Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 237 - Yemen War Mosaic 237

Yemen Press Reader 237: HRW untersucht Luftangriffe-Bundeswehr&Saudis-Jemens Schulen–Humanitäre Krise, Hunger-Saudis entlasten s. selbst–Kinder mit Krebs–Umfrage Menschen im Krieg–Saudis&Taliban

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Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

HRW examined Saudi air raids – German army to train Saudi soldiers – New site – Yemen’s schools – Humanitarian crisis, famine – Saudi self-whitewash – Children suffering from cancer – Poll: People in war – Saudis bankroll Taliban – and more

Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Klassifizierung / Classification

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

cp2 Allgemein / General

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

cp4 Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche/ UN and peace talks

cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp9 USA

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner

cp13c Flüchtlinge / Refugees

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp15 Propaganda

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

Klassifizierung / Classification

***

**

*

(Kein Stern / No star)

A = Aktuell / Current news

B = Hintergrund / Background

C = Chronik / Chronicle

D = Details

E = Wirtschaft / Economy

H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions

K = Krieg / War

P = Politik / Politics

PH = Pro-Houthi

PS = Pro-Saudi

T = Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

8.12.2016 - DPA (* B K)

Saudisches Bündnis setzt US-Waffen ein

Es seien etwa in zwei Provinzen Überreste von Waffen entdeckt worden, die in den USA hergestellt worden seien, erklärte die Menschenrechtsorganisation Human Rights Watsch (HRW) am Donnerstag.

Mindestens eine eingesetzte Rakete sei nach Beginn des Bürgerkrieges geliefert worden, hiess es weiter. HRW rief alle Regierungen auf, ihre Waffenlieferungen an Saudi-Arabien zu stoppen. Die USA liefen Gefahr, an den Verstössen der Koalition im Jemen mitschuldig zu werden.

http://www.nzz.ch/international/jemen-saudisches-buendnis-setzt-us-waffen-ein-ld.133366 = http://derstandard.at/2000048986831/Saudisches-Buendnis-setzt-im-Jemen-angeblich-US-Waffen-ein

Mein Kommentar: Ein Witz die Schlagzeile beim "Standard": "Saudisches Bündnis setzt im Jemen angeblich US-Waffen ein". "Angeblich"????? Bei Rüstungsgütern für 115 Milliarden Dollar, die die Saudis in den letzten 8 Jahren (unter Obama) aus den USa importiert haben?

8.12.2016 – Human Rights Watch (*** B K)

Yemen: US-Made Bombs Used in Unlawful Airstrikes

Dozens of Civilian Deaths Underscore Need for Saudi Arms Embargo

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition killed several dozen civilians in three apparently unlawful airstrikes in September and October 2016, Human Rights Watch said today. The coalition’s use of United States-supplied weapons in two of the strikes, including a bomb delivered to Saudi Arabia well into the conflict, puts the US at risk of complicity in unlawful attacks.

The attacks underscore the urgent need for foreign governments to suspend all arms sales to Saudi Arabia and for the United Nations human rights office to send additional investigators to Yemen to carry out credible investigations of alleged abuses by the coalition, the Houthis and their allies, and all other parties to the conflict, Human Rights Watch said.

“Saudi-led forces are bombing civilians in Yemen with newly supplied US weapons,” said Priyanka Motaparthy, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Obama administration is running out of time to completely suspend US arms sales to Saudi Arabia or be forever linked to Yemen wartime atrocities.”

Since the beginning of the Saudi-led campaign in March 2015, Human Rights Watch has found remnants of US-supplied weapons at the site of 23 apparently unlawful coalition airstrikes, including more than a dozen attacks involving US-made cluster munitions. Researchers did not find identifiable remnants in every attack documented. The US approved more than US$20 billion in military sales to Saudi Arabia in 2015 alone. Three US arms sales in 2015 and 2016, worth nearly US$3 billion, involved replenishing Saudi weaponry used in Yemen.

Human Rights Watch located remnants of US-made weapons at the site of coalition airstrikes in Arhab in Sanaa governorate and in the Hodeida governorate. A September 10 attack on a drilling site for water in Arhab killed at least 31 civilians, including three children.

Human Rights Watch researchers found remnants of two US-made GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided 500-pound bombs.

The continued transfer of arms by the United States to Saudi Arabia, despite evidence of their repeated use in unlawful attacks, may make the US complicit in some of the coalition’s violations in Yemen. The US is also party to the conflict in Yemen, providing targeting intelligence and refueling planes during bombing raids, but the US has not announced any independent investigation into its actions in the Yemen war.

[Several airstrikes examined in detail; with photos]

https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/08/yemen-us-made-bombs-used-unlawful-airstrikes

7.12.2016 – NDR (** B K)

Film: Jemen: Ein fast vergessener Krieg

Millionen Menschen leiden unter dem Bürgerkrieg. In weiten Teilen herrscht Hunger, mindestens drei Millionen Kinder sind unterernährt - eine humanitären Katastrophe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIdsnRfcXX4

Mein Kommentar: „Fast vergessen“: weil ihr 20 Monate euren Job nicht gemacht habt.

7.12.2016 – Spiegel Online (** A P)

Von der Leyen in Riad: Bundeswehr soll Saudi-Arabiens Militärs ausbilden

Es ist das wichtigste Thema bei von der Leyens erster Reise nach Saudi-Arabien: Die autokratischen Herrscher dort fordern nach SPIEGEL-Informationen eine deutlich größere Militärkooperation mit der Bundeswehr.

Das Königreich Saudi-Arabien drängt auf eine engere Zusammenarbeit mit Deutschland im militärischen Bereich. Nach SPIEGEL-Informationen sollen saudi-arabische Soldaten von der Bundeswehr ausgebildet werden. Außerdem rechnet das Bundesverteidigungsministerium mit einer Anfrage, Soldaten nach Saudi-Arabien zu entsenden. Sie sollen dort als Experten für ein neu gegründetes Anti-Terror-Zentrum einer von den Saudi-Arabern gegründeten Militärkoalition in Riad eingesetzt werden.

Der Ausbau der Kooperation ist das wichtigste Thema beim Besuch von Verteidigungsministerin Ursula von der Leyen in Saudi-Arabien. Am Donnerstag führt die CDU-Politikerin zum ersten Mal politische Gespräche in Riad. Die Planungen für die Visite wurden geheim gehalten, auch weil jegliche Kooperation mit den Saudi-Arabern umstritten ist. Trotzdem soll von der Leyen Deutschlands Interesse an den Saudi-Arabern als "schwierigem, aber zentralem Partner in der Region" unterstreichen, heißt es in einem vertraulichen Memo ihres Hauses.

Die Planungen für die Zusammenarbeit der Bundeswehr mit den Saudi-Arabern sind bereits konkret: Schon Ende 2015 schlug Riad vor, regelmäßig Gruppen von Offiziersanwärtern in Deutschland ausbilden zu lassen. Seitdem wird zwischen den Verteidigungsministerien über rechtliche Details verhandelt. Von der Leyen wird in Riad bekräftigen, dass sie die Kooperation unterstützt, und die Verträge hoffentlich bald unterzeichnet werden können.

Grundsätzlich offen steht die Ministerin auch der Entsendung von deutschen Soldaten nach Saudi-Arabien gegenüber. Diese sollen als Berater in einem kürzlich von Verteidigungsminister Mohammed Bin Salman al-Saud gegründeten Hauptquartier der sogenannten Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition eingesetzt werden. Riad hatte die Militärkoalition von heute 39 sunnitischen Staaten 2015 gegründet, um gegen den "Islamischen Staat" (IS) vorzugehen. Bisher hat sie allerdings keine sichtbare Schlagkraft gezeigt – Von Matthias Gebauer

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/bundeswehr-soll-saudi-arabiens-militaers-ausbilden-a-1124789.html

Mein Kommentar: Einfach nur ekelhaft, die Stahlhelm-Blondine eingeschlossen.

Kommentar von Sahra Wagenknecht: Empörend:BR will trotz Jemen-Krieg&Terrorförderung Bwehr zurUnterstützung saudischer Kopf-ab-Diktatur missbrauchen.

https://twitter.com/SWagenknecht/status/806565252280315904

and English summary

7.12.2016 – Der Spiegel (** A K P)

''Armed Forces to Saudi Arabia to train military''

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is pushing for closer cooperation with Germany in the military field. According to SPIEGEL information, Saudi Arabian soldiers are to be trained by the Bundeswehr. In addition, the Federal Defense Ministry expects an inquiry to send soldiers to Saudi Arabia. They are to be used there as experts for a newly founded anti-terrorist center of a Saudi-Arabian military coalition in Riyadh.

The expansion of the cooperation is the most important issue when visiting Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen in Saudi Arabia. On Thursday, the CDU politician for the first time held political talks in Riyadh. The plans for the visit were kept secret, also because any cooperation with the Saudi Arabs is controversial. Nevertheless, the Leyen is to underline Germany's interest in the Saudi Arabs as a "difficult, but central partner in the region", it says in a confidential memo of her house.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1193564694029892

5.12.2016 – Jadaliyya (** A K P)

[This is an ongoing post that will be updated regularly. It was first published on 6 December 2016. The updates appear at the bottom.]

The conflict in Yemen seems set to intensify as 2016 draws to a close. The deposed president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi returned to Aden from exile in mid-November after his government was reestablished in the southern city. This move, alongside a renewed ground campaign and the continued aerial bombardment throughout northern Yemen by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, prompted Ansar Allah—the movement commonly known as the Houthis—and the faction of the General People’s Congress party loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, to establish a “national salvation government” in Sanaa under the leadership of Abdelaziz bin Habtoor.

These latest developments seem sure to undermine whatever potential diplomatic efforts may still have had in orchestrating a sustained ceasefire. Meanwhile, the conflict in Yemen, and the peaceful attempts to end it, have been woefully underreported by both the alternative press (Jadaliyya included) and the mainstream media. When it has been covered, journalists—taking their cue from government spokespersons and think tank experts—have tended to reduce the conflict to a proxy war between Hadi’s internationally-recognized and Saudi-backed “legitimate” government and the Iranian-allied Ansar Allah rebels in an inherently unstable country.

This framework has the unfortunate consequence of 1) obscuring the role that US imperialism has played in destabilizing and impoverishing the country; 2) misrepresenting the influence of Iran and Saudi Arabia as equivalent in Yemen; and 3) erasing the internal historical conditions that led to the political crisis. Instead, what has transpired since Ansar Allah and its allies took control of the capital in September 2014 is more the unraveling of a Northern-based historic bloc and the disastrous effects of the post-uprising counterrevolutionary “transition” plan that sought to shore up the interests of Gulf autocracies at the expense of the democratic aspirations of Yemen’s people. Those in the southern highlands and coastal regions have paid an especially high cost, as Ansar Allah and Saleh forces contend with Hadi loyalists, Salafi and Al-Qa‘ida in the Arabian Peninsula militants, popular resistance groups, and secessionist fighters (sometimes allied with each other, other times against) for control. The fulfillment of their desire for self rule, whether in a federated political system or as an independent state, seems further away than ever. In the wake of this frustration and suffering, an autochthonous politics is emerging, with hundreds of civilians of northern “origins” attacked and expelled from their homes in southern areas.

Without doubt, the Ansar Allah-Saleh alliance has caused its share of suffering, but Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen has transformed an internal political crisis into a full-fledged humanitarian emergency. Its bombing campaigns—for which the United States and United Kingdom continue to supply arms and provide intelligence and targeting information—have led to the majority of the over 10,000 deaths documented from this conflict, with attacks on funerals, weddings, hospitals, schools, markets, homes, and fishing ports killing thousands of civilians. Meanwhile, its air and sea blockade of the country has exacerbated the poverty and food insecurity of Yemen to such an extent that roughly twenty million Yemenis are in need of humanitarian assistance.

In the coming months, a number of regional and global developments will have a significant impact on the course of events in Yemen:

The inauguration of Donald Trump as US president on January 20 raises questions about how shifts in US foreign policy will affect the Yemeni conflict, especially with regard to US relations with Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The role of Iran in the conflict has been small, despite the tremendously overblown claims by Saudi Arabia and certain segments of the mainstream media and political establishment. Ansar Allah itself has keenly refuted any accusation of undue influence and just last week publicly warned Iran of any regional designs it might have. However, a small Iranian naval fleet has now been deployed off the southern coast of Yemen after the United States targeted Ansar Allah sites with cruise missiles in late October—it is unclear to what extent the situation may escalate.

The war in Syria and the geopolitical interests involved have largely overshadowed, and in part governed, how regional and global powers have operated in the Yemeni conflict. That will continue to be the case if and when those forces in Syria realign in the coming months.

With a number of other political developments on the horizon, the outcome of the Yemeni conflict is increasingly uncertain. We will continue to update this account as events unfold. Your comments on what we may have missed, or contributions in the form of links and developments, are welcome at ap@jadaliyya.com.

[and following links to articles, beginning Dec. 5]

http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/25622/yemens-war_ongoing-post-

6.12.2016 – The National UAE (** B H K)

In Yemen, millions are locked out of education

Nadia Alzoum has not been able to complete her education in Sanaa. Conflict has forced the 15-year-old girl to stop going to school.

"I was studying with my classmates in the 9th grade.

"Like many classmates, I was dreaming of pursuing my education. Unfortunately, the war and my family's financial position has deteriorated. Now, I cannot continue," she said.

Today she has one hope: going back to her school.

Alzoum is one of many students who have stopped going to their classrooms as the situation deteiorates in several areas of the country. Many teachers have also left their jobs.

"The conflict has forced several teachers to stop practising their profession. There are various reasons. They are either displaced by the conflict or they shift to another job, trying to earn money to provide for their families or their schools are simply turned into rubble by the war," according to Taher Al Shalfi, the information manager at the Sanaa-based Studies Centre and Education Media.

"The war has destroyed 3,000 school buildings. The students have stopped their studies, although some others have resorted to primitive schools, struggling to receive classes," said Mr Al Shalfi.

He said that, "1.3 million students were deprived of education last year, and only 40 per cent of teachers in the country were able to exercise their duties."

There are many problems, according to Naji Mohammed, a director in the education office in Al Jawf province. "Teachers have not been receiving their salaries for four months. This is a major demotivating factor," he said.

Several school in Al Jawf have not opened this year. Districts such as Al Ghail have zero education-related activities. Unicef estimates the number of out-of-school children has ballooned to 2 million.

This bitter hardship will not be smoothed away so long as the civil strife persists. "The situation will be further complicated as there is no support for education by donors who largely contribute to funding this sector in Yemen," Mr Mohammed said – by Khalid Al Karimi

http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/in-yemen-millions-are-locked-out-of-education

My comment: A very sound article for a Gulf media – and all true. Of course, the fact that Saudi bombings have caused the greatest part of this catastrophe is not mentioned. Look at the description of the photo: “Students of Al Munadhil school for girls in Sanaa, Yemen. The school has been partially destroyed in fighting“ is just misleading. There was no fighting at Sanaa. This school was destroyed by Saudi coalition air raids – the same as most others.

7.12.2016 – Middle East Eye (** B H)

Yemeni students would rather study under trees than lose another year

Yemen's war has closed schools in Karesh and Lahj, forcing about 1,000 students to study in outdoor schools under trees in al-Qabaita district

Classes here start at 8am, but the cold weather forces Abdulhaq Ali Ghalib, 18, a student in al-Rab School in Lahj's al-Qabaita district, to wake up at 6am, so he can arrive early enough to catch a spot where there's abundant sunshine.

"The weather is so cold in the morning, it's hard to understand the teacher, and the only solution is for me to sit in the best spot in the class, where there are sun rays," Ghalib told Middle East Eye, glancing at a group of students in another class sitting under a tree nearby.

Ghalib hails from the Karesh area, which he left because of fighting, but now lives with his family at the school he attends after it became a camp for displaced people. Because they did not want to miss an academic year, students opted to study under the trees in the valley.

Due to violence and the closure of schools, more than 350,000 children were unable to resume their education in the past school year, bringing the total of out-of-school children in Yemen to more than two million.

“Children who are out of school are at risk of recruitment to fight”, said UNICEF's Yemen Representative, Julien Harneis, last month, according to the group's Yemen website.

UNICEF estimates that 2,108 schools across the country can no longer be used. They were destroyed or damaged, host internally displaced families or are being used for military purposes.

"We are studying amid dust and noise, and we are suffering from bad posture, as we do not have chairs or even a paved place to sit on," Ghalib said. "But this suffering is better than losing another year. We already did not study last year."

The students feel that they aren't grasping most of what they are being taught: the teaching environment is not conducive for learning, and inclement weather and pain due to sitting on the ground makes it difficult for them to pay attention.

Since the conflict escalated more than 18 months ago, attacks on school children, teachers and education infrastructure left a devastating impact on the country’s education system – and on the chances of millions of children to access learning, according to UNICEF.

"The main problem is that the displaced people do not have tents, so we cannot ask them to leave the school. I am calling for the organizations to provide us with tents, so students can study inside them, which definitely are better than trees," Saeed added.

Saeed confirmed that more than 170 students in the school are displaced, and he cannot provide even the half of the students with textbooks.

the current teaching environment could worsen in the coming months, as the expected rain can prevent students from studying under trees

even if the environment is not suitable for teaching, resuming classes can help prevent students from picking up arms. Some of the students joined the war last year when they found themselves out of school and that was the same motive that made parents send their children to study under trees.

Since the conflict escalated in March 2015, the United Nations has found that 1,210 children, some as young as eight years old, were recruited to fight, according to UNICEF.

"The government could not provide us with enough food after my father lost his work as a vegetable seller in Karesh, and we could not get a proper house to live in, but I hope the government can end our suffering under the trees," said the displaced student Ghalib. – by Nasser al-Sakkaf

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/students-prefer-study-under-trees-lose-another-year-138052803

My comment: When looking at the photos: Why just the boys get the better places???

6.12.2016 – Living in Yemen on the Edge (* B H K)

#Errata #Corrige - #Important Update
RE: Malformed Babies Pictures

We have posted, in the past, just some of the pictures received regarding malformed babies.
Thanks to a soon-to-be doctor in Sanaa, we found out that pictures posted are of a genetic disease known as 'Harlequin ichthyosis" with no clear causes till today.
As there seems to be no connection between the bombings and this genetic disease, we apologise and are bringing down, one by one, the pictures posted.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1192425454143816

referring to: Harlequin Ichthyosis: A Patient's Perspective, http://www.firstskinfoundation.org/types-of-ichthyosis/harlequin-ichthyosis

6.12.2016 – BBC (** A H)

Yemen conflict: UN official accuses world of ignoring crisis

In the hands of the doctor, baby Ibrahim's head seems impossibly small. He cradles the child gently, conscious of his fragility. Everything around him seems improbably large.

The nappies Ibrahim wears are the smallest available but are still too big. With his large eyes and hollowed out face, with ribs which press against his skin, the baby looks as if he is shrinking back into himself.

It seems perverse to describe a child in this state of as "lucky". But Ibrahim has survived 21 days and doctors are hopeful he will endure. His twin brother died soon after he was born.

It is one testimony from a war that has caused child malnutrition rates to jump by 200% in two years.

Fifty per cent of medical facilities no longer function. Some have been bombed by the Saudi-led coalition, others have ground to a halt because there is no funding.

Key roads and bridges are frequently attacked, making the delivery of assistance even more difficult.

The flow of aid is frequently held up by rebels who want to control its distribution. Many civil servants, including those in the health sector, have not been paid in at least four months.

Charities like Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) try to alleviate some of the distress but it is a huge task with such limited resources.

I met the MSF head of mission, Colette Gadenne, at the overburdened al-Jumhouri Hospital in Hajjah, one of the areas worst affected by the conflict.

Out in the villages, among those too poor to afford the transport to hospital, people approach foreign visitors in the hope that they bring aid.

A boy brought his sick baby sister and crouched in front of us. An old man, not begging but looking at us with hope, had gathered his four hungry grandchildren.

Aisha Ali, who lost one child to malnutrition five months ago, presented her chronically ill four-month-old daughter Asma. The child's eyes were yellowed from liver problems brought on by malnutrition.

"We need treatment, if you have. What do you have? Any treatment, any medicines? We need anything, we need medicines. If you can give us any, thank you," she pleaded.

Local workers from the Save the Children charity run mobile health clinics in the area but they too are simply overwhelmed by the scale of demand.

The crisis in Yemen has been overshadowed by the wars in Syria and Iraq. Barely 50% of the funding promised by donors has actually been delivered.

The senior UN official in the country, Jamie McGoldrick, is clearly exasperated at the international response.

"The politics of the situation has overcome the humanity," he says.

"The humanity doesn't work anymore here. The world has turned a blind eye to what's happening in Yemen... right now we are so under-resourced for this crisis, it's extraordinary." – By Fergal Keane (with photos)

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38220785 and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyzr1pnozxg (best quality) and also https://twitter.com/juliamacfarlane/status/806280754699390980 and http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38229955 and Mc Goldrick Interview: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04kg7l1 and by the Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-war-saudi-arabia-world-forgotten-houthi-rebels-conflict-un-official-comments-a7460081.html

and

7.12.2016 – Breaking News (* A H)

Huge reaction to Irish journalist’s report on growing human crisis in Yemen

A heart breaking report by a BBC team lead by Irish journalist and BBC war correspondent, Fergal Keane, on the tragic human cost of the long running war in Yemen is receiving widespread coverage and plaudits across social media today.

The report, televised for the first time on the BBC News at 10 yesterday, highlighted several emaciated toddlers and children who are on the verge of death due to malnutrition.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/huge-reaction-to-irish-journalistrsquos-report-on-growing-human-crisis-in-yemen-767523.html

6.12.2016 – Oxfam (** B H)

Yemen: a few months away from running out of food

Vital food imports have plunged below half the level the country’s needs

Yemen’s population is at risk of catastrophic hunger as food imports continue to plunge and on current trends the war torn country will effectively run out of things to eat in a few months, Oxfam warned today.

The international agency said that in August, the amount of food imported into Yemen fell below half the level needed to feed the country’s people and remained below that ever since.

A 20 month long war, waged between a Saudi-led coalition of Gulf countries and the Government of Yemen against the Houthis, has killed and injured over 11,000 civilians, forced more than 3 million people to flee their homes and brought the economy to near collapse.

Oxfam is calling on the Saudi-led coalition to lift shipping restrictions to allow food and other vital imports to increase, and on all parties in the conflict to allow food to move freely around the country and agree a meaningful ceasefire and restart peace talks. It is also calling for rich countries to increase support to the UN aid effort which is currently only 58 per cent funded and short of over $686 million (£540m).

Mark Goldring, Oxfam GB Chief Executive, said:

“Yemen is being slowly starved to death. First there were restrictions on imports - including much need food - when this was partially eased the cranes in the ports were bombed, then the warehouses, then the roads and the bridges. This is not by accident - it is systematic.

“The country’s economy, its institutions, its ability to feed and care for its people are all on the brink of collapse.

“There is still time to pull it back before we see chronic hunger becoming widespread starvation. The fighting needs to stop and the ports should be fully opened to vital supplies of food, fuel and medicine. As one of the principle backers of this brutal war Britain needs to end its arms sales and military support to the Saudis and help put Yemen on the road to peace.”

Even before the conflict started, nearly 90 per cent of Yemen’s food had to be imported. With the country’s agriculture hit by the fighting, that reliance on food imports has only increased. However restrictions on shipping which are punishing the Yemeni population and the destruction of many port facilities by the Saudi-led coalition means that meeting the country’s food needs has reached a critical juncture.

In November 2015 the country was importing just over what it required, by October this year that had plunged to 40 per cent of its needs. Without a massive increase in food imports this trend is likely to continue in which case, by April next year there will virtually be no food imports.

Reduced ability of ports to handle cargo means ships have a lengthy wait at anchorage before they can berth to off-load their cargo. In November average delays at ports in the north-west were considerable - 53 days in Saleef and 23 days for Hodeidah.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-few-months-away-running-out-food

Comment by Judith Brown: Perhaps the most frightening and sombre forecast yet. And Oxfam has been right on most of its prophesies. I hear from friends in Sanaa that things are getting noticeably worse.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154976997433641

And look at this infographic by Oxfam telling so much: https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1192953984090963/?type=3

My comment: A consequence of Western policy.

6.12.2016 – Reuters (** A K P)

Investigation urges coalition apology for Yemen hospital attack

An investigative body set up by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Tuesday it should apologize for a deadly attack on a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital in August that the group said killed 11 people.

But the Joint Group to Assess Incidents found the coalition was not responsible for or had legitimately targeted fighters in four other incidents that rights groups blamed on Saudi-led bombings and together killed dozens of people.

Regarding the attack on the MSF hospital, the investigators wrote: "The coalition forces must extend an apology for this unintentional mistake and provide the proper assistance to the families with affected persons."

Rights groups say the attacks on clinics, schools, markets and factories may amount to war crimes.

The findings, presented at a news conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh, bring up to 15 the number incidents which the body has probed and largely defended coalition actions. Either by denying that the alliance carried out the attacks or citing the presence of fighters in the area, the Joint Group has said the coalition has mostly acted legitimately to reduce civilian casualties – By Noah Browning

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-saudi-idUSKBN13V2JC

My comment: Still to be added

6.12.2016 – AP (** A K P)

Spokesman: Coalition Accidentally Bombed Yemen Hospital

An internal investigation committee said on Tuesday that the Saudi-led military coalition accidentally bombed a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Yemen, which killed 19 people and forced the international group to pull out from northern Yemen.

Mansour al-Mansour, the committee spokesman, said that an inquiry into the August bombing of the MSF hospital in the northern city of Abs showed that the coalition has received intelligence that rebel leaders were gathering north of the hospital. After bombing the site of the meeting, a warplane tracked a car that headed southward near the hospital. He said that the hospital building had no clear markings.

Mansour in his report suggested the coalition should apologize, offer assistance to those impacted by the bombing, and hold those responsible accountable.

The Associated Press reported last month that the targeted vehicle is actually a civilian one and it was carrying a wounded ice-cream vendor who was passing by the site of the initial strikes. The AP also reported that the hospital carried clear markings on the roof, identifying the building as an MSF hospital and that it was listed among the 23,000 buildings in the no-target list provided by a United Nations body to the coalition to secure them from the airstrikes.

The committee, which is named the Joint Incidents Assessment Team or JIAT, was formed by the Saudi-led coalition and this is its third report since the coalition started its campaign in Yemen in March 2015, under the banner of fighting Houthi rebels, which the coalition accuses of acting as an Iranian proxy.

In its report, the committee published results of four other incidents where warplanes bombed two schools, one market and one factory leaving dozens of civilians dead. In all, the committee either denied that the coalition holds responsibility or that the targets were used for military purposes and therefore bombing them was justified – By MAGGIE MICHAEL

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/spokesman-coalition-accidentally-bombed-yemen-hospital-44016158

My comment: Be honest: There hardly exists any “accidental” in war. Still to be added

7.12.2016 – RT (** A K)

‘Unintentional mistake’: Saudi inquiry contradicts MSF account of coalition strike on Yemen hospital

A Saudi-led investigative committee has failed to recognize Riyadh’s fault in the bombing of an MSF hospital in Yemen in August. The new assessment of the tragedy sharply contradicts the NGO’s findings.

After allegedly verifying the facts of the August 15 bombing of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital in the Yemeni city of Abs, the Saudi-led Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) said that the strike which destroyed the hospital engaged “legitimate” targets.

On that August day, according to the JIAT report, prior to the MSF strike, coalition forces had already attacked a Houthi leadership gathering in Abs when they noticed a vehicle leaving the area.

“As a result, the air crew monitored a moving vehicle from the same targeted site heading southwards, pursued and shelled it immediately. The vehicle was next to the building which had no signs of [being] a hospital before the bombing,” Mansour Ahmad Al-Mansour, a JIAT spokesman said Tuesday.

“In light of what has been viewed from the facts of the incident, the team found that damages of the originally-untargeted building were due to the targeting of the vehicle, a legitimate military target, which was next to the [hospital] building,” the spokesman added.

The Abs attack killed seven people and injured 13 others, JIAT determined contradicting the MSF death toll which said 19 people were killed, including one MSF staff member. The strike also injured 24 others.

The JIAT account also strongly diverges from the MSF summary of events on August 15.

The MSF account also contradicts the Saudi probe conclusion that the hospital was not marked. The NGO noted that the MSF logo had been clearly displayed at the entrance to the medical facility and was also painted on the roof of several buildings.

Furthermore, the location of the Abs hospital had been known to all parties in the conflict with GPS coordinates “regularly shared.”

JIAT’s assessment also contradicts the findings of an Associated Press report which concluded that Saudi-led jets targeted a civilian vehicle carrying a wounded ice-cream vendor who was passing by the site of the initial Saudi strikes. AP also confirmed that the MSF facility had clear markings on the roof and that the location was listed among the 23,000 buildings on a no-target list provided by the United Nations to the coalition.

Despite the irregularities in the JIAT findings, Mansur speaking on Tuesday still maintained that the strike was an “unintentional mistake” as he urged the coalition to apologise and provide assistance to the families of those affected.

https://www.rt.com/news/369438-saudi-inquiry-msf-hospital-strike/

and a Saudi media:

7.12.2016 – Asharq Al-Awsat (** A K P)

IAT Issues Statement on Yemen Investigations

The Joint Incident Assessment Team (JIAT), has given the following release on its findings concerning several incidents reported inside Yemen:

The Incident of (Abs) Hospital, Abs City, Hajjah Governorate

Doctors without borders, also known by the (MFS), published a statement on its official website claiming that the coalition forces struck Abs-Hospital in Abs city, Hajjah Governorate, on 15 August 2016, resulted with (7) people dead, and (13) injured.

After the statement, the JIAT body investigated facts and given circumstances surrounding the incident, and found that on 15 August 2016, coalition forces received intelligence information about presence of Houthi leadership gathering northern Abs City. Based on incoming intelligence coalition Air Force raided the site.

Reconnaissance registered exiting vehicle activity and proceeding south.

Houthis vehicles were targeted, and struck it nearby a building that does not display any strike preemptive indicatives, proving that it is a hospital. The building proved otherwise being the Abs-Hospital.

In light of the findings, the JIAT body found that damages inflicted against building were collateral damage caused by the targeting of a legitimate military objective, the vehicle. The damage was deemed unintentional.

The JIAT found that coalition forces must extend an apology for this involuntary mistake and provide proper assistance affected families. Coalition forces must also investigate those responsible for the incident, to account for the violations of approved rules of engagements (ROEs), and take proper respective action.

(Al -Mil) factory in (Sanaa) city

The Swedish embassy has presented claims that the food factory of Swedish honorary consul Mr. Abdullah Ahmed Al-Aqil located in (Sanaa) city suffered aerial bombardment on 9 August 2016 resulting in the death of (16) workers.

Investigations showed that collation forces struck two targets the mentioned day, the first target was the telecommunication antennas used for military purposes in (Ayban) mountain, western (Sanaa), (7) kilometers away from the subject factory.

The second military target was a cave operated for military purposes in eastern (Al-Nahdyan) mountain, southern Sanaa, (10) kilometers away from the subject factory.

Both abovementioned locations are considered legitimate military targets according to rules of engagement and international humanitarian law.

In light of that, the JIAT body did not find evidence that the collation forces struck the said factory. Thus, collation forces are not responsible for the alleged attack on the factory.

http://english.aawsat.com/2016/12/article55363453/joint-incident-assessment-team-jiat-statement-yemen-investigations

My comment: The whole statement shows that this JIAT is just a white-washing factory. Evidently, they want to tell us that even the raid at the MSF hospital just was an accident and in reality the blame must be given to evil circumstances and to others (intelligence information; “collateral damage“; “targeting of a legitimate military objective, the vehicle” (the vehicle was NO military target, anyway). – The statement on the Sanaa Mil factory is not less odd. What happened to this factory? A meteor? On this event, see: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/09/saudi-led-airstrikes-yemen-food-factory-kill-people and also at AFP: http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/air-raids-again-target-yemen-capital-after-talks-flounder and more images (see also YPR 180): https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=672357462914622&id=551288185021551 and http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKCN10K0SB and images / Films (graphic): https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1068407369916568&id=881240811966559 and https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1068373529919952&id=881240811966559 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlDKQWqrFMA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b66ZrDwDpNc http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-08/09/c_135579954.htm and even more in YPR 180.

6.12.2016 – The Guardian (** B H)

In Yemen children with cancer are dying in agony

It is a hard task to be a parent in Yemen: you know you are going to lose your child, either because of illness or under the bombs

Here in Yemen children are dying of preventable diseases because of the war. A simple cough or winter fever can kill you when your stomach is empty, roads are pulverized by bombardments and hospitals are unreachable both financially and logistically.

I am a Yemeni citizen living in our capital, Sana’a. Our city has faced – along with Saada on the border with Saudi Arabia – most of the aerial attacks of the Saudi-led campaign.

I am a volunteer with Your Ability Organization, one of many local NGOs founded and based in the capital.

The siege of Yemen has taken our country back of hundreds of years. Most of the country is out of work and there are shortages of electricity, gas, food and water. For almost 600 days children have gone to bed, every single night, fearing the sound of airplanes.

Cholera is spreading here and the threat of famine is looming over millions. We are seeing scenes that remind us of Biafra, Ethiopia in the 1970s and 1980s. We look back to the Yemen we used to know and so little stands. Memories clash with the reality.

Emotionally it’s a never ending pain with an entire generation of children scarred for life. This legacy of post traumatic stress disorder will have to be addressed if we want to turn Yemen, one day, into a nation which is somehow healing.

Earlier this year I met Mohamed Ahmed, father of two children, both of whom have a serious and painful form of cancer of the tongue. He was looking for help and was only able to reach the capital Sana’a because friends in his village collected donations to fund his journey.

Another man comes to see us with a desperate story. Jamal Abdullah is displaced from Taiz, a city which is suffering from fighting between different groups of militants. He tells us he has come to Sana’a to try and get treatment for his daughter Al-anood who has cancer of the blood. She is due to have treatment at the Al-Kuite hospital. He and his other children are going without food to buy her medicines.

Our NGO receives limited support both locally and internationally. The country remains closed, abandoned to its destiny.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/dec/06/in-yemen-children-with-cancer-are-dying-in-agony

5.12.2016 – International Committee of the Red Cross (** B K)

People on War 2016: Perspectives from 16 countries

Between June and September 2016, over 17,000 people in 16 countries were asked to share their views on a range of issues relating to war – in the People on War survey. The results are both reassuring and alarming.

We asked people living in countries affected by armed conflict if they believe the rules of war matter. They do. Over two thirds of people living in these countries as well as those from countries that are permanent members of the UN Security Council and Switzerland think it makes sense to impose limits on how they are fought. Almost half of those surveyed in conflict-affected countries believe the Geneva Conventions prevent wars from getting worse. But we also see that people are becoming resigned to the death of civilians as an inevitable part of war.

There is a disconnect between public opinion and the policies and actions of States and armed groups. Violations of the laws of war – including the targeting of civilians, humanitarian workers and hospitals – continue. Yet the survey results clearly show that the majority of people understand that these practices are wrong and that civilians and health-care workers and facilities must be protected.

https://www.icrc.org/en/document/people-on-war and http://reliefweb.int/report/world/people-war-2016-perspectives-16-countries and summary: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/people_on_war_summary_final.pdf and full report: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/people_on_war_report.pdf

and emphasize on this:

5.12.2016 – Ian Bray (A H K)

Bravo the people of Yemen. Keeping their humanity intact despite being in a brutal war (image)

https://twitter.com/IanOxfam/status/805829869175271424

Comment by Hisham Al-Omeisy: Thank you Ian, you made my day. They may terrorize & wreck our country, but will never break us or change who we are

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/806062065496555520

6.12.2016 – New York Times (** B P T)

Saudis Bankroll Taliban, Even as King Officially Supports Afghan Government

With their nation’s future at stake, Afghan leaders have renewed a plea to one power that may hold the key to whether their country can cling to democracy or succumbs to the Taliban. But that power is not the United States.

It is Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is critical because of its unique position in the Afghan conflict: It is on both sides.

A longtime ally of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia has backed Islamabad’s promotion of the Taliban. Over the years, wealthy Saudi sheikhs and rich philanthropists have also stoked the war by privately financing the insurgents.

All the while, Saudi Arabia has officially, if coolly, supported the American mission and the Afghan government and even secretly sued for peace in clandestine negotiations on their behalf.

The contradictions are hardly accidental. Rather, they balance conflicting needs within the kingdom, pursued through both official policy and private initiative.

The dual tracks allow Saudi officials plausibly to deny official support for the Taliban, even as they have turned a blind eye to private funding of the Taliban and other hard-line Sunni groups.

The result is that the Saudis — through private or covert channels — have tacitly supported the Taliban in ways that make the kingdom an indispensable power broker.

In interviews with The New York Times, a former Taliban finance minister described how he traveled to Saudi Arabia for years raising cash while ostensibly on pilgrimage.

The Taliban have also been allowed to raise millions more by extorting “taxes” by pressing hundreds of thousands of Pashtun guest workers in the kingdom and menacing their families back home, said Vali Nasr, a former State Department adviser.

Yet even as private Saudi money backed the Taliban, Saudi intelligence once covertly mediated a peace effort that Taliban officials and others involved described in full to The Times for the first time.

Playing multiple sides of the same geopolitical equation is one way the Saudis further their own strategic interests, analysts and officials say.

But it also threatens to undermine the fragile democratic advances made by the United States in the past 15 years, and perhaps undo efforts to liberalize the country – by Carlotta Gall

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/world/asia/saudi-arabia-afghanistan.html?_r=0 and a short version by Daily Caller: http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/06/saudi-arabia-caught-red-handed-funding-us-enemies-in-afghanistan/

My comment: The saudis as sponsors of terrorists - certainly not only in Afghanistan.

2.12.2016 – Taibaweb von Antimedia (** B C)

Enthüllte Akten zeigen, dass beide Seiten des Jemenskrieges von den USA ausgebildet und bewaffnet wurden

In einem der von WikiLeaks enthüllten Dokumente sagte US Oberst Randolph Rosin zu Generalmajor Ahmed Al al-Ashwal, dem Generalstaabschef der jemenitischen Luftwaffe zwischen April 2006 und Dezember 2014, dass er sich freut “eine starke, früchtetragende und gegenseitig vorteilhafte Beziehung zwischen unseren Militärapparaten aufzubauen.” Der Brief stammt vom Februar 2014.

Lange davor aber schon, im Jahr 2010, so zeigen die von WikiLeaks enthüllten diplomatischen Telegramme, dass der zwischen 1990 und 2012 regierende jemenitische Präsident Ali Abdullah Saleh “den US Kräften insgeheim einen unbegrenzten Zugang zu seinem Territorium [anbot], damit sie einseitige Angriffe gegen” mit Al-Kaida verbündete “Terrorzielen” ausführen können, was die engen Beziehungen zwischen Saleh und der US Regierung zeigt.

Später wurde Saleh auch vorgeworfen, den Houthi Rebellen geholfen zu haben.

Hinzu kommt, dass ein Dokument des US Zentralkommandos (USCENTCOM) vom November 2012 den Kurs für den jemenitischen Waffen- und Ausbildungsplan umriss (die Programme 1206 und 1207) – es handelt sich dabei um eine Passage im Programmtext für “Notfallnahrungshilfe und Zugang zu Sicherheitshilfe” – in denen aufgezeigt wird, wie die Behörde die Vor- und Nachteile abwog, noch vor dem geplanten Datum die Waffen freizugeben, wobei Bedenken erhoben wurden, dass die Massnahme weiteren Kontakt zum Kongress erfordern könnte. Die dort aufgeführte militärische Ausrüstung umfasst unter anderem gepanzerte Humvees, Maschinengewehre, Pistolen, Granaten und Munition.

Das Dokument wurde nach Salehs Rücktritt erstellt, wobei damals bekannt war, dass loyale Stammesmitglieder von Saleh und Regierungsvertreter damals Teil des Houthi Aufstandes waren.

Die Enthüllungen geben auch einen Einblick in die Verluste des Kriegsgeräts, das dem Jemen von den Vereinigten Staaten zur Verfügung gestellt wurde, da Berichte dazu gehören, bei denen es um gestohlene Gegenstände geht, wie etwa GPS Ortungsgeräte, Batterien und andere relevante Gegenstände. Ein Bericht der Verteidigungskooperationsbehörde im US Verteidigungsministerium vom Juli 2013 unreisst die US Beteiligungen mit einer Liste von Ausbildungs- und Bewaffnungsprogrammen, die im Jahr 2008 begannen und bis Ende 2013 dauerten, also zwei Jahre, bevor der jemenitische Bürgerkrieg ausbrach.

Des weiteren erklärte ein Artikel von Middle East Eye aus dem Jahr 2015, dass die Houthis nicht vom Iran bewaffnet wurden. Stattdessen “deckte sich die Rebellengruppe auf dem jemenistischen Schwarzmarkt mit einer großen Zahl an Waffen ein.”

Ein Expertenbericht der Vereinten Nationen schätzt, dass im Jemen etwa 40 bis 60 Millionen Waffen zirkulieren und die Houthis deswegen ” zwischen 2004 und 2010 auch einen stabilen Nachschub an modernen Waffen hatte, die von korrupten jemenitischen Militärkommandeuren geliefert wurden.”

Im selben Zeitraum, so der Bericht, “erwarben die Houthis in einem Kaufrausch neue Waffen, die im Laufe der acht Jahre zuvor aus den Vereinigten Staaten kamen,” ein Programm, das später von Joseph Trevithick mit Hilfe einer Anfrage über das Informationsfreiheitsgesetz entblösst wurde.

Laut der Pentagondokumente, die Trevnithick erhielt “hat das Verteidigungsminsterium ab 2006 Kriegswaffen im Wert von etwa 500 Millionen Dollar an das jemenitische Militär geliefert,” darunter “russische Hubschrauber, über 100 Humvees mit der neuesten Panzerung, hunderte Pickups, Raketengranaten, moderne Radios, Nachtsichtgeräte und Millionen Schuss an Munition.”

Mit anderen Worten und unabhängig davon, ob die Obamaregierung sich dessen bewusst war, genau jene Waffen und Ausbildungsbemühungen, die der jemenitischen Regierung über die Jahre zur Verfügung gestellt wurden, sind in die Hände von Militanten gefallen, deren Hauptfeind ein enger US Verbündeter ist – Saudi Arabien.

Wenn die von WikiLeaks freigegebenen Jemen Akten eines zeigen, dann dass das Eingreifen Amerikas im Mittleren Osten bestenfalls wieder einmal im Namen seiner “Alliierten” geschah. Schlimmstenfalls geschah es durch korrupte US Vertreter mit finanziellen Verbindungen in das saudische Königreich – von Alice Salles

http://welt.taibaweb.com/blog/2016/12/06/enthuellte-akten-zeigen-dass-beide-seiten-des-jemenskrieges-von-den-usa-ausgebildet-und-bewaffnet-wurden/

Remark: Original English version at Antimedia, presented in YPR 236: http://theantimedia.org/leaked-files-show-u-s-armed-trained-both-sides-war-yemen/

cp2 Allgemein / General

7.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K P)

Al Zayani: "Gulf States and Britain to hold Yemen reconstruction international conference"

Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Abdullatif Al-Zayani said on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the GCC summit in Manama, that the council will work with Britain to hold an international conference for the reconstruction of Yemen.

A two years of continuous war waged by the Houthi and Saleh forces on the civilians and their coup on the state legitimate leadership, as well as the intervention of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition forces have inflicted the Yemeni cities a considerable damage.

Al Zayani added "we are working in coordination with London to support the legitimacy and reconstruction in Yemen", but he did not mention the date and venue of the conference.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/86995

My comment: That is insane. They are the ones who are responsible for estimated 80 % of all destructions – no, certainly more than that.

7.12.2016 – Vice (B K)

Film: Life in #Yemen under Saudi daily bombardment? Highlighted on going crimes from @benjohnanderson VICE on HBO coverage

https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/806614682299670528

6.12.2016 – Washington Institute (* A K P)

Border Fight Could Shift Saudi Arabia's Yemen War Calculus

On December 3, cross-border shelling in Jizan wounded a Saudi woman, her child, and a Yemeni expatriate -- one of the latest reminders of the hundreds of civilian and military casualties that have occurred on the kingdom's southwestern frontier over the past year-and-a-half. This provides some insight into why Riyadh is so determined to break Houthi military and political resistance in Yemen. Houthi rebels and Yemeni army elements loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh have launched missiles and rockets into Saudi Arabia and mounted cross-border raids in retaliation against Saudi airstrikes on Houthi military strongholds and civilian areas. The border represents an enduring flashpoint that the United States and other international actors need to factor into their diplomatic and military positions on resolving the Yemen war.

The geography of the Saudi-Yemen border makes it vulnerable to Houthi-led attacks on Jizan, Asir, and Najran provinces. The Houthi homeland of Saada province is a salient around which the Saudi border is wrapped. Jizan province is a finger of Saudi territory located between the Yemeni border and the Red Sea, placing most of the governorate (including Jizan city and port, a new 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery, and a new industrial zone) within reach of Houthi short-range ballistic missiles and long-range tactical rockets. The city of Najran is just twenty kilometers from the border, making it vulnerable to even shorter-range Houthi tactical weapons such as the BM-27 Uragan, a 220-millimeter multi-tube rocket artillery system.

Since April 2015, the Houthis and their allies have undertaken an increasingly intense and successful border war using a variety of methods:

The war's impact in southern Saudi Arabia is hardly comparable to the human catastrophe seen in Yemen. Yet the cross-border attacks have significantly altered life in local Saudi cities and villages.

Even beyond the devastating civilian suffering in Yemen, the United States has a major strategic interest in ending the war. The deaths and damage being caused in southwestern Saudi Arabia, which are troubling in their own right, could distort Riyadh's calculus and drive the kingdom to extend or intensify the war. There is also a very real risk of a dangerous international "collateral damage" incident -- say, a long-range Houthi missile hitting a major airport in Jeddah or elsewhere – by Lori Plotkin Boghardt and Michael Knights

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/border-fight-could-shift-saudi-arabias-yemen-war-calculus

My comment: As cited above, the article is quite ok. It even makes evident that the Houthi attacks at Saudi territory are retaliatory and that the impact of the war on Yemen is much more terrible than on Southern Saudi Arabia, is true. And true even is the paragraph on what the goal of the USA must be. Quite grotesque and insane of course is what according to the authors the US should do: Not pressing BOTH sides to find a peace agreement, but more interference in the war, fully backing Saudi Arabia! That is just warmongering, causing even more killing, despair and strife. Just: Insane.

6.12.2016 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)

Bahraini Information Minister: Iran’s Interference and Yemen are Two Main Issues Of GCC Summit

Bahrain’s Minister of Information Affairs Ali bin Mohammed Al-Rumaihi asserted on Monday that the Manama Gulf Summit represents an additional brick in the structure of a strong and committed Gulf organization, as a base to move towards a Gulf Union reinforced by an alliance of joint blood, religion, history and destiny.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Rumaihi said Gulf countries should unite facing the security and economic challenges and to join hands to enhance their economic and social security and stability and to confront foreign interventions.

On Tuesday, Bahrain will host the 37th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit to boost the joint Arabian Gulf work in all the political, defense, security, economic, and social aspects and to satisfy the aspirations and ambitions of the GCC peoples.

Asked why the 37th GCC Summit was different from its previous ones, the information minister said the GCC Summit will witness the first Gulf-British Summit held between Gulf leaders and British Prime Minister Theresa May with an aim to strengthen common strategic relations at the political, military, economic, security and cultural levels. The Summit also proves that the UK is interested in the security and stability of Arabian Gulf states.

May will make her first regional visit to GCC by taking part of the 37th GCC Summit.

Al-Rumaihi said the situation in Yemen and Iran’s interferences in Arab affairs are two main issues on the agenda of the GCC Summit. “The two issues are related to the Gulf national security. GCC states are keen on enhancing the security and stability of the Arab countries and on protecting regional peace.”

He added: “GCC states ask Iran to respect the principles of good neighborly relations and the sovereignty of states by not interfering in their internal affairs using force and threats.”

The minister also called on Iran to stop inciting sectarian strife in the region.

http://english.aawsat.com/2016/12/article55363387/bahraini-information-minister-irans-interference-yemen-two-main-issues-gcc-summit

My comment: PM May at the GCC summit? That’s really strange. But might-be that is the right place for someone who’s foreign minister stated that the Saudi coalition air raids do not violate international and human law. – And the last sentence is funny; Saudi Arabia has spent about 100 billions of dollars to fuel sectarian strife among Muslims – from Germany to Indonesia.

5.12.2016 – AFP (* A P)

Yemen's Hadi would only give way to 'elected' leader

Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi would cede power only to an "elected" leader, after rejecting a UN peace roadmap asking him to hand over to a deputy, an official said Monday.

Hadi made his statement during talks last week in Aden with UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who has begun a new attempt to restart negotiations between the government and Iran-backed rebels.

The official said the roadmap, whose content was not made public, requires Hadi to cede power to a vice president named in agreement with the rebels, a plan the president rejected.

Hadi referred to a former peace plan brokered by Gulf states, which stipulated that he would supervise the country's political transition.

"The roadmap has contradicted the Gulf initiative in terms of the president's powers," the official told AFP, adding that Hadi should run Yemen during the transition and supervise national dialogue and elections.

"He would pass his powers to an elected president," the official said.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4002400/Yemens-Hadi-way-elected-leader.html = = http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/afp/2016/12/yemen-conflict-president.html

Comment by Judith Brown: I guess he would love to see a repeat of his own election when he was the only person that stood for election. Even then I don't know whether he would get enough votes

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154973769858641

My comment: When does the UN finally figure that this man is one of the main (or even the largest) obstacle to peace and that a preace agreement only can be achieved without him? He should no more given the possibility to veto all peace efforts, but simply has to be put aside.

5.12.2016 – The McGill International Review (* A K P)

Peace on Earth and Goodwill Towards Yemen

The situation that has unfolded in Yemen isn’t your typical conflict. On the ground, there are four major actors: the Yemeni armed forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the Saudi-led Gulf coalition supporting President Hadi, the Zaidi Shia Muslim minority championed by the Houthis, and, intermittently, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

With the first airstrike against Yemen by Saudi Arabia in March, 2015, the real conflict began. What has followed has been described using many different terms, from justified action to an aggressive, fault laden military campaign to the blatant use of war crimes. Saudi Arabia, along with a coalition of neighbouring Gulf States, and the United States claim that they are simply attempting to restore the legitimate president, Mr. Hadi, to his rightful post. Saudi Arabia, however, took this a step further and accused Iran of funding the Houthis, which, as they share a key ideological standpoint, isn’t a drastic stretch. To make matters even messier, the Houthis are partnered with former President Saleh, and have been acting together to rule Yemen from the capital of Sana’a while Hadi’s government leads from the port city of Aden. Yemen is yet again a country divided. When fuel from the geopolitical fire raging outside of its borders was added – explosions were inevitable.

The United States has attempted to maintain a degree of separation from the conflict, but evidence keeps emerging of their deep ties to the conflict.

William Hartung, from the Center for International Policy, stated that “without US support, there’s no way Saudi coalition could wage war at this level”.

This view, one that many share, is hindering much needed peace agreements. Cease fire after cease fire have been promised over the last 20 months, and all have quickly and violently ended.

A unity government needs to be formed, hopefully before President-Elect Donald Trump’s impending inauguration. No one knows how his foreign policy will manifest in Yemen. It’s not as hot of a topic as the rest of the Middle East, and is not as geopolitically strategic as other conflict zones. Even if his Secretary of State follows in Kerry’s diplomatic footsteps, the time it will take to get acclimated to the role will leave many more Yemenis at risk of death, either by conflict or from one of the unavoidable humanitarian issues that accompanies it. – by Maddie Clark

http://mironline.ca/peace-earth-goodwill-towards-yemen/

1.12.2016 – Scoop (* B K P)

What is behind the conflicts in the Arab world?

The short answer to the question in the title is: where does one start? If things in the Middle East and North Africa were not complicated enough, answering the question has been made even more difficult by the rise of Donald Trump, and the fact that no one, maybe not even he, has an idea about what his policy towards the various crises in the Middle East and North Africa will be, or what his attitude might be towards individual countries in the region.

So, rather than speculate or get bogged down in the excruciating detail of individual conflicts like those in Syria, Iraq, Libya or Yemen, what I would like to do is look at fundamental issues that weave themselves like a red thread through whatever conflict or crisis one looks at. These include the ones in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, as well as the phenomenon of militant political Islam, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the Saudi-Iranian struggle for regional dominance and global hegemony in the Muslim world.

Autocracies and social and ethnic exclusion

Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen are falling apart not because they are artificial constructs created by colonial powers but because they were ruled by autocratic governments who were exclusive rather than inclusive. That is to say, significant segments of the population often defined in religious or ethnic terms had no real stake in society and the state.

Saudi-Iranian struggle

For the Saudis, it was one that was ultimately existential and about survival. It was not simply regional for the Al Sauds. It was global given the kingdom’s claim to leadership of the Muslim world based on its custodianship of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and the Al Sauds’ power-sharing arrangement with an ultra-conservative clergy who are ideologically committed to spreading its interpretation of the faith.

The Saudi determination to counter the Iranian revolutionary threat by defeating rather than containing it has ever since shaped Saudi policy towards the Islamic republic and towards Shi’is. To be sure, Iran repeatedly took the bait with the creation of Hezbollah, political protests during the pilgrimage in Mecca and the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, to name just a few of the incidents.

Diverging Saudi-US interests

Awareness of harmful Saudi behavior

Saudi Arabia was shell shocked on 11 September 2001, when it became evident that most of the perpetrators were Saudi nationals. Saudi society was put under the kind of scrutiny the kingdom had never experienced before. The same is happening again today with the rise of jihadism, the war in Yemen and the kingdom’s role in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan.

Changing international attitudes towards Saudi sectarianism and its proxy wars against Iran are evident in a quiet conclusion in Western intelligence and policy circles that the crisis in Syria is in part a product of the international community’s indulgence of Saudi propagation of ultra-conservatism. As peaceful anti-regime protests in Syria descended into violence in 2011, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan unsuccessfully tried to persuade Saudi Arabia at a meeting in Washington of Middle Eastern intelligence chiefs to stop supporting militant Sunni Islamist fighters in Syria – ByJames M. Dorsey

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1612/S00014/what-is-behind-the-conflicts-in-the-arab-world.htm

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

7.12.2016 – The American Conservative (* B H K)

Famine Continues to Stalk Yemen

Yemen is suffering one of the greatest man-made humanitarian catastrophes of this century, and the lives of tens of millions of people are at risk. Three million people are displaced, a million and a half children under the age of five are severely malnourished, and at least 80% of the country’s population needs humanitarian aid. The coalition blockade, the coalition bombing of critical ports, roads, and bridges, the Hadi government’s decision to move the central bank, and the war as a whole have all contributed to the disaster unfolding in Yemen. The Saudi-led intervention supported by the U.S. and Britain has undeniably made the conflict far worse and has inflicted enormous harm on the civilian population. Even when the war is over, Yemen will be suffering from the damage done to public health, infrastructure, and development for decades to come. The U.S. is not just “standing by” while this happens, but has actively supported the wrecking and starvation of Yemen for over twenty months.

The U.S. needs to push for an end to the blockade, and it should be coordinating a massive relief effort to stave off the worst of the famine that now stalks most of Yemen. If that doesn’t happen, the millions that are now malnourished will keep dying in ever greater numbers. Unfortunately, I assume that this administration isn’t going to do anything to stop that from happening. They have enabled and covered for the Saudi-led coalition all this time, and I doubt they are going to change their position now – by Daniel Larison

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/famine-continues-to-stalk-yemen/

7.12.2016 – IOM Yemen (A H)

#IOM support the Center for blind children in war torn #Yemen 300 hygiene kits through our counterpart @monarelief @iom_yemen

https://twitter.com/iom_yemen/status/806759816060235778

7.12.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A H)

Pic taken today by @monareliefye during blankets distribution in Wadi Ahmed area in Sanaa.

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/806630069561126912

7.12.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A H)

200 families of IDPs in Wadi Ahmed area in Sanaa from Saada, Taiz, Hajjeh, Lahj &Hodeidah received today blankets from @monarelief (photos)

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/806540608571658241 and https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/806630069561126912

Salam guys, after a long day of distributing blankets to IDPs & most needy ppl in Sanaa. Here is @monarelief's pix #Yemen

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/806528090008592384

7.12.2016 – Judith Brown (A H)

More photos of Yemen water supplies

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154979998058641

6.12.2016 – Doctors Without Borders (A H)

Yemen: Going to a warzone is no 'adventure'

AbdelHalim AbdAllah is a former journalist working in Lebanon. Here he blogs about joining our communications team in Yemen, where he experienced the brutal realities of civil war.

I have been longing to visit Yemen for years, but never had the chance. This August I was able to go, helping the Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) medical teams document their work.

I am fascinated by Yemen's unique context –which is underreported in mainstream media- in addition to the delicious food and mesmerising landscape.

Whilst there, I worked with the communications team responsible for the Middle East and North Africa region.

On my first day I went to visit MSF’s hospital in Aden. At around 8 am a strong blast shook the hospital.

A few minutes later the emergency siren started ringing, alerting everyone that an influx of patients had started to arrive.

The hospital team (except for a handful of international staff members), are all from Yemen. They have family and friends living near the area where the bomb blast happened.

They are used to emergencies – and happily stayed extra hours.

Yemen has been plagued with civil wars since its independence in the 1960s. Yemenis call the 2014 civil war “the fourth war”.

Despite all these dire conditions, Yemenis living under the civil war continue to carry on with their lives; they never lost their sense of humor, generosity, and hospitality to all their guests.

It’s very clear to me after my short trip that the real heroes are the Yemeni people, who struggle to survive an endless war; for them, it’s not a temporary adventure – by AbdelHalim AbdAllah

http://blogs.msf.org/en/staff/blogs/msf-in-yemen/yemen-going-to-a-warzone-is-no-adventure

6.12.2016 – World Food Programme (* B H)

Yemen Concept of Operations December 2016

With the rapid deterioration of the security situation across the country, the increase of humanitarian needs, the dire economic crisis and the limited infrastructure available, additional logistical support is required to ensure humanitarian organisations responding to the crisis can deliver efficient and effective assistance to the people affected.

The Logistics Cluster will facilitate access to common logistics services (temporary storage; air, sea and overland transport; fuel distribution), as well as assuming a coordination and information management role to maximise the use of available resources in-country, and avoid duplication of efforts.

Logistics Gaps and Bottlenecks

The major constraints on the ability of humanitarian organisations to respond to the crisis in Yemen are: the lack of access due to insecurity, a rapidly changing security situation, and limited or much damaged infrastructure.
Specifically, the following logistics gaps have been identified:

Congestion at main entry points (POD – port of discharge);

Unreliable and unpredictable access to sufficient quantities of fuel, as well as high volatility in its price;

Limited international shipping options to Yemen, especially by air;

Limited in-country storage capacity;

Poor overland transport capacity from neighbouring countries.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-concept-operations-december-2016 and in full: http://www.logcluster.org/document/yemen-concept-operations-december-2016 = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/logistics_cluster_yemen_conops_20161129.pdf

and map: http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-concept-operations-map-05-december-2016 and full pdf: http://www.logcluster.org/map/yemen-concept-operations-map-december-2016 = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yem_conops_a4l_20161205.pdf

7.12.2016 – N 24 (A H)

Fotos: Was aus der hungernden Saida wurde

Diese Bilder vom ausgemergelten Körper einer 18-Jährigen rüttelten die Welt wach. Im Jemen leiden nach zwei Jahren Krieg und noch länger währender Armut Millionen Menschen an Hunger.

http://www.n24.de/n24/Mediathek/Bilderserien/d/9530978/was-aus-der-hungernden-saida-wurde.html

6.12.2016 – Reuters (* A H)

Emaciated Yemeni woman now smiles but recovery patchy

Images of 18-year-old Saida Ahmad Baghili's emaciated body shocked the world and turned a spotlight on the worsening humanitarian crisis across war-torn Yemen.

Now, after weeks of specialist hospital care in the capital Sanaa, though she can still barely speak and sometimes finds eating more difficult than ever, she can at least smile.

In her parched village on the Red Sea coast, impoverished residents have long struggled to put food on the table.

Doctors believe her condition - which began several years before the war began - has damaged her throat and, when her family first brought her to a regional hospital in October, she could barely keep her eyes open or stand.

"We admitted Saida to find out the cause of her inability to eat and it's clear that she suffers from severe malnutrition," Doctor Wasfi al-Zakari of Sanaa's al-Thawra hospital said.

"Her health remains chronic, and her bones remain fragile due to stunted growth. In all likelihood, they will never return to normal," he said.

Her father Ahmed, who is staying nearby to be with his daughter, says her weight has reached 16 kg (35 pounds), five kilos more than when she was first admitted to hospital.

"But she doesn't eat anything except liquid medical food. She used to drink juice and milk with bananas but now she can't ... we don't know when she'll recover." – By Mohammed Ghobari (photos)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-health-idUSKBN13V1SB and also https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1192992840753744/?type=3 and https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1193574020695626

6.12.2016 – Sadeq Al-Wesabi (A H)

At the Blood Bank in Sana'a, I met this great man who usually donate blood to the injured regardless of their political affiliation (photo)

https://twitter.com/sadeqalwesabi/status/806136339641073664

6.12.2016 – UNOCHA (*A H)

Map: People in need

https://www.facebook.com/UNOCHAYemen/photos/a.542292342559673.1073741828.541116599343914/1050763131712589/?type=3&theater

6.12.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A H)

Million thanks to @monarelief's partner the @iom_yemen for supporting us with dignity kits for the 2nd time. #Yemen @monareliefye (photos)

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/806215623571279872

@monarelief distributing now dignity kits funded by @iom_yemen at al-Noor center for blind in Sanaa. #Yemen @monareliefye (photos)

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/806102719194890240

300 Blind and disabled ppl in Sanaa received today dignity kits from @monarelief in a project funded by @iom_yemen (photo)

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/806154269321789440

5.12.2016 – Josh Coble (* A H)

Fundraising: Food Distribution for Yemen's "Untouchables"

For: Muhamasheen People of Yemen

https://www.youcaring.com/muhamasheenpeopleofyemen-708785

Film: Yemen's "Untouchables"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ah_27diGv4

5.12.2016 – Mohammed Al-Asaadi (A H)

Genuine smile! Over 19 million people in #Yemen lack regular access to safe drinking water and sanitation services. Stop the war!

https://twitter.com/alasaadim/status/805702793638068224

5.12.2016 – UNICEF Yemen (A H)

Ms Adeebah, one of UNICEF's 10k countrywide community volunteers, counsels village children on positive and healthy practices (photo)

https://twitter.com/unicef_yemen/status/805704895064117248

Comment by Judith Brown: Well the difficulty is how can you stop children sleeping in their own home on the night it is bombed by Saudi jets with British and American made bombs.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154973828648641

5.12.2016 – Action against Hunger (B H)

10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CRISIS IN YEMEN

Yemen is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, putting children's lives at risk. More than 18 months of conflict have seen the country slide further towards catastrophe (photos)

Help us save lives around the world DONATE

http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/blog/10-things-you-should-know-about-crisis-yemen

5.12.2016 – Human Needs Development (A H)

Do you want to see some smiles?
A message from Human Needs Development - HND - NGO in #Sanaawho, jointly with Comitato Nour from Italy, have helped some children feel less cold and less forgotten during the ongoing war against our country:

''Pictures with my HND team members & the cute Yemeni children during the Winter Project distribution process. Yemeni children's smiles have disappeared due to the current living conditions, But I want to inform you that we are determined to bring children's smiles back on their faces despite the barriers we are facing''
Adel Hashem

(from our side, at Living in Yemen, a huge thanks to those who never forget our land and help) (photos)

For furhter information https://www.facebook.com/HNDngoYE/?pnref=lhc

https://www.facebook.com/HNDngoYE/posts/737089019775901

5.12.2016 – Sky News (A H)

Film: Suffering of women because of war in the Taiz countryside

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvOYGwnMwbI

5.12.2016 – Human Needs Development (A H)

Do you want to see some smiles?
A message from Human Needs Development - HND - NGO in #Sanaa who, jointly with Comitato Nour from Italy, have helped some children feel less cold and less forgotten during the ongoing war against our country:

''Pictures with my HND team members & the cute Yemeni children during the Winter Project distribution process. Yemeni children's smiles have disappeared due to the current living conditions, But I want to inform you that we are determined to bring children's smiles back on their faces despite the barriers we are facing''
Adel Hashem

(from our side, at Living in Yemen, a huge thanks to those who never forget our land and help) (photos)

https://www.facebook.com/HNDngoYE/?pnref=lhc

5.12.2016 – HPF / Living in Yemen on the edge (* A H)

''Please share to help people in Taiz - #Yemen
This is a queue for water - people who take water from a tanker paid by charity can take 5 litres a day and this is for everything - washing, cleaning, laundry, cooking and of course drinking. It is the only way poor people can get water. Water is no longer pumped direct to homes but those with money can have a tanker delivered to their own individual water tank but it is very expensive indeed now.'' (photos)

https://www.facebook.com/HPFHGGI/posts/1571870146160173 = https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1190781454308216 and also https://www.facebook.com/HPFHGGI/posts/1572851616062026 = https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154975252273641

5.12.2016 – I News (* B H)

Yemeni photographer of emaciated girl Saida: ‘Poor people pay the price for war

More than one month ago images of Saida Baghili, a young woman who was emaciated and receiving treatment for malnutrition, brought home the suffering in Yemen. Abduljabbar Zeyad, who photographed her frail body on a hospital bed, says even he was shocked by the images he took, and has warned that civilians like Saida will continue to suffer from poverty and little access to healthcare if the conflict continues.

Saida is just one of many victims to suffer from famine. Poverty and lack of food has always been a problem in Yemen, but it has become worse since war broke out last year.

The 31-year-old photographer, who has worked for Reuters since 2015, knows the horror the war is inflicting on the people of Yemen too well. Living in Hodeida, western Yemen, where he was born, he sees first hand that people are living in “harsh” conditions. But those who, like Saida, live in coastal areas (the Red Sea borders Hodeida) are always the ones to suffer the most. “Ninety per cent of them are working in the sea and catching fish, but with the blockade imposed by coalition forces, they are no longer able to enter the sea,” he says.

“If the war does not stop and fighting continues, the situation will become catastrophic. Everyone hopes the war will stop, peacefully. Or it is the poor people who are paying the price,” says Zeyad. “There may be a disaster in the coming days unless the world intervenes to stop the war.” – by Serina Sandhu

https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/world/saida-baghili-18-emaciated-looked-like-elderly-woman/

4.12.2016 – UNOCHA (* B H)

Film: In #Yemen, 7 million people are one step away from famine. We cannot let them down.

https://twitter.com/UNOCHA/status/805554179611754497

1.12.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (A H)

Yemen: Cluster response coverage and gaps by hub (January to October 2016)

https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/yemen/infographic/yemen-cluster-response-coverage-and-gaps-hub-january-october-2016 = https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/yemen/infographic/yemen-cluster-response-coverage-and-gaps-hub-january-october-2016 and full. http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yemen_gap_analysis_november2016_v.2_0.pdf

cp4 Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

7.12.2016 – AFP (* A P)

Fund set up to protect endangered heritage sites

Representatives of around 40 countries on Saturday approved plans to establish a fund to protect heritage sites in war zones and a network of safe havens for endangered artworks.

A closing statement issued after two days of talks in Abu Dhabi did not specify the total amount pledged for the fund but French President Francois Hollande said a target of $100 million remained achievable.

The meeting, co-sponsored by France and the United Arab Emirates, was spurred by the systematic destruction and looting of archaeological treasures in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State group.

The world watched in dismay as the jihadists systematically destroyed temples and tower tombs in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra last year.

Participants in the meeting, who also included representatives of international organisations and private institutions, pledged "to safeguard the endangered cultural heritage of all peoples, against its destruction and illicit trafficking."

The Geneva-based fund they set up will be charged with safeguarding cultural heritage endangered by conflict, financing preventive and emergency operations, combating the illicit trafficking of artefacts and helping restore damaged cultural property.

UNESCO director Irina Bokova said: "The creation of this fund breaks new ground.... I see this as the starting point of something... global."

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan urged all countries to "cooperate and coordinate to control the trafficking of cultural property.... especially in some Arab countries that have suffered from the dangers of violence and terrorism."

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/169520-Fund-set-up-to-protect-endangered-heritage-sites

My comment: What a hypocrisy! Saudi Wahabism is the ideological base of IS’, Talibans’ and AQs destruction of cultural heritage. And the Saudis themselves always did this, already in 1803 when first occupying and looting Medina and Mecca. And now they destroyed a lot of cultural heritage in Yemen.

Comment: Those same sitting at the round table have targeted ON PURPOSE (or endorsed the destruction of) #Yemen's heritage sites.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1193271340725894

Comment: Those same sitting at the round table have targeted ON PURPOSE (or endorsed) #Yemen's heritage sites.

https://twitter.com/Living_Yemen/status/806535521832988672

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

7.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A P9

Fourth Islah leader dies of Houthi torture in Hodeida

A leader of Islah party died on Wednesday in Hodeida governorate, west of Yemen, as a result of the torture practiced on him by the Houthi and Saleh militants during the period of his abduction.

A statement issued by Islah party in Hodeida, and received by Almasdaronline, stated that Mohammed Hashebri, the party's leader in al Qanawes district, died of the torture he received in his place of detention in al Zaydiah district, northern Hodeida city.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/86992

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A T)

Security Forces Detect an Explosive Device in Yemeni Capital

Security agencies and popular committees detected an American made grenade left by unidentified terrorist elements in a street near Haddah water factory in the capital city of Sana’a.

The bomb was successfully detected and an investigation is going on into the incident to find out the identity of those involved in this terrorist act to capture them, security source confirmed.

The security agencies and popular committees also captured three suspected people in Kharif district, Amran governorate, of detonating a bomb at a citizen’s house in Swat region, source reported.

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56820&lang=en

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A P)

Preparatory Committee Invites Yemeni Masses to Commemorate the Birth of Prophet Mohamed PBUH in Al Sabeen Square in Capital Sana’a

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56813&lang=en

7.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A)

Schoolboys killed and injured in grenade explosion in school in Sana'a

7 boys were killed and injured in a grenade explosion in Al Tahif public school in al Asbahi neighborhood southern Yemen capital Sana'a, according to eyewitnesses.

The eyewitnesses told Almasdaronline that a student in the ninth grade came to school carrying a grenade after he had quarreled with one of his teachers earlier, and then threw the bomb on his classmates.

"The student was threatening his teacher and classmates with the grenade after he had disarmed the safety pin, and a few seconds later the bomb exploded on him and on the classmates around," the eyewitnesses added.

The explosion killed the student who threw the bomb and another one , and 5 others classmates were injured, some of them had serious injuries.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/86991

6.12.2016 – Yemen Post (A P)

Massive protests in #Yemen capital today calling for end of deadly 19 month Saudi led war (photos)

https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/806195720105562112

and

6.12.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)

Yemenis supporting their gov To defeat US-backed Saudi aggression Calling world2take responsibility for stopping war crimes. ( Dec6,Sanaa) (photos)

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/806349184198725632

6.12.2016 – Colombo Page (A P)

Sri Lanka negotiating release of nine sailors in Yemen

The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday said it was negotiating the release of nine sailors who are currently detained aboard a vessel anchored in Yemen, a Xinhua report said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva told Parliament the Sri Lankans, who had been working for an Indian company, had been detained nearly two months ago over a dispute with another company.

He said that there was no ransom demand to release the sailors, who are now aboard a Greek vessel Fair Apollon,'which is anchored at the Port of Hodeidah in Yemen.

The Deputy Foreign Minister also said that Sri Lanka has sought Indian assistance in rescuing the Sri Lankan citizens, who are among 26 sailors detained.

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_16B/Dec06_1481023128CH.php

6.12.2016 – Saba Net (A P)

Vice President meets leaders of workers Unions

Vice President of the Supreme Political Council, Kasim Labouzah, met with leaders of workers' Union and chiefs of the state employees' unions .
The meeting took place on Monday, during which the vice president discusses the concerns, needs and demands of the unions.
The discussions also focused on the economic consequences that resulted from the ongoing US-backed Saudi brutal aggression, including the enemy targeting of the Yemen Central Bank and national resources that aim to starve the Yemeni people.
Vice president was briefed about the suffering of the workers and the state employees from the ongoing economic war by the US-backed Saudi barbaric aggression and all-out blockade.
The vice president stressed on the serious works being implemented by the National Salvation Government to resolve the problems of delaying salaries through a package of resolutions that began to yield positive outcomes.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448827.htm

My comment: There would have been an interesting topic for these talks, see the following:

5.12.2016 – Baraa Shiban (* A P)

3 security workers in Total petroleum were killed by the Houthis in Sanaa after protesting & demanding their salaries on Sunday

https://twitter.com/bshtwtr/status/805702373012340736

#Yemen-i Workers Trade union issues a statement condemning the killing of Total security workers in Sanaa (photo)

https://twitter.com/bshtwtr/status/805794723281666048

5.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A)

Ibb: after killing Houthi leader, civilian's house burnt and children abducted as hostages

http://almasdaronline.com/article/86916

5.12.2016 – AP (A P)

YEMEN REBELS HOLD EGYPTIANS, OTHERS ON SUSPICION OF SPYING

Security officials say Yemen's Shiite rebels have detained a number of Arab and African nationals, including more than 30 Egyptians, on suspicion of spying for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels.

The Egyptians were captured in the city of Hodeidah and transferred to the capital, Sanaa, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_YEMEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-12-05-10-10-23

My comment: The Houthis are no more “rebels”, nor are they “Shiite”. Strange western wording, adopting Saudi / Hadi propaganda.

5.12.2016 – Egypt Independent (A P)

49 Egyptians kidnapped in Yemen

The families of 14 Egyptians working in Yemen have submitted complaints to the Foreign Minister reporting the abduction of their relatives who were working at barbershops in Hodeida province, Yemen.

They claim their relatives were kidnapped by Houthis and militias of the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

They said they last heard from them 14 days before they submitted their previous complaint on November 27.

The families added that other Egyptians in Yemen, as well as Yemenis from the same location, told them about an attack launched by the Houthis on the stores, where they smashed them and took the Egyptians to unknown places.

They were later found in Al-Thawra prison in the capital city of Sanaa.

Yemeni Minister of Local Administration Abdul Raqeeb Fatih said in remarks on Saturday that the incidents were true, adding that militias of the Houthis and Saleh kidnapped 49 Egyptians from Hodeida and took them to a prison in Sanaa.

He said he was informed by the Egyptian Ambassador Youssef al-Sharqawy that 49 Egyptians were taken to a prison belonging to the militia in Sanaa.

Meanwhile, Khaled Rizk, vice deputy foreign minister for consular affairs, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the ministry instructed the embassy in Yemen to follow on any information related to the abducted Egyptians. He added that they are in communication with Yemeni authorities to release all those kidnapped.

http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/49-egyptians-kidnapped-yemen

5.12.2016 – Ahram (A P)

Foreign Ministry working to release Egyptian citizens detained in Yemen

Egypt's foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid denied reports that the Egyptians were detained by Houthi rebels

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement sent to Ahram Online on Monday that the ministry is working to release Egyptian nationals detained in Yemen.

Several news outlets are reporting that 49 Egyptian fishermen were abducted last week in Yemen's Hadida governorate, which is controlled by Houthi rebels.

Abu Zeid added that the ministry is working in coordination with the Egyptian embassy in Yemen to help release the citizens as soon as possible and dismissed earlier reports that the Egyptian nationals had been abducted by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

"The Egyptian citizens, who are from different professions, were detained and not abducted," said Abu Zeid.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/251405.aspx

5.12.2016 – Saba Net (A H P)

Human rights minister stresses on enhancing human rights principles

Human rights minister Alia Faisal Abdullatif said her ministry is working to enhance and protect the human rights principles for all society in Yemen, including refugees who have fled to Yemen since more than two decades to escape wars and conflicts in their countries.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448699.htm

cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government

5.12.2016 – Reuters (A T)

Qaeda militants blow up Yemen gas export pipeline: local officials

Al Qaeda militants blew up Yemen's only gas export pipeline on Monday, local officials said, in a further blow to a moribund but vital piece of infrastructure for an impoverished country battered by 20 months of war.

The explosion occurred in the remote desert area of al-Uqla in the southern province of Shabwa, the officials said, and severed the link between Yemen's gas-producing Marib region and the export terminal of Balhaf on the Arabian Sea.

Oil and gas once accounted for most of Yemen's state revenue before a civil war and military intervention led by Saudi Arabia halted their export and unleashed a humanitarian crisis – by Mohammed Ghobari

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-gas-idUSKBN13U2HA?il=0

Comment by Haykal Bafana: So much for "UAE control" claim

https://twitter.com/bafana3/status/805846934242127872

5.12.2016 – Southern Hirak (A T)

#Hadramout elite forces carryout sting operation capturing 6 terrorists & seizing 5 tons of explosives #SouthYemen #CounterTerrorism #Yemen

https://twitter.com/SouthHirak/status/805810289065267200 referring to https://twitter.com/Mukalla_now/status/805740196750888960

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

7.12.2016 – Reuters (A P)

U.S. urges Yemen to accept U.N.-drafted roadmap for peace talks

State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing the United States was "disappointed" by Yemen's reaction.

"We call on the Yemeni government to accept the roadmap," he said. "We recognize that the roadmap does contain difficult choices and underscore that compromises and concessions by all parties will be necessary to reach a durable political settlement."

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-usa-idUSKBN13W2MF

My comment: And? Any consequences now? The US still accepting that hadi can block everything? – And: The headline suggests more as the story really tells.

6.12.2016 – Reuters (* A P)

Yemen says U.N. roadmap to end conflict sets 'dangerous precedent'

Yemen on Tuesday appeared to reject a U.N. plan to end its civil war, saying the roadmap would create a "dangerous international precedent" by legitimizing the rebellion against the country's internationally recognized government.

Yemen's position deals a major setback to international efforts to end the 20-month conflict, which has unleashed a humanitarian disaster and killed more than 10,000 people.

A Dec. 6 letter to the Security Council from Yemen's U.N. mission, seen by Reuters, called U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh's plan a "free incentive to the Houthi-Saleh rebels, legitimizing their rebellion, their agenda."

"The Ould Cheikh Roadmap creates a dangerous international precedent, encouraging coup trends against elected authorities and national consensus. Which are in clear violations of internationally established laws and norms."

The Dec. 6 letter detailed a list of actions necessary for any political solution, including that Saleh and Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi must "leave political life and leave the country with their families into self-imposed exile for a period of at least 10 years."

A senior diplomat at the United Nations told Reuters last month that Saudi Arabia appeared to accept Ould Cheikh's initiative and had encouraged Hadi to deal with it.

The United Arab Emirates, another key country in the coalition, has said it supported the plan, which the United States and the United Kingdom also endorse – by Yara Bayoumy

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un-idUSKBN13W03V

My comment: Still to be added

Comment by Judith Brown: Well it was quite a dangerous precedent to not mention the ongoing destruction of Yemen and Yemeni people when they made the UNSC resolution. It was very one-sided. And now it's producing problems in ending the slaughter because this killing spree was ignored.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628

Comment by Hisham Al-Omeisy: So #Yemen gov't basically raised bar of demands so ridiculously high that no peace plan will ever accommodate. Buckle up, long road ahead.

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/806490888801308672

cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran

6.12.2016 – Al Araby (* A P)

Is Iran behind cyber attacks on Saudi Arabia?

A crippling cyber attack on critical Saudi Arabian computer infrastructure could be the work of Iranian state-sponsored hackers, sources and experts have said.
Shamoon, the virus used, is not new. But if indeed Iran is behind it, the scope of the attack could signal a dramatically upgraded Iranian cyber-warfare capabilities, which in future could be used against other foes such as Israel.
The timing and backdrop could not be more telling: an escalating Russian-US showdown in cyberspace in a world where dumping of hacked classified material has become routine; and tightening of US sanctions on Iran, itself not long ago the target of suspected US-Israeli cyber operations.

Bloomberg was referring to the incident when in a matter of hours, 35,000 computers using the same virus were partially wiped or totally destroyed, undermining state oil giant company Saudi Aramco's ability to supply 10 percent of the world's oil consumption.

One of the key goals of cyberwarfare is maintaining plausible deniability, so it is unlikely for governments to admit culpability.
In the absence of conclusive evidence, experts are turning to speculation.
Against the backdrop of renewed tensions over the nuclear deal and resurgent US hostility to Iran, the attack may have been even designed to look like an Iranian attack, according to James Lewis, director of the strategic technologies programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, quoted by Bloomberg.
Conversely, it could be an Iranian pre-emptive warning.
Tony Lawrence, chief executive officer of VOR Technology, a Hanover, Maryland-based cyber-security firm, said the attacks, as described, sounded like a display of power by Iran.
"They're saying, 'we're not here to be messed with, and if you do, we’ll retaliate – by Karim Trabulsi

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2016/12/3/is-iran-behind-cyber-attacks-on-saudi-arabia

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

7.12.2016 – Al Monitor (* A E K P)

The year Saudi Arabia wants to forget

Saudi Arabia had a bad 2016. Only in the second year of King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud's rule, the kingdom faced low oil prices, deteriorating economic conditions at home, a quagmire in Yemen and a resurgent Iran. The US Congress accused it of complicity in 9/11. Now the kingdom faces the uncertainty of a new US administration unlike any of its predecessors.

growing unemployment, which is reported to be over 12% now. That is probably an understatement. The media suggested that this rise in unemployment will undermine the chances for the success of the king’s much ballyhooed Saudi Vision 2030. Vision 2030 promises Saudi Arabia will no longer be dependent on oil revenues by 2030, an incredibly ambitious promise.

The OPEC agreement in Vienna to reduce the cartel’s oil exports is another implicit defeat for the kingdom. The Saudis had resisted any cut in oil exports that did not include an Iranian cut as well. In the end, OPEC agreed Iran can increase exports while the kingdom must bear the bulk of reductions. The Iranians have lauded and rejoiced in the Saudi retreat. Saudi reserves have been drawn down all year to fill the gap in income, and Saudi consumers have paid the costs. It is far from clear that the OPEC move will significantly change the oil price slump.

The war in Yemen has also been a major cost for the kingdom. Saudi border towns have suffered from missile and rocket attacks. The military has expended huge amounts of munitions that have had to be replaced at high prices. The costs in terms of worn-out aircraft and other weapons systems are a closely guarded secret, but they must be substantial and will only get higher the longer the war goes on. Rather than being able to cut defense spending — a key to Vision 2030 — it will have to rise to pay for the long-term costs of the war.

The elephant in the palace is the king's son, Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Yemen is his war, as is Saudi Vision 2030. "Mr. Everything" is the king's darling. He is apparently the indispensable adviser to the 80-year-old monarch. The prince will survive the kingdom's disappointing 2016. How he does in 2017 may determine the kingdom's fate – by Bruce Riedel

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/12/saudi-arabia-2016-bad-year-oil-economy-yemen-salman.html

6.12.2016 – Shafaqna (* B P)

While I will not pretend to have any monopoly on the study of Terror, this evil which is expressed by such entities as Daesh, the Taliban, al-Qaeda and its other sisters in ignominy, I will however position that Wahhabism – the dogmatic abomination Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, a follower of Ibn Taymiyyah, the heretic scholar, spoke into existence in the Hijaz in the 18th century, sits a cornerstone to this new radical powerhouse.

Terror today has dressed itself with a religious cloak, hugged wealthy powers, and coerced military complexes so that its house, its belief system and its political gravitas could be asserted, a king over nations – and by the blade rule a tyrannical injustice.

Terror we ought to realise was engineered to rise a plague over nations. Hordes of radicals did not just manifest into existence … and no I’m afraid I will have to disappoint Islam’s most fervent critics, Islam as a faith, has nothing to do with this aberration Saudi Arabia calls puritanical Islam.

Although Wahhabism has been most vocal in its recitation of the Quran, its grasp of religious texts, and the wisdom they contain is none existent. In all fairness, any parrot can learn to recite … true faith and enlightenment require both discipline and devotion – qualities Wahhabism has viewed as redundant.

Wahhabism has trained a clergy to its own furious and intolerant image so that communities would learn to live in fear, oppression and rejection of those they view as different.

How can Wahhabism claim such a tradition when it has proven unable to hold to its tenets? Prominent scholar Dr. John Andrew Morrow, the director of the Covenants Initiative, traces the very concept of takfirism – the legal killing of all those deemed to be in a state of apostasy, to Wahhabism.

“Abd al-Wahhab denounced all Muslims in opposition to its ascetic and reductive interpretation of the Islamic Scriptures, arguing that their deaths were not only permissible but desirable, should Islam be reclaimed pure,” Dr Morrow stressed in an interview.

The founder of Wahhabism held that no “real” Muslims should ever honour the dead, saints or angels. Such sentiments, he argued, detracted from the complete subservience one must feel toward God and only God.

“Those who would not conform should be killed, their wives and daughters violated, and their possessions confiscated,” Abd al-Wahhab advised, encapsulating in one stroke of the pen Daesh’s morbid agenda against all religious communities in the Middle East.

The list of apostates meriting death included, Christians, Jews Shiites, Sufis, Yazidis, and all other denominations in between – all those Abd al-Wahhab labelled as being inherently un-Islamic, and thus worthy of punishment.

In its absolute rejection of pluralism and religious freedom Wahhabism is denying the very principles the Prophet Muhammad inscribed in the Covenant of Medina – the Constitution of Islam.

For centuries Wahhabism has darkened skies and suffocated hopes for a dignified future.

In his 2001 book, “Rise and Fall of the Hashimite Kingdom of Arabia,” Joshua Teitelbaum recalls how in 1803, Ibn Saud raided the holy city of Medina before entering Mecca as a conqueror. He detailed how Islam’s holiest city surrendered under the impact of terror and panic and how in both occasions Wahhabis demolished historical monuments as well as the tombs and shrines locals held in veneration, laying waste Arabia’s religious heritage on account of bigotry.

Beyond the insanity which is Wahhabism and its devilish declaration of faith, lies one insult which most of all need to be addressed, if not immediately redressed: al-Saud’s claim of Custodianship over Islam – By Catherine Shakdam

https://en.shafaqna.com/news/40393

6.12.2016 – ntv (* A P)

Saudis verurteilen Schiiten: 15 Todesurteile für mutmaßliche Spione

Dieses Urteil könnte die ohnehin angespannten Beziehungen zwischen Riad und Teheran weiter belasten: In Saudi-Arabien verhängt ein Gericht die Todesstrafe gegen 15 mutmaßliche Spione. Sie sollen für Teheran Informationen beschafft haben.

Ein Gericht in Saudi-Arabien hat 15 Angeklagte wegen angeblicher Spionage für den Iran zum Tode verurteilt. 15 weitere Beschuldigte wurden laut Berichten saudiarabischer Medien zu Haftstrafen zwischen sechs und 25 Jahren verurteilt. Zwei Angeklagte wurden freigesprochen. Den Angeklagten wurde unter anderem zur Last gelegt, für den iranischen Geheimdienst gearbeitet und damit Hochverrat begangen zu haben.

Bei den Angeklagten handelte es sich Medienberichten zufolge um 30 Saudis, einen Iraner und einen Afghanen. Die 15 Angeklagten, die zum Tode verurteilt wurden, sind nach Angaben aus Prozesskreisen Saudiaraber. Allerdings gehören sie der schiitischen Minderheit in dem autoritär regierten Land an.

Der Prozess hatte im Februar begonnen, einen Monat nach dem Abbruch der diplomatischen Beziehungen zwischen Saudi-Arabien und dem Iran. Die 32 Angeklagten wurden beschuldigt, Verteidigungsgeheimnisse verraten, Sabotageakte geplant und "Unruhen" in der mehrheitlich schiitischen Region Katif unterstützt zu haben.

Human Rights Watch kritisierte das Verfahren als "Scheinprozess". Den Angeklagten seien keine klaren Straftaten zur Last gelegt worden, sondern Vorwürfe wie Rufschädigung oder Verbreitung des schiitischen Islam, sagte der Nahost-Experte der Menschenrechtsorganisation, Adam Coogle.

http://www.n-tv.de/politik/15-Todesurteile-fuer-mutmassliche-Spione-article19266166.html

Mein Kommentar: Wie man schon aus den Urteilsbegründungen schließen kann, geht es hier tatsächlich um Oppositionelle.

6.12.2016 – Arab News (* A P)

Riyadh court sentences 15 Iran 'spies' to death

Fifteen people who have been accused of spying for Iran were sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh, local media reported on Tuesday.
Fifteen other suspects were slapped prison terms ranging from six months to 25 years, while two of the accused were acquitted, Al-Riyadh newspaper said.
The sentencing capped 10 months of trial, which started in February, Al-Arabiya network said, adding that 160 hearings were held.
The convicts were among 32 people, including 30 Saudis, an Iranian and an Afghan, who were arrested in 2013 on spying charges, the network said.
The rulings are subject to appeal, and death sentences have to be ratified by the king.
During the hearings, prosecutors presented evidence showing that the suspects organized a spy ring, liaised and collaborated with Iranian intelligence agent and were also accused of meeting Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Many of the suspects are former employees of the Saudi defense and interior ministries, local media said. They were accused of setting up a spy ring and passing sensitive military and security information to Iran, seeking to sabotage Saudi economic interests, undermining community cohesion and inciting sectarian strife.
The charges also included supporting protests in the Shi'ite-majority region of Qatif in the Eastern Province, recruiting others for espionage, sending encrypted reports to Iranian intelligence via email and committing high treason against the king.
Among those arrested in 2013 were an elderly university professor, a pediatrician, a banker and two clerics.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have accused Iran of exporting terrorism, fomenting unrest and spreading chaos in the Middle East.

http://en.arbynews.com/Araby-News/30337.html

My comment: Quite doubtful.

Comments by Ali AlAhmed: While #Saudi monarchy sentences Shia professionals to death on false alrgations of spying, they have not sentenced 1 #ISIS member

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/806094519552839680

#Saudi monarchy sentecing of Shia drs & professionals to death was motivated by their drsire to organize Shia community

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/806087437000777728

5.12.2016 – Ali AlAhmed (A P)

Film: #Saudi TV cuts broadcast after @kingSalman lost it #Qatar

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/805942125674328065

My comment: Dementia.

5.12.2016 – Alwaght (* A P)

Why Saudi King Reshuffle Top Religious Authority?

Saudi Arabia's King Salman in new royal decrees has made some changes to the country's Council of Senior Scholars, dismissing the conservative religious scholars and appointing new and close-to-the-ruling-family figures instead in a bid to pave his son Mohammed bin Salman way to gain further power and public support to press ahead with his social and economic reforms.

Although some say that King Salman's move followed a recent criticism directed by some of the Council’s members against government's cutting the public pays and increasing the costs of the social services, the essence of these changes stems from a will by the king to remove the current independent scholars and further statize this religious body.

One of the new members is Mohammad al-Isa, the former minister of justice and the former member of same council whom the liberals deem a moderate Wahhabist scholar and in favor of demands of reformist voices inside the royal family. Another newly-appointed member of the Council is the Minister of Islamic Affairs and former rector of Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University Suleiman Aba al-Khail, who among the Saudi Twitter users is known to be a liberal figure. Last month, Aba al-Khail in a bitter reprimand said that some Saudi clerics "corrupted the youths' minds."

Although the new replacements give some messages about the nature of relations between the Saudi government and the Wahhabist clerics, and also about attempts that aim at pushing for the third generation of princes in the ruling family to rise to power, Council of Senior Scholars is still under sway of older conservatives

http://alwaght.com/en/News/77256

cp9 USA

8.12.2016 – Medium (** A P)

Our Despicable Media Never Once Asked Either Candidate About Yemen

You’d think that this situation would’ve merited at least one question somewhere along the line, over the course of our ridiculously long presidential campaign process. Recall: Hillary launched her campaign in April 2015, Trump launched his in June 2015. Even prior to their formal announcements, “shadow campaigns” were underway seemingly forever— Hillary in particular had been in constant “running mode” since at least 2013, and realistically for most of her adult life. Throughout these insanely tedious, drawn-out spectacles, the candidates sit for innumerable press interviews; they dance with Ellen DeGeneres, do zany meme videos for BuzzFeed, and tell jokes on late night TV. Though Hillary shunned press conferences for much of the campaign, she was nevertheless available for queries at various points.

And yet, neither candidate was ever asked about Yemen. Not once.

I did ask Hillary about Yemen in June 2016 but she ignored my question.

But for some strange reason nobody ever got around to asking either about Yemen, despite covering the presidential campaign on a day-by-day, hour-by-hour basis for 1.5 years straight. Why? The obvious answer is: because we are living in an era of accelerating imperial decline, and the elite press are key facilitators of that decline. But there’s more to it than just the grand, overarching explanation. Bluntly, I don’t think many of the people paid to professionally analyze presidential candidates are all that intellectually curious, and they certainly don’t have any kind of recognizable, coherent ethical framework within which they operate – by Michael Tracey

https://medium.com/@mtracey/our-despicable-media-never-once-asked-either-candidate-about-yemen-14d6f7476d9f#.wogeaef50

7.12.2016 – Consortium News (** B P)

How War Propaganda Keeps on Killing

The “fake news” hysteria has become the cover for the U.S. government and mainstream media to crack down on fact-based journalism that challenges Official Washington’s “group thinks.”

A key reason why American foreign debacles have been particularly destructive mostly to the countries attacked but also to the United States is that these interventions are always accompanied by major U.S. government investments in propaganda. So, even when officials recognize a misjudgment has been made, the propaganda machinery continues to grind on to prevent a timely reversal.

In effect, Official Washington gets trapped by its own propaganda, which restricts the government’s ability to change direction even when the need for a shift becomes obvious.

After all, once a foreign leader is demonized, it’s hard for a U.S. official to explain that the leader may not be all that bad or is at least better than the likely alternative. So, it’s not just that officials start believing their own propaganda, it’s that the propaganda takes on a life of its own and keeps the failed policy churning forward.

It’s a bit like the old story of the chicken that continues to run around with its head cut off. In the case of the U.S. government, the pro-war or pro-intervention “group think” continues to run amok even after wiser policymakers recognize the imperative to change course.

The reason for that dilemma is that so much money gets spread around to pay for the propaganda and so many careers are tethered to the storyline that it’s easier to let thousands of U.S. soldiers and foreign citizens die than to admit that the policy was built on distortions, propaganda and lies. That would be bad for one’s career.

And, because of the lag time required for contracts to be issued and the money to flow into the propaganda shops, the public case for the policy can outlive the belief that the policy makes sense.

Need for Skeptics

Ideally, in a healthy democracy, skeptics both within the government and in the news media would play a key role in pointing out the flaws and weaknesses in the rationale for a conflict and would be rewarded for helping the leaders veer away from disaster. However, in the current U.S. establishment, such self-corrections don’t occur – By Robert Parry

https://consortiumnews.com/2016/12/07/how-war-propaganda-keeps-on-killing/

7.12.2016 – Daily Caller (** B P)

EXCLUSIVE: Saudi Arabia Is Astroturfing America To Roll Back 9/11 Law

The government of Saudi Arabia and its agents appear to be recruiting U.S. military veterans and people with foreign policy credentials to submit basically the same op-ed to newspapers around the country in an effort to concoct the appearance of an organic groundswell of opposition to a new federal law that allows civil lawsuits against state sponsors of terrorism.

The law — the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) — creates a way for American citizens to file civil claims against foreign governments for deaths, injuries and other damage related to terrorist acts if the foreign governments financed those attacks.

A cursory review of five different newspaper submissions allegedly written by five different authors — and placed in five different major newspapers from Oct. 5, 2016 to Nov. 28, 2016 — strongly suggests an astroturf campaign conducted by some single source.

Examining the astroturf

All five op-eds use exactly the same language at different points, with full paragraphs that are clearly, almost lazily repetitive.

In addition to the lazy similarity in their op-eds, Pugsley and Cotney are also flatly wrong about the lack of evidence against Saudi Arabia.

The source of the astroturf

Who coordinated the five impressively identical op-eds allegedly written by five different authors in five different major newspapers in the last two months? The obvious candidate — the only candidate, really — is a lobbyist or a public relations firm working on a large retainer for Saudi Arabia.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia appears to be the only foreign government named in any lawsuit alleging material foreign-government support for the Sept. 11 hijackers. The practical effect of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act has been to allow lawsuits to go forward against Saudi Arabia because of 9/11.

In response to the 9/11 law (now and when it was a bill), the Saudi government has been http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/05/exclusive-saudi-arabia-is-astroturfing-america-to-roll-back-911-law/

6.12.2016 – Frankfurter Allgemeine (* A P)

Trump will keine Regimewechsel mehr erzwingen
Amerikanische Interventionen in anderen Ländern führen meist nur zu Chaos, hatte Donald Trump schon im Wahlkampf gesagt. Nun erneuert er das Versprechen, sich künftig zurückzuhalten. Ein Ziel hat er aber trotzdem im Visier.
Donald Trump hat sein Versprechen bekräftigt, das militärische Engagement der Vereinigten Staaten begrenzen zu wollen. „Dieser zerstörerische Kreislauf von Interventionen und Chaos muss endlich ein Ende haben“, sagte der designierte Präsident am Dienstagabend in Fayetteville im Bundesstaat North Carolina.
Man werde sich nur noch einmischen, wenn es den eigenen nationalen Sicherheitsinteressen diene, fügte der Republikaner hinzu. Die Vereinigten Staaten müssten davon ablassen, Regimewechsel in anderen Ländern voranzutreiben: „Wir werden nicht mehr fremde Regierungen stürzen, über die wir nichts wissen und mit denen wir nichts zu tun haben sollten.“ Der Fokus müsse auf dem Kampf gegen Terrorismus liegen, insbesondere der Zerstörung des Islamischen Staats. Jede Nation, die diese Ziele teile, sei ein Partner Amerikas.
Das Militär müsse gestärkt werden, auch durch ein höheres Budget, sagte Trump. Ziel sei nicht Aggression, sondern Vorbeugung: „Wir wollen Frieden durch Stärke.“

www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/wahl-in-amerika/amerikanische-militaerpolitik-trump-will-keine-regimewechsel-mehr-erzwingen-14562733.html

Anmerkung Jens Berger: Die Botschaft hör´ ich wohl, allein mir fehlt der Glaube. Aber ich lasse mich sehr gerne eines Besseren belehren.

http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=36149#h03

6.12.2016 – Rationalgalerie (* A P)

Der Krieger des Herrn Trump: Die NATO atmet auf, zurückrudern für alle!
Nun hatten deutschen Medien über Monate einen Wahlkampf für Hillary Clinton geführt und wurden bitter enttäuscht (…) Es war und ist schwer aus dem Clinton-Wahlkampf im Modus des Satelliten-Mediums ohne eigene Meinung auf neuen Kurs zu schalten. Aber es gelingt. Und Donald Trump, der tatsächlich gegen den erklärten Willen der deutschen Medienfront gewählt wurde, hilft kräftig dabei. Mit dem Ex-General James Mattis gibt er den NATO-Stäben – und welcher Schreibtisch-General in den Redaktionen gehört nicht dazu – das Vertrauen in die Führungsmacht USA wieder zurück. (…) Der SPIEGEL weiß begeistert über Mattis, der sei „Ein kampferprobter Krieger, der sich durch harte Aktionen und Sprüche profiliert hat.“ Die regierende Presseagentur REUTERS hatte zuvor schon souffliert „Mattis ist in den Streitkräften hoch angesehen und für sein Misstrauen gegenüber dem Iran bekannt.“ Und man konnte den erlösenden Stoßseufzer aus den Zeilen hören. Die WELT nennt Mattis lobend ein „Schlachtross“. Die SÜDDEUTSCHE begeistert sich, er gelte als „profilierter strategischer Denker und politisch als realistischer Falke“. (…) Donald Trump beglückt mit seiner Wahl all jene (…) in den Medien, der Rüstungsindustrie und deren Subsystemen in der Politik, die dem nächsten Krieg entgegen träumen – von U. Gellermann

http://www.rationalgalerie.de/home/der-krieger-des-herrn-trump.html

6.12.2016 – MbKS15 (A K P)

Royal #Saudi Air Force F-15SA (12-1004) landing at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, TX — by: Rodney Bastow (photos)

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/806165789686505472 and https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/806165956821184512

[Dec. 6]: #RSAF F-15SA 12-1004 and 12-1002 on test flights at Palmdale, CA — by: @ShorealoneFilms (photos)

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/806400815942553600

My comment: US-Saudi complicity in pictures.

5.12.2016 – MbKS15 / Joe de Brig (A K P)

Photos. #RSAF F-15SA (12-1004) landing at Amarillo airport, TX — by: Rodney Bastow

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/805883375206666240

So, they've been built and are flying. When will first F-15SA finally be delivered to Saudi AF?

https://twitter.com/JoedeBrig/status/805983368852729856

My comment: US-Saudi complicity in pictures.

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

7.12.2016 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (A P)

A Yemeni question that slams UK double standers: What will it take to stop the horror in #Yemen?

https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/806682498415685632 referring to

7.12.2016 – Middle East Eye (A P)

UK ambassador to UN slams Russia and China over Aleppo: 'What will it take to stop the horror in Aleppo'

https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/806573739483787268

7.12.2016 – Times (* A P)

Cartoon in today's Times #Yemen

https://twitter.com/Tyson585/status/806569986647064576

7.12.2016 – The National Scot (A P)

Oxfam calls for an end to UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia as Yemen 'starves'

Last night, Oxfam urged the UK Government to end its lucrative arms sales to Saudi Arabia – worth £2.8 billion in the first six months of conflict alone – and asked the Gulf kingdom to lift the shipping restrictions impeding consignments of medicine, food and fuel.

http://www.thenational.scot/news/14949847.Oxfam_calls_for_an_end_to_UK_arms_sales_to_Saudi_Arabia_as_Yemen__starves_/

7.12.2016 – Common Space (* A P)

May faces pressure on Gulf visit as rights groups demand an end to UK patronage

Human rights groups have written to the UK Prime Minister urging her to raise the issue of rights violation with key Gulf allies

Prime Minister Theresa May has been urged to raise allegations of human rights violations and a rising tide of repression and “false reform” before her visits to the Gulf Cooperation Council Leaders Summit (GCC) in Bahrain today (Tuesday 6 December).

Campaigners, from groups like the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), claim that all six GCC states, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar are being deceptive in their claims of reform and are increasing repression, aided by the UK Government’s indifference and military backing.

The visit has comes amid the continued detentionof human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, who since June 2016 has been held in solitary confinement for criticism of the humanitarian cost of the war in Yemen, which Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are prosecuting.

Speaking to CommonSpace, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, director of advocacy for BIRD, said: “In her last meeting with Bahrain's King in London, Theresa May failed to speak about human rights abuses and spoke instead of reform in Bahrain, which is simply not happening.

“If she again fails to speak out on human rights in the Gulf and continued unrest in Bahrain, then it will seem that the Prime Minister's policies are solely based on financial interests without ethics or morality. Such a policy would be unsustainable and counterproductive and a betrayal of pro-democracy campaigners who languish in prisons for courageously advocating for change.” – by Nathanael Williams

https://www.commonspace.scot/articles/9995/may-faces-pressure-gulf-visit-rights-groups-demand-end-uk-patronage

7.12.2016 – Medium (* A P)

Theresa May and the great Gulf delusion

Britain’s prime minister, Theresa May, is in Bahrain today for the annual summit of the rich autocrats’ club, the Gulf Cooperation Council. As the official announcement from Downing Street excitedly points out, she is the first British prime minister — and the first woman — ever to attend a GCC summit.

Aside from the obvious concerns about rights abuses in the Gulf states there are even bigger reasons this time to worry about May’s trip. Most alarmingly, she is threatening to open “a new chapter” in relations between Britain and the GCC — a move which she has explicitly linked to Brexit. Closer ties with the Gulf will ease the economic pain of extracting Britain from the EU, or so the theory goes.

But to imagine that the Gulf can offer a better and more secure business environment that Europe — or anything close to it — is utterly delusional. In the Gulf, corruption is rife. The rule of law is tenuous at best and liable to be over-ridden at any moment from on high. Success in business owes more to having powerful connections than to free competition, and the bureaucracy of Gulf states would make anyone yearn for the bureaucracy of Brussels.

The GCC countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — are currently Britain’s third-biggest export market (largely in the form of weapons) and May apparently believes trade can be further expanded post-Brexit. This is a gamble, to say the least.

The prime minister is betting that Gulf rulers can be persuaded to spend more at the very moment when they are trying to spend less. In global terms they are still wealthy but they are no longer the free-spending Eldorado of May’s imagination. All of them are facing economic pressures which could get worse rather than better – by Brian Whitaker

https://medium.com/@Brian_Whit/theresa-may-and-the-great-gulf-delusion-7c4b48728a1a#.e80ph0e88

7.12.2016 – AFP (* A P)

Britain's May says to help Gulf leaders 'push back' Iran

Prime Minister Theresa May told Gulf leaders on Wednesday that Britain would help "push back" against Iranian aggression as they agreed on a strategic partnership to deepen ties.

Addressing a summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in Bahrain, May reaffirmed British support for traditional allies in the region, while also seeking to strengthen post-Brexit trade.

"I want to assure you that I am clear-eyed about the threat that Iran poses to the Gulf and to the wider Middle East," she told leaders of the GCC, which brings together Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The mainly Sunni Arab Gulf monarchies and Shiite Iran are bitter regional rivals, at odds over a range of issues including the wars in Syria and Yemen.

GCC countries are concerned about Iran's growing influence in the region, especially after last year's nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers took a step towards ending its international isolation.

The Iran agreement was "vitally important for regional security," May told the summit.

"But we must also work together to push back against Iran's aggressive regional actions."

In a joint statement after the summit, Britain and the GCC agreed to a "strategic partnership" that would foster "political, defence, security and trade" ties, while "developing collective approaches to regional issues".

In their statement, GCC states and Britain said they "oppose and will work together to counter Iran's destabilising activities".

https://www.yahoo.com/news/britain-help-gulf-push-back-against-iran-aggression-093451320.html and official statement: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-seeks-new-chapter-in-relations-with-the-gulf-on-visit-to-bahrain and from Iranian site: http://www.iran-daily.com/News/173294.html?catid=9&title=May-in-Bahrain-to-start--new-chapter--despite-international-outrage and look at these crazy Women’s Lib photos: https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/806833570975256576 and https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/806500752881545216

My comment: That sounds absolutely crazy to me. What does the UK interfere in Middle Eastern regional conflicts backing clearly one side?? The super democratic Human rights and Women’s lib defenders from Riyadh and from the Gulf?? She mentions aggression: What about aggression in Yemen? Oh, these are our Saudi friends.

Comment: Shocking. The world is in the hands of arms dealers and those who sell their soul to profit

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1193266337393061

7.10.2016 – Blogs FCO Gov.uk (* A P)

British prime minister in an interview with the Middle East: Britain is committed to protecting the security of the Gulf

Middle East newspaper conducted a special interview with the British prime minister Theresa May touched it to the British Gulf relations and ways of enhancing the occasion of the presence of Prime Minister of the 37th GCC Summit which is being held in Bahrain. The following is the text of the interview:

There is a lot we can do together; both help each other to prevent terrorist attacks, or invest in the prosperity of each other, or to assist the Gulf States in achieving its vision on the reform in the long term. And so I wanted to build a real strategy that will allow us together to seize the opportunities before us and ensure the security and prosperity for our peoples partnership.

We are fully committed to working with our partners in the Gulf to help protect its security. We are aware of concerns across the Gulf over Iran's approach in terms of actions that destabilize the region, and support the Gulf states firmly against any Iranian interference in its internal affairs. We hope in the end that the nuclear deal with Iran to bring about a major change in Iran's relations with the international community to lead, which would pave the way for us to look more directly with issues, such as Iran's role in the region.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are already considered a vital partner for the United Kingdom, and I think that there is much we can achieve together with respect to our security and our prosperity. The Gulf is already the second largest market for UK exports outside the European Union, the biggest investor in our country, and I think there is great potential for the expansion of these relations in the coming years. I would like to see British companies share their expertise with the Gulf region, to help achieve the ambitious vision for reform in the region, and there are enormous opportunities in the energy, education, infrastructure and health care fields.

http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/ar/arabic-media-hub-blog/2016/12/06/%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84/ (Arabic) and translation: https://translate.google.de/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.fco.gov.uk%2Far%2Farabic-media-hub-blog%2F2016%2F12%2F06%2F%25D8%25B1%25D8%25A6%25D9%258A%25D8%25B3%25D8%25A9-%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D9%2588%25D8%25B2%25D8%25B1%25D8%25A7%25D8%25A1-%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%25A8%25D8%25B1%25D9%258A%25D8%25B7%25D8%25A7%25D9%2586%25D9%258A%25D8%25A9-%25D9%2581%25D9%258A-%25D8%25AD%25D9%2588%25D8%25A7%25D8%25B1-%25D9%2585%25D8%25B9-%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%2F&edit-text=

My comment: Oh my goodness. – She did not mention arms trade – that is one of the main economic topics related to british-GCC relations.

8.12.2016 - Spiegel Online (*A P)

Britischer Außenminister Johnson "Saudi-Arabien führt Stellvertreterkriege"

Offiziell ist Großbritannien ein enger Partner Saudi-Arabiens. Jetzt tauchte ein Video auf, in dem der britische Außenminister Boris Johnson hart mit dem sunnitischen Königreich abrechnet.

Großbritanniens Außenminister Boris Johnson hat das Königreich Saudi-Arabien sowie Iran harsch kritisiert. In einem Video, das einen Auftritt Johnsons in Rom in der vergangenen Woche zeigt, sagte er über die Lage im Nahen Osten: "Alle, die Saudis, Iran, mischen mit und führen Stellvertreterkriege. Es ist eine Tragödie." Das Material hatte der britische "Guardian" jetzt veröffentlicht.

Saudi-Arabien und Iran agierten als "Puppenspieler". Wörtlich sagte Johnson, es gebe "Politiker, welche die Religion verbiegen und missbrauchen" um ihre Ziele zu erreichen. Bezogen auf die arabische Welt sagte Johnson: "Das ist eines der größten Probleme in der gesamten Region."

Großbritannien ist ein enger Verbündeter Saudi-Arabiens.

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/boris-johnson-saudi-arabien-fuehrt-stellvertreterkriege-a-1124960.html

7.12.2016 – The Guardian (* A P)

Boris Johnson accuses Saudi Arabia of 'twisting and abusing' Islam

Foreign secretary, who has been accused of a series of diplomatic gaffes, breaks with convention by publicly criticising UK ally

Boris Johnson accused Saudi Arabia of abusing Islam and acting as a puppeteer in proxy wars throughout the Middle East, in remarks that flout a longstanding Foreign Office convention not to criticise the UK’s allies in public.

The foreign secretary told a conference in Rome last week that the behaviour of Saudi Arabia, and also Iran, was a tragedy, adding that there was an absence of visionary leadership in the region that was willing to reach out across the Sunni-Shia divide.

At the event, Johnson said: “There are politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion in order to further their own political objectives. That’s one of the biggest political problems in the whole region. And the tragedy for me – and that’s why you have these proxy wars being fought the whole time in that area – is that there is not strong enough leadership in the countries themselves.”

The foreign secretary then identified Saudi Arabia and Iran specifically, saying: “That’s why you’ve got the Saudis, Iran, everybody, moving in, and puppeteering and playing proxy wars.”

A spokesman for the Foreign Secretary said: “As the foreign secretary made very clear on Sunday, we are allies with Saudi Arabia and support them in their efforts to secure their borders and protect their people. Any suggestion to the contrary is wrong and misinterpreting the facts.” – by Patrick Wintour and Rowena Mason

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/07/boris-johnson-accuses-saudi-arabia-of-twisting-and-abusing-islam

My comment: And now, Mr. Johnson?? Johnson is fully backing the Saudi war in Yemen, look at YPR 236, cp10.

but

8.12.2016 – The Guardian (* A P)

Boris Johnson's remarks about Saudi Arabia 'not the government's view'

No 10 distances itself from foreign secretary’s comments that Saudi abuses Islam and is puppeteer in proxy wars

Boris Johnson was not representing the government’s views on Saudi Arabia when he accused the state of abusing Islam and acting as a puppeteer in proxy wars, Downing Street has said.

The foreign secretary was setting out his own views on Saudi Arabia and Iran at a conference in Rome last week, the prime minister’s spokeswoman said on Thursday, but would be sticking to the government’s line when he visited Saudi ministers this weekend.

The spokeswoman insisted Downing Street had “full confidence in the foreign secretary” but said Saudi Arabia was “a vital partner for the UK, particularly on counter-terrorism and, when you look at what is happening in the region, we are supportive of the Saudi-led coalition which is working in support of the legitimate government in Yemen against Houthi rebels”.

Asked if the prime minister had any sympathy with Johnson’s view of the Yemen conflict, she added: “I’ve set out what the PM views are, and those are the foreign secretary’s views, they are not the government’s views on Saudi and its role in the region.” – by Jessica Elgot

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/08/boris-johnsons-remarks-about-saudi-arabia-not-the-governments-view

My comment: Once a time when Johnson is right… Well, May will back Saudi Arabia, one of or just the best customer of British weapons, whatever will happen.

6.12.2016 – The Guardian (** A P)

British thinktank received £25m from Bahraini royals, documents reveal

International Institute for Strategic Studies received cash over five years, partly to pay for Gulf conference at which Boris Johnson is due to speak

A British thinktank that bills itself as a global authority on military and diplomatic affairs has been accused of jeopardising its independence after leaked documents showed it has secretly received £25m from the Bahraini royal family, which has been criticised for its poor human rights record.

Confidential documents seen by the Guardian show that the country’s repressive rulers donated the sum to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) over the last five years.

The documents also reveal that IISS and the Bahraini royals agreed to “take all necessary steps” to keep most of the donations secret. The Bahrain donations make up more than a quarter of IISS’s income.

The disclosure comes as Theresa May, the prime minister, is on a two-day visit to Bahrain to discuss post-Brexit trade with Gulf leaders. Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, is due to give a speech in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, on Friday at a conference organised by IISS and paid for by Bahrain’s ruling family. The royals are footing the bill for all delegates to stay in villas at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/06/british-thinktank-iiss-received-25m-from-bahraini-royals-documents-reveal?CMP=share_btn_tw

My comment: “Great”. That’s how most think tanks actually work. It’s more “tank” than “think”. And we actually see how – just spending relatively small sums– you can also influence government politics like in this case. A bloody corruption – bloody for the internal and external victims of Gulf regimes like the Bahrain one.

And directly by Bahrain Watch:

6.12.2016 – Bahrain Watch (** A P)

The IISS Files: Investigation exposes British Thinktank Charity Secretly Bankrolled by Bahraini Government

Leaked confidential agreements today published by Bahrain Watch and the Guardian, combined with publicly available financial statements show that the Bahraini government has been secretly funding the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) to the tune of approximately £30 Million since 2010, accounting for over £6 million annually. The actual figure could turn out to be significantly higher.

The financing from the Bahraini government has accounted for at least 30%, but possibly much more, of IISS’s total annual income, amounting to £30 Million since 2010. The Memorandums of Understanding signed by IISS head John Chipman and the Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa reveal an agreement to “take all necessary steps” to keep the large amount of funding secret.

Open this spreadsheet in a new tab to explore the data yourself

The MoU states that the IISS is to maintain contact with the Bahraini King and government:

This extraordinary amount of funding from a single government institution raises questions about the claimed independence of the IISS which is registered as a charity in the UK and was recently ranked as the world’s second best defence and national security think tank in an index by the University of Pennsylvania. The Manama Dialogue, a high-profile annual security summit funded by the government of Bahrain, which is the single largest source of income for IISS, bringing in over 20% of its total annual income alone. The keynote speaker for this year’s Manama Dialogue will be Boris Johnson.

In addition to funding the Manama Dialogue, the money has also appears to have been used to fund operations of the IISS office in Bahrain including premises and staff costs. Despite declaring income from IISS India, IISS Singapore and Arundel House in London, charity statements fail to disclose the income from the Bahrain office.

What was missing from any of the Manama Dialogue sessions in 2012 onwards were any voices that did not represent the Bahraini government, and no discussion of the ongoing human rights abuses that have been documented by many international human rights organizations. Some of the publications issued by the IISS have mentioned the political crisis in Bahrain, the high-profile Manama Dialogue itself is absent of such discussion – by Fahad Desmukh

https://bahrainwatch.org/blog/2016/12/06/iiss-files-british-thinktank-bahrain/ and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaXRPpR-J7Q

And, if you want to learn more about Bahrain, this state which suppresses its 70 % Shia “minority” and helps bombing Yemen to “restore legitimacy” and “democracy”, look here:

https://bahrainwatch.org/

5.12.2016 – RT (A P)

Britischer Außenminister: Keine Menschenrechtsverletzungen durch Saudi-Arabien in Jemen

Der britische Außenminister Boris Johnson hat in einem Fernsehinterview erklärt, dass die saudiarabische Militärintervention in Jemen zu keinen Menschenrechtsverletzungen führt. Dagegen beschuldigen viele Menschenrechtsorganisationen den arabischen Staat damit, gravierende Kriegsverbrechen und Verbrechen gegen die Menschheit in Jemen zu begehen.

https://deutsch.rt.com/international/43949-britischer-aussenminister-keine-menschenrechtsverletzungen-durch/

Anmerkung: Ausführliche Berichterstattung auf Englisch verlinkt in YPR 236.

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

Siehe / Look at cp1

5.12.2016 – Sputnik News (* B K P)

Berlin Finally Confesses US Using Ramstein for 'Extra-Legal' Drone Killings

After repeated questions from the Die Linke opposition party, the German government has admitted that the US Air Force is using its Ramstein base to control drone strikes which are used in anti-terror operations and to carry out extra-legal killings, German MP Andrej Hunko told Sputnik Deutschland.
The US Air Force is using its Ramstein Air Base in Germany to carry out controversial drone attacks, the German government has admitted after an inquiry from the opposition Die Linke party. Die Linke deputy Andrej Hunko told Sputnik Deutschland that Berlin has finally admitted the role Ramstein plays in US drone attacks after denying it for several years.

"It's really bizarre. We have been asking about Ramstein's role in the US drone war for two years. Because of statements from drone pilots the public has known for a long time that Ramstein is a main control center in this 'drone war.' Now, after many denials, there is finally an admission that Ramstein fulfils this function," Hunko said.

The Ramstein Air Base is located in Rhineland-Palatinate, southwest Germany. It serves as headquarters for US Air Force Europe, and is also used as a NATO base. In August the US military informed the German federal government about Ramstein's use as a control center for drones, but Berlin has waited until the beginning of December to release the information.

https://sputniknews.com/world/201612031048127561-germany-us-base-drone-killings/

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

6.12.2016 – The Guardian (* A P)

Please, Theresa May, save my husband from death in Bahrain

My husband, Mohammed Ramadan, faces the death penalty for a crime he did not commit. I urge the prime minister, on her visit to my country, to step in.

My husband, Mohammed Ramadan, is due to be executed in Bahrain any day now. Our three young children are distraught. We want Theresa May, the British prime minister, to call for Mohammed to be released when she meets Bahraini leaders today on her Gulf visit. Our criminal justice system has failed him and the British government, which supports that system, has failed him too.

In 2014 Mohammed was arrested at Bahrain’s airport where he worked as a police officer. My husband believes in human rights, democracy and transparency. He attended peaceful marches in Bahrain calling for our government to respect these values. As a state employee, he knew that it was risky for him to go to these protests. But he believes in reform and so he went anyway.

After Mohammed was taken into custody, our family heard nothing for four days – we had no idea where he was, or even if he was alive. Eventually, two weeks later, we were allowed to see him, but only with three guards watching us on a surveillance camera. As soon as we saw him, it was clear that Mohammed had been tortured by the security services.

Mohammed seemed weak and exhausted, and his body was trembling; this suggested to us that he had been subjected to extreme torture. But no one would tell us the reasons for his arrest or the charges against him.

Later, he told us what they had done to him.

Their aim was to punish Mohammed for his participation in the pro-democracy protests by getting him to confess to a crime he did not commit. Eventually, Mohammed and his co-defendants signed false “confessions” to make the torture stop – by Zainab Ebrahim

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/06/theresa-may-save-mohammed-ramadan-execution-bahrain

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

5.12.2016 – Comune Info (* B K P)

Scelte non negoziabili

[An important read for those who speak Italian. Italy has chosen to concentrate on arms producing sector having eager-to-buy clients like Saudi Arabia. Reminder: Italy - constitutionally - rejects war (but is happy to produce and sell)]

Esiste un vero dibattito pubblico sulla strategia di Finmeccanica–Leonardo di puntare sulla produzione militare cedendo importanti aziende del settore civile? Chi deve decidere il destino della multinazionale italiana sotto controllo pubblico? È possibile cominciare a svuotare di senso il dominio militare introducendo scelte etiche, proposte concrete di disarmo e di conversione ecologica e sociale dell’industria delle armi? A proposito di Costituzione da difendere e attuare: cosa vuol dire oggi ripudiare la guerra come prevede l’articolo 11? Un intervento e un appuntamento il 6 dicembre a Roma – di Carlo Cefaloni

http://comune-info.net/2016/12/disarmo-scelte-non-negoziabili/

cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees

7.11.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A H)

Pix here telling u the real situation of IDPs in #Yemen IDPs living with nothing Eating &drinking nothing That's for sure is real..

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/806623706604851214

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

7.12.2016 – Sputnik News (*A T)

Saudi Aggression Against Yemen Contributed to Development of Daesh, al-Qaeda

Saudi Arabia’s aggression against Yemen contributed to the development of such terrorist organizations as al-Qaeda and Daesh, the chairman of Yemen’s public organization Alliance for Progress and Development said Wednesday.

During the crisis in Yemen, the terrorist organizations managed to receive aid of several foreign banks, the organization's chairman added.
"Saudi aggression against Yemen served as a breeding ground for the development of extremist forces, such as al-Qaeda and IS [Daesh] and, in the situation when central authorities are weakened, when the country is in the state of war, these extremist forces have an opportunity for spreading their influence, expanding [the field] of their actions," Brig. Gen. Yahya Mohamed Abdullah Saleh said during a press conference at the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency. He also urged Russia and the international community to put pressure on Saudi Arabia, so that it withdraws troops and stops bloodshed in Yemen.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612071048287829-saudis-aggression-yemen-general/

7.12.2016 – Reuters (* A T)

U.S. sanctions two Yemenis, charity tied to al Qaeda in Yemen

The United States imposed sanctions on two Yemeni men and a Yemen-based charity on Wednesday as part of its ongoing efforts to disrupt the financial and support networks of the Islamist militant group al Qaeda's powerful Yemen branch, the U.S. Treasury said.

The Treasury added Al-Hasan Ali Ali Abkar, Abdallah Faysal Sadiq al-Ahdal and the Rahmah Charitable Organization to its list of specially designated nationals and entities that support or engage in terrorism. It said the Rahmah Charitable Organization acted as a "front organization" for the group Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Ali Ali Abkar has provided support to AQAP since 2014, including helping to supply money, weapons and ammunition to AQAP forces, the department said. As of 2015, he also was an AQAP commander responsible for Yemen's Marib and al-Jawf regions, it said.

Sadiq al-Ahdal has supported AQAP since 2009, the department said. As of this year, he was a senior tribal leader in Hadramawt district, it said. He has managed foreign AQAP fighters and has raised funds for AQAP from Gulf businesses under the cover of his charity, the Rahmah Charitable Organization, which was also placed on the Treasury's list, the department said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa-terrorism-idUSKBN13W22G and the original by the Treasury (image) https://twitter.com/USTreasury/status/806526759516667904

Comments by Hamed Ghaleb: #US Treasury designates #AQAP facilitators Al-Hasan Abkar.He is a pro Saudi forces commander in aljawf ,saudi support him with money&weapons

https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/806552938541764608

Most of the designated people by #US treasury department of being #AQAP are pro #Saudi commanders and supported by US made weapons

https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/806559616192696320

Comment by Hisham Al-Omeisy: Saudi backed #Yemen resistance leaders & "legitimate" government officials are AQAP! Shocking, preposterous, unacceptable..*sarcastic tone*

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/806757639333888000

Comment by Nasser Arrabyee: Better late than never! US discovers 7 members of Yemen "Saudi-appointed" gov as Qaeda/ISIS leaders.And the number is in rise! Obama backs! (photos)

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/806765610403102720

Comment by Haykal Bafana: One of them, Al-Hasan Ali Ali Abkar, is the head of pro-Saudi/Hadi " Resistance" in Al Jowf. He's also an Islah party leader (photo)

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/806586906981138434

Comment by Jane Novak. Designated by US Treasury for supplying money, ammo & guns- simultaneously commander in supported resistance &

https://twitter.com/jnovak_yemen/status/806716138944073733

7.12.2016 – Saba Net (A T)

Saudi intelligence, al-Qaida plan kidnapping humanitarian aid staff in Yemen – Security

A security official revealed a high coordination between Saudi intelligence and al-Qaida network to carry out kidnapping operation against foreign nationalities working with humanitarian relief agencies in a number of Yemeni provinces.
"Liaison officers working with the Saudi intelligence met leaders from al-Qaida in the border Al-Waidah crossing point on Saturday, 29 October, to coordinate the kidnapping operations," the official told Saba.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448915.htm and https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/806195683816570882 and https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/806228818360930305

and

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A T)

Process Between Saudi Intelligence and Al-Qaeda to Kidnapping the Aid Workers in Yemen

A security source revealed about high coordination of the process between Saudi intelligence officers and leaders of Al-Qaeda. The process is kidnapping of humanitarian relief personnel from Arabs and foreigners in a number of governorates.

A source said , the leaders of al Qaeda have shown their willingness to carry out these operations, and they asked great material and support them by the money.

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56753&lang=en

6.12.2016 – AFP (A T)

Suspected ISIS militants arrested in Yemen’s Aden

Yemeni authorities have arrested eight suspected ISIS group militants implicated in a spate of attacks targeting security personnel in second city Aden this year, police said.

Police in the southern port city, headquarters of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, also seized silenced pistols and letters from ISIS leaders in Iraq and Syria, a statement said late on Monday.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2016/12/06/Suspected-ISIS-militants-arrested-in-Yemen-s-Aden-.html and Xinhua: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-12/07/c_135885497.htm and Gulf News http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/yemen-police-dismantle-daesh-linked-cell-in-aden-1.1941016

6.12.2016 – Elizabeth Kendall (A T)

Congrats #ISIS #Yemen: yday's training photos from al-Bayda' set next to 1st Yemen film shows great progress ... in footwear & headscarves (photos)

https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/805875546429259776

6.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (* A T)

Yemen ISIS publishes photos for "suicide bombers camp"

The ISIS in Yemen published on Monday photos for a camp "established in Al Baidha governorate, central Yemen," according to ISIS.

ISIS in Yemen has named the camp on "Abu Mohammad al Adnani", the former spokesman of ISIS, who was declared dead by an airstrike in the Syrian city of Aleppo weeks ago.

Bloggers close the organization posted on Facebook that the camp was limited to the training of suicide bombers, and those assigned to carry out suicide operations. The images showed part of the training received by members of the organization in an uninhabited mountainous area (photo)

http://almasdaronline.com/article/86927 and see also https://twitter.com/TerrorMonitorAR/status/806168640517275649

Remark: Earlier reporting in YPR 236.

7.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A T)

Unknown gunmen blow up gas pipeline in Shabwa one day after export "to resume"

An official source in Shabwa governorate, southeastern Yemen, said on Monday that unidentified gunmen have blown up gas pipeline in Alnashimah area of Rudhom district, south of Shabwah.

The attack on the gas pipeline came one day after Shabwa's Governor, Hamid lamlas, has said on Sunday that his administration was working on the resumption of oil production and export, as well as the operation of Balhaf gas facility after nearly two years of suspension.

"A violent explosion shook the area, which turned out to be an attack by unknown gunmen on the pipeline that transfers gas from Marib to Balhaf," according to the source.

The source pointed out that the explosion has inflicted serious damages to the pipeline. "The blast took place in an uninhabited area and 7 kilometers away from the government forces."

http://almasdaronline.com/article/86963

Remark: Already reported in YPR 236.

cp15 Propaganda

8.12.2016 – 7 Days UAE (A P)

UAE rescue for endangered animals in Yemen

UAE authorities have offered to temporarily evacuate animals that are starving in a Yemeni zoo less than a mile from the frontline of the civil war in the southern city of Taiz.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s foremost authority on safeguarding wildlife and nature, has been attempting on behalf of UAE zoos to persuade the Yemeni authorities to allow the animals to be relocated, a senior wildlife official told 7DAYS.

Among the 265 animals are 26 critically-endangered Arabian leopards, of which there are believed to be only 80 in the world.

Taiz is among the cities at the centre of the conflict between the ousted government and its allies the Houthi rebels.

https://7days.ae/uae-rescue-endangered-animals-yemen/97989

My comment: Nice propaganda. Who has posed a blockade on Yemen?

7.12.2016 – Arab News (A P)

King seeks world action to end Syria bloodshed

Regional security and economy top the list of issues being discussed at the two-day Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit taking place in the Bahraini capital.

King Salman added that this highlighted the need for the “international community to end the bloodshed and reach a political solution to achieve security and stability in Syria.”

He added: “We are all in pain at what is happening in Syria and what the Syrian people are going through.” – by Lulwa Shalhoub

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1020506/middle-east

My comment: Crazy propaganda. Saudi Arabia is among those who most heavily have fueled the bloodshed in Syria. An arsonist playing firefighter.

6.12.2016 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)

Britain Confirms Support for Saudi Arabia in Combating Houthi Violations

The UK government does not believe that Saudi Arabia’s bombing campaign in Yemen violates international law, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said.

“So far, we do not believe that there has been a clear risk of a breach of the international humanitarian law,” Johnson told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show, referring to the Saudi actions in Yemen.

He added: “At the moment, we do not think the threshold has been crossed.”

The Foreign Secretary then reaffirmed the British allegiance to the Arab kingdom by saying that the UK is “supportive” of Saudi Arabia and has a “longstanding partnership” with it.

He went on to say that the actions of Saudi Arabia are justified and even supported by the U.N..

“There is a campaign supported by the Arab League, by a vast coalition, supported by the U.N. to move Houthis out of Sanaa and restore the legitimate government,” Johnson said, referring to the Yemeni Houthi rebels who forced President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi to go into exile and seized large swathes of Yemeni territory, including the Yemen’s capital of Sanaa in 2014 after ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh was deposed in 2012.

On Sunday, Johnson also put the blame solely on the Houthis by saying that they had “evicted the government and are attacking Saudi Arabia.”

At the same time, he denied that the UK is directly involved in the Saudi airstrikes in Yemen, arguing “we are not engaged in the command and control systems of the Saudi operations.”

http://english.aawsat.com/2016/12/article55363425/britain-confirms-support-saudi-arabia-combating-houthi-violations

My comment: Yes, Asharq Al-Awsat is right. The Johnson statement is a 99 % support for Saudi bombing and Saudi propaganda.

Comment by Judith Brown: Yes they did. But Jonson also said he has serious concerns about Saudi Arabia's policies. But these political elites are all the same except for the leaders of the Labour Party and the Greens

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154976342258641

6.12.2016 – Project Syndicate (A P)

Why is Saudi Arabia at War in Yemen?

Yet when Saudi officials tried to warn the international community about Iran’s activities in Yemen, it was met with denial. Western commentators, in particular, have twisted themselves into knots to avoid recognizing any Iranian involvement in the conflict, even as evidence to the contrary has mounted.

In the last 18 months, the US Navy has intercepted four arms shipments from Iran to Yemen. Iran itself has claimed numerous times that it controls four Arab capitals, including Sana’a, and the Houthis have become closely tied with Hezbollah, Iran’s Lebanese political and military proxy.

In fact, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah has claimed the Houthi cause as his own, allowing Houthi media to set up in Beirut’s southern suburbs and publicly welcoming Houthi fighters to train with his forces. The Houthis’ political slogans, propaganda, and modus operandi are all modeled after Hezbollah’s.

The fact that Saudi Arabia intervened thus highlights the severity of the threat it faced once the Houthis had overthrown Yemen’s legitimate government and seized control of Sana’a. Had Iran been allowed to solidify its alliance with the Houthis unobstructed, Northern Yemen would have become another South Lebanon, with an Iranian proxy actively working to subvert Saudi national security.

Saudi Arabia had two clearly defined military objectives in Yemen. The first was to disrupt arms deliveries, making it much more difficult and costly – or, ideally, impossible – for Iran to supply the Houthis. The second was to send a clear message to the Houthis and their allies that an alliance with Iran would cost them dearly – by Ali Al Shihabi, executive director of the Arabia Foundation, a new think tank that will focus on the geopolitics of the Arabian Peninsula. He is the author of The Saudi Kingdom: Between the Jihadi Hammer and the Iranian Anvil and Arabian War Games.

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/saudi-arabia-war-in-yemen-by-ali-al-shihabi-2016-12

My comment: And the well-known propaganda of a greater Iranian role in Yemen again. And it is used here to whitewash Saudi Arabia – in a rather bizarre way. Still to be added

Comment: It is terrible to read such a piece of Saudi propaganda.
The Saudis, justifying their actions, the killings, the siege and deeming it all as a needed action against Iran is totally appalling.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1192381640814864

Comment by Judith Brown: A Saudi perspective on the war in Yemen. Iran has a bigger part in Yemeni politics now although its difficult to evaluate exactly what and how much. Ironically it had very little input before Saudi Arabia started raining down bombs

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154976332848641

My comment to comment: Due to the Saudi blockade, the real role of Iran in this war could not have increased. What in fact had increased is Iranian “cheerleading” for the Houthis.

6.12.2016 – Saudi Gazette (A P)

Our troops in the south set new examples of bravery

EVERYBODY knows that Saudi armed forces in the south along the Yemen border have the most advanced weapons in the Middle East and nobody can ignore this fact.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia has the most valuable and capable human sources that have been positioned along its borders and strategic locations to defeat enemies. These courageous men in uniform have always expressed their readiness to sacrifice their lives to defend their beloved nation and people.

When Saudi Arabia was bestowed the honor of housing the Two Holy Mosques, the Almighty also gave its wise leadership and brave soldiers the power and capability to protect them. The Kingdom’s soldiers have built a fortress around the country.

Our soldiers have set several examples of courage and chivalry during difficult times and showed their inimitable valor and wisdom. The courageous people not only fight with enemies but give every support to their colleagues, often endangering own lives.

The heroic battles being fought by the Saudi men deployed on the southern border cannot be explained in words and many of them including top-ranking and low-ranking military officers have emerged successful in confronting difficult situations.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/opinion/local-viewpoint/troops-south-set-new-examples-bravery/

My comment: Nice “patriotic” propaganda in the style of the early 20. century. – And: Saudi Arabia was not “bestowed the honor of housing the Two Holy Mosques” by the Almighty, they just robbed the sites from the Hashemite rulers who had ruled there before.

Comment by Haykal Bafana: LOL! Yes, bravely running away under Yemen fire

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/806052085422850048

5.12.2016 – Middle East Monitor (A P)

Saudi received 3m Syrians and Yemenis

Saudi has received nearly three million Syrian and Yemeni citizens escaping wars in their countries, the country’s Ambassador to Egypt, Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Qattan, said.

The ambassador explained that the Kingdom allowed the Syrians to live and move freely as well as to access free health care and education systems.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161205-saudi-received-3m-syrians-and-yemenis/

My comment: Saudi propaganda changed foreign workers to refugees. Saudi Arabia did not accept any refugees from nowhere.

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

7.12.2016 – Legal Center (* A K PH)

6-12-2016
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=736798479803853&id=551288185021551

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (* A K PH)

Monitor Aggression Crimes in Yemen

Monitor crimes of the Saudi American aggression and on Tuesday:

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56749&lang=en

6.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (* A K PH)

Aggression Crimes and Mercenaries in the Yemen Governorates

Monitor crimes of Saudi American aggression and the Mercenaries, on Monday 6 December

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56592&lang=en

6.12.2016 – Legal Center (* A K PH)

5-12-2016
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=736215573195477&id=551288185021551

5.12.2016 – Legal Center (* A K PH)

4-12-2016
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=735683566582011&id=551288185021551

8.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Mother, her 3 children martyred in Saudi aggression airstrike

A mother and her three children were killed when US-backed Saudi aggression warplane struck her home in Bakim district of Saada province overnight, a security official told Saba on Thursday.
The targeted house belongs to citizen, Jabir Jubran, and the victims were his wife and his three children.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449038.htm

8.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

US-Saudi warplanes launch 3 raids on Al-Sawadiah

Saudi fighter jets waged three raids against Al-Saadiah district of Al-Baydha province overnight, an official told Saba on Thursday.

targeted communications towers situated in highlands overlooking the district.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449036.htm

8.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi aggression jets strike Sanhan, Bani Bahlol, targets houses, farms

US-backed Saudi aggression warplanes launched four strikes on Sanhan and Bani Bahlol district southeast the capital Sanaa overnight, a security official told Saba on Thursday.
The strikes targeted al-Tikhraf area, causing large damage to resident's houses and farms.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449034.htm

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Hodeidah: Saudi American Raid Bombards the Coastal Defense in Jubanah

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56830&lang=en

7.12.2016 – Khalid Ahmed Alradhi / Living in Yemen on the edge (A K P)

#Saudi war jets targeted house of citizen Jubran Mugait in Bagem - Sadaa, killing his wife and 4 children.

https://twitter.com/alradhi_/status/806478702976663552

We were about to give the news when we found out that the home hit was still inhabited.
A father lost a wife and four children. In the name of restoring a government.
A woman and her children posed, apparently, the greatest threat to the Saudi regime and Hadi.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1193201937399501/?type=3

7.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi aggression renews air striking capital Sanaa

US-backed Saudi aggression warplanes renewed air striking the capital Sanaa overnight with a series of brutal raids, an official told Saba on Wednesday.
The strikes targeted Ayah roundabout three times and another violent strike struck Attan area.
The strikes severely damaged homes, public and private properties.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448907.htm

and

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Three Violent Raids on Sanaa Capital

Fight jets of the US-backed Saudi coalition launched at dawn of Wednesday , four violent raids on the Sanaa capital.

Security sources said, the warplanes aggression launched three raids on the headquarters of the Military Engineering School in Shaop department.

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56751&lang=en

6.12.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A K)

Huge explosion rocking the capital Sanaa now, following intense Saudi jets flying over the sky of the city.

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/806216758940012544

7.12.2016 – Living in Yemen on the Edge (A K PH)

Example of cluster bombs dropped by #Saudi aggression fighters on Wednesday night on a populated neighborhood in #Saada City #Yemen (photo)

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1193049060748122/?type=3 and https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/806560379614720000

7.12.2016 – Saudi war crimes / Ayad (A K PH)

Saada: pictures of some cluster bombs, which targeted aggression by Al Hbajr area yesterday evening in Sohar Directorate Yemen Saada (photos)

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1613009472328374

Yesterday Saudi coalition drops cluster bombs on a tomato farm Sadah #yemen Reports/ pictures of actual bomb used .

https://twitter.com/maddllock/status/806609507178651648

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Raids and Sound Bombs Targeting Saada Province

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56767&lang=en

7.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)

Eyewitnesses: Saudi-led Arab Coalition fighters bomb Houthi positions in Hodeidah

The fighters of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition launched on Tuesday several air raids on Houthi and Saleh forces locations in Hodeida coastal city, west of Yemen.

Eyewitnesses told Almasdaronline that the airstrikes targeted the Houthi and Saleh forces positions in the coastal defense military camp and the Combat School in Kilo 7 area, south of the city.

According to the eyewitnesses, violent explosions were caused by the airstrikes.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/86964

My comment: That is what pro-Saudi propaganda tells about these air raids. I would be interested in the “eyewitnesses” cited here. – See more here:

6.12.2016 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (A K PH)

Losers Saudi bombed Hodidah now. Rebombed Saleh house which was destroyed before. There is no targets bank. More horror to children

https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/806225911074930689

6.12.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)

Saudi jets bombard areas across Yemen

Saudi warplanes have carried out a series of new aerial attacks against areas across Yemen.

On Tuesday morning, Saudi fighter jets launched nearly two dozen airstrikes against Baqim, Kitaf wa al-Boqe’e, Majz, al-Dhaher, Monabbih, and Thu’ban districts in the northwestern Yemeni province of Sa’ada. There were, however, no immediate reports on possible casualties and the extent of the damage caused, Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported.

Saudi artillery units also pounded several areas in the Monabbih and Shada’a districts of the same Yemeni province, but no reports of fatalities were available.

Additionally, Saudi military aircraft bombarded various areas in the Nihm district of the capital province of Sana’a.

A military camp was hit in the al-Khawkhah district of the coastal western province of Hudaydah. A number of areas were targeted in the Bayt al-Faqih district as well.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/12/06/496695/Saudi-airstrikes-pipeline-Cheikh-Ahmed = http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950916001423

6.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi brutal airstrikes hit Bilad al-Ros again, severely injure little girl

A little girl was critically wounded after US-backed Saudi aggression air strikes struck her village overnight in Bilad al-Ros district southeast of the capital Sanaa, officials and residents told Saba on Tuesday morning.
The strikes hit the home of resident Abdulkarim al-Sammad two times at dawn, flattened the house to the ground and severely injuring the girl, who is a daughter of al-Sammad.
Villages of Bilad al-Ros have been air striking on daily basis. The only mountainous highway in the district, which links the capital with southern provinces was almost cut off by the US-backed Saudi brutal repeated air strikes.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448816.htm

7.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi criminal airstrikes kill civilian as Saada under air fire

A citizen was martyred and another wounded when US-backed Saudi aggression warplanes renewed Wednesday morning striking Bakim district in the northern province of Saada overnight, as well as other districts, a security official told Saba.
Meanwhile, the warplanes launched more than 29 air strikes since Wednesday dawn against the districts of Munabih, Thuban, Bakim, Kutaf and Sudhan, damaging the citizens' houses, properties and farms.
The airstrikes were accompanied by heavy missile shelling from enemy Saudi army against the same areas.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448912.htm

7.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Five citizens were martyred and six others wounded when the US-backed Saudi aggression warplanes targeted a farm in Baqim district of sadaa province overnight, a security official told Saba on Wednesday.
The raid hit the villagers' farm and badly affected the neighboring farms and destroying a car.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448935.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56624&lang=en and film by Yemen Today TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz5BD7F9GkE

6.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Citizen Injured by Two Raids Aggression in Saad’a

Injured a citizen on Tuesday, December 6,and his car burned by the warplanes of the Saudi American aggression. The fight jets of the aggression launche two raids on the citizens’ car in Baqim directorate, Saada.

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56618&lang=en

5.12.2016 – Pakistan Today (* A K)

Saudi jets attack Pakistani boat off Yemen, kill six sailors

At least six Pakistani sailors have reportedly been killed after a Saudi airstrike targeted their boat off the Yemeni coast.

The Saudi jets targeted a boat carrying 12 Pakistani sailors off Mukha coast in the Yemeni province of Ta’izz on Sunday, Yemen’s Saba news agency said.

According to the report, the other six sailors are still unaccounted for.

The deadly strike comes as the Riyadh regime continues its brutal military campaign against neighboring Yemen, which was launched in March 2015 to reinstall the former Yemeni government.

Yemen’s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi has ordered a major assault on the country’s Red Sea coast against Houthi Ansarullah fighters and allied army forces, which have been defending the nation against a deadly Saudi offensive.

Reports said on Sunday that Saudi warplanes had intensified their air raids on the province of Ta’izz, which has witnessed heavy fighting on the ground between pro-Hadi militants and Yemeni armed forces in recent days.

Meanwhile, a child was killed as Saudi fighter jets bombed residential buildings in the province of Sa’ada.

The girl’s father and two of her brothers were also injured in the attack, which targeted the province’s district of Razih.

In the same province, another airstrike hit the Baqim district and left a Yemeni woman dead and two children wounded.

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/blog/2016/12/05/saudi-jets-attack-pakistani-boat-off-yemen-kill-six-sailors/

5.12.2016 – Yemen Today TV (A K PH)

Film: Saudi air raid at Razeh, Saada province: Child, father injured

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boMD7GkOx_o

5.12.2016 – Almanar (A K)

Yemen: Two Saudi raids attacked Al-Thaher directorate of Saada

http://english.almanar.com.lb/124133

5.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Taiz: warplanes of the Saudi American aggression waged a raid on Khpop mountain

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56486&lang=en

5.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Saudi American Raid Hits Hanashah Region in Nihm District

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56514&lang=en

5.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi aggression air strikes kill woman, wound 2 daughters in Baqim

A woman was killed and two daughters were wounded when a Saudi aggression air strikes launched five Strikes on al-Mhjar area in Baqim district of Saada province overnight, a security official told Saba on Monday.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448687.htm

5.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

6 Pakistani sailors killed in Saudi airstrike off Mokha, others still missing

Six Pakistani sailors were killed overnight when American-Saudi aggression fighter jets hit directly their boat off the coast of Mokha in Taiz province, an official told Saba on Monday.
The official said the boat was carrying 12 Pakistani nationals fishing on the Red Sea when it was air attacked, killing six Pakistani fishermen while the others were still missing.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448696.htm

Comment by Judith Brown: Criminal recklessness. They'll probably offer to compensate the families of the deceased and then won't do it. That's what usually happens.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154973757528641

5.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

US-Saudi warplanes bomb mountainous road of Blad al-Rous again

US-Saudi aggression's warplanes waged late on Sunday night air raids on Blad al-Rous district southeast of the capital Sanaa, a Security official told Saba on Monday.
The strikes targeted Naqil Yaslih mountainous highway that linking the capital with southern provinces.
It was the latest air attack targeting the road, which has been hit by the aggression's fighter jets on daily basis since 20 months.
The road was badly damaged, which causes travelers and good-loaded vehicles to experience large suffer when crossing the road.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448691.htm

5.12.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K PH)

Yemen 3 children, mother, all killed today by US-backed Saudi war criminals bombing their house in Razeh Saada north of the country.

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/805717045757104128

6.12.2016 – MbKS15 (A K PS)

A Royal #Saudi Air Force Typhoon T.3 receives fuel from an #RSAF A330 MRTT tanker (photo)

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/806145204810117120

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

8.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Dozen of Wounded and Dead of Saudi Soldiers in Jizan

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56879&lang=en

8.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Rocketry forces shell enemy Saudi military bases

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449045.htm

7.12.2016 – AFP (A K)

Film: Fighting continues in south-western Yemen

Fighting between pro-government forces and Huthi rebels continued Tuesday in the south-western Wadi Dhubab region in Yemen, which allows access to the western area of Taez, Yemen's third largest city.

http://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/fighting-continues-in-south-western-yemen/vp-AAlhd17

7.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Six Saudi soldiers sniped, tank destroyed in Asir

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449018.htm

7.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Dozens killed, injured from Saudi-paid mercenaries in Alab Asir

Dozens of Saudi-paid aggression mercenaries were killed and wounded in their failed attempt to advance to Alab crossing in Asir province.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448925.htm

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

About 8 Saudi Mercenaries Killed in Taiz

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56826&lang=en

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Saudi Military Hajlah Site Targeted in Najran

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56823&lang=en

7.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)

Two civilians killed, three wounded in Houthi bombing in Taiz

The medical source told Almasdaronline that two children were wounded by the rebels artillery shelling on Aljehmliah neighborhood.

The source added that the artillery shell on Aljahmliah was fired from Houthis site in Alhawban area, northeastern Taiz.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/86990

7.12.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K PH)

Yemeni fighters Taking new strategic positions Seizing advanced US-made weapons in Asir south of Saudi Arabia ( today Dec7,2016) (photos)

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/806556823067250688

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Al Jawf: Launched rocket type Zelzal-1 on gatherings of hypocrites on in the Al harb valley in Alkap and Al shaf directorates

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56771&lang=en

7.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)

10 Houthis killed in al Dhali' governorate

http://almasdaronline.com/article/86965

7.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)

Statement: 11 Houthi militants, two Poplar Resistance members killed in Taiz

http://almasdaronline.com/article/86962

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

A Number of Missiles Targeting the Mercenaries Locations

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56756&lang=en

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Heavy Losses Incured by Saudi Merenaries in Marib

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56679&lang=en

6.12.2016 – Almanar (A K PH)

Saudi-led coalition fire artillery shells on Yemen’s Maarib

http://english.almanar.com.lb/124925

7.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Yemeni Missile Force Targets Saudi Mercenary Groupings in Lahj

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56647&lang=en

6.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Army fires missiles on Saudi-paid mercenaries in Lahj

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448815.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56612&lang=en

6.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Army blasts Saudi-provided military vehicle in Marib, kills its crew

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448817.htm

6.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Groupings of Saudi Mercenaries Killing in Serwah

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56601&lang=en

My comment: Killed, not killing.

6.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

5.12.2016 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (A K PH)

Health sector in Najran claims 4 a war zone allowances. Contradict Saudi media ' borders clashes" & this claim "we are in the front line" (photo)

https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/806131546805727236

5.12.2016 – Mohammed Al Qadhi (A K)

#Taiz is now under a hilarious shelling !

https://twitter.com/mohammedalqadhi/status/805902848458444804

It is a terrifying night as #Houthis and allied forces continue to shell the city of Taiz hilariously

https://www.facebook.com/mhalqadhi/posts/10210338130545859

My comment: he certainly is right: In such cases, generally both sides are shelling.

5.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Groupings of Saudi Soldiers Targeted in Asir and Jizan

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56556&lang=en

5.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Yemeni Forces Pound Saudi Border Guard Command in Jizan

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56549&lang=en

5.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)

Schoolgirl killed, another one injured by Houthi bombing in Al Jawf

A local source said on Monday that the Houhti and Saleh forces have bombed residential houses and civilian targets in Al Hazm, the largest city in Al Jawf governorate northeast of Yemen.

The source told Almasdaronline that the Houthis fired five Katyusha rockets on Monday on population centers downtown.

According to preliminary information, the bombing has killed a school girl and injured another one on their way to school, and also destroyed a truck.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/86930

5.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)

90 Houthis retreat from Midi after battles with government forces

http://almasdaronline.com/article/8692http://almasdaronline.com/article/86928

5.12.2016 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (A K PH)

A captain, 2 lieuts & soldier from Saudi troops were killed in Al-Raboah Assir.

https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/805886255238184962

As usual Saudi loves blackout. Therefor i take picture of any Saudi tweet. Here is a photo of the deleted link.

https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/805939094312382464

5.12.2016 – Fars News (A K PH)

Yemeni Forces Continue Advances, Capture Military Base in Southern Saudi Arabia

The Yemeni army and popular forces continued their advances in the Southern provinces of Saudi Arabia, and took control of a military base in Najran province.

"The Yemeni forces captured a military base with all its military equipment near the city of Najran," Senior Ansarullah Commander Ali al-Hamzani told FNA on Monday.

He said that the Yemeni army and popular forces have intensified their military operations deep inside Saudi Arabia as they are sustaining further losses and casualties.

Al-Hamzani said that the Saudi troops backed by African mercenaries intend to prevent the Yemeni forces' advances in the Southern parts of Najran province, adding that the Yemeni army's snipers shot dead a Saudi military man in al-Tabeh al-Hamra, while Saudi Arabia's Jabal al-Doud also came under Yemeni missile attack.

The commander went on to say that the Yemeni army's artillery hit hard Saudi Arabia's Malhama military site and wounded several military men there.

"The Yemeni artillery once again pounded the Saudi army's concentration centers in Majma al-Qarn, al-Tabeh al-Hamra and Tabeh al-Salasin in Jizan province," al-Hamzani added.

The Yemeni army's missile and artillery units also hit the Saudi army's concentration centers in al-Kers and al-Mostahdes military sites.

In Najran, the Yemeni forces torched Saudi troops' armored military vehicle in Mosalas region and also destroyed another military vehicles in al-Hajleh military base.

The Yemeni forces also set on fire an arms depot of the Saudi army in al-Makhrouq region.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950915000818

My comment: “Yemeni forces” = Houthi fighters and army loyal to ex-president Saleh. Compare to the following:

5.12.2016 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A K PS)

Yemeni Army Advances In Saada

Informed Yemeni sources asserted on Sunday that the National Army has advanced in the Saada province northern Yemen, the basic stronghold of Houthi rebels.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the National Army forces were able to recuperate the strategic region of Mandaba overlooking the Baqim district, one of the most important Houthi strongholds in the area.

Amid the military developments, Yemen’s President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi returned on Sunday to Aden following a short visit to the UAE. Sources close to the Yemeni presidency told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hadi’s return does not only aim to follow up Yemen’s field developments, “but also aims to organize the internal state in light of the rebels’ insistence not to respect international resolutions and to foil all attempts to reach peace in the country.”

Meanwhile, other Yemeni sources reported that large forces from the National Army and the Coalition were getting prepared to conduct a wide operation in the southwestern coast with an aim to remove rebel militias from the area of Zhabab, near Bab al-Mandeb, and the surrounding areas before reaching the district of Khawkha in Al-Hudaydah governorate.

Local sources in Al-Hudaydah said that the coalition jets destroyed three military boats in the Salif port, which is considered the rebels’ base for military operations near the Yemen-Saudi borders. They said a number of militias were killed and injured.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat the Yemeni Army and the Coalition were also planning to control the entire Yemeni shores, and have started on Sunday deploying their forces along the southern coastline of Shabwah province – by Arafat Madabish and others

http://english.aawsat.com/2016/12/article55363337/yemeni-army-advances-saada and also by Almasdar Online. http://almasdaronline.com/article/86929

My comment: Compare to previous article. “Yemeni army” = Army of “president” Hadi. See also the following:

5.12.2016 – Live UA Map (A K)

Yemen Government forces backed by Arab coalition expelled Houthis militants from Alab border crossing and advanced to Mandaba area in North Saadah (map)

http://yemen.liveuamap.com/en/2016/5-december-yemen-government-forces-backed-by-arab-coalition

5.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Yemeni Forces Target Saudi Mercenary Groupings in Taiz Governorate

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56497&lang=en

5.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Three Saudi Soldiers Shot in Frontier Najran

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56516&lang=en

5.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saada province: Several areas of Hidan and al-Dhaher districts were also struck to missile attacks from the enemy Saudi ground army,targeting citizens' houses, properties and farms.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448687.htm

5.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Killing the Leaders of Mercenaries in Al Gof

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=56481&lang=en

5.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Rocketry forces launch 2 ballistic missiles on Saudi-paid mercenaries

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448686.htm

5.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Army blasts Saudi military vehicle in border, kills 7 crew members

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news448690.htm

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

7.11.2016 – Blick (* A)

Mehr als 35 Menschen nach Schiffsunglück vor Jemen vermisst

Nach einem Schiffsunglück vor der Küste Jemens werden noch mehr als 35 Menschen vermisst. Bislang seien 26 Passagiere gerettet worden, teilte ein lokaler Verantwortlicher aus dem Ort Kulansija auf der jemenitischen Insel Sokotra am Mittwoch mit.

Die Suche nach den Vermissten gehe weiter. Jemens Fischereiminister Fahd Kafajin erklärte auf Facebook, Schiffe durchkämmten seit den Morgenstunden die Unglücksregion. Er sprach von 17 Geretteten.

Kafajin zufolge war der Frachter mit rund 60 Menschen an Bord in der südjemenitischen Stadt Al-Mukalla in See gestochen und westlich von Sokotra verunglückt. Die Insel liegt ungefähr 350 Kilometer vor Jemens Küste im Süden der Arabischen Halbinsel.

Es habe seit fünf Tagen keinen Kontakt mehr zu dem Schiff gegeben, erklärte der Fischereiminister weiter. Als Fracht waren demnach auch rund 25 kleinere Fischerboote an Bord. Möglicherweise konnten sich verunglückte Passagiere mit diesen retten.

http://www.blick.ch/news/ausland/jemen-fast-60-vermisste-nach-schiffsunglueck-vor-jemen-id5862981.html

7.11.2016 – Reuters (* A)

Thirty-five people rescued from ferry that sank off Yemen

At least 35 of the 64 people who were on a ferry that sank off Yemen have been rescued, a Yemeni minister said on Wednesday.

Rescue teams continued to look for survivors from the boat that was en route from Hadramout province in mainland Yemen to the island of Socotra, Fisheries Minister Fahad Kaffen said on his Facebook page.

Socotra and Hadramout are under the control of the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which is in a war with the Houthis who control most of northern Yemen.

The Aden al-Ghad news website said the ship was believed to have suffered an accident and authorities at Hadramout's Mukalla port lost contact with it on Tuesday evening.

It sank 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Socotra, an archipelago some 380 km south of mainland Yemen – by Mohammed Mukhashaf

www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-ship-idUSKBN13W0IS and more details by BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38235043

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-236-yemen-war-mosaic-236

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-236: / Yemen War Mosaic 1-236:

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 / and http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/

Dieser Beitrag gibt die Meinung des Autors wieder, nicht notwendigerweise die der Redaktion des Freitag.
Geschrieben von

Dietrich Klose

Vielfältig interessiert am aktuellen Geschehen, zur Zeit besonders: Ukraine, Russland, Jemen, Rolle der USA, Neoliberalismus, Ausbeutung der 3. Welt

Dietrich Klose

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