US strike at Al Qaida – US Muslim ban: Yemenis stranded in Djibouti airport; The economy behind – UNICEF: Child malnutrition – Yemen: America’s shame – Attack at Saudi vessel: Propaganda war – and more
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
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17a Kriegsereignisse: Mokha / Theater of War: Mokha
cp17b Kriegsereignisse: Sonstige / Theater of War: Others
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
PH = Pro-Houthi
PS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
Angriff auf saudisches Kriegsschiff cp17a / Attack at Saudi warship cp17a
1.2.2017 – Almendron (** A P T)
Military Strikes Are No Simple Answer to al-Qaeda’s Rise in Yemen
The first counter-terrorism raid authorised by U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend targeted al-Qaeda in Yemen. How effective was the operation, and what is known about the new administration’s broader strategy on Yemen?
The use of U.S. troops and the high number of civilian casualties – local sources report that at least ten women and children were killed – are deeply inflammatory and breed anti-American resentment across the Yemeni political spectrum that works to the advantage of AQAP. The raid ignores the local political context, to the detriment of an effective counter-terrorism strategy. The tribesmen targeted had links to AQAP/AAS, yet many, if not most of them, were motivated less by AQAP’s international agenda, including targeting the West, and more by a local power struggle in which AQAP is viewed as an ally against the Huthis (a Zaydi/Shiite militia) and fighters aligned with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. At a local level, the raid not only plays into AQAP’s narrative of the need to violently oppose what they claim is a U.S. war against Muslims, but it also gives AQAP an opportunity to accuse the U.S. of assisting Huthi/Saleh forces in the fight for al-Bayda, an accusation that will likely resonate with the anti-Huthi/Saleh population in this area. This is ironic, because the U.S. is assisting Saudi Arabia in bombing Huthi/Saleh forces.
It is too early to determine what, if any, broader strategy the Trump administration has in Yemen. On counter-terrorism, it seems he will continue former President Barack Obama’s policy of relying heavily on drones and special operations. Yet drone attacks have shown limited effectiveness and a propensity to backfire politically when they cause high civilian casualties. Although they have dealt repeated blows to AQAP by killing key leaders and ideologues, they have failed to stop its rapid growth – in large part because the opportunities provided by the war outstrip its losses.
How serious is the threat posed by the Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda?
AQAP is stronger than it has ever been. While Islamic State has dominated headlines in other parts of the Middle East and North Africa, in Yemen, al-Qaeda has been the success story. Over the course of the country’s failed political transition and civil war, it has exploited state collapse, shifting alliances, a burgeoning war economy and growing sectarianism to expand its support base, challenge state authority and even govern territory at times
Who are AQAP’s friends and enemies in Yemen?
Yemen’s political elites have a long history of collaboration with and co-optation of Sunni jihadist groups, including AQAP. This creates obstacles to combating the group, as elites have the ability and sometimes an interest in using it for their own financial or political gain. On the other hand, given that AQAP and its local affiliate, AAS, are primarily Yemeni organisations with legitimate local grievances – lack of justice provision, services and jobs – there are opportunities to weaken its transnationally-focused leadership by addressing these domestic concerns.
While virtually all Yemeni and regional belligerents claim AQAP and IS as their enemies, they have all contributed to their rise. The Huthi/Saleh front’s military push into predominantly Sunni areas has opened vast opportunities for AQAP and IS to insert themselves into a broader “Sunni” opposition.
For its part, the anti-Huthi bloc has operated on the principle of the “enemy of my enemy is my friend”, only turning on AQAP and IS once the Huthis are pushed out of territory. The Saudi-led coalition has focused on the Huthi/Saleh advance, which it views as part of Iranian expansionism, as priority number one, allowing AQAP to govern large territories for extended periods and reap the attendant financial benefits.
Last week, UN Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed briefed the Security Council and recommended an immediate ceasefire. How close are the parties to reaching any agreement to halt the fighting?
There is little chance of reaching a settlement at the moment, largely because the Saudi-led coalition and the Hadi government appear determined to secure military gains along the Red Sea coast before returning to meaningful talks.
If the prospects for bringing the war to a negotiated settlement remain distant, what can be done in the near term to limit the threat posed by al-Qaeda and other jihadist groups?
The most effective way to reverse AQAP’s gains is to address the conditions that made these possible, by ending the war through a durable, inclusive political settlement. As this is a distant prospect, there are several steps that could reduce the group’s influence – by April Longley Alley
https://www.almendron.com/tribuna/military-strikes-are-no-simple-answer-to-al-qaedas-rise-in-yemen/
1.2.2017 – The Cipher Brief (** A P T)
The End of AQAP’s Last Refuge in Yemen?
On Sunday, U.S. Special Forces SEAL Team 6, killed Abdul Raouf al-Dhahab, a mid-level al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) commander, and two of his lieutenants in a joint air and ground assault in the central Yemeni governorate of al-Bayda.
De facto, unspoken alliances between the jihadists (primarily AQAP), Hadi, and the Saudi coalition have occurred in battles against the Houthis. While these temporary symbiotic alliances have proven to be an effective tactic for liberating southern and eastern Yemen, they have for the most part ended badly for AQAP following the evisceration of the local Houthi threat.
In addition to his prominent role in AQAP, Raouf was also the senior leader in the Anti-Houthi Opposition Front, a coalition of pro-Hadi militias and jihadi groups that operate along the Qayfa tribal belt, a northwestern Salafi tribal region known as a major recruiting ground for both AQAP and ISIS.
Known as an effective AQAP recruiter and influential leader among the Qayfa tribes, Raouf was the last of four siblings who —along with his brothers— established training camps in the Qayfa tribal belt and used them to launch violent attacks against both the Yemeni government as well as the Houthis over the last six years. Raouf and his siblings were associates and disciples of American born Anwar al-Awlaki, an influential AQAP ideologue who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2011, and AQAP senior leader Shawki al-Badani, a planner involved in attacks against the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a in 2012 and other U.S. embassies in the Middle East and Africa in the summer of 2013.
Raouf’s death was the fourth AQAP leadership decapitation in al-Bayda this month
Along the Qayfa tribal belt in the northwestern part of al-Bayda, residents claim that Raouf financed and led anti-Houthi militias in battles in al-Bayda since 2015, often with air support from Saudi coalition aircraft. Raouf and his siblings established a series of tribal forums, which taught the use of social media to disseminate and exploit alleged casualty and other collateral damage photos of U.S. drone strikes. Within hours of Raouf’s death, alleged photos of children killed and maimed in the operation were being disseminated across Arab social media with two custom hashtags.
Sunday’s Seal Team Six operation and the Saudi-led coalition’s recent blockade of al-Bayda’s southern transit routes will disrupt AQAP’s country-wide operations. Al-Bayda’s central location serves as both a key transportation hub and a safe haven for AQAP’s planning and execution of terrorist operations, inside and outside of Yemen.
AQAP has repeatedly retreated to al-Bayda’s rugged mountains following its defeats in the southern and eastern governorates of Lahij, Abyan, Shabwah, and Hadramawt over the past six years. Al-Bayda’s obscurity has long facilitated AQAP’s operations as the Yemeni government previously considered it to be a low priority due to its rebellious tribes, rough terrain, and paucity of natural resources.
The loss of Raouf’s leadership will weaken AQAP’s control of the northwestern border with Sana’a as well as its ability to build support with anti-Houthi militias in al-Bayda and the surrounding governorates. Raouf’s death and the looming Saudi coalition offensive into al-Bayda may well cause AQAP to abandon its traditional “last refuge” and seek new real estate with a lower opportunity cost – by Joshua Koontz
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/exclusive/middle-east/end-aqaps-last-refuge-yemen-1089
1.2.2017 – AP (** A H P)
Hundreds of Yemenis with US visas stranded in Djibouti
Hundreds of Yemenis with U.S. visas are stranded in the tiny African state of Djibouti because of President Donald Trump's ban on entry for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, an American lawyer there said Wednesday.
"These are all children, parents and the spouses of U.S. citizens," lawyer Julie Goldberg told The Associated Press, emphasizing that those stranded are not refugees. They received visas last week, she said.
More than half of the 200-plus Yemenis are children, including a 3-year-old whose parents are permanent residents in the U.S. and has never seen her father in person, said Goldberg, an immigration lawyer.
She has obtained a court order dated Tuesday from the U.S. District Court in California's central district instructing the U.S. government to not enforce Trump's executive order and allow the Yemenis to fly to the United States.
The court order calls on the U.S. government to not cancel "validly obtained and issued immigrant visas" and to return passports containing those visas so people can travel to the U.S.
Goldberg is now seeking an airline that will comply with the court order.
"It's super frustrating," she said of the Yemenis' plight. "They're running out of money. Djibouti is very expensive. They can't go back to Yemen, they would be killed."
Mohamed Mosleh Jeran is one of the Yemenis waiting in Djibouti. After his family's home was blown up in Yemen's conflict, he and his wife and two young children spent two years in Djibouti. Last month, the younger son died during what should have been a routine surgery. On Thursday, the family received their U.S. visas and looked forward to joining Jeran's father, a U.S. citizen, in New York City. Jeran has been accepted to the University of Toledo to begin a masters' program, said Goldberg.
But on Saturday, they were turned away at the Turkish Airlines check-in counter, Goldberg said. A spokesman for the airline did not respond to a call for comment Wednesday.
"Finally I am leaving Djibouti, but in my heart I was upset, I lost one of my kids," Jeran recalled to the AP. "But what can you do. This is life. I was happy my wife and son were leaving Djibouti, finally." But when they were turned away, "my wife, she was like a child, crying, my son, too.'" – by Cara Anna
http://www.khq.com/story/34400518/hundreds-of-yemenis-with-us-visas-stranded-in-djibouti = http://www.kmov.com/story/34400519/hundreds-of-yemenis-with-us-visas-stranded-in-djibouti
and also
1.2.2017 – Sacbee (* A H P)
Yemeni immigrants prevail in lawsuit challenging Trump’s executive order
In another legal ruling against President Donald J. Trump's executive order suspending immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries, a federal judge in Los Angeles signed an order Tuesday night to allow more than two dozen people from Yemen who are held up in transit in Africa to fly into Los Angeles International Airport.
U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr. granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction sought by a lawyer in Djibouti who is representing an estimated 200 clients, including United States citizens, lawful permanent residents, and relatives who obtained visas after undergoing what they claim was an "extreme" vetting process that included security background checks.
Birotte's ruling followed similar orders issued by federal judges in Brooklyn, Boston, Seattle and Alexandria, Va. It specifically applies to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on behalf of 28 plaintiffs who the action claims "are United States Citizens and their alien relative beneficiaries (spouses and children) of immigrant visas to the United States." – BY ANDY FURILLO
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article130045039.html
31.1.2017 – The Antimedia (** B E K P)
Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and What You’re Not Being Told About Trump’s Travel Ban
So why did both Obama and Trump choose to spare travelers from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates from extra scrutiny?
The answer may lie somewhere in the past, long before both Obama and Trump were considering running for president.
It’s The Economy, Stupid
U.S. presidents are often judged by how the economy fares during their terms, leading many to take credit for sudden upticks while others blame everybody else for downfalls.
In a carefully written piece from 2014, founder, president, and Executive Director of the Carl Menger Center Paul-Martin Foss explains that in 1971, when President Richard Nixon “[closed] the gold window,” unilaterally canceling the convertibility of the U.S. dollar to gold, Saudi Arabia entered the picture.
Striking a deal with the Saudi Kingdom, Nixon established the oil-rich nation as its partner. From then on, Saudi Arabia became the “anchor of the petrodollar system,” making the kingdom’s demise unthinkable if the dollar were to remain a reserve currency.
Fearing the dollar would lose its value due to his economic policies regarding gold reserves, Nixon made the Saudis promise to “denominate oil sales in dollars” in exchange for America’s endless military protection. Being one of the world’s top oil producers and exporters, Saudi Arabia’s promise meant that foreign nations “seeking to purchase oil on international markets needed to purchase dollars and maintain dollar reserves.” By establishing a demand for the dollar “as an international reserve currency that counteracted the desire of countries to move away from the dollar due to the [U.S.] government’s inflationary policies of the 1960s and 1970s,” Nixon was able to protect the value of the U.S. dollar despite the obliteration of the only system that had kept the currency strong all through the years: the gold standard.
Since then, this relationship has kept the U.S. dollar relatively strong despite the U.S. Federal Reserve’s follies, which have accelerated inflation.
Over the years, other oil-rich nations joined the pact, with Gulf Arab countries like the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait maintaining large dollar reserves.
According to a 2016 Bloomberg article, Saudi Arabia still holds $289 billion of U.S. Treasury debt. But aside from that, Foss continues in his piece, “the estimated sizes of the Arab countries’ sovereign wealth funds” totals almost $2.5 trillion. These wealth funds invest their oil revenues across the globe, holding America in a special place in their hearts.
As America’s top U.S. military hardware purchaser, Saudi Arabia also helps keep the U.S. dollar strong through a vibrant war market while benefitting from the 1971 deal with President Nixon.
Yemen, Obama, Saudi Special Relationships, and How Trump Is Now Part of This Mess
As a new president takes office, we can only guess what the learning process might look like. We’re not sure who approached Obama to let him know of the U.S. special relationship with the Saudi royals. We’re also not sure how this happened under Trump.
In the Yemen files, the database “of more than 500 documents from the United States embassy in Sana’a, Yemen” released by WikiLeaks, the staff at the whistleblower hub writes that “Yemen is of significant strategic interest as [the country] controls a narrow choke-point to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal through which 11% of the world’s petroleum passes each day.” With Saudi Arabia seeking to “control a port in Yemen to avoid the potential constriction of its oil shipments by Iran along the Strait of Hormuz or by countries, which can control its other oil shipment path along the Red Sea,” it’s suddenly clear why America has been so invested in the Yemen war. The U.S. government must keep the promise made by President Nixon if it wants to keep the dollar strong without reforming or putting an end to the Federal Reserve’s grip on the U.S. dollar.
President Trump has only been in office for a little over a week, and he’s already following the lead of his predecessors.
Understanding the background of the special relationship between America and Saudi Arabia gives us an idea of why economic policies of the past are so entwined with wars being waged today — and why Saudi Arabia and others were left out of the list of countries under the watch of the U.S. government under Obama and Trump.
As over seven million people starve to death in Yemen while America presses on, aiding its number one partner in the region. But this is not because they care about the war itself, but because American presidents care about the strength of the dollar — at least, that’s what it looks like once you analyze the background of this special relationship.
Without oil-rich nations using the U.S. dollar to trade their product — and without the gold standard — there’s nothing keeping the dollar’s worth from crashing. And if that occurs, world markets would feel the boom with only America truly hurting since its currency would lose its worth, boosting other world powers.
Will there ever be a president who will challenge that? If so, reform should start first by ending the Federal Reserve – by Alice Salles
http://theantimedia.org/saudi-arabia-yemen-trump-travel-ban/ = http://anonhq.com/saudi-arabia-yemen-youre-not-told-trumps-travel-ban/
31.1.2017 – Ärzte ohne Grenzen (** B H K)
"Man muss sich immer normal verhalten, aber eigentlich hat man die ganze Zeit große Angst.“ Augenzeugenbericht aus Tais
Christopher McAleer ist gerade aus Tais zurückgekehrt, wo er unsere Teams als Logistiker unterstützte. Sein Bericht über die Situation in Tais steht beispielhaft für den seit knapp zwei Jahren andauernden Konflikt und die schlimme Situation in ganz Jemen. Tais ist die drittgrößte Stadt des Jemens, direkt an der Kriegsfront.
“Tais wurde durch einige der schwersten Kämpfe der letzten Zeit erschüttert. Sowohl innerhalb als auch außerhalb der Stadt finden andauernd Luftangriffe und wahllose Bombardierungen statt. Die Bomben treffen oftmals Wohngegenden und Häuser von Zivilisten sowie Krankenhäuser. Es gibt zahlreiche Scharfschützen und Landminen. Es besteht nicht nur eine Art von Risiko – es gibt so viele verschiedene Risiken gleichzeitig.
Ich arbeitete im Mutter-Kind-Krankenhaus von Ärzte ohne Grenzen in Al Houban. Als Logistiker musste ich sicherstellen, dass alles reibungslos funktionierte und dass die Ärzte so gut wie möglich arbeiten konnten. Während ich da war, gab es zahlreiche Vorfälle, bei denen es eine große Zahl von Verletzten und Toten gab. Ich musste eine provisorische Leichenhalle einrichten und Menschen in Leichensäcke packen.
Eines der schlimmsten Erlebnisse ereignete sich am 17. November.
An diesem Abend gab es 30 Opfer, sowohl Verwundete als auch Tote. Sie kamen in Krankenwagen an, auf den Ladeflächen von Kleinlastern, in Minibussen und kleinen Autos.
Auf dem Höhepunkt der Kämpfe wurden aus der Nähe des Krankenhauses Tag und Nacht Granatfeuer abgegeben. Gleichzeitig gab es Luftangriffe auf diese Stellungen. Für das Krankenhauspersonal ist das sehr beängstigend. Man weiß einfach nicht, was passieren wird. Man muss sich immer normal verhalten, aber eigentlich hat man die ganze Zeit große Angst.
Weil das Gesundheitssystem in Tais langsam zusammenbricht, haben viele Menschen keinen Zugang mehr zu medizinischer Versorgung. Ärzte ohne Grenzen arbeitet in Tais auf beiden Seiten der Frontlinie.
Wir kümmern uns vor allem um Frauen und Kinder. Aber wir helfen auch allen, die durch den Krieg verletzt werden. Unser Team im Mutter-Kind-Krankenhaus assistiert jeden Monat bei 400 Geburten und behandelt Kinder mit Mangelernährung.
Die Menschen in Tais benötigen dringend Nahrung, medizinische Versorgung, Wasser, Sanitäranlagen und eine sichere Unterkunft. In dieser schlimmen Situation war ich beeindruckt von meinen jemenitischen Kollegen – von Christopher McAleer
https://www.aerzte-ohne-grenzen.de/jemen-tais-konflikt-bericht-augenzeuge
English version: http://www.msf.org/en/article/yemen-%E2%80%9C-evening-we-had-around-30-casualties-both-wounded-and-dead%E2%80%9D (YPR 260)
31.1.2017 – UN Children's Fund (** A H)
In Yemen, conflict and poverty exacerbate child malnutrition
The ongoing conflict in Yemen has caused the country’s health system to crumble, leaving children vulnerable to food insecurity and disease. UNICEF is supporting the Al Sabayeen hospital in Yemen’s capital city to treat children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
The story of Abdulmalik is common across the country. Already the poorest nation in the Middle East, Yemen has witnessed the collapse of its health system because of the ongoing conflict. Almost half of Yemen’s population is food insecure and many have fled their homes to areas with no functioning health facilities.
Nearly 2.2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished, and an estimated 462,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition – almost a three-fold rise over 2014 levels. If not treated on time, these children are 11 times more at risk of dying than healthy children. Even if they survive, they risk not fulfilling their developmental potentials, posing a serious threat to an entire generation in Yemen, and keeping the country mired in the vicious cycle of poverty and underdevelopment.
“I have travelled across the country and everywhere I go, I see children, who could otherwise be hale and hearty, suffer from acute malnutrition,” says Dr. Meritxell Relano, UNICEF’s Representative in Yemen while on a visit to Al Sabayeen hospital. “We continue to work on a war footing, screening children for malnutrition and treating those who are severely malnourished. But the magnitude of the problem is overwhelming. We need more medicines, doctors and functional health facilities, but most urgently, we need the war to stop so that lives of children such as Abdulmalik can be saved.”
UNICEF and its partners have, over the last few years, invested heavily in programmes to address malnutrition by delivering a package of nutrition-specific and sensitive interventions. The Community Management for Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) project identified ten priority governorates which are categorized as ‘Emergency-like situations’, directing most of its resources to these areas. The programme has scaled up dramatically since the conflict escalated almost two years ago. In 2016, UNICEF supported the treatment of 237,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition across Yemen. Its lifesaving support included medicines and medical equipment, nutritional supplies, and assistance for injured children.
Cycle of poverty
Back in the hospital room at the Al Sabayeen hospital, doctors are hopeful that Abdulmalik may recover if he remains under observation and undergoes full treatment. But staying at the hospital is often a challenge for families who travel from far away governorates, and cannot afford to leave their homes or daily jobs for long.
This is a problem that two-year-old Abdo and his parents are facing. About a month ago, Abdo’s body became swollen, and he was weakened to the point that he could not raise his head. His parents brought him to the Al Sabayeen hospital, where doctors determined that he was suffering from malnutrition and dehydration. After he was admitted, he gradually improved, reaching 50 per cent recovery. But Abdo’s family is living in poverty. When the conflict reached their home in the Haradh district, nearly everything they owned was destroyed and they were forced to flee. Despite the fact that they now live in Sana’a, they cannot afford transportation fees to and from the hospital and decided to take Abdo back home.
Doctors at Al Sabayeen see this story often: parents will remove their child from the hospital before she or he has made a full recovery, only to return again when the child relapses. It is a vicious cycle of increased humanitarian needs exacerbated by the conflict, a shortage of medical facilities and ever increasing poverty.
In Yemen today, nearly 2.2 million children are acutely malnourished and require urgent care. This includes at least 462,000 children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition, who could die if they do not receive the assistance they need.
In 2016, UNICEF supported the treatment of 215,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition across Yemen and provided more than 4 million children under the age of five with vitamin supplements to boost their immunity. UNICEF also supported the vaccination of over 4.8 million children against polio.
In 2017, UNICEF needs $236.6 million for its emergency response in Yemen including $83.5 Million which is needed to provide nutrition services to mothers and children. Learn more: UNICEF's Humanitarian Action for Children 2017 – By Rajat Madhok and Eman Al Sharafi
https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/yemen_94543.html = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-conflict-and-poverty-exacerbate-child-malnutrition
and
31.1.2017 – CNN (** A H)
Film: Mostly children affected by famine in #Yemen & it’s getting worse. @RelanoMeritxell explains what has to be done.
https://twitter.com/CNNConnect/status/826687831011516416
31.1.2017 – Antiwar (** A K P)
Yemen: America’s Shame
Why are we helping the Saudis to commit war crimes?
The ridiculous truth is that the imposition of a travel ban on Yemen – in addition to six other countries – has evoked more anguish than America’s major role in making that country unlivable. Here’s a very sad story about the plight of a young Yemeni girl who is being blocked from entering the US – but where is the outrage about what’s being done to her homeland with our tax dollars and in our name?
And make no mistake: the Saudi invasion of Yemen on behalf of a “government” that has no popular support and was kicked out of office by its disgusted citizens is one of the worst atrocities in recent history.
Hadi and his Saudi masters say that the Houthis are being funded and trained by Iran and Hezbollah, but in the past US government officials have been dubious about this claim.
Hadi has received unconditional support from Washington in spite of his inability to either control the country or confront the growing influence of al-Qaeda.
All of which raises a larger issue: the US-Saudi relationship under President Donald Trump. Despite a recent conversation between the Saudi king and the President, Trump has never said a good word about the Kingdom or its rulers.
The Saudis hope to deploy Trump as a battering ram against their Iranian archrivals, but the fear is that they will also be battered in the process. Riyadh is quite justified in this fear. The Saudi foreign minister has decried the seven-nation travel ban as “very very dangerous,” in part because it applies to Sudan, one of their allies in the Yemen war, and in part because, if applied across the board, it could very well wind up being applied to them.
Trump’s foreign policy predilections are fraught with contradictions
A Trumpian rapprochement with Moscow would mean a seismic shift in the delicate balance of Middle Eastern forces – away from the Sunni-centric policy that motivated our support for Syria’s Islamist “rebels” and our appeasement of Riyadh.
As this shift takes place, a reconsideration of our policy in Yemen is an absolute necessity – on strategic and moral grounds. Washington’s support for the Saudi Kingdom’s vicious war in Yemen is unconscionable. The Saudis have been committing war crimes with impunity – and with our help. How is it in America’s interests to reduce Yemen, one of the poorest nations on earth, to a pile of rubble? How does it serve us to give unconditional support to Saudi Arabia, a country that has birthed more terrorists than any other in the Muslim world?
Is that putting “America first,” or is it putting the Saudis first? – by Justin Raimondo
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2017/01/31/yemen-americas-shame/
17.3.2017 – Vice (** B H K)
Film: Documentary: VICE – Return To Yemen
Ben Anderson returns to Yemen to witness one of the worlds most bloody and under-reported conflicts.
https://alistairreignblog.com/2016/03/17/documentary-vice-tv-return-to-yemen-and-church-and-states/
Remark: I think I missed this film last year.
cp1a Am wichtigsten: US-Angriff / Most important: US attack
Siehe auch / Look also at cp1
Earlier reporting: YPR 260, cp1a.
1.2.2017 – The Guardian (*A P T)
Eight-year-old American girl 'killed in Yemen raid approved by Trump'
Anwar al-Awlaki’s daughter, Nawar, may have been fatally shot in intelligence operation on al-Qaida that left at least 14 people, including a US commando, dead
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/01/yemen-strike-eight-year-old-american-girl-killed-al-awlaki and by CNN (shorter) http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/31/politics/yemen-raid-daughter-al-qaeda-leader/index.html and even Al Arabiya reports the gir having been killed: https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/01/31/US-raid-in-Yemen-kills-American-8-year-old-daughter-of-al-Awlaki.html
Remark: Full description of the raid, as already reported earlier, look at YPR 260, cp1. The figure of those killed is much more, 14 is only those the Pentagon claimed to be Al Qaida fighters.
1.2.2017 – Al Arabiya (* A T)
Arwa Baghdadi: Saudi woman who joined al-Qaeda killed in Yemen
The Saudi woman who fled to Yemen last year to join al-Qaeda has been killed in a US raid, sources to Al Arabiya confirmed.
Arwa Baghdadi was killed during the US military airstrikes on the Yemeni village Yacla, sources said, but did not reveal the fate of her two sons.
Baghdadi was killed a short distance away from where eight-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki was killed.
Issam Taher, Baghdadi’s father declined to comment on her death. However, Nizar Taher, one of the brothers of Baghdadi, told Al Arabiya English he was flabbergasted by the news, saying: “I didn’t know. We didn’t hear anything. It’s sad. Despite our differences, she was so precious and she had a good heart.” Baghdadi, 35 years old, had a bachelor’s degree in Islamic culture. Before leaving Saudi Arabia, Baghdadi was out on bail, awaiting trial on terrorism charges.
1.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A T)
10 UAE commandos killed, 5 US commandos killed in the US failed landing operation against Qaeda/ISIS hideout which killed 56+13 women&kids
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/826740005880098816
My comment: Other figures, otherwise unrecorded – where do they come from?
1.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P T)
Saudi media n Arabic: US commandos killed Anti-Houthi leading fighters In English:US commandos killed Qaeda leaders. Evidence in this post (image)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/826722854637023232
Further evidence that US-UK-UN support Qaeda/ISIS by supporting Saudi-appointed gov to rule Yemen (images)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/826720430266470400
Son of Yemen US-designated as global terrorists Al Zandani says Qaeda/ISIS leaders killed by US commandos were fighting with legmt gov.(images)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/826718452442345472
31.1.2017 – BBC (* A P T)
US raid on al-Qaeda in Yemen: What we know so far
US special forces operatives carried out a raid in central Yemen on Sunday, targeting the house of a suspected leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38808631
Remark: A survey.
31.1.2017 – Commentary Magazine (A P T)
Sorting Out the Yemen Raid
In spite of President Trump’s bluster about targeting the relatives of terrorists, the civilian deaths were undoubtedly accidental—an unfortunate byproduct of the fact that terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda hide among non-combatants, including women and children. But that is not the message that will go out to much of the Muslim world. Already, rumors are circulating that at least 59 people were killed in the raid and that the Americans killed an innocent eight-year-old girl because they were bent on exterminating the entire al-Awlaki clan. The danger of such collateral casualties is that they can wind up creating more terrorists than they eliminate.
Nevertheless, it’s important to take risks in the battle against terrorists and Trump deserves credit for approving the raid. The challenge now will be to manage the “battle of the narrative” about what happened, which will in many ways be even more important than the actual events. The president has unfortunately handicapped himself in this struggle because of his record of telling falsehoods and by the perception, which his rhetoric creates, that he is animated by anti-Muslim animus. This is one area where Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will be forced to take the lead even if he lacks a megaphone of the kind that the president commands – by Max Boot
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/foreign-policy/middle-east/sorting-out-the-yemen-raid/
My comment: In short, what we are told: Propaganda is (almost) all.
31.1.2017 – Washington Post (** A P T)
How Trump’s first counter-terror operation, in Yemen, turned chaotic
The mission facing the Navy SEALs as they approached a remote desert compound was a formidable one: Detain Yemeni tribal leaders collaborating with Al Qaeda and gather intelligence that could plug a critical gap in US understanding of one of the world’s most dangerous militant groups.
Instead, a massive firefight ensued, claiming the life of an American sailor and at least one Yemeni child, and serving as an early lesson for President Trump’s national security team about the perils of overseas ground operations.
Special operations such as this have always been risky for presidents to approve. Trump and some of his advisers have promised to give the military greater rein in authorizing such missions as part of their desire to wipe out extremist threats. But the president has also said he is leery of getting entangled too deeply in costly operations overseas.
In Saturday’s operation, the SEALs faced difficulties from the start. After US forces descended on the village of Yaklaa, a heavily guarded Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) stronghold surrounded by land mines, militants launched a counterattack.
As the pitched gun battle continued, officials called in Marine Cobra helicopter gunships, backed by Harrier jets, to strike the AQAP fighters, according to US officials familiar with the episode.
An elite Special Operations air regiment was then sent in to pull the team and its casualties out of the fray, banking into the night under heavy fire to link up with a Marine quick-reaction force that had taken off in MV-22 Ospreys from the USS Makin Island, floating offshore.
The two units planned to meet in the desert to transfer the wounded SEALs so they could be taken back to the amphibious assault ship for treatment, but one of the Ospreys lost power, hitting the ground hard enough to wound three Marines and disable the aircraft.
With the twin-engine transport out of action, a Marine jet dropped a bomb on the $70 million Osprey to ensure it did not fall into militant hands.
According to current and former officials with knowledge of the operation, military officials had proposed it weeks before, during Barack Obama’s time as president, as part of an attempt to compensate for intelligence losses caused by Yemen’s extended civil conflict.
After considering the operation for weeks, Obama officials concluded a raid would not be possible before the president’s Jan. 20 departure, and they began to tee up a final decision for Trump’s top advisers.
The operation may also be a sign of things to come – By Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Missy Ryan
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2017/01/31/how-trump-first-counter-terror-operation-yemen-turned-into-chaos/Xsbo4myhtH8Umig8FQTeJJ/story.html = http://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2067156/desert-debacle-how-trumps-first-counter-terror
31.1.2017 – ABC News (*A P T)
Al-Qaeda Fighters in Yemen Seemed Ready for SEAL Raid: Source
Al-Qaeda fighters seemed ready for Sunday's deadly Navy SEAL raid in Yemen, a source familiar with the raid told ABC News, almost as though they knew the Americans were coming.
In the works for months, the raid was authorized by President Donald Trump and targeted a three-house compound in southern Yemen that had been used by AQAP leaders as an operational staging area. "There were operational reasons why it happened when it did and not two weeks ago,” Capt. Jeff Davis, the Pentagon spokesman, said Monday about the timing of the raid.
Taking advantage of a moonless night, members of the elite SEAL Team Six flew toward the compound aboard Marine MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft launched from the USS Makin Island, a Navy amphibious ship operating in the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea, a U.S. official said.
Accompanying the SEALs on the raid were dozens of special operations forces from a partner nation in the region, the source familiar with the raid told ABC News.
With armed drones flying overhead, the SEALs arrived at the compound under the cover of darkness and immediately took heavy fire, the source said.
According to the source, it was clear that the AQAP fighters in the compound knew the Americans were coming and engaged them with heavy weapons.
On Monday, Capt. Davis said there were female combatants among the AQAP fighters who "ran to pre-established positions as though they had trained to be ready and trained to be combatants and engaged with us."
An intense firefight at close quarters killed Chief Special Warfare Officer William "Ryan" Owens, 36, of Peoria, Illinois, and left three other SEALs wounded.
A Marine MV-22 Osprey was called into medevac the wounded, but in the darkness, it experienced a "hard landing," injuring three other American servicemembers.
31.1.2017 – Conservative Review (A P T)
Why the first US military raid under Trump was in Yemen
America’s counterterrorism strategy in Yemen during the Obama administration relied on drone strikes and small, specialized military raids on jihadi compounds inside the country. In 2015, a U.S. drone strike killed AQAP’s No. 2 in charge. As previously mentioned, al-Awlaki was also taken out thanks to a U.S. drone strike.
Whether the strategy has been a success is a matter of debate. Experts have pointed out that targeted killings of AQAP leaders may temporarily weaken the group, but new leaders will emerge as long as the group has a safe haven in Yemen. Therefore, U.S. officials have expanded the mission to, at times, deploy special ops on the ground for aggressive missions on AQAP strongholds.
As details unfold pertaining to the past weekend’s raid in Yemen, what’s clear is that the country has become the perfect environment to plot jihadi terror against the United States. It appears that President Trump has recognized the threat and dedicated his first mission toward helping to eradicate the menace in the Gulf – by Jordan Schachtel
My comment: What a pity, a concept that did not work in 15 years (7 Bush, 8 Obama) also will not work now.
31.1.2017 – Military Times (* A P)
During troubled Yemen raid, U.S. troops fought and killed several women trained by al-Qaida
U.S. commandos killed an unspecified number of women who allegedly shot at the Americans during a weekend raid targeting al-Qaida fighters in Yemen, the Pentagon said Monday as battlefield reports claimed several innocent civilians also perished in the operation.
"There were a lot of female combatants who were part of this," said Navy Captain Jeff Davis, a spokesman. In all, 14 alleged militants were killed and a trove of intelligence was gleaned during the raid, officials said. "We saw during this operation, as it was taking place, that female fighters ran to pre-established positions — as though they had trained to be ready, and trained to be combatants — and engaged with us. Some of these enemy killed in action are, in fact, female."
U.S. officials acknowledge the women's presence was out of the ordinary, describing it as an "unusual" move for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. But there appears to be very little that was routine about this troubled counter-terror mission – By: Andrew deGrandpre
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/yemen-seals-raid-al-qaida-women
My comment: This is odd propaganda spread by the Pentagon after it became evident that there were female victims. Thus, for keeping the number of civilian victims down, these women had to be labeled as Al Qaida fighters.
31.1.2017 – Wonkette (* A P T)
Trump’s First Military Raid A Total Cluster(bomb) *Even Though* He Said ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’!
If you’re looking for more operational details of what went wrong, both the NBC story and the Military Times have plenty; in addition to the death of Owens, six Americans were injured, and the force lost a $70 million MV-22 Osprey in a “hard landing”; after the tilt-rotor aircraft was determined to be unflyable, it was destroyed by a follow-up U.S. airstrike. We’re going to focus instead on all those civilian casualties which were not supposed to happen, starting with an eight-year-old American citizen, Nawar al-Awlaki, who was also known as Nora. So far, it would appear a lot of American kids — at least two so far — are getting caught in the way of Trump’s winning against Islamic Terror. Here are the details from NBC News, which notes its source said the civilian deaths were unintentional:
The civilian casualties — like the Trump administration’s travel ban — is likely to turn into terrific propaganda for terrorists, since local populations simply don’t understand that to make America safe, we have to kill as many bad guys as possible, and if some civilians get in the way, that’s just how it goes.
Karen Greenberg, director of Fordham University’s Center on National Security, said the girl’s death will be a boon to al Qaeda propagandists.
“The perception will be that it’s not enough to kill al-Awlaki — that the U.S. had to kill the entire family,” she said.
According to the New York Times, a Defense Department spokesman said the raid resulted in “valuable captured materials from the site that will help us gain a deep insight into the planning to help prevent terror attacks,” so that probably makes the civilian casualties OK. A Yemeni official put the number of children killed in the raid at seven, ranging in age from three to 13. The Times cited American military officials who blame terrorist groups “for putting family members, including women and children, at risk by sheltering them in compounds or bunkers that are the targets of airstrikes or commando raids.”
The Pentagon says it goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties, even cancelling raids or drone strikes if military planners believe there’s too high a risk of civilian deaths. If there ever is an investigation of this raid — as some human rights groups have called for — one question that should probably be looked at is whether President Trump authorized it even though there was a high chance of civilian deaths. We’re only asking. After all, this is the guy who said we need to “take out” terrorists’ families. If we were real White House reporters, we’d ask if the Trump administration has changed the rules of engagement or the assessment of possible risk to civilians in raids. Not that anyone’s getting too het up about some civilian casualties. Americans were good with drone strikes on wedding parties in Afghanistan, so we’ll probably be happy with more terrorists’ kids getting accidentally shot through the neck, too.
We’re so sick of winning already –by Doctor Zoom
cp2 Allgemein / General
1.2.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
Yemeni Authorities Thwart Iranian Plot to Smuggle Books
Yemeni legitimate authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle books promoting sectarian Iranian ideas. An attempt to bring a large quantity of books endorsing violence and the rejection of moderation and coexistence was seized when a truck transporting them was spotted at a border crossing between Yemen and Oman on Monday.
The Yemeni Minister of Culture Marwan Damaj told Asharq Al-Awsat yesterday that the books that were seized and intended for Yemen were illegal and against the laws of the country. In addition to this, they contain poisonous ideas that will fuel violence and sectarianism on Yemeni territory.
The truck that was stopped by security authorities at the border crossing between Yemen and Oman was carrying lots of books that were dispatched by Iran and included religious books on the philosophy of Islamic law that are taught in Iranian religious institutions. The truck was seized because it did not have an official permit to enter the country legally, in addition to the fact that the books contained ideas that are unacceptable in Yemeni society which is peaceful.
My comment: We do not know these books. What we definitely know, that Saudi Arabia spreads millions of Wahabi books which definitely are “endorsing violence and the rejection of moderation and coexistence” and “contain poisonous ideas that will fuel violence and sectarianism”, already having poisoned many people around the globe.
1.2.2017 – RT (* B H K)
Film: Der Krieg im Jemen
Ein ernstes Thema, dass wir auch diese Woche ansprechen müssen, ist die Situation im Jemen, denn nicht nur Syrien liegt in Schutt und Asche. Allerdings hält sich der Westen, hinsichtlich der Berichterstattung zum Krieg im Jemen vornehm zurück. Man möchte Saudi-Arabien schließlich nicht auf die Füße treten. Stattdessen werden lieber Waffen ins saudische Königreich geliefert.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDm1-LZunyo
1.2.2016 – AOL (* A E H)
Film: In war-torn Yemen, government workers struggle without wages
Thousands of government employees are being left unpaid as Yemen's political and economic crisis worsens.
http://www.aol.co.uk/video/in-war-torn-yemen-government-workers-struggle-without-wages-589222d31c689942c6c73be6/ = http://www.smh.com.au/video/video-news/video-world-news/yemen-government-workers-without-wages-20170201-4q24m.html
1.2.2017 – Almasirah TV (* A K PH)
Security forces seized a number of improvised explosive devices of the hypocrites of aggression in Arhab in Sana'a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmeOvGA4Acg
My comment: This film shows that also anti-Houthi forces are using landmines.
31.1.2017 – Critical Threats (* A K P)
[Events day by day backwards from Jan. 31]
http://www.criticalthreats.org/yemen/gulf-aden-security-review
31.1.2017 – Middle East Institute (* B K P)
Trump Admin to Shift Toward Saudi Position on Yemen War
If President Donald Trump’s pick of James Mattis as defense secretary is an indication of the direction of foreign policy in the Middle East, then the U.S. stance towards Yemen will likely align more closely with the approach of Gulf states in pursuing a military victory over the Houthi-Saleh alliance in Sanaa.
Mattis shares the view of Senator John McCain that the main problem in the Middle East is the vaguely defined “radical Islam,” which they see as Iran and not ISIS or al-Qaeda; ISIS is secondary to the main threat of Iran. Mattis criticized the Obama administration not for the nuclear deal with Iran.
In Yemen, the Saudi-backed coalition has had some recent military success, but it is still difficult to see how the Saudi military strategy will lead to long-term security for Yemen or Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi-backed coalition has also made some progress rebuilding the areas under its control, mostly in the south. Emirati forces have put together a Hadhrami Elite Force that parallels the Hizam, or Security Belt, Forces in Aden. A similar force is being created in Shabwa as well. These are local forces trained by Emiratis, Jordanians, or Saudis and designed to maintain local security against al-Qaeda or others who want to destabilize the southern territories. The Hizam forces are also fighting in Taiz, a northern governorate, causing some controversy and friction among southerners who reject any involvement in northern affairs and do not want southern blood spilt for northern issues. Hadi also appointed popular local political leaders to the governor’s posts in Shabwa and Hadhramawt in an effort to stabilize the southern politics under the Hadi regime. These are local governments created under Emirati tutelage to secure both local Yemeni and Emirati interests (and actually are only marginally loyal to Hadi). These efforts still face major challenges. In Abyan, the Hizam forces threatened to break apart in a whirl of accusations between Hizam leaders after an attack by al-Qaeda in Lawdar killed a number of Hizam soldiers on 16 January 2017.
Most threatening is the economic situation.
So while the Saudi-backed coalition has begun a path to stabilizing the south, albeit still with stark internal conflicts, and has shown some promise on a few small military fronts, nothing yet indicates that the Saudi strategy could stabilize the territories under control of the Houthi-Saleh alliance, much less conquer these territories in the first place. Kerry’s suggestion of initiating a political process that includes the Houthi-Saleh alliance, a national reconciliation government that would parallel a military disengagement, has a better chance of actually stabilizing Yemen and achieving peace. However, given Mattis’ contemptuous view of Iran, we can expect the United States under Trump to give more support for the Saudi military strategy and the conflict to continue without any clear resolution on the horizon – By Charles Schmitz
http://www.mei.edu/content/article/update-yemen-situation
My comment: Trump must decide whether he wants to fight the forms of islamist terrorism menacing the US citizens – which is 100 % Wahabism-based – or whether he wants to help the Saudis to enforce their Wahabi rule in Yemen and to continue the Wahabisation of the Muslim world.
31.1.2017 – The American Conservative (* A K P)
Sloppy Western Reporting and the War on Yemen
Western media coverage of the war on Yemen and U.S. support for it is very rare to begin with, so it is most unfortunate that some major outlets do such a horrible job when they do choose to cover it. Consider this garbage story from FoxNews:
The Iranian-backed suicide attack targeting a Saudi frigate off the coast of Yemen on Monday may have been meant for an American warship, two defense officials told Fox News.
There is absolutely no evidence to support this assertion about an intention to target U.S. ships, and the “analysis” behind the story depends entirely on the Houthi use of their standard slogan in a video. It is slipshod analysis presented in poor, largely context-free reporting, and it does a huge disservice to the audience by misleading them about a conflict that most Americans know little about. The reaction from experts and journalists was deservedly harsh:
As ever, the extent of Iranian involvement in the war has been grossly exaggerated. Describing the attack on a Saudi ship as “Iranian-backed” is both inaccurate and inflammatory, and it ignores that the Houthis and their allies have their own reasons to target Saudi vessels engaged in attacking and starving their country. The danger in promoting such falsehoods is that it aids Saudi propaganda, encourages the administration to continue our shameful support for the war, and distorts the public’s already limited understanding of a conflict that the U.S. has been involved in for almost two years.
The problem here isn’t just that the claims made in the story are nonsense, but that they obscure the extensive enabling role that the U.S. had in wrecking Yemen while stoking fear about threats to U.S. ships for which there is no evidence. Further, the fact that the officials quoted in the story seem to have such a poor understanding of Yemen and the war there is especially alarming in light of our government’s ongoing involvement in supporting the Saudi-led campaign. If one wanted to stoke tensions between the U.S. and Iran on purpose on the flimsiest of pretexts, this is the sort of poor reporting of bad analysis one would publish – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/sloppy-western-reporting-and-the-war-on-yemen/
31.1.2017 – Haykal Bafana (A P)
Here's a message from Yemen. (image)
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/823256569475371009
31.1.2017 – Peace Direct (* B K P)
Peacewatch: Yemen, February 2017
Today, Peace Direct launches a new strand of its work researching and engaging with local peacebuilders. The first in an original series of reports focuses on Yemen.
Today, Peace Direct launches a new strand of its work researching and engaging with local peacebuilders.
From now on, we will provide regular updates on specific peacebuilding activities taking place in key areas - even those in the middle of full-scale armed violence.
A vast amount of research and analysis is produced on conflict issues around the world. But less is written on the efforts of those trying to stop war, even as it rages around them. So our new reports, compiled by our network of Local Peacebuilding Experts, will provide coverage of efforts taking place on the ground, where others cannot reach.
The aim of these reports is not to provide background information on the conflicts we cover. This will still be available elsewhere on our site. The reports will instead provide analysis of the impact of key trends - social, military or political - on peacebuilding. We hope to draw attention to the fact that peacebuilding is not just a post-conflict activity. There are always individuals and organisations trying to end conflict, and supporting them should be a key aim of anyone trying to build a safer, more just world.
Our first report is on Yemen, and is available to read by clicking on the image above (please note that for security reasons, their identity has been withheld). It is the first in a series of three covering covering the ongoing conflict on the Arabian peninsular, and we hope to expand to other key countries in the future. Further reports will also be incorporated into the new Insight on Conflict we are currently developing - along with much more detailed data and real-time information on the conflict zones we cover. Our new site will make it easier to see where violence is taking place, as well as the activities of those who are trying to end it. Check back in the next few months to see the results.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/peacewatch-yemen-february-2017 = https://www.insightonconflict.org/blog/2017/01/introducing-peacewatch/ and in full: https://www.insightonconflict.org/media/NULL/peacewatch/yemen_peacewatch_february_2017.pdf = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yemen_peacewatch_february_2017.pdf
2017 – World Atlas (B P)
Prime Ministers Of Yemen Since Unification In 1990
Yemen's Prime Minister is selected by the President with the legislature's approval to act as the head of government
http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/prime-ministers-of-yemen-since-unification-in-1990.html
My comment: The Sanaa government is missing. Daghr is not legitimate as he was appointed after the end of “president” Hadi’s term on Feb. 27, 2015.
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A H)
Yemen, MSF review aspects of cooperation
Head of the Al-Jamhori Hospital Authority in Hajjah province Dr Mohammed al-Sumali discussed with the chairman of the Spanish Doctors Without Borders (MSF) mission aspects of cooperation between the Hospital and MSF and the means of developing them to ensure the improvement of health services in the hospital.
The meeting focused on the assistance that could be provided to the hospital according to the Hospital's Plan for the current year, such as provide the important water needs, oxygen, support activities Psychological treatment and physiotherapy.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454892.htm
1.2.2017 – Famine Early Warning System Network (* A H)
Yemen continues to face the largest food security emergency in the world, with 7 to 10 million people estimated to be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse food insecurity. Of this total, at least two million people are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and face an increased risk of mortality. Given this emergency, increased levels of humanitarian assistance are needed to save lives throughout the country.
Poor household purchasing power caused by elevated food prices and below-average household incomes is a key driver of limited food access observed in Yemen at this time. In December, several large wheat importers reported that they would be unable to continue wheat imports given the effects of the ongoing banking crisis on their businesses. However, despite these reports, wheat flour prices at most markets remained relatively stable in December compared to the previous month. However, the price of wheat in Al Hudaydah, a key port city where wheat enters the country, rose 7 percent (WFP).
According to the Task Force on Population Movement’s 12th Report, Yemen hosts approximately 2 million conflict-related IDPs
http://www.fews.net/east-africa/yemen/key-message-update/january-2017 = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-key-message-update-january-2017
31.1.2017 – Reuters (* A H)
U.N. says it fears for lives of civilians trapped in fighting on Yemen coast
The top U.N. humanitarian official in Yemen said on Tuesday he feared for the lives of civilians in two Red Sea coast cities where Yemeni government forces and their Gulf Arab backers are on an offensive to oust Iran-allied Houthi militia.
Coalition-supported Yemeni army forces advanced northward into al-Mokha and Dhubab last week in a bid to deprive the Houthis of strategic Red Sea ports.
"I am extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of civilians in the Dhubab and al-Mokha districts of Taiz Governorate," U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Jamie McGoldrick said in a statement.
"Repeated air strikes, shelling and sniper attacks in and around the town of al-Mokha have killed and injured scores of civilians and have ground most services to a halt, including the main market and the water supply system."
Some 20,000 to 30,000 people were trapped in al-Mokha and in need of assistance, he added, but intense fighting was impeding safe access for relief agencies – by Katie Paul
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-coast-idUSKBN15F26M
and the statement in full:
31.1.2017 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen (* A H)
Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, Statement on the Situation in the Dhubab and Al Mokha Areas
I am extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of civilians in the Dhubab and Al Mokha districts of Taizz Governorate. Information from the field indicates that military operations in the coastal region have forced most residents of Dhubab to flee the area, while in Mokha an estimated 20,000-30,000 people, almost one third of the population, are trapped in the town and require immediate protection and relief assistance. Repeated airstrikes, shelling and sniper attacks in and around the town of Al Mokha have killed and injured scores of civilians and have ground most services to a halt, including the main market and the water supply system.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their homes, some having to pass through mined roads to reach safety in neighboring areas. Many of the displaced families were already victims of the conflict, with lost livelihoods and previous displacement. Now they are in desperate need of protection.
Humanitarian partners are mobilizing much needed water, food, shelter and medical assistance to those in need. However, the intense fighting is impeding safe access to the town of Al Mokha, with conflict and insecurity also restricting access to other neighboring districts in Taizz. A halt to the fighting is required to facilitate the delivery of assistance to Al Mokha and enable the free movement of civilians.
I am equally concerned over reports that roads and bridges connecting the port city of Al Hudaydah with other governorates have been damaged and destroyed by airstrikes in recent days. This infrastructure is vital for the movement of humanitarian and commercial supplies in the country. I deplore such actions as they risk further isolating Yemeni communities and aggravate the already alarming food security situation.
Under international humanitarian law, the parties to the conflict have an obligation to protect civilians
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/humanitarian-coordinator-yemen-jamie-mcgoldrick-statement-situation-dhubab-and-al-mokha and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/2011%20Press%20Release%20template.pdf
31.1.2017 – European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (A H)
Map: Yemen: ECHO supported interventions in 2016 - ECHO Daily Map | 31/01/2017
http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-echo-supported-interventions-2016-echo-daily-map-31012017 and in full: http://erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/getdailymap/docId/1926 = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/20170131_Yemen_ECHO_Intervention.pdf
15.1.2017 – Oxfam (* A H)
Oxfam Yemen Situation Report Issue 35, 15 January 2017 ‐ Bi‐weekly
The situation in Yemen remains declining as a total of 18.8 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 10.3 million in acute need and 3 million IDPs and returnees.
Some 180 cases of cholera have been confirmed in 49 districts with 99 cases of deaths from cholera and AWD. A total of 15,468 suspected cases are reported from 135 districts with only 45 per cent of health facilities are currently functioning in the country.
The public sector employees have not received their salaries since September 2016 except for a partial payment of September salary, which was paid in November 2016. Where in Aden, The pro‐Hadi Prime Minster stated that his government has overcome the liquidity crisis and now they are in position to pay salaries to all public servants.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/oxfam-yemen-situation-report-issue-35-15-january-2017-bi-weekly and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Oxfam%20Yemen%20External%20%20Sitrep%20%2335%2015_Jan_2017_Final.pdf
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A H P)
FM meets newly-WFP representative in Yemen
Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf met here in Sana'a , on Wednesday with the newly- representative of the World Food Program (WFP) in Yemen, Stephen Andersen
During the meeting, Mr. Andersen presented a copy of his credentials as a WFP resident representative in Yemen.
For his part, the Minister stressed that WFP is one of the most important programs of the United Nations working in the field of humanitarian aid.
Sharaf said that the National Salvation Government is ready to provide all necessary facilities to all international organizations working in the country.
For his part, Andersen stressed that the WFP's is concern to increase its activities and functions in Yemen in order to ensure the delivery of food aid to all those who are in need.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454907.htm
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A H P)
Yemen, OCHA review bilateral cooperation
The Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Dr. Hussein Muqboli met on Wednesday with the Country director of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen George Khoury.
The meeting examined the crimes committed by the countries of aggression against roads and bridges as well as targeting ports and airports.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454924.htm
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A)
Security services arrest head of drug-trafficking gang in Hodeidah
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454833.htm
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A T)
Security, popular forces seize 50 IEDs in Sana'a
The security services and popular forces have seized 50 improvised explosive devices (IED) in Arhab district of Sana'a province, a security official told Saba on Wednesday.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454823.htm
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
President receives Sheikhs and Notables of Dhalea province
President of the supreme political council Saleh al-Sammad met Wednesday at the Republican palace in Sana'a with sheikhs and notables of Dhalea province.
He stressed that the goal of the high sacrifices of the Yemeni people is pride and dignity and independence.
He asked that mysteries of the targeting of the southerners leaders by the aerial bombardment with the aim of liquidation and draining of the southerners , which represents a double dangerous of the inhabitants of the southern provinces.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454879.htm
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
GPC President calls for stopping wrangles among political forcesThe former president of the republic and president of the General People's Congress (PGC) party, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has stressed the need to stay away from wrangles and quarrels that only serve the aggression states and their mercenaries.
In a publication posted Tuesday in his page on Facebook, Saleh called on Journalists, writers, journalists and political activists, who belong to the GPC, the Democratic National Alliance parties, Ansarullah and their allies and all the patriotic forces in the national arena, to recognize the seriousness of the phase being experienced by the country in light of the continued brutal aggression.
Saleh urged all to sense the national responsibility and respects the bloods of the martyrs and wounded who sacrificed their lives for the homeland in the different fronts and to transcend any differences.
He called on the National Salvation Government to establish controls for the media performance, so as to ensure the neutrality of the official media in particular, which should be directed to serve the public national goal.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454848.htm
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
Foreign Ministry: Any talk on safe zones for refugees in Yemen is unacceptable
The Foreign Ministry had said that any talk on setting up safe zones for refugees and displaced in Yemen by the aggression forces is unacceptable and cannot be dealt with in the absence of full coordination with the authorities in the capital Sana'a.
This work is unsafe and aims at violating the Yemeni national sovereignty under flimsy justifications promoted by the Saudi aggression, an official at the ministry said in a statement to Saba on Tuesday.
The Saudi aggression and its allies are who created the problem of displaced people in Yemen, whose number is more than four million displaced since the start of the aggression war on Yemen on March 26, 2015, the official added.
The official called on the new American administration to reconsider its position towards the Saudi aggression and to stop supplying the Saudi regime with weapons, intelligence information and logistical support.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454836.htm
Remark: For Trump’s strange “safe zones” idea look at YPR 260, cp2.
1.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A P)
Houthis Abduct four civilians in northern Sana’a
Eyewitnesses and local residents in Hamdan district, in northern the capital Sana'a, said that the Houthi and Saleh forces staged an abduction campaign on Monday in the Dharwan village.
In identical statements, the local residents told Almasdaronline that the rebels stormed Dharwan village with a number of vehicles and abducted four civilians opposing the rebels’ coup against the legitimate government authorities.
The abduction comes one day after a similar process, in which Houthi rebels have snatched tribal leader Mohamed Ahmed al-Jaiyfi, one of the elders of al Jaiyf area in the district of Hamdan itself, and took everyone to an unknown destination http://almasdaronline.com/article/88490
1.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A)
Ibb: Houthi commander, two militiamen killed in shootout
Local sources said that a Houthi commander and two militias were killed on Tuesday after clashes between them took place in al Qafr district of Ibb governorate, in Yemen’s central highlands.
It is noteworthy that frequent disagreements in Ibb were escalating on a daily basis into clashes between the leaders of the rebels and Saleh forces, often because of financial matters, looting, and conflict over influence.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88491
31.1.2017 – Almasdar Online (A)
Ibb: Two persons killed in gunfire and Houthis kidnap civilians
A local source said on Monday that two persons were killed in gunfire nearby al Rahman mosque in Ibb city, central Yemen.
The source told Almasdaronline that gunmen had showered the car of Ismail al Attab, killing two persons; named Ayman Maazan and Amro al Attab.
In another incident, Houthi militants broke into the house of Mahyoub al Saeedi in al Sharaf area, and kidnapped his two sons: Mohammed and Abdulah in addition to a third person, over a dispute between al Saeedi’s family and a Houthi leader working in the black market.
Some other people were also injured in al Sabra district in clashes between Houthi militants and their opponents, when the Houthis stormed a number of houses in the area.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88470
31.1.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
Yemen, Iran discuss strengthening bilateral relations
Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf received on Tuesday in Sana'a the charge d'affaires of the Iranian embassy in Yemen Mohammed Frehat.
The meeting focused on discussing the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries and means of developing them.
The meeting also focused on the decision of the new American administration decree concerning the prohibition of entering USA for the seven countries "Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen".
The meeting affirmed that Yemen and Iran rejected any allusion or indictment of these countries of terrorism or describing its citizens as terrorists or extremists.
The meeting also discussed the outcome of UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed and his latest report to the Security Council.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454783.htm
31.1.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
President receives liberated captives of army, popular committees in Sana'a
The President warmly welcomed the heroes of the army and popular committees. He hailed their great efforts in defending against the enemies of the homeland.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454796.htm
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
31.1.2017 – Al Sahwa (A)
Senior commander escapes assassination
Commander of the 35th Brigade Brig. Gen. Adnan al-Hamadi on Tuesday escaped an assassination attempt in the area of Bani Yusuf, al-Mawasit district.
In a statement, al-Hamadi said that the cell consisting of several persons that was behind the incident was arrested, pointing out that they admitted that they were tasked by ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis to assassinate him.
The statement spelt out that the militias planned to carry out the assassination, and then throw the charge of assassination on a political side of carrying out it.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3535
My comment: Is more looking like Al Qaida.
31.1.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)
President Hadi arrives in Riyadh
President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi on Tuesday arrived in Riaydh coming from Doaha after a short visit in which he met with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3534
31.1.2017 – AFP (*A T)
Al-Qaeda chief in Yemen killed: police
Yemeni security forces killed an Al-Qaeda leader in the province of Lahj during a raid on Tuesday, police said.
Ammar Qaid, known as Al-Qaeda’s “emir” in Lahj, was killed in an exchange of fire with “counter-terrorism” forces after refusing to surrender, said provincial police chief Saleh Sayed.
The raid in the provincial capital Huta was carried out as part of a vast operation backed by an Arab military coalition against the jihadists in Aden, Abyan and Lahj, in southwestern Yemen.
They are three of five provinces under the control of government forces at war with Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels.
In southern Hadramawt, meanwhile, suspected Al-Qaeda militants shot dead policeman Ali Al-Bekri on Monday night in the town of Qotn before fleeing, a security source told AFP.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1047156/middle-east and by Almasdar Online: http://almasdaronline.com/article/88491
31.1.2017 – Terror Monitor (A T)
Photos: Publication of the organization of the Islamic State Photo Omnia car bombing at the Caltex round in Aden.
https://twitter.com/TerrorMonitorAR/status/826540516078710784
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
1.2.2017 – Sara (A P)
What a hilarious joke! Saudi Arabia prosecutes atheists as terrorists! Where is the respect for freedom of religion?!
https://twitter.com/SaraM370/status/826725016205139968 referring to https://twitter.com/KSAMOFA/status/826203537034051585
31.1.2017 – RT (* A E P)
End of tax-free living in Saudi Arabia as oil revenues dry up
Saudi Arabia has introduced a value-added tax (VAT) with the approval of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), indicating the end of life without VAT across the Gulf.
The decision was taken on Monday and implies a five percent levy on some goods across the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, which unites Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Other Gulf countries are also expected to follow and introduce the VAT system by the beginning of 2018.
The move has IMF backing, which recommended the Gulf States impose revenue raising measures. The countries have already introduced taxes on tobacco and fizzy drinks.
“A Royal Decree has been prepared,” the official Saudi Press Agency said.
The tax on tobacco, now at 50 percent, will be increased to 100 percent, the same level as those for energy drinks and sodas.
Residents of the region had enjoyed the tax-free period before the oil prices more than halved.
https://www.rt.com/business/375746-saudi-arabia-vat-gulf-oil/ and by The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/31/saudi-arabia-tax-approved-oil-revenues-slump
31.1.2017 – Business Insider (A)
A bizarre photo of 80 giant birds on a plane is taking over the Internet - but it isn't as strange as you think
Flying on a plane is generally an awful experience, but next time you're crammed in the middle seat counting down the hours, be thankful there aren't 80 birds perched in coach with you.
An image is going viral on Reddit of a Saudi prince who brought 80 hawks on a plane Monday morning:
We've reached out to the author of the Reddit thread about the photo and will update the post if we learn anything else about which airline accommodated the birds, how long it took to situate them, and generally how well-behaved they were on the flight.
While this may look strange, transporting falcons in the Middle East is actually a pretty common practice – by DANIELLE MUOIO
http://www.businessinsider.in/a-bizarre-photo-of-80-giant-birds-on-a-plane-is-taking-over-the-internet-but-it-isnt-as-strange-as-you-think/articleshow/56881902.cms and film https://www.facebook.com/NotoWahabism/
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1, 1a
31.1.2017 – Slate (* A H P)
Thanks to Donald Trump, a 12-Year-Old Girl With American Parents Is Stuck in Djibouti
On Thursday, Ahmed Mohammad Ahmed Ali was elated: His 12-year-old daughter had just received an immigrant visa.
Yemeni immigrants are subject to what it’s fair to describe as “extreme vetting.” The 12-year-old had to do an in-person interview with Department of State officials to get her immigrant visa. Due to the embassy closure in Yemen, that interview was held in Djibouti. It took the girl and her uncle 16 hours by bus to get from Sana’a to Yemen’s Aden International Airport. From there, they traveled to Jordan, where Ali met with his daughter. Then they went on to Djibouti, where she was at last interviewed by consular officials. Her visa was issued earlier this week in Djibouti, before Donald Trump signed his executive order temporarily banning Yemenis and people from six other predominantly Muslim nations from entering the United State.
The 12-year-old is now in the worst possible limbo. That immigrant visa grants her lawful permanent resident status the instant she’s admitted to the U.S. by Customs and Border Protection. And once she reaches the United States, Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act stipulates that, as a minor living with her U.S. citizen parents, she automatically becomes a U.S. citizen. But on Saturday, hours after Trump signed that executive order, Ali and his daughter were pulled out of line by airline personnel and prevented from boarding their Ethiopian Airlines flight. Until she’s admitted to the United States, she will not have green card status. The girl and her father are trapped in East Africa, where they have no friends or family, as they wait for a resolution to an ordeal they had thought was over. “Everybody was happy,” Ali told me on the phone from Djibouti. “We were almost done after six years.” And then, in one day, he said, “Everything disappears.”– By Josh Levin
My comment: America really can feel much saver without this 12 years old girl!!
31.1.2017 – RT (A P)
Blame Obama, not Trump: Twitter trolls Pelosi for Yemen policy memory loss
Democrat representative Nancy Pelosi has come under fire online for comments she made to a Yemeni refugee, blasting Donald Trump’s recent executive order on immigration and refugees as responsible for the plight of the woman’s family.
“Your family is suffering because our president is reckless and his administration is incompetent,” Pelosi told a Yemeni refugee who said her mother could no longer come to the US due to the ban.
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Pelosi was told by the Yemeni woman that her father died due to a lack of medicine in Yemen and that her mother was now unable to join her in the US.
Pelosi, a staunch opponent of Trump, claimed at a town hall hosted by CNN that the current administration were “grand illusionists” who created a new problem to disguise the previous one. “This comes back to Abraham Lincoln who probably has tears in his eyes.”
Pelosi’s comments sparked ire on Twitter, however, with some users quick to point out that it was in fact the Democrats, under Barack Obama’s administration, who carried out drone strikes on Yemen (with film)
https://www.rt.com/usa/375901-pelosi-comments-yemen-refugee/ and film also here: https://twitter.com/CNN/status/826616799617761284
31.1.2017 – Haykal Bafana (B P)
This is funny, but also likely to be true (Image)
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/826511922442932227
31.1.2017 – Simon Schama (* A P)
Ha'aretz reporting US embassy in Israel reassures 145,000 Jews born in Iraq and Iran of exemption from ban. Which means it IS a Muslim ban
https://twitter.com/simon_schama/status/826457630084329472
31.1.2017 – Jesse Singal (A H P)
Here's a photo of a badly burned Iraqi boy who's been separated from his parents by Donald Trump and Steve Bannon
https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/826644227773841408
1.2.2017 – Haidar Sumeri (A P)
Ridiculous. #Iraq's COUNTER-TERRORISM Service commander, General Talib Shaghati, has been denied a visa to the US to visit his family (photo)
https://twitter.com/IraqiSecurity/status/826742876843425792
General Shaghati has been fighting terrorism in #Iraq for over a decade and he's being treated as a terrorist? Fuck Trump.
https://twitter.com/IraqiSecurity/status/826747509804527616
31.1.2017 – Salon (A H P)
Muslim brothers from Yemen had to sign away their visas due to Trump’s ban: lawsuit
The suit alleges President Trump's ban resulted in "bullying" of arriving immigrants into relinquishing visas
31.1.2017 – Kölner Stadtanzeiger (A H P)
Trumps Einreisestopp: Fünfjähriger wird stundenlang in Handschellen festgehalten
Grund sei gewesen, dass der mit Verwandten reisende Junge eine iranische Mutter habe.
http://www.ksta.de/politik/trumps-einreisestopp-fuenfjaehriger-wird-stundenlang-in-handschellen-festgehalten-25652166 und Film: http://www.kameraone.com/most-viewed-clips/?KameraOneSerial=bEtNdkJtbDhwdz09
31.1.2017 – Chicago Tribune (* A P)
Fact check: White House claims 109 affected by travel ban - it's more like 90,000
President Trump and his aides love to cite a small number and a big number in order to minimize the impact of the president's executive order suspending the visas of citizens of seven countries.
But these figures are incredibly misleading, so let's go through the math.
29.1.2017 – Townhall (* A P)
Friendly Reminder: Obama Selected The List Of Muslim Countries in Trump’s Executive Order
As the Left and some Republicans lose their minds over President Donald J. Trump’s executive order on immigration, let’s not forget that the list of concerned countries that the Trump administration outlined in the order is based on the one signed into law by the former Obama administration. So, it looks like the Obama White House set the groundwork (viaMic News):
According to the draft copy of Trump's executive order, the countries whose citizens are barred entirely from entering the United States is based on a bill that Obama signed into law in December 2015.
Obama signed the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act as part of an omnibus spending bill. The legislation restricted access to the Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens from 38 countries who are visiting the United States for less than 90 days to enter without a visa.
Though outside groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and NIAC Action — the sister organization of the National Iranian American Council — opposed the act, the bipartisan bill passed through Congress with little pushback – by Matt Vespa
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
1.2.2017 – The Guardian (* A P)
Saudi inquiry into Yemen abuse claims like 'marking your own homework'
Former development secretary Andrew Mitchell hints at need for independent inquiry into alleged humanitarian law violations by Saudi Arabia in Yemen
Saudi Arabia’s investigation of its own alleged humanitarian law violations in Yemen is “like marking your own homework”, said the former UK international development secretary Andrew Mitchell.
Mitchell, recently returned from Yemen, told MPs that an independent investigation of alleged abuses during the two-year conflict was necessary to maintain credibility and the rule of humanitarian law at a time when such law was under “extraordinary pressure”.
At a hearing on Yemen’s ongoing humanitarian crisis by Britain’s international development committee on Wednesday, Mitchell was asked if the time had come for a fully independent investigation.
“I completely understand why we have said in the first instance the Saudis should investigate these allegations,” Mitchell said. “But in the end if you stand back, such investigations are only likely to carry credibility if they are seen as independent. I don’t want to belittle the issue but it’s like marking your own homework. The wider community won’t believe a one-sided investigation by the people who are the alleged perpetrators and I think that has to be carefully borne in mind.”
Mitchell said that, with international humanitarian law under extraordinary pressure, all who believe in the established system and want to see it “built up and not degraded” would recognise “the importance of having an independent and credible investigation of these breaches” – by Karen McVeigh
31.1.2017 – Sam Walton (A P)
Arms dealers dine as #Yemen starves at defence dinner at the Grovsenor House Hotel (photos)
https://twitter.com/SamWalton/status/826511578983956482
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
31.1.2017 – Tasnim News (A P)
Iranian MPs to Send Letter to New UN Chief on Saudi War Crimes in Yemen
The Iranian Parliament’s Human Rights Faction plans to send a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to warn him of the human catastrophe in Yemen caused by a Saudi-led war on the Arabian Peninsula country.
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
Siehe / Look at cp1, 1a
1.2.2017 – Terror Monitor (A T)
Publication of the organization of the Islamic State Photo targeting Houthi positions in Qifa, Al Baidah province (photos)
https://twitter.com/TerrorMonitorAR/status/826880941188587520
1.2.2017 – Idea (A T)
Indischer Pater bittet um Hilfe vom Staat
Als „Gefangenen des Monats Februar“ haben die Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte (IGFM) und die Evangelische Nachrichtenagentur idea (Wetzlar) den im Jemen entführten indischen Priester Thomas Uzhunnalil benannt. Sie rufen dazu auf, sich für den Geistlichen einzusetzen und für ihn zu beten. Der Pater der Salesianer Don Boscos wurde am 4. März in der südjemenitischen Hafenstadt Aden bei einem Überfall eines islamistischen Kommandos auf ein von Ordensschwestern geführtes Altersheim entführt. Die Angreifer ermordeten dabei einen Wachmann, elf Mitarbeiter und vier „Missionarinnen der Nächstenliebe“. Im Juli und im Dezember tauchten Videos im Internet auf, in denen der 56-Jährige von der langen Gefangenschaft gezeichnet wirkt. Der sichtbar erschöpfte und abgemagerte Geistliche forderte seine Regierung auf, ernsthaft mit den Entführern über seine Freilassung zu verhandeln: „Wenn ich ein Priester aus Europa wäre, würde mein Anliegen wichtiger genommen. Aber ich komme aus Indien. Vielleicht werde ich für nicht so wertvoll erachtet.“
http://www.idea.de/menschenrechte/detail/indischer-pater-bitte-um-hilfe-vom-staat-99696.html
10.2015 – Start (* B T)
American Deaths in Terrorist Attacks In response to President Obama’s statement Oct. 1 about the comparison between Americans killed by gun violence and Americans killed by terrorist violence in light of the recent mass shooting in Oregon, START has compiled the following information from its Global Terrorism Database.
According to the GTD, 80 Americans were killed in terrorist attacks from 2004 to 2013, including perpetrators and excluding deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq, the majority of which are combatrelated. Of those 80 Americans killed, 36 were killed in attacks that occurred in the United States.
More broadly, 3,066 Americans have been killed in terrorist attacks from 9/11/2001 through 12/31/2014, including perpetrators and excluding deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq. O
2,961 of these deaths occurred on American soil.
2,902 of these deaths occurred during the attacks on September 11, 2001.
https://www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_AmericanTerrorismDeaths_FactSheet_Oct2015.pdf
cp15 Propaganda
1.2.2017 – Arab news (A P)
Yemen Cabinet, UN envoy condemn Houthi attack
The targeting of the UN De-escalation and Coordination Committee building in Dhahran Al-Janoub by Houthi militias and troops loyal to deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh is a clear expression of their violent tactics and of lack of respect for the international community, said the Yemeni Cabinet.
According to the Yemeni news agency SABA, Tuesday’s Cabinet statement accused the coup militia of continuing to disrupt the work of the coordination committee and of refusing to begin cease-fire talks that would eventually end the war it ignited, playing the destabilizing and destructive Iranian game.
In the statement, the Cabinet said the coup militia will continue to act in a manner that destabilizes the country, including by targeting naval vessels and using the Hodeidah port for military purposes as long as the international community allows it to get away with its refusal to implement its binding, explicit and clear decisions designed to put an end to the coup and restore the legitimate government.
The legitimate government of Yemen and the Yemeni people condemn the horrible criminal act that targeted the UN building housing its staff, which is a violation of all humanitarian and international covenants and norms, said the statement.
The government had warned the UN and the international community against the intentions of Houthi and Saleh militias, which refuse to comply with UN resolutions and the popular will in Yemen, which rejects the coup.
The Cabinet reiterated that attacks such as Tuesday’s expose the terrorist nature of the militias and the Iranian sectarian project whose ambitions exceed the Yemeni borders.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1047426/middle-east
My comment: repeating a lot of old Hadi propaganda. The attack at the building used by the UN is “is a clear expression of their violent tactics” – there seem to be no Saudi air raids, or what? These attacks are “a clear expression of [...] lack of respect for the international community”? Never heard of any Saudi bombings of MSF hospitals? – The cabinet “accused the coup militia of […] refusing to begin cease-fire talks”: Who had rejected the “roadmaps” of Kery and the UN envoy and blocked peace talks for month? The Hadi government, exactly. – The Houthis “act in a manner that destabilizes the country, including by targeting naval vessels and using the Hodeidah port for military purposes” – Hä?? This naval vessel was targeted because Saudi naval vessels had pounded the coast on a large scale – so what?? It is just a military target in a war. And there was a Yemeni marine at Hodeidah port even before the Houthis. – “restore the legitimate government”: what ever is told outside of Yemen, the legitimacy of the Hadi government, according to the Yemeni constitution, the GCC initiative and the National Dialogue Conference ended Feb. 27, 2015. So what? Any peace deal will not be to “restore the legitimate government”, but a quite new government. – The Houthi attack at this building is a “is a violation of all humanitarian and international covenants and norms”? certainly it might be, the UN might state that, from the side of the Saudi-backed government it is ridiculous, looking at the Saudi bombing campaigns. – “the popular will in Yemen, which rejects the coup”: that really is bullshit, as in the north most people back or tolerate the Houthis. – “The terrorist nature of the militias”: it’s war, stupid, not terrorism. Saudi bombing raids are much more of “terrorism”, really. – “the terrorist nature of […] the Iranian sectarian project whose ambitions exceed the Yemeni borders: The old anti-Iranian propaganda, really post-truth, Iranian influence and possibilities in Yemen are low. The great “sectarian project” in Yemen was the Saudis’ project of Wahabisation, working for many decades.
31.1.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A K)
U.N.: ‘Houthi Rebels Plundered 68% of Yemen’s Weapons’
The expert team of the Sanctions Committee, which was established pursuant to U.N. Security Council resolution 2140 for those hindering peaceful political transfer in Yemen, revealed new details in its final report.
The report said that Houthi rebels are importing weapons from Iran; anti-tank guided missiles Houthis possess are manufactured in Iran.
There are three ways to smuggle weapons from Iran to Yemen. One of them is through coastal sailboats heading towards ports in the western coast that is under Houthi-Saleh control.
The report explained that these sailboats pass through Djibouti and Somalia and should pass through the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea through the Strait of Bab el Mandeb.
That area is covered by patrols from the Combined Maritime Forces, U.S. fifth fleet and Saudi Royal Navy Forces, according to the report.
The weapons have possibly being smuggled through the coastal sailboats, which indicates that some of these cargoes could be confiscated due to the heavily maritime censorship, and the team of experts notice that this line is not being actively used for its difficulty.
The second is through coastal sailboats heading towards Omani ports that are suitable to unload weapons.
Whereas the third way, according to the U.N. report, is through using coastal sailboats in Yemen’s ports or beaches located southwest Yemen.
Yet, that coast is controlled by pro-legitimate government forces, leaving the possibility of using it to the level of corruption among officials.
The report also noted that five arm shipments were confiscated by Australian, French and U.S. marines working in the area.
Moreover, some reports indicated that the Saudi navy also confiscated two sailboats loaded with weapons on the outskirts of Salif Port, and that all the arms loaded were manufactured in Iran – by Jordan Dakamseh
http://english.aawsat.com/2017/01/article55366632/u-n-houthi-rebels-plundered-68-yemens-weapons
Comment: This is the final report: http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2016/1122 . Please try to find what Saudi propaganda claims here. I do not. Also on other parts of the committee’s website, I don’t: https://www.un.org/sc/suborg/en/sanctions/2140
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
1.2.2016 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
The violations and crimes that are committed by Saudi Arabia and its alliance in Yemen 31/1/2017 (full list):
https://www.facebook.com/551288185021551/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/767050053445362/?type=3 and http://lcrdye.org/lcrd/Eng/PageDetails?id=626 (http://lcrdye.org/userfiles/files/%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B2%D9%8A/Reports%20center/Daily%20reports/2017/jan/31-Jan-2017.pdf)
1.2.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression fighter jets launch 2 strikes on Mareb
Saudi aggression fighter jets waged two strikes on Harib al-Qaramish and Serwah districts of Mareb province overnight, an official told Saba on Wednesday.
The war planes launched a strike on Saraim valley in Harib al-Qaramish and another one on al-Mahjazah area in Sarwah.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454819.htm
1.2.2016 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (* A K PH)
At least 5 fishermen have been killed while 3 others wounded in an attack by Saudi jets on their boat in al-Khawkha area of Hodeidah. https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/826792608815075330 and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62856&lang=en
1.2.2017 – Hodeida at daytime (A K)
It's not just relentless bombardment they have to contend with, there's a real humanitarian catastrophe in Hodeidah.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/826775819401969665
Stephen O'Brien ask UNSC to send 4 cranes to Hodeidah port to stop #Yemen famine last week. Saudi jets are bombarding Hodeidah port today.
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/826868236914409474
Saudi led coalition publicly & flagrantly brags it is intensifying its bombardment of Hodeidah. World, your silence is deafening.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/826760375228104706
Again, Saudis bombed what was left of #Hodeida's port. But, according to the #UN, war crimes do not relate to anything Saudis do.
https://twitter.com/Living_Yemen/status/826757634267213824
and
1.2.2017 – Yemen Today TV (A K PH)
Film: Airline Saudi aggression bombards Miami tourist resort in the dune Hodeidah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMbHRA75WoU
1.2.2017 – Living Yemen (A K PH)
Saudi aggression WarJets targeting #AlHudaydah Wharf Cranes Raids are continuing at the port since morning so far
https://twitter.com/Living_Yemen/status/826905249013170180 and photos: https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1267075820012112
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
US-Saudi aggression kills civilian, his daughter in Bani Matar
A man and his daughter were killed on Wednesday in two Saudi air raids on Bani Matar district in Sana'a province.
A local official said to Saba the Saudi aggression warplanes targeted the house of Mohamed al-Hakami in Sanna' area, killing al-Hakami, the husband and his daughter
The official said that his wife was also injured.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454886.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62818&lang=en
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
US-Saudi aggression hits Hamdan with 15 airstrikes
The US-Saudi aggression warplanes waged on Wednesday 15 raids on Hamdan district of Sana'a province, a local official told Saba.
The hostile warplanes targeted Angr and al-Awash areas in Wadi Dhaher zone, the official added.
A number of houses were damaged due to the raids, the official said.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454911.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62815&lang=en
1.2.2017 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Sana’a: warplanes of the Saudi American aggression waged 9 raids on the Al Kasara area district of Hamedan#
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62781&lang=en
1.2.2017 – Various (* A K PH)
#Saudi committed new massacre in Sanaa Today. A house was destroyed. 4 civilians killed, Two of them are children. Several injured (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=767065796777121&id=551288185021551
7-member Yemen family of Mohammed Saleh Al Hakami all killed today by US-backed Saudi war criminals jets bombing their house here in Sanaa (photos)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/826855374036824064
Entire Family of 7 killed when Saudi airstrikes destroyed family home in #Yemen capital Sanaa (photos)
https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/826870944031444993
photos:
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1634370700192251
films:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNpBJOOuhz0 = https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1634371356858852
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZickLY9f-M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P54afoeUyo
1.2.2017 – Sanaa at daytime (A K)
Sounds of war hovering over us since morning. Some very close, some very loud !! #Sanaa
https://twitter.com/RajatMadhok/status/826753363555540992
Not sure what's more nerve-racking, fighter jets screaming through sky at low altitude now or actual blasts from airstrikes. Sana'a
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/826764270037790720
Huge blast from airstrike rocked south part of Sana'a and within seconds of sending previous tweet. No limit to Saudi impunity.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/826761262558277632
31.1.–1.2.1017 – Sanaa at night (A K PH)
War-planes over #Sanaa, making huge noise
https://twitter.com/Living_Yemen/status/826697357412728832
1.2.2017 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Sana’a: warplanes of the Saudi American aggression waged 5 raids on the Al Kasara area district of Hamedan
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62778&lang=en
1.2.2017 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
# Hajjah : warplanes of the Saudi American aggression waged a raid on the city of #Medi
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62776&lang=en
1.2.2017 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Fighter jets of the Aggression Targeted Al Hodeidah Province
Warplanes of the the US-Saudi aggression launched since the early hours of the day, series of raids on a number of provinces.
A military source said: The warplanes of the Saudi American aggression launched several raids on Al Hodeidah province, including four raids on Airport and six raids on Al Kokah area .
The warplanes of the US _ Saudi aggression launched a raid on houses in Sagain directorate in Hodeidah Governorate.
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62773&lang=en
31.1.–1.2.2016 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (*A K)
Saudi just said Houthis use Hodeidah port to launch "suicide boat" attacks. So retarded claim to use as an excuse to bomb port.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/826182647634391041
Saudi BS PR past 24hrs is to legitimize blockade & possible further bombing of last port. #Yemen imports 90% food, 100% drugs & fuel.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/826543834515521536
Hysterical Saudi bombing of Hodeidah now. Told ya Saudi's PR goal to flatten coast city & lifeline port for millions in #Yemen Good night.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/826580229510553600
31.1.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
US-Saudi aggression targets radio station in Hodeida
The US-Saudi Aggression Warplanes launched on Tuesday three raids on the radio station transmissions in Hodeida province.
A local source told Saba the aggression targeted the station in al-Maraweah district in the province.
and
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454773.htm
31.1.2017 – Yemen Today (A K PH)
Film: Saudi air raid at market, Mokha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L1FVyKV5OE
31.1.2017 – Ahmad Alghobary (A K PH)
Today , #Saudi air strikes targeted 16 K street in #Hudidah city #Yemen #KSA revenge 2 Houthis attack on their military ship by scaring ppl (photo)
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/826470873821564928
31.1.2017 – Sanaa at daytime
Now 02:25PM Saudi aircraft flying over Sanaa sky & so loud..
https://twitter.com/A7medJa7af/status/826391014990569473
31.1.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Two civilians killed in coalition airstrikes northern Hodeida
A local source said that two civilians were killed on Monday in airstrikes launched by the fighters of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition on al Zaydiah district, northern Hodeida governorate, on the Red Sea coast, western Yemen.
The source told Almasdaronlin that the airstrikes targeted honey apiaries western al Gar farms, killing Yahya Abu Ghaith and his nephew Ali Haikal.
It is noteworthy that Yahya’s brother Saddam was also killed late October of last year in a similar airstrike targeted al Zaydiah security department when he was imprisoned there.
According to the source, the air strikes targeted last Friday dozens of citizen's beehives in al Qanawis area, northern Hodeida governorate.
“One week back also, a man was killed and his beehives completely destroyed in the same area”.
''We have no idea why the coalition fighters are bombing the bees farms,'' said the source.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88469
My comment: pro-Hadi / pro-Saudi source – but a serious report this time.
31.1.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Aggression drops two cluster bombs on al-Abdin area in Sa'ada
The US-Saudi aggression warplanes dropped on Tuesday two cluster bombs on al-Abdin area in Sa'ada province.
A local official told Saba that the cluster bombs targeted citizens' farms and their houses.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454772.htm and photos https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1265824573470570 and film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ix_2jj5Idg
cp17a Kriegsereignisse: Mokha / Theater of War: Mokha
1.2.2017 – Die Presse (* A K PS)
Jemen: Rebellen fuhren Selbstmordangriff gegen Saudi-Fregatte
Auf YouTube und anderen Kanälen verbreiteten die Houthi ein unscharfes, verwackeltes und grau-in-grau gehaltenes Video, das den Angriff zeigt (siehe ganz unten). Dabei ereignet sich am Heck der Fregatte eine mächtige Explosion, welcher starke Rauchentwicklung folgt. Das Video wurde offenbar zusammengeschnitten, denn es zeigt das Schiff abwechselnd von steuerbord und backbord, sodass von mehreren Beobachtern auf verschiedenen Positionen - und zwar konkret auf Booten - auszugehen ist.
Aus dem Oberkommando der Koalition: Der Angriff sei allerdings nicht von einer Rakete, sondern von drei "Selbstmordbooten" vorgetragen worden. Die Fregatte habe zwei davon abgewehrt - ziemlich widersprüchlich besagt das Statement allerdings auch, dass zwei Boote "später" von Luftwaffeneinheiten zerstört worden seien.
Jedenfalls stieß ein Boot mit dem Heck der Fregatte zusammen und flog in die Luft. Größere Schäden seien ausgeblieben.
Seitens der Koalition wurde betont, dass die andauernde Benutzung der Hafenstadt Hodeida, von wo aus die Attacke ihren Ausgang nahm, durch Houthi-Truppen äußerst problematisch sei: Von dort aus könnten "terroristische Operationen" die internationale Seefahrt sowie den Zustrom humanitärer Güter gefährden.
Welches der gesamt vier Schiffe der Al-Madinah-Klasse der saudischen Flotte getroffen wurde, ist bisher übrigens nicht bekanntgegeben worden. Es ist anhand des Videos auch nicht erkennbar, da man die Kennung am Bug nicht sieht. Die vier Fregatten (Verdrängung 2610 Tonnen) waren in den 1980ern in Frankreich für die Saudis gebaut worden, sie sind mit je acht Seezielraketen des italienischen Typs "Otomat", einem "Crotale"-Luftabwehrraketenstarter, einer Kanone Kaliber 100 Millimeter, zwei 40-mm-Maschinenkanonen, vier Torpedorohren und einem Hubschrauber bewaffnet – von Wolfgang Greber
Mein Kommentar: Der Autor hält also die saudische Version für wahrscheinlicher, die freilich klar propagandistisch konnotiert ist: Handelt es sich um einen „Selbstmordangriff“, dann kann das propagandistisch dazu verwendet werden, diesen Angriff in einen „terroristischen“ Akt umzudeuten, wie es die Propaganda der saudischen Seite auch tut. Denkt doch jeder dabei sofort an terroristische Selbstmordanschläge. Tatsächlich ist das Unsinn; auch wenn die Version mit den „Selbstmordbooten“ stimmt, handelt es sich bei diesem Angriff um eine ganz gewöhnliche Kriegshandlung. Kriegsschiffe der saudischen Marine haben in den letzten Wochen immer wieder die jemenitische Küste beschossen; nun erfolgte ein Angriff auf ein saudisches Kriegsschiff. Ob „Selbstmordangriff“ oder nicht, ist dabei vollkommen unerheblich. Immer wieder hat es in Kriegen Selbstmordangriffe gegeben, wie etwa durch die japanischen Kamikazeflieger im 2. Weltkrieg, die US-Kriegsschiffe angriffen. Im Koreakrieg griffen Nord- wie Südkoreaner Panzer mit Selbstmordangriffen an.
„Seitens der Koalition wurde betont, dass die andauernde Benutzung der Hafenstadt Hodeida, von wo aus die Attacke ihren Ausgang nahm, durch Houthi-Truppen äußerst problematisch sei: Von dort aus könnten "terroristische Operationen" die internationale Seefahrt sowie den Zustrom humanitärer Güter gefährden“, das ist hochgradige Propaganda. Hier wird auch der haltlose Terrorismus-Vorwurf erhoben. Die internationale Seefahrt wird nicht durch die Huthis per se gefährdet. Die Sicherheit in der Meerenge ist schon längst gefährdet, und das vor allem durch die saudischen Kriegsschiffe, die die Küste bombardieren, und die saudische Luftwaffe, die Fischer- und Flüchtlingsboote bombardiert. – Ein Witz ist, dass die Operationen der Huthis den Zustrom humanitärer Güter gefährden sollen. Der ist in der Tat gefährdet oder weitgehend zum Erliegen gekommen: durch die saudische Seeblockade; durch die saudischen Bombardements auf den Hafen von Hodeida, der die zum Abladen notwendigen Kräne zerstört hat; durch die Zerstörung von Straßen und Brücken durch die saudischen Bombardements, wodurch die Verteilung der Güter weiter behindert wird, von den zahlreichen Bombenangriffen auf LKWs ganz zu schweigen.
31.1.–1.2.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (*A K)
Saudi just said Houthis use Hodeidah port to launch "suicide boat" attacks. So retarded claim to use as an excuse to bomb port.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/826182647634391041
Saudi BS PR past 24hrs is to legitimize blockade & possible further bombing of last port. #Yemen imports 90% food, 100% drugs & fuel.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/826543834515521536
Hysterical Saudi bombing of Hodeidah now. Told ya Saudi's PR goal to flatten coast city & lifeline port for millions in #Yemen Good night.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/826580229510553600
1.2.2017 – Arabian Rights Watch Association (A K)
Voice recording (Arabic): YEMEN | Saudi Coalition Threatens All Ships at Hodeida Port
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwlaKZhTuME
1.2.2017 – Emirati News Agency (A K P)
Another deplorable action by Houthis: paper
The terrorist attack by the Houthi militia on a Saudi frigate that was on patrol west of the port of Hodeida is a despicable act that reveals the sinister designs of the Houthis and their attempts to thwart peace in Yemen at any cost.
[further on, referring to an article already 1 week earlier]
http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395306750977.html
My comment: No, this is no “terrorist attack”. It simply is an act of war when an enemy warship is targeted which belongs to a fleet which had severely pounded the coast in the last two weeks before that incident. It reveals “the sinister designs” of nobody. And even that should be “sinister designs of attempts to thwart peace”. Pounding the coast for two weeks is no “attempt to thwart peace”, or what???
31.1.2017 – Haykal Bafana (A K PH)
#Yemen Defence Min, Sanaa : "We attacked a Saudi navy ship which shells our towns and people. This is not 'terrorism'. It's self-defence."
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/826433356980187136
What, did Saudi Arabia expect to launch a war on Yemen, and Yemenis don't shoot back??? You think this is Bahrain, ya Salman?
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/826500535662571520
1.2.2017 – Business Insider (* A K)
Iran may have bluffed about its ally's attack on a Saudi Arabian navy ship
According to Behnam Ben Taleblu, an expert on Iran at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, reports from Iran, who provides military support to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as Saudi Arabia, Iran’s bitter rival, should be taken with a grain of salt.
“Iran definitely wants to play up Houthi military capabilities,” said Taleblu in an interview with Business Insider. In October, the Houthis surprised many observers with their advanced capabilities in a successful missile launch against an Emirati ship with an anti-ship missile.
The October strike represented a PR coup for the Houthis and their Iranian backers, something which they may have looked to replicate with the latest attack. “They don’t mind having it resonate in their media,” Taleblu said of the idea that the Houthis have significant anti-ship capabilities.
The Saudis have reason to try to spin the encounter as well. “Normally the Saudis would want to ascribe all of the Houthi military capabilities to Iran,” said Taleblu.
In this case, by claiming that the Houthis used suicide vessels instead of missiles, the Saudis actually downplay the militants’ capabilities.
Suicide boats, or fast attack craft with a human pilot and explosives, can achieve a similar effect as sophisticated anti-ship missiles, but they’re considerably more primitive and unimpressive. A fast attack craft moving at full speed pales in comparison to the full speed of a large military ship like the Saudi frigates.
“If they sent a suicide boat, it removes any kind of military prowess,” said Taleblu.
The poor, questionable quality of the video released furthers the discrepancy between the Iranian and Saudi media reports.
In conclusion, Taleblu says the story told by the Saudis seems more likely. “I’d be more inclined to go with the Saudis … Iran has significant incentive to misrepresent Houthi capabilities,” concluded Taleblu – by Alex Lockie
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/iran-bluff-houthi-attack-saudi-arabian-ship-2017-1
31.1.2017 – Fox News (A K PS)
EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon believes attack on Saudi frigate meant for US warship
The Iranian-backed suicide attack targeting a Saudi frigate off the coast of Yemen on Monday may have been meant for an American warship, two defense officials told Fox News.
But based on new analysis of a video showing the attack, American intelligence officials now believe this was, in fact, a suicide bomber whose small boat rammed the side of the Saudi vessel.
U.S. defense analysts believe those behind the attack either thought the bomber was striking an American warship or that this was a “dress rehearsal” similar to the attack on the USS Cole, according to one official – By Lucas Tomlinson, Jennifer Griffin
My comment: That simply is bullshit: the Houthi / Saleh side is on war with the Saudis in that region, nit with the US, and the coastline had been largely shelled by Saudi warships. Thus, the attack certainly was NOT meant for an American warship. After the experience the Houthis had made with earlier (pretended) attacks on US warships, they certainly would not try this – and especially not in a situation like this when Saudi warships attack the coast line. Nobody seriously would provoke any more attacks at the coast. Well, this totally odd claim only can have one purpose: to give the US a pretense for a direct intervention: Tonkin III ? – And, remark the odd wording: “The Iranian-backed suicide attack”: what did the Iranians actually do for backing this attack? Nothing.
Comment: This is how you manipulate information.
It was a missile, not suicide boats. The target was Saudi Arabia and not a US ship.
The US media is drawing parallels with the USS Cole attack which was claimed by Al Qaeda in October 2000 just to find an additional excuse to have 'boots on the ground'.
It is more than a dangerous game.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1265977233455304
and a sound reply by Daniel Larison (Sloppy Western Reporting and the War on Yemen) here: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/sloppy-western-reporting-and-the-war-on-yemen/ (more in cp2)
Comment by David Weinberg: US official idiotically infers that b/c Houthis shouted "death to America" (part of their motto) they likely meant to hit US not #Saudi ship
https://twitter.com/DavidAWeinberg/status/826541984110120960
My comment to comment: David is right. That is a part of the Houthi parole. Another is “Death to Israel”. Nobody would think they actually wanted to attack an Israeli warship.
Comment by Adam Baron: As stupid as it is dangerous. Scary that there are officials w such minimal understanding of Yemen in key positions.
https://twitter.com/adammbaron/status/826555881705844736
Comment by Laura Kasinof: Hey @FoxNews this article is utter nonsense and thus makes me think you're fanning the flames for conflict with Iran
https://twitter.com/kasinof/status/826545476728188928
Comment by Samuel Oakford:
This is the huge banner on @FoxNews right now. I have some important context to follow, from a US official.
I spoke with a Defense official just now, who said it appears the analysis Fox cites was based on the chant.
This chant is a common one the Houthis say all the time. It is not evidence of anything.
Pentagon official clarified to me just now: "We have no hard evidence to indicate that this attack was really focused on an American ship."
Based on the info I have now, this story appears to be false and/or possibly based on incredibly bad analysis of a Houthi slogan.
Of course, war with Iran lurks behind these kinds of stories.
https://twitter.com/samueloakford/status/826518487107563520
My comment to Samuel Oakford: That is a wonderful example how odd warmongering propaganda works.
Another good cooment:
1.2.2017 – Al-Bab (* A K P)
Fox News and an unbelievable tale from Yemen
On Tuesday, under a banner saying "EXCLUSIVE", Fox News came up with a startling and hard-to-believe claim. Citing unnamed officials at the Pentagon, it said the "Iranian-backed suicide attack" on the Saudi frigate "may have been meant for an American warship".
Fox News said the claim was based on analysis by US intelligence officials of a video showing the attack. In the video, circulated by the Houthis, a voice shouted "Allahu akbar!" twice immediately after the explosion, followed by the Houthi slogan: "Death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews, victory to Islam".
The Houthis have been using this slogan for years and only a fool would imagine it meant the Houthis thought they had hit an American warship, let alone an Israeli one. Nevertheless, it seems to have been the basis for the American "intelligence" assessment reported by Fox News.
In their orginal announcement of the attack, Houthi sources gave no indication that an American ship was the intended target. They correctly identified the frigate as Saudi and gave its name as "al-Madina".
The Houthis also said they had hit the frigate with a missile but Fox News insists it was a suicide attack.
The initial source of the suicide claim appears to be a report from the Saudi government news agency which refers to an attack by three "suicide boats" (zawariq intihariyya in Arabic). The Saudi report goes on to say "one of the boats struck the rear of the ship which resulted in the boat exploding and fire breaking out in the rear of the ship". Confusingly, it then says the boats escaped, pursued by Saudi forces.
The Arabic version implies that all three boats escaped, since refers to them in the plural. If one had been destroyed and only two escaped, the rules of Arabic grammar would require use of the "dual" form rather than the plural. However, that could simply be a result of sloppy writing.
On the whole, Saudi reports of this kind are no more trustworthy than those from the Houthis but it does seem on this occasion that the Houthis are more likely to be telling the truth. There is certainly not enough evidence to report the alleged suicide attack as fact (as Fox News did).
Suicide attacks are not part of the Houthis' normal modus operandi and they have used missiles in previous attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
If the ship had been rammed by a small boat which then exploded, damage to the ship's hull would be expected. The Saudi account makes no mention of hull damage and says the frigate continued its patrol duties after the fire had been extinguished.
Fox News has a history of hyping up stories about the conflict in Yemen – by Brian Whitaker
http://al-bab.com/blog/2017/02/fox-news-and-unbelievable-tale-yemen
And on older bullshit you even can pile even more new bullshit:
1.2.2017 – Navy Times (A K P)
Rising threats off Yemen coast has the Navy on edge
The threat of attacks on warships or commercial shipping has defense officials thinking about stepping up U.S. military presence near war-torn Yemen, according to two Defense officials briefed on developments.
Still, the security of the sea lane has been an increasing concern for the Navy since the destroyer Mason came under attack in October, defense officials say. That attack led to U.S. strikes on rebel radar sites in Yemen just days later.
Experts say the new threats in the Bab-al-Mandab is putting the Navy in a situation familiar to the Army and Marine Corps in recent years: operating under the constant threat of attack.
"It makes the Navy very concerned, and it reminds them that ships are vulnerable," said Bryan Clark a retired commander and analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
"If you are not there, if you’re not stopping the weapons moving from Iran to the Houthis, this is what happens," said one Navy official who spoke on background. "There are real global and economic consequences to this.” – by David B. Larter
https://www.navytimes.com/articles/rising-threats-off-yemen-coast-has-the-navy-on-edge = http://www.13newsnow.com/news/military/rising-threats-off-yemen-coast-has-the-navy-on-edge/395371990
My comment: Repeating the Fox News nonsense, than interviewing retired navy officers on how dangerous the situation is and on how the US navy must be on alert: even more warmongering.
And even more of this:
2.2.2017 – Business Insider Malaysia (A K P)
Former Navy Captain: US may need to change rules of engagement after Houthi naval attacks off Yemen
According to Fordham University maritime law professor and former US Navy Commander Lawrence Brennan, “this attack is likely to impact US naval operations and rules of engagement (ROE) in nearby waters.”
But the latest attack on the Saudis may give the US Navy pause in the future.
In a questionable video released of the attack, people near the camera can be heard shouting slogans like “death to America,” “death to Israel,” and “death to Jews!” One Pentagon official told the Washington Examiner that the Houthis may have mistaken the Saudi ship they attacked for a US Navy ship, though another official denied it.
In any case, the US Navy frequently deals with Iranian fast-attack craft swarming its vessels and approaching very closely. In one case last year, Iranian fast-attack craft got within 300 yards of a US Navy vessel.#
But according to Brennan, the US may not allow hostile, unresponsive ships to get so close to Navy vessels after a force associated with Iran used suicide boats to kill two Saudi sailors.
“The overarching duty of self-defense mandates revision of the ROE to provide a sufficient ‘bubble’ to prevent the risk of a suicide attack, particularly from swarming boats,” said Brennan in an email to Business Insider – by Alex Lockie
And you even can top it by this:
1.2.2017 – Business Insider Indonesia (A K P)
Trump administration: ‘As of today, we’re officially putting Iran on notice’
On Wednesday President Donald Trump’s national security adviser former general Mike Flynn made a cameo at the White House’s press briefing to issue a stern rebuke of Iran.
“Recent Iranian actions involving a provocative ballistic missile launch and an attack against a Saudi naval vessel conducted by Iran-supported Houthi militants underscore what should have been clear to the international community all along about Iran’s destabilizing behavior across the entire Middle East,” said Flynn, referring to Monday’s Houthi attack that killed two on a Saudi ship.
Flynn came to a forceful yet vague conclusion: “As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice.”
Flynn’s comments echo what Fordham University maritime law professor and former US Navy Commander Lawrence Brennan told Business Insider on Monday. Essentially, the Houthi attack on a Saudi ship using suicide boats may change the calculus for the US Navy operating in the region.
“This attack is likely to impact US naval operations and rules of engagement (ROE) in nearby waters,” said Brennan, who pointed out that Iranian ships frequently harass and sail very closely to US Navy ships.
Brennan suggested that in light of the recent suicide boat attacks, the US Navy should now consider shooting Iranian or hostile vessels that get too close.
31.1.2017 – Almasirah TV (A K PH)
Film: the military quality of the attack at the Saudi vessel (Arabic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpCr_JLiAq0
31.1.2017 – Haykal Bafana (* A K PH)
Coupled with triangulation (3 boats, see), you get military-grade accuracy GPS coords. Then the GPS-guided cruise missile slams in.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/826560439727357955
It's impossible that we would ram the Saudi frigate with any of the RIBs, anyway : They are very nice recent gifts from a general in Egypt.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/826566103040192517
Tip for clueless "military analysts" why 3 #Yemen navy boats were used in the attack on the #Saudi navy frigate : Differential GPS.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/826557797206728710
31.1.2017 – Haykal Bafana (A K PH)
Saudi army spox Gen Assiri : "Navy frigate targeted by Hiouthi terrorists was only carrying dates & other humanitarian supplies for Yemen."
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/826531878064779271
My comment: That’s so ridiculous when Saudi warships bomb the coast in a daily rhythm.
31.1.2017 – Janes (* A K P)
Saudi frigate survives attack off Yemen
Saudi Arabia announced on 31 January that one of its frigates had survived a suicide boat attack, while Yemen's rebels claimed they used a missile against the naval vessel.
It said that the fire was extinguished, the frigate continued with its patrol, and coalition aircraft were pursuing the fleeing attack boats.
Ansar Allah, which is supported by Iran and allied with Yemeni military units loyal to former president Abdullah Ali Saleh, is not known to have previously used suicide bombing tactics.
The pro-Ansar Allah media channel Al-Masirah TV released low-resolution video footage filmed by at least one, possibly two spotter boats showing an explosion at the stern of one of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces' (RSNF's) four Al-Madinah-class frigates – by Jeremy Binnie
http://www.janes.com/article/67359/saudi-frigate-survives-attack-off-yemen
Comment by Masta Kace: Lol. You can also clearly hear a missile being launched in the video
https://twitter.com/MastaKace/status/826562609516265472
1.2.2017 – Kuwait News Agency (A P)
GCC chief condemns attack on Saudi warship
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2589928&Language=en
My comment: It’s a military target, stupid.
31.1.2017 – Kuwait News Agency (A P)
Turkey condemns attack on Saudi warship
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2589754&Language=en
My comment: What does Turkey have to do with that? Which other attacks in this war had been condemned by Turkey? The warship definitely was a military target, so what???
31.1.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K PH)
Yemen army spokesman reminding US-backed Saudi invaders of early navy warnings. We have even more painful surprises to invaders in Sea&all
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/826439998249566209
31.1.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K PH)
SHAMELESSLY US-backed Saudi war criminals say "It's terrorist act" that Yemen army destroyed this Saudi warship 2-year of war crimes is what?
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/826420461558980608
My comment: Nasser is right. At first, Saudi war ships shelled the Yemeni coast again and again. And then, a missile from the coastline was fired at one ship. Even if it would have been targeted by a “suicide boat”, that would simply be war, not “terrorism”. Think of Japanese Kamikaze pilots.
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army, popular forces launch missile attack on mercenaries in Taiz
The army and popular forces launched a missile attack on gatherings of Saudi-paid mercenaries in al-Mahjarah village in Mocha district of Taiz province overnight, a military official told Saba on Wednesday.
Dozens of al-Qaeda elements and mercenaries were killed and six military vehicles belonging to the US-Saudi aggression were destroyed in the operation.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454822.htm
1.2.2017 – Fars News (* A K P)
Intelligence Official: Over 450 Saudi-Backed Militias Killed in Bab Al-Mandab Battles; Israeli, US Officers Overseeing Riyadh Operations in Yemen
Yemeni military and intelligence sources disclosed the presence of US and Israeli officers in the Saudi-led troops' Bab al-Mandab operations room in the African country of Eritrea, and said that over 450 Saudi-backed militias have been killed in Yemen's offensives.
"The recent battles of Bab al-Mandab resulted in the death of nearly 450 Saudi-backed militias, including Saudi-hired mercenaries from other Arab and foreign countries," Yemeni Intelligence Official Taha Hesam Abu Taleb told FNA on Wednesday.
He noted that the Bab al-Mandab operation room is located in Eritrea and officers and experts from Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are present there to command the Baba al-Mandab operations.
He pointed to the coming power of Donald Trump as new US president, and said, "Although Trump has reiterated that the US military operations in other world countries would be stopped, only one week after his rise to power Saudi Arabia's attacks were intensified on Southern Yemen; we can see the US government's efforts are aimed at segregating the Southern and Northern parts of Yemen."
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951113001249
Remark: the figures of killed certainly are exaggerated; alarming would be the presence of US and Israeli intelligence in the Saudi operation room. – And, of importance also is the role of Eritrea, giving its soil for the Saudis to lead their operations from there. Eritrea, because of its Human Rights violations is a pariah regime. The Saudis certainly do not care for that, the US and Israel also seem not to do so.
1.2.2017 – Fars News (A K PH)
80 Saudi, UAE Officers, Soldiers Killed in Yemen's Missile Attack on Military Training Center in Red Sea
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951113000677
Remark: See also at YPR 260, cp17a. The other side claimed the missile was intercepted.
cp17b Kriegsereignisse: Sonstige / Theater of War: Other
1.2.2017 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (A K PH)
#Yemen army & militia attacked Al-Magren Saudi site, killing the Saudi garrison, destroying 5 military vehicles & blowing up weapons store
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/826829323298545666
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army secures, dominate AL-Rawi Mount in Taiz
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454849.htm
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Dozens of mercenaries killed in Nehm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454847.htm
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi-paid mercenaries targets houses in Harib-al-Qaramish in Mareb
The US- Saudi aggression warplanes intensively pounded on Wednesday houses at al-Abal area in Harib-al-Qaramish in Mareb province.
A local official said that the mercenaries' shelling left significant damage to citizens' houses in the village of al-Abal area.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454921.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62849&lang=en
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Mercenaries' military vehicle destroyed, crew killed in Mareb
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454845.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62834&lang=en
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army storms al-Maqran Saudi site in Jizan
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454901.htm
1.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army bombards Saudi enemy's sites in Jizan, Najran, Asir
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454829.htm and also http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62847&lang=en
1.2.2016 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi-paid mercenaries' artillery pounded separated areas of Serwah (Marib province) , leaving damage in citizens' homes and farms.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454819.htm
1.2.2017 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Saada: Saudi artillery shelling targeted in Al-Sheikh area directorate of Monabiah
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62784&lang=en
1.2.2017 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Killing and Injuring Numbers of Hypocrites in Niham
Army and popular committees repel creep of hypocrites aggression on Yam Mount in directorate of Niham
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62771&lang=en
1.2.2017 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Marib: destroy a military vehicles by anti-armor missile,and killing its crew in the Rebiya valley directorate of Serwah
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62767&lang=en
31.1.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K PH)
Photos: US-backed Saudi invaders Being killed, dead bodies not taken by cowardly fleeing Saudi soldiers. Tues,31January,2017, Jaizan south KSA
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/826649822115553281
31.1.2017 – AFP (A K)
In the north of the country, heavy clashes on Monday killed 21 loyalist soldiers and seven rebels in Midi and Haradh, military sources said.
The pro-government forces had come under fire in a minefield as they advanced, said one source.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1047156/middle-east and photos: https://twitter.com/A_mtrz/status/826470765616836608
31.1.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Government forces seize Houthi sites in Haradh
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88472
31.1.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army pounds tank in Nehm, kills nine
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454775.htm
31.1.2017 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)
Army Kills Saudi Soldiers, Destroys Five Vehicles
Najran, Asir, Jizan
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62683&lang=en
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
1.2.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (C)
Bloody Struggle among Comrades in Aden
CIA archive declassified documents on People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, previously known as South Yemen in the seventies and eighties of the past century. Any researcher specialized in Yemeni affairs will come to realize that this region was almost shut in front of the U.S. intelligence to an extent that the agency entrusted with spying over the world failed to figure out what happened in the bloody Massacre on the morning of Jan. 13 .
http://english.aawsat.com/2017/02/article55366703/bloody-struggle-among-comrades-aden
Comment by Judith Brown: This report from a Saudi source is about a historical massacre in the South Yemen when it was an independent country. A bloody coup killed many members of the government at that time. Apparently USA has declassified the documents which seem to reveal their spies didn't know very much about what was actually going on.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155177347388641
31.1.2017 – Der Postillion
Sieben muslimische Staaten verhängen Einreiseverbot für amerikanische Drohnen
Bagdad, Sanaa, Mogadischu (dpo) – Handelt es sich um eine Retourkutsche? Unmittelbar nach dem von US-Präsident Donald Trump verhängten Einreisestopp für Staatsangehörige aus sieben Ländern mit vornehmlich muslimischer Bevölkerung haben die ersten betroffenen Staaten reagiert. So verhängten unter anderem Syrien, Somalia, Jemen, der Irak und Libyen mit sofortiger Wirkung einen Einreisestopp für US-amerikanische Drohnen.
„Drohnen des Typs Predator, Reaper, Raven, Wasp, Global Hawk, T-Hawk, Shadow und Gray Eagle dürfen vorerst 30 Tage lang nicht mehr einreisen“, so ein Sprecher des somalischen Außenministeriums. „Danach sehen wir weiter.“
Zuvor hatte eine Analyse ergeben, dass mörderische Drohnen, die im Irak, in Libyen, Syrien, Jemen und Somalia für hunderte Todesfälle verantwortlich sind, ausschließlich aus den USA stammen.
http://www.der-postillon.com/2017/01/einreiseverbot-drohnen.html
2017 – Freedom House (B P)
Yemen profile.
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2017/yemen
My comment: Absurd.
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-260-yemen-war-mosaic-260
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-260: / Yemen War Mosaic 1-260:
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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