Al-Awsat report, the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen renounced its ties to the so-called “International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood”:
A prominent Yemeni leader at al-Islah party attributed the renunciation of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood to what he called ‘political confusion’ for some political powers in the region.
In a phone call with Asharq Al-Awsat, Yemen’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Dr. Mohammed al-Saadi, who is also the assistant secretary-general for political affairs at al-Islah party, said that the statement was released to rectify this confusion.
The party announced in a statement issued on its official page on Facebook that ‘no organizational or political relations link us to the international organization of Muslim Brotherhood, especially that the priorities of al-Islah as a political party are patriotic, and all the efforts exerted with its Yemeni partners lie in ending Yemen’s current crisis so that it can carry out its normal political path.’
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-208-yemen-war-mosaic-208/
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-208: / Yemen War Mosaic 1-208:
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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