Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 286 - Yemen War Mosaic 286

Yemen Press Reader 286: Zwei Jahre Jemenkrieg–Kinder im Jemen–Trumps Nahostpolitik–USA erwägen mehr Einmischung im Jemen–Golfstaaten wollen „Sieg“–Riesendemonstration in Sanaa-Anschlag-Kämpfe

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Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Two years of Yemen war – Children of Yemen – Trump’s Middle East policy – US weighs more intervention in Yemen – Gulf states want “victory” – Mass rally at Sanaa – Terror attack – Fighting – 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

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche/ UN and peace talks

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp9 USA

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp15 Propaganda

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

Klassifizierung / Classification

***

**

*

(Kein Stern / No star)

A = Aktuell / Current news

B = Hintergrund / Background

C = Chronik / Chronicle

D = Details

E = Wirtschaft / Economy

H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions

K = Krieg / War

P = Politik / Politics

PH = Pro-Houthi

PS = Pro-Saudi

T = Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

26.3.2017 – Open Democracy (** B H K P)

The war in Yemen: two years old and maturing?

The United Nations has stated that, of the four famines predicted for 2017, Yemen is the worst, with seven million people close to starvation and a further ten million in urgent need.

Making a poor country destitute

Already the poorest country in the region, Yemen has now suffered from massive destruction of its limited infrastructure: some towns and villages have been reduced to rubble, most bridges and major mountain passes will need millions to repair. And while the international community, led by the GCC, organises luxurious pledging conferences for reconstruction, anyone with previous experience of such pledges knows that they are little more than fantasy.

At a time of low oil prices, when Saudi Arabia is actually borrowing to cover its budget deficit, and other GCC states are also retrenching, there is little likelihood of their actually paying for reconstruction of Yemen. With a few notable exceptions, mainly in Scandinavia, the northern/western states, also cutting into public expenditure on aid and for services at home to finance increased military spending can be expected to find more and better excuses than those they used in the past decade to renege on their pledges.

The coming famine

You may have read or heard about the famine which is threatening Yemen and countries in Africa. In some areas of Yemen people are already dying from starvation. First people can’t afford to buy food, even if prices had not risen as they have. Government staff are not paid, private sector employment is almost non-existent, and foreign funded development projects reduced to a bare skeleton of their pre-war situation.

Second, as Yemen imports 90% of its staples, the blockade is an effective weapon: although intended to enforce the arms embargo on the Huthi-Saleh alliance, it is used to prevent basic supplies entering the country. A UN Verification Inspection Mechanism was finally agreed in 2016, but failed to seriously accelerate the arrival of essentials. Destruction of the cranes at Hodeida port further slows unloading. Constraints to delivery continue as truck drivers have to pay ‘taxes’ at endless checkpoints. Economic warfare also includes the transfer of the Central Bank, which in any case had run out of money. Therefore importers can no longer get the letters of credit needed to purchase grains on the international market: as 90% of imports are commercial, simply put, within weeks, the result will be no food to buy at any price.

The United Nations has stated that, of the four famines predicted for 2017, Yemen is the worst, with seven million people close to starvation and a further ten million in urgent need. It appeals for USD 2.1 billion for humanitarian work in Yemen this year. At a time of reduced international funding, this amount is unlikely to materialize.

Meanwhile, on the military front…

The Saudi-led coalition air forces have carried out over 90,000 sorties over Yemen, and there is no prospect of them ending. Many sorties involve aircraft each dropping two 2000lb bombs. Precision targeting, assisted by US and British advisers in Saudi operations rooms has had mixed results.

Two years on, the short air-borne war which the newly appointed Saudi Minister of Defence probably hoped would seal his position as future king, has reached quagmire: most fronts have been more or less static for 18 months or more.

Even military control is debatable, given that current security and military units are largely unconnected and unrelated groups of armed men, mostly under the titles of ‘Security Belt’ or ‘Elite Forces’ trained, paid and supervised directly by the main coalition partner in that area, the United Arab Emirates.While Al Qaeda has evacuated urban areas, they re-appear frequently. Many interventions publicised as being against al Qaeda are actually targeted at the Yemeni Muslim Brothers (known as Islah), because for the UAE, Islah is the prime enemy. What governance exists is local.

A political solution? Negotiations? Saving the lives of ordinary Yemenis?

Every political statement from the UN, coalition members, even the opposing Yemeni factions, states that the only solution to the problem is political. Meanwhile arms are delivered, the UN Special envoy travels from one fruitless meeting to the next contributing to carbon emissions, Hadi and his ministers repeat ad nauseam their totally uncompromising demands, the Saleh-Huthi team claim willingness to negotiate, and the fighting and killing go on and on.

The coalition boasts advances on the ground, while their demands can be summarised as complete surrender by their opponents. The Huthi-Saleh alliance remains militarily strong and don’t appear to be running out of weapons or ammunition. Their evident shortage of cash is alleviated by a taxation system which levies cash from citizens anywhere and everywhere as many times as possible along the routes of food supplies and anything else.

Internationally, the war is mostly described as a proxy one between Saudi Arabia and Iran. This success of the Saudi public relations machinery is a rare achievement for the millions of dollars spent with western PR firms. Although the Obama administration provided uncritical support, only slightly tempered by public protests at civilian deaths, Saudi Arabia is expecting and finding even more uncritical support now.

Where does the UK come into this?

Conclusion

Yemenis are not starving, they are actively being starved first by their own warmonger leaders, and second by the foreign states which feed this war with weapons and ammunition and allow the blockade of food and fuel. Prospects for peace are nowhere in sight. No serious pressure is being put on the internationally recognised government and its coalition partners to compromise while the other side has enough military capacity to continue indefinitely. Local smugglers of weapons, food and fuel are laughing all the way to their cash stores while international arms dealers are counting their profits. The Yemeni people have justifiably lost what little confidence they ever had in their leaders who, yet again, prove daily that they haven’t got an ounce of humanity in their souls – by Helen Lackner

https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/helen-lackner/war-in-yemen-two-years-old-and-maturing = http://al-bab.com/blog/2017/03/war-yemen-two-years-old-and-maturing

27.3.2017 – Spiegel Online (** A H)

Unicef-Bericht Fast 500.000 Kinder im Jemen in akuter Gefahr

Wachsende Armut, Hunger und Krankheiten: Knapp eine halbe Million Kinder im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen schweben laut einem Bericht in akuter Gefahr. Unicef appelliert an die internationale Gemeinschaft.

Im Jemen leiden zwei Jahre nach Kriegsausbruch fast 500.000 Kinder an wachsender Armut, Hunger und Krankheiten. Rund 462.000 Kinder seien von akuter schwerer Mangelernährung betroffen, teilte das Kinderhilfswerk der Vereinten Nationen mit. Das sei ein Anstieg um 200 Prozent seit 2014. Grund sind die extreme Nahrungsmittelunsicherheit und der Zusammenbruch der Wasserversorgung in vielen Städten. Die Daten stammen aus dem Unicef-Bericht "The Children of Yemen - Falling through the Cracks".Unicef appellierte an die Konfliktparteien und die internationale Gemeinschaft, eine Hungersnot zu verhindern und die Versorgung der Bevölkerung mit lebenswichtigen Gütern sicherzustellen. Die katastrophalen Auswirkungen des Konflikts im Jemen würden angesichts der zahlreichen anderen internationalen Krisen zu wenig wahrgenommen.

Inzwischen lebe jeder zweite Bürger des ärmsten Landes im Mittleren Osten von weniger als zwei Dollar am Tag, hieß es weiter. Vielen bleibe nichts anderes übrig, als sich zu verschulden, um ihren Kindern etwas zu essen zu kaufen, oder Mahlzeiten ausfallen zu lassen. Weil es gefährlich sei, aber auch weil Kinder arbeiten müssten, gingen rund zwei Millionen Kinder im Jemen nicht zur Schule. Aus Perspektivlosigkeit und Verzweiflung ließen viele Eltern es zu, dass immer jüngere Kinder von Milizen rekrutiert würden. Mädchen würden immer früher verheiratet in der Hoffnung, dass sie dann besser versorgt seien.

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/unicef-fast-500-000-kinder-im-jemen-in-akuter-gefahr-a-1140539.html und UNICEF-Meldung: http://www.unicef.ch/de/aktuell/news/zwei-jahre-krieg-jemen

26.3.2017 – UN Children's Fund (** A H)

Falling through the cracks - the children of Yemen

Number of children injured, recruited in Yemen conflict nearly doubles in one year

After two years of brutal conflict, families in Yemen are increasingly resorting to extreme measures to support their children, said UNICEF in a report released today as the war in the Middle East’s poorest country enters its third year.

Coping mechanisms have been severely eroded by the violence, which has turned Yemen into one of the largest food security and malnutrition emergencies in the world. Families are eating much less, opting for less nutritious food or skipping meals. Close to half a million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition - a 200 per cent increase since 2014 - raising the risk of famine.

The number of extremely poor and vulnerable people is skyrocketing. Around 80 per cent of families are in debt and half the population lives on less than US$2 a day, according to the report.

As family resources diminish, more and more children are being recruited by warring parties and pushed into early marriage. Over two thirds of girls are married off before they reach 18, compared to 50 per cent before the conflict escalated. And children are increasingly being used by armed parties as the fighting intensifies.

Yemen’s health system is on the verge of collapse, leaving close to 15 million men, women and children with no access to health care. An outbreak of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea in October 2016 continues to spread, with over 22,500 suspected cases and 106 deaths.

Up to 1,600 schools can no longer be used because they are destroyed, damaged, being used to host displaced families or occupied by parties to the conflict. Some 350,000 children are unable to continue their education as a result, bringing to 2 million the total number of children out of school

“The war in Yemen continues to claim children’s lives and their future,” said Meritxell Relaño, UNICEF Representative in Yemen. “Relentless fighting and destruction has scarred children for life. Families have been left destitute and are struggling to cope.”

The number of children killed in Yemen’s conflict increased by 70 per cent, and nearly twice as many children were injured and recruited into the fighting since March 2016 compared to the same period last year, the report says.

Citing United Nations-verified data, the report “Falling through the Cracks” notes that in the past year alone:

The number of children killed increased from 900 to more than 1,500;

The number of children injured nearly doubled, from 1,300 to 2,450;

The number of children recruited in the fighting neared 1,580, up from 850 this time last year;

Attacks on schools more than quadrupled, from 50 to 212;

Attacks on hospitals and health facilities increased by one third, from 63 to 95.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/falling-through-cracks-children-yemen and full report: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Families%20turning%20to%20extreme%20survival%20measuresas%20war%20hits%20two%20year%20mark.pdf and Reuters’ abridged report: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-conflict-children-idUSKBN16Y1WL

My comment: The figures of victims are, as always, given much too low. And: Those who died by starvation, missing medication (a great deal of all this due to Saudi blockade and destruction of infrastructure) remain totally unmentioned.

27.3.2017 – The New York Review of Books (** B K P)

Trump in the Middle East: The New Brutality

In the opening months of the Donald Trump administration, there has been little sign of a coherent foreign policy taking shape. What is happening, however, is a dramatic militarization of US policy in the Middle East—one that is occurring largely without the consultation of American allies, and with hardly any public scrutiny. In the case of the war in Yemen and the campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, these developments could have extraordinary consequences for US security and even the stability of the Middle East itself.

The most startling example may be occurring in Yemen, where the US is intervening with almost no public discussion, debate in Congress, or even—as Western diplomats told me—coordination with NATO allies.

But the new US military deployments are taking place without any sign of US diplomatic initiatives or discussion of the future of peace talks in conflict zones, or a more rounded strategy and narrative to woo Muslims hearts and minds in order to defeat the Islamic State. The only discussion appears to revolve around how to escalate military action—something that is deeply disheartening to allies around the world.

The most disturbing discussion to date revolves around the US military being allowed to create free-fire zones in which US forces could target and bomb potential enemies without regard to civilian casualties or damage to economic infrastructure—a stark repudiation of counter-terrorism rules set down by the Obama and Bush administrations. The New York Times has reported that three provinces in Yemen have been declared ”an area of active hostilities”—in other words a free-fire zone—and that parts of Somalia will soon be added the list. Western diplomats in Brussels say areas of Afghanistan where the Taliban are strongest may also be added. Such a policy, encouraging indiscriminate strikes, will undoubtedly produce thousands more Muslim radicals, undermine humanitarian relief and destroy hopes of economic reconstruction.

Instead of pursuing a comprehensive approach that involves diplomacy, economic aid, conflict resolution and alliance building, Trump has reverted to a dangerous dependence on the military while undermining all other US state institutions that deal with the wider world. Apart from bombing, what exactly is the Trump strategy for Yemen? Does the administration support continuing UN efforts to mediate between the Yemeni government and the Houthis? Now that the Defense Department wants to remove the arms embargo in Yemen, what will that mean for the conflict itself? What diplomacy does the administration plan for dealing with the escalating regional rivalry? And who, in fact, is in charge of Yemen policy at the State Department or the National Security Council? None of these questions are being answered or even addressed.

Yet Yemen is still a minor issue compared to what the US plans next in Syria.

Clear answers become even more unlikely when the Trump administration is considering a possible one third cut in the $50 billion budget of the State Department and the Agency for International Development in order to fund a $54 billion increase in the Defense budget.

Such cuts would undermine the State Department’s ability to launch diplomatic initiatives or even influence future US foreign policy. The firing of many regional and country experts would create a vacuum at the State Department and only lead to greater disdain abroad for US diplomacy.

Trump’s growing dependence on a military strategy around the world will reduce US influence with its allies and all major powers

We will be left with a US that is set on inflaming conflicts rather than ending them, a US that abandons any sense of global responsibility and pays no regard to international agreements. A new global era has begun in which American allies can no longer rely on American leadership. It may be the most dangerous period we have seen in our lifetimes – by Ahmed Rashid

http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/03/27/trump-in-the-middle-east-the-new-brutality/

26.3.2017 – Washington Post (** A K P)

Trump administration weighs deeper involvement in Yemen war

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has asked the White House to lift Obama-era restrictions on U.S. military support for Persian Gulf states engaged in a protracted civil war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to senior Trump administration officials.

In a memo this month to national security adviser H.R. ­McMaster, Mattis said that “limited support” for Yemen operations being conducted by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — including a planned Emirati offensive to retake a key Red Sea port — would help combat a “common threat.”

Approval of the request would mark a significant policy shift. U.S. military activity in Yemen until now has been confined mainly to counterterrorism operations against al-Qaeda’s affiliate there, with limited indirect backing for gulf state efforts in a two-year-old war that has yielded significant civilian casualties.

It would also be a clear signal of the administration’s intention to move more aggressively against Iran. The Trump White House, in far stronger terms than its predecessor, has echoed Saudi and Emirati charges that Iran is training, arming and directing the Shiite Houthis in a proxy war to increase its regional clout against the Gulf’s Sunni monarchies.

The administration is in the midst of a larger review of overall Yemen policy that is not expected to be completed until next month.

But the immediate question, addressed by Mattis’s memo and tentatively slated to come before the principals committee of senior national security aides this week, is whether to provide support for a proposed UAE-led operation to push the Houthis from the port of Hodeida, through which humanitarian aid and rebel supplies pass.

The Pentagon memo does not recommend agreeing to every element of the Emirati request. A proposal to provide American Special Operations forces on the ground on the Red Sea coast “was not part of the request [Mattis] is making,” said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss planning and the review.

This official and several others said that Mattis and his advisers have asked for removal of President Barack Obama’s prohibitions, which would enable the military to support Emirati operations against the Houthis with surveillance and intelligence, refueling, and operational planning assistance without asking for case-by-case White House approval.

A similar Emirati proposal for help in attacking Hodeida was rejected late last year by the Obama administration, on the grounds that Emirati ships and warplanes, U.S. Special Operations forces and Yemeni government troops were unlikely to succeed in dislodging the entrenched, well-armed rebels and could worsen the humanitarian situation. The effort was seen as sure to escalate a war that the United States and the United Nations have been trying to stop.

Some advisers to President Trump share those same concerns, the senior official said. “There has been no decision yet as to whether [the restrictions] will be lifted. There is certainly broad disagreement across our government.” – By Karen DeYoung andMissy Ryan

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-administration-weighs-deeper-involvement-in-yemen-war/2017/03/26/b81eecd8-0e49-11e7-9d5a-a83e627dc120_story.html?utm_term=.c9cc50052605 = http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/ct-us-yemen-war-20170326-story.html

26.3.2017 – The Independent (** A K)

The Arab Gulf states plan to 'win' the war in Yemen – we should be wary about what their victory would look like

After two years of fierce fighting, Yemen’s civil war, which pits northern Shia rebels and forces loyal to the country’s former President against a series of rival militias and military units backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has reached a political and military stalemate that has achieved little more than pushing millions of Yemenis to the brink of starvation. Now, the Arab Gulf states have a new plan to “win” the war. But we should be wary about what “winning” might look like.

It is clear that something needs to change. The problem is that the only big idea to emerge in recent months has been a military operation to seize Houthi-held Hodeidah, a port city on Yemen’s west coast. Taking the port, the Emiratis and Saudis reckon, would help stem the flow of arms from Iran that they believe is helping sustain the Houthis, and would give them more leverage in negotiations. Hodeidah is the main entry point for basic goods including food and fuel into Yemen, and taking it would leave the Houthi-Saleh alliance sealed off from the outside world.

But it is by no means certain that taking Hodeidah will be easy. The Houthi-Saleh alliance is well aware of the plan, and they are said to be spoiling for a fight. While the Saudi-led coalition claims that taking the port would help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the medium term, aid agencies fret that the short-term effect of cutting off access to a major port could be a killing blow to some of Yemen’s starving millions.

Nor is it clear that were the port to be taken, the Houthi-Saleh alliance would simply wilt away. Rather, it seems more likely that they and the population in areas under their control, facing further deprivation, will take a more hardline – and more radical – stance, perhaps supported by Iran, which to date has only had to invest a relatively small amount of resources to prop the Houthis up. This in turn will only serve to help Salafist leaders and, yes, al-Qaeda, sell a worrying, sectarian and anti-Western worldview. In the absence of a government able to impose itself on the ground or provide security and basic services like electricity and water, the discipline of radical groups becomes all too appealing.

Two years in, something must be done to shake up the Yemen war. But the last thing the world needs is another Middle Eastern country torn to pieces and racked by sectarian violence, and in which radical Islamist groups vie for control – by Peter Salisbury

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/yemen-war-saudi-arabia-united-arab-emirates-islamist-groups-win-war-victory-a7650516.html

Comment: Peter Salisbury should know better: it's not 'Shia-rebels' and it's a pure aggression, yet, interesting article on Arab Gulf States plan to take#Hodeida and a foretold apocalypse it would bring.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1317351621651198

cp2 Allgemein / General

27.3.2017 – Xinhua (A K P)

Spotlight: Yemen enters 3rd year of war, as famine looms

Yemenis marked on Sunday the second year of war that erupted after Shiite Houthi fighters stormed the capital Sanaa and ousted Saudi-backed Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

More than one hundred of thousand supporters of Houthi movement and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh crowded in Sabeen Square southern the capital Sanaa to show loyalty to Houthi leaders and Saleh, according to live footage from the scene and experts' estimations.

On the other corner of territory under control of the exiled internationally recognized government of President Hadi, live footage and pictures aired by pro-government satellite televisions from southern city of Taiz showed around hundreds of government supporters gathering at a hall to celebrate the anniversary of war, raising the national flags of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

No rallies or celebrations were reported from the government's temporary capital port city of Aden, nor other southern cities under government control.

Pro-Houthi former President Saleh, the most wanted by Hadi's government and Saudi-led military coalition, was seen saluted by the demonstrators in Sabeen Square as he was walking among the crowds.

In his speech on the eve of the event, Saleh said "those who stand by Saudi aggression coalition do not dream to return back to Sanaa." – by Mohamed al-Azaki

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-03/28/c_136162537.htm

27.3.2017 – RT (* B K P)

Yemen At War: Is the world catching on to Saudi Arabia’s crimes?

For all intents and purposes Yemen has been decimated by a military onslaught of gargantuan proportion - one of the poorest nations on the planet versus an alliance of several superpowers. Western capitals have bought themselves several dark chapters in the history books … how they will be remembered, and one may hope judged, will very much depend on how they proceed moving forward.

However loudly Riyadh will posit that Yemen’s war is righteous and fair, reason … and hopefully decency, dictate we frown before the slaughtering of a nation whose crime was to argue democratic reforms at the court of a tyrant.

Yemen was earmarked for utter annihilation for it dared speak political self-determination in the face of Saudi Arabia’s grand Wahhabist complex - that monster Western capitals insist on turning a blind eye to so that money could flow freely to its coffers.

It is impossible today to look upon Yemen and pretend that abominable war crimes have not been perpetrated in all impunity. I would personally argue, like many others that impunity in this particular case should be understood as a euphemism for amoral cover-up.

But there may be light at the end if this tunnel. Hope lies in those truths that are now rising to the surface so that the world could be told Yemen’s war from the perspective of the people.

Hope lies in speaking Yemen’s pain out loud so that the reality of Wahhabism - this abomination born in the burning sand of the Nejd (homeland of the House of Saud) could finally be looked upon as the root-cause of terrorism in the world.

Hope lies, bear with me, in identifying those enemies of humanity who, in the name of control, built a terror that’s shadow stretches over the Greater Middle Eastern region today. Yes, I am pointing a very angry finger at Riyadh and its cohort of hate-induced sectarian exclusionist for whom political stability rhymes with genocide.

But the world is catching on at last. At last mainstream media has proven able, and somewhat willing to lift a corner of that proverbial veil, so that, you, the public, be made to connect those dots.

The Mirror writes: “Saudi Arabia’s extreme interpretation of Sharia - Islamic law - is so extreme that it has actually been compared to Islamic State. In fact some commentators pick on the black uniform of Islamic State and the white robes of Saudi-and say the only difference between the two is one if black and the other is white.”

And yes I grant you this commentary was made with the London terror attack in mind but nevertheless.

Terrorism is terrorism wherever it may lie, hide or operate. Whether in the streets of the Old Continent or in Yemen, it is Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabism that has draped nations in suffocating fear. It is Saudi Arabia again that has hold a faith ransom and forced 1.6 billion Muslims to think themselves in negation of one another and beyond the world altogether.

Saudi Arabia’s behavior in Yemen is the very definition of terrorism. Can we please catch on already? – by Catherine Shakdam

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/382439-yemen-war-saudi-crimes/

27.3.2017 – Saba Net (A K P)

FM official: Saudi, its allies threatening safety of Red Sea shipping

A Foreign Ministry official mocked at the Saudi allegations that Yemeni naval spread mines in the Red Sea waters near Bab al-Mandab strait, in a statement to Saba on Monday.
The official said that the facts approves that Saudi and its allies are already threatening the safety of maritime navigation in Bab al-Mandab and along the Red Sea coast with their military aggression adventures against the Yemeni people.
The most recent attacks on Bab al-Mandab and the coast city of Mokha were committed by Saudi aggression coalition.. and the Saudi latest threatening to transfer port of Hodeidah to a military area," the official said.
"Furthermore, Saudi and its allies exceed escalation to bring foreign mercenaries and supply heavy weapons to the Yemeni coasts that pose threats to the international navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Striate," the official added.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460290.htm

Remark: By the Houthi / Saleh government. And obviously true.

27.3.2017 – Saba Net (A P)

Solidarity rallies with Yemenis in several European capitals, US cities

Thousands humanitarian activists in several European capitals and US cities organized solidarity rallies with the Yemeni people to stop the Saudi aggression criminal war and lift economic siege imposed by the Saudi-led aggression coalition.
The rallies took place on Sunday in Sweden, Germany, France and New York, raising banners and slogans that demanded stopping the terrible massacre, lifting the siege imposed on Yemenis by the Saudi aggression.
The rallies came to mark the second year anniversary of the criminal Saudi aggression war against Yemen.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460282.htm and photos: https://twitter.com/teddy_cat1/status/846122014507175937 and https://twitter.com/Manum_Babloo/status/846124053081604101 and https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/846388160775045121 and https://www.facebook.com/Stopwaronyemen/posts/1363666420343247

26.3.2017 – The Intercept (* B K P)

INTERCEPTED PODCAST: COULD TRUMP START WORLD WAR III?

DONALD TRUMP HAS not started any new wars — yet. But his administration is pouring gasoline on several initiated by his predecessors. This week on Intercepted: There are U.S. boots on the ground in Syria — now including conventional military forces — and more are reportedly on the way. Trump has eased restrictions on the killing of civilians and is pummeling Yemen with drone strikes. Combined with the presence of radical ideologues in the White House and the involvement of the powerful militaries of Iran and Russia in the same battlespaces as the U.S., Trump could take the world to the brink of the unthinkable. We speak with veteran war correspondents Anand Gopal and Iona Craig, both of whom have been on the ground in U.S. wars under Trump

Craig: I mean, if you go right back to the core of it, this is really a war that kind of dates back many years, but really, it’s a fight between two presidents. You’ve got the former president, and he’s now got the Houthis onside, so in effect, Iran is now on his side, and he is fighting the current president that is recognized by the West and America and the international community, who is President Hadi. And he is supported by the Saudi-led coalition who started this bombing campaign back in March 2015, although the fighting on the ground actually started long before that. So when this raid happened, it was in an area that was under the — well, “under the control” is a very loose term, really, but was on the side of the Saudi-led coalition. And yes, there is Al-Qaeda fighting in that area. There is Islamic state fighting in that area. But they’re fighting against the Houthis and the former President Saleh. So effectively, this raid was against people who were, in theory, at least, on the same side as the U.S. in this war in Yemen at the moment.

It wasn’t even in the space of a month. It was in the space of 36 hours. They carried out as many strikes as they had done in the whole of last year. So it was across three provinces, one of which was where the village was. And they targeted the village again. They killed two more children, three more adults, some of whom I’d actually met when I was in the village. They saw it as revenge — as revenge for killing a Navy SEAL, basically — that the Americans were coming back to destroy their village entirely and to make sure that everybody was gone. Even, you know, if that may not be the case, that’s certainly how they view the U.S. at the moment. Also, because of the Civil War, a lot of them there saw it as a way of helping Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis, of course.

And this is the problem, that America is now at risk of being sucked into the very, you know, domestic political situation that’s going on in Yemen right now, and being seen as very much taking one side. Yes, they were already supporting the Saudi-led coalition, but now the people that were supposedly on their side, they now see them as helping their opponents. So, yeah, you know, it’s getting stuck into a very complicated mess in Yemen right now, that could get even worse, if now, the Trump administration decides to conflate the Houthis with Iran, which there have been, sort of, mentions of coming out of the White House — that that could be an even greater mess that America could be sucking itself into

Well, it’s good business. In the first year of the war, the U.S. sold 20 billion dollars worth of arms to Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia has been buying more and more weapons as a result of this war. And the same goes for the British government as well. This is ultimately about money, really. And Saudi being an ally is obviously important, and it, you know, plays into this regional conflict that we’re already talking about between Saudi Arabia and Iran because the Saudis see the Houthis as an Iranian proxy. But really, it all boils down to financial gain. And that’s the greatest win, really, for the U.S. But it’s an extremely costly one, obviously, for the civilian population of Yemen. You’ve got 20 million people out of a population of 25 million in need of humanitarian aid now. It’s the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. Because of the blockade that has been put on the country by the Saudi-led coalition, the country can’t import its food, and it relies on — 90 percent of its food comes from imports. At the same time, the Houthis have also been blocking access to food and to aid on the ground as well, so the two worst areas affected in Yemen by this looming famine are actually on both sides of the frontlines. So the civilians on both sides are getting completely screwed.

But yeah, at this rate, the U.S. is liable to be owning a famine in Yemen, and along with the rest of the international community, as long as they keep supplying Saudi Arabia with not just the weapons as well, but the U.S. is obviously, you know, heavily involved in the refueling of aircraft, which are carrying out all of these air raids in Yemen. And certainly, without doing that, without the logistical support, if the Americans stopped doing that today, that refueling, the Saudis would have to stop bombing tomorrow, quite literally. So they have a huge influence over what Saudi Arabia is doing in Yemen. But yeah, it all comes down to big business in the end. (podcast and transcript)

https://theintercept.com/2017/03/22/intercepted-podcast-could-trump-start-world-war-iii/

26.3.2017 – Telepolis (* B K P)

Jemen: 90.000 Einsätze der Luftwaffe unter saudi-arabischer Führung

Die humanitäre Not im Land sei von anderen verschuldet, heißt es aus Riad

Es ist eine unglaubliche Zahl: Saudi-Arabien soll seit offiziellem Beginn seiner militärischen Intervention im Jemen vor zwei Jahren (26. März 2015) 90.000 Luftangriffe geflogen sein. Auf seinem Twitter-Account rechnet Haykal Bafana, der sich als "Gärtner, Denker und Anwalt" beschreibt, diese Zahl auf tägliche Einsätze um. Er kommt auf 123 Einsätze pro Tag und einen Luftangriff jede 12 Minuten.

Das ist immens und wirft Zweifel auf. Die Nachricht von den 90.000 Luftangriffen findet sich als Retweet auf dem Kurznachrichtenkonto von Elijah J. Magnier, eines bekannten Analysten der Kriege und Konflikte im Nahen Osten. In seinen Lagebeurteilungen ist Magnier eine Quelle, auf die wegen seiner Kenntnisse und nüchternen, analytischen Schärfe Verlass ist. Das bedeutet freilich nicht, dass jeder Tweet von außen überprüft ist und die Information "belastbar" ist.

Immerhin aber verweist der Tweet von den 90.000 saudischen Airstrikes auf eine offizielle, belastbare Quelle. Genannt hat die Zahl nämlich General Ahmed al-Asiri. Er ist Sprecher der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Koalition im Jemen. Auf den englisch-sprachigen saudi-arabischen Nachrichtenseiten ließ sich dazu bei einer Schnellsuche keine Bestätigung finden.

Doch taucht die Zahl in einem Bericht der Washington Times vom 17.März auf. Dort wird al-Asiri mit einer Aussage vom selben Tag zitiert, wonach die Koalition seit Beginn der Militärintervention mehr als 90.000 Flugeinsätze (i.O. "sorties") verzeichnet. Wie viele Raketen oder Bomben bei diesen Einsätzen im Jemen losgeschickt wurden, sagte Asiri nicht. Er wandte sich laut Bericht allerdings gegen die Charakterisierung der Luftangriffe, wonach sie zu Verstößen gegen Menschenrechten führen.

Rhetorische Abwehrmanöver

Wer sich dafür interessiert, wie der saudische Koalitionssprecher solche rhetorischen Abwehrmanöver sprachlich, mimisch und gestisch durchführt, der möge sich ein gut zweiminütiges CNN-Interview von Ende 2016 anschauen, wo Asiri mit dem Foto einer erbärmlich von Unterernährung gezeichneten Frau aus dem Jemen konfrontiert wird.

Al-Asiri leugnet nicht die Echtheit des Fotos, das ihm sichtlich Unbehagen bereitet, sondern die Schuldzuweisung. Die Schuld liegt seiner Ansicht nach bei den verbrecherischen Milizen, die von Iran unterstützt werden, und diesen Krieg so brutal machen. Die eigene Rolle stellt er als märchenhaft gut dar.

Es gibt noch andere große Zahlen zum Krieg im Jemen. Etwa die 4,9 Millionen Personen im Jemen, die Schwierigkeiten haben, an Nahrung zu kommen, wie die Welthungerhilfe für den Februar konstatierte. Da man nicht über genügend Vorräte verfüge, sei man nun gezwungen die Rationen zu verkleinern. 20 von 22 Gouvernaten im Jemen seien von Hungersnot bedroht.

Die Propaganda: Saudi-arabische Koalition auf Siegeskurs

Ohnehin stehen die Aussichten, dass der Krieg im Jemen ein Ende findet sehr schlecht, wie heute im Independent von Peter Salisbury analysiert wird.Daraus geht hervor, dass die von Saudi-Arabien geführten Koalition erhoffte und mit allen Mitteln gesuchte Eroberung der Hafenstadt al-Hudaida selbst im Fall eines militärischen Erfolgs den Gegner, die Houthi-Saleh-Allianz, nicht derart schwächen würde, dass ein Ende des Konflikts absehbar wäre – von Thomas Pany

https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Jemen-90-000-Einsaetze-der-Luftwaffe-unter-saudi-arabischer-Fuehrung-3664713.html

26.3.2017 – Al Araby (* B K P)

Yemen's whitewashed crisis

Yemenis are starving in an aggressive war that shows no signs of resolve, but the UK continues to whitewash its weapons sales to Saudi ArabiaAnd all this, because of a conflict involving the Saudi-led coalition, that the UK and US are enabling.

The UK's crime

The UK has a special relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, enjoying good trade ties; and Saudi Arabia is of course a key arms customer for the UK. There is no notable instance of the UK Government ever criticising Saudi Arabia and there is no chance of it starting now.
The UK has already made itself complicit in a series of alleged war crimes by actively refusing to suspend weapon sales, or use diplomatic leverage.

Andrew Mitchell, conservative MP and former International Development Secretary recently spoke out about the UK's role in Yemen's crisis. In his own words he said of Yemen’s malnourished population:

"They are not starving. 27 million people. They are being starved.

A whitewash

On 10 January it was reported that the British military provided training to a Saudi war crimes investigations unit – the Joint Incident Assessment Team (JIAT). While the fact that the investigations unit's Saudi leadership makes it ill-placed for a fair investigation, the Judge presiding over the panel, Colonel Mansour al-Mansour, was criticised himself over human rights abuses, completely discrediting the mechanism.

As the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy put it "It is farcical that the judge who condemned torture victims to life imprisonment in Bahrain is now in charge of investigating the murder of civilians in Yemen."

This is the investigation the UK Government said it wanted to see happen before it deemed a UN investigation necessary. This was the response to a Parliamentary Committee, the Committee on Arms Export Controls (CAEC), after it advised the UK Government to halt UK arms sales until the allegations could be investigated. The report's findings are based on an inquiry CAEC held on UK arms being used in Yemen.

The report actually initially recommended that all sales to Saudi Arabia were to be suspended immediately, if it was suspected they were being used against civilians. However, both Labour and Conservative MPs proposed amendments to water down the weight of the recommendations and essentially to allow the UK to continue trading until a UN investigation took place.
Seeing the Saudis conduct an internal investigation is perhaps just another delaying tactic.

Where is the media?

The UK government has always denied the evidence laid before it by human rights groups or the UN.

And what's more the media coverage of Yemen's conflict has waned, leading some to describe it as a hidden crisis. One might argue that those who want to control the narrative are suppressing coverage of the Yemen war.

Theresa May's government can facilitate this by equating Saudi's actions to "counter-terrorism" and aligning our national security interests to it. But even practically, the Yemeni government has restricted entry of foreign journalists. Its journalists are under constant threat and citizen journalism is waning due to increased electricity blackouts and the humanitarian crisis itself.

Media coverage of Yemen's civil war has been relegated to its simple humanitarian dimension, and the need for aid. To this end the UK is a leading donor, but politically it is fuelling the crisis and has failed in its responsibility to protect through active diplomatic engagement – by Sophia Akram

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2017/1/27/yemens-whitewashed-crisis

26.3.2017 – Yemen Peace Project / Iona Craig (B K)

"2 years of war" is useful shorthand & good hook for coverage, but we can't forget Houthis started this war months before KSA intervention.

https://twitter.com/YemenPeaceNews/status/845992685106286594

And worth noting that the first airstrikes in Yemen war were carried out not by the Saudis but by Houthis/Saleh in Aden on 19 March 2015.

https://twitter.com/ionacraig/status/846048033578143744

26.3.2017 – Pakistan Observer (B K P)

The complications in Yemen

THE Yemeni conflict is frequently called a forgotten war, because in terms of media coverage it is always overshadowed by Syria and Iraq. But its tragedy is no less serious, and has no justification; this is only simple thing about conflict. Politically and historically it is a complete mess, more so than public imagines. The roots of bloodshed go deep; we must take this into account when analyzing situation. The current crisis started not in 2014 but in June 2004, and its direct roots are in the 1962 revolution in North Yemen that ended more than 1,000 years of Zaidi rule. – by Maria Dubokikova

http://pakobserver.net/the-complications-in-yemen/

My comment: An overview article, little new.

A reminder:

26.3.2017 – Living in Yemen on the Edge (B K)

''2 years ago today, the White House announced direct support for a Saudi-led campaign in Yemen. The campaign - and support - continues today'' (image)

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1317390181647342/?type=3

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

28.3.2017 – CNN (* B H)

Film: Humanitarian crisis spreads due to Yemen war

Humanitarian crisis spreads due to Yemen war

The multi-sided civil war in Yemen has led the nation to the brink of famine, the UN says.

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2017/03/27/humanitarian-crisis-in-yemen-lead-paton-walsh-pkg.cnn

28.3.2017 – Xinhua (* A H K)

Yemen enters 3rd year of war, as famine looms

Everything looms in sight is no more than starvation and beginning of famine spreading.

Nada Ahmed and her brother Omar are one family traced by Xinhua in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa.

"Starving on the roads is much better than collapsing from hunger at home... Our life is not politics," said 18-year-old school girl Nada as she stands up closely in front of a popular restaurant to beg for money or win a remnant meal.

"We are at a rented small home, and since January of this year, we have nothing left to sell in order to pay rent or feed my family," she said.

Her brother, 22, leaves the house at dawn everyday to walk tens of kilometers searching for recyclable items among garbage dumps in the streets to be sold to support his family.

The father of Nada and Omar is a soldier, who went months ago to frontlines to fight the coalition forces.

Nada and Omar are taking care of their mother and five other little sisters. Nada and Omar are one struggle story of at least 10 million Yemeni children across the war-torn Arab country.

Yousif Ali, 13, is another tragic story in downtown the capital, Sanaa. This boy stands up everyday in the street near his mom's one-room rented home.

Yousif escaped along with his widow mother in the far northern border province of Saada in 2016.

Yousif stands up in the street to ask walking people to visit his sick mom in the one-room house nearby. He refused to accept taking money or food until the one who decides to help firstly visits his mom.

"People are dying and no one cares," said Najat Nor al-Deen, a female journalist who paid food and purchased medicine for Yousif' mom.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2017-03/28/content_28711076.htm

Remark: Overview article with a summary of war, and reporting on people suffering.

28.3.2017 – FAZ (A H)

Ein Buch zum Schutz vor Bomben

Kinder leiden unter dem Krieg im Jemen besonders – ein Projekt will ihnen zumindest in den Schulen Sicherheit gewähren / Von Christoph Ehrhardt (nur gegen Bezahlung)

http://plus.faz.net/evr-editions/2017-03-28/43883/334272.html

27.3.2017 – New York Times (** B H)

Drought and War Heighten Threat of Not Just 1 Famine, but 4

BAIDOA, Somalia — First the trees dried up and cracked apart.

Then the goats keeled over.

Then the water in the village well began to disappear, turning cloudy, then red, then slime-green, but the villagers kept drinking it. That was all they had.

The famines are coming as a drought sweeps across Africa and several different wars seal off extremely needy areas. United Nations officials say they need a huge infusion of cash to respond. So far, they are not just millions of dollars short, but billions.

At the same time, President Trump is urging Congress to cut foreign aid and assistance to the United Nations, which aid officials fear could multiply the deaths. The United States traditionally provides more disaster relief than anyone else.

“The international humanitarian system is at its breaking point,” said Dominic MacSorley, chief executive of Concern Worldwide, a large private aid group.

In Yemen, relentless aerial bombings by Saudi Arabia and a trade blockade have mutilated the economy, sending food prices spiraling and pushing hundreds of thousands of children to the brink of starvation – By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/world/africa/famine-somalia-nigeria-south-sudan-yemen-water.html

27.3.2017 – SDA / AFP (* B H)

Gewalt gegen Frauen im Jemen stark gestiegen

Frauen und Mädchen im Jemen werden durch den gewaltsamen Konflikt in ihrem Land zunehmend Opfer von häuslicher Gewalt und sexuellen Übergriffen. 2016 seien mehr als 10'000 Attacken gemeldet worden, teilte der UNO-Bevölkerungsfonds (UNFPA) am Montag mit.

Dies entspreche einer Zunahme von 63 Prozent binnen zwei Jahren. Die ohnehin schwierige Lage der Frauen in der jemenitischen Gesellschaft habe sich durch den Konflikt weiter verschlechtert. Es gebe mehr Vergewaltigungen, häusliche Gewalt, Kinderehen sowie körperliche und psychische Misshandlungen als noch vor Beginn der Kämpfe.

http://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/nachrichten/international/Gewalt-gegen-Frauen-im-Jemen-stark-gestiegen;art46446,997883

27.3.2017 – Assessment Capacities Project (A H)

Infographic: ACAPS Briefing Note – Yemen: Food security and Nutrition, 27 March 2017

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/acaps-briefing-note-yemen-food-security-and-nutrition-27-march-2017 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/20170327_acaps_briefing_note_yemen_famine.pdf and https://www.acaps.org/country/yemen/special-reports#container-864

27.3.2017 – Save the Children (A H)

Infographic: Yemen Factsheet Summary 2016

Since March 2015, conflict has spread to 21 of Yemen’s 22 governorates, prompting a large scale protection crisis and aggravating an already severe humanitarian situation brought on by years of poverty, poor governance and instability. Today, 18.8 million people, or 70 per cent of the population, are in need of some form of humanitarian and protection assistance. This includes 10.3 million children.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-factsheet-summary-2016-enar and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yem_cx_15_Factsheet_2016_summary_En.pdf

27.3.2017 – UN Flüchtlingshilfe (* A H)

Jemen: Hilfslieferungen erreichen Mokka

Lebenswichtige Hilfsgüter erreichten in der vergangenen Woche die Region um die umkämpfte Hafenstadt Mokka, wo viele Menschen ohne ausreichend Wasser und Lebensmittel unter freiem Himmel ausharren.

Keine Unterkünfte, kein sauberes Wasser

Tausende Familien im Jemen kämpfen momentan ums Überleben. Sie haben keine Unterkünfte, kein sauberes Wasser oder sanitäre Anlagen. Die Kämpfe, die den Jemen seit zwei Jahren erschüttern, erreichten Ende Januar die Hafenstadt Mokka am Roten Meer.

Erste Hilfsgüter verteilt
Nach wochenlangen Verhandlungen konnte UNHCR endlich Hilfsgüter in die von heftigen Kämpfen erschütterte Region bringen. Etwa 3.400 Menschen erhielten in Mokka Matratzen, Decken, Küchensets, Eimer und andere Hilfsgüter.

Die UNHCR-Mitarbeiter berichteten, dass die Vertriebenen unter den schwierigen Lebensbedingungen litten. Die Gastgemeinden haben nicht viele Ressourcen, um die Menschen zu versorgen.“Familien leben unter freiem Himmel, nur Bäume geben ein wenig Schutz, und viele berichteten, dass dies - neben Lebensmittelhilfen - die erste humanitäre Hilfe wäre, die sie bekämen”, berichtet UNHCR-Sprecher Matthew Saltmarsh.

2 Millionen Menschen vertrieben
Seit Beginn des Konfliktes vor zwei Jahren sind 2 Millionen Menschen im Jemen auf der Flucht. eine weitere Million Menschen konnten seither in ihre Häuser und Dörfer zurückkehren, benötigen jedoch noch immer Unterstützung. 84 Prozent der Binnenvertriebenen im Jemen sind seit mehr als einem Jahr auf der Flucht.

Der Westen des Gouvernements Taizz ist in den vergangenen zwei Monaten von den bewaffneten Auseinandersetzungen besonders betroffen gewesen. In den letzten sechs Wochen flohen 48.000 Menschen aus der Region. In den kommenden Wochen sollen weitere Hilfslieferungen für mehr als 42.000 Menschen verteilt werden.

Hilfsmaßnahmen im Jemen brauchen mehr finanzielle Unterstützung

https://www.uno-fluechtlingshilfe.de/news/jemen-hilfslieferungen-erreichen-mokka-600.html

27.3.2017 – Reuters (* B H)

Child marriage soars in Yemen as famine looms: UN

Child marriage has soared in Yemen as families struggle to feed their children amid a conflict that has left the country on the brink of famine, the U.N. children's agency said on Monday.

More than two thirds of girls in Yemen are married off before they reach 18, compared to half of girls before the conflict escalated, UNICEF said in a report to mark the second anniversary of the war.

It said parents struggling with deepening poverty were increasingly marrying off their daughters to reduce costs and the number of mouths to feed or because they believed a husband's family could offer better protection.

Around 80 percent of families in Yemen are in debt or are borrowing money to feed their children, the agency said.

Dowry payments - paid by the husband's family in Yemen - are an additional incentive for poor parents to marry daughters off early, it added – By Emma Batha

"One of the first casualties when families are displaced and lose their incomes is girls," UNICEF's spokesman in Yemen, Rajat Madhok, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Initial results from a new UNICEF study on child marriage suggest around 44 percent of girls and women are married under the age of 15 in some parts of Yemen. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-conflict-childmarriage-idUSKBN16Y1WF

27.3.2017 – RT (* A H)

‘Few months left before they starve’: Oxfam adviser tells RT famine is ‘the real enemy’ in Yemen

Millions of people in Yemen are being “willfully starved” by both the warring parties on the ground and the foreign backers blocking supplies and aid, an Oxfam adviser told RT, calling on international community to urgently address the dire humanitarian crisis.

There are currently 7 million people "on the brink of famine" in Yemen, with the alarming situation being the result "of the fighting and of the bombing," the international humanitarian organization Oxfam's adviser in the Middle East, Richard Stanforth, said in an interview with RT this week.

There are just "a few months" left before mass starvation, Stanforth said, appealing to the international community to "wake up to the crisis" and act promptly, addressing both the urgently needed ceasefire and the plight of the population.

"We actually spoke to 2,000 people just before Christmas and nine out of 10 of them said that they've no longer got any food. There were some horrible stories. One person said he was going to try and sell his kidney as he hadn't got any money for food. When you leave your home, when you flee, you've got nothing left basically. There's no more job, you leave your farms. It's a horrible situation," Stanforth said. "I speak to colleagues on a daily basis, and even they are struggling to get by."
"The Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Yemen for two years now, and we've seen 50,000 casualties, several thousand deaths including many, many children. That's forced over 3 million people to leave their homes," Stanforth said.

Describing the dire situation in the war-ravaged country, the Oxfam adviser added that "in addition" to the coalition airstrikes, "there are fighters on the ground who have killed many people, and also stopped aid agencies like [Oxfam] from delivering aid," including some cases when aid workers have been detained.

"Some of the international backers of the Saudi-led coalition have been blockading the country, they've been stopping food and other supplies from getting into Yemen's ports," he added.

"Everybody involved [in the Yemen conflict] is at fault, all parties. Yemenis themselves are at fault, as they are thinking more about the fighting and their military gains, and their attacks on ports and other places are stopping aid. And then all the international backers, they are at fault as well. They are not allowing aid through like it should come, and they are also bombing the country, they are starving Yemen," Stanforth said, adding that the situation is "heartbreaking."

"It's startling that we've got so little funding when the crisis is the world's largest," Stanforth said, criticizing the international community for the "lack of urgency" in regard to the situation in Yemen.

Over $2 billion are needed "right now" for aid efforts in the war-torn country, the Oxfam adviser said, adding that governments around the world have only given 7 percent of the aid that's needed.

https://www.rt.com/news/382388-yemen-starving-oxfam-famine/

25.3.20127 – Doctors Without Borders (A H)

@MSF teams treated +57,000 war wounded & violence victims in #Yemen since March 2015 (photos)

https://twitter.com/msf_yemen/status/845890658846068736

22.3.2017 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A H)

@monareliefye delivering hygiene kits funded by @iom_yemen to children at Burning department in al-Jumhuri Hospital in Sanaa (photos)

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/844562927856357376

28.2.2017 – UN Children's Fund (* A H)

UNICEF Yemen Humanitarian Situation Report (February 2017)

With 17.1 million food-insecure people in Yemen - 7.3 million of them in need of emergency food assistance to survive – the country is currently on the brink of famine. 462,000 children under 5 are suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition and require immediate assistance.

Intense hostilities continued in the western coast forcing more than 55,000 people to leave their homes. UNICEF and partners continue providing life-saving assistance to displaced children and their families and supporting basic services. Some locations are unreachable due to security constraints.

Contributing to maintain the polio-free status in the country despite the ongoing crisis of the health system, UNICEF supported a nationwide polio vaccination campaign, reaching over 4.5 million children in all governorates. During the campaign, over 4.3 million children received Vitamin A supplementation.

As part of the ongoing Cholera Outbreak Response, chlorination of water sources and water storage tanks reached over 171,000 people in at-risk communities. Distribution of hygiene kits and water tanks, as well as community awareness sessions are part of the integral response.

Eight schools were rehabilitated in February bringing the total number of schools renewed by UNICEF to 618, allowing more than 456,000 children to access education during the 2016-2017 school year.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/unicef-yemen-humanitarian-situation-report-february-2017 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/UNICEF%20Yemen%20Humanitarian%20Sitrep%20February%202017.pdf

15.2.2017 – Oxfam (* A H)

Oxfam Yemen Situation Report #37, 15 February 2017

The current level of hunger in Yemen is unprecedented with the number of food insecure people rising by three million in seven months. Nationwide, 65% of Yemeni households now estimated to be food insecure (of which nearly 30% severely), compared to 41% during pre‐ crisis period (2014). About 7.3 million people are anticipated to require emergency food assistance. Total food insecure population estimated to be over 17 million.

As of 31 January 2017, a cumulative number of 18,848 AWD/Cholera cases and 99 deaths (CFR 0.5%) were re‐ported in 165 districts. Of these 9192 (49%) are women, while 6,335 (34%) are children below 5 years. Oxfam continues to deliver hygiene kits in key areas including Aden and Taiz and has a number of related projects including clearance of solid waste as well as Aden Local Water and Sanitation Corporation (LWSC) in the rehabilitation of sewerage system.

The impact of the ongoing conflict‐induced crisis has been devastating for the country, aggravating an already deteriorating pre‐conflict economic performance with serious impacts on food imports, transportation network and market supply, and hence on prices of both imported staples and locally produced commodities. This pushes up prices and is having a critical effect on the ability to access basic needs, especially when coupled with failure to pay the salaries of civil servants and the challenges of Yemen’s Central Bank following the move to Aden.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/oxfam-yemen-situation-report-37-15-february-2017 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Oxfam%20Yemen%20External%20%20Sitrep%20%2337%2015_Feb_2017_Final.pdf

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

28.3.2017 – Saba Net (A T)

Security dismantles two bombs in Amran

The two bombs were planted by unknown people on 22 May street in the main road.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460357.htm

28.3.2017 – Saba Net (A T)

Police arrest al-Qaida suspect in Bayda

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460378.htm

28.3.2017 – Saba Net (A)

Police arrest Saudi-recruited spies near capital

The police in Sana'a governorate managed to arrest Saudi- recruited spies carrying out monitoring on the movements of the national army and popular forces, as well as reporting GPC coordination to the Saudi regime, a police official told Saba on Tuesday.
The cell' spies were arrested in the outskirts of the capital Sana'a in Nehm and Kholan and other nearby districts.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460376.htm

27.3.2017 – Middle East Monitor (A P)

Houthi leader slams Saudi Arabia, hails Egypt’s positions

Leader of the Shia militias in Yemen, Abdel-Malik Al-Houthi, accused Saudi Arabia of putting pressure on Egypt to join the Arab coalition led by Riyadh, the Anadolu Agency reported yesterday.

In a recorded speech broadcasted by a TV channel loyal to the Houthis, Al-Houthi accused Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the US and Israel of committing the “worst crimes” during the past two years.

Marking the second anniversary of “Operation Decisive Storm” which has seen the Saudi-led coalition use its airpower across Yemen to detrimental effects, he said: “Egypt’s positions are honourable… Saudi has used different ways to abuse Cairo when it disobeys Riyadh… Saudi did not respect Egypt’s size and value. Whenever Egypt wanted to leave the coalition, Saudi Arabia impose sanctions on it.”

Al-Houthi noted that Saudi banned oil exports to Egypt and visited Ethiopia and announced its support for the Renaissance Dam, which has negative impacts on Egypt.

He said that the state of emergency was announced in Yemen in order to monitor the “collaborators” and “traitors” who support the military action of the Arab-led coalition.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170327-houthi-leader-slams-saudi-arabia-hails-egypts-positions/

27.3.2017 – Al Sawa (A P)

Houthis carries out wave of abduction in Hajjah

Militias of the Houthis and Saleh have carried a wave of abduction in Hajjah governorate against civilians.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-5374

27.3.2017 – Saba Net (A P)

FM meets WFP acting representative for Yemen

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460344.htm

27.3.2017 – Saba Net (A P)

FM calls for formation of neutral Arab delegation to see reality of what is happening in Yemen

Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf on Monday called upon his Arab counterparts to adopt a proposal to form a neutral Arab delegation to visit Yemen so as to discover the truth What is happening on the ground and the effects of aggression and siege imposed against Yemen for the two years ago.
In his letters to the Foreign Ministers of Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Oman and Lebanon, the Minister expressed his hope that the Arab League contributes to bring peace, security and stability to Yemen and other Arab countries that suffer from wars and instability.
Sharaf stressed that the decision of the Council of the Arab League on the development of the situation in Yemen, adopted by the Council at the level of the Foreign Ministers during the ordinary session (147), contains many inaccuracies and allegations that are unfounded but promoted by Saudi aggression and its allies to justify their aggression on Yemen.
He called upon his Arab counterparts to reject the resolution at meetings of the Council of the Arab League at the ministerial level and at the summit that is currently taking place in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460342.htm

26.3.2017 – Middle East Eye from Reuters (* A P)

Pro-Houthi court sentences Yemen president to death for treason

Decision by rebel-backed court and huge rally in Sanaa could block resumption of peace talks in conflict that has killed 10,000 people

A Yemeni court in territory controlled by the armed Houthi movement sentenced the group's enemy in a two-year-old civil war, President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, and six other top officials in his government to death for "high treason" on Saturday.

The decision by a court in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa, reported by the state news agency Saba, may render more remote the resumption of stalled peace talks to end the conflict, which has killed at least 10,000 people.

On Sunday, following the court ruling, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Yemen's rebel-held capital in a show of support for the rebels, two years after a Gulf coalition intervened against the rebels.

The Yemen conflict pits the Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies against government troops supported since March 2015 by a Saudi-led coalition.

Combined with the court case, the rally is being seen as a show of force by the Iran-backed rebels.

Crowds converged on the capital's Sabaeen Square on Sunday, chanting their vows to "resist to the end".

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pro-houthi-court-sentences-yemen-president-death-treason-1948287669

My comment: The rally as obstacle to peace?? That’s an odd idea.

26.3.2017 – Zeit Online (* A K P)

Massenproteste in Jemens Hauptstadt

In Sanaa, der Hauptstadt des Jemen und dem Zentrum der Schiiten,haben sich seit Samstag mehrere Hunderttausend Menschen auf den Straßen versammelt. Sie demonstrieren gegen die Militärintervention unter der Führung Saudi-Arabiens, die logistisch von den USA, Großbritannien und Frankreich unterstützt wird. Nach Informationen der Nachrichtenseite Aljazeera handelt es sich um die größten Massenproteste des Landes seit jenen im Arabischen Frühling, die 2011 den damaligen Präsidenten Ali Abdullah Salih zum Rücktritt gezwungen hatten. Unter dem Motto "Widerstand gegen die Aggression" versammelten sich die Rebellen und deren Unterstützer am Wochenende im Zentrum der Stadt, skandierten Slogans gegen Saudi-Arabien und gelobten den Kampf "bis zum Ende" fortzusetzen. Die Kundgebung war zum zweiten Jahrestag des Beginns der Luftangriffe organisiert worden, mit denen sich Saudi-Arabien und die arabische Militärkoalition in den Konflikt im Jemen eingeschaltet hatten.

http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2017-03/sanaa-jemen-demonstratrionen-krieg-saudi-arabien-arabischer-fruehling und Film von RT Deutsch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Igrp8-3JzA

26.3.2017 – Reuters (* A P)

Thousands of Yemenis rally in Sanaa on war's second anniversary

Thousands of Yemenis packed a square in the capital Sanaa on Sunday on the second anniversary of a war that has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people and pushed the impoverished country to the brink of famine.

It was the biggest gathering since a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states entered the conflict in 2015 to try to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power after he was ousted from Sanaa by the Iran-aligned Houthis.

Witnesses said that a crowd estimated at more than 100,000 people comprising supporters of the Houthis Ansarullah group and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party pressed into Sabeen Square in central Sanaa.

Many waved the red, white and black national colors and denounced Saudi Arabia and the United States they blame for the war. Some displayed placards that read: “Steadfast” and “End Siege on Yemen”.

"This is a message to the world to tell everyone that despite two years of war, the Yemeni people are still victorious, still alive and still love peace," said Essam al-Abed, a GPC leader.

Saleh al-Samad, chairman of a governing ruling council that comprised members of the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saleh's GPC, struck a defiant note when he addressed the crowds.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-protests-idUSKBN16X0R9 and by Aljazeera: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/sanaa-protest-marks-yemen-conflict-anniversary-170326175737641.html

26.3.2017 – Press TV Iran (* A K P)

Yemenis rally in Sana’a on 2nd anniversary of Saudi war

Thousands of Yemenis have poured out into the streets of the capital Sana’a to mark the second anniversary of the brutal Saudi war, which has left a massive trail of death and devastation across the impoverished Arab state.

On Sunday, the demonstrators converged on al-Sabin Square in Sana’a, waving national flags and chanting slogans against the Saudi military offensive and two-year bloodshed.

Senior Yemeni officials also participated in the demonstration.

Speaking at the event, Saleh al-Samad, the president of the Supreme Political Council, praised the nation’s firm resistance in the face of the Saudi aggression and said the Riyadh regime failed to bring Yemen to its knees despite all the money and resources at its disposal.

The official further held Saudi Arabia and its partners responsible for the collapse of the conflict resolution talks between Yemeni warring sides, saying the US and Israel are also in cahoots with the Riyadh regime in its war on Yemen.

“Yemen’s resistance, however, proved to be more powerful than any weapon in the world,” Samad said.

On the eve of the war’s second anniversary, Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi, the leader of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement, also addressed the nation, saying the kingdom’s almost daily airstrikes against civilians are nothing short of war crimes.

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/03/26/515655/Yemen-Saudi-War

26.3.2017 – RT (* A P)

Tens of thousands march in Yemen against Saudi-led airstrikes (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Massive crowds have hit the streets of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa in protest of the Saudi-led bombing campaign against the country’s Shia militias.

The rally marks the second anniversary since the start of the intervention and bombing campaign by a coalition of nine African and Middle Eastern countries against the Houthi rebels.

According to RT’s Ruptly news agency, hundreds of thousands of people took part in the demonstration. However, there is no official confirmation of the number (with film; photos)

https://www.rt.com/news/382337-yemen-protest-saudi-airstrikes/

26.3.2017 – Hisham Al Omeisy (A P)

Noticeable absence of Houthi slogans in today's anti-Saudi demos in Sana'a (2 yr war anvrsy) #Yemen flags everywhere is sight for sore eyes.

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/845934156957782017

photos: https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1654754621487192

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1654774311485223

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1654793231483331

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/845926604031381504

https://twitter.com/A_mtrz/status/846021160110297088

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/846020214965915648

(and more in timeline of https://twitter.com/narrabyee, March, 26)

films:

https://twitter.com/A_mtrz/status/845950834051600384

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=510oSXXRcys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXP-nZy2r7w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvMTJnTLs20 (Press TV Iran, 19 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdIHekQM3pA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZW0hQkcoqw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAWNe2JFpwc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aijd-YTqXFw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57E4l1LKCmg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkI5AWZPxug

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLRV3y3bThM

speeches of:

Sayyid Abdul Malik al-Houthi: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460179.htm and http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960106000125 and https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2017/03/26/1364265/yemen-facing-aggression-for-its-anti-israeli-stance-houthi-leader

President al-Sammad: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460185.htm

Former president Saleh: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460180.htm

26.3.2017 – Yemen Updates (A P)

Saleh,in a televised address broadcasted on Saturday, calls for a "direct & unconditional" dialogue to restore peace & stability in #Yemen,

https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/846024119674122240

26.3.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A K P)

Capitalizing on anti Saudi sentimemts, warlords ride public wave of discontent today to galvanize support for war! Peace voices lost (photo)

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/845971811720462336

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

28.3.2017 – TRT (* A T)

Selbstmordanschlag im Jemen

Ein Selbstmordattentäter sprengte sein Fahrzeug in die Luft.

Bei einem Selbstmordanschlag im Jemen sind ersten Angaben zufolge elf Menschen getötet worden. Wie die Präfektur von Lahic verlauten ließ, sei es zwischen den Sicherheitskräften, die die Präfektur beschützen, und einer Gruppe von Al Kaida-Kämpfern zu einem Schusswechsel gekommen, nachdem ein Selbstmordattentäter in Lahic ein mit Bomben beladenes Fahrzeug auf das Volksgesundheitsgebäude losfuhr.

Durch die Detonation des Fahrzeugs kamen elf Menschen ums Leben, davon sechs Soldaten. Zehn Menschen wurden verletzt. Unter den Verletzten würden sich auch Zivilisten befinden.

http://www.trt.net.tr/deutsch/welt/2017/03/28/selbstmordanschlag-im-jemen-700617

Mein Kommentar: Kann mir jemand sagen, warum es für einen deutschsprachigen Bericht herüber TRT braucht? Deutschsprachige „Qualitätsmedien“ = mediale Minderleister = 0.

27.3.2017 – Xinhua (* A T)

Suspected al-Qaida gunmen in military uniforms attack local gov't building in Yemen

Suspected al-Qaida gunmen wearing military uniforms launched an armed attack against the local government building in the southern province of Lahj on Monday, killing 10 soldiers and injuring several others, a security official told Xinhua.

"A suicide bomber slammed his explosive-laden car into the the local government headquarters' main entrance and then suspected al-Qaida attackers tried to storm the building by hurling grenades at the guards," said the local security source on condition of anonymity.

The security source based in Lahj said the attackers disguised themselves as army soldiers and attacked the local authority building from various directions, triggering an hour-long gun battle in the area.

Civilians were injured during the armed confrontations which occurred in and around the local government building in Lahj's provincial capital of Houta city, according to witnesses.

Lahj's governor spokesman confirmed the armed attack in a text message to Xinhua, saying that "the terrorist attack was successfully foiled and the newly-trained security forces are now tracking the assailants."

Other sources said that "the attackers most likely were planning to target the Governor of Lahj Dr. Nasser Khobagi but he wasn't inside the building at the time of the attack."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-03/27/c_136162282.htm

and photos of the terrorists: https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/847829136433446912 and Al Qaeda statement: https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/847830321278197760

27.3.2017 – Reuters (* A T)

At least 11 dead in suicide bombing and gun attack in southern Yemen

At least 11 people were killed in a suicide bombing and gun attack by suspected al Qaeda militants on a local government compound in southern Yemen on Monday, a Yemeni government media office said in a statement.

The attack is the latest in a series of operations by Islamist militants who have exploited a two-year-civil war to try to expand their control and recruit more followers in the country, which shares a long border with Saudi Arabia.

The government media office said security forces confronted a suicide bomber who tried to drive a mini-bus laden with explosives into a government compound in al-Houta, the Lahj provincial capital.

Security forces opened fire on the bus and clashed with militants wearing military uniforms who attacked the compound with automatic weapons, it said in the statement, adding that six security personnel and all the attackers died.

Officials said there were five attackers in all.

"The situation is now under control," the statement quoted a security official as saying.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN16Y269

27.3.2017 – AFP (* A T)

10 jihadists among 20 dead in Yemen attack

Ten people were killed Monday in a jihadist attack on a government building in southern Yemen that also saw 10 assailants die, including a suicide bomber, officials said.

The suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into the entrance of the local government headquarters in Huta, the provincial capital of Lahj, a security official said.

Security forces killed nine militants, including three wearing explosives belts and others armed with guns, when the assailants attacked the building following the bombing, the official said.

Six soldiers and four civilians were killed in the bombing and gunfight, and two soldiers and two civilians were wounded, the official said.

Lahj's deputy governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, accused Al-Qaeda of being behind the attack.

http://www.france24.com/en/20170327-10-jihadists-among-20-dead-yemen-attack and photos (graphic):

https://twitter.com/AdenNowNews/status/846394091021709312

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/846413661824528384

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/846411715453620224

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/846411312020291584

27.3.2017 – Saba Net (A P)

Citizen executed in mercenaries' prisons

The US-Saudi-paid mercenaries kidnapped and executed a citizen at a their prison in Nehm district of Mareb province, an official told Saba on Monday.
The executed citizen was Mabkhut Saleh al-Na'aymi, who kidnapped from his house at al-Na'aymat village, the official added.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460260.htm

26.3.2017 – Aden Net (A)

Film (graphic): Chaos in Taiz, security chaos and street executions

https://twitter.com/adennetwork/status/845764027284377600

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

26.3.2017 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (* A H P)

Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O'Brien - Statement on Yemen

This week sadly marks two years since the terrible escalation of the conflict in Yemen.

Despite international efforts to bring about a comprehensive negotiated political settlement, the sounds of airstrikes, bombs, bullets and artillery are now familiar sounds of daily life. They are too often the sound of another death.

Many thousands of civilians have been killed, including well over 1,400 girls and boys – more than a few of these children left their homes to attend school one morning and never returned. Tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians have been injured.

But, casualty figures belie the magnitude of the tragedy unfolding in Yemen.

Conflict, insecurity, and the cynical tactics of the warring parties have wrecked Yemen’s economy, made food increasingly scarce, displaced 3 million people from their homes, and impeded the work of humanitarians – whose only aim is to alleviate suffering and save lives.

Man-made conflict has brought Yemen to the brink of famine.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/under-secretary-general-humanitarian-affairs-and-emergency-relief-coordinator-15 and in full: http://www.unocha.org/top-stories/all-stories/man-made-conflict-has-brought-yemen-brink-famine-un-humanitarian-chief = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/usg%20erc%20statement%20on%20yemen%20-%2026march2017.pdf

cp9 USA

Siehe / Look at cp1

28.3.2017 – Antikrieg (* A K P)

Verteidigungsminister strebt intensivere US-Beteiligung am Krieg gegen den Jemen an

Mattis fordert militärische Beteiligung der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika gegen schiitische Houthis

Verteidigungsminister James Mattis drängt dem Vernehmen nach das Weiße Haus, alle Restriktionen seitens der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika gegen die militärische Unterstützung der Invasion des Jemen durch Saudiarabien aufzuheben, die gegen Ende der Amtszeit Präsident Obamas eingeführt worden waren, und strebt eine tiefergehende direkte Beteiligung der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika bei der Bekämpfung der Schiiten im Jemen an.

Es heißt, dass Mattis den nationalen Sicherheitsberater HR McMaster drängt, ihm zuzustimmen, dass eine Unterstützung der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika die „gemeinsame Bedrohung“ bekämpfen würde, der die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und Saudiarabien im Jemen ausgesetzt sind, nämlich einer scheinbar fortgesetzten schiitischen Autonomie in der nördlichen Hälfte des Landes – von Jason Ditz

http://antikrieg.com/aktuell/2017_03_27_verteidigungsminister.htm

Mein Kommentar: Unserem deutschsprachigen „Mainstream“ (Selbstbeweihräucherung: „Qualitätsmedien“) ist das offenbar 0 Berichterstattung wert.

27.3.2017 – SDA (* A K P)

USA erwägen grössere Rolle im Jemen-Konflikt

Die USA erwägen ein stärkeres Engagement im Jemen-Konflikt. Man denke darüber nach, die Golfstaaten bei der Bekämpfung der mit dem Iran verbündeten Huthi-Rebellen direkter zu unterstützen, sagten Regierungsvertreter in Washington.

Dabei gehe es aber derzeit nur um nicht-tödliche Massnahmen, etwa der Austausch von Informationen und Geheimdiensterkenntnissen. Es gebe keine Anzeichen dafür, dass auch US-Angriffe auf Huthi-Ziele zur Debatte stünden.

Gleichwohl könnte eine grössere Rolle der USA als weiteres Signal gewertet werden, dass die Regierung von Präsident Donald Trump die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Iran und dessen Verbündeten zu einer ihrer aussenpolitischen Prioritäten macht.

http://www.blick.ch/news/ausland/jemen-usa-erwaegen-groessere-rolle-im-jemen-konflikt-id6437391.html

Mein Kommentar: Wie so oft ist Deutschsprachiges rar und kurz. Besser auf Englisch (cp1 und hier folgend):

27.3.2017 – Common Dreams (* A K P)

Will Donald Trump Escalate the Devastating War and Hunger in Yemen?

instead of pushing to jumpstart stalemated negotiations to end the conflict, the Trump administration seems anxious to get more deeply involved in the war by supporting an attack on the key port of Hodeidah and resuming halted weapons sales.

Greater US support for the Saudis, who intervened in Yemen to try to stop the Iran-friendly Houthis from coming to power, is part of Trump’s “get tough” policy on Iran. But further escalation of the war in Yemen, particularly an offensive to seize Hodeidah from the Houthi rebels, will mean even more death and hunger for the Yemeni people.

While the wealthy nations must open their wallets to feed starving Yemenis, the only way to end the humanitarian crisis is to end the conflict. This would mean a ceasefire, a push for negotiations and in the case of the US, an end to weapons sales to the Saudis. This is not the time to escalate the war. Unless an urgent effort is made to find a political solution and get massive food aid into the country, almost 7 million people in this war-torn nation will face starvation. Stopping on attack on Hodeidah and making sure the port is secure for food shipments is a critical first step – by Medea Benjamin

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/03/27/will-donald-trump-escalate-devastating-war-and-hunger-yemen = http://www.alternet.org/world/trump-escalates-war-and-hunger-yemen

27.3.2017 – Daniel Larison (* A K P)

The Indefensible War on Yemen

The war on Yemen and our government’s support for it have been indefensible from the start, and on the few occasions when U.S. officials have been pressed to explain why the U.S. is involved they have had to resort to echoing Saudi propaganda or simply making things up to deflect attention from what is being done to Yemen and its people. The reason virtually no one can justify or defend the policy is that there is no good reason for what our government is doing there, nor is there any good reason for what the coalition is doing. The standard explanation for our role is that Obama wanted to “reassure” the clients in the Gulf of Washington’s backing, but that has always been an unconvincing and frankly pathetic excuse for enabling war crimes and helping to create the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.

The frustrating reality is that both the Obama and Trump administrations have been able to back the war without ever having to face much serious scrutiny from Congress or most of the media, and so they have not had to defend a policy that has shamefully encountered relatively little criticism and minimal resistance. Even when the U.S. role in fueling and arming the coalition’s planes has been acknowledged in reports, it is often mentioned only in passing and then minimized as much as possible. It is very difficult to organize opposition to a policy that most people in the country may not even know is happening. I suppose it is good that our officers are sickened by what the U.S. has been helping the Saudis and their allies do, but most of our politicians and policymakers don’t appear to be bothered in the least. On the contrary, the administration is considering how to deepen our involvement and make things even worse – by Daniel Larison

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-indefensible-war-on-yemen-3/

27.3.2017 – Foreign Policy (* B P)

Happy Anniversary to America’s Shameful Travesty of a War in Yemen

After two years and thousands of civilian casualties, the Trump administration needs to realize it can’t win a war that has no point.

the United States offered its political and military support to a Saudi-led bombing campaign of Yemen, thus becoming a co-combatant in yet another war of choice in the Middle East. That war has now extended into the presidency of Donald Trump. The result has been a disaster by every plausible metric.

The less openly acknowledged reason the Obama administration so strongly endorsed and backed the Saudi-led bombing campaign was to ensure Sunni governments provided at least tacit support for the Iran nuclear deal. As Rep. Adam Schiff, minority leader of the House Intelligence Committee, said, U.S. support would be perceived “as an indicator of our willingness to push back against Iranian efforts to increase hegemony in the region [and] that may influence how comfortable they are with a nuclear agreement,” adding, “it is very important for the U.S. to have Saudi Arabia’s back when it comes to Yemen.” One anonymous Pentagon official put it coldly: “If you ask why we’re backing this … the answer you’re going to get from most people — if they were being honest — is that we weren’t going to be able to stop it.”

The morning after that NSC news release was posted on the White House webpage two years ago, Gen. Lloyd J. Austin, commander of the U.S. Central Command, was asked about the objectives of the U.S. support. His stunning reply remains the most accurate characterization from a U.S. official: “I don’t currently know the specific goals and objectives of the Saudi campaign, and I would have to know that to be able to assess the likelihood of success.”

Other than dropping weapons with an unconscionable lack of discrimination and proportionality, it appears there are no clear goals and objectives to this day.

On a personal note, in the nearly 20 years of having had the privilege of working and interacting with U.S. national security officials and staffers, I have never followed an issue that virtually nobody can justify or defend. Military officers who have watched or played a role in the Saudi-led bombing campaign are especially sickened by the brutality and strategic pointlessness of the airstrikes. But as the civil war rolls into its third year, do not expect any reduction in airstrikes or U.S. support for them. This shameful war now extends into a second presidential administration and a new Congress that seem even more enthused by it – BY MICAH ZENKO

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/27/happy-anniversary-to-americas-shameful-travesty-of-a-war-in-yemen/

and

27.3.2017 – Micah Zenko (* A K P)

Obama’s Worst Foreign Policy Decision, Two Years Later

Yesterday, the Washington Post and Foreign Policy reported that President Donald Trump may expand U.S. military support for the Saudi-led bombing campaign. This includes more operational planning, logistics, and refueling support, and may also feature direct support for an Emirati-led ground intervention against a Red Sea port held by Houthi forces. These measures are being debated and approved faster than under the Obama administration because, according to one Pentagon official, the absence of civilian leaders means “the [Pentagon hierarchy] has flattened, so from a military perspective you have a little more agility, and can make decisions more quickly,” adding “the military has a bias to action and we’d rather act than sit there and ponder it forever.” Another senior administration official indicated that the United States must support whatever the Saudi-led coalition does because the situation may escalate, “and our partners may take action regardless. And we won’t have visibility, and we won’t be in a position to understand what it does to our counterterrorism operations.”

Both of these sentiments should be disconcerting given the aimlessness and unfolding tragedy of the two-year, U.S.-supported intervention in Yemen. One would hope that the Trump administration’s rush to further deepen U.S. military involvement in the Middle East would generate interest and criticism among Congress, major media outlets, and the American public. But given the relative free-hand and limited oversight that has come to characterize the United States’ forever war, I would not expect any coherent opposition, or even sustained attention – by Micah Zenko

http://blogs.cfr.org/zenko/2017/03/27/obamas-worst-foreign-policy-decision/

27.3.2017 – Reuters (* A P)

U.S. weighs bigger role in Yemen's war, boosting aid to allies

The United States is considering deepening its role in Yemen's conflict by more directly aiding its Gulf allies battling Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, officials say, potentially relaxing a U.S. policy that limited American support.

The review of potential new U.S. assistance, which includes intelligence support, would come amid increasing evidence that Iran is sending advanced weapons and military advisers to the Houthi movement, a Shi'ite ally.

Any elevation in U.S. support could be seen as a sign that President Donald Trump's administration has made confronting Iran and its allies an early priority.

For the moment, however, any increase in direct U.S. assistance may be restricted to non-lethal measures and there was no sign the United States was considering waging strikes on Houthi targets, for example.

MEMO FROM MATTIS

Trump's defense secretary, Jim Mattis, wrote a March memo to the White House advocating limited support for operations by Gulf partners, officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

One of the officials said the United States was examining offering the United Arab Emirates, for example, U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets and information sharing.

The memo was first reported by the Washington Post and comes amid a broader U.S. review into its policy in Yemen, which for years has been seen almost entirely seen through the prism of America's fight against al Qaeda – By Phil Stewart

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-yemen-military-idUSKBN16Y2NW

26.3.2017 – Foreign Policy (* A K P)

Pentagon Weighs More Support for Saudi-led War in Yemen

As the administration debates how to confront Iran, some in the Pentagon favor ratcheting up support for Saudi Arabia’s campaign against Tehran-backed Houthi rebels.

The Pentagon is looking to increase support for Saudi Arabia’s two-year-old war against Houthi rebels in Yemen, signaling a possible expansion of Washington’s controversial backing for a campaign that human rights groups say has killed hundreds of civilians and fueled a growing humanitarian crisis.

Several Defense officials told Foreign Policy the prospect of more American help for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen was under discussion even as the administration examines its broader strategy in the region, including looking at ways to counter Iran and to defeat Islamic State militants. The Pentagon views increased support for the Saudi-led coalition as one way of potentially pushing back against Iran’s influence in Yemen, as well as shoring up ties with an ally that felt neglected by the previous administration.

The Trump administration has yet to make a final decision and Defense Department officials are locked in a debate over the issue with the White House, with some senior aides to Trump favoring confronting Iran elsewhere, one advisor said.

But pressing ahead with more U.S. hardware and intelligence for Saudi Arabia’s troubled intervention in Yemen brings with it an array of risks and pitfalls, experts and former officials said.

By pouring more weapons and ammunition into the civil war, now entering its third year, Washington could inadvertently strengthen the hand of al Qaeda’s most lethal branch, which has already exploited the chaos to its benefit.

Encouraging the Saudi-led coalition in its military campaign, which has so far proved unable to defeat the outgunned Houthi rebels, could prolong the suffering of a civilian population that aid agencies warn is on the verge of famine.

And seeking to checkmate Iran’s influence in Yemen could provoke retaliation from Tehran against the United States and its allies elsewhere in the region, possibly posing a danger to vital shipping lanes or American military advisors deployed in Iraq.

The possible increase in U.S. support would likely involve a few key elements: Pressing ahead with stalled arms shipments to the Saudi government; using drones to help gather intelligence for strikes on Houthi targets; and assistance in planning the recapture of the critical Red Sea port city Hodeidah from Houthi forces, which would allow humanitarian supplies to flow into the famine-wracked country – BY DAN DE LUCE, PAUL MCLEARY

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/26/pentagon-weighs-more-support-for-saudi-led-war-in-yemen/ and by Vocativ: http://www.vocativ.com/415087/u-s-considers-more-involvement-in-yemens-bloody-war/ and by Common Dreams: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/03/27/warning-trump-about-make-worlds-biggest-humanitarian-crisis-much-worse

Remark: On this subject also the Washington Post, look at cp1.

27.3.2017 – The National UAE (A P)

US considers supporting Saudi-led coalition plan to capture Yemen port

The Pentagon is considering throwing its weight behind an Arab military plan to capture a Red Sea port in Yemen as part of a move to step up its support for the Saudi-led coalition that has fought a two-year war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Senior officials said it was part of a new stance adopted by US president Donald Trump’s administration to deepen ties with partners in the Middle East.

Senior Trump administration officials have set out a vision of working more closely with partners in the Middle East. They have criticised former US president Barack Obama for tight controls he placed on supplying arms and training.

Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to Mr Trump, said the administration wanted to ensure partners were better able to fight their own wars.

"We are serious about the livelihoods and futures of our partners in the Middle East, whether it is Israel or Jordan, whether it is the Emirates or Egypt," he told The National earlier this month.

"We are going to allow them – with our help – to do what needs to be done. Only some of that will be about weapons. This is about friendship and commitment." – by Rob Crilly

http://www.thenational.ae/world/americas/us-considers-supporting-saudi-led-coalition-plan-to-capture-yemen-port

27.3.2017 – The American Conservative (* A K P)

Mattis’ Dangerous Request to Increase Support for the War on Yemen

Mattis is one of the people in the Trump administration proposing increased U.S. support for the war on Yemen.

Mattis is wrong about this, and his request should be rejected.

Lifting those restrictions would tell the coalition that the new administration has no problem with the way they have been conducting their campaign, and it will encourage them to be even more reckless and irresponsible than they have been.

Giving the coalition even more support at this point would further implicate the U.S. in their war crimes, and backing an offensive on Hodeidah would make a horrifying humanitarian disaster in the country even worse. Millions are on the brink of famine in large part because of the Saudi-led intervention and blockade. More attacks on the port will push many of them over the brink. Increasing U.S. support would just deepen our complicity in wrecking and starving Yemen, and there can be no justification for doing that.

On top of that, the justification that Mattis gives is a bad one. It is important to emphasize that the coalition’s enemies in Yemen don’t pose a threat to the U.S., and the little support they receive from Iran has never warranted our involvement in this war. Mattis’ “common threat” rhetoric is based in a dangerous misunderstanding of the conflict. If Trump agrees to Mattis’ request, it will lead the administration to escalate U.S. involvement in a war in which we should have no part. The people of Yemen are already paying a terrible, steep price as a result of a war that our government has enabled for two years, and doing more to back the Saudis and their allies will achieve nothing except to inflict even more harm on the civilian population – by Daniel Larison

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/mattis-dangerous-request-to-increase-support-for-the-war-on-yemen/

26.3.2017 – The American Conservative (* A K P)

The Appalling Idea of Increasing U.S. Support for the War on Yemen

Two years ago, the Obama administration backed the Saudi-led intervention even though our officers didn’t know what the coalition hoped to accomplish and many U.S. officials rightly didn’t think it would succeed. Now that the coalition has spent the last two years wrecking and starving Yemen without achieving any of their stated goals, it is even more absurd and irresponsible for the U.S. to continue support for the war, much less increase it. If the original decision to back the Saudis and their allies was shameful, giving them even more support now would be simply appalling. It was bad enough to make the terrible mistake of making the U.S. complicit in an atrocious war that has destabilized the region, ruined Yemen, and strengthened Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, but it would be deranged to commit the U.S. to an even larger role in enabling this disaster now that we know how much damage the intervention has already done.

The U.S. ought to be actively looking for ways to rein in the coalition, pressure them to lift their blockade, extricate the U.S. from the war, and try to repair some of the damage done by this horrific policy. I have no reason to think that the Trump administration will do any of that, but at the very least they should refrain from deepening U.S. involvement in a disgraceful and indefensible war – by Daniel Larison

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-appalling-idea-of-increasing-u-s-support-for-the-war-on-yemen/

26.3.2017 – MbKS15 (A K)

#RSAF 3rd batch of F-15SA has just departed from St. Louis on delivery to #SaudiAraibia (photo)

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/846282667754708992

Possible new #RSAF F-15SA delivery flight due into RAF #Lakenheath tomorrow afternoon (photo)

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/846065298574848000

My comment: US-Saudi complicity in pictures.

27.3.2017 – Telepolis (* A P T)

US-Versicherungen verklagen Saudi-Arabien auf sechs Milliarden Dollar Entschädigung für 9/11
Ein von Barack Obama blockiertes Gesetz hat eine neue Rechtslage geschaffen
Mehrere US-Versicherungskonzerne – darunter Liberty Mutual und Safeco – haben beim Bundesbezirksgericht Manhattan eine Klage eingereicht, in der sie dem Ölkönigreich Saudi-Arabien und einer saudischen Stiftung eine Mitschuld an den Terrorattacken am 11. September 2001 geben, bei dem sunnitische Extremisten Flugzeuge entführten und damit die beiden Türme des New Yorker World Trade Center zum Einsturz brachten.
Diese Mitschuld ergibt sich den Klägern nach durch eine Beteiligung hochgestellter Persönlichkeiten aus Saudi-Arabien an der Finanzierung der sunnitischen Extremisten. Deshalb, so die Klageschrift, sei Saudi-Arabien den Versicherungen mindestens sechs Milliarden Dollar schuldig.
Die Versicherer hatten in der Vergangenheit schon einmal versucht, den Wahabitengottesstaat zu verklagen, waren aber im September 2015 an der damaligen Rechtslage gescheitert. Daraufhin verabschiedete der US-Senat den Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) der Privatklagen von US-Bürgern gegen ausländische Staaten erlaubt. Voraussetzung für eine Klage ist, dass solche Staaten begründet verdächtigt werden, an der Planung, Durchführung oder Finanzierung von Terroranschlägen beteiligt gewesen zu sein (was Saudi-Arabien weiter bestreitet). Die US-Regierung kann solche Klagen der Gesetzesnovelle nach nur dann unterbinden, wenn sie vor Gericht eigene ernsthafte Lösungsanstrengungen nachweist – von Peter Mühlbauer

https://www.heise.de/tp/features/US-Versicherungen-verklagen-Saudi-Arabien-auf-sechs-Milliarden-Dollar-Entschaedigung-fuer-9-11-3665312.html

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

27.3.2017 – Huffington Post (* A K P)

Two Years Of UK Complicity In The Destruction Of Yemen

It is often referred to as a ‘forgotten war’, and one place where the voices of Yemeni people have fallen on deaf ears is Whitehall.

Right from the start of the bombing, the then Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond pledged to “support the Saudis in every practical way short of engaging in combat.” It’s one promise the government has stuck to, regardless of the awful consequences.

The UK has pledged over £100 million in aid to Yemen, a point stressed time and again by government ministers. However, as welcome as aid is, it pales in comparison to the extensive political and military support it has offered to the conflict, including £3.3 billion worth of arms it has licensed to Saudi Arabia since the bombing began.

One clear objective is to sell even more weapons. At present, BAE Systems is being supported by Whitehall in talks to sell even more fighter jets to the Saudi military. Only two weeks ago Saudi Arabia was among those on the guest list for Security & Policing, a secretive arms fair held just outside London.

The legality of these arms sales is currently the subject to a Judicial Review, following an application by Campaign Against Arms Trade. The claim calls on the government to suspend all extant licences and stop issuing further arms export licences to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen while it holds a full review into if the exports are compatible with UK and EU legislation.

The verdict is still pending, but it may set a vital precedent for UK foreign policy. It could be instrumental in changing the hypocritical foreign policy that has underpinned the UK actions in the region, even if it cannot undo the damage that has been done.

In the short term the situation threatens to get even worse, with Yemen on the brink of famine and aid unable to reach those in need.

We are always being told that the UK enjoys a strong influence over Saudi Arabia. If that is true then it needs to use it to call and work for a meaningful and lasting ceasefire. It must also end its own complicity and stop the arms sales – by Andrew Smith, spokesperson for Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/andrew-smith/yemen-civil-war_b_15565746.html

27.3.2017 – The Independent (* B K P)

Yemeni civil war: Two charts show why UK should pay attention to the ongoing conflict's anniversary

UK taxpayers funding aid for civilian victims as the government issues licences for the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia

The link between the death toll in Yemen and the sale of arms by British companies to Saudi Arabia can be seen in two new charts produced exclusively for The Independent.

CAAT estimate the British government has licensed £2.2bn in ML10 licences for aircrafts, helicopters and drones, £1.1bn in ML4 licences for grenades, bombs, missiles and countermeasures, and £430,000 in ML6 licences for armoured vehicles and tanks.

While the Conservative-led government continues to supply arms to Saudi, it says it has committed £85m in aid, making it the fourth largest donor to the humanitarian crisis.

It claims to be providing vital medical supplies, water, food and nutrition and emergency shelter to more than 1.3 million Yemenis.

But it means UK taxpayers are, paradoxically, funding support to Yemeni victims while simultaneously supporting the Saudis bombing campaign' against them – by Peter Walker

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-civil-war-two-charts-uk-arms-deals-saudi-arabia-air-strikes-bombing-second-anniversary-a7652071.html

26.3.2017 – RT (A P)

‘Hands off’: London protesters stand up against Saudi intervention in Yemen

Groups of protesters gathered in central London on Sunday to protest Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in neighboring Yemen. On Sunday, dozens of protesters met at Marble Arch, near London’s Hyde Park, to show their solidarity with people caught up in the long-running conflict. Demonstrators also marched towards the BBC offices, carrying signs emblazoned with “End Yemen Siege” and “Hands Off Yemen.”

One protester told RT’s Ruptly video agency that Britain’s weapon sales to Saudi Arabia are a “huge contradiction in British policy.” (with photos)

https://www.rt.com/uk/382380-yemen-london-protest-saudi-arabia/

26.3.2017 – Press TV Iran (A P)

London March for Yemen on 2nd anniv. of Saudi war

Activists have marched in London on the second anniversary of the Saudi war on Yemen. They’ve demanded an end to Riyadh’s war and blockade against Yemen as well as a stop to arms sales by the US and the UK to the Saudi kingdom. They say the weapons are being used against Yemeni civilians. Camilia Shambayati has the details (with film)

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/03/26/515711/London-March-for-Yemen-on-2nd-anniv-of-Saudi-war

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

26.3.2017 – Blauer Bote (A P)

Demo mit Hunderttausenden interessiert Tagesschau nicht

In Jemen haben heute hunderttausende Menschen in der Hauptstadt Sanaa gegen die seit zwei Jahren andauernden Bombardierungen des Landes durch Saudi-Arabien und andere pro-westliche arabische Staaten, die schon Tausende das Leben kostete, demonstriert. Die Tagesschau interessierte das weniger.

http://blauerbote.com/2017/03/26/demo-mit-hunderttausenden-interessiert-tagesschau-nicht/

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

27.3.2017 – Al Sawah (A P)

China confirms support to Yemen

China has confirmed its support for Yemen, its unity and sovereignty, pointing out that the Houthi-Saleh militias were behind the deterioration of Yemen's political process and humanitarian situation.

The Chinese Ambassador to Yemen Tian Qi on Sunday told the Yemeni News Agency that China has good relations with the Yemeni government, citing that Yemen's development declined due to the coup carried out by Houthi-Saleh militias.

Qi also said that the war has serious consequences for Yemen, indicating that China will take part in reconstructing Yemen's economy after peace and stability is achieved.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-5371

26.3.2017 – De Redactie (* A K)

Belgien sollte Saudi-Arabien nicht mehr mit Waffen beliefern!

Belgiens Minister für Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, Alexander De Croo (Open VLD), fordert eine sofortige Einstellung der Ausfuhr belgischer Waffen nach Saudi-Arabien. Wie er in der VRT-Polit-Talkshow "De zevende dag" sagte, führe dieses Land einen "grausamen Krieg" in Jemen. In diesem Land leiden fast sieben Millionen Menschen extreme Not und sind von Hunger bedroht. "Sie können nicht gleichzeitig versuchen, Menschenleben zu retten und dabei Waffen liefern", betonte De Croo an diesem Sonntag.

Am gestrigen Samstag gab De Croo bekannt, dass die belgische Regierung jeden Euro, der mit der Kampagne ‘Hongersnood 12-12’ eingesammelt würde, verdoppeln werde. Minister De Croo plant zudem internationale Maßnahmen. Er werde sich mit den Vereinten Nationen darüber beraten, wie auch die strukturellen Ursachen besser angepackt werden können, hieß es in einem Pressebericht.

"Wir können nicht wegschauen, wenn Kinder an Hunger sterben.”

Eines der von Hungersnot getroffenen Länder, für die Hilfsgelder eingesammelt werden, ist der Jemen. Der Bürgerkrieg in Jemen hat für die Zivilbevölkerung verheerende Folgen. Dass Saudi-Arabien, einer der Hauptakteure in dem Konflikt, Krieg mit belgischen Waffen führt, kritisiert De Croo aufs Schärfste.

"Wir müssen auch gegen die Hauptursachen vorgehen", sagte er in "De zevende dag". Und das bedeute seiner Auffassung nach, dass man unter anderem ausländische Konten einfrieren und Waffenlieferungen in das Land stoppen müsse. "Wir können nicht gleichzeitig Waffen verkaufen und behaupten, dass wir so viele Menschenleben wie möglich versuchen würden, zu retten."

De Croo fordert ein Waffenembargo aus humanitären Gründen, "wenigstens vorübergehend". Er gibt zu Bedenken, dass mehr als 60 Prozent des wallonischen Waffenexports an Saudi-Arabien gehe. Das Land sei also ein sehr wichtiger Absatzmarkt.

Die Regionen sind zur Lizenzvergabe der Waffenausfuhr berechtigt. Die flämische und die wallonische Regierung haben also das letzte Wort. Das weiß De Croo auch und betonte deshalb in der VRT: "Ich kann nur an sie appellieren, den Wahnsinn zu beenden. Wir müssen aufhören, allein die Symptome, nicht aber die wirklichen Ursachen zu bekämpfen", so De Croo noch.

http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.deutsch/nachrichten/1.2933799

26.3.2017 – WA Today (A K P)

[Readers comments on report about Australian arms sales to Saudi Arabia]

G.M.: How on earth can our government, in conscience, sell any so-called military equipment to the Saudis? Surely this will make us compliant in the destruction being wreaked upon the unfortunate Yemeni people? It is a disgrace.

http://www.watoday.com.au/comment/smh-letters/saudi-deal-reveals-our-moral-bankruptcy-20170326-gv6l46.html

24.3.2017 – El Pais (* A K P)

Dos años de guerra en Yemen: ¿con armas españolas?

[Spanish arms for Saudi Arabia]

Mientras se producían ataques como este, el Gobierno español siguió autorizando exportaciones de municiones, aviones, granadas de mortero y otras armas a Arabia Saudí y otros países de la coalición que interviene en Yemen desde 2015. España fue el tercer exportador de armas a Arabia Saudí en 2015, tras EE.UU. y Reino Unido y entre 2015 y el primer semestre de 2016 (últimas cifras oficiales disponibles), exportó armas a Arabia Saudí por valor de más de 600 millones €, casi la mitad de los cerca de 1.400 millones € exportados en los últimos diez años.

¿Cómo puede ser? Parece que al Gobierno no le importa que las armas “Marca España” exportadas a Arabia Saudí puedan estar siendo utilizadas en Yemen para cometer delitos de derecho internacional. ¿Cuál ha sido la respuesta del Gobierno español a la reiterada petición de las ONG de suspender la venta de armas? Mirar para otro lado, aplicando la máxima del refranero popular: “Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente” –por María del Pozo, Jordi Armadans, Sara del Río, Paula San Pedro y Alberto Estévez, responsables de la campaña Armas Bajo Control de Amnistía Internacional, FundiPau, Greenpeace y Oxfam Intermón

http://blogs.elpais.com/paz-en-construccion/2017/03/dos-a%C3%B1os-de-guerra-en-yemen-con-armas-espa%C3%B1olas.html

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

Siehe / Look at cp6.

cp15 Propaganda

28.3.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)

Yemen’s Criminal Code Finds Coup leaders Guilty of ‘National Treason’

Coup leaders in Yemen, which have been the front of a militia movement composed of Iran-allied Houthis and armed loyalists backing ousted president Ali Abdulah Saleh, are expected to face severe sentences, amounting to death penalties served under Article 128 of the national penal code.

Verdicts condemned putschist leaders of national treason and sustaining uncertified communication with a foreign state.

According to the University of Aden law Professor Dr. Fahad Hadi Habtoor, Houthi militiamen and Saleh loyalists have carried out acts of aggression against the national political state and unwarrantedly occupied public service institutions and assets, therefore are guilty of crimes punishable by law.

“The people of Yemen have held a comprehensive national dialogue that included all political and social blocs and had agreed that the state should be divided into a federation of six provinces. On that premise, an expert committee was formed and tasked with the legislature drafting of the federal state constitution, defining its political, economic, social and cultural regulations, rights and citizen accountability,” said Professor Habtoor.

For his part, University of Aden criminal law professor Dr. Saleh Basrada said putschists committed several crimes punishable by the Yemen criminal code, citing Article 128 on uncertified communication with a foreign state.

Professor Basrada stressed that personal correspondence with foreign countries is a crime punishable by death in Yemeni law, and includes all those who incite on or participated in committing the felony. Given that the crime endangers public safety, the punishment affects both partner and instigator. Based on that, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh is not absolved from conviction.

Professor Habtoor considered insurgency members guilty of compromising national security.

He pointed out that Article 131 of the criminal code stipulates that any party who attempts or commits violent acts or threats through illegal means shall be sentenced to prison for a period ranging between 3-10 years. The same sentence is served to who impede on legislature and executive authority.

http://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/yemens-criminal-code-finds-coup-leaders-guilty-national-treason

My comment: A nice propaganda replica to the Houthi / Saleh court which had sentenced president Hadi and some of his fellows to death. It is evident that reciprocal convictions like this will lead to nothing and will be an obstacle to peace. Some odd ponts: “personal correspondence with foreign countries is a crime punishable by death in Yemeni law”: Really??? In this case, you certainly must sentence half Yemen to death, “president” Hadi who turned to Saudi Arabia in the first place. Or: “any party who attempts or commits violent acts or threats through illegal means shall be sentenced to prison”: which party in this war would not be affected? And again, “president” Hadi in the first place, having asked for Saudi interference and bombing. Thus, Hadi’s conviction at Sanaa was obviously right??

27.3.2017 – Saudi Gazette (A P)

Kingdom supports US stance against terror, Iran: Assiri

Saudi Arabia welcomes the new US administration’s attention to the Middle East and its support for its friends who are fighting transnational terrorists such as Daesh and confronting Iranian interference in countries such as Yemen, according to Maj. Gen. Ahmed Assiri, adviser to the Defense Minister.

“We stand together against a host of threats to regional stability,” Assiri wrote in an op-ed piece on Fox News website on Saturday.

He highlighted the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense.

“President Trump enthusiastically endorsed the modernization drive that will make our country an even more valuable strategic partner,” he wrote.

Assiri, who is also the spokesperson of the Coalition forces fighting Houthi and allied militias in Yemen, said the new US administration is also tough-minded about the Iranian threat to regional stability.

“Saudi Arabia is prepared to work with the US and its allies to restrain Iranian conduct, just as we have helped in stabilizing the Arabian Gulf and its energy supplies since World War II,” he wrote.

“In Yemen, which shares a 1,100-mile border with Saudi Arabia, Iran is supporting and arming the Houthi militia, modeled on the terrorist Hezbollah movement that has destabilized Lebanon.

While making Yemen ungovernable, the Houthis are attacking Saudi Arabia, having fired more than 40,000 mortars, rockets and other projectiles at our towns, killing at least 375 civilians, closing more than 500 schools and displacing 24 villages and over 17,000 people.

“Responding to this threat, Saudi Arabia leads a coalition of 12 countries fighting to reinstate Yemen’s legitimacy, internationally recognized government and restore peace and security to the country.”

Assiri wrote that Saudi Arabia prefers to promote stability through peaceful means by providing much-needed diplomatic and economic support to strategic allies such as Egypt and Jordan. But aggression, active destabilization and acts of terrorism, including Iran’s infringements in Yemen, demand a military response.

Assiri listed the steps the Kingdom has taken over the years to fight terrorism, cut its sources of funding and negate its nefarious ideology.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/kingdom-supports-us-stance-terror-iran-assiri/

My comment: Standard propaganda. Culminating in the claim that Saudi Arabia would “negate its [terrorism’s] nefarious ideology”. Terrorims’s ideology is Wahabism, stupid.

27.3.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)

Vice President: Our priorities to create a strong state which respects all countries

Vice President Ali Muhsin Saleh has said that the priorities of the legitimate government is to create a state which achieve stability and security and respects neighboring countries.

This came during a meeting held between Vice President and the British Ambassador to Yemen Simon Shercliff. The meeting aimed at discussing mutual relations and updates of Yemen.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-5373

27.3.2017 – Al Sawah (A P)

Over 5,000 violations in Dhalae in 2016

A human rights report has revealed that the Houthi-Saleh militias committed about 5,000 violations across Yemen in 2016 alone.

The report disclosed that gross infringements made by the Houthis-Saleh militias in al-Dhalae.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-5372 and also in https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-5374

My comment: This already had been reported otherwise. Which report? By whom? 5.000 cases: At Dhalae (headline)? At the whole of Yemen (text)?

26.3.2017 – Arab News (A P)

Houthis committed ‘massacres’ in Yemen: Report

Large-scale “massacres” have been perpetrated in Yemen by Houthi militias and forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a recent report has found.
Yemen’s National Human Rights Commission pointed to crimes against unarmed civilians including indiscriminate shelling of residential compounds and popular markets, using artillery and Katyusha rocket launchers.
The report described grave violations of international human rights law and crimes against humanity, saying the perpetrators must be punished.
It cited 11 incidents in which Houthi and forces loyal to Saleh carried out massacres, including the targeting and killing of displaced people from Tawahi, with militia dropping mortars on unarmed civilians fleeing in small boats.
According to the report, human rights teams monitored the killing of 10,811 Yemeni civilians over the past two years by Houthi gunfire and shelling, including 679 women, 1,002 children, and 9,160 men. The majority were killed in 2015, the report revealed, confirming that Houthi and Saleh militias had been deliberately targeting civilians.
The rise of civilian deaths in 2015 was attributed by the commission to the invasion by Houthi militia and Saleh loyalists of Yemen’s central and southern provinces, where they had been indiscriminately bombing populated areas, including schools and hospitals.
The report continued to indicate that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen had not targeted any civilians or struck populated residential areas.
Despite the availability of information about the presence of weapons and ammunition in such residential areas, the coalition had refrained from bombing these areas to avoid claiming lives of innocent civilians, the report found.
Instead, the coalition relies on targeted military operations in order to avoid any loss of civilian life, and is committed to maintaining war ethics and refraining from violating human rights or international standards.
A joint incident assessment committee has been formed, comprising of 14 members including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE, which will investigate any accusations of violations.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1074711/saudi-arabia

My comment: This “Yemen’s National Human Rights Commission” is little more than a propaganda branch installed by the Hadi government. Of course, there had been “massacres” by Houthi shelling, especially at Aden and Taiz. The figures hardly are more than invention. And the whole report shows that it is 90 % propaganda in the paragraph dealing with Saudi coalition air raids: “The report continued to indicate that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen had not targeted any civilians or struck populated residential areas”. LOL. Take a glimpse at how that “not targeting” really looks: http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm in Third part.

26.3.2017 – Critical Threats (A K P)

Warning Update: Iran's Hybrid Warfare in Yemen

Iran may deploy more advanced military capabilities to Yemen to support the ORGANIZATIONal Houthi MovementTHE AL HOUTHIS ARE THE DE FACTO RULING FACTION IN YEMEN’S CE...al Houthi-Saleh faction, which faces increasing pressure. Iran has provided al Houthi-Saleh forces with sophisticated arms and advisors from its proxy network, including Afghan and Shia Arab specialists. The deployment of interoperable proxy forces is part of Iran’s evolution of a form of RECOMMENDED READIran's New Way of War in Syriahybrid warfare that will allow it to project significant force far from its borders and fundamentally alter the balance of power in the region. Iran may increase its engagement in Yemen if U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition threatens the al Houthi-Saleh faction’s survival.Iran may increase its engagement in Yemen if U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition threatens the al Houthi-Saleh faction’s survival.

Iranian weapons are appearing on the Yemeni battlefield.

Iran provides sophisticated weaponry that allows the al Houthi-Saleh faction to hold terrain, counter Saudi-led coalition capabilities, and threaten U.S. RECOMMENDED READEscalation in the Red Sea: Yemen's Civil War, Iran, and Saudi Arabiafreedom of movement in the Red Sea.

Iranian proxies may provide training and logistical support to al Houthi-Saleh forces inside RECOMMENDED READHow the U.S. Should Re-Engage in YemenYemen.

Implications - by Maher Farrukh, Tyler Nocita and Emily Estelle

https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/warning-update-irans-hybrid-warfare-in-yemen

My comment: The old propaganda warmed up again. As there shows up Iranian support in special fields, this does not mean that the old Saudi propaganda tunes are true. Anyway, they do fit well into Trumps’s anti-Iranian warmongering attempts - by Maher Farrukh, Tyler Nocita and Emily Estelle

26.3.2017 – Al Riyadh (A P)

Decisive Storm has exposed expansionist Persian designs, says Hadi in exclusive interview

Yemeni President Abdurbo Mansour Hadi has said that the courageous decision taken by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to form an Arab coalition to restore legitimacy to Yemen not only saved Yemen, but saved the region as a whole from devious Persian designs.

In an exclusive interview with Al-Riyadh Arabic paper, sister publication of Riyadh Daily, on the second anniversary of Decisive Storm, Hadi said, "If there had been any delay in taking action in Yemen, the entire region would have paid the price. The decision has exposed the Persian plan and has exposed the Iranians and their expansionist plans before the world.”

In a lengthy interview, to be published in parts, Hadi revealed surprising details of the crisis, his engagement with Iran, what then US President had said to him before Decisive Storm, and what the new US administration’s stand is on the current situation in Yemen.

He spoke at length, at the Hospitality Palace in Riyadh, on the most significant strategies adopted in the battle of Sanaa, and the real reason why there was no quick military end to the crisis, especially when the army was just 25 kilometers away from the Yemeni capital. He also spoke of whether there could be a political role for the Houthis and Ali Abdullah Saleh after the war.

Hadi also recalled the surprise he got when he spoke with a Yemeni student studying in Iran and when he revealed what they were being taught in the city of Qom. He learnt of how Iran was brainwashing 1,600 Yemeni students who were sent by the Houthi leadership to Iran.

Hadi explained in detail the role played by Iran in bringing Al-Houthi to play along with Ali Abdullah Saleh despite their enmity.

http://sites.alriyadh.com/en/article/1157304/Decisive-Storm-has-exposed-expansionist-Persian-designs-says-Hadi-in-exclusive-interview and also http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/80-per-cent-of-yemen-under-army-control-hadi-says-1.2000670

My comment: Typical Hadi propaganda and toadyism against Saudis. Think of it: The Saudis bomb a country to rubble, then this “has exposed expansionist Persian designs” (not Saudi designs!). Bombing Yemen to rubble is “saving Yemen”. And the Iranians lurk behind every tree in Yemen (or rock, if there should be no tree).

26.3.2017 – The Arab Weekly (A P)

The UAE and the task of nation building in Yemen

UAE has adopted 'a comprehensive human­itarian approach' to supporting Yemen economically and logisti­cally.

As the Saudi-led coalition continues to liberate parts of Yemen from the Iran-allied Houthi re­bels, the task of nation building has already begun, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is playing a central role in resurrect­ing Yemen’s infrastructure.

Obaid Salem al-Zaabi, perma­nent representative of the UAE to the United Nations in Geneva, confirmed that his country sup­ports the UN’s work in launching the 2017 Yemen Humanitarian Re­sponse Plan through its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Zaabi stressed that the UAE has adopted “a comprehensive human­itarian approach” to supporting Yemen economically and logisti­cally, including with humanitarian assistance.

The UAE’s efforts, he said, are in­tended to put Yemen on a path to reconstruction and development, which will, in turn, give rise to a better future for Yemen, full of se­curity, stability and prosperity.

The UAE’s initiative to rebuild the liberated areas of Yemen through the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) had succeeded in transform­ing people’s lives, Yemeni officials said.

“By all measures, the response of the Emirates Red Crescent… to the humanitarian situation in Yemen exceeded all expectations,” said Fa­had Saeed al-Menhali, Yemeni am­bassador to the UAE, last February.

The ERC’s nation-building plans for Yemen are broad in scope and aim to address numerous issues af­flicting the country’s people, some of which predate the start of the conflict in 2015.

Beyond rebuilding the country’s poorly developed infrastructure, the organisation plans to build and finance schools and hospitals, reconstruct the sewage system in a number of cities and rebuild nu­merous ports and airports.

http://www.thearabweekly.com/article/8097/The%20UAE%20and%20the%20task%20of%20nation%20building%20in%20Yemen

My comment: That’s one of the main items of Emirati propaganda. But be honest, let’s put things right: The by far greatest part of Emirates’ “comprehensive humanitarian approach” is bombing a great part of Yemen into ruins. The phrase of “nation building“ also sounds strange when thinking of the aerial war. Bombing is the special Emirati way to “put Yemen on a path to reconstruction and development”.

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

27.3.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)

The Violations and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 26/3/2017 (full list):

https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/797379313745769/?type=3

28.3.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi warplanes drop cluster bombs on Mareb

The US-backed Saudi-led aggression coalition launched four strikes on Serwah district of Mareb province, dropping cluster bombs, an official told Saba ob Tuesday.
The fighter jets dropped the cluster bombs on al-Raba'eh and Rahab valley areas four times, the official added.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460351.htm

27.3.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

US-Saudi aggression kills child, injures five in Jawf

A child was killed and five others were injured Monday in a raid by the Saudi aggression warplanes on citizen's house in Jawf province, a local official told Saba.
The official added that the aggression warplanes targeted a house of a citizen in al-Khard area of al-Mutamah district in the province, killing the child, wounding the five others.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460345.htm

27.3.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi criminal airstrikes continue raids on Yemen

US-Saudi aggression warplanes continued launching air strikes on Yemen's several provinces over the past hours overnight, leaving many civilians wounded and extensively destructing public and private properties, an official told Saba on Monday.
A number of civilians fell wounded in the air raids which targeted the tents of Bedouins in Nehm district, the official said.
He noted that the air aggression also launched four raids on the area of Arrouk directorate of Bani Harith, the capital Sanaa.
Also, the Saudi launched two air raids on Al-Melel area in Saada province and two raids on Takheh area in Majaz district.
The official said the air strikes also hit Al-Ahiq triangle in Taiz governorate and five raids on Al-Rabwa in Asir province.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460271.htm

26.3.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A K PS)

Arab Coalition aircrafts strike Houthis-Saleh sites western Taiz – military source

The Saudi-led Arab Coalition aircrafts launched on Saturday several air raids on the sites of the Houthis-Saleh forces in al Wazeaya and Mawza districts in western Taiz province, southwestern Yemen. According to sources in the field.

A military source told Almasdaronline that the aircrafts launched seven air raids on Houthis sites in al Amari mountains, killing 10 Houthis and wounding five others, in addition to the destruction of three military vehicles and heavy weapons.

Other sources in the field said that three air raids had also targeted al Ahiuq crossroads in Al-Wazeaya district, and two others hit Houthis militants' gatherings western Mawza.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/89887

26.3.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A K PS)

Arab Coalition Airstrikes Destroy Insurgency Arms Warehouses in Hodeida, Yemen

Saudi-led Arab Coalition air forces reported intensifying airstrikes over the last 24 hours, in an effort to back Yemeni pro-government army units in their offensive against militia posts in Yemen’s fourth-largest city, Hodeida.

Air raids targeted militia bastions in Khoukha, Ad Durayhimi, Al Wazi’iyah and Mawza districts.

Insurgency militias suffered great losses in personnel and artillery. It is worth noting that coalition air power took down arms warehouses and convoys.

http://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/arab-coalition-airstrikes-destroy-insurgency-arms-warehouses-hodeida-yemen

my comment: For Saudi propaganda, everything in a targeted area is an arms warehouse, ar,s depot etc.

26.3.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

US-Saudi six air raids on Sana'a

The US-Saudi aggression warplanes on Sunday waged six strikes on Balad al-Raws district of Sana'a province, an official told Saba.
The warplanes hit Naqail Yaslah area six times, causing heavy damage to public and private properties, the official added.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460215.htm

26.3.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

US-Saudi two airstrikes on Sana'a

The US-Saudi aggression warplanes launched two strikes on al-Haimah al-Kharahaih district of Sana'a province, an official told Saba on Sunday.
The fighter jets hit Qawan area in Saham valley twice, causing heavy damage to citizens' farms and private properties, the official added.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460212.htm

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

27.3.2017 – Almasdar Online (* A K PS)

Government forces eastern Sana'a declares shelling Houthis presidential palace

The pro-government forces in Nehm district eastern the capital Sana'a declared on Sunday that it had launched heavy artillery shelling on the Houthis-Saleh forces' sites in the vicinity of the presidential palace and the Seventy Square in the city, in a qualitative and first of kind operation since the outbreak of war in March 2015.

The 26 September news website, of the government forces, has quoted a senior military source as saying "this shelling is a milestone shift in the battle with the Houthis-Saleh militants, who did not expect that the government forces artillery would reach those sites".

"This shelling has spread panic and fear among the Houthi militias seeing the artillery and missile shelling of the government forces hitting their sites in the presidential palace and the surrounding areas, which shocked them".

Local residents told Almasdaronline that three artillery shells have hit a house and an empty farm in Sawan neighborhood, and other shells hit the vicinity of the presidential residence.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/89917

27.3.2017 – Almasdar News (* A K PH)

Houthi forces turn the tides in the battle for western Yemen – full report

Over the past 24 hours, Houthi-led troops have intensified their operations against Saudi-backed forces in the embattled province of Taiz, targeting the strategic Mocha port area.

Led by a missile battalion and the Popular Committees, dozens of soldiers loyal to the rival Aden-based government were killed in rural Taiz, according to Yemeni reporter Hesham Al-Kibsi. The source also claimed Houthi tribesmen combatted ISIS fighters in the area.

In addition, Saudi-backed forces at the town of Dhu Bab were bombarded Katyusha rocket launchers, destroying three armored vehicles according to Houthi reconnaissance units – By

Chris Tomson

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/houthi-forces-turns-tides-battle-western-yemen-full-report/

27.3.2017 – New News (A K PH)

Yemen Allied Forces Launch Wide-Scale Attack on Saudi-led Mercenaries in Mokha

Yemeni army and Popular Committees launched on Monday a wide-scale attack on Saudi-led mercenaries in Mokha, Taiz province.

Ansarullah Yemeni news website quoted a military source as saying that dozens of mercenaries were killed and injured in the attack.

Two vehicles for the Saudi-led mercenaries were destroyed, the source added, describing the attack as a qualitative operation carried out by the army and committees “heroes”.

http://newnewss.net/?p=3900

27.3.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Mercenaries killed in Taiz

Dozens of US-Saudi-paid mercenaries were killed and other injured when the army and popular forces waged on Monday an attack on their sites in northern Mokha district of Taiz province, a military official told Saba.
Moreover, the national forces destroyed two vehicles of the mercenaries in the operation, the official added.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460272.htm

27.3.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Missile forces hit mercenaries in Taiz

The Missile forces of the army and popular forces fired on Monday Katyusha missiles on gatherings of US-Saudi-paid mercenaries in Dhubab and Mokha districts of Taiz province, a military official told Saba.
Dozens of the mercenaries were killed and injured and a military vehicle was bombed during the operation.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460255.htm

27.3.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)

Pro-government forces advance northern al Mocha, coalition warplanes shell Houthis sites western Taiz – military source

A military source said that the pro-government forces, backed by the popular resistance, controlled con Sunday large parts of Hussi Salem area northern al Mocha in western Taiz, southwestern Yemen, and were advancing towards al Khokha district, southern Hodeida province.

The source told Almasdaronline that the Houthis retreated from eastern Hussi Salem, after the pro-government forces have cleared the landmine networks.

Meanwhile, the fighter jets of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition launched several airstrikes on the Houthis’ sites in Mawza district, four air raids on their sites western Khaled camp, and three raids on Houthis’ gathering in an area between Mawza and Dhubab district”.

Other airstrikes also targeted Houthis’ reinforcements in al Mocha crossroads in Mawza, killing and injuring a number of Houthi militants. Added the source.

On the other side, the Houthi militants stationing in Mawza have launched artillery and katyusha missiles shelling on the pro-government forces’ sites in Kahbob area western al Madhareba district of Lahj province, and four government troops were injured.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/89893

26.3.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A K PS)

Arab Coalition Airstrikes Destroy Insurgency Arms Warehouses in Hodeida, Yemen

Saudi-led Arab Coalition air forces reported intensifying airstrikes over the last 24 hours, in an effort to back Yemeni pro-government army units in their offensive against militia posts in Yemen’s fourth-largest city, Hodeida.

Air raids targeted militia bastions in Khoukha, Ad Durayhimi, Al Wazi’iyah and Mawza districts.

Insurgency militias suffered great losses in personnel and artillery. It is worth noting that coalition air power took down arms warehouses and convoys.

Coalition airstrikes took place as pro-government forces, composed of tribesman making up the popular resistance and national army units, made incremental advances near the western coastal area in al Mawza district.

Pro-government forces moved towards Khalid Bin Al Waleed military camp, which is currently controlled by putschists. Yemeni government forces backed by Arab troops recaptured control of the southern Red Sea city of Mokha last month in a push that paved the way for an advance on Hodeidah, the country’s main port city.

Yemen government forces backed by heavy air strikes from Saudi-led coalition fighter jets launched in January a massive military operation to drive out Iran-allied Houthi militants and forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh from the western coast to cut off supplies of arms to rebels from Iran. The last city to be liberated in Operation Golden Arrow is Hodeida.

Battles erupted in the western coastal area now witnesses increasing advances on behalf of government forces, with military officials confirming a nearing direct offensive to retake Hodeida port, city and governorate comprehensively.

http://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/arab-coalition-airstrikes-destroy-insurgency-arms-warehouses-hodeida-yemen

28.9.2017 – Xinhua (A K)

Saudi Arabia intercepts 4 ballistic missiles from Yemen

Saudi forces have destroyed 4 ballistic missiles launched from Yemen which were targeting two border cities, Al Arabiya local news reported on Tuesday.

The cities are Abha and Khamis Mushait and they are among other border areas that have been targeted in such attacks since the beginning of Saudi-led war against Houthi militias in Yemen that completed two years this week.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-03/28/c_136164544.htm

28.3.2017 – MbKS15 (A K PS)

Films: Reports of five missiles interceptions by the #Saudi ADF over Khamis Mushait city — via: @aldwaih

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/846580751781036032

Royal #Saudi ADF Patriot units engaging with the #Houthi militia ballistic missiles

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/846623691907760128

Comment by Haykal Bafana: Video : #Saudi fires 5 Patriot missiles, Khamis Mushayt. All fly wildly in different directions. None hit any #Yemen ballistic missile.

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/846670819187134465

Comment to comment by Awadh1: This Video is directly from Patriot base, It's impassable to record the interception from far distance in morning

https://twitter.com/AWADH1_/status/846672523819466753

and

Film: and here's your failure missiles!

https://twitter.com/AWADH1_/status/846672912644034560

28.3.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K PH)

Yemeni fighters destroyed Saudi vehicles&strategic positions of Bait Alaswad Jaizan south KSA on 27March

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/846580224875778048 (photos)

https://twitter.com/ail_alshami/status/846460588855316483 (film)

Houthi / Saleh reports:

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460377.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460356.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460355.htm

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960107000677

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460252.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460254.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460238.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460220.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460205.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news460198.htm

Pro-Hadi / Pro-Saudi reports:

http://almasdaronline.com/article/89898

http://almasdaronline.com/article/89892

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

28.3.2017 – The National UAE (* B H)

Yemen’s qat sales soar as war drags on

Anwar Essa once led a comfortable life. He had a good job as a nurse in a private hospital and lived in Taez city with his wife and parents.

But the pressures of war, grief and depression turned him into a hardened addict two years ago.

Chewing qat is a tradition in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa that can be traced back thousands of years, and according to the World Health Organisation, an estimated 90 per cent of Yemeni men chew it three to four hours each day. "I lost my cousin whom I loved very much. Then I lost my job because we had to flee from the fighting in the city. I didn’t know anybody because I also left my friends and relatives.

"Qat was the only thing that made me feel happy. It was the only way I could escape from my situation into an imaginary life."

"I lost my cousin whom I loved very much. Then I lost my job because we had to flee from the fighting in the city. I didn’t know anybody because I also left my friends and relatives.

"Qat was the only thing that made me feel happy. It was the only way I could escape from my situation into an imaginary life."

In May last year, the authorities in Aden banned the use of qat in the city on work days, allowing the sale of the drug only on Thursdays and Fridays – the Yemeni weekend. But the ban is no longer enforced.

Demand for the drug has remained high, and qat farmers are profiting from it.

Ahmed Gameel has seen his income rise since the war began. "During the last two years, we have pulled up our coffee bushes and planted qat instead because we can earn three times as much from qat than from other crops," he said.

Anwar now feels he cannot function without qat, and accepts he is an addict.

"When I chew qat, I feel I could work as a manager of an institute and sometimes I make plans to work as a trader," he said. "At that moment, I feel happy. But after a few hours my good mood disappears." – by Mohammed Al Qalisi

http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/yemens-qat-sales-soar-as-war-drags-on

27.3.2017 – Ghanem Almasarir (* A P)

Saudi government complaints to @youtube regarding on of my videos which i talked about Mohammed bin salman corruption (youtube message in image)

https://twitter.com/GhanemAlmasarir/status/846306117798023173

My comment: That’s heavy. Youtube is censoring according to Saudi idea of free speech. That’s really disgusting.

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-285-yemen-war-mosaic-285

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-285 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-285:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:

(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm und / and http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/

Dieser Beitrag gibt die Meinung des Autors wieder, nicht notwendigerweise die der Redaktion des Freitag.
Geschrieben von

Dietrich Klose

Vielfältig interessiert am aktuellen Geschehen, zur Zeit besonders: Ukraine, Russland, Jemen, Rolle der USA, Neoliberalismus, Ausbeutung der 3. Welt

Dietrich Klose

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