Donate for Yemen – Starvation – US cluster bombs – US continue supporting Saudis, just a little restriction – Yemen accuses Britain – Displaced people r – Toxic trash – US drone war – Unwinnable war
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
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
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp13c Finanzen / Finances
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
PH = Pro-Houthi
PS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
14.12.2016 – Aktion „Deutschland hilft“ (** A H)
"Stilles Sterben ohne einen Ausweg" / Unbeachtet von der Öffentlichkeit leiden im Jemen fast 19 Millionen Menschen
"Wovon soll ich morgen satt werden?" Diese Frage stellt sich nahezu jeder dritte Mensch im Jemen, einem Land, das seit über eineinhalb Jahren im Krieg versinkt, was von der breiten Öffentlichkeit kaum wahrgenommen wird. "Fast 19 Millionen Menschen sind inzwischen auf humanitäre Hilfe, also Nahrungsmittel, eine Unterkunft oder auch medizinische Versorgung, angewiesen", beschreibt Manuela Roßbach, Geschäftsführerin von "Aktion Deutschland Hilft", die Lage in dem südarabischen Staat. "Das entspricht einem Viertel der deutschen Bevölkerung." Davon leiden mehr als sieben Millionen Menschen akuten Hunger. Kinder sterben aufgrund von Mangelernährung.
Um das Leid der Menschen zu lindern, sind Hilfsorganisationen von "Aktion Deutschland Hilft" vor allem im Westjemen, insbesondere in den Regionen Hajjah, Ta'izz und Aden, aktiv und versorgen die Bedürftigen mit lebenswichtigen Gütern und Maßnahmen. Um ausreichend sauberes Wasser bereitzustellen, setzt CARE unter anderem Wasseraufbereitungsanlagen instand und verteilt Trinkwasser mit Tanklastwagen. Priorität haben zudem auch die Verteilung von Nahrungsmitteln und die gesundheitliche Versorgung. Neben Lebensmitteln für die notleidende Bevölkerung liefert Islamic Relief wichtiges medizinisches Material an Krankenhäuser. Die Bündnisorganisationen ADRA und Handicap International dagegen schulen lokale Geburts- oder Rehabilitationshelfer, die fortan eigenständig Hilfe leisten können.
Dabei arbeiten die Hilfsorganisationen unter besonders schweren Bedingungen.
Aktion Deutschland Hilft ruft zu Spenden für die Not leidende Bevölkerung im Jemen auf:
SPENDEN Stichwort "Hunger Jemen" IBAN: DE62 3702 0500 0000 1020 30 (Bank für Sozialwirtschaft) Spendenhotline: 0900 55 102030 (kostenfrei aus dem dt. Festnetz, Mobilfunk höher) Charity SMS: SMS mit ADH10 an die 81190 senden (10 EUR zzgl. üblicher SMS-Gebühr, 9,83 EUR davon gehen direkt an Aktion Deutschland Hilft) Online spenden unter: www.Aktion-Deutschland-Hilft.de
"Aktion Deutschland Hilft" ist das 2001 gegründete Bündnis von deutschen Hilfsorganisationen, die im Falle großer Katastrophen ihre Kräfte bündeln, um schnelle und effektive Hilfe zu leisten. Die beteiligten Organisationen führen ihre langjährige Erfahrung in der humanitären Hilfe zusammen, um so die bisherige erfolgreiche Arbeit weiter zu optimieren. Unter einem gemeinsamen Spendenkonto bei der Bank für Sozialwirtschaft Köln ruft das vom Deutschen Zentralinstitut für soziale Fragen (DZI) geprüfte und dem Deutschen Spendenrat angehörige Bündnis zu solidarischem Handeln und Helfen im Katastrophenfall auf. www.aktion-deutschland-hilft.de
Aktion Deutschland Hilft, Bündnis deutscher Hilfsorganisationen,
nimmt Spenden für die Betroffenen im Jemen entgegen unter:
Spenden-Stichwort: Hunger Jemen
IBAN DE62 3702 0500 0000 1020 30, BIC: BFSWDE33XXX
Spenden-Hotline: 0900 55 10 20 30 (Festnetz kostenfrei, mobil höher)
oder Online Spenden
Mein Kommentar: Endlich findet die Not der Menschen im Jemen in Deutschland mehr Aufmerksamkeit! Ausgerechnet jemand wie Steinmeier ist freilich der falsche Kopf dafür. Er sollte seine Polit-PR doch mit anderen Themen betreiben als ausgerechnet hiermit. Steinmeier hat für das saudische Eingreifen Verständnis gezeigt, ohne das es diese Katastrophe gar nicht gäbe, und seine Regierung legt sich immer noch mit den Saudis ins Bett (siehe cp11 zum von-der-Leyen-Besuch in Riyadh). Die Menschen im Jemen brauchen ein Ende von krieg, Bombardement und Blockade, und keine Politiker-Heuchelei.
12.2016 – Donation.dec (** B H)
Yemen Crisis Appeal
Thank you! You are about to make a real difference to the people affected by the devastating humanitarian crisis in Yemen. How much would you like to give?
GBP 25 could provide a month's supply of life-saving peanut paste to a malnourished child could provide clean drinking water for two families for a month could provide supplies to a clinic treating severely malnourished children for a week
GBP 60 could provide clean drinking water for two families for a month
GBP 100could provide supplies to a clinic treating severely malnourished children for a week
https://donation.dec.org.uk/#/
14.12.2016 – Saif Allah Scud on Twitter (** B H K)
Films: Starvation in Yemen
must watch If you don't die from airstrikes , you're going to die from being ill and from starvation."
more than 300,000 children under age Five are on the brink of starvation as #Yemen faces famine.
https://twitter.com/_abd_ullh_/status/809177680054779905
https://twitter.com/_abd_ullh_/status/809178217663840257
13.12.2016 – Norwegian Refugee Council (** B H)
Yemen: Millions more will go hungry in 2017
After a 2016 that was disastrous for civilians, war-ravaged Yemen will see an additional 2.5 million people go without enough to eat in 2017 if the current downward spiral is allowed to continue, the Norwegian Refugee Council warned today.
The past year has seen widespread destruction and overall deterioration of conditions, with more than 14 million going to bed hungry at night. The price of staple food is now 20 per cent higher than before the conflict started last year. Projections for 2017 indicate that, if the situation does not change, an extra 2.5 million people will be left without enough to eat. That will mean that a staggering 60 per cent of the entire population will struggle to put food on the table.
People currently receiving NRC food vouchers tell us they have had to survive on bread and water alone. Many people have also had to flee from their houses due to destruction caused by airstrikes and fighting on the ground.
“Unless the conflict is ended and the deep economic crisis reversed, the new year will see an entire nation slide further into a black hole of despair,” said NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland. “The figures for 2016 are shocking, and there is a risk that further deterioration of the situation in 2017 will result in famine across Yemen. We must put an end to this man-made disaster that shames us all.”
NRC has reached over 1 million Yemenis in need across the country in 2016, but the scale of the current crisis is well beyond the reach of the few remaining humanitarian agencies on the ground.
One million people represent just a small percentage of the total 18.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance or protection. Despite the challenges of accessing certain areas, NRC is operating in hard-to-reach areas throughout Yemen.
“In 2016, all sides to the conflict have impeded our ability to reach people who were in most need of humanitarian assistance,” Egeland said. “Going into 2017, it is essential that all restrictions on aid are lifted and that humanitarians are able to deliver life-saving services throughout Yemen.”
Displacement in Yemen has risen massively since the start of the conflict. An estimated 4.5 million people in Yemen currently require shelter support. By the end of 2016, almost 2.2 million people remain displaced across the country; more than 90 per cent of them have been displaced for more than 10 months. Many of the Yemenis who have been displaced by the conflict are living in public buildings or makeshift camps, many without access to basic facilities such as toilets or washrooms.
Economic collapse in Yemen is imminent if nothing is done to bolster the failing banking system. This will mean that civil servants continue not to be paid and imports that had previously been guaranteed by the Central Bank of Yemen – such as rice and wheat – grind to a halt. Restrictions on imports mean that Yemenis are not getting the commercial goods that they need at prices they can afford.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-millions-more-will-go-hungry-2017
12.12.2016 – Reuters (** A H)
Child malnutrition at 'all time high' in Yemen: U.N. agency
Hunger among Yemen's children has reached an "all time high", with nearly 2.2 million in need of urgent care, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said on Monday.
At least 462,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition - meaning they are extremely underweight for their height - a drastic increase of almost 200 percent since 2014, UNICEF said.
Sa'ada governorate in the country's northwest has the world's highest stunting rates among children, affecting eight out of 10 in some areas, the U.N. agency said.
Stunting - where a child is short for their age - is another sign of chronic malnourishment and has irreversible consequences for both physical health and cognitive function.
Other governorates - Hodeida, Taizz, Hajjah and Lahej - are also badly affected after 20 months of war.
"Malnutrition in Yemen is at an all-time high and increasing," Meritxell Relano, UNICEF acting representative in Yemen, said in a statement.
"The state of health of children in the Middle East's poorest country has never been as catastrophic as it is today," she added.
Now Yemen's health system is on the verge of collapse, UNICEF said.
At least one child dies every ten minutes in Yemen because of malnutrition, diarrhea, and respiratory tract infections, the agency said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-hunger-idUSKBN14203U
Comment by Judith Brown: This is not just child malnutrition. It is famine caused by the aerial assaults on infrastructure and the embargo led by Saudi Arabia.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155004394583641
and Aljazeera taking this headline:
12.12.2016 – Aljazeera (** A H)
UNICEF: One child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen
At least 462,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with 2.2m in need of urgent care, UNICEF says.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/unicef-child-dies-10-minutes-yemen-161212192354606.html
Comment by Hisham Al-Omeisy: That's 52,560 children dying in a year, in a country that's smaller than Texas & w/ lesser population (27Mil). Let sink in for a min.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/808666026258923521
My comment: Yes, let sink in. And let sink in that a great part of these are victims of the war: weakened by the lack of food by the Saudi blockade, weakened by the lack of shelter because of Saudi bombings, affected by more and more health facilities out od order and destroyed. Thank you, Obama. That’s where you got the Peace Nobel Price for?
14.12.2016 – The Intercept (** B K)
BANNED BY 119 COUNTRIES, U.S. CLUSTER BOMBS CONTINUE TO ORPHAN YEMENI CHILDREN
But on that fall day, Jubahi’s trip to the market was successful. He returned in the early afternoon to share a meal with his family, before wandering down to the beach by himself. According to his father, Jubahi slipped underneath an overturned boat to escape the afternoon sun, and — exhausted — closed his eyes to sleep.
He never woke up.
Villagers in al-Hayma told The Intercept they heard rumbling around 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Soon after, they saw a jet from the Saudi-led coalition circling over the coast. Assisted by the U.S. with weapons and intelligence, Saudi Arabia has been bombing and blockading Yemen for 21 months.
“The warplane was hovering toward the shoreline before I saw something with parachutes falling down,” said Yahya Qassem Zabah, a local fisherman. “For a moment I thought that soldiers were landing. Then I heard a number of explosions soon after that.”
What Zabah saw was not a soldier parachuting toward the coast, it was a cluster weapon. In mid-air, its shell casing opened and released cylinder-shaped bomblets, which scattered as they plummeted to the beach.
All at once, like deafening firecrackers, explosions ripped across the sand, splintering, smashing, and overturning fishing boats.
Jubahi’s family found his body among the wreckage in a pool of his own blood. His head had been struck by one of the munitions while he slept.
The villagers recovered two empty shell casings and three parachutes, which Jubahi’s family kept as evidence and showed to The Intercept. “They took out my son and left these rags behind,” Medarij said, gesturing toward the parachutes.
It was not the first time the villagers had seen such weapons.
Researchers from Human Rights Watch identified the shell casings in photographs taken by The Intercept as a U.S.-made cluster bomb. The serial number documented in the photographs also begins with the five-number “commercial and government entity” (CAGE) code 04614 — indicating that the weapons were produced in the United States, by the Rhode Island-based company Textron Systems.
Saudi Arabia is dependent on the U.S. in its bombing campaign, explained Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and 30-year CIA officer, at an event in April. “If the United States and the United Kingdom, tonight, told King Salman [of Saudi Arabia] ‘this war has to end,’ it would end tomorrow. The Royal Saudi Air Force cannot operate without American and British support.”
Neither the Pentagon nor the State Department would confirm to The Intercept that the weapons photographed by The Intercept were U.S.-supplied, or that they were CBU-105 munitions. When confronted with photos containing the weapons’ serial numbers, Textron Systems spokesperson Dan Sylvestre declined to comment, telling The Intercept that the photos “raise more questions than answers as far as where those weapons were photographed and under what circumstances.”
Meanwhile, Textron’s video advertisements for the CBU-105 depict munitions that appear to be identical to those photographed by The Intercept
Due to their civilian toll, cluster bombs were banned by a 2008 treaty signed by 119 countries, but not by the U.S., Russia, and Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia in recent years.
Foreign Policy magazine reported in May that the Obama administration put a hold on the latest transfer of CBU-105 munitions to Saudi Arabia, likely due to a 2009 export law that forbids the sale of cluster bombs to countries that use the weapons “where civilians are known to be present.”
Bowing to public pressure in August, Textron Systems also announced that it would be phasing out production of the CBU-105, ending the manufacturing of cluster bombs in America.
The Pentagon nonetheless maintains a large stockpile of CBU-105 munitions that it could transfer at a later date – by Alex Emmons and Mohammed Ali Kalfood
14.12.2016 – Zeit Online (* A K P)
USA stoppen Waffenlieferung an Saudi-Arabien
Die USA haben wegen des Konflikts im Jemen USA eine Rüstungslieferung an die saudi-arabischen Streitkräfte gestoppt. Ein Regierungssprecher in Washington begründete dies der Nachrichtenagentur Reutersindirekt mit der hohen Zahl ziviler Opfer durch die saudi-arabische Militärintervention im Jemen.
Die US-Militärkooperation mit Riad sei "kein Blankoscheck", sagte er. Die USA seien besorgt über die Art, wie Saudi-Arabien die Militärkampagne im Jemen ausführe. Das Problem sei vor allem die Zielgenauigkeit der saudi-arabischen Luftwaffe. Es sei immer wieder zu Angriffen auf Zivilisten gekommen. Deshalb wolle man nicht länger präzisionsgelenkte Munition an Saudi-Arabien liefern und die Luftwaffe in Zukunft besser schulen.
Ausschlaggebend für den Lieferstopp war offenbar der Luftangriff des Militärbündnisses im Oktober auf eine Beerdigung in Jemens Hauptstadt Sanaa mit mehr als 140 Toten.
Der Lieferstopp betrifft nach Angaben aus anderen US-Kreisen Präzisionsmunition des US-Konzerns Raytheon. Es soll um mehrere Hundert Millionen Dollar schwere Aufträge für Leitsysteme gehen, mit denen einfache Bomben in präzisionsgelenkte Munition umgewandelt werden können. Dadurch können Ziele genauer getroffen werden.
US-Regierungsmitarbeiter stellten am Dienstag klar, dass trotz des Lieferstopps bei der Munition die militärische Unterstützung der USA für die von Saudi-Arabien geführte Allianz im Jemen weitergehe. Diese sei aber ohnehin "sehr begrenzt", man beschränke sich auf das Auftanken von Flugzeugen und beratende Tätigkeiten bei Luftangriffen, sagte Pentagon-Sprecher Jeff Davis.
http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2016-12/onflikt-jemen-usa-saudi-arabien-stopp-waffenlieferungen
Mein Kommentar: Wie schön seitens der USA doch immer wieder die eigene Kriegsbeteiligung heruntergespielt wird. „Postfaktisch“ eben.
14.12.2016 – TAZ (* A P)
USA stoppen Munitionsverkäufe
Die US-Regierung kürzt die militärische Hilfe für Saudi-Arabien. Die Unterstützung der Militärkoalition beim Krieg im Jemen geht weiter.
Wie am Dienstag bekannt wurde, wollen die USA jetzt die Lieferung von Präzisionsmunition des US-Konzerns Raytheon an den militärischen Verbündeten einstellen. Außerdem sollen weniger Geheimdienstinformationen zur Verfügung gestellt werden, wie ein hochrangiger US-Regierungsvertreter erklärte.
In anderen Bereichen wird die Militärhilfe jedoch fortgesetzt. So soll Saudi-Arabien weiterhin Geheimdienstinformationen zum Schutz der Grenzen erhalten. Auch Trainingsprogramme für Piloten, die Lufteinsätze fliegen, sollen fortgesetzt werden – mit der Begründung, man wolle den Tod von Zivilisten so weit wie möglich vermeiden. Erwartet wird offenbar, das auch andere Verträge weiterlaufen, wie etwa die Lieferung von Kampfhubschraubern. Eine Reaktion der saudischen Regierung auf die Ankündigung aus Washington lag zunächst nicht vor.
Bemerkung: Wie immer, erfährt man auf Englisch mehr, s. folgende Artikel:
13.12.2016 – Reuters (**A K P)
Exclusive: U.S. to halt some arms sales to Saudi, citing civilian deaths in Yemen campaign
The United States has decided to limit military support to Saudi Arabia's campaign in Yemen because of concerns over widespread civilian casualties and will halt a planned arms sale to the kingdom, U.S. officials told Reuters.
The United States will also revamp future training of the kingdom's air force to focus on improving Saudi targeting practices, a persistent source of concern for Washington.
The decision reflects deep frustration within President Barack Obama's government over Saudi Arabia's practices in Yemen's 20-month-old war, which has killed more than 10,000 people and sparked humanitarian crises, including chronic food shortages, in the poorest country in the Middle East.
It could also further strain ties between Washington and Riyadh in the remaining days of Obama's administration and put the question of Saudi-U.S. relations squarely before the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20.
An Obama administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said "systemic, endemic" problems in Saudi Arabia's targeting drove the U.S. decision to halt a future weapons sale involving precision-guided munitions.
"We've decided not to move forward with some foreign military sales cases for air-dropped munitions, PGMs (precision-guided munitions)," the official said.
"That's obviously a direct reflection of the concerns that we have about Saudi strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties," the official said. A second official confirmed the decision to suspend the sale of certain weaponry.
The officials declined to offer details. But a specific case put on hold appeared to involve the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of guidance systems manufactured by Raytheon Co (RTN.N) that convert dumb bombs into precision-guided munitions that can more accurately hit their targets.
At the same time, the United States has decided to increase efforts to address long-standing Saudi concerns by focusing more on border security, the official said. The kingdom has been subject to cross-border attacks by the Iran-allied Houthis.
The Obama administration official said the United States would not halt refueling of the Saudi-led coalition planes.
"For now that's not going to be touched. Again, the review could continue and people could make a different decision in the coming weeks," the official said.
SMART VERSUS DUMB BOMBS
The decision to suspend the arms sale to the Saudis marks a reversal for the administration. Officials have long argued that supplying so-called "smart weapons" helped in reducing civilian casualties – by Phil Stewart and Warren Strobel
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudiarabia-yemen-exclusive-idUSKBN1421UK
My comment: It’s not even half the way the US must go if they do not want to stay accomplices in war crimes. The US still furnishes the fighter jets, and refuels Saudi jets bombing Yemen.
Comment by Ali AlAhmed: Attempting 2 redefine & clean up his legacy @BarackObama limits sale of useless arms 2 #Saudi 2 sells them better 1s
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/808711393365073920
and by AP:
13.12.2016 – AP (** A K P)
US halts some Saudi arms sales over Yemen deaths concerns
The United States is terminating some sales of military arms to Saudi Arabia over concerns about the killing of civilians in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday, while ramping up support for Saudi's border defenses and other intelligence-sharing.
The decision to pull back planned sales of precision-guided munitions stems from a review ordered by the White House in October following the bombing of a funeral hall in Yemen that killed more than 140 people, thrusting longstanding concerns about civilian casualties into the spotlight.
In addition to halting the sales of munitions, the Obama administration is curbing some intelligence-sharing with Saudi Arabia that could be used in ways that would lead to civilian casualties, the official said, while declining to provide details. The U.S. also is looking to "refocus" the training it conducts for Saudi Arabia's air force to address U.S. concerns about how the Saudis choose their targets.
The Pentagon, the State Department and other U.S. agencies were involved in the retooling of support for Saudi Arabia, said the official, who wasn't authorized to comment by name and requested anonymity. The official said the decision reflected deep concerns about Saudi targeting methods and the desire to show that U.S. military aid is not a "blank check."
Other U.S. support for Saudi's coalition will continue unimpeded, including refueling of coalition aircraft by the U.S. military. And the U.S. is increasing the amount of information and analysis it shares with Saudi Arabia about threats to the Saudi border, reflecting Saudi concerns about extremists crossing over the border from Yemen to launch attacks inside Saudi Arabia.
Other military sales to Saudi Arabia are expected to continue unimpeded
The mixed approach — scaling back support for the Saudis in some areas while increasing it in others — illustrated the complex military relationship between the two countries and Washington's desire not to abandon the Saudis wholesale in Yemen – by Josh Lederman
https://apnews.com/8513744217ca4a029e2ce88e6aa9cecb and by Aljazeera: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/limits-military-support-yemen-campaign-161213170622915.html and by Mother Jones: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/united-states-cancels-weapons-sales-saudi-arabia-yemen (headline: The United States Just Canceled an Arms Deal With Saudi Arabia; yes, it’s nothing more, and it’s a minor sale) and by The Independent: https://twitter.com/RSKarim1/status/808719938437414912 and by The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/13/us-to-halt-planned-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia-over-yemen-airstrikes?CMP=twt_gu
Comment by Judith Brown: But having been extremely happy about the announcement yesterday, I'm beginning to think it's a tiny tweek just to make it seem as if they are doing something when actually it's not very much.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155011513933641
Comment by Dr. Karim: US Shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted!
https://twitter.com/RSKarim1/status/808719938437414912
13.12.2016 – Washington Post (** A K P)
With small changes, U.S. maintains military aid to Saudi Arabia despite rebukes over Yemen carnage
The Obama administration will curtail some intelligence sharing with Saudi Arabia following a review of military assistance, a U.S. official said, but it will expand support in other areas despite intense criticism of Saudi strikes on civilians during the Kingdom’s air war in Yemen.
The carrot-and-stick approach reflects an attempt by U.S. officials, increasingly uncomfortable with support for an operation that has been widely condemned by rights groups, to distance themselves from the Yemen campaign without alienating a core Middle Eastern ally.
“This is not a punitive measure; it’s a corrective measure,” said a senior U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal decision-making. “We have to careful not to cut back on things that serve our interests in the process of trying to cut back on things that don’t serve our interest.”
The White House launched the high-level review of U.S. assistance in October, following a Saudi airstrike that killed more than 100 people at a Yemeni funeral. The incident, one of a series of apparent Saudi attacks on civilian targets in the Kingdom’s war against Shiite Houthi rebels, prompted the White House to warn that U.S. aid was “not a blank check.”
Now, following months of deliberation, the administration has reached a set of interim conclusions, the official said, including a decision to reduce sharing of intelligence that the United States believes could be used to conduct similar problematic strikes in the Houthi campaign.
At the same time, U.S. officials will continue or even increase other kinds of intelligence sharing, on targets such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) or when the United States sees legitimate Saudi concerns about Houthi aggression. The rebels, suspected of ties to Iran, have repeatedly launched attacks across the Saudi-Yemeni border.
While the modest changes are an acknowledgment that U.S. attempts to urge greater Saudi restraint have failed, they mostly tweak around the margins of a military relationship that has been central to U.S. goals in the Middle East. According to the Congressional Research Service, the United States concluded $58 billion in arms deals to Saudi Arabia from fiscal 2009 to 2015.
The administration has also decided to shelve the planned sale of $390 million worth of precision munitions guidance systems to Saudi Arabia. Some rights groups have called for a suspension of arms sales by the United States and other countries, pointing to the repeated appearance of U.S. munitions at the sites of Saudi strikes on civilian targets.
The United States will also retool its training for the Saudi air force in an attempt to resolve “some of their structural, endemic problems with their targeting practices,” the official said, and will maintain only a small presence of U.S. military personnel at a Saudi command center in Riyadh.
“Either they will take that to heart and they will listen to us more or, at a minimum, we will no longer be providing assistance to some of their practices,” the official said.
But the Obama administration will also expand support in other areas, as officials scramble to avoid further damage to bilateral ties already shaken by President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. Officials declined to give details on the expanded support for the defense of the Saudi border, but said it would include greater intelligence sharing related to that threat – By Missy Ryan
My comment: Ryan really is closer to reality than Reuters and AP. It’s a little cosmetics, nothing of importance really changes.
Comment by Daniel Larison, The American Conservative: These small changes won’t halt the shameful enabling of the Saudi-led war, nor will they force the coalition to end their campaign. Modest tweaks to a disgraceful policy don’t address the core problem with U.S. support for the war. The U.S. is aiding and abetting its clients in committing war crimes in an intervention it should never have backed, and it will continue to do so even after these changes are made. The most important practical assistance that the U.S. provides to the coalition is refueling of their jets, and that will continue as before.
If the administration were serious about reining in the coalition’s abuses and expressing displeasure about their disregard for civilian lives, it would severely curtail or eliminate the refueling of coalition planes. We have seen for over twenty months that the administration isn’t serious about doing this, and remains committed to “reassuring” despotic clients at the expense of Yemeni civilian lives. Half-hearted, belated gestures like these in the closing weeks of Obama’s presidency don’t change that.
And some more comments from the Wash. Post site:
AP: Always a pleasure to see a Nobel Peace Prize winner at work. Nicely done, Mr. Warmonger.
SA: Can someone explain how we were reasonably incensed by the Taliban's treatment of women, but somehow completely ok with the Saudi treatment of women?
R: Human rights are among the worst in the world in Saudi Arabia, certainly worse than in our created enemies Iran and China. But, SA buys lots of our war equipment, so we ignore their misogyny, brutality, etc. and support the horrible SA regime. We dummies believe our government's propaganda that we fight to spread our "values". Well, we sort of fight for our values, but “what are those values?” is a reasonable question.
O: Fortunately for Obama, Americans have a high threshold for cognitive dissonance.
I: We are "uncomfortable" with the wholesale massacre of civilians. So we... limit information sharing and sell more weapons? It sounds like we are either total sellouts to the Saudis and their weapons suppliers or sadly clueless.
J: Follow the money. The stuff we give SA creates defense-industry jobs here in America. It stinks, but it's better than giving them money WITHOUT running it through our economy, first.
And also here:
13.12.2016 – Geopolitics Alert (** A K P)
U.S. Halts Saudi Arms Sale But Boasts Massive Sales to Other Gulf Allies
So will this change the United States’ approach to Yemen? Not at all. Morocco, Qatar, and the U.A.E. are all major players in the Saudi-led coalition and are all expected to receive physical military support including Apache attack helicopters and missiles. Qatar will also be receiving logistics support and parts to revamp its C-17 fleet.
Indeed, the United States is just trying to save its own skin. The international community hasn’t bought into western propaganda concerning Yemen the same way they have with Syria. It is clear that the United States is knowingly– although indirectly– responsible for the deaths of thousands of Yemenis via Saudi Arabia. By making Qatar or the U.A.E. the new “face” of the war in Yemen, the United States is just distancing themselves from Saudi Arabia’s actions. The weapons will keep flowing to the same side in the same war just as they always have been, and the same powers will continue to pull the strings. The only thing that’s changing is how the weapons will get to where they’re headed – by Randi Nord
http://geopoliticsalert.com/u-s-halts-saudi-arms-sale-boasts-massive-sales-gulf-allies
and
14.12.2016 – Al-Bab (* A P)
US-British rift over arms for Saudi Arabia
Amid concern about civilian casualties in Yemen, the United States is cutting back on arms sales to Saudi Arabia – at a time when the Britain, the kingdom's other main supplier, is trying to increase them.
The US has decided not to go ahead with a $350 million sale of 16,000 guidance systems which turn "dumb" bombs into "precision" bombs, the New York Times reports. The guidance systems are supplied by an American company, Raytheon, but at least some of them are manufactured in Britain.
An Obama administration official told Reuters the decision was "a direct reflection of the concerns that we have about Saudi strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties."
In theory, precision weapons ought to lower the risk of civilian casualties but the Saudis have been misusing them through a mixture of incompetence, indiscipline and flawed intelligence.
Meanwhile, the British government is in a state of denial. Last month it rejected calls from two parliamentary committees for a suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia until a UN investigation had been conducted into attacks on civilians.
The British government has a legal obligation not to allow exports of arms if they "might be used in commission of a serious breach of international humanitarian law". Despite overwhelming evidence of war crimes in Yemen the British government continues to insist this test has not been met.
Britain's determination to keep on arming the Saudis is partly due to the lucrative nature of the sales and the British establishment's historical infatuation with the Gulf's autocratic rulers.
Over the last few months dreams of expanding trade in the Gulf have also become part of the government's Brexit fantasyland where steady markets in Europe will be abandoned in favour of markets subject to the vagaries of Middle East politics – by Brian Whitaker
http://al-bab.com/blog/2016/12/us-british-rift-over-arms-saudi-arabia = https://medium.com/@Brian_Whit/us-british-rift-over-arms-for-saudi-arabia-479753221b4f#.u0linyele
My comment: I do not think that this is any “rift”. The US still supports the Saudi war in Yemen. See my comment above.
13.12.2016 – Sky News (** A H K)
Yemen's rebel PM accuses UK of war crimes with Saudi arms sales
The new Prime Minister of the controversial rebel Houthi government which has just been set-up in Yemen has accused Britain of war crimes, in his first interview since taking power.
Prime Minister Abdulaziz bin Habtour spoke scathingly about how the British Government cares more about making profits from arms sales to Saudi Arabia than the humanitarian disaster in his country.
"They have sold cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia," he told Sky News in his office in the capital Sana'a. "They know the Saudis are going to drop them on Yemen ... in Sa'adah and in Sana'a and other provinces.
"I don't think they are guilty of war crimes, I believe so. They are participating in the bombing of Yemen people."
Among American cluster bombs in Sa'adah City we found a nose cone used to protect a British-made Storm Shadow cruise missile, which the Ministry of Defence calls "arguably the most advanced weapon of its kind in the world".
It was clearly marked with a UK identifying stamp.
A soldier who had collected a pile of cluster bomb shells said the nose cone landed four days earlier.
"We have found a lot of British-made bombs," he claimed. He showed us pictures of British cluster bombs he said had been found in fields in the city, which have been shared widely locally.
The pictures have been examined by independent bomb experts who said they were "two BL-755 submunitions from an air-dropped BL-755 cluster bomb, most certainly UK made".
Britain agreed to stop using and selling cluster bombs around six years ago.
Our investigation follows Human Rights Watch research last year which also concluded cluster bombs, which are banned under international rules of war, had been dropped on the city and there had been several breaches of humanitarian rights where civilians were targeted.
Swathes of Sa'adah City have been reduced to rubble. In the Old City, which dates back to the 9th Century, barely any building has been left untouched by the airstrikes which have pounded it, including the mosque built more than 1,200 years ago.
The director of the al Goissy boys' junior school said it had been hit 11 times. When they moved the students to the nearby girls' school to continue their studies, that too was attacked.
"This is a big, big crime," the director Ahmed Ahmed Saleh said. "These are just places of learning. There are no weapons here. They just want to stop our children from learning."
The children are still attending lessons in the classrooms which have not collapsed.
"They suffer from the cold weather," the director said. "Because all the windows have been blown out."
Thirteen-year-old Ahmed Al Munasir said he and his friends were terrified at the continual sound of jets overhead.
"As soon as we hear them, we just run home," he said.
The bombings have had a terrible effect on the health of the population, more than half of which is under 18 years old.
The damaged infrastructure has compromised hygiene and affected clean water supplies, leading to a significant outbreak of cholera as well as a spike in an array of other diseases, including whooping cough, tetanus, measles, pneumonia and severe malnutrition.
The skeletal young face of Fasl Hamood is a picture of pain.
He is nearly two years old but weighs little more than 5kg.
His is the face of Yemen's war. A tiny child - one of more than 300,000 estimated to be starving to death in Yemen – By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, in Houthi-controlled Yemen (with film)
http://news.sky.com/story/yemens-rebel-pm-accuses-uk-of-war-crimes-with-saudi-arms-sales-10693334 = http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/mideast/2016/12/14/uk-complicit-in-yemen-war-crimes--houthi-pm.html and interview in film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHGjDX35xzI
Comments by Judith Brown: Oh yes, they are guilty. I hope we and our friends in the GCC are made to recompense Yemen for all the damage.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155008637263641
WATCH THE VIDEO. THERE IS EVIDENCE PROVIDED OF UK BOMB USED TO BOMB A SCHOOL. YOU CAN SEE THE BOMB WITH ITS UK MARKINGS. WOW. WOW. WOW.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155008646418641
13.12.2016 – Sky News (** A B K P)
Yemen's forgotten war making new enemies for Britain
The conflict is complicated with pockets of the south taken over by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as well as Islamic State, who are believed to be taking advantage of the instability.
More than 10,000 people have been killed over the past 21 months.
The UN says 20 million people are in urgent need of food, water and medical supplies - and more than 370,000 children under the age of five are estimated to be at risk of starving to death.
Yet it is commonly known as the "forgotten war" - struggling to get international attention in a crowded global field of multiple appalling disasters which includes the slaughter in Syria and Iraq.
The new rebel Prime Minister in Sana'a, Abdelaziz bin Habtour, who was appointed a few weeks ago, told me in his first interview: "The Western countries have picked up Iran as a thing to scare Arabs.
"I would like to assure you we are not getting anything from Iran ... neither weapons, nor money, nothing until this moment."
To even try to grasp what this complicated conflict is all about, one has to look back first to the Arab Spring and 2011.
The rebels infuriated President Hadi by announcing the creation of a rival government.
The rebel PM told me: "We accepted the idea of the unity government. It was Hadi who refused this.
"We waited too long for a solution from the outside world but it didn't happen. We had to set up a government to tackle some of the problems. We couldn't wait any longer."
And one of the big problems is finding the cash to pay state employees like doctors, nurses, teachers, garbage-collectors and the military supporting them.
The Prime Minister appeared vague about exactly how the rebel government was going to do this and talked about raising cash commercially through businesses as well as with international friends - although he didn't name them.
As the desperation grows, so does the anger, with thousands of people recently mounting a protest in Sana'a to show their support for a new Houthi government.
For these people there is no way back for President Hadi - the man they hounded out of the capital and who Saudi Arabia is supporting.
The chants against America are growing stronger, and so is the hatred of all those taking part or even supporting this coalition of bombing. That includes Britain.
Britain is making fresh enemies - whether or not it is a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran.
Even those who do not support the Houthis now detest America and Britain.
This conflict could be storing up dangerous problems for Britain in the future – by Alex Comfort
Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Yemen - donate £5 by texting SKY to 7000, calling 0370 60 60 900 or at dec.org.uk
http://news.sky.com/story/yemens-forgotten-war-making-new-enemies-for-britain-10693429
Comment by Judith Brown: What is interesting here is the pictures of Hadi in Aden. His popularity there has increased recently since he moved the bank from Sanaa, as with two governments, two central banks, two armies, their demands for secession are more likely to succeed. But he is still not popular enough to cause him to move there! He was considered guilty of treason in South Yemen and had to flee to the north and had a death sentence passed on him in his absence. I don't know if it's true but people tell me that his own family who live in the south have disowned him.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155008878883641
14.12.2016 – UN High Commissioner for Refugees (** A H)
Conflict pushes displaced Yemenis to the brink
UNHCR warns millions of displaced Yemenis face “humanitarian catastrophe” as 21 months of war deepen hunger, poverty and suffering.
When intense fighting erupted in his hometown of Sa’ada close to the border with Saudi Arabia, 75-year-old Yemeni father Razaz Ali gathered up his wife and seven sons and ran for his life. Asked what he needs, he rattles off a long list.
“We’re hungry, cold and ill, we need help, food and medicines. We’re forced to depend on what people give us,” says Razaz, who now lives in a makeshift shelter with his family at the Dharwan informal settlement outside Yemen’s capital, Sana’a.
The family are among 2.18 million Yemenis uprooted within the borders of their own country by 21 months of bitter conflict. Many, like Razaz, now live precariously, taking shelter in informal settlements and public and religious buildings.
As winter approaches, many have little protection against the elements and live in overcrowded conditions without privacy, subject also to risks of eviction. Hunger and poverty are rife and the tough conditions have become unbearable for some.
“I thought about ending my life many times,” says Nada, uprooted from her home in Taizz by fighting and now living in makeshift accommodation with her disabled husband and 15-month-old baby.
Overshadowed by other regional crises and as one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, the current conflict in Yemen has amplified needs stemming from years of poverty and insecurity.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and humanitarian agencies have been mobilizing to respond to the ongoing crisis. But a staggering 18.8 million people remain in need of humanitarian assistance across the country, amid a situation that continues to deteriorate.
“Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the crisis and the situation is worsening day by day. This is a neglected humanitarian catastrophe,” says UNHCR’s Representative for Yemen, Ayman Gharaibeh.
UNHCR’s prioritized emergency assistance has reached 660,000 of Yemen’s 2.18 million internally displaced people across 20 governorates since the start of the war, although the response has been limited by underfunding.
So far, the UN Refugee Agency has received less than half of the funds it has sought - just 43 per cent of its prioritized response in Yemen - and Gharaibeh warned that the “lack of support limits our capacity to provide urgent relief.”
As a result of the conflict, more than half of Yemen’s entire population lack sufficient food and those displaced remain particularly affected. Food is the major need for Yemen’s internally displaced followed only by water, sanitation and shelter, evidencing mounting challenges to basic survival.
With the conflict showing no signs of abating the overwhelming majority are languishing for an average of at least one year away from home, deprived of their basic needs. Faced with scarce resources, depleted savings and uncertain futures, one million have even attempted to return home in the absence of hope or alternatives.
In the face of unrelenting warfare with millions losing their livelihoods, many displaced households are reliant on the overstretched generosity and compassion of local communities who are buckling under the strain of hosting them for extended periods. Others, meanwhile, are reliant on humanitarian aid or are forced to resort to survival strategies that otherwise compromise their safety and well-being.
“Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the crisis and the situation is worsening day by day.”
Faced with desperate need, incidents of early marriage, recruitment, begging and child labour are all increasingly reported. Among those resorting to sending her children out to beg is 50-year-old mother of eight, Zahrah, a widow who also lives in Dharwan in a tent and has no other means of support.
“I send all my children to beg for food every day,” she laments – by Shabia Mantoo
http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/latest/2016/12/585000ba4/conflict-pushes-displaced-yemenis-brink.html = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/conflict-pushes-displaced-yemenis-brink
14.12.2016 – Deutsche Welle von Sky News (* B H K)
Film: Jemen: Not der Bewohner Saadas geht weiter
Der Konflikt im Jemen zwischen den Anhängern des sunnitischen Exil-Präsidenten Hadi und den schiitischen Huthi-Rebellen dauert an. Der Rebellen-Chef wirft jetzt Großbritannien Kriegsverbrechen im Jemen vor - wegen Rüstungslieferungen an Saudi-Arabien.
http://www.dw.com/de/jemen-not-der-bewohner-saadas-geht-weiter/av-36769897
13.12.2016 – Sky News (* B H K)
Film: Suffering and starvation: Growing up in Yemen
Of the 14 million people living in Yemen who are short of food, children are most at risk of starving to death.
http://news.sky.com/video/suffering-and-starvation-growing-up-in-yemen-10693698
13.12.2016 – Sky News (* B H K)
Film: Houthi rebels accused of targeting civilians in Yemen
Medical staff in Yemen's third city, Taiz, say Houthi rebels are targeting civilians with sniper fire
http://news.sky.com/video/houthi-rebels-accused-of-targeting-civilians-in-yemen-10694939
Comment by Judith Brown: All militias are behaving disgustingly and brutally in this war, and I am certain that civilians who do not support them are targeted by the Houthis and all other militias. This in Taiz where there are strong feelings against the Houthi-Saleh forces, and many militias fighting each other in a cruel ground war. The problem with war is that it polarises opinions - in all wars fighters are in it to win it and the only way they can not perish in this war is to be as ferocious as they can be. People started off with maybe genuine grievances but then the suffering that goes on and on and on, day in day out makes them hardened views, and made people fearful of those on the other 'side'. It makes peace so elusive. Note well; the people of Taiz generally get more food than areas like Hodeida and Saada. Although the city is under siege by the Houthi-Saleh militias it is possible to bring food over the mountains on mountain paths from the southern ports.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155009395003641
13.12.2016– Daily Mail (** A H)
Aid worker tells of mass starvation as major Yemen appeal launched
A British aid worker has described the mass starvation in war-torn Yemen as unlike anything she has ever witnessed, as a charity appeal is launched to help civilians.
Announcing the fund-raiser, fronted by actor Tom Hardy and television presenter Clare Balding, t he Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which represents 13 UK aid charities, said Yemen was at "breaking point" following 20 months of conflict.
More than seven million people in Yemen do not know where their next meal will come from and many children are dying from malnutrition, the organisation said.
Alice Klein, who works for Save the Children, one of the charities supporting the Yemen Crisis Appeal, returned from a three-week visit to the country last week and said she was "shocked" by what she saw.
She told the Press Association: "You went into any health centre or hospital and it was wall-to-wall with really desperate families with tiny babies.
"The babies and children were severely malnourished - as soon as the doctor began examining them and lifting up their clothes you could see all their ribs jutting out.
"They are quite low energy, they don't have enough energy to cry, they just stare out blankly."
Ms Klein said there are more than two million malnourished children in Yemen, with half a million of them severely malnourished - meaning without immediate medical attention they will die.
Spending her career covering humanitarian issues, she said she had "honestly never seen anything like it", but also witnessed how aid in Yemen had made a "physical and tangible difference".
Describing the situation within the country as "desperate", she said there has been a "perfect storm of problems" to create the crisis.
Ms Klein said Yemen imported 90% of its food and fuel, but that currently only two of the cranes in the country's main port were working after being heavily bombed - causing a huge problem with supplies.
"They don't have jobs, they're not earning, they don't have income to be able to buy food, and when they can find food it is overpriced because it is so scarce because of the port," she added.
"I met parents who had sold their cars, gold jewellery, even guns and livestock - anything they've got - taking out loans, and selling land just to be able to afford to get their child to a health centre."
She said many parents are given prescriptions by medics but they simply cannot afford to then pay for the medicine needed, and with the escalating price of supplies, "families just aren't coping".
Comment by Judith Brown: At last. And note the DEC appeal keeps emphasising it is caused by 'a civil war'. The DEC says nothing about the aerial assaults for 20 months, led by Yemen's neighbour Saudi Arabia, and provided with weapons by UK and USA amongst others. As if all of this is caused by problems inside Yemen.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155008568343641
13.12.2016 – Reuters (** B E)
Yemen's toxic trash mountain adds to war woes
Many disasters loom over one of the poorest countries in the Middle East as it suffers through nearly two years of war, among them a colossal pile of waste outside Yemen's capital leeching toxic waste into its diminishing water supply.
Hardly a paragon of waste management before the war, Sanaa was at least able to separate out the most dangerous materials from the 10-million-ton hill thanks to a nearby treatment plant.
No longer. The facility was bombed by a Saudi-led military coalition battling the armed Houthi movement which controls the capital in June of last year and again last December.
Now vast stinking pools created in part by untreated medical waste accumulate at the pile's base, threatening to contaminate the water supply for the parched city which experts have long predicted will be the first capital to use up all its water.
"The main problem we're now facing is in the management of waste in Yemen that is posing a real danger to the general health of residents," said Professor Mohammed al-Qahali, head of the science and technology department at Sanaa University.
Al-Qahali warned that the pools of contaminated waste contained "hazardous chemicals that could cause a variety of diseases including cancers, birth defects, immunological disorders and many other diseases."
"At night I cover my mouth (from the smell), the smell of rot wakes me from my sleep, and it has only gotten worse since they struck the recycling plant," Shayef al-Asri said – By Noah Browning
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-garbage-idUSKBN1421HF
13.12.2016 – Business Insider (**B K)
'It's really raw, stripped down death': New stunning documentary shows the secret drone war at ground level
A new documentary, "National Bird," exposes the secret drone war being carried out in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere from the ground level of the strike and from the perspective of three military operators who used to pull the trigger.
"When you watch someone in those dying moments, what their reaction is, how they’re reacting and what they’re doing," Heather Linebaugh, a former drone imagery analyst, says in the film. "It’s so primitive. It’s really raw, stripped down, death."
"I can say the drone program is wrong because I don’t know how many people I’ve killed," Linebaugh says.
Linebaugh and two others, introduced only by their first names Daniel and Lisa, tell equally compelling stories from their time in the military's drone program. The film gives them a chance to shine a light on what is a highly secretive program, which officials often describe as offering near-surgical precision against terrorists that may someday do harm to US interests.
Instead, the three offer pointed critiques to that narrative, sharing poignant details of deaths they witnessed through their sophisticated cameras and sensors. The most disturbing thing about being involved with the drone program, Daniel said, was the lack of clarity about whom he killed and whether they were civilians.
"There’s no way of knowing," he says.
Though the testimony of the three operators is compelling, the documentary's most important moments come from a visit to Afghanistan, where the documentary showcases a family that was wrongly targeted by a strike. It was on February 21, 2010, when three vehicles carrying more than two-dozen civilians were hit by an Air Force drone crew.
"That's when we heard the sound of a plane but we couldn't see it," one victim says.
The operators never got positive identification of the people below having weapons.
That's because the group consisted only of innocent men, women, and children, according to the documentary. Twenty-three Afghan civilians were killed, including two children aged seven and four.
"We thought they would stop when they saw women, but they just kept bombing us," the mother of the children says.
The documentary cuts through the defense of drones as a "surgical" weapon that only kills the bad guys. As many reports have made clear, the US often doesn't know exactly who it is killing in a drone strike, instead hazarding an "imperfect guess," according to The New York Times, which is sometimes based merely on a location or suspicious behavior. As Daniel points out in the documentary, the presence of drones on the battlefield has only emboldened commanders, who no longer have to risk military personnel in raids and can fire a missile instead. That viewpoint only seems to be growing, as the technology gets better and drones continue to proliferate around the world – by Paul Szoldra
http://www.businessinsider.de/national-bird-documentary2016-12?r=US&IR=T
and
12.2.2016 – National Bird (** B K)
National Bird follows the dramatic journey of three whistleblowers who are determined to break the silence around one of the most controversial current affairs issues of our time: the secret U.S. drone war. At the center of the film are three U.S. military veterans. Plagued by guilt over participating in the killing of faceless people in foreign countries, they decide to speak out publicly, despite the possible consequences.
Their stories take dramatic turns, leading one of the protagonists to Afghanistan where she learns about a horrendous incident. But her journey also gives hope for peace and redemption. National Bird gives rare insight into the U.S. drone program through the eyes of veterans and survivors, connecting their stories as never seen before in a documentary. Its images haunt the audience and bring a faraway issue close to home. (with film, trailer)
11.11.2016 – Jamestown Foundation (** B K)
An Unwinnable War: The Houthis, Saudi Arabia and the Future of Yemen
Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 22
Saudi Arabia and its allies are engaged in an unwinnable war in Yemen
With little or no progress to show for nearly two years of war, Saudi Arabia is employing increasingly brutal tactics.
The Houthis, or Ansar Allah, is an organization forged by years of war in some of the most rugged terrain on the planet. Since their first war with the Yemeni government in 2004, Houthi fighters have proved themselves to be the masters of the mountains and canyons in which they fight. The Houthis’ mastery of irregular warfare enabled them to survive and evolve from a small parochial organization to one that was able to move out of the mountains and seize large parts of Yemen in 2014.
It was a combination of the Houthis’ fighting acumen and the organization’s early reputation for being relatively meritocratic and uncorrupt that allowed it to rapidly fill the power vacuum that developed after the 2011 popular uprising against the Saleh government.
Saudi Arabia’s Strategy
As a Zaidi Shia organization, the Houthis’ rise to power set off alarm bells in Saudi Arabia, which views them as proxies for Iran. In fact, Iran has little influence over the Houthis, who have repeatedly disregarded Iran’s advice, including Iran’s warning against seizing the Yemeni capital.
The Houthis’ disregard for Yemen’s internationally recognized but unpopular government and their push south in 2015 helped trigger the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen (Yemen Times, March 2015).
While the aerial campaign is low risk – the Houthis and those Yemeni Army units fighting with them no longer have functioning air defense systems – it is also ineffective. The Houthis have a great deal of experience fighting whilst under the threat of aerial bombardment.
The sanctions and naval blockade have also proved ineffective at impeding the Houthis access to materiel. The sanctions are having a severe impact, increasing malnutrition and putting further pressure on an already dilapidated healthcare system.
In an attempt to increase the efficacy of the campaign against the Houthis, Saudi Arabia and its partners – primarily the UAE – are focusing more attention on using local proxies. However, this is likely to prove as ineffective as the other two parts of their strategy.
Fickle Allies
Yemen’s socio-political landscape is much like its terrain: complex, rugged and treacherous, even for those who know how to navigate it.
Systems of loyalty and patronage in Yemen remain byzantine and fundamentally local. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have spent months training and equipping militias to fight on behalf of Yemen’s unpopular president-in-exile, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi (Emirates News Agency, November 2015). Much of their effort has focused on recruiting tribesmen from the perennially fractious but strategic and resource rich governorate of Marib, located in central Yemen (The National, November 2015). Despite being relatively well armed and well provisioned, these “pro-Hadi” militias have made little or no progress against the Houthis and those tribes allied with them.
The inability of pro-Hadi forces and Saudi-backed militias to launch a sustained ground offensive is no doubt due in part to their unreliability and the mixed motives of some of their leadership.
AQAP: Feeding the Wolf at the Door
Before the start of Operation Decisive Storm, AQAP was an organization that was on the ropes financially and strategically.
AQAP is now a part of what can broadly be called anti-Houthi forces (The New Arab, February 23).
Stalemate
Saudi Arabia and its partners are engaged in a war that has no clear strategy for achieving its objectives of forcing the Houthis to retreat and reinstalling a pro-Saudi government. Reliance on fickle allies and on dangerous militant Salafi groups to fight the Houthis will not enable Saudi Arabia to achieve its objectives.
A ground assault by Saudi Arabia and UAE forces remains highly unlikely and would no doubt prove calamitous for both nations. Thus, Saudi Arabia seems set to continue its costly but futile aerial campaign, while continuing to arm a disparate mix of tribal militias that are incapable and largely unwilling to take on the Houthis and their allies.
Looking Back to Look Forward
Saudi Arabia’s three-pronged strategy will not defeat the Houthis and their allies, it will only further impoverish the millions of Yemenis who now have no jobs, no access to health care and who are increasingly food insecure.
Just as in Yemen’s last civil war, neither side in the current conflict will be able to defeat the other—even with outside support. The only solution is to restart Yemeni driven negotiations. The alternative is years of low-level conflict that will spread beyond Yemen’s borders and negatively impact regional stability and security – by Michael Horton
https://jamestown.org/program/unwinnable-war-houthis-saudi-arabia-future-yemen/
cp2 Allgemein / General
15.12.2016 – ZDF (* B H)
Krieg und Leid wüten im Jemen. Millionen Menschen sind akut vom Hunger bedroht. Vor allem die Kinder sind in Lebensgefahr. Doch die Welt schaut weg.
Nahezu unbeachtet von der Welt spielt sich Helfern zufolge im Jemen eine humanitäre Tragödie ab. "Fast 19 Millionen Menschen sind inzwischen auf humanitäre Hilfe, also Nahrungsmittel, eine Unterkunft oder auch medizinische Versorgung, angewiesen", sagte die Geschäftsführerin der Aktion Deutschland hilft, Manuela Roßbach. "Das entspricht einem Viertel der deutschen Bevölkerung."
Davon litten mehr als sieben Millionen Menschen akuten Hunger. Roßbach zufolge sterben Kinder aufgrund von Mangelernährung.
Es ist ein stilles Sterben ohne einen Ausweg. Wenn die Kinder nicht durch Bomben getötet werden, sterben sie an Unterernährung", sagte Roßbach (mit Film; Film der BBc, auf Englisch schon früher verlinkt)
http://www.heute.de/krieg-und-leid-jemen-millionen-hungern-46117828.html
Mein Kommentar: Wie glaubwürdig ist hier ein Sender, dessen Nachrichtensendungen außenpolitisch weitgehend US-Propaganda sind (Schöne Grüße, Herr Kleber).
15.12.2016 – World Politics Online (not rated B H P)
No Respite for the Victims of Yemen’s ‘Forgotten War’
As aid agencies once again raise the specter of famine in the Arab world’s poorest country, the prospects for a U.N.-brokered peace deal remain distant. The internationally recognized government, which was pushed out of the capital, Sanaa, by the Houthis in 2014, has flatly rejected the U.N.’s latest proposal, while the rebels late last month announced the formation of a new government. ... – by Peter Salisbury [subscribers only]
15.12.2016 – Democracy Now (** B H K)
Journalist Iona Craig: The U.S. Could Stop Refueling Saudis & End Devastating War in Yemen Tomorrow
We speak with award-winning journalist Iona Craig. She was based in Sana’a from 2010 to 2015 as the Yemen correspondent for The Times of London.
This is a combination of the humanitarian situation in Yemen of malnutrition as well as access to medical care. So, this is from preventable diseases. And in the process of the conflict, you’ve got the issue over the blockade of the Saudis preventing food coming into the country, when Yemen relies on imports for 90 percent of its food. And then, to add to that, it’s the situation of the medical facilities in Yemen. Fifty-eight hospitals—more than 58 hospitals now have been bombed by the coalition airstrikes, and people just do not have access to medical care in a way that they did before the war. And also, you know, just the expense and the access of getting to places and getting people to hospitals and facilities has been, you know, severely affected by the conflict. So, this is preventable diseases and malnutrition combined. It’s creating a devastating situation for the children in Yemen right now.
The reason the Saudis put their blockade in place in the first place was, they said, to prevent weapons, particularly from, they said, Iran going in to the Houthis, who they’re currently fighting, and the forces of Ali Abdullah Saleh. Now, that blockade has been eased somewhat, and now the U.N. is responsible for boats getting into particularly the northern areas, the most populated areas, of Yemen. But the problem was, on top of that, even once those boats were being allowed in, the coalition then bombed the port of Hudaydah, which they hit directly the cranes that are needed to offload food into the port. So it now takes a huge amount of time to get the food offloaded, and it means only specific boats with their own cranes on board can get that food off.
Add to that a decision made by the Yemeni government in exile, who are currently in Riyadh, and President Hadi. They made a decision to move the Central Bank of Yemen, that had tried to remain neutral through the conflict, which had been, obviously, in the capital, Sana’a, which was under Houthi control. He took a unilateral decision in September then to move the Central Bank of Yemen without any planning whatsoever. The Central Bank is crucial to underwriting the imports of food into the country by private companies. And it means they’re not able to do that now. So you’re looking at the prospect of basically wheat supplies running out at the end of January, without any imports being able to come in. So, in the next few weeks and, certainly, months, it doesn’t look like the Central Bank is going to be able to get this system up and running until probably the spring—March, April time, at best. It basically freezes the ability of private companies then to be importing food into Yemen. So the situation is only going to get worse now in the next three months.
But with the comparison with Syria, the humanitarian situation in Yemen is worse. It’s far worse, because it’s the poorest country in the Middle East, and there was already an issue over malnutrition in Yemen before the war. And there was just no capacity to cope with any kind of restriction in food imports, as I’ve already mentioned. And there is no—there is no sort of middle class, where people have disposable income in order to be able to pay to get themselves out of the country, which, in the case of Yemen now, it’s pretty much become an island. Even fishermen have been bombed in their boats off the coasts, which kind of rules out the option of going across the sea to get out of the country. And then the border is with Saudi Arabia, obviously, and that’s sort of running the gauntlet if people are wanting to escape. So, the humanitarian situation in Yemen is very much cut off from the rest of the world in that respect. And there was no capacity within the country of people being able to have a coping mechanism to deal with that
The claims of a Iranian involvement in Yemen, for many years, have been really hard to find evidence of on the ground in Yemen. And I think it’s very much overblown. There’s a huge amount of paranoia in Riyadh about this. Certainly, the Houthis are politically aligned to Iran, but there isn’t the kind of involvement that you see, you know, in Syria in places. There are not Iranian forces on the ground in Yemen. There has been more recent evidence again, in the last few weeks, of a trail of the weapons perhaps coming from Iran and serial numbers popping up on the ground then in the ground war. But, actually, you know, there are probably as many American weapons involved with—in the Houthis’ hands, because much of the military remained loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, and, of course, the Americans have been providing military support to Ali Abdullah Saleh for many years, before the war even started.
https://www.democracynow.org/2016/12/15/journalist_iona_craig_the_us_could and interview in film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU87NdK8YRY
15.12.2016 – Mondo Weiss (* B H K)
Starving Yemeni children, bloated US weaponsmakers
The Yemen crisis should also serve as a prime moment for the U.S. government to reconsider its alliance with the Saudi regime. Ever since the founding of the kingdom in 1932, US administrations have allied themselves with a government that beheads non-violent dissidents, forces women to live under the dictates of male guardians, treats foreign workers like indentured servants, and spreads the intolerant Wahhabi version of Islam around the world. Today, Saudi Arabia is also a regime that funds Al Qaeda affiliates in Syria and Iraq, crushes democratic uprisings in neighboring countries like Bahrain, and is waging a catastrophic war in Yemen.
Despite the repressive nature of the Saudi regime, US governments have not only supported the Saudis on the diplomatic front but militarily. Under the Obama administration, this has translated into massive weapons sales of $115 billion. While Yemeni children are starving in large part because of Saudi bombings, US weapons makers, including General Dynamics, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin, are making a killing on the sales.
It’s clear why U.S. weapons makers want to keep selling weapons to the Saudi regime. For them, it is all about profits. But the US Congress should take a moral stance. Selling weapons to a repressive regime should never be allowed. And today, when these weapons are leading to the death of a Yemeni child every ten minutes, the sales are simply unconscionable. The time to stop them is now – by Medea Benjamin
http://www.alternet.org/world/tragedy-unfolds-yemen-aided-us-funded-saudi-weapons = http://mondoweiss.net/2016/12/starving-children-weaponsmakers/
Remark: Overview article.
15.12.2016 – Netzfrauen (* B K)
Jemen: Bomben made in USA bei gesetzeswidrigen Luftangriffen eingesetzt
Die von Saudi Arabien geführte Koalition tötete mehrere Dutzend Zivilisten in drei offensichtlich gesetzeswidrigen Luftangriffen im September und im Oktober 2016. Dies gab Human Rights Watch heute bekannt. bei zwei dieser Angriffe verwendete sie Waffen, die in den USA hergestellt wurden, darunter auch eine Bombe, die nach Saudi Arabien geliefert worden war. Dieser Tatbestand bringt die USA in Gefahr, mit an diesen gesetzeswidrigen Luftangriffen beteiligt zu sein. Und er unterstreicht einmal mehr, wie dringend es ist, dass ausländische Regierungen alle Waffenlieferungen an Saudi Arabien einstellen und dass die Menschenrechtsgruppe der UNO zusätzliches Personal in den Jemen schickt, um zuverlässige Nachforschungen über angeblichen Missbrauch, die Huthi und ihre Verbündete und alle anderen Parteien des Konflikts anzustellen, so Human Rights Watch. […]
Seit dem Beginn des von Saudi Arabien geführten Feldzugs im März 2015 hat Human Rights Watch Überbleibsel von in den USA hergestellten Waffen an 23 Stellen gefunden, die zuvor offensichtlich gesetzeswidrig von der Koalition aus der Luft angegriffen worden waren. Bei 12 von ihnen war auch Streumunition eingesetzt worden.
[…] Sie bestätigten den Verkauf von militärischen Verkäufen von mehr als 20 Milliarden US-$ nach Saudi Arabien allein im Jahr 2015 […]
Darunter befanden sich auch Waffen, die die im Jemen benutzen ersetzten.
Fundorte dieser US-Waffen-Überbleibsel im Jemen waren:
Die von den Saudis geführte Koalition hat wiederholt Waffen made in USA bei Angriffen verwendet, darunter bei Angriff auf den Markt von Mastaba am 15, März, bei dem 97 Zivilisten starben, und beim Angriff auf die Leichenhalle in der Hauptstadt Sanaa, die dem wenigstens 100 Menschen starben und mehr als 500 verletzt wurden. Beide Angriffe werden als Kriegsverbrechen angesehen.
Die fortgesetzten Waffenlieferungen der USA nach Saudi Arabien könnten angesichts all dieser Attacken die USA zu einem Mitkomplizen bei einigen der Aktionen im Jemen machen.
Beide Kriegsparteien haben keinerlei Untersuchungen der Luftangriffe angekündigt.
Das Team der saudischen Seite JIAT (Joint Investigation Assessment Team) untersuchte zwar anfänglich den Anschlag auf die Leichenhalle vom 8. Oktober, jedoch erfüllen seine Untersuchungen nicht international gültige Standards für verlässliche und glaubwürdige Untersuchungen von Kriegsverbrechen, so Human Rights Watch.
Im September drängte der UNO-Menschenrechtsrat die UNO-Menschenrechtsbehörde, weitere Experten für intensivere Untersuchungen von Missbräuchen aller Seiten abzustellen und deren Ergebnisse zu öffentlich zu berichten. Die drei berichteten Angriffe zeigen die Notwendigkeit einer solchen Aktion auf.
Im folgenden Teil des Berichts ergibt sich aus den Gesprächen von Human-Rights-Watch-Aktivisten mit Betroffenen, dass sich in den Bereichen der Luftangriffe keinerlei direkte militärische Ziele befunden hätten.
https://netzfrauen.org/2016/12/15/yemen/
Bemerkung: Vorstellung des ausführlichen HRW-Berichts jetzt auf Deutsch.
14.12.2016 – Telepolis (* B K)
Saudi-Arabien: "Triumph der Barbarei"?
Der Krieg des KSA im Jemen: Aushungern der Bevölkerung, akut unterernährte Kinder und das Erstarken von Dschihadisten in der Region. Wie sieht es mit der Verantwortung des Westens aus?
Zu welchen Konsequenzen sind westliche Länder gegenüber Saudi-Arabien bereit? Sanktionen? Wie es mit dem politischen Willen bestellt, ernsthaft Druck auf das Königreich auszuüben? Die Beweislage für eine mörderische Politik des Landes ist erdrückend. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass der Krieg, den das Land im Jemen führt, Folgen hat, die nicht nur die Region betreffen, ist groß.
Ungefähr 2,2 Millionen Kinder im Jemen sind unterernährt und benötigen dringende Hilfe, informierte Unicef Anfang dieser Woche. Mindestens 462.000 Kinder leiden unter "schwerer akuter Mangelernährung". Probleme mit Armut, Hunger und der medizinischen Versorgung gab es im Jemen schon vor der militärischen Intervention Saudi-Arabiens und der Koalition, aber seither hat sich die Lage deutlich verschlimmert.
Jemen importiert 90 Prozent der Nahrungsmittel und medizinischer Güter. Die Blockade der Häfen, die Saudi-Arabien und die Koalition verhängt haben, könnte nach Ansicht von Human Rights Watch dem Kriegsverbrechen des Aushungerns der Zivilbevölkerung gleichkommen.
Auch andere Organisationen wie Ärzte ohne Grenzen erheben schwere Vorwürfe gegen Saudi-Arabien, die mit Einfuhrsperren von notwendiger medizinischer Versorgung zu tun haben. Die Stellungnahme der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Koalition wehrte sich im Sommer gegen diese Vorwürfe: Man praktiziere weder einen Belagerungszustand noch einen wirtschaftlichen Boykott, sondern achte lediglich auf die Umsetzung einer UN-Resolution, was den Waffenhandel betrifft. Die Streitkräfte würden jedes Hilfsschiff durchlassen, behauptet die Koalition.
Das Problem der unterschiedlichen Perspektiven, das im Syrien-Konflikt deutlich wurde, rät zur Distanz gegenüber einer ungeprüften Übernahme der Vorwürfe sowie der rechtfertigenden Statements. Ein Unterschied springt allerdings ins Auge: Die Kritik an der syrische Regierung ist sehr viel empörter, lauter, dringender, massiver als die am Krieg des KSA (Königreich Saudi-Arabien) im Jemen, das weit entfernt von den EU-Außengrenzen liegt (vgl. dazu Nach Syrien wird Jemen zum weiteren Brennpunkt der Kriegsgefahr)
Es gibt noch weitere und härtere Vorwürfe, die darauf hinaus laufen, dass das KSA für die eingangs geschilderte Unterernährung mitverantwortlich ist. Saudi-Arabien würde gezielt und systematisch landwirtschaftliche und andere Nahrungsproduktionsstätten bombardieren, war Ende Oktober im US-Magazin Salon.com zu lesen.
Dazu kommen Angriffe auf die Infrastruktur des Landes. Nur wenige Teile des Landes seien von der Zerstörung von Brücken, Straßen, Schulen und Krankenhäusern verschont geblieben, konstatiert ein Artikel in der US-Zeitschrift National Interest.
Dessen Autor, ein ehemaliger Mitarbeiter der Jamestown Foundation und Jane's Intelligence Review, warnt vor einem größeren Boomerang-Effekt der saudischen Kriegsführung im Jemen – von Thomas Pany
https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Saudi-Arabien-Triumph-der-Barbarei-3570267.html
14.12.2016 – Change.org (* A P)
Canada Must Stop Supporting And Arming Saudi Arabia
The Government of Canada should stop selling all weapons to Saudi Arabia immediately. Saudi Arabia has the worst human rights record in the world and it is also involved in the ongoing conflict in Yemen in which hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed and injured. The UN had blacklisted the Saudi Arabia led coalition for killing children in Yemen air strikes, which under Saudi pressure on the UN since has been removed. It has targeted and bombed funeral homes, markets, schools and hospitals which should not be labeled anything less of war crimes. According to UNICEF one child dies in Yemen every ten minutes and at least 462,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with 2.2m in need of urgent care due to this coflict. At home, The Saudi regime has arrested, tortured and sentenceld to death pro democracy protestor's who dare stand up and demand equal rights https://www.change.org/p/prime-minister-of-canada-justin-trudeau-stop-arming-saudi-arabia?recruiter=539859014
14.12.2016 – Change.org (* A P)
Suspend Saudi Arabia From UN Human Rights Council
Saudi Arabia must be suspended from the United Nations Human Rights Council Immediately. Saudi Arabia was re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council on October 28th 2016. The UNHRC job is to promote/protect human rights and address issues of human rights violations across the globe, among other important tasks. How can Saudi Arabia with its appalling records of human rights violations be on the UNHRC?
Saudi Arabia uses its membership on the UNHRC to cover up it own human rights abuses by preventing investigations and inquires. Despite being a member of the UNHRC since 2014 its human rights violations have not improved It has executed more citizens, it has crushed all forms of dissent. Some others of Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses consist of beheading its citizens for peaceful protest, imprisoning peaceful human rights activist, flogging blogger, stoning and flogging children, executing minors, giving the death penalty for nonviolent offenses, oppressing/ discrimination against religious minorities, oppressive laws against women (male guardianship laws), torture, arbitrary detention, extracting “confessions” while torturing its own citizens, sentencing a protestors to be beheaded and then publicly crucifying his body. The list goes on.
If its horrendous human rights abuses at home isn’t enough to suspend Saud Arabia from the UNHRC Saudi Arabia is accused of targeting and killing innocent civilians in the ongoing 19-month long conflict in Yemen.
14.12.2016 – AFP (A P)
Huthi-Regierungschef im Jemen wirft Großbritannien Kriegsverbrechen vor
Der von den Huthi-Rebellen eingesetzte Regierungschef im Jemen, Abdel Asis bin Habtur, hat Großbritannien wegen Rüstungslieferungen an Saudi-Arabien Kriegsverbrechen vorgeworfen. Die Briten hätten Streubomben an Saudi-Arabien geliefert, die gemäß einer internationalen Konvention geächtet sind, sagte Bin Habtur dem Sender Sky News. "Ich denke nicht, dass sie sich der Kriegsverbrechen schuldig gemacht haben, ich bin überzeugt davon", fügte der Regierungschef der Rebellen hinzu. Schließlich wisse die Regierung in London, dass Saudi-Arabien die Streubomben über dem Jemen abwerfe.Die konservative Regierungschefin May sagte in der Fragestunde des Unterhauses, Großbritannien sei bei den Rüstungsexporten "sehr strikt". Erst in jüngster Zeit habe die Regierung Ausfuhrgenehmigungen für Waffen, einschließlich für den Jemen und Saudi-Arabien, verweigert. Wenn es Anschuldigungen wegen Verletzung des humanitären Völkerrechts gebe, müssten diese "angemessen untersucht" werden.
Die Premierministerin führte zugleich aus, dass Saudi-Arabien ein "wichtiger" Verbündeter im Bereich der nationalen Sicherheit sei. Aus Saudi-Arabien stammende Informationen hätten mutmaßlich zur "Rettung hunderter Leben" im Vereinigten Königreich beigetragen.
Der saudiarabische König Salman sagte, sein Land werde zu verhindern wissen, dass der Jemen zu einem "Stützpunkt" oder einer Brücke werde für Kräfte, die darauf aus seien, die Sicherheit des Königreichs oder der Region zu erschüttern. Damit spielte er auf den Iran und die libanesische Hisbollah an, ohne deren Namen ausdrücklich zu erwähnen.
Vergangene Woche hatte der konservative britische Außenminister und ehemalige Londoner Bürgermeister, Boris Johnson, Saudi-Arabien und dem Iran vorgeworfen, "Stellvertreter-Kriege" im Nahen Osten zu führen. Das Außenministerium in London versicherte danach umgehend, dass Großbritannien ein enger Verbündeter Saudi-Arabiens sei.
http://www.donaukurier.de/nachrichten/topnews/Jemen-Grossbritannien-Saudi-Arabien-Konflikte-Ruestung-Huthi-Regierungschef-im-Jemen-wirft-Grossbritannien-Kriegsverbrechen-vor;art154776,3302424 = http://www.n-tv.de/ticker/Huthi-Regierung-kritisiert-britische-Waffenlieferung-an-Saudis-article19329081.html
Bemerkung: Ausführlicher zu den einzelnen Themen auf Englisch, in den verschiedenen cp.
14.12.2016 – The Ferret (* B K)
Raytheon linked to another alleged war crime in Yemen – 31 dead
A US arms giant with a factory in Fife producing laser guided systems for smart bombs has been linked to another alleged war crime in Yemen.
A new report by Human Rights Watch says that an airstrike in September that killed at least 31 civilians, including three children, was unlawful.
The attack is the latest controversial bombing in Yemen’s war, adding to the dozens of war crime allegations made against Arab military forces backed and armed by the UK.
The UK has been supplying a Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels with Paveway IV missiles produced by US arms firm Raytheon at its factory in Glenrothes. Despite many allegations that hospitals and schools have been bombed by the coalition the UK Government has repeatedly refused to suspend arms sales to the Saudis.
The new report by HRW said coalition warplanes killed several dozen civilians in three apparently unlawful airstrikes in September and October 2016.
Just before dawn on September 10, coalition planes bombed a water drilling rig near Beit Saadan village in Arhab district, around 18 miles north of Sanaa. Multiple strikes that morning killed at least 31 civilians and wounded 42 others.
Yehia Abdullah, a 34-year-old teacher, lost his brother in the first strike on Ahrab. He said: “I saw five bodies including my brother Muhamad. First I found my brother’s severed leg outside the [workers’ shelter], about six meters, his arm on the door … and half his body buried in the ruins.”
War crimes investigators who visited the site found remnants of two US-made GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided 500-pound bombs. Human Rights Watch said part of the guidance system was produced by Raytheon in the US in October 2015, according to markings on a bomb fragment.
Earlier this year, we revealed that fragments of a bomb found at the scene of another alleged war crime in Yemen linked to Raytheon in Scotland. A code – 15090-2271709-3 MFR U07GO – engraved on the fragment revealed it was made by Raytheon and a sub-contractor called Border Precision, a firm based in Kelso before it closed down last summer.
HRW said: “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.”
[and more on the Yemen war in general] – by Billy Briggs
https://theferret.scot/raytheon-linked-to-another-alleged-war-crime-in-yemen-31-civilians-dead/
14.12.2016 – Aljazeera / AFP (* A P)
Saudi king challenges foreign 'menace' in Yemen
King Salman says his kingdom will not tolerate any external "interference" in war-torn neighbouring Yemen.
King Salman of Saudi Arabia has warned against external "interference in the internal affairs" of neighbouring war-torn Yemen.
The monarch also said on Wednesday his country would never accept that Yemen "becomes a base or a point of passage for whatever state or party to menace the security or the stability of the kingdom and of the region".
Salman did not explicitly refer to the kingdom's regional rival Iran, but Saudi officials have accused Tehran and the Lebanese Shia armed group Hezbollah of aiding Houthi rebels in Yemen.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/saudi-king-challenges-foreign-menace-yemen-161214153316601.html and http://guardian.ng/news/saudi-rejects-interference-in-yemen/
My comment: Can you imagine more “external interference in the internal affairs" of Yemen than the Saudi air war? – And he openly claims that Yemen must be a Saudi backyard in which the Saudis determine who has influence there and who not. “Yemen to the Yemenis” is not that what he wants.
Comment by Judith Brown: This man does have dementia so maybe we should forgive his crass statements. The one country that is interfering in Yemen is...you've got it! Saudi Arabia. He rules it. Just get out of Yemen pronto. And pay for all the damage you've done.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155013395443641
Comment to comment: Well, he told what they told him. There is a great teleprompter in front of him and he is reading from it.
14.12.2016 – Gulf News (* A P)
Riyadh will not allow Yemen to become base for any country — King Salman
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz has vowed to prevent other nations from intervening in neighbouring Yemen, where it has been at war with Iranian-backed rebels since March 2015.
The king said the security of neighbouring Yemen was the security of Saudi Arabia.
“We will not allow anyone to interfere in its domestic affairs or to seek to influence on the legitimacy there or to turn it into a base or corridor for any country or party that targets the security or stability of Saudi Arabia or the region. We do look forward to the success of the United Nations endeavours to reach a political solution based on Security resolution 2216,” King Salman said.
He added that the kingdom would confront anyone who promoted religious extremism or fanaticism and stressed that the country has devoted all its potential to consolidate security, protect the society and serve the two holy mosques.
My comment: “the kingdom would confront anyone who promoted religious extremism or fanaticism”: LOL, then they must confront themselves. And the two holy mosques he really can let away from his propaganda plot.
14.12.2016 – Press TV Iran (B K)
US, UK coordinate Saudi attacks in Yemen: Analyst
The US and the UK have been coordinating Saudi Arabia's attacks in Yemen which have killed at least 11,400 people since March 2015, says a political analyst.
Ralph Schoenman, former personal secretary of British philosopher Bertrand Russell, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV when asked about a report that Washington was halting its planned arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Schoenman said the decision “is a part of the continuing circumstance, in which the United States and the United Kingdom have been coordinating with the Saudi genocidal attacks upon the population in Yemen.”
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/12/14/497840/UK-US-Saudi-Arabia-Yemen-aggression
14.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Civilian death toll from US-backed Saudi air aggression against Sanaa rises to 2,184
Civilian death toll from US-backed Saudi brutal air aggression against Sanaa province since the beginning of the aggression in 2015 until November this year have reached 2,184, mostly women and children, director of health office of Sanaa province said in a statement to Saba.
The injured have reached to 1,703 until the same period, director Khaled al-Muntasir added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449583.htm
14.12.2016 – IMA Film (* B K P)
Film: Kim Sharif, exposes UK arms trade with Saudi Arabia during Kalima Horra show
Kim Sharif, Lawyer, Human Right Activist: Genocide, starvation, indiscriminate bombings, a blockade.
Please listen to Kim Sharif, Lawyer, Human Right Activist on the unlawful Saudis' war on #Yemen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oasWmutMo1A
14.12.2016 – The Current Analyst (* B K P)
Yemen: The Dark Stalemate
New balance of military conflict is frustrating the Saudi-led coalition and makes their positions unsustainable. Militarily speaking Yemen is locked in a deadly stalemate. Currently, the anti-Houthi campaign is on pause. Politically the gap is extensive, between the Houthi and the Saudi –led government, to expect a breakthrough. Diplomatically, no amount of pressure is expected as the US election pushes everything to the realm of the uncertain. I mean any peace deal, possibly yes, but probably no.
Meanwhile, the economic cost of the war for Saudi Arabia has become debilitating and the destruction it causes to Yemen is enormous even Western powers are tired with the Saudi-led coalition. Though the Americans understand that Yemen has become the latest proxy battleground in the sectarian struggle now playing out across the Middle East they are suggesting it did not have to be this way. This coupled with the uncertain positions of soon-to-be President Trump is making the Saudi’s realize that some sort of political settlement is a good option. But the Houthis don’t trust them and feel the stalemate works for them and might not be ready to be forced to a peace deal as before. Saudi friction with Egypt is also another factor.
But the rulers of Saudi Arabia and other Sunni states are feeling a profound defensiveness about Houthi defenses and Iranian power, which is on display every day in the wars in Yemen, Syria and Iraq. They desperately want to lay down a marker which is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. Besides the Houthis are fierce enemies of al-Qaeda’s Yemeni branch, which has long posed a threat to the Saudi regime. But the United States is supporting the Saudi campaign, thereby shredding the chances of an American entente with the Houthis. The conflict in Yemen can be defined a multi-pronged war. The only progress being UAEs selective counterinsurgency effort against AQAP one wonders why the Houthi’s would be still ostracized by the West.
Hence we are entering the beginning of a civil war that will deepen no matter how many bombs the Saudis would like to drop. It is also likely to make Yemen a greater threat to the rest of the world. But the real tragedy is that all this is happening in a country where shared traditions were always the rule, and sectarian differences meant almost nothing until recent years
My comment: Iran’s role is minor in this conflict.
13.12.2016 – Press TV Iran (* B K)
Film: Yemen's Ibb among cities heavily bombarded by Saudi jets
Most Yemeni cities, if not all, have been indiscriminately bombarded by Saudi warplanes. Press TV’s team has paid a visit to the city of Ibb, 30 kilometers to the north of Ta’izz Province, the epicenter of violent confrontations between Saudi-backed militants and Yemen’s army, backed by Ansarullah fighters.
http://presstv.com/Detail/2016/12/13/497731/Saudi-warplanes-Yemen-Ibb
12.12.2016 – Vox (* B K)
Film: The United States is helping Saudi Arabia bomb Yemen – and it's a disaster.
https://twitter.com/voxdotcom/status/808419919788314624
My comment: One thing is nonsense, the opposite would be true: That Saudi Arabia was a vital component in fighting terrorism. Just: no.
12.12.2016 – BBC (* A K)
Film (various trailers): Yemen at 'breaking point' as appeal launched
BBC Arabic's Nawal al-Maghafi is one of the first journalists to report from the rebel stronghold of Saada, in the north - one of the places hardest hit by the Saudi-led air campaign, which began in March, 2015.
You can watch the full Our World documentary "The Funeral Bombing" at 2130 Saturday and Sunday on the BBC News Channel, on BBC World News at these times and on the BBC iPlayer.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38297304 (trailer)and http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38324777 (trailer) and https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/808429023521107968 (trailer)
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
Siehe / Look at cp1
15.12.2016 – Mohammed Al-Qadhi (B E H)
Film: Economic disasters affecting small business owners in Taiz (Arabic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLHIimid10E
13.12.2016 – ORF (A H)
Unicef prangert katastrophale Unterernährung der Kinder im Jemen an
Fast 2,2 Millionen Kinder sind im kriegszerrütteten Jemen nach Angaben des Kinderhilfswerks UNICEF akut unterernährt und benötigen dringend Hilfe.
„Die Unterernährung im Jemen hat einen Höhepunkt erreicht und steigt weiter an“, teilte die UNICEF-Verantwortliche für den Jemen, Meritxell Relano, mit.
Noch nie sei der Gesundheitszustand der Kinder im ärmsten Land des Nahen Ostens so katastrophal gewesen wie heute. Etwa alle zehn Minuten sterbe ein Kind im Jemen durch vermeidbare Krankheiten wie Durchfall, Unterernährung oder Atemwegsinfekte, hieß es in der Mitteilung. Bereits vor der Eskalation des Bürgerkriegs im März vergangenen Jahres sei die Situation schlimm gewesen. Jetzt stehe das Gesundheitssystem kurz vor dem Kollaps.
http://science.orf.at/stories/2814409/
Mein Kommentar: Wie immer, auf Englisch schneller und besser: YPR 239.
13.12.2016 – Khalsa Aid (A H)
We have been funding food drops in Yemen with @monarelief since last year. Much more to do. Donate: http://www.khalsaaid.org/donate
https://twitter.com/Khalsa_Aid/status/808986697610514432
UK based @Khalsa_Aid has funded 1 MILLION MEALS in Yemen since last year thru our friends @monarelief ! Much more needs to be done
https://twitter.com/RaviSinghKA/status/809085722808426496
13.12.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A H)
@monarelief carried out4campaigns n Hodeidah since Sep feeding more than 2000 families.Our next project2feed 500 others will be soon (photos)
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/808819980955435008
Working n different cercumstances.The hope only is our guide to make ppl happy, thats 1 of value that we are at @monarelief proud of (photos)
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/808823380510212096
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/808821205373423617
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/808818266693140480
13.12.2016 – NTV (* B H)
Unicef: 2,2 Millionen Kinder sind unternährt
Nach Angaben des Kinderhilfswerks Unicef sind im kriegszerrütteten Jemen fast 2,2 Millionen Kinder akut unterernährt und benötigen dringend Hilfe. "Die Unterernährung im Jemen hat einen Höhepunkt erreicht und steigt weiter an", teilte die Unicef-Verantwortliche für den Jemen, Meritxell Relano, mit.
Noch nie sei der Gesundheitszustand der Kinder im ärmsten Land des Nahen Ostens so katastrophal gewesen wie heute. Etwa alle zehn Minuten sterbe ein Kind im Jemen durch vermeidbare Krankheiten wie Durchfall, Unterernährung oder Atemwegsinfekte, hieß es in der Mitteilung. Bereits vor der Eskalation des Bürgerkriegs im März vergangenen Jahres sei die Situation schlimm gewesen.
Jetzt stehe das Gesundheitssystem kurz vor dem Kollaps.
http://www.n-tv.de/ticker/Unicef-2-2-Millionen-Kinder-sind-unternaehrt-article19315721.html
Mein Kommentar: Der Kollaps ist doch längst da.
13.12.2016 – metro (* B H)
Seven million people are now starving to death in Yemen
Seven million people are on the brink of starvation in Yemen, after suffering the horrific effects of 20 months of civil war.
The Disasters Emergency Committee, a group of aid organisations which includes Oxfam, the British Red Cross and Islamic Relief, is warning people that conditions in the country are now so extreme that a major coordinated aid effort is required.
Before the war, Yemen imported around 90% of its food – so months of blockades and aerial bombardment have left people struggling to find their next meal.
And it’s not just food. Even basic medicines are scarce in the country, meaning that the threat of disease continues to grow, while the UN aid effort is hugely underfunded.
Saleh Saeed, DEC chief executive, said: ‘Now is the time to save lives in Yemen before it is too late.
‘Children face the greatest risk of starvation – almost half a million infants and young children need immediate treatment for malnutrition.
‘DEC members are already providing treatment for malnutrition, running mobile health teams, distributing emergency food and cash, but they need funds to reach more people.’
One Save the Children aid worker, Alice Klein, said she was ‘shocked’ by what she saw during a three-week trip to the country.
‘You went into any health centre or hospital and it was wall-to-wall with really desperate families with tiny babies,’ she said.
‘The babies and children were severely malnourished – as soon as the doctor began examining them and lifting up their clothes you could see all their ribs jutting out. They are quite low energy, they don’t have enough energy to cry, they just stare out blankly.’
Oxfam: ‘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 – by Ashitha Nagesh
http://metro.co.uk/2016/12/13/seven-million-people-are-now-starving-to-death-in-yemen-6319191/
12.12.2016 – Judith Brown (* A E H)
Photo: Poverty in Yemen in this war.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155004355978641
30.12.2016 – World Food Programme
Yemen Market Watch Report, Issue No. 7, November 2016
Prices of food and fuel commodities generally remained unchanged between October and November 2016, but continued to be significantly higher than the pre-crisis levels.
The cost of the minimum food basket slightly reduced in November, but 23% higher than the level during the pre-crisis period.
Despite improved availability of food commodities as result of better supply through informal cross-border overland imports, consumers’ demand reportedly declined due to lack of money to buy or diminished purchasing power.
According to Alert for Price Spikes (ALPS) methodology, in November 2016, normal situation prevailed for vegetable oil and red beans, while wheat flour was on alert status and sugar continued to be at crisis level. The ALPS indicator for the cost of the minimum food basket persistently maintained normal status.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-market-watch-report-issue-no-7-november-2016 and in full: http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/ena/wfp289352.pdf = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/wfp289352.pdf
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
15.12.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)
Yemen ministry of human rights Celebrated HR Day in ruined community hall NSanaa where US-backed Saudis dropped 3 bombs on 3,000 mourners (photos)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/809462405575114752c
15.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (* A K)
Houthis recruit 670 under 14 children in Dhamar governorate: human rights report
A report conducted by the Human Rights al Rasd Team in Dhamar governorate, central Yemen, reported that the Houthi group militants and the allied forces, loyals of former president Saleh, have recruited 670 children to fight in their ranks against the government forces.
The report pointed out that the children' ages do not exceed 14 years. "The Houthi rebels in Dhamar are recruiting children and send them to fight in the various fronts in an attempt to bridge the shortfall in their ranks, having lost most of their armed elements".
According to the report, the rebels have established four special camps to recruit, gather, and train the children before sending them to fight in the various governorates, most notably was a special camp established in Anis area of Jabal al Sharq district, western Dhamar.
The report pointed out that most of the recruited children have been killed, while the rest were either injured or disabled.
"Other children have suffered mental and psychological illnesses after returning from the fighting fronts".
Al Rasd Team human rights report added that most of the children recruitment cases are not reported by their parents, whose children go to the fighting fronts without their knowledge, because of the threats they receive from the Houthis if they report it.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87137
My comment: All sides in this war recruit children.
14.12.2016 – Husam Al-Sanabani (A P)
Qasim Laboza becomes the president of Supreme Plitical Council. SPC presidency is circulated every 4 months the between the members (photos)
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/809129576450428929
Read #Yemen contradictions & UN erroneous: 1-2 Coup Alsmad (Houthi, Northern) handed over presidency peacefully 2 Coup Laboz (GCP, Southern) (photos)
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/809146346879991808
14.12.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K P)
Yemen ambassador to Syria Honors lawyer Mohammed Bakar for filing lawsuit to International Criminal Court against US-backed Saudi war criminals (photo)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/809098319251308544 and http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449693.htm
14.12.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)
Yemen Houthi delegation inside Russian ministry of foreign affairs today for discussing development of bilateral relations (photo)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/809046313421639681
13.12.2016 – Entoone (* A P)
As promised, here is my table chart of New #Yemen's National Salvation Government (#NSG) cabinet led by prime minister Bin Habtour (image)
https://twitter.com/entooneyavin/status/808260094903218176
Comment by Judith Brown: This is the new government in the north - with members from the southern Hirak parties and some minor parties. Interesting.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155009021623641
13.12.2016 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)
Yemen Parliament invites new UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres2visit Yemen see what US-backed Saudi war criminals doing in name of UN(photo)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/808734544979525632 fcp16
13.12.2016 – Saba Net (A P)
SPC, Gov't honor council of acting ministers
The Supreme Political Council (SPC) and the national salvation government honored on Tuesday at the Presidential Palace in Sanaa the acting ministers council who ran the ministries since the start of the aggression.
President of the SPC Saleh al-Sammad affirmed that this honoring comes in recognition of the significant and extraordinary role done by the acting ministers in the Cabinet.
He pointed to their success in the management of the stage and institutions at high and strong level.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449516.htm
12.12.2016 – Khalid Ahmed Alradhi (A P)
That interview by Nawal Almaghafi with Saleh is most watched interview on BBC youtube n 3 days Brilliant journalism
https://twitter.com/alradhi_/status/808104391970619392
Remark: BBC unfortunately only in Arabic - an interview with ex President Saleh.
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
15.12.2016 – National Yemen (A E)
Yemen okays Queen Bilqis Airways Proposal
Airports in the Yemeni port cities of Aden and Riyan Mukalla have reopened to traffic following a near twelve-month closure brought on the ongoing Yemeni civil war.
This week, Yemenia (IY, Aden) operated Aden’s first commercial flight in six months following the airfield’s partial reopening in November of last year. Much of the airfield’s infrastructure has had to be rebuilt following heavy conflict in Yemen.
http://nationalyemen.com/2016/12/15/yemen-okays-queen-bilqis-airways-proposal/
13.12.2016 – Southern Hirak (* A T)
Bulletin South Yemen Counter Terrorism issue 6
12th December
Aden police Counter Terrorism Unit dismantled explosives found packed in a car in Mualla after being alerted by citizens.
9th December
Hadrami Elite forces dismantled an IED in Fuwa west of Mukalla, Hadramout found planted at May 22 roundabout near Al-Minassa square.
5th December
Aden Counter Terrorism Forces captured 8 members of an ISIS assassination cell in possession of handguns with suppressors
Hadramout elite forces carryout sting operation capturing 6 terrorists & seizing 5 tons of explosives
Hadrami Elite forces clashed with and arrested several AQAP militants during a raid of a home used for IEDs in Al-Shihr Hadramout.
Lahj security forces carried out a raid in Al-Houta arresting several militants; an ambush following the raid killed a soldier.
Dec. 1, Nov. 30, 29.
http://www.southernhirak.org/2016/12/bulletin-south-yemen-counter-terrorism.html?m=1
13.12.2016 – Reuters (* A T)
Eleven headless bodies found in Yemen
Eleven headless bodies have been dumped in a nature reserve in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden.
The Aden al-Ghad news website quoted a security source in the city as saying that the male bodies were found on Tuesday evening in the al-Hiswa reserve, west of Aden.
It was not immediately clear who killed the men and why, but Aden al-Ghad said the condition of the bodies suggested they had been dumped there more than a month ago.
Yemen's second largest city has been suffering from lawlessness, as armed groups including Islamic State and al Qaeda continue to maintain influence
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-bodies-idUSKBN1430FP = https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security-bodies-idUKKBN1430FS?il=0 and photo: https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/808944325518327812
13.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A T)
Mareb: a cell to bomb presidential palace and gatherings of soldiers captured
Chief of the Yemeni Army Moral Guidance, Mohsen Khasrof, said on Monday that the military authorities have arrested a cell plotting to plant improvised explosive devices and explosives in Marib governorate, east of the capital Sana'a.
In a statement to the Yemeni News Agency "SABA", Khasrof said that the cell was targeting the presidential palace and the government forces during their gathering to receive salaries.
He pointed out that the security guards of the Republican Palace in the city arrested the 4 members of the cell after they had sneaked into the main presidential residence gate.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87117
13.12.2016 – Terror Monitor (A T)
#IslamicState Assassinate A Security Officer Osama Khalid Haidra In #Aden (photos)
https://twitter.com/Terror_Monitor/status/808725932886278144
12.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A T)
Civilian killed, two wounded in explosive device explosion in al Baidha
A civilian was killed and two others wounded in an
explosive device explosion planted by unknown men on Sunday in Barat area of al Qurayshiah district, central of al Baidha governorate.
A local source told Almasdaronline that the explosive device exploded in the public road and hit the car of a person called Amer Abu Suraimah with his brother and cousin in the car.
The source added that Abu Suraimah died immediately in the blast while his brother and cousin were taken to a hospital in Rada'a city.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87095
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
15.12.2016 – Gulf News (A P)
Kuwait denies mediation for Yemen reconciliation
Kuwait has denied there was any mediation for reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Al Jarallah said that Kuwait was keen on a political settlement of the Yemeni crisis that would save lives and ensure the country’s stability and integral unity. However, the political solution remained elusive.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/kuwait-denies-mediation-for-yemen-reconciliation-1.1946802
15.12.2016 – TASS (A P)
Russia calls for urgent measures to achieve ceasefire in Yemen ― Foreign Ministry
Moscow calls for urgent measures on ensuring stable and durable ceasefire in Yemen, the Russian Foreign Minsitry said on Wednesday.
Earlier today Russian presidential envoy for Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met with the delegation of the Ansar Allah movement led by Mohamed Abdel Salam.
The sides discussed in detail prospects of settlement on the basis of the roadmap developed by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. "They also stressed importance of urgent measures on ensuring stable and durable ceasefire, improvement of humanitarian situation, as well as decisive fight against terrorist groups operating on the territory of Yemen," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
http://tass.com/politics/919455
3.5.2016 – New York Times (* A P)
U.N. Security Council Condemns Attacks on Health Workers in War Zones
On Tuesday, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to remind warring parties everywhere of the rules, demanding protection for those who provide health care and accountability for violators. The measure urged member states to conduct independent investigations and prosecute those found responsible for violations “in accordance with domestic and international law.”
But the resolution also raised an awkward question: Can the world’s most powerful countries be expected to enforce the rules when they and their allies are accused of flouting them?
Doctors Without Borders‘international president, Dr. Joanne Liu, seated at the Security Council’s horseshoe-shaped table, came the sharpest rebuke to the Council’s five permanent, veto-wielding members.
Without naming the countries, she criticized the United States — for having refused to submit the American attack in October on her organization’s hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, to an independent international inquiry — just as she scolded Russia for having denied that its warplanes had hit civilian targets in Syria – By SOMINI SENGUPTA
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/04/world/un-security-council-hospital-attacks.html?_r=0
My comment: A reminder. LOL.
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
15.12.2016 – Reuters (* A E P)
Exclusive: Cost of pump-at-will oil policy spurred Saudi OPEC U-turn
Saudi Arabia has long said it could produce as much as 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil if needed, but that pump-at-will claim - which would require huge capital spending to access spare capacity - has never been tested.
Sources say the kingdom may have stretched its current limits by extracting a record of around 10.7 million bpd this year, which could be one reason why Riyadh pushed so hard for a global deal to cut production.
Riyadh, the world's top oil exporter, felt the burn of cheap oil this year when crude was trading below $50 a barrel, as the reality of its costly war in Yemen and the task of shaking up its economy to create thousands of jobs began to sink in.
With tight resources, Saudi Arabia found itself weighing the prospect of investing billions of dollars to raise oil output further if it wanted to gain more market share under a strategy adopted in 2014.
Instead, cutting production amid a global glut and low prices to take the pressure off its oilfields, secure better reservoir management and save itself unnecessary expenses, seemed the perfect deal – By Rania El Gamal and Dmitry Zhdannikov
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-oil-capacity-exclusive-idUSKBN14417X
14.12.2016 – FAZ (* A P)
Saudi-Arabien: Frau nach Twitter-Foto ohne Kopftuch verhaftet
Weil eine Frau in Saudi-Arabien ein Bild von sich ohne Kopftuch und in moderner Kleidung auf Twitter gepostet hat, ist sie offenbar verhaftet worden. Vorher hatte sie Morddrohungen bekommen.
„Wir wollen Blut." „Töte sie und wirf ihre Leiche zu den Hunden." „Die geringste Strafe für sie ist eine Enthauptung." Mit solchen Äußerungen wurde eine Frau aus Saudi-Arabien konfrontiert, nachdem sie vergangenen Monat auf Twitter ein Bild von sich ohne Kopftuch und in moderner Kleidung gepostet hatte. Weil die Drohungen nicht aufhörten, musste sie ihren Twitter-Account schließlich löschen. Damit war der Fall für sie aber nicht erledigt. Laut einem Bericht der „Washington Post“ wurde sie am Montag in der Hauptstadt Riyadh wegen der „Verletzungen der allgemeinen Moral" verhaftet. Das bestätigte ein Sprecher der Polizei der Nachrichtenagentur AFP.
Alles hatte damit angefangen, dass die junge Frau ein Statement setzen wollte: In einem bunten Kleid, einer schwarzen Jacke und modernen Stiefeletten ging sie frühstücken – ohne Hijab (Kopftuch) auf dem Kopf und Abaya (ein langes Gewand) über dem Körper, wie es für Frauen in Saudi-Arabien eigentlich Pflicht ist. Vorher kündigte sie ihr Vorhaben auf Twitter an. Ihre Follower forderten sie auf, ein Foto davon zu machen. Als sie das gemacht hatte, kam die Hass-Lawine ins Rollen, es gab sogar ein spezielles Hashtag, mit dem vor allem Männer ihre Verhaftung forderten.
13.12.2016 – Ali AlAhmed (A P)
Sunni Muslims defy #Saudi Monarchy's ban on Prophet Mohamed's birthday & start singing his praise @ his mosque
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/808678658110029824 referring to https://twitter.com/bubkr/status/808636999292846080
My comment: Also this can be resistance against Wahabism.
13.12.2016 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (A P)
"ISIS in our hearts" a words written on the wall of female primary school in Al-Taif #Saudi Wahhabism is a movement from light to darkness (photo)
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/808588909118652416
12.12.2016 – The Independent (A P)
Saudi police arrest young woman for removing abaya
Woman had posted on Twitter that she would go out in public without her abaya to protest strict law requiring women to cover upSaudi police detained a young woman for violating modesty rules after she removed her abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robes women are required to wear, on a main street in the capital Riyadh, local media reported on Monday.
The Arabic-language al-Sharq newspaper reported that the woman was detained after a complaint was filed by the religious police – by Sami Aboudi
cp9 USA
13.12.2016 – Lilitschka (B K P)
Film: The results of Obama & Hillary's Interventionism: Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria #Aleppo Nation building at its finest!
https://twitter.com/lilysei/status/808807658950049792
13.12.2016 – ABC News (* A P)
Man Who Says Relatives Were Killed by US Drone Strike Heads to Federal Court
Faisal bin Ali Jaber, a Yemeni man who claims he lost members of his family in a U.S. drone strike, was set to attend a U.S. appellate court hearing today regarding the alleged incident in what could become a landmark case.
Jaber, an engineer, spoke to ABC News about the alleged drone strike, which he says took place on Aug. 29, 2012, in the village of Khashamir in Yemen, killing his brother-in-law Salem and his nephew Waleed. “I hated life. I felt that life wasn’t worth anything. I stopped being able to go to work," he said. "I saw no more meaning to life.”
Jaber, who is represented by Reprieve, an international human rights organization, is asking the court to declare that the strike was unlawful. Jaber says that his relatives were innocent victims of a drone strike whose target was three other men who had approached Salem for a meeting. Though he met with members of Congress and Obama administration officials in 2013, Jaber says they didn't offer an explanation or apology for the strike that killed his family members. He told ABC News that he now hopes to secure an apology from President Obama himself for the deaths.
The White House's National Security Council declined to comment on the ongoing case.
In February, a district court dismissed Jaber’s case against the United States, citing the “political question doctrine.” The court agreed with the defendants that courts are prevented from passing judgment on decisions made by other political branches of government, including the White House.
The court said that Jaber's case raised "non-justiciable political questions," ones that courts were "ill-equipped to answer.”
Jaber and his lawyers argue that the killing of Salem and Waleed violated international law. They replied to the decision by claiming that the political question doctrine isn't applicable in this instance because "the political branches do not have untrammeled discretion to commit war crimes."
Today's U.S. appellate hearing will be the first such case brought by an alleged civilian victim of the U.S. covert drone program – By MICHAEL EDISON HAYDEN and LENA MASRI
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/man-relatives-killed-us-drone-strike-heads-federal/story?id=44143339
12.12.2016 – RT (* A P)
„Der Wahnsinn muss enden“ – US-Abgeordnete bringen Gesetz gegen Terror-Finanzierung durch USA ein
Ebenso soll es mit dem "Stop Arming Terrorists Act" für illegal erklärt werden, jedwede dritte Partei zu unterstützen, die Terroristen fördert.
Die Gesetzesinitiative fordert unter anderem, dass jede nationale oder individuelle Zusammenarbeit mit al-Kaida, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (früher bekannt als al-Nusra-Front) oder dem "Islamischen Staat" von der US-Finanzierung abgeschnitten wird.
Konkret fordert die Legislative vom Direktor der Nationalen Geheimdienste auch die Zusammenstellung einer Liste spezifischer Individuen, Nationalstaaten und terroristischer Gruppen, die von dem Gesetz betroffen wären.
Tulsi Gabbard, Abgeordnete aus Hawaii, betonte:
Wenn Sie oder ich al-Kaida oder dem IS Geld, Waffen und Unterstützung zukommen lassen, würde man uns ins Gefängnis stecken. Doch die US-Regierung hat diese Grundsätze über Jahre hinweg ignoriert, indem sie heimlich Verbündete und Partner von al-Kaida, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, des IS und anderer Terror-Gruppen mit Geld, Waffen und geheimdienstlichen Erkenntnissen unterstützte, um den Umsturz in Syrien voranzutreiben.
https://deutsch.rt.com/nordamerika/44193-wahnsinn-muss-enden-us-gesetz-terrorismus/
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
15.12.2016 – Dr. Karim
Dr. Karim on Britain (see image)
If you want to know whose hands are bloody, just follow the money trail!
https://twitter.com/RSKarim1/status/809426108638695424
15.12.2016 – Die Welt (A P)
Ist Boris Johnson doch eine grandiose Fehlbesetzung?
Das jüngste Donnerwetter zwischen Außenamt und Downing Street löste eine Rede Johnsons aus, in der er den Iran und Saudi-Arabien der Stellvertreterkriege in Syrien beziehungsweise im Jemen bezichtigte. Was den Tatsachen entsprechen mag. Unglücklich nur, dass seine Regierungschefin nur Stunden zuvor aus Riad zurückgekehrt war, wo sie die Saudis als „unsere ältesten und verlässlichsten Verbündeten“ gepriesen hatte. Mays Sprecher ließ sofort verlauten, Johnsons Bemerkungen entsprächen nicht der Regierungslinie. Eine heftige öffentliche Klatsche.
Noch in der Nacht bekam Johnson eine Vorladung in die Downing Street zum Gespräch mit der Chefin. „Pfeif die Hunde zurück. Lass mich sein, wie ich bin“, soll der Außenminister dem Blatt „The Sun“ zufolge seine Premierministerin angefleht haben. So ist er, und er kann nicht anders – Von Stefanie Bolzen
Mein Kommentar: Johnson ist ohne Zweifel eine Fehlbesetzung. Als besonderen beleg dafür soll man aber doch bitte nicht gerade eine zutreffende Bemerkung anführen, die er in einem seiner wenigen lichten Momente getan hat. Die kritisierte Äußerung Johnsons war einmal etwas Richtiges; seine Regierungschefin, die ihn dafür kritisiert hat, ist dabei längst im „Postfaktischen“ angekommen.
15.12.2016 – The Guardian (A P)
Boris Johnson urged to call for release of activist who criticised Yemen war
US has already called for Bahrain to free Nabeel Rajab who faces up to 15 years in jail
More than 20 MPs from seven parties in the UK parliament have urged the British foreign secretary to echo US government calls for the release of the Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab.
Bahrain’s criminal court on Thursday postponed his trial to 28 December, when he is expected to be sentenced.
14.12.2016 – Equal Times (* B K P)
The UK’s involvement in the war in Yemen is verging on illegality
Last year was particularly profitable for the arms industry in the United Kingdom, the world’s second biggest exporter of arms. The sector is in rude health, thanks above all to increasing demand from its favourite client, Saudi Arabia, which is waging a bloody war in Yemen. Concretely, 30 per cent of the United Kingdom’s exports of planes, missiles and bombs go to this ally, with an 11 per cent increase in contracts in the first three months of 2015. A record.
“Riyadh is a key trading partner,” says George Joffé, a research fellow and professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge.
“The main answer as to why the United Kingdom supports the coalition is as simple as it is shameful: contracts”.
“The United Kingdom’s intervention in Yemen is absolutely illegal, even worse than in Iraq,” Kim Sharif, a British lawyer of Yemeni origin and founder of Human Rights for Yemen, told Equal Times.
In this case, “the difference is that the United Kingdom’s participation in the war in Yemen has not even been approved by parliament, it has been completely silenced. The Prime Minister and the cabinet must shoulder the consequences of a conflict in which it has become deeply involved”.
“It is essential that a detailed investigation into the bombing campaign against Saudi Arabia be carried out. If it violated international law, then those who let it happen should feel the full weight of the law,” Andrew Smith, a spokesperson for CATT, told Equal Times.
However, the British government is firmly opposed to an arms embargo against its ally, claiming there is no conclusive proof of human rights violations – by Cristina Belda Font
http://www.equaltimes.org/the-uk-s-involvement-in-the-war-in?lang=en#.WFJWm1ySn3F
14.12.2016 – Press TV Iran (* A P)
UK ignoring Saudi war crimes to sell weapons: Analyst
Ian Williams, a senior analyst with the Foreign Policy in Focus from New York, told Press TV’s Top 5 that the British officials do not care what Saudi Arabia is doing in Yemen, because “they like the money and the influence” that the Saudis give them.
Williams said that “especially with Brexit coming up, the British government is really eager to develop alternative markets. They (the British authorities) really want to sell weapons to the fundamentalist states in the [Persian] Gulf like Saudi Arabia.”
“Selling those weapons to Saudi Arabia allows Britain to maintain an arms industry that is disproportionately large compared to the size of the country and the economy,” he said on Wednesday.
Pointing to the British hypocrisy in dealing with Saudi war crimes in Yemen, he noted, “The weaponry that it (Riyadh) is using in Yemen and the tactics that it’s using in Yemen are exactly what the UK describe as war crime” when it comes to other countries.
He said, “It doesn’t matter they (the Saudis) have blood on their hands as long as they (the British) have money on their pockets.”
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/12/14/497882/Yemen-Britain-Saudi-Arabia-Cluster-Bomb-Williams
My comment: Simply true.
14.12.2016 – The Independent (* A P)
Theresa May refuses to follow US in ending bomb sales to Saudi Arabia
The Prime Minister has rejected a call for the UK to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia – following the US’s decision to restrict arms sales to the autocracy. “Civilians have suffered grievously with the bombing of hospitals, of schools, of markets. The UN believes 60 per cent of civilian casualties are caused by air strikes,” the SNP’s Westminster group leader Angus Robertson asked at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
“In the last 24 hours the United States has stopped the supply of precision guided munitions to Saudi Arabia to bomb Yemen. When will the UK follow suit?”
Ms May said the UK’s regime was “very strict”. “As the right honourable gentleman knows we do have a very strict regime of export licences in relation to weapons here in the United Kingdom,” she replied. “We exercise that very carefully and in recent years we have indeed refused export licences in relations to arms including to Yemen and Saudi Arabia.”
Mr Robertson, however, hit back: “The US government has just said, and I quote, that ‘systematic, endemic problems in Saudi Arabia’s targeting’ drove the US decision to halt a future weapons sale sale involving precision-guided munitions.
“The Saudis have UK-supplied precision guided Paveway IV missiles – they’re made in Scotland. The UK has licenced £3.3bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the bombing campaign. What will it take for the UK to adopt an ethical foreign policy when it comes to Yemen.”
Ms May said: “As the right honourable gentleman knows the intervention in Yemen is a UN-backed intervention. As I’ve said previously, where there are allegations international humanitarian law then we require those to be properly investigated.
“We do have a relationship with Saudi Arabia – the security of the Gulf is important to us. I would remind the RHG that the intelligence and counter-terrorism links we have with Saudi Arabia has saved potentially hundreds of lives here in the UK.” – by Jon Stone
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/saudi-arabia-arms-sales-us-uk-theresa-may-angus-robertson-snp-a7474206.html and by Herald Scotland: http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/14966671.PM_urged_by_Robertson_to_adopt_ethical_foreign_policy_on_Yemen_and_halt_precision_guided_arm_sales_to_Saudi_Arabia/?ref=fbshr and by Buzzfeed: https://www.buzzfeed.com/aishagani/theresa-may-says-the-uk-will-keep-selling-weapons-to-saudi-a and by RT: https://www.rt.com/uk/370249-us-arms-sales-saudi/
Comment by Judith Brown: Oh dear what will it take for our PM to obey her own laws - made by the Conservative Party? I will for the sake of the reader quote the law the government must In recent law changes in 2015, the government stated it will ‘not grant a licence if there is a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international law’. A clear risk. Now we have bombs - UK bombs - that hit a school, clearly shown on Sky TV. So why the reticence to follow the US lead? Thank you SNP for being so consistent on this issue.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155013409388641
14.10.2016 – BBC / Parliament (A P)
When will the UK stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia? asks Angus Robertson
SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson tells MPs that citizens in Yemen are suffering grievously from Saudi airstrikes.
He notes that in the last 24 hours the United States has stopped supply of some weapons to Yemen. When will the UK follow suit? he asks.
Theresa May says the UK has strict regime for export licenses and has, in the past, refused export licenses including to Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Angus Robertson replies that the UK has sold £3.3bn in arms to Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the bombing campaign. What will it take for the UK to adopt an ethical policy when it comes to Yemen? he asks.
Theresa May notes that the campaign in Yemen is a UN backed intervention and says that human rights breaches should be investigated.
She adds that Saudi intelligence has saved potentially hundreds of lives.
http://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-politics-parliaments-38314592?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=58513a44e4b055b7d25a8223%26When%20will%20the%20UK%20stop%20selling%20arms%20to%20Saudi%20Arabia%3F%20asks%20Angus%20Robertson%26&ns_fee=0#post_58513a44e4b055b7d25a8223 and film : https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/809014476804530176
My comment: PM May’s replies really are incredible. A) The Yemen air raids are by no means are “UN backed”. The UN just noticed them. B) The UK has blocked all efforts for an independent investigation C) The claim “Saudi intelligence has saved potentially hundreds of lives” must be quoted as rather ridiculous. – Oh, she meant British lives. Of course, Yemeni lives do not count for her.
14.12.2016 – Handelsblatt (* A P)
Großbritannien als Kriegsverbrecher?
In Jemen dauern die Luftangriffe und der Bürgerkrieg an. Das vereinigte Königreich soll laut Huthi-Rebellen Streubomben an Saudi-Arabien geliefert haben. Das britische Außenministerium will die Vorwürfe nun prüfen.
Der von den Huthi-Rebellen eingesetzte Regierungschef im Jemen, Abdel Asis bin Habtur, hat Großbritannien wegen Rüstungslieferungen an Saudi-Arabien Kriegsverbrechen vorgeworfen. Die Briten hätten Streubomben an Saudi-Arabien geliefert, die gemäß einer internationalen Konvention geächtet sind, sagte Bin Habtur am Dienstagabend dem Sender Sky News.
„Ich denke nicht, dass sie sich der Kriegsverbrechen schuldig gemacht haben, ich bin überzeugt davon“, fügte der Regierungschef der Rebellen hinzu. Schließlich wisse die Regierung in London, dass Saudi-Arabien die Streubomben über dem Jemen abwerfe. Das britische Außenministerium erklärte, es bemühe sich inständig um mehr Informationen zu den Vorwürfen.
Mein Kommentar: dass die Saudis britische Streubomben verwenden, haben keineswegs nur die Huthis festgestellt (s. cp1, 2).
13.12.2016 – The Independent (* A P)
Yemen's Prime Minister accuses UK of war crimes
'They are participating in the bombing of Yemen people,' says Yemeni Prime Minister Abdulaziz bin Habtour
The new Prime Minister of the rebel Houthi government in Yemen has accused the UK of war crimes.
It comes amid reported discoveries of Britain-made weapons in bombed parts of the country.
Prime Minister Abdulaziz bin Habtour claimed the UK Government cared more about making profits from arms sales than the humanitarian crisis enveloping his country.
Mr Habtour told Sky News: “They have sold cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia. They know the Saudis are going to drop them on Yemen [...] in Saadah and in Sana'a and other provinces.
"I don't think they are guilty of war crimes, I believe so. They are participating in the bombing of Yemen people."
Sky reported that a soldier had told them the army had found a number of UK-made cluster bombs and showed photos of British cluster bombs he said had been found in fields in the city, which have been shared widely locally – by May Bulman
Remark: Also look at cp1.
Comments by Judith Brown: Well this is a turn up for the books. A UK news media outlet has a heading saying 'Yemen Prime Minister' and means the PM of NORTH Yemen.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155008631143641
13.12.2016 – ITV (A P)
International Development Secretary Priti Patel: Yemen is the 'forgotten crisis'
Yemen has become the 'forgotten crisis' with more than 10 million people in need of aid because of the conflict in the country, according to the International Development Secretary Priti Patel.
She made the statement as the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched an appeal to help millions of people who are on the verge of starvation.
The organisation will broadcast its message on major TV channels including the BBC, ITV, Sky, Channel 4 and Channel 5 on Tuesday to raise funds.
Oxfam, the British Red Cross, Save The Children and Christian Aid are among the charities supporting the 'Yemen Crisis Appeal'.
DEC chief executive, Saleh Saeed, said it was time to act to save millions of people including starving children.
Ms Patel said Yemen "faces a humanitarian crisis that the international community cannot ignore" and ministers will match donations from the UK public up to £5 million.
She added: "Yemen has become the 'forgotten crisis' despite more than 10 million people desperately needing help and the threat of famine hanging over the country."
http://www.itv.com/news/2016-12-13/international-development-secretary-yemen-is-forgotten-crisis/
Comment: Unless the aggression stops, aid will never serve in the long term. Stop bombing and lift the siege and let aid enter. Work for peace, not to make headlines.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1199991730053855
My comment: A perfect example of hypocrisy. The British government as a warring party which in many aspects interferes into the Yemen war and heavily supports the destruction of the country, the killing and starving out of the Yemenis, wants to play the role of humanitarian benefactor. Just disgusting. Look also at:
12.12.2016 – Fergal Keane (B K P)
#Yemen a big but familiar disconnect: one arm of govt sends aid, the other sells the bombs and fighter jets
https://twitter.com/fergalkeane47/status/808442044519747584 referring to https://twitter.com/DFID_UK/status/808352510390009856
14.12.2016 – DWP Examination (* A P)
When words speak louder than actions … : Another angry voice.
There are different explanations for why Boris Johnson somehow ended up telling the truth about Saudi Arabia abusing Islam and promoting terrorism and war throughout the middle east.
One thing that we can be quite sure of is that Boris Johnson had a reason for blatantly contradicting his own government’s stance on Saudi Arabia, because he’s a cynical political opportunist. This is a man who wrote two different newspaper columns, one arguing in favour of Brexit and the other arguing against it, before deciding which position would best suit his future political career prospects.
The cynicism of the man is astounding.
When I addressed the subject of Boris Johnson getting slapped down by Theresa May for telling the truth about Saudi Arabia I noticed an interesting phenomenon. Lots of people who clearly identified as social liberals tried to claim that Boris Johnson deserves credit for telling the truth.
In my view Johnson deserves severe condemnation for admitting the truth about Saudi Arabia just a few weeks after voting down an opposition motion to cease UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia. One of the most appalling of Johnson’s contributions during that parliamentary debate was his claim that the UK should continue selling weapons to Saudi Arabia because other western countries would happily continue supplying them with arms.
The argument that the UK should continue selling weapons to a country that stands accused of grave human rights violations in Yemen because “if we don’t cash in, someone else will” is disgusting enough in its own right, but in light of Johnson’s subsequent critical comments about Saudi Arabia, such an attitude is utterly abominable.
The fact that Johnson has managed to win plaudits from liberally minded people for criticising Saudi Arabia just weeks after he colluded with his fellow Tories to continue supplying them weapons is a demonstration that empty words speak a lot more loudly than actions in the modern political word – by Zoro
12.12.2016 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (* A P)
[The Guardian video: Boris Johnson at Rome]
Fools may sometimes speak to the purpose. Boris Johnson opinion on lack of strong leader, proxy war & puppets.
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/808598191948136448
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
15.12.2016 – Catholic Herald (* A P)
Germany’s churches denounce billion-euro arms sales to Yemen and Saudi Arabia
Germany’s churches denounced their country’s growing arms sales to the Gulf states and demanded tighter export controls on weapons manufacturers.
“Over the past 20 years, the federal government’s reporting of contracts has become quicker and more transparent, while public awareness and debate around the issue has also intensified,” said Mgr Karl Justen, director of the German church’s Catholic Office in Berlin and co-chairman of the Catholic-Protestant Joint Conference on Church and Development, known by its German acronym as GKKE.
“But while government policy allows exports to third countries in regions of crisis and conflict only in justified individual cases, the data show otherwise – this is why we’re asking for a new law requiring the reasons for arms exports to be stated,” he said.
Mgr Justen called it “completely unacceptable” that €760 million in arms were sold over the same period to Saudi Arabia, and €1.7 billion to Qatar.
While Qatar was “massively violating human rights and supporting Islamists around the world,” the priest added, both countries were also engaged in a war in Yemen which had “trampled international humanitarian law underfoot” and left 10,000 dead.
Germany’s Catholic bishops have frequently condemned their country’s arms industry, which employs more than 80,000 and earns €1.9 trillion annually despite falling domestic demand from the German army.
Mgr Justen called it “completely unacceptable” that €760 million in arms were sold over the same period to Saudi Arabia, and €1.7 billion to Qatar.
While Qatar was “massively violating human rights and supporting Islamists around the world,” the priest added, both countries were also engaged in a war in Yemen which had “trampled international humanitarian law underfoot” and left 10,000 dead.
Germany’s Catholic bishops have frequently condemned their country’s arms industry, which employs more than 80,000 and earns €1.9 trillion annually despite falling domestic demand from the German army.
14.12.2016 – The Independent (* A P)
Saudi Arabia and Gulf states 'support Islamic extremism in Germany,' intelligence report finds
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Germany denies his government funds extremist groups
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar are supporting extremist Islamic groups in Germany, according to a leaked intelligence report.
A brief seen by the Süddeutsche Zeitung and broadcasters NDR and WDR raised concern over a reported increase in support for fundamentalist Salafism in Germany, warning that the ideology already has 10,000 followers and is growing.
The report, by Germany’s BfV domestic intelligence agency and Federal Intelligence Service (BND) reportedly accused Gulf groups of funding mosques, religious schools, hardline preachers and conversion or “dawah” groups to spread the ideology.
Missionary movements were part of a “long-running strategy to exert influence” by the three states, it found, naming the Saudi Muslim World League, Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad al-Thani Charitable Association and Kuwaiti Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS), which has been banned by the US and Russia for allegedly supporting al-Qaeda.
The report said all three organisations were “closely connected with government offices in their home countries”.
The country’s ambassador to Germany, Awwas Alawwad, rejected accusations of supporting Salafism, saying his government does not build mosques or export imams and has “no connection with German Salafism – by Lizzie Dearden
My comment: I don’t know what should be new about this. There was a similar BND report ca. one year ago. And what happened? Minister of Defense von der Leyen just visited Saudi Arabia to arrange a closer military cooperation. “I cannot eat as much as I want to chuck up” (Max Liebermann). – The oblivion of public memory is just astonishing. It is evident that Mrs. von der Leyen when having visited Saudi Arabia and having agreed on military cooperation is a threat to German security.
and
15.12.2016 – RT (* B P T)
Islamist radicals in Germany backed by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait & Qatar – German media
A number of Islamic religious groups from the Gulf States are supporting the radical Salafist movement in Germany with the suspected approval of their governments, Suddeutsche Zeitung paper and NDR and WDR broadcasters said, citing a security report.
The groups, based in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are engaged in missionary activities on German territory, including the construction of mosques, holding educational seminars and sending Islamic preachers to German cities.
Their apparent purpose is that of spreading a fundamentalist version of Islam, a report jointly prepared by the German intelligence service (BND) and the domestic security and counter-terrorist service (BfV) says, Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reported.
The NGOs mentioned in the report seen by the German media on Monday mostly support and provide financial assistance to various Salafist groups in Germany that promote “retrograde and intolerant interpretation of Islam,” the paper seen by the SZ says.
The organizations in question are the Kuwait-based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS), Qatari Shaykh Eid Charity Foundation and the Muslim World League from Saudi Arabia that are involved in financing the establishment of the Salafist mosques and organization of education seminars.
The report says that all of these organizations follow “a long-term strategy of [spreading] their influence” in Germany.
Berlin has repeatedly demanded that Saudi Arabia stop supporting radical Islamists in Germany. In response, Riyadh always said that the NGOs, which support Muslims in Germany, are independent from the government and the Saudi authorities cannot influence their work.
The Saudi ambassador to Berlin, Awwas Alawwad, dismissed all accusations concerning the kingdom’s support for German Salafists. “Saudi Arabia builds no mosques in Germany, sends no imams [there] and has no connections to German Salafism,” he told Tagesspiegel daily, adding that the Saudi-based “Muslim World League” is “not a Saudi organization” and has “nothing to do with the Saudi government.”
https://www.rt.com/news/370338-gulf-states-backing-salafists-germany/#.WFKAI7B5VSg.twitter
14.12.2016 – The Independent (* A P)
Angela Merkel's defence minister has refused to wear Muslim dress in Saudi Arabia
Angela Merkel’s defence minister refused to wear traditional Muslim attire during her official visit in Saudi Arabia.
Ursula von der Leyen shunned the abaya, the black full length dress that covers the entire body but not the face, during her diplomatic engagement in Riyadh.
The Christian Democratic Union politician, the first woman in German history to hold the defence portfolio, was meeting Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman al Saud.
“Of course, I respect the customs and customs of a country,” said Ms Leyen, as quoted in German tabloid Bild.
“I strive to comply with such rules. But for me there are limits to the way I adapt to the country.
“I do not put on a headscarf and I wear trousers.
“No woman in my delegation has to wear the abaya. Being able to choose your own clothes is a right for both men and women alike.
“It annoys me, when women travelling with women are pressured into wearing the abaya.” – by Peter Walker
14.12.2016 – Express (A P)
German minister sparks outrage after REFUSING to wear hijab during Saudi Arabia visit
GERMANY’S defence minister has sparked fury in Saudi Arabia after she willingly refused to wear a hijab during an official visit to the Kingdom.
Ursula von der Leyen and her entourage did not wear the hijab head coverings or the full length Abaya garment during her visit, despite adamantly claiming that she “respected” the country’s customs and traditions.
According to an Iranian newspaper, Von der Leyen said: “No woman in my delegation will be required to wear the abaya, as the right to choose one’s attire is a right shared by men and women equally.”
Shortly after her meeting with the Deputy Crown Prince Mohnammed bin Salman al Saud, Saudis took to twitter to express their disdain for her actions.
My comment: That’s the only point I agree with her. Anyway, she should not have visited the head choppers’ country at all, whether her head veiled or not.
Comment: This is the media: outrage not because the thousands of #Yemen-is killed. Just for the hijab
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1201353936584301
13.12.2016 – German Foreign Policy (* B P)
Doppelte Standards für Salafisten
Berlin und andere EU-Staaten planen Maßnahmen gegen die Einreise salafistischer Prediger aus Saudi-Arabien und anderen arabischen Golfstaaten. Dies geht aus Medienberichten hervor. Demnach schlagen deutsche Geheimdienste Alarm, weil die auf gut 10.000 Personen angewachsene deutsche Salafistenszene von Missionsvereinen vor allem aus Saudi-Arabien systematisch gefördert wird. Mit einem weiteren Erstarken sei, so heißt es, zu rechnen. Tatsächlich ist eine saudische Einrichtung in Bonn jahrelang eines der wichtigsten Zentren des deutschen Salafismus gewesen; aus dem Milieu rekrutieren sich so gut wie alle deutschen Jihadisten. Riad betreibt seine weltweite salafistische Mission seit den 1960er Jahren an der Seite der westlichen Mächte; Hintergrund war zunächst das gemeinsame Vorgehen gegen dem Westen nicht willfährige und der saudischen Monarchie feindlich gesinnte politische Kräfte. Riads Mission hat maßgeblich dazu beigetragen, Länder, deren Islam als traditionell friedlich galt, für jihadistischen Terror zu öffnen, darunter Afghanistan und Mali. Während die Bundesregierung die Salafismusförderung im eigenen Land verhindern will, nimmt sie sie in anderen Staaten billigend in Kauf oder stärkt ihr - wie in Syrien - sogar den Rücken.
Die Wurzeln des Jihadismus
Von besonderem Interesse ist die saudische Mission, weil ihre spezifische religiöse Ausprägung, der in ideologischen Entwicklungen des 18. Jahrhunderts wurzelnde Wahhabismus, die Grundlage des heutigen Salafismus bildet. Eine radikalisierte, gewaltbereite Spielart des Salafismus wiederum ist der Salafismus. Experten sind überzeugt, der Jihadismus weise eine große Nähe zum Salafismus respektive zum Wahhabismus auf. "Die Ideologie von Al-Kaida und besonders die des IS ist weitgehend identisch mit der des Wahhabismus, und es ist kein Zufall, dass der Quasi-Staat des IS sehr dem frühen Saudi-Arabien im 18. Jahrhundert ähnelt", schrieb der Jihadismus-Experte Guido Steinberg von der Berliner Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) Anfang dieses Jahres. "Ohne den Wahhabismus und die Förderung seiner Verbreitung durch den saudi-arabischen Staat", urteilte Steinberg, "wäre die Entstehung des modernen Dschihadismus nicht möglich gewesen"
http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/de/fulltext/59503
12.12.2016 – APA / DPA (* A P)
Deutsche Salafisten sollen Geld aus Saudiarabien bekommen
Religiöse Organisationen aus Saudi-Arabien, Kuwait und Katar stehen Medienberichten zufolge im Verdacht, die Salafismus-Szene in Deutschland zu unterstützen. Wie "Süddeutsche Zeitung", NDR und WDR am Montag unter Berufung auf den Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) und das Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV) berichteten, geht es den Ländern dabei um die Verbreitung einer fundamentalistischen Variante des Islam.
Demnach schicken sie unter anderem Prediger und unterstützen den Bau von Moscheen und Schulungseinrichtungen. In der "Zwischenbilanz" der beiden Geheimdienste heißt es den Berichten zufolge, dass es sich bei der Arbeit der Missionsbewegungen aus den Golfstaaten um eine "langfristig angelegte Strategie der Einflussnahme" handle. Es gebe inzwischen zahlreiche Belege dafür, dass Organisationen wie die "Revival of Islamic Heritage Society" (RIHS) aus Kuwait, die "Shaykh Eid Charity Foundation" aus Katar oder die "Muslim World League" aus Saudi-Arabien europäischen und deutschen Salafisten Moscheen und Schulungseinrichtungen finanzierten.
Die saudiarabische Regierung soll in der Vergangenheit auf die Unabhängigkeit der religiösen Bewegungen verwiesen haben, die Geheimdienste kommen den Berichten von "SZ", NDR und WDR zufolge aber zu dem Schluss, diese seien "eng mit staatlichen Stellen in ihren Herkunftsländern verbunden". Für Saudi-Arabien etwa sei die "weltweite Missionierung unverändert Staatsräson und Teil der Außenpolitik".
http://diepresse.com/home/politik/aussenpolitik/5133208/Deutsche-Salafisten-sollen-Geld-aus-Saudiarabien-bekommen und auch http://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/zeitgeschehen/2016-12/salafismus-golfstaaten-deutschland-saudi-arabien-unterstuetzung und noch ausführlicher http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/extremismus-saudis-unterstuetzen-deutsche-salafistenszene-1.3290991
Mein Kommentar: Das passt ja wunderbar zum Besuch von Frau von der Leyen bei den Saudis und den Vereinbarungen zu militärischer Zusammenarbeit und Terrorismusbekämpfung. Die gemeinsame Bekämpfung des Terrorismus soll auch die Bekämpfung der Terrorismusfinanzierung einschließen (das ist wirklich keine Satire!!!). – Und: Diese ganzen Erkenntnisse sind keineswegs neu: https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article138498190/Wie-Saudi-Arabien-deutschen-Salafismus-finanziert.html vom 17. März 2015. – Daraus folgt: Frau von der Leyen hat vorsätzlich gegen deutsche Interessen und zum Schaden der deutschen Sicherheit gehandelt.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
14.12.2016 – Al Araby (A P)
Qatar cancels National Day festivities in solidarity with Aleppo
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has ordered the cancellation of the country's National Day festivities in solidarity with the people of Syria's war-ravaged Aleppo.
Comment: How many Syrian refugees does Qatar have? (Yemen opened its doors to refugees prior to the war)
What about war ravaged #Yemen slaughtered by - ALSO - Qatar's airstrikes being the tiny island part of the Saudi-led Coalition?
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1201909666528728
13.12.2016 – The Global and Mail (* A K P)
Canada will not follow U.S. in restricting some arms sales to Saudi Arabia
Canada will not follow the United States in restricting arms sales to Saudi Arabia – such as a $15-billion Canadian combat-vehicle deal – even though Barack Obama’s administration has just curbed some weapons exports to the Mideast kingdom because of the number of civilians the Saudis are killing during strikes in Yemen.
Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said Canada has asked the Saudis to be careful how they use some of their more controversial weapons in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of Arab states trying to beat back Houthi rebels backed by Iran. He did not elaborate on these conversations.
When asked if Canada would follow the United States, Mr. Dion would say only that he is confident Ottawa can monitor its arms exports for misuse.
Mr. Dion said Canada feels it is doing a pretty good job of monitoring Saudi Arabia for illicit use of combat vehicles, although he did not indicate how this is done. The Canadian government maintains that it has never come across an instance where the machines have been misused.
Mr. Dion revealed, however, that Ottawa has cautioned the Saudis to be careful how they fight in Yemen, where cluster bombs have been blamed for widespread civilian deaths.
My comment: Answer to Dion: LOL. The Canadian minister seems to be as hypocrite and ignorant as his colleagues in other countries.
13.12.2016 – Reuters (A E P)
Qatar plans to invest $10 billion in US infrastructure
The head of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has told US officials it will invest $10 billion in infrastructure projects inside the US, sources said, in an apparent boost to the economic plans of President-elect Donald Trump.
http://www.businessinsider.com/qatar-to-invest-10-billion-in-us-infrastructure-2016-12?IR=T
Comment by Nadia Belush: The Qataris are trying to make sure America doesn't throw them under the bus:
https://twitter.com/nadiabelush/status/808702477554118656
11.–12.12.2016 – Press TV Iran (A P)
Films: Oppression in Bahrain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEogwGVkwGU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rv6rNs7NuU
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
15.12.2016 – La Notizia (A K P)
Che affari bomba con l’Arabia Saudita. A Riad 3mila ordigni italiani: il carico su una nave salpata in segreto da Cagliari
Ore 5,48. A Cagliari sta cominciando ad albeggiare. Sembra l’alba di un giorno come tanti, quello tra giovedì e venerdì scorso. Ma non è così: nei pressi del porto sardo c’è grande movimento. La zona è circondata “da pattugliamenti costanti di Polizia e guardia di finanza”, denuncia Mauro Pili, parlamentare di Unidos, che sulla sua pagina Facebook ha pubblicato anche un video con le immagine esclusive di cosa è accaduto in quelle ore, nel silenzio generale di istituzioni e forze dell’ordine. Ad aver attraccato al porto sardo è una nave battenta bandiera dell’Arabia Saudita. Parliamo della gigante dei mari, la Bahari Tabuk, che ha solcato mezzo mondo per arrivare sino a Cagliari. E perché mai? Dato che, dice ancora Pili, “i codici sono secretati nel porto terminal. Nessuno deve sapere perchè una nave battente bandiera dell’Arabia Saudita ha lanciato le cime sulla sponda principale del terminal sardo.
Comment: Silently, secretly, that cargo ship with 3000 bombs sailed off from Italy to Saudi Arabia. Italian media (photo)
https://twitter.com/Living_Yemen/status/809369525217095681
14.12.2016 – AIN Online (* A K P)
U.S. Stops Saudi Arms Sale; First F-15SAs Arrive in Kingdom
The U.S. has stopped a foreign military sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia out of concern over civilian casualties of Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen. The move coincided with the arrival in Saudi Arabia of the first Boeing F-15SA fighters stemming from a December 2011 arms agreement between the countries.
Halted is Saudi Arabia’s request for air-launched, precision-guided bombs, a proposed sale worth $1.29 billion, according to a notification the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) made to Congress on November 16. Although the State Department approved that request, the White House stepped in to stop the sale, the government-funded Voice of America and other media reported on December 13.
The November DSCA notification to Congress called for the sale of more than 20,000 Paveway II, Enhanced Paveway II and Paveway III laser-guided bombs, unguided bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits and bomb components. “The purchase replenishes the Royal Saudi Air Force’s current weapons supplies, which are becoming depleted due to the high operational tempo in multiple counter-terrorism operations. The purchase of these munitions rebuilds war reserves and provides options for future contingencies,” the notice stated.
Meanwhile, the first F-15SAs from Saudi Arabia’s 2011 order arrived at King Khalid Air Base on December 13, following a ferry flight from the U.S. via the UK, IHS Jane’s reported. Riyadh agreed to purchase 84 new fighters and upgrade 70 F-15S models to the SA configuration, introducing fly-by-wire flight controls, a digital electronic warfare suite, an infrared search and track system and the Raytheon APG-63(v)3 active electronically scanned array radar. Two remanufactured and two new-build fighters were spotted landing in Saudi Arabia. They arrived a year later than the U.S. Air Force originally indicated, reportedly due to development problems. The Air Force has said the full order will be fulfilled by 2019.
Saudi Arabia also now seeks 48 Boeing CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters and related equipment, training and support in a proposed foreign military sale worth $3.51 billion, according to a DSCA notification to Congress on December 8 – by Bill Carey
My comment: All that fits very well together. The US continue supporting and arming Saudi Arabia. More at cp1.
13.12.2016 – MbKS15 (A K P)
The State Department approves a $1.7 billion possible FMS to #Kuwait for recapitalization of 218 M1A2 tanks and related equipment & support (see images)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/808749387736379394
13.12.2016 – Sputnik News (* A K)
US Army Hopes to Close Helicopter Production Gap with $3.5B Saudi Arabia Deal
Saudi Arabia may soon get approval to acquire additional military equipment from US defense contractors, a deal the US Army hopes will help it bridge a production gap.
The $3.5 billion deal would provide 48 CH-47F Chinook helicopters to Saudi Arabia, in addition to 112 T-55 engines, Defense News reports, the largest sale of the helicopter model to date. If the deal is approved Saudi Arabia will become the twentieth nation to fly Chinooks. The deal would benefit the US Army by reducing per unit costs of the choppers, due to economies of scale, and the sale could make future US purchases of the aircraft significantly cheaper. The move would also help maintain the industrial base
https://sputniknews.com/military/201612131048520603-us-army-helicopter-deal-saudi/
12.12.2016 – MbKS15 (A K PS)
WHAT A DAY! 4x F-15SA from RAF Lakenheath, 2x Typhoon (8019 & 8020), and 2x Hawk T.165 (7905 & 2108) from Warton on delivery to the #RSAF
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/808606857300418564
#RSAF F-15SA Advanced Eagles took-off this morning from RAF Lakenhea
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/808560240522305536
Film: David Bongo (@chained) shot the first video of all 4 #RSAF F-15SA at RAF Lakenheath, on Dec. 12th, 2016
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/808535085335150596
Just to note out that Saudi & American pilots flew the #F15SA home together (photos)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/808682604115410946
THE #SAUDI ADVANCED EAGLES ARE HERE! (photos)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/808682412188241920
The new #F15SA Advanced Eagle wearing the #RSAF markings after the welcoming ceremony today at KKAB, Khamis Mushait (photos)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/809126895044481025
My comment: Delivered from the US via UK, directly for bombing Yemen, killing and destroying.
12.12.2016 – MbKS15 (A K PS)
Antonov unveils the new #AN132D transport aircraft next Tuesday. It's a joint development by Antonov & Taqnia Aeronautics (a #Saudi company)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/808323426435923974 referring to
12.12.2016 – Antonov (A)
20.12.2016, at #Antonov, an important event - the solemn ceremony of the #AN132D aircraft demonstrator roll out.
https://twitter.com/AntonovCompany/status/808318026860859392
My comment: Ukrainian-Saudi arms production joint venture. We can join killing “separatists” and “Houthis” (in both cases mostly euphemisms for civilians) here and there.
cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees
12.12.2016 – UNOCHA (A H)
Like Nasserah & her family, +3M ppl. have fled their homes in #Yemen in search for safety and security. We cannot let them down (photo) https://twitter.com/ochayemen/status/808379437611962368
My comment: We cannot let them down? We already did, by supporting this war
29.09.2016 – UN High Commissioner for Refugees (A H)
Yemen Shelter / NFI / CCCM Cluster Winterization Plan, October 2016 – March 2017
Climate in Yemen varies greatly depending on the geographical region. During the winter season, the country experiences coolness, with frequent frost. The range of temperature can go from 22°C (72°F) during the hottest month of the winter, into below 0°C (32.0 °F) at its coldest. Rain is brought in by the southwest winds. Rainfall, which comes in irregular heavy torrents, averages 130 millimetres (5.12 in) annually.
This is new emergency appeal for the Winterization Plan for the IDPs and affected populations. It is part of the cluster efforts to put in place measures to support people of concern in order to avert the risk of humanitarian tragedy and loss of life during the winter months, particularly between October and March. Cluster’s response requires coordinated efforts by partners and speedy implementation to address this situation by distributing Winter NFIs kit and Shelter assistance.
The cluster will seek to provide people most at risk, particularly women and children, with a “winter package” composed of different items, as outlined in this document.
Between October 2016 and March 2017, the cluster anticipates 217,573 households in need for winter assistance and estimated 65,279 most vulnerable households (30% of the need) in need for urgent assistance.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-shelter-nfi-cccm-cluster-winterization-plan-october-2016-march-2017 = https://www.sheltercluster.org/sites/default/files/docs/20160929_shelter_nfi_cccm_cluster_winterization_plan_2016-2017-_v4.pdf = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/20160929_shelter_nfi_cccm_cluster_winterization_plan_2016-2017-_v4.pdf
cp13c Finanzen / Finances
15.12.2016 – Gulf News (* A E P)
Yemen government begins paying army and security forces salaries
Hundreds of soldiers seen queuing up inside their military camps to receive salaries
The internationally recognised government of Yemen, currently based in the southern port city of Aden, has begun paying thousands of army and security forces three months’ salaries in arrears under tightened security measures, local army officers said on Wednesday.
Military and public servants have not been paid since September when the president of Yemen Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi ordered relocating the headquarters of the central bank to the city of Aden to put an end to Al Houthis misusing the country’s reserves.
Shortly after the relocation of the monetary authority, the government pledged to pay all government employees who had been added to the payroll before 2014 including those who reside in Al Houthis-controlled territories. Hundreds of soldiers from the army and public security were seen queuing up on Wednesday inside their military camps to receive three months’ worth of salaries as the government stepped up security to prevent suicide bombers from sneaking into the gatherings.
A senior security officer told Gulf News that the soldiers were paid in person and in Yemeni riyals. “The salaries are from Saudi Arabia and only for one month. I have not been paid my salaries for August, September and October,” the officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief reporters, adding that the government committees will be paying them for the other months in the coming days.
Also on Wednesday, the sate-run Saba news agency said that prime minister Ahmad Obaid Bin Daghar said that his government would pay salaries of the country’s ambassadors and diplomats abroad and in Yemen. The government has already paid the funds of Yemeni students overseas.
My comment: The Hadi “government” also had promised to pay the state employeed also in Northern Yemen. What about that?
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
15.12.2016 – AFP (A T)
Yemen's Al-Qaeda condemns 'deviant' ISIS rivals
Al-Qaeda in Yemen has labelled the rival extremist group ISIS "deviant" and distanced itself from an ISIS-claimed suicide attack in Aden last week that killed dozens of soldiers.
"We explicitly declare that we were not involved in any way in this operation," Ansar al-Sharia, Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen, said in a statement received Thursday by AFP.
The December 10 attack in Aden targeted a crowd of soldiers gathered to collect their monthly pay at a barracks in Al-Sawlaban near the southern city's international airport.
The attack left 48 soldiers dead and 29 wounded, a health department chief said.
"At the request of the Ba Kazem tribe, which lost many of its sons in the attack, we are issuing this statement to prevent anyone trying to... sow discord between the tribes and their sons, the warriors of Ansar al-Sharia," the group said.
"We see IS as a deviant group... that has shown its enmity towards Ansar al-Sharia and other Islamic groups," it said.
The statement stressed that Al-Qaeda has repeatedly said it is determined to fight "Americans and their allies" while avoiding "the shedding of any Muslim blood".
15.12.2016 – Press TV Iran (A T)
5 killed, 10 injured as bombing hits Yemen’s Ta'izz Province
A bomb explosion has struck a district in the southwestern Yemeni province of Ta'izz, leaving five people dead and 10 others wounded.
The casualties came after a bomber set off his explosives in a market in the neighborhood of Shar’ab al-Rawnah on Thursday.
No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the incident, but al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Daesh Takfiri terrorist groups have occasionally carried out acts of terror in the region. http://presstv.com/Detail/2016/12/15/498014/Yemen-Taizz
14.12.2016 – Reuters (A T)
Four suspected al Qaeda members killed in drone strike in Yemen - officials
Four suspected members of al Qaeda's Yemen branch, including a local commander, were killed on Tuesday by a drone strike on their vehicle east of the capital Sanaa, local officials said.
It was the latest in a series of strikes by pilotless planes, believed to be operated by the United States, in war-torn Yemen.
The officials said the vehicle was travelling on a main road between the Marib governorate and al-Jawf when it was attacked.
http://in.reuters.com/article/yemen-security-idINKBN1422I5?rpc=401
My comment: “Suspected”. As mostly always. – Roadside bomb hits vehicle – Terrorism. Drone bomb hits vehicle = Counterterrorism. That’s what government and media want to tell us. See more on drone war at cp1.
12.12.2016 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (* B T)
Film. Everybody who does this kind of butchering any where in the world is a Wahhabis
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/808454792016252928
cp15 Propaganda
14.12.2016 – Al Arabiya (A P)
UAE’s power is Saudi Arabia’s power
“Saudi Arabia is a key pillar of the Gulf region,” said Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed during the Saudi King Salman’s recent visit to the UAE. King Salman was given an exceptional reception during the visit, combining modernity with tradition, horses with camels and sand and soil.
The Saudi king sat down with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed on a podium. It was a display of history and glories of the past as they watched a show depicting the UAE’s historical legacy. The show included dances, songs and poems by tribes saluting the honorable guest.
The UAE set an example of solidarity when Saudi Arabia engaged in a war against rebellion and in support of legitimacy. Blood got mixed with blood and lives were sacrificed to safeguard values and to protect against external aggression. This is heroism and this is how strong alliances look like.
Saudi-UAE relations represent the real meaning of the union that we want among Gulf countries. This will increase economic exchange, enhance tourism and friendship among people. People will not only head for tourism or to study or to permanently live in major cities but will also go to remote cities.
There exists exceptional friendship and social partnership as the two countries shared joys and misery. The best example of that is how the people share the pain of losing some heroes on the southern front. Blood mixed with blood and tears mixed with tears. And just like misery united people, so did joy – by Turki Aldakhil, General Manager of Al Arabiya News Channel.
Comment: What to say about this piece of byzantinism?
Comment by Haykal Bafana: The role of Saudi & GCC "media" is basically mutually masturbating each other into a stupor of self-praise. Zero.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/809097986504609792
14.12.2016 – Qantara (A P)
Warum führt Saudi-Arabien Krieg im Jemen?
grundlegendes Missverständnis über die Rolle des Königreichs im Jemen – und, in der Tat, in der gesamten arabischen Welt
Saudi-Arabien hat es nicht auf die Zaiditen abgesehen. Tatsächlich hat das Land im jemenitischen Bürgerkrieg der 1960er Jahre aktiv die zaiditische Königsfamilie unterstützt. Wogegen das Königreich im Jemen reagiert, sind die zynischen Bemühungen des Iran, Jemens internen Konflikt dazu zu nutzen, ein Militärbündnis mit den Huthi-Rebellen zu schließen – eine Allianz mit nur einem erkennbaren Ziel: Saudi-Arabien.
Als saudische Politiker allerdings versuchten, die internationale Gemeinschaft vor den iranischen Aktivitäten im Jemen zu warnen, wurden sie ignoriert. Insbesondere westliche Kommentatoren haben verzweifelt versucht, die iranische Beteiligung am Konflikt zu leugnen, sogar als die Beweise dafür überhand nahmen.
Die Tatsache, dass Saudi-Arabien überhaupt in den Jemenkonflikt eingegriffen hat, verdeutlicht das Dilemma, vor dem das Land gestanden hätte, wenn die Huthis den gesamten Jemens beherrscht hätten. Hätte der Iran sein Bündnis mit den Huthis ungehindert stärken können, wäre der Nordjemen wohl zu einem zweiten Südlibanon geworden, wo ein Stellvertreter Irans aktiv daran arbeitet, die nationale Sicherheit Saudi-Arabiens zu gefährden.
Saudi-Arabien hatte im Jemen zwei klar definierte militärische Ziele. Das erste war, die Waffenlieferungen zu behindern und die Versorgung der Huthis durch den Iran schwieriger und teurer – oder idealerweise unmöglich – zu machen. Das zweite Ziel bestand darin, den Huthis und ihren Verbündeten zu signalisieren, dass sie ein Bündnis mit dem Iran teuer zu stehen kommen würde.
Beide Ziele hat Saudi-Arabien erreicht
Aber Erfolge im Krieg kosten immer auch Opfer. Und leider haben die jemenitischen Zivilisten mit schätzungsweise 10.000 Toten seit Kriegsbeginn einen sehr hohen Preis bezahlt. Für einen Luftkrieg, der seit fast zwei Jahren andauert und gegen eine irreguläre Armee geführt wird, ist diese Zahl nicht außergewöhnlich hoch
tragischen Verlusten innerhalb der Zivilbevölkerung. Es ist eine wirklich schreckliche Lage, die es noch dringender macht, die Huthis zu besiegen und den Konflikt im Jemen zu beenden. Aber es ist kaum sinnvoll, allein Saudi-Arabien für die Gewalteskalation zu beschuldigen, das dem Krieg nicht beigetreten ist, um Macht auszuüben, sondern um eine akute – oder gar existenzielle – Bedrohung der Sicherheit abzuwenden. - von Ali al-Shihabi, geschäftsführender Direktor der "Arabia Foundation", ein Think Tank, der sich insbesondere mit der Geopolitik der arabischen Halbinsel beschäftigt.
Mein Kommentar: Ein Stück reichlich üble Propaganda. Die englische Version erschien bereits früher: https://en.qantara.de/content/saudi-involvement-in-yemen-not-in-our-backyard
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
15.12.2016 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
14-12-2016
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=741943192622715&id=551288185021551
14.12.2016 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
13-12-2016
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=741419676008400&id=551288185021551
13.12.2016 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
12-12-2016
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=740787782738256&id=551288185021551
15.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi warplanes launch 5 raids on Blad AL-Ros, cutting road
US-Saudi aggression warplanes launched five raids on Blad AL-Ros district of Sana'a province overnight, an official told Saba on Thursday.
The raids targeted mountainous Nakil Yaslih road linking the capital Sanaa with Dhamar province, causing heavy damage, cutting the regular road.
The road has been frequently targeted by the aggression warplanes almost on daily basis.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449686.htm
15.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Aggression wages raids on Sa'ada
Saudi aggression warplanes launched on Thursday a series of air raids on various areas in Sa'ada province, a security official said.
The aggression warplanes targeted al-Qarrad area in Baqem border district in Sa'ada, the official said, adding many areas were hit by missile strike.
The official said that the aggression waged an air raid on al-Dhaia'a area in Shatha district causing great damage to citizens' properties.
www.sabanews.net/en/news449693.htm
15.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression bombing injures citizens in Sa'ada
Dozens of citizens were injured and many houses damaged by US-backed Saudi aggression's aerial bombardment on Sa'ada province overnight, a security official told Saba on Thursday.
The aggression launched 15 air strikes on several areas in the province, including Mandabah, al-Bahah, Mr'a Mount, al-Buq'a and al-Tal'ah, and a sound bomb on Qatabir district.
The warplanes also bombed the main road in Fella area of Mejz district, injuring several citizens.
The airstrikes also hit a car in al-Aqiq area of Kutaf district, destroying it and damaging several nearby houses.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449679.htm
15.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression warplanes launch raid on Sana'a province
US– Saudi aggression warplanes launched a raid on AL-Haima AL-Kharijyah of Sana'a Province overnight, an official told Saba on Thursday.
The raid targeted AL-Hajr area, causing heavy damage to houses and properties of citizens.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449674.htm
15.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
warplanes aggression waged a raid on Al Thiah area on Shada district
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57747&lang=en
15.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Aggression Crimes in Yemen
Saudi _American aggression targeted the water tanks in Kamaran Island and two raids on Al Jabana area.
In addition , the aggression waged a raid on the Al Jar farm in Hajja .The aggression targeting the citizens and their property.
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57728&lang=en
15.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Houthi leader killed by coalition airstrike on Saada
A field source in the Popular Resistance stated on Wednesday that a Houthi leader was killed by an airstrike launched by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition on Saada governorate, far north of Yemen.
The source pointed out that Ibrahim al Zarmouzi was killed and other militants injured by an airstrike launched during the confrontations in Alb Front in Baqem district north of Saada, the stronghold of the armed Houthi group.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87137
14.12.2016 – Yemen Post (A K)
SMOKE of WAR: 55 Saudi airstrikes in 24 hours rock #Yemen capital & 7 regions targeting civilian populated areas & destroying family homes.
https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/809065440119025664
14.12.2016 – Various (A K)
Angry #Saudi airstrikes on Sabaeen Sq #Yemen capital Sanaa after massive Prophet birthday celebration cause major damage to Al Saleh Mosque (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1214798901937011&id=100002207383222 and https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/809299993039347713
14.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression warplanes launch 7 raids on Sanna province
US–backed Saudi aggression warplanes launched seven raids on several districts of Sana’a province overnight, a security official told Saba on Wednesday.
One air strike destroyed the house of a citizen in Hazm area of Arhab district north of the province.
The fighter jets also waged five raids on Hazez area of Sanhan district southeast of the province, causing heavy damage to properties of citizens.
Another strike hit Al-Manar Mountain in Al Himah Al-Kharigea, caused losses to citizens' houses and properties.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449576.htm
14.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi warplanes wage six raids on capital Sana'a
Saudi aggression's fighter jets continued to launch criminal raids on the capital Sana'a on Wednesday morning, an official said.
The hostile warplanes waged five raids on al-Hafa area in al-Sabeen district and targeted agricultural lands behind al-Sabeen Square with another raid, the official elaborated.
The raids caused severe damage to citizens' homes, public and private property in the targeted areas.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449575.htm
14.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression strikes telecommunication networks in Taiz
US-backed Saudi warplanes continued shelling Taiz province, targeting national telecommunication networks overnight, an official told Saba on Wednesday.
The targeted networks locate in al-Zahir area of Mokha district. The bombing led the network to standstill.
It was the latest in a series of airstrikes against the infrastructure in the area by Saudi aggression.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449574.htm
13.–14.12.2016 – Sanaa at night (A K)
Saudi jets flying over sana'a in low altitude then bombing middle the city Among the civilians houses
https://twitter.com/midoaaaaa/status/808806604648878080
They do it on purpose: flying LOW. Sound of planes and explosions particularly loud tonight
https://twitter.com/Living_Yemen/status/808801201013882884
Planes keep circling our sky it's 1.20 am.
https://twitter.com/Living_Yemen/status/808798746448379904
It's 1:30AM & Saudi is bombing hell out of Sana'a right now while y'all busy following Syria.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/808803015159332864
Frenzied Saudi airstrikes across Sana'a now. Pilots seem to be confused and dropping bombs randomly on city of 2 million civilians.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/808806431256354817
7..SEVEN massive bombs dropped. Got nothing but counting them and calculating distance to pin probability of one falling on head.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/808808949931802624
Well that's a sound I haven't heard in a while. Jets gone and now drones buzzing in night sky. Feels like Skynet AI hunting you
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/808810918142480384
Buzzing intensifying. Better safe than sorry, hellfire missiles no joke. Going to basement where no reception, so good night.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/808812709076668416
13.12.2016 – Bin Ghalib (A K)
#Hajjah : The American Saudi aggression launched a raid on Harad city.
https://twitter.com/naji1290/status/808716448529051648
13.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Aggression's air bombing targets areas in Saada
The brutal aggression alliance continued on Tuesday its aerial bombardment and missile attack on a number of areas in the districts of Saada province.
The hostile warplanes launched two raids on Malaheedh area in the border district of al-Dhaher and two others on al-Fara'a and al-Qama'a areas in Kitaf district, a security official told Saba.
The official added that the aggression's fighter jets waged also an air raid on Mandaba area in Baqem district and another on al-Dhaher district, as well as the missile bombing that targeted different areas in the districts of Shada and Razih.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449499.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57498&lang=en
13.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi warplanes resume striking capital Sanaa
US-Saudi aggression warplanes resumed air striking the capital Sanaa overnight, an official told Saba on Tuesday.
The planes struck al-Hafa residential area several times, damaging citizens' houses and smashing windows, as well as causing losses in public and private properties.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449455.htm
and by pro-Saudi / pro-Hadi media:
14.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Coalition airstrikes bomb Houthi and Saleh forces locations in Sana'a
Local residents in the capital Sana'a stated that the fighters of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition launched on Tuesday morning several airstrikes on a military camp for the Houthi and Saleh forces.
The locals told Almasdaronline that the fighters bombed al Hafa military camp of the Reserve Forces, southeastern Sana'a, causing violent explosions.
It is noteworthy that the fighters have earlier launched intensive raids on Houthi locations in al Sabeen Square, southern the capital Sana'a,
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87124
My comment: Joke report: “Houthi locations in al Sabeen Square”: The “Houthi location” is a great square, hit during traffic rush hour, a podium was targeted and hit. That for pro-Saudi media claims of what is targeted.
and:
15.12.2016 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (A K PH)
Film: New video for 12th December Saudi strike on AlSabaeen Square #Yemen
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/809363142673387520
13.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Coalition bomb military sites in Sana'a
The Saudi-led Arab Coalition launched on Monday morning intensive raids on military sites and reinforcements for the Houthi and allied forces in the capital Sana'a.
Almasdaronline reporter said that the coalition fighters have launched 13 raids at least on sites and reinforcements of the Houthi and Saleh forces in Bani Hushaish district, northeast of the capital Sana'a.
The fighters also launched two raids on al Nahdain and Fajj Attan camps in Sana'a city.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87116
13.12.2016 – Yemen Today TV (A K PH)
Film: Saudi coalition aggression in Nahm directorate, Sanaa province
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXOXQ8hHCG4
Remark: Air raid or artillery?
12.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Warplanes of Saudi aggression waged a raid on a kasad area in Al Bitha
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57338&lang=en
Marib: Aviation Saudi American aggression waged a cluster bomb on Sirwah district of Marib
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57343&lang=en
12.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Houthi casualties fall in Coalition bombing in Saada, Taiz
The fighters of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition launched on Sunday several raids on Houthi and Saleh forces locations in Saada and Taiz
governorates, killing some militants and injuring others.
A field source told Almasdaronline that the fighters have bombed the Houthi rebels sites in Mandabah area of Baqim district, north of Saada governorate, far north of Yemen, killing 5 rebels and injuring others.
The fighters also launched five raids on a Houthi ammunition store in Aljablain area, northwest of al Mocha city in Taiz, according to a local source.
"Some Houthi rebels were were killed and others injured in the bombing."
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87094
My comments: Air raids as in pro-Saudi propaganda.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
15.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Engineering teams destroy 750 Houthi landmines in Midi, Haradh
The engineering teams of the 5th Military Region destroyed on Tuesday dozens of mines in both Haradh and Midi cities of Hajja governorate.
These mines were planted by the Houthi militants and allied forces, loyal to former president Saleh, according to the 5th Military Region Media Centre in a facebook post.
The Center quoted the Chief of Staff of the 5th Military Region, Brigadier Omar Gawhar, as saying that the engineering teams in the region, in cooperation with the Saudi landmines team, have destroyed 750 landmines of various types, sizes and industries.
"This is the third time we destroy landmines, as nearly 200 different types of landmines have been destroyed during the previous period."
A military source also stated that thousands of mines, some were locally made and others Iranian, have been cleared, while other thousands are still planted over large areas in Midi front.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87171
My comment: that’s in Northern Yemen just south of the Yemeni-saudi border.
15.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Mercenaries target houses in Harib al-Qaramish
Saudi-paid mercenaries heavily pounded on Thursday citizens' houses in Harib al-Qaramish district in Mareb province, a local official said.
The official added the mercenaries targeted al-Hamda, al-Rawdha and al-Hazm areas in the district causing huge damage to them.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449740.htm
15.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army kills dozens Saudi-paid mercenaries in Taiz
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449690.htm and http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449687.htm and by Yamanyoon: http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57745&lang=en
15.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army bombs mercenaries in Serwah
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449739.htm
15.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army launches missiles on Riyadh's mercenaries in Mareb
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449713.htm
15.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army forces destroy tank of Saudi-paid hirelings in Mareb
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449668.htm
15.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Several Saudi soldiers killed, 3 military vehicles destroyed in Jizan
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449678.htm
15.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Saudi Mercenary Killed in Taiz Governorate
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57699&lang=en
15.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Death and Injuries Among Saudi Mercenaries in Nihm
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57623&lang=en
15.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Emplacements of Saudi Army Bombarded in Makhrouq Site, Najran.
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57637&lang=en
and
15.12.2016 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Yemeni forces pound Saudi positions with artillery shells
15.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Saudi Weapon Store Burned West of Mahrouq Site in Najran
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57645&lang=en
15.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Houthi leader killed by coalition airstrike on Saada, confrontations renew on borders
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87137
14.–15.12.2016 – Mohammed Al-Qadhi (A K)
It is another hellish night as clashes rage in different areas ,with huge explosions rocking the city of #Taiz, #Yemen
https://twitter.com/mohammedalqadhi/status/809126497399271425
14.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Dozens of Dead and Wounded [pro-Saudi fighters] in Neham
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57564&lang=en
14.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Taiz: dead and 10 wounded of the aggression mercenary in the operations of the army and popular committees in Taiz
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57579&lang=en
14.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Many mercenaries killed in Mareb
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449635.htm
14.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Saudi Tank Destroyed, Crew Killed in Marib
www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57614&lang=en
13.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Deaths and Injuries Among the Saudi Mercenary’s Ranks
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57489&lang=en
13.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Artillery Force Pounds Saudi Mercenary Fortifications in Taiz
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57493&lang=en
13.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Saudi Mercenary Killed in Taiz Governorate
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57478&lang=en
13.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Taiz : Five Houthis killed, others wounded in confrontations
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87118
13.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi soldier sniped, military locations demolished
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449550.htm
13.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Yemeni Snipe Forces Shoot Saudi Soldier and Mercenary by Border
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57481&lang=en
13.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Missile and Artillery Bombardment on Saudi Military Sites
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57486&lang=en
13.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army hits Saudi-paid mercenaries in Taiz
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449459.htm
13.12.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army repels Saudi-paid mercenaries in Baydha
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news449464.htm
13.12.2016 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Army Artillery Targeting Aggression Hypocrites
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=57419&lang=en
14.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
6 Houthis killed in confrontations in Mareb
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87121
13.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
ballistic missile intercepted in Marib
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87116
12.12.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
3 Houthis killed in government forces shelling in al Dali' governorate
http://almasdaronline.com/article/87096
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-239-yemen-war-mosaic-239
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-239: / Yemen War Mosaic 1-239:
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/
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