(more in thread)
Help for ill child needed – US support for Saudis starving out Yemen – Trump’s shift in Middle Eastern policy – Yemen, the forgotten famine (in German) – Attack on Hodeidah will fuel hunger crisis – Orphans in Yemen – 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
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13a Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
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
and more information by Human rights activist Jamila Hanan:
doctor says this baby needs to be treated urgently or will die within 20 days. Ahmad is great guy (I vouch for him) would assist with travel
Ahmad tells me baby is malnourished but also needs liquid removing from skull hence need for operation which can only be done in Sanaa...
Ahmad would take family by car but cash is needed for operation, hotel and food whilst there, and fuel for travel. Can anyone help?
Ahmad recently helped another severely malnourished little boy get treatment at hospital. Message Ahmad if you can donate to help this boy.
only payment options for anyone that wants to help is via Western Union or Moneygram direct to Ahmad in Yemen, please message him, thank you.
Eingebetteter MedieninhaltAhmad is keen to register an organisation (discussed name, logo, etc) but just needs to see baby Mohammad right first, that is his priority
8.4.2017 – Truthout (*** B H K P)
The US Provided Cover for the Saudi Starvation Strategy in Yemen
As Yemen's population has teetered on the brink of mass starvation in recent months, the United States has played a crucial role in enabling the Saudi strategy responsible for that potential humanitarian catastrophe.
Both the Obama and Trump administrations have prioritized the US's alliance with the Saudis and their Gulf allies over the lives of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis under imminent threat of starvation.
The Saudi coalition has pursued a war strategy of maximizing pressure on the Houthi resistance by destroying agricultural, health and transportation infrastructure and by choking off access to food and fuel for most of Yemen's population. The United States has enabled the Saudis to pursue that strategy by refueling the Saudi-led coalition planes bombing Yemen and selling the bombs. Equally important, however, the US has provided the political-diplomatic cover that the Saudis need to carry out this ruthless endeavor without massive international blowback.
The Trump administration has gone even further in supporting the Saudi strategy. Whereas the Obama administration opposed a Saudi-led coalition offensive to regain control over the main port of Hodeidah and the rest of the Red Sea coast, saying it would worsen the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the Trump administration has clearly given the green light to the Saudis to launch that offensive.
Furthermore the commander of Central Command, Gen. Joseph Votel, has called Yemen a "vital interest" of the United States, arguing that anti-Iranian forces must be in control of it to prevent Iranian threats to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. That argument, which conjures a wholly artificial threat to commercial traffic through the Strait, clearly implies active support for the Saudi strategy of recapturing Hodeidah and choking off all access to food for the portion of the Yemeni population under the control of forces loyal to the Houthi and to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The administration's permissive stance toward the Saudi war strategy was evident from the beginning of the war.
The climax of the blockade strategy was a series of airstrikes on August 17, 2015, that destroyed all of the cranes used to unload container ships at the main commercial port of Hodeidah, Yemen's only port capable of receiving such ships. The strikes also destroyed an entire World Food Program warehouse, one of the berths, the port authority warehouse, the port control building and the customs building.
In mid-2016 the Saudis and the Hadi government began planning a much more drastic form of pressure on the population in the Houthi-Saleh-controlled North: eliminating the last institutional barrier to starvation, the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY).
The CBY, which was located in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, was playing a key role in providing a minimum of liquidity in the society. It was paying the monthly salaries of 1.2 million people on the government payroll, the vast majority of who were still loyal to former president Saleh and are now fighting the Saudi-led coalition forces alongside the Houthis. It was also financing the commercial shipments of food and fuel still arriving at Hodeidah and other ports.
The international financial institutions -- with the support of Western governments, including the United States -- understood the crucial role of the CBY as an "economic truce" between the warring Yemeni parties that was a necessity to avoid a complete humanitarian catastrophe. But in early July Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr of the Saudi-backed government in Aden explicitly criticized that "economic truce" indicating the intention to bring it to an end. And on August 6, bin Daghr accused the CBY of having used its funds to finance the Houthi-Saleh war effort and called on banks and financial institutions holding large Yemeni foreign reserves to cut off relations with the CBY.
But in mid-September the Hadi government went ahead with its plan to name a new governor of the Central Bank, who would serve in Aden, which was under Saudi coalition control. An unnamed Western diplomat harshly criticized the move to Reuters, calling it an effort to "weaponize the economy by preventing the central bank access to funds abroad."
The Hadi government promised that the relocated CBY would continue to maintain the bank's role in providing liquidity and financing imports. In fact, none of Yemen's civil servants have been paid since the Sanaa-based CBY was cut off from Yemen's foreign currency reserves abroad, further increasing the number of Yemenis who can no longer purchase food.
Obama was unwilling to override Saudi policy because of his administration's firm commitment to the alliance with Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies.
That "deep loyalty" primarily reflects the overriding US interest in military relations with the Saudis and their Gulf allies. The Saudis and Qataris control the major US bases in the Arab world, such as the naval base in Bahrain -- a Saudi client state -- and the air and ground bases in Qatar. Moreover the Saudi-led coalition had accounted for $130 billion in US arms sales during the Obama administration alone.
So it should come as no surprise that the Pentagon has been the main driver in the US policy of supporting the Saudi strategy of starvation.
In fact, the Pentagon openly declared its disinterest in which targets the Saudis and their Gulf allies were actually hitting
The United States shares responsibility with the Saudi-led coalition for the Yemeni deaths from starvation that will result from the Saudi war strategy, because of the coalition's dependence on US logistical and political-diplomatic support. But the Pentagon and the Central Command are already actively diverting attention from that shared guilt by focusing media attention on what they claim is a new threat from Iran. The result will be to compound the US guilt for mass starvation in Yemen – by Gareth Porter
7.4.2017 – Vox (** A P)
Trump’s Syria strike is part of a broader pivot toward the Gulf states’ worldview
Dropping Obama’s ambivalence brings short-term gains and long-term risks.
Trump’s sudden conversion reflects less of a turnabout on the question of humanitarianism than the president finally accepting the logic of his broader strategic worldview. Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly readjusted rhetoric and policy to create closer alignment with America’s traditional allies among authoritarian Sunni regimes in the Middle East — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, etc.
The change we have seen, thus far, has mostly been relatively subtle, reflecting in part the fact that President Obama’s efforts to distance the United States from these regimes were, themselves, quite equivocal. And Trump has not yet gone full-tilt against Iran in a way that would signal a true reversal from Obama’s approach, which Gulf allies saw as too soft on Tehran and too quick to turn a blind eye to Iranian aggression throughout the region.
Still, the overall pattern is unmistakable and represents critical context with which to understand Trump’s turn against Assad. Embracing the Gulf states’ worldview would dramatically improve Washington’s relationship with some of its closest regional allies. That's the good news. The bad news is that it risks drawing the United States deeper into a series of conflicts around the region.
Obama was ambivalent about Sunni authoritarians, Trump enthusiastic
Trump has shifted toward the Gulf states
Trump has changed American policy more in the direction of Gulf preferences in several directions. He's ended Obama’s symbolic refusal to host Egypt’s military regime at the White House (Borzou Daragahi reports for BuzzFeed that though the shift here is entirely rhetorical, the practical consequences for Egyptian activists are quite real), intensified American military support for a brutal Saudi-led war in Yemenagainst what the Saudis see as an Iranian proxy force, and lifted human rights conditions on sales of military jets to Bahrain.
The missile strikes in Syria, which on one level is narrowly about chemical weapons use, fit more broadly into this story of realignment.
Gulf states have long urged the US to strike Assad
Trumpism: short-term gain, long-term pain – by Matthew Yglesias
http://www.vox.com/world/2017/4/7/15217956/trump-syria-gulf-states
My comment: Interesting, but: „Embracing the Gulf states’ worldview would dramatically improve Washington’s relationship with some of its closest regional allies. That's the good news”??? Good news???
7.4.2017 – Neues Deutschland (** B H P)
Die vergessene Hungersnot
In Ostafrika und im Jemen verhungern die Menschen / 40 Millionen leiden unter Nahrungsmittelknappheit
In Ostafrika sowie im Jemen leiden bis zu 40 Millionen Menschen unter Nahrungsmittelknappheit.
Zwischen dem UN-Flüchtlingshilfswerk UNHCR in Genf und dem UN-Welternährungsprogramm WEP in Rom ist derweil ein Verteilungskampf ausgebrochen: Man kämpfe, oft gegeneinander, um jeden Euro, jeden Dollar, sagen Mitarbeiter beider Organisationen und vor allem die Leute vom WEP scheinen von Tag zu Tag frustrierter.
Und nun auch noch Ost-Afrika und der Jemen. Sehr oft ziehen die Betroffenen dort den Kürzeren, wenn internationale Organisationen bei westlichen Regierungen den Hut herum reichen.
Für die Hungernden in Ost-Afrika und im Jemen bräuchte man 5,2 Milliarden Euro, wovon vier Milliarden sofort benötigt werden, so ein Sprecher von UN-Generalsekretär Antonio Guterres. Zugesagt wurden 840 Millionen, ausgezahlt gerade einmal 80 Millionen Euro.
Sehr viel aktiver sind indes die Diplomaten Saudi-Arabiens, der USA und einiger afrikanischer Staaten. In Genf, in Rom und am Hauptsitz der Vereinten Nationen in New York lobbyiert man dagegen, dass die UN und ihre Organisationen offiziell Hungersnöte erklären. Gemäß der UN-Definition müssen für eine Hungersnot 20 Prozent der Bevölkerung Zugang zu weniger als 2.100 Kilokalorien am Tag haben, 30 Prozent aller Kinder akut unterernährt sein und zwei von 10.000 Menschen oder vier von 10.000 Kindern am Tag an Unternährung sterben. Dass man sich derart gegen die Realität sperrt, liegt daran, dass diese Krisen zum Großteil von Menschen verursacht sind. Dschibuti erhebt extrem hohe Zölle auf Nahrungsmittelimporte. Die Korruption ist aller Orten massiv. Und im Westen setzt man in Somalia und im Jemen auf Regierungen, die so gut wie keine Kontrolle über ihr Land haben.
Würde eine Hungersnot erklärt werden, wäre nicht nur Geld erforderlich: Der Ruf nach Veränderung würde lauter werden. Im Fall des Jemen beruft sich die saudische Regierung darauf, dass man ja immer wieder Hilfslieferungen ins Land lasse und die Kalorienmengen ausreichend seien. Zudem bezieht man auch Gebiete in die Berechnung mit ein, in denen die Versorgung gewährleistet ist, und kommt dann zu dem Ergebnis, dass es im Jemen gar kein Hunger-Problem gebe.
Würden die Vereinten Nationen nun offiziell das Gegenteil feststellen, würde man als der Schuldige dastehen. Zu Recht: Wegen der Luftangriffe sowie der zerstörten Straßen und Brücken schaffen es die Hilfskonvois selten weit ins Land hinein. Bislang sind die Bemühungen um einen Frieden im Jemen, aber auch um Stabilität in Somalia gescheitert, weil der internationale Druck gering ist. Ab und zu verabschiedet der UN-Sicherheitsrat eine Resolution, die meist mit den Worten »Mit tiefer Betroffenheit...« beginnt und nie zu einem Ergebnis führt. Allein in den vergangenen fünf Jahren fielen bei der UN-Verwaltung umgerechnet 140 Millionen Euro für 282 Resolutionen zum Jemen und zu Ostafrika an.
https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/1047519.die-vergessene-hungersnot.html
7.4.2017 – IRIN (** A H K)
All eyes on Yemen’s port
Late last month, we took you inside four extreme hunger crises, including the one facing Yemen. One of the biggest challenges facing humanitarians there is the impact that airstrikes have had on Hodeida port, the entry point for 70 percent of the country’s imports. Amidst reports that the US is considering increasing its support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, which is planning an operation to push Houthis from the area, aid agencies are now speaking out about the growing threat of an escalation in fighting and further airstrikes on the crucial port. The UN’s Special Envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said he is “extremely concerned” about the possibility of military action at Hodeida while the International Rescue Committeesaid that “any disruption of these port facilities would have a catastrophic impact on the people of Yemen”. On Tuesday, the UN Country Team in Yemen released its own statement, noting that there is “no viable substitute” for Hodeida as a lifeline for humanitarian imports. Contingency plans are already being drawn up in case the port is bombed, but none of them are terribly promising. The only way into Yemen for humanitarian convoys may be via Oman. There’s plenty of behind the scenes wrangling to stop an offensive or strike in its tracks, but nothing’s certain. If you care about Yemen, keep your eyes on Hodeida.
and
22.3.2017 – World Food Programme, Logistic Cluster (** A H)
Hodeidah Contingency Plan
http://www.logcluster.org/document/hodeidah-contingency-plan-22-march-2017
6.4.2017 – The National UAE (** B H)
Yemen children bear adult responsibilities as tens of thousands lose parents to war
At just 11 years old, Saeed Al Nowi has borne the responsibility of supporting his mother and three younger siblings since his father was killed by a sniper in March last year.
"My father was killed and we did not have a breadwinner, so I decided to sell ice cream to passers-by in Jamal Street", in Taez city, said Saeed. "It is better to work than to beg."
Saeed is one of more than 10,000 children, according to activists in Taez, to have lost one or both parents to the fighting between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and pro-government forces in a bitter battle for control of the city that has raged for more than two years.
More than 50,000 children have been orphaned since March 2015
Even before the war, there were more than one million orphans in Yemen. But the Public Orphans Foundation, a government body assisting orphans, has since closed its offices in many provinces, especially those controlled by the rebels, like Taez. The economic hardship brought about by the war has affected charitable organisations and private philanthropy. With less help available to them, many orphans have been forced to either work or beg on the streets.
"Some charitable associations and people provide us with food, but that is not enough for us," said Saeed. "We need other things beside food."
Many other children are psychologically damaged by the loss of one or both parents in horrific circumstances. They suffer nightmares and flashbacks and need therapy, says Roqaya Al Higami, a social worker dealing with children’s issues in Taez. There are no official figures on the number of orphans in Taez but she estimates there are now 10,000.
Last year, the Orphan Development Foundation said orphans were facing a humanitarian crisis not seen in Yemen for many years. Dozens of orphans have lost their lives because of the war. Hundreds more have been left permanently disabled. Yet more now face death from lack of food. medicine and basic care.
The war – and the consequent humanitarian disaster – has affected half a million orphans throughout Yemen. The Foundation says they have slipped down the list of priorities for relief organisations – by Mohammed Al Qalisi
cp2 Allgemein / General
7.4.2017 – Al Araby (* B H K)
Taiz: Life and death in Yemen's theatre of war
"Seventeen million people - almost two thirds of [Yemen's] population - are critically food insecure and require urgent humanitarian assistance," said the International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian aid organisation, in a recent statement.
But the situation is particularly dire in Taiz governorate, with a population of more than two million people. The Coalition of Humanitarian Relief-Taiz, a non-profit civil body, has estimated that 178,556 families in the city have been displaced from their homes due to the war. Displacement is rising as the war rages on.
According to locals, Houthi fighters have been laying siege to the eastern and northern areas of the main city, although pro-government forces have partially broken the siege in the west. The southern area of Taiz is mountainous, and many people remain trapped amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions - including the shutdown of hospitals and widespread economic collapse.
The Houthi group say its fighters have not placed the city under siege; that they only combat the "[Islamic State group] militants and the mercenaries".
More than 3,400 civilians have died in Taiz over the past two years - and more than 16,000 have been injured, according to the local health office.
Life as struggle
Saeed Hasn, who was a schoolteacher in Taiz before the war broke out, says that it has become incredibly difficult to obtain food and water.
With government salaries unpaid for months, the 40-year-old opened a rooftop stall to sell basic commodities, in an effort to make some money to feed his six children. But it did not go well.
"The continuing war has hurt my stand," Hasn lamented. "The prices of goods soared, and this hindered the profitability. I find difficulty in obtaining the goods. Also, the sales are weak, given the financial situation of the people."
As he struggles to keep his shop afloat, Hasn said that residents are becoming increasingly "fed up" with Yemen's war – by Khalid al-Karimi and Weam Abdulmalik
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2017/4/7/taiz-life-and-death-in-yemens-theatre-of-war
7.4.2017 – Almanar (* A P)
[Article in French on the long hand of the United Arab Emirates in #Socotra.
Reminder:
- Yemenia cannot fly any longer to the island. Flights are allowed (when/if) only from Abu Dhabi
- The Emirates control the airport of Hadibo
- UAE are substituting Yemeni currency (Yemeni Ryial) with UAE Dirhams
- Socotra and mainland Yemen have not been connected in months now
- It is widely reported that Hadi leased the island to the UAE for 99 years]
Yémen : Que font les Emirats dans l’île de Socotra ?
Selon le site Yéménite AlMasirah, les Emirats ont lié cette île au réseau de communication émiratie, comme si Socotra est devenue une partie des Emirats. Pis encore, ils ont adopté le paiement en monnaie locale (Dirham émirati) et hissé le drapeau émirati sur les établissements publics. Deux vols aériens directs entre Abu Dhabi et l’île de Socotra ont également été assurés par les Emirats arabes unis.
Il convient de noter que l’initiative des Emirats n’a pas provoqué seulement les Yéménites mais leur principal partenaire dans le pillage et l’agression contre le Yémen : l’Arabie saoudite. Ryad a incité ses mercenaires et les miliciens du président démissionnaire Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi à condamner les actes inacceptables des Emirats à Socotra.
http://french.almanar.com.lb/343627
7.4.2017 – Press TV Iran (A K P)
Film: Yemeni NGOs propose peace initiative
International and regional NGO’s have thrown their weight behind efforts aimed at reconciling warring sides in Yemen and ending Saudi Arabia’s ongoing onslaught against its southern neighbor. But observers believe that such a peace initiative requires serious international action and support to help Yemenis realize their dream of lasting peace.
http://presstv.com/Detail/2017/04/07/517021/Yemeni-NGOs-propose-peace-initiative
6.4.2017 – The Richest (B K P)
15 Facts About The Most Messed Up Country In The World – Yemen
There are 25 million people in Yemen, who are doing their best to survive all the nasty things that are happening in this country. Sadly, Yemen has become a huge war zone in the Middle East, where all the strongest forces in the world try to show their powers. It is too hard to understand who is fighting who because things are changing too quickly. The government, terrorists, “peacemakers,” and rebels are brutally killing each other and innocent civilians. Oh yes, nobody has time to protect civilians in Yemen as everyone is busy trying to achieve their sick goals. On top of that, no one is brave enough to apologize and face the consequences of their atrocities. In contrary, both sides of the war are happy to see more catastrophes because they can blame it on the opposition. So, the situation in Yemen is only getting worse (if that’s possible).
To put it into perspective, Yemen is like a candy and all the forces that fight are like little children. Sadly, there is only one candy and way too many children to share it peacefully. Officially, the Houthi fighters are trying to take over Yemen from Hadi government. However, what kind of war would it be if the Russian Federation and the USA wouldn’t pay attention to it? On top of that, all the Islamic terrorist groups, such as ISIS or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also play a big role in the Yemeni Civil War. I feel so sorry for all the people in Yemen, who have to live in constant fear – by Kasparas Asmonaitis
http://www.therichest.com/shocking/15-facts-about-the-most-messed-up-country-in-the-world-yemen/
My comment: An introduction. Some points are not so bad. The paragraphs to the Houthis are propaganda bullshit. On the Houthis, better listen to: https://twitter.com/ChathamHouse/status/847454902259286018
6.4.2017 – DX Entertainment (B K P)
Film: Saudi Arabia Devastating Yemen Into Famine - U.S. Refuses To Comment [The Yemen crisis explained in 146 seconds]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcCclrj-eIk&feature=share
6.4.2017 – Ministry of Public Health, Sanaa (* A K)
Civilian Casualties & Health System Damages, 730. Day of Saudi aggression
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1659578107671510
My comment: These are the official figures of victims. They are much to low, as a great part of victims never is reported.
6.4.2017 – Free Malaysia Today (B K P)
No holding us down, no holding us back
You’d all think that considering the fact that I’ve been living with death for the past two years, I would be scarred. Bruised. Broken.
That is nowhere near reality. With every passing day, with every bomb that hits, with every missile that drops, I grow invincible. Death is a vengeful sea. A sea feared by all but Yemenis. We have adjusted our sails and claimed that sea as ours. Ours eternally.
The Saudi-US led coalition might have ended 2,600 little children’s lives, but that will not be a barrier.
To my country that is being attacked and labelled as “weak”: We are going to teach you strength, perseverance and courage. We will rise again.
This is Yemen. We will not kneel down to any country. We shall only kneel down to God, for we fear nothing but the Almighty. We will stare death blankly in the eye.
Yemen will surpass every hardship. Yemen will not be held down, even if this coalition lasts till the end of time. Yemenis’ rage is eternal, and we will not be held back for we were the very first on this Earth and we will be the very last – by Fatima Norman, the daughter of Mustapha Norman, Yemen’s former ambassador to Canada.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2017/04/06/no-holding-us-down-no-holding-us-back/
6.4.2017 – BBC (not rated B K)
Audio: Why Is No-one Trying to Stop the War in Yemen?
It’s two years since the start of the Saudi-led military campaign in support of the Yemeni government which was ousted by Houthi rebels. The war has been a disaster for countless civilians. Thousands have been killed and the country is on the brink of famine. The UN is calling it a humanitarian crisis. And yet it’s far from clear which – if any – of the multiple nations and groups involved in the conflict is working to end it. In other words, our question this week, why is no one trying to stop the war in Yemen? – by Presenter: Ruth Alexander, Producer: Estelle Doyle
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04ygbxt
6.4.2017 – TRT (* B K)
Film: Take a virtual 360° tour through Yemen, and find out how a thriving Arabian nation transformed into a starving war-torn country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAUwGJNQVeA = https://www.facebook.com/trtworld/videos/1880724688864345/
6.4.2017 – George Khoury, Country director United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen (A K)
Life started coming back to the streets of Mocha city #Yemen. Markets reopening. Residents told me 70% of the population already returned (photo)
https://twitter.com/GeorgekhouryUN/status/849666515288940544
6.4.2017 – George Khoury, Country director United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen (A H)
Humanitarians are using both Hudaydah and Aden ports. Our choice of port is guided by logistic and ops considerations and proximity to needs) (photo)
https://twitter.com/GeorgekhouryUN/status/849653039887769600
31.3.2017 – International Rescue Committee (* A H K)
Bombing port in Yemen would further humanitarian catastrophe
IRC Yemen Country Director, Mohamed El Montassir Hussein, said:
"The IRC is deeply concerned by reports that the U.S. is considering increasing military assistance to the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen. We are particularly alarmed by emerging information that this attack could target Yemen’s western port city of Hodeidah, where 80% of all imports enter Yemen.
Any disruption of these port facilities would have a catastrophic impact on the people of Yemen – denying food and medicine to civilians already suffering immeasurably after two years of war. The IRC and other humanitarian actors already face major operational obstacles created by the ongoing conflict. Sea and air blockades that are already in place mean essential humanitarian supplies in Yemen are scarce, and will become even scarcer if these attacks go ahead. An attack will also lead to all shipping vessels being be diverted, overwhelming the capacity of other ports in Aden and Mokala. Currently it can take up to 6 months for the IRC to get life-saving medical supplies from outside the country into health facilities. At a point when time is of the essence to save lives these attacks would delay humanitarian assistance and further risk lives of Yemini civilians. Once the IRC and other actors do get supplies into the country, limitations on transport infrastructure and rampant insecurity along inland roads makes movement between north and south Yemen extremely difficult. This situation means we are unable to make timely deployments of supplies or personnel necessary for an effective humanitarian response.
The solution to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is not more conflict; parties need to get back to the peace process. We urge the U.S. to use its influence to restart a peace process rather than fuel more conflict.
https://www.rescue.org/press-release/bombing-port-yemen-would-further-humanitarian-catastrophe = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/bombing-port-yemen-would-further-humanitarian-catastrophe
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
8.4.2017 – World Bank, World Health Organization, UN Children's Fund (A H)
Nationwide immunization campaign protects 5 million children against polio in war-torn Yemen
In an effort to keep Yemen polio-free, nearly 5 million children under the age of five have been vaccinated in a nationwide campaign covering all governorates in the country. The campaign was supported by a partnership between the World Bank, UNICEF and WHO launched in February 2017.
Despite intensifying violence in Sa’ada governorate, more than 369,000 children between the ages of 6 months and 15 years were immunized against measles – a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease - and over 155,000 children under the age of 5 were vaccinated against polio.
Thousands of dedicated health workers, health educators, religious leaders and local council officials played a key role in mobilizing their communities to maximize the immunization campaign’s reach. Thanks to their support, high-risk groups, such as internally displaced persons and refugees, have also been vaccinated.
“WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank, are working closely with health authorities to keep Yemen polio-free and curb the spread of measles,” said Dr Nevio Zagaria, WHO Representative in Yemen. “This partnership provides continuous support to national health authorities to increase vaccination coverage for vulnerable children across Yemen.”
Before 2006, measles was one of the leading causes of death in children under 5 years old in Yemen. But several measles campaigns supported by WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank have succeeded in drastically reducing child deaths from the disease.
The two year-long conflict in Yemen has all but destroyed the country’s health system, including the national immunization programme to protect all children from preventable diseases. WHO and UNICEF have provided sustained support for the programme, along with other essential health services for children, including:
8.4.2017 – Ahmad Alghobary (A H)
Women in #Taiz celebrates in her wedding by distributing food to displaced people (photo)
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/850725007554740225
8.4.2017 – Qasim Al-Shawea (A H)
A bed-ridden mother needs an urgent surgery cost 1,2 mln RY @Yourabilities_o has provided her with a wheelchair, medicines and food (photos)
https://twitter.com/Living_Yemen/status/850788994602459137
7.4.2017 – Adel Hashem (A H)
message from Adel Hashem, Director of Human Needs Development - HND, NGO in #Sanaa
Life is nothing without helping needy people in this world especially those in Yemen which is 21 of its people are in need some urgent humanitarian assistance o survive.
Our Human Needs Development - HND last food baskets project that aimed to alleviate the suffering of some Yemeni families in the capital of Yemen, Sanaa, through helping them with food items.
Best thanks to our brothers in Australia and China who helped us to make that possible (photos and film)
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1893560134262896&id=100008267826631 = https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1330468340339526 = https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1659967024299285
7.4.2017 – Doctors Without Borders (* A H)
Yemen: la niña que no pudimos salvar
Hella Hultin, cirujana sueca que trabaja en nuestro proyecto en Jamir, Yemen, cuenta en primera persona una experiencia trágica.
Hoy he visto algo que necesito olvidar: una bebé murió porque sus padres no conocían los riesgos de una infección.
Por la mañana, la guardia nocturna me habló de una niñita de dos días de edad que había llegado a urgencias.
Tenía fiebre y el cordón umbilical infectado. Al hacer la ronda, la vi.
Esa imagen nunca se borrará de mi memoria: pequeña, ardiendo por la fiebre, con respiración jadeante, yacía boca arriba con los ojos cerrados.
Tenemos un hospital que ofrece atención gratuita. Es sencillo pero limpio, y cientos de niños nacen aquí cada año. Si el parto de una mujer se complica de alguna manera, hay médicos, como yo, que pueden realizar una cesárea.
Pero si la gente no llega a nosotros porque no entiende las ventajas, no importa lo maravillosos que sean los recursos que tengamos.
La niña murió a las dos de la tarde – por Hella Hultin
https://www.msf.es/actualidad/yemen/yemen-la-nina-que-no-pudimos-salvar
6.4.2017 – RT Espanol (* B H)
El negocio de Occidente en la silenciada guerra en Yemen
Entrevista a Solidarios Sin Fronteras, la única ONG española que trabaja en Yemen, el país con la mayor emergencia humanitaria del mundo. Este silencio es el que llevó a Eva Erill a fundar Solidarios sin Fronteras, la única ONG española que actualmente trabaja en Yemen.
(Interview)
https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/235128-eeuu-acabar-terroristas-yemen
6.4.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A H)
Nation-wide campaign started in Yemen to help families of war prisoners with food stuff and money. Picture,Bani Hareth, north Sanaa,April6 (photos)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/850217595286331393
6.4.2017 – Falah Alghofy (A H)
Film: A sad childhood in Yemen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nlGaMX4C1o
6.4.2017 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (A H)
Yemen CERF-funded response in 2015-2016 (as of 6 April 2017)
Over the past two years, CERF has allocated $59.2 million for people most affected by the conflict.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-cerf-funded-response-2015-2016-6-april-2017 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/YMN_CERF_20170406.pdf
6.4.2017 – Ärzte ohne Grenzen (* B H)
Der Krieg im Jemen: die Zivilbevölkerung zahlt einen hohen Preis
Die argentinische Krankenschwester Candelaria Lanusse war in der nördlichen Provinz Hajjah und Sana’a, der Hauptstadt Jemens, als Gesundheitsberaterin für Ärzte ohne Grenzen im Einsatz.
Die Eskalation des Konflikts ist für die Zivilbevölkerung nur schwer zu ertragen. Nach Angaben der Vereinten Nationen benötigen derzeit mehr als 18 Millionen Menschen humanitäre Hilfe.
Die jemenitische Bevölkerung ist von der humanitären Hilfe sehr abhängig. Durch die Kämpfe und Bombardierungen ist es aber schwierig, den Bedarf abzudecken. Für die Einsatzkräfte ist der Zugang zu den Patienten und Patientinnen oft nur eingeschränkt möglich. Im Konfliktgebiet ist das Gesundheitssystem fast zur Gänze kollabiert. Das hat zur Folge, dass die Durchimpfungsrate stark gesunken ist. Es treten vermehrt Fälle von vermeidbaren Infektionskrankheiten wie zum Beispiel Keuchhusten auf. Die Verteilung von Lebensmitteln findet nur unregelmäßig statt.
Die Zahlen der Vereinten Nationen sind schockierend. Demnach sind 1,1 Millionen stillende Frauen mangelernährt und 462.000 Kinder unter fünf Jahren sind von akuter Mangelernährung betroffen. Für Ärzte ohne Grenzen ist es schwierig eine aussagekräftige Analyse zu erstellen
Dutzende Gesundheitseinrichtungen wurden bei Angriffen und Kämpfen zerstört.
6.4.2017 – UNICEF New Zealand (* A H)
Unicef NZ: Families fighting to survive in Yemen
The first light of morning brought bad news to Mohammed, in the small hospital room where he has been staying.
His two-year-old cousin Yehia has succumbed to a growing crisis consuming Yemen – severe and acute malnutrition.
He isn't mourning. He is choosing to be strong for his younger brother, Mohanned, who lies besides him, curled up in bed, breathing noisily as the air pushes through into the lungs.
Five-year-old Mohanned is suffering. His ribs push through the skin and his eyes try to focus on his elder brother. His severely malnourished body aches when he breathes. He winces every few seconds with pain.
Mohammed holds his younger brother's frail hands.
"I have already lost a cousin to malnutrition today, I can't lose my little brother" he says.
Mohanned is undergoing treatment at the Abs hospital in Hajjah, a region of Yemen which has some of the highest numbers of malnourished children in the country.
With little food, their family barely makes ends meet. Their 35-year-old mother Juhairiyah is ill but nobody knows what's wrong with her. She has never been to a hospital. Their father works as a farmer in another district and can afford to come home only once in a month.
It took an hour for Mohammed to reach the hospital from their village, driving through areas where fighting between armed groups is common, with his brother sitting uncomfortably in his lap. The drive is as bumpy as it is unsafe, but there is no choice. Mohanned's health has been deteriorating for over two years and only now has the family been able to afford the cost of bringing him for treatment. Mohammed hopes it's not too late. His younger brother's recovery has been slow.
Across Yemen, 2.2 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition. Of them, almost half a million are suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), similar to Mohanned. Global estimates suggest that a child suffering from SAM is 11 times more at risk of death than a healthy child of the same age.
In other words, Mohanned is 11 times more likely to succumb to this preventable illness than his healthy peers.
Matters have been made worse by the unending and unforgiving conflict. Health facilities are forced to close their doors because of the fighting and thousands of children, like Mohanned, have nowhere to go to seek treatment.
Back in the hospital in Abs, Mohammed gently caresses his younger brother. Life has not been fair to them, but what is more worrying for Mohammed is the future that lies ahead.
With a grievously sick brother, an ill mother, and a father who cannot return home for days at end, Mohammed knows he has a lot resting on his young shoulders – by RAJAT MADHOK AND MOOHIALDIN FUAD
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/91282366/.html
5.4.2017 – World Bank (* A H)
Early recovery programs help restore economic stability in central Yemen
By the end of 2016, the security situation in parts of central Yemen had improved—relatively speaking—in many rural areas of the governorate of Taiz, prompting a proportion of the more than 3.2 million Yemenis displaced nationwide to return to their homes after a period of bitter suffering. Many of Yemen's returnees have faced such significant challenges since returning home, however, that some see little advantage to having done so.
One district in Taiz governorate affected by the war was Mawza'a, which had a poverty rate of 90%. The war spread to it early in 2016, and all types of weaponry were used. The violence displaced and killed civilians, placing the economic stability of survivors at risk. Among the villages affected in the district was Alaqamah, where most of the population were jobless.
Dozens of families fled Alaqamah. They lived in neighboring areas without shelter, often exposed to worse violence than in their home village itself. As calm began to return to Alaqamah, the displaced held back, remaining without aid or security in areas, such as Albarh, Mokha, and Alma'afir.
However, the Social Fund for Development’s (SFD’s) Cash-for-Work interventions encouraged IDPs and other villagers to go home and resume their old means of making a living in their home areas. It provided cash for returnees’ basic needs until they were able to get themselves going again.
The SFD is a Yemeni welfare organization that receives funding from international donors, including the United Nations and World Bank Group. The Cash-for-Work Program it launched got part of a $500,000 emergency intervention program going in Alaqamah, encouraging 150 displaced families to return to it and re-establish themselves through income-generating sub-projects. Villagers from the 510 households that participated in the program overall worked on infrastructure in the village, receiving wages for their labor.
According to Abdul Karim Musa, a member of a volunteers’ committee in Alaqamah, most households in the village had suffered from food insecurity as a result of the conflict. They were used to meals of bread soaked in tea, and they were taking their sons and daughters out of school to earn a living. After the Cash-for-Work program began, however, men among the villagers began to build a water catchment area and barrier against flash flooding in the Alaqamah valley. They also began to repair irrigation canals leading to their land, and to rehabilitate agricultural land. Women helped them by carrying stones and water – b BY ABDULELAH TAQI
4.4.2017 – European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (A H)
Map: Yemen – Food insecurity and population displacement - DG ECHO Daily Map | 04/04/2017
http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-food-insecurity-and-population-displacement-dg-echo-daily-map-04042017 and in full: http://erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/getdailymap/docId/2015 = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/20170404_DailyMap_Yemen_food%20security%20and%20displacement.pdf
4.4.2017 – World Food Programme, Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (A H)
Yemen – Conflict: ETC Situation Report #116, Reporting period 01/02/17 to 30/04/17
The ETC worked with the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) on the security telecommunications needs to be covered until the end of 2017 across Yemen.
The procurement plan of the equipment required by the ETC to continue delivering life-saving communications services to humanitarians until the end of the year has been approved.
Following increased tension around Al Hudaydah port, access to the port has been restricted and commercial shipping lines have stopped calling at the port. As an immediate implication, a rise in transportation costs and an increase in delivery times are expected. The World Food Programme (WFP), global lead of the ETC, is working on a contingency plan to address these access constraints and one of the possibilities is using Aden port for humanitarian operations. The ETC is monitoring the situation closely in case this option materialises and a scale up of inter-agency communications services is required.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-conflict-etc-situation-report-116-reporting-period-010217-300417 and in full: https://www.etcluster.org/document/etc-yemen-sitrep-16 = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/2017%20-%2004%20-%2031%20-%20Yemen%20-%20ETC%20SitRep%20_16_0.pdf
31.3.2017 – Famine Early Warning System Network (A H)
Yemen Key Message Update, March 2017
Yemen continues to face the largest food security emergency in the world, with large populations in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or Emergency (IPC Phase 4) acute food insecurity, the latter of which is associated with an increased risk of excess mortality. IDP populations and poor households in conflict zones are likely facing the most severe food security outcomes.
Recent food import data suggest that food imports into Al Hudaydah port have recently declined sharply. As this port supplies many key markets in western Yemen, these declining imports raise concerns about future supply levels and food prices at markets that rely on this port as a source.
Large-scale humanitarian assistance has likely played an important role in limiting food insecurity outcomes to Crisis (IPC Phase 3!) in several governorates, instead of Emergency (IPC Phase 4). Should the macroeconomic situation and conflict continue at similar levels, and should humanitarian assistance provision not be maintained or scaled-up in the near- to medium-term, food security outcomes are likely to deteriorate to Emergency (IPC Phase 4) for many areas across western Yemen by September 2017.
Given the fluid nature of the conflict in Yemen, food security outcomes are difficult to project. In a worst-case scenario, there are possible events that could cause a severe deterioration in food consumption, malnutrition, and excess mortality for much larger populations, driving outcomes in line with Famine (IPC Phase 5). Possible scenarios that could drive these types of severe outcomes include, but are not limited to: 1) a significant decline in commercial staple food imports below requirement levels, or 2) a major increase in conflict levels or change in conflict location that cuts off populations from trade and humanitarian assistance for an extended period of time.
http://www.fews.net/east-africa/yemen/key-message-update/march-2017 = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-key-message-update-march-2017
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
8.4.2017 – Almasdar Online (A)
Elderly man died of heart attack after Houhis stormed his home in Dhamar – source
http://almasdaronline.com/article/90247
8.4.2017 – Saba Net (A)
Security agencies seize quantity of arms, ammunition in Amran
The arms were belonging to a member of the Islamic Islah party (Muslim Brotherhood), who cooperates with the states of the aggression. The man concealed the arms and ammunition at this house following last war in the province.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461396.htm
8.4.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)
Qahtan.. Yemeni veteran politician disappeared for two years
Mohammed Qahtan, a veteran politician and high-ranking leader of the Islah party, has been being disappeared for two years and is among the most prominent detained prisoners by militias of the Houthis and ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Al-Arabi al-Jadeed newspaper issued a report about Qahtan, depecting him as the architect of the pioneer of the political work, moderation and coordination among political parties, particularly amid the Joint Meeting Parties alliance.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-5759
8.4.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)
Hajjah: The Houthi-Saleh militias commit 60 violations in March
The Houthi-Saleh militias committed more than 60 violations during March 2017 alone.
The violations included four cases of murder, five cases of abduction and enforced disappearance, storming of houses and looting of properties.
The report issued by a human rights coalition that the militias also caused three cases of murder against civilians in Aflah al-Yaman district, pointing out that the militias also caused the death of a civilian.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-5758
My comment: By Islah Party media with a clear propaganda bias.
My comment: Islah Party functionary. More reporting, YPR 290, cp5.
8.4.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
5,000 Detainees in Houthi-Saleh Prisons
A large number of Yemenis live in dangerous humanitarian and psychological situations in light of the increasing violating acts Houthi and Saleh militias have been committing since the beginning of the war which passed its second year in several cities in Yemen.
Thousands of civilians have been subjected to arbitrary arrests and detentions, some of which – over time – have become cases of enforced disappearance in isolation from the outside world, which further complicated the psychological situation and the suffering of the families of those abducted.
Many people were released, others spoke about their sufferings and what Houthi militias requested from their parents in return of their release, while some others are still out of their parent’s reach in unknown places.
Meanwhile, thousands of civilians were subjected to similar acts of kidnapping and enforced disappearance, according to statistics issued by local humanitarian organizations.
Local Yemeni reports revealed that Houthi and Saleh militias have committed 4,841 arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances in 2016.
A report issued by Yemeni Coalition to Monitor Human Rights Violations (YCMHRV) stated that field monitoring teams recorded around 5,092 documented violations with 4,882 are of arbitrary detentions and 210 of enforced disappearances.
This is the total number of violations of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the International Human Rights Law, which the YCMHRV could document.
http://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/5000-detainees-houthi-saleh-prisons and also http://www.arabnews.com/node/1081966/saudi-arabia
My comment: Saudi source with a clear propaganda bias. This figure is the third which was published within a few days (we already had 14.000 and 17.000).
7.4.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)
Tens of thousands of Yemenis took to streets of Hodeida2refuse US-Saudi attempts to close the only sea port left to starve Yemenis to death (photos)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/850250889386270725
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/850250123783184384
8.4.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee )A P)
Yemeni Parliament condemned the US aggression on Syria as flagrant violation of UN charters and international laws.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/850726868106047488
7.4.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)
Yemen Prime Minister Bin Habtoor: condemns US aggression on Syria & expresses his country's solidarity with Syria.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/850366004060450818 and again on April, 8 by Saba Net: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461383.htm
My comment: Habtoor still in office, contradicting the following reports:
6.4.2017 – Anadolu (* A P)
Yemen’s Houthi-appointed PM tenders resignation
Move indicates growing rift between Shia Houthi militia group and allied forces loyal to former president
Yemen’s Houthi-appointed “prime minister” has resigned from his post to protest what he has reportedly described as “interference” by Houthi officials in his governing duties, according to Yemeni sources.
Abdulaziz bin Habtoor, head of Yemen’s “National Salvation Government” (established late last year by the Shia Houthi militia and allied forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh), reportedly submitted his resignation on Wednesday to Saleh al-Sammad, head of the Houthi-run Supreme Political Council.
According to sources close to bin Habtoor, the Houthi-appointed PM decided to tender his resignation after Houthi militiamen on Tuesday stormed the headquarters of the General Authority for Social Security and Pensions in Sanaa.
After breaking into the building, militiamen reportedly took over the establishment and seized funds intended for pensioners.
Bin Habtoor’s resignation suggests a growing rift between the Houthis -- who control most of the National Salvation Government’s ministries and institutions -- and their pro-Saleh allies, both of which are represented in bin Habtoor’s government.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency anonymously due to restrictions on talking to media, the same sources said that bin Habtour had repeatedly complained that his authority as prime minister was being undermined by the Houthis.
They also noted that al-Sammad had previously overturned several decisions issued by bin Habtour in his capacity as head of the government – By Zakaria al-Kamaali
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/yemen-s-houthi-appointed-pm-tenders-resignation/790508
Comment by Judith Brown: This is a pity as this man was seen as competent and likely to be seen as acceptable by Hadi supporters if there was ever a peace deal.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155389760083641
My comment: There still is no confirmation by the Houthi / Saleh government. Wait and see. The day before, Habtour still was in office and met with the UN Humanitarian Coordinator: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461195.htm . Wait and see.
And, very similar:
6.4.2017 – Middle East Monitor (* A P)
Bin Habtour resigns as head of ‘national salvation’ government in Yemen
The head of the “national salvation” government in Yemen, Abdul Aziz bin Habtour, has resigned his post, in protest against Houthi interference in his work.
Sources close to Bin Habtour confirmed that he submitted his resignation to the President of the Supreme Political Council, Saleh al-Samad, days after the Houthis forcefully took control of the General Authority Insurance and Pensions building on Tuesday.
One source said Bin Habtour’s authority was undermined by President Saleh al-Samad who annulled several of Habtour’s decisions in the Ministries of Awqaf, Health and Higher Education.
Habtour is also believed to have been concerned by the Houthi takeover of the General Insurance and Pension authority. On Tuesday morning, after breaking and entering, Houthi gunmen took over the Insurance and Pensions offices in Sana’a, seizing pension contributions and assuming complete authority over the institution.
According to sources, Houthi rebels and the Supreme Political Council, which runs the areas under Houthis rule, are trying to convince Bin Habtour to retract his resignation.
However, Bin Habtour’s departure reveals deep divisions between the Houthis and former president – Ali Abdullah Saleh’s party members, who form part of the “national salvation” government. The vast majority of ministries and state institutions are controlled by Houthis.
Several ministers affiliated with Saleh’s party have refused to return to work after being attacked by Houthi rebels.
6.4.2017 – New News (A P)
Excerpts of Asyed Abdulmalik Al-huthi’s Speech at the Anniversary of Yemeni’s Joining Islam on Rajab Friday 1.4.2017
6.4.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
Sons of southern governorates protest at UN office at Sanaa
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461235.htm
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
8.4.2017 – Arab News (A E)
Yemen announces reopening of Al-Mokha port after its liberation from Houthis
The government of Yemen announced that work is underway to reopen Al-Mokha port on the country’s Red Sea coast, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1081516/middle-east
8.4.2017 – Yemen Updates (D)
Aggressive hunting of rare ibex (inhabit Hadramout, Shabwah & Baydha) in the absence of state of law and order! (photo)
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/850826405701193728
8.4.2017 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (A P)
The PM, some minsters in the gov backed by Saudi, returned 2 Aden 4 a few hrs, then left back 2 Riyadh. It's not safe there or AC is broken? (look at omage, by Adengad)
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/850833213853511682
8.4.2017 – Demolinari (A T)
#Aden security forces killed a suicide bomber in military uniform near checkpoint at the entrance to Goldmoor in Tawahi. #SouthYemen (photo)
https://twitter.com/demolinari/status/850758616894259200 and https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/850764805380206592
8.4.2017 – AFP (* A)
Fire near sabotaged Yemen oil pipeline kills 13
Thirteen people were killed in a fire today that broke out near an oil pipeline damaged by sabotage in the west of war-torn Yemen, a government official said.
"Dozens of people had gathered at the site of the pipeline with bowls and other containers to fill with petrol spilling from the pipeline" in Hodeida on the Red Sea, the official in Yemen's recognised government told AFP.
He said the fire broke out because of the use of an electricity generator, giving a revised casualty toll of 13 dead, 26 injured and eight missing.
http://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/fire-near-sabotaged-yemen-oil-pipeline-kills-13/1024816 and photo and films:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtPdK1qRG9Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z475miEQLCE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtPdK1qRG9Q&t=1s
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/850792034977841152
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/850792126866653186
7.4.2017 – Josephjo 1221 (A P)
Statement by the Presidential Office of the Republic of #Yemen on the United States’ response to the #Syrian Regime’s Chemical Attack image)
My comment: Did you expect anything else?
https://twitter.com/YemenEmbassy_DC/status/850454919698149376
7.4.2017 – Josephjo1221 (A)
Soldiers from the Security Belt trampling the body of a soldier of presidential guard! (photos)
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/850379808425070592
6.4.2017 – Almasdar Online (A)
Two soldiers killed by unidentified gunmen in Mansoura district of Aden – eyewitnesses
Eyewitnesses said Thursday that two soldiers were shot dead by unknown gunmen in the 90th Crossroads of al Mansoura district in the southern city of Aden, Yemen’s interim capital.
The witnesses told Almasdaronline that the soldiers were in a car in front of the al Ekhwan restaurant, before being showered with bullets by unknown gunmen on another vehicle.
"After the incident, some gunmen got out of their car, then threw the dead bodies of the soldiers into the street, and then took the car," the eyewitnesses said.
One of the witnesses at the restaurant said that the two soldiers had quarreled with the gunmen before the incident, and the quarrel was over. “However, the gunmen returned minutes later and shot the soldiers dead”.
According to the witness, the dead men were not actually soldiers, but armed men wearing military uniforms, and they were from north of Yemen.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/90204
6.4.2017 – Saba Net (A T)
Saudi-paid mercenary chief of staff killed in bomb blast in Marib
Saudi-paid mercenary, Chief of Staff of 203 brigade, Brigadier Mohammed al Shawish, was killed in a bomb blast that hit his car in Sahn al Jen camp in Marib province, a military official told Saba on Thursday.
Three of al Shawish's escorts were also killed in the blast which took place on Wednesday, the official said.
Marib has witnessed a security vacuum since mercenaries of Saudi regime controlled part of it, the official added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461228.htm and by Almasdar Online: http://almasdaronline.com/article/90202
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
Just as a reminder:
8.4.2017 – Truthout (** B H P)
When the United Nations Security Council was negotiating the April 2015 resolution on Yemen, the original text circulated for discussion included a requirement for "humanitarian pauses" in military operations, but after the Saudis and other coalition members objected vigorously to the language, it was dropped from the final text, according to journalist Sharif Abdel Khouddous. – by Gareth Porter
and
22.12.2015 – Global Post / PRI (** B H P)
Yemen is now the world’s worst humanitarian crisis
But it is the Saudi blockade that might have the most lasting and devastating effects. And that blockade was brought to Yemen by the UN Security Council.
The five permanent members of the Security Council are the United States, Russia, the UK, China and France. In mid-April, less than three weeks after the Saudi-led coalition launched its military campaign, the council passed a resolution drafted largely by the Persian Gulf countries taking part in the war. The resolution imposed a strict arms embargo on the Houthi leadership and their allies. The council approved the resolution, with everyone voting in favor except Russia, which abstained.
The move came after weeks of closed-door negotiations between diplomats from Gulf states and Russia. Russia had lobbied for the language to include text mandating "humanitarian pauses" in the coalition airstrikes. But Gulf countries vigorously opposed that, saying it would allow the Houthis to regroup, according to The New York Times. The final text leaves it to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance and evacuation, including the establishment of humanitarian pauses, as appropriate, in coordination with the Government of Yemen.”
The United States strongly supported the resolution.
Critics say the measure amounts to an endorsement of the siege that is choking supply lines and killing Yemenis who have little or nothing to do with the war.
"The UN resolution certainly allowed for an extremely strict embargo on Yemen that — regardless of intentions — has created blockages that made it very difficult to get basic goods in and out of Yemen," says Adam Baron, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and a founding member of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies – By Sharif Abdel Kouddous
http://www.globalpost.com/article/6708806/2015/12/20/yemen-might-be-worlds-most-urgent-humanitarian-crisis = https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-12-22/yemen-now-world-s-worst-humanitarian-crisis
7.4.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
Yemen Urges UN to Act to Release Prisoners from Insurgent Jails
Yemen has submitted a letter to the United Nations chief on the case of prisoners held in insurgent controlled jails.
Yemen’s Ambassador to the UN Khalid Yamani told Asharq Al-Awsat that the letter sent to Antonio Guterres urged the international organization to mobilize efforts and issue resolutions that force the insurgents to release the prisoners.
He added that Yemen, backed by Saudi Arabia and countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, are exerting pressure on the UN to issue urgent resolutions, adding however that they have not yet received a direct reply to the letter.
“We are looking forward to achieving major results in this issue in the upcoming days,” the diplomat said.
Yamani noted however that the UN believes that the current situation in Yemen does not allow for any movement by the international organization or for issuing a resolution given the other side’s failure to implement resolution 2216.
My comment: “Yemen” is just the Hadi government. The UN certainly should act in this way: but when doing so, they should act to release all political prisoners on the Arab Peninsula, not just in Houthi-held Yemen: There will be Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Emirates, Hadi’s Yemen, to look at…
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
8.4.2017 – Top News (* A E)
Saudi Arabia unveils plans for 'entertainment city' near Riyadh
Saudi Arabia has unveiled plans for an entertainment city on the edge of Riyadh which will be 50 times the size of Gibraltar once complete.
The 334 sq km (129 sq mile) attraction will offer cultural, sporting and entertainment activities - including a Six Flags park and a safari park.
The announcement boasts it will be the first of its kind in the world, with building to begin early next year and the first stage finished by 2022.
It forms part of a wider master plan.
Vision 2030, announced by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman a year ago, aims to diversify the economy and reduce the kingdom's reliance on oil, through a series of projects.
The entertainment city - about a fifth of the area of Riyadh in size - is the latest to be announced.
Authorities say the hope is it will not only attract visitors but "achieve a healthy and harmonious life, and provide more entertainment, joy and fun" for those who live in the capital.
However, it is unclear how something like a Six Flags will work in a country where women and men are largely segregated. Up until now, theme parks in Saudi Arabia have been largely aimed at children – by David Brooks
http://topnews.one/middle-east/63977-saudiarabiaunveilsplansforentertainmentcitynearriyadh.html
Comment by Ali AlAhmed: Yet another fake #Saudi project being promoted as progress
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/850763998987509760
7.4.2017 – Noto Wahabism (B P)
Film: Kingdom of criminals & hypocrites!
Watch how this backstabber #Saudi royal was fawning over #Assad on 2006!
Saudi billionaire prince: "some accuse me because of my strong ties with America... but you should know that this relations will never be at the expense of my brotherly relations with #Syria and its president"
https://www.facebook.com/NotoWahabism/videos/1180833878711859/
7.4.2017 – Anna Aero (A P)
Saudi Arabian Airlines launches shortest international route
Saudi Arabian Airlines launched its shortest international sector on 6 April between Jeddah (JED) and Port Sudan (PZU). At 317 kilometres, the route means that the airline’s 848-kilometre link from Jeddah to Sharm El Sheikh is now the second-shortest international route in the SkyTeam member’s network. Saudia will provide three weekly flights (Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays) (with photos)
http://www.anna.aero/2017/04/07/saudi-arabian-airlines-launches-shortest-international-route-jeddah/
My comment: Saudi-Sudanese alliance; Saudi billions for Sudanese soldiers fighting in the Yemen war for Saudi interests.
6.4.2017 – The Independent (* B H P)
Saudi women in silent walking protest over right to drive in the Kingdom
Activism gathers momentum as Theresa May visits country where women were banned from driving in 1957
Women campaigners in Saudi Arabia have filmed themselves silently walking in the street without male companions as part of their fight for the right to drive.
The campaign is part of a growing protest against sweeping restrictions which prevent women from doing everyday activities unless they are accompanied by a male guardian.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are banned from driving under its strict interpretation of Islamic law. The Interior Ministry strictly enforces the ban, which came into effect in 1957.
The silent footage of the women carries the hashtag #resistancebywalking on social media.
Campaign organiser Mariam Alhubail said on Twitter where she uses the handle @ms_freespeech: “We want to encourage women to go out alone for a walk or to do their daily tasks and reject the idea men take care of these tasks.”
She added: “I walk alone. Until we have the streets again.”
“They don’t mind me crossing the streets on foot. What matters to them is that I shouldn’t drive and that I don’t become my own guardian,” another Saudi woman said on Twitter – by Rachel Roberts
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1
8.4.2017 – Business Insider (A P)
Here's what's in Donald Trump's stock portfolio
Donald Trump's personal financial disclosure report, which was filed as part of his presidential campaign on Wednesday, contains fairly detailed information about what's in his stock portfolio.
And in short, it's a lot of stuff.
Trump also owns stock in many well-known companies including Apple, Nike, Whole Foods, Google, Philip Morris, Raytheon, Facebook, and Morgan Stanley, among others.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/donald-trumps-stock-portfolio-2015-7?r=US&IR=T
My comment: Rytheon producing cluster bombs dropped by the Saudi coalition in Yemen. – To me, all the sums given here sound quite small – compared to Trump’s whole fortune which is about US $ 3 billion.
8.4.2017 – The Spectator (* A K P)
War, war and war some more
Under Donald Trump, American foreign policy is becoming ruthlessly simple
It’s often said that the Trump administration is ‘isolationist’. This is not true. In fact, we are now witnessing a dramatic escalation in the militarisation of US foreign policy in the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan. This has not been announced but it is happening, and much of it without consultation with Nato or other key allies, or any debate in Congress or the media.
The boomerang effect will be immediate. The US will be unable to persuade autocratic governments to respect human rights, press freedoms, and civil society.
Trump’s military-first strategy will reduce US influence around the world. Allies and regional partners will be less likely to join what he hopes will be a crusade against Isis. Autocrats will follow suit, encouraged to abandon diplomacy and politics, and use force to get their way. His foreign policy seems ruthlessly simple — cut down on the talking, the détente, the summits and peace processes. Give war a chance – by Ahmed Rashid
7.4.2017 – Bangor Daily News (* A P)
It’s time for Americans to wake up to their complicity in Yemen’s humanitarian crisis
Without most Americans noticing, our country has become deeply complicit in a humanitarian catastrophe.
Americans are demonstrating heightened levels of political engagement as we debate our future under a Trump presidency. It is high time for us to expend some of this energy to understand the ethical consequences of our country’s policy in Yemen, and to require that our elected officials — such as U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King — explain their support for the Saudi war knowing its consequences for civilians.
Yet, the deaths directly attributable to airstrikes show only a fraction of the suffering. Yemen is on the edge of a catastrophic famine, one of the largest in modern history. The general chaos of war has contributed much to this disaster, and the Houthi rebels have blocked movement of some aid convoys to cities they are sieging. But the blame is overwhelmingly with the Saudi-led coalition.
For more than a year, its forces have imposed a naval blockade on a country that imports 90 percent of its food and fuel.
When the man-made famine is taken into account, these crimes could easily match and exceed those of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad against his own people, which American authorities vigorously denounce.
Rex Tillerson told U.S. senators during his confirmation hearing to be U.S. secretary of state that that by providing the Saudis with more precision guided bombs and targeting intelligence, the U.S. could help them “ to avoid mistakenly identifying targets where civilians are hit.” This statement ignores the mounting evidence that the Saudi-led alliance is deliberately and systematically striking civilian targets.
And U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has floated the idea of direct U.S. assistance in a Saudi offensive to take the al-Hudaydah port, which the U.N. warns could disrupt food shipments enough to jump-start the famine. Reportedly, Trump believes that he can begin such an operation without consulting Congress by citing the Authorization for the Use of Force that Congress passed in 2001 to fight al-Qaida. It is worth remembering that for all their faults, the Houthis are bitter enemies of the terrorist group that document authorizes our armed forces to fight – By Brian Milakovsky
7.4.2017 – Tom Dispatch / Antiwar (* A P)
Believe the Autocrat
Human whats? In the Middle East and elsewhere, the Trump administration has begun to signal that human rights aren’t exactly on its agenda. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has taken the lead in this process in a round of personal diplomacy in the Middle East
We can similarly put a very partial price tag on the value of human rights when it comes to Yemenis. The citizens of that riven land are living at the edge of a potentially catastrophic famine and under regular air attack from Saudi Arabia and its allies (including Bahrain) in a disastrous American-backed two-year-old war that was meant to check Iranian influence in the region. It has already cost at least 10,000 lives and displaced millions. As for that very partial price tag, it’s $350 million for 16,000 Raytheon guided munitions kits that will turn dumb bombs into “smart” ones.
Their sale to the Saudis had previously been blocked by the Obama administration in response to news about their air strikes against civilians in Yemen. Now, as a signal of the sort of heightened support the Trump administration expects to offer that country’s royal family – you know, the crew with that terrible human rights record – in its fight against Iranian influence in the region, it is releasing them. (Undoubtedly, more cluster bombs will be next on the list.) – by Tom Engelhardt
Main text by Rebecca Gordon
http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2017/04/06/believe-the-autocrat/ and http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176263/tomgram%3A_rebecca_gordon%2C_believe_the_autocrat/
6.4.2017 – Huffington Post (* A P)
Public Pressure On White House Could Help Prevent Mass Starvation In Yemen
If you have never called your representative in Congress, now would be a good time to do it.
there are moments when we can help save millions of lives by taking a break from our daily struggles to prevent terrible damage that our government is about to do to people thousands of miles away. This is one of those moments.
The White House is reported to be deciding this week whether to support a planned attack on the port of Hodeida, in Yemen, by a Saudi-led coalition supporting the deposed government there in its two-year old war with Houthi rebels, who now control most of Yemen’s population centers.
This is a port where almost 80 percent of the country’s food enters – Yemen is overwhelmingly dependent on food imports, and was already the poorest country in the region prior to the U.S.-backed Saudi war. The UN reports that 3.3 million people, including 2.1 million children are already acutely malnourished.
you have never called your representative in Congress to ask them to sign a letter, now would be a good time to do it. You could help save hundreds of thousands of people from starvation – by Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research
4.4.2017 – Lobelog (* A K P)
NGO Appeal to Trump: Don’t Go to War in Yemen
We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations, have learned that the White House is expected to sign off on the Pentagon’s request for the United States to support the Saudi- and Emirati-led offensive to take control of the seaport and city of al-Hudaydah, which is currently controlled by the Houthi-Saleh alliance. It is our understanding that a major attack on al-Hudaydah is therefore imminent. In addition to providing support for the coalition in the forms of “surveillance, intelligence, refueling and operational planning,” your administration is also reportedly considering direct US military engagement against the Houthis as part of this offensive. We urge you to withhold American support for any offensive against al-Hudaydah. Should the coalition move forward with the offensive, thousands of civilians are likely to be killed, injured, and displaced. The UN reports that the Saudi-led coalition’s efforts to capture smaller cities on the Red Sea coast have already displaced more than 48,000 civilians.
US participation in this offensive not only risks further US complicity in the coalition’s violations of international humanitarian law and possible war crimes, but also risks embroiling the US in a costly military campaign with little to no chance of strategic victory, and exacerbating security vacuums that extremist groups like al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are eager to fill. US and coalition escalation against the Houthis is also likely to increase Iranian influence in Yemen. Iran views the rebel movement as a cheap ally in its drive to indirectly confront Saudi Arabia. While Iran has little to lose from the US escalating military involvement in Yemen, America’s entrapment in Yemen’s civil war would benefit Iran substantially.
The planned offensive will provide limited strategic benefits for the coalition and erode the possibility of a political settlement, while imposing a potentially unbearable burden on the Yemeni people. We urge you to withhold support for the offensive and pressure the coalition to prevent the offensive from going forward.
http://lobelog.com/letter-to-trump-dont-go-to-war-in-yemen/
6.4.2017 – The Intercept (* A P)
Terrorism Smear Campaign Against Democratic Contender for Congress Run By Saudi Lobbyist
A REPUBLICAN SUPER PAC has paid for a television ad attacking Democrat Jon Ossoff — one of the leading candidates in an April 18 special election to fill the House seat for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District — for producing video content for Al Jazeera.
The ad assails Al Jazeera as a “mouthpiece for terrorists,” and features imagery of deceased al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, with the clear insinuation that Ossof’s past work for Al Jazeera puts him in league with terrorists.
Ironically, the Super PAC, called the Congressional Leadership Fund, is chaired by former Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman — a registered lobbyist for Saudi Arabia, home of 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers and one of the countries most responsible for exporting extremism – by Zaid Jilani
5.4.2017 – Antiwar (* A K)
The Pentagon carried out over 70 airstrikes in March against targets inside Yemen, which was more than US forces carried out in all of 2016. That trend of escalation appears to be continuing into early April, with officials saying over 20 strikes were launched just in the first two days of April.
Officials say that the strikes, which were mostly launched by drones, targeted al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) targets around the Shabwa Province, focusing on “infrastructure” and “fighting positions.” They provided no indication on death tolls.
http://news.antiwar.com/2017/04/05/us-launched-over-20-airstrikes-against-yemen-this-past-weekend/ = http://theantimedia.org/us-20-airstrikes-yemen-weekend/
5.4.2017 – Workers World (A K P)
U.S. military to increase aggression in Yemen
Due to the Shiite ideology of Houthi forces, Saudi and U.S. corporate media have accused them of being a proxy of Iran. There is no evidence, however, that the Houthis are operating as Iranian allies. The assault on Yemen is no doubt part of a wider campaign for the U.S./NATO/Saudi-GCC/Israel alliance to secure their political, economic and military dominance in the region. Like the U.S./NATO war on Syria, the war on Yemen functions as an attempt to subvert the Iranian government.
The Trump administration’s granting of more authority to the Pentagon and the continuing U.S./Saudi war against Yemen will only increase the suffering in the region. Only the Yemeni people should decide how to run their country. U.S. and Saudi Arabia, hands off Yemen! – By Ava Lipatti
http://www.workers.org/2017/04/05/u-s-military-to-increase-aggression-in-yemen/#.WOhakNLyiUm
21.3.2017 – Middle East Eye (* A P)
How can the US recklessly kill civilians in Syria, Iraq and Yemen - and be great again?
With civilian deaths from US attacks rising, Trump seeks greater powers to circumvent rules of engagement. Is this the best way to beat IS?
Taken altogether, we are seeing a new slash-and-burn policy in which the ultimate losers will be those on the ground who are unable to escape.
There has already been a staggering loss of life across the Middle East as foreign powers battle out proxy wars and try to reach a fait accompli, but while there will always be collateral damage and loss of civilian life in war, the aim should always be to do everything within your power to avoid it.
However, the situation at present instead suggests a callous disinterest from Trump in the value of human life of those forced to live in these war-torn countries, a sentiment seemingly part of his wider disregard and dislike for Muslims at home and abroad.
While we should not demean those in countries bombed by the US by suggesting that they will now all respond by running off to join terrorist groups, it is nevertheless clear that Trump is perpetuating the same dangerous them-and-us narrative that violent extremists use to rally others to their cause. With so much civilian blood on its hands, how can America possibly be made great again? – by Gemma Fox
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/civilians-trump-syria-yemen-1702520007
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
6.4.2017 – RT (* A P)
Is Britain selling its soul to Saudi Arabia amid EU divorce?
Change is most definitely in the air this April. Britain’s very own unelected Prime Minister, Ms. Theresa May, has thrown all caution to the wind as she chose to court Saudi Arabian royals ahead of what is set to be a messy EU divorce.
We all know it; the United Kingdom is walking itself out of the European Union, courtesy of one referendum and an ongoing controversy as to whether or not THAT historic break will eventually explode Britain and leave its economy, never mind its borders, worse for wear.
Britain might be in for a rude awakening should Number 10 fail to come up with worthy alternatives.
Of all the MANY scenarios Theresa May could have envisioned to save Britain from forfeiting its positions as an economic superpower, the premier chose to pursue the one party that could, more likely than not, drag the country down the infamous rabbit hole, never to come out for air.
You may have guessed it; Ms. May is pushing for a rapprochement … in kind, with the grand Wahhabist Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "So what," you may say!
A lot can be said on that attempt of a fusion in between Britain and those royals who sit as grand-masters of terror – by Catherine Shakdam
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/383750-saudi-arabia-britain-soul-brexit/
6.4.2017 – The Guardian (A H P)
British public helps to raise £50m in 22 days for east Africa hunger crisis
Disasters Emergency Committee appeal supports 7 million people in east Africa, while £22m donated for Yemen is helping malnourished children
It brings the appeals for the hunger crises in Yemen and east Africa to a total of £72m, including the £15m the UK government has contributed.
It means money from the British public is already saving lives, said Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee. – by Karen McVeigh and Jennifer Rankin
Comment: Thank you. But unless the war stops, it is a temporary palliative action
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1329158847137142
6.4.2017 – Mail Online (* A E P)
May lines up a massive £1.6TRILLION share deal for the City of London before she is honoured by King Salman of Saudi Arabia
May is pushing for the international end of Aramco's flotation to be run in London
The £1.6trillian deal would be a huge coup for the City as Britain tackles Brexit
The PM is in Saudi Arabia for a second day today and visited a Riyadh school
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4382734/PM-lines-massive-1-6TRILLION-share-deal-City.html
4.4.2017 – BBC (A P)
Theresa May's Saudi Arabia balancing act
Prime Minister Theresa May flies into Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for a two-day visit to Britain's biggest trading partner in the Arab world.
For the British, the visit has a straightforward agenda; in a world overshadowed by the uncertainties of Brexit this trip is primarily about trade and investment - Saudi investment that is - into the UK.
British goods and services exported to Saudi Arabia totalled £6.6bn ($8.25bn) in 2015.
For the Saudi rulers - one of the few remaining absolute monarchies in the world - it is also about something else.
The Saudis are feeling increasingly surrounded and threatened by their regional rival Iran and its proxy militias.
So the Saudis want to know that their defence alliance with the UK, as well as the US, is rock solid.
In Yemen, the Saudis and their allies the UAE are determined to reverse what they see as an Iranian-backed coup by minority Houthi rebels who have illegally taken over half the country, including the capital, and carried out numerous human rights abuses since seizing power in 2014.
But the Saudis have got themselves bogged down in an unwinnable war and paying the price are Yemen's civilians; schools, hospitals, markets and a funeral have all been hit by clumsy targeting from the air.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39486475
Comment by Mark Curtis: Compare how #BBC’s FGardner simply denounces Houthi HRights abuses in #Yemen while Saudis’ are merely ‘clumsy’
https://twitter.com/markcurtis30/status/850002789375856640
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
6.4.2017 – Prensa Latina (A P)
Strong Reaction of Iran to Statements Made By Theresa May in Riyadh
Iran has strongly refuted accusations by Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May and reminded her of the responsibility of the former colonial metropolis with thousands of deaths in Yemen and the rest of the region.
'Sales of weapons to aggressors who kill innocent people in the region, especially in the current unequal war in Yemen, is inconsistent with May's recent allegations,' noted Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi.
During her visit to Riyadh yesterday, the British leader gave an interview to the Al-Riyadh newspaper in which she accused Tehran of creating tensions and insecurity in the Middle East through its interference in the affairs of other Arab nations.
Qassemi recalled that it is not the first time that May is pronounced in an 'unfounded and lacking in truth' form, and opined that she does so 'at a time when it seems that she has forgotten her position and responsibility, and closed her eyes to the Global events '.
He also noted that the prime minister 'ignored the fact that much of the instability and backwardness of the region has been caused by the colonial, expansionist and unjust policies of its predecessors, as well as by its allies who attack and incite wars in several countries of the region. '
6.4.2017 – Arab Gulf States Institute (* B K P)
The UAE’s Evolving National Security Strategy
Confronted with serious challenges, but also blessed with remarkable assets, the United Arab Emirates has developed a distinctive, and in some ways unprecedented, national security strategy. The UAE is one of the smaller countries in the world, especially demographically, with only about 1.5 million citizens, but is one of the wealthiest per capita.
Given its geography, demography, and natural resources, the UAE has had to cope with extraordinarily complex security concerns, and has both limitations and assets that are extremely unusual. From the time of its formation in 1971, the UAE’s national leadership recognized that the country’s biggest challenge was how to overcome its relatively small population
The UAE has quietly built its own independent defense capabilities. Over the decades, it has methodically constructed relatively small but sophisticated military assets such as its air force, special forces, and high-tech offensive and defensive weaponry. As this military capability has grown, the country has become more willing to use force, usually in conjunction with some set of allies, to secure its vital interests. And it has deployed these hard power capacities hand-in-hand with its more traditional soft power approaches. It is also at the beginning stages of developing its own domestic defense industry.
The UAE has carefully nurtured a set of crucial strategic and military alliances, especially with Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Cooperation Council members, as well as the United States. The country seeks to do what it can for itself, but recognizes that much of what it needs to accomplish to secure its vital interests will have to be conducted in collaboration with others.
The UAE’s increasing willingness to act militarily to secure its interests is perhaps best reflected in the intervention in Yemen that began in 2015, which is primarily led by Saudi Arabia in the north and the Emirates in the south. To support this campaign, and more broadly acquire greater strategic depth, the UAE has recently established military bases in the Horn of Africa, most notably at Assab in Eritrea. To sustain this strategic expansion, and build on its logic, the UAE will almost certainly have to develop greater bluewater naval capabilities in the coming decades.
In addition to its conventional military capabilities, the UAE is deeply committed to counterterrorism and counterradicalization efforts. Much of its military campaign in southern Yemen focuses on counterinsurgency operations against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and other extremist groups, and the UAE was an early and enthusiastic participant in the air war in Syria against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. The UAE takes the hardest line of any Arab government, with the possible exception of Egypt, against Islamists in general, seeing them all as part of a continuum of radicalism – by Hussein Ibish, with a 72 page study, pp. 29–32: UAE role in the Yemen war
http://www.agsiw.org/uaes-evolving-national-security-strategy/
6.4.2017 – Adam Nabeel Rajab (A P)
My Father Nabeel Rajab undergone a surgery today. @moi_bahrain refused any visitation, we are concerned about his health #Bahrain
https://twitter.com/AdamNabeel/status/849606271653335040
After his surgery my father Nabeel Rajab will be taken back to solitary confinement, even though he has not healed & is still in pain
https://twitter.com/AdamNabeel/status/850071150357094400
The doctor has told him he needs constant care, instead he is being taken back to a dirty cell #NabeelRajab #Bahrain
https://twitter.com/AdamNabeel/status/850071465890390017
In Military Hospital my father #NabeelRajab is being denied any cleaning products or clothes. We fear for his health in these conditions
https://twitter.com/AdamNabeel/status/850071150357094400
6.4.2017 – Deutsche Welle (A H P)
EU moves to fend off hunger crisis in E. Africa and Yemen
Following pressure from Germany, a meeting was hastily convened in Brussels on the back of the Syria conference to mobilize assistance for an estimated 20 million people facing acute hunger in East Africa and Yemen
The meeting, proposed by Germany, on assisting people hit by the hunger crisis in East Africa and Yemen was quickly slotted in on Wednesday by EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Federica Mogherini. It ran parallel to the 70-nation two-day Syria conference which was also being hosted by Brussels.
After the meeting on the hunger crisis, Germany and the EU held a short, joint press briefing where Mogherini thanked Germany for proposing the meeting. "It was brief, but important," she said. It was certainly necessary to raise awareness of the need to help regions hit by civil war or drought, such as Somalia, South Sudan, northern Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia. "We urge our partners across the world to come and help," Mogherini said. "But we have to improve coordination. The catastrophe which is being forecast can't be allowed to happen," she added.
Gabriel pushed for this last-minute conference on Africa following a tour of the crisis region by his German cabinet colleague, Development Minister Gerd Müller, earlier in the week. Müller had described the international community's reaction to the crisis as scandalous because nobody was coming to the aid of Africa's hungry – by Bernd Riegert
http://www.dw.com/en/eu-moves-to-fend-off-hunger-crisis-in-e-africa-and-yemen/a-38320018
6.4.2017 – Just Security (* B K P)
The Enemy of My Enemy Is a State Sponsor of Terrorism: the US, Sudan, and the Yemen War
As the Saudi-led coalition’s military engagement in Yemen enters year three, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States find themselves on the same side of the conflict, making for one of the more unusual military groupings in recent U.S. history.
Sudan, led by President Omar al-Bashir, joined the operation and began contributing troops in October 2015. That month, Sudan’s top military official stated that 6,000 troops were ready to participate in the coalition. Human rights organizations and regional analysts criticized the coalition’s inclusion of Sudan, as President Bashir remains wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide after mass atrocities were committed in Darfur. In 2004, the U.S. government characterized those atrocities as genocide, leading to U.S. and UN sanctions.
Yemen is not the first time the Bashir regime has pursued military and political objectives outside of Sudan. It is also not the first time Sudan found itself fighting on the same side of a conflict as the US.
In the Libyan conflict, Sudan and NATO forces found themselves aligned against a common enemy, as both sought to defeat Gaddafi and prop up the National Transitional Council then administering the state. Likewise, in Yemen, the US and Sudan are again on the same side of the battle lines
A clear winner in the scenario is undoubtedly Sudan, and specifically President Bashir. Now in power for more than 27 years, Bashir has managed to evade his ICC arrest warrants and to secure an easing of U.S. sanctions that may very well become permanent in July. The regime has also improved relations with the United Kingdom
Still, the Bashir regime knows how to spot a good deal and seize a political opportunity. The regime’s pivot to Saudi Arabia and the GCC has proven timely, and the financial rewards that it received for a relatively limited contribution of troops in the Yemen conflict has far outweighed the costs. This pivot provided the regime a sorely needed economic lifeline, while helping to repair its reputation as a responsible actor, at least regionally.
For the people of Sudan, however, the picture is much darker – By John Hursh
https://www.justsecurity.org/39650/enemy-enemy-state-sponsor-terrorism-us-sudan-yemen-war/
Comment by Judith Brown: Interesting article about the overlooking of crimes against humanity levied against Sudan now that those crimes are continuing in Yemen. I posted an article a couple of weeks ago about the janjaweed militias being used in Yemen.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155389753198641
cp13a Flüchtlinge / Refugees
7.4.2017 – Maxie Han (* A H)
Film: Yemen, refugees and more
I met Hussam in Penang, Malaysia at 6th March. and he feels pretty happy that we could do this video together.
Hussam's from Yemen, currently living in Malaysia as a refugee. He left Yemen since early 2015. Yemen is in a serious problem as other Arabian countries like Syria, his college has been closed in 2015 and that makes him had to move out of Yemen, and try to find a way about his future.
Somalia land was his first stop, he and his friend took a boat for goats under the super hot sun from Aden to Berbera. that was the first step to being a refugee traveler.Also, we talked about several things about Yemen problems, his life experience and how he thinks about Islam world in middle east. and how did he meet a super nice woman who helped him in Somalia land.
At the end of the video, he said something about thanks in Arabic, he said he appreciates that we could do this together, and gave him a chance to speak out. to show the real life of refugees, and make those bad stereotypes disappear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdcO7_mvb-M
5.4.2017 – Middle East Eye (* B H)
What a town in Djibouti could teach Europe about refugees
The reception of refugees, in fact, has nothing to do with a country's resources, size or population. It is only a matter of political will
I worked for more than two months in Obock, a tiny town of 2,000 inhabitants in northern Djibouti. Located only a few hours across the Bab al-Mandab Strait from Yemen, Obock is a transit zone for both migrants and refugees. The town hosts Markazi, a Yemeni refugee camp of approximately 1,000 people, and at one point, there were also around 1,000 irregular Ethiopian migrants in Obock on their way to Saudi Arabia.
When I first arrived in this very poor, politically marginalised Afar community (a minority ethnic group in the country which is dominated by Somalis), there was an outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea, and some cases of cholera.
However, there were no tensions between the host population, refugees and migrants. Why can’t we even imagine a similar situation somewhere in Europe? Why are all European Union states currently resisting the relocation of asylum seekers from Greece and Italy?
Djibouti is also the primary destination for refugees fleeing war in Yemen. The tiny East African country also hosts more than 11,000 refugees, including many from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, in Ali Addeh, and just under 2,300 refugees in Holl Holl. These are both refugee camps where conditions are extremely harsh as a result of limited water resources and intense temperature fluctuations.
Obock is unique in its location, marked by bi-directional movement of people: Yemenis cross the strait both ways depending on the security situation in their respective hometowns, while Ethiopians hope to make the crossing to the Arabian Peninsula. Irregular Ethiopian migrants - those who enter a country without neccessary authorisation or documentation - are also deported back to Obock and the surrounding area from southern Yemen – by Natalia Paszkiewicz
4.4.2017 – UN High Commissioner for Refugees (A H)
Yemen Situation - 2017 Funding Update as of 4 April 2017
129.0 M required for 2017
25.4 M contributions received, representing 20% of requirements
103.6 M funding gap for the Yemen Situation
All figures are displayed in USD
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-situation-2017-funding-update-4-april-2017 and in full: http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/Yemen%20Situation%20Funding%20Update%2004%20April%202017.pdf = http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Yemen%20Situation%20Funding%20Update%2004%20April%202017.pdf
My comment: Disgusting. There misses the equivalent of 12 hours Saudi aerial war against Yemen (as day by day, since ca. 740 days now).
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
For the Central Bank, look at Truth Out article in cp1
6.4.2017 – Al Sahwa (A E H)
161 ships received by Aden Port in first quarter of 2017
Chairman of Aden Port Corps Mohammed Amzrbah that the port witnessed an increase of the ships received during the first quarter of 2017.
In a remark to the Yemeni News Agency (Saba) said that the docks of Aden port received over 161 ships, with 50% increase when comparison with the same period of the last year.
The Aden Container Terminal has agreed with the World Food Program to provide special warehouses to store relief items and has the ability to make similar arrangements with other relief organizations as required.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-5717
My comment: And, how many goods (food, fuel, medicines, other) already had been transported from Aden to the Houthi-held part of Yemen??
4.4.2017 – Al Monitor (* B K P)
The human cost of the siege of Sanaa
Although the Houthis are currently economically besieged, it is clear that human costs of draining sources of income of the rebel group is higher than what most Yemenis can handle.
The Yemeni capital, Sanaa, has been in the hands of the Houthi rebel group for more than two years now. The Houthi takeover of the capital and large areas of the country in September 2014 led not only to the launch of the Saudi-led coalition military action in Yemen by the end of March 2015, but also started one of the worst man-made humanitarian catastrophes in the country’s history and in the world with more than 3.1 million internally displaced persons, and 17 million food-insecure people of whom about 7 million people are severely food insecure and do not know where their next meal is coming from.
The value the rebel group gains from controlling one of the country’s busiest ports — the port of Hodeidah — is of existential matter for income generation, especially after the relocation of the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY) to Aden cut the Sanaa-based Central Bank’s and commercial banks’ lines of communication with international banks and financial institutions. Recent fighting along the country’s west coast and Houthi-Saleh loyalists’ attacks on different vessels and ships in the Red Sea show their strategic interest in the western regions of the country and the great strategic loss the rebel group will suffer from when losing control of them.
The relocation of the CBY and redirecting the country’s small, yet existing revenues to the Central Bank’s new headquarters in Aden and the inability of the Sanaa-based CBY to serve importers’ demand for foreign currency, which led to a decline in economic activities in Houthi-held areas, took their toll on the rebel group’s finances. The Houthi rebel group felt the tightening grip of the internationally recognized government and started looking to exploit other sources of state revenues.
In line with losing territorial advantage in their fight with the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government, the Houthi rebel group was aware of its populous advantage. Although the Houthi-Saleh alliance does not control as many areas as the internationally recognized government, it does in fact control more populated areas.
The Houthis maintained collecting taxes and customs from people in their areas. Since oil exports were suspended at the outbreak of the war, a large portion of these state revenues came from customs on imported goods and value-added tax on all sorts of goods sold in markets under their control. When the internationally recognized government wins the battle for the port of Hodeidah, the Houthi rebel group will have lost one of its greatest sources of income.
Since the Houthi rebel group controls areas more populated than those under the internationally recognized government’s control, the devastating effect of the war on food security in areas under the rebel group’s control is the most visible.
Sanaa and other Houthi-held cities are witnessing a double economic siege: one imposed by the internationally recognized government and the Saudi-led coalition, with fighting along the west coast and the closure of Sanaa Airport since August 2016, which led to slowing or sometimes halting the delivery of basic commodities, and one by the Houthi rebel group with their collection of taxes, customs and tariffs from a population that mostly lost its source of income at the start of or during the war.
Although the Houthis are currently being economically besieged, which will lead to shortening the lifespan of such a militia, it is evident that the human cost of draining sources of income of the rebel group is higher than what most Yemenis can endure – by Afrah Nasser
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/yemen-houthis-economic-siege-human-ressources.html
My comment: That sounds quite anti-Houthi, as just the wording is showing. The Houthis are a “rebel group” just in Saudi and Western propaganda; they had morphed into a government party since more than two years now. The author shows that she disagrees with these “rebels” collecting taxes; well, they are government now, and every government is collecting taxes. The question only can be whether the taxes are adequate and the finances are used well. I doubt it really is much better in Hadi’s “liberated” part of Yemen. And the Hadi side has the advantage of international support (extending to the acknowledgement of his new Central Bank) and of a Saudi paymaster.
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
8.4.2017 – AFP (A T)
2 al-Qaeda suspects killed in Yemen drone strike
Two suspected Al-Qaeda militants were killed in a drone strike in war-torn Yemen, local security sources said today amid a surge in US raids against jihadists.
The sources said the drone, apparently American, hit the fighters last evening as they rode a motorbike through the Sawmaa area of central Baida province.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/2-al-qaeda-suspects-killed-in-yemen-drone-strike-117040800655_1.html = http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2017/apr/08/two-al-qaeda-suspects-killed-in-yemen-drone-strike-1591475.html
My comment: Suspects…
6.4.2017 – AP (A T)
Yemen officials: US strike kills 3 al-Qaida fighters
Yemeni tribal and security officials say a suspected U.S. airstrike has killed three al-Qaida operatives, including the brother of the Yemeni affiliate’s late leader.
They say Thursday’s airstrike in the southern province of Bayda killed Khattab al-Wuhayshi, the brother of Nasir al-Wuhayshi, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike nearly two years ago.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/06/yemen-officials-us-strike-kills-3-al-qaida-fighters.html
6.4.2017 – AFP (A T)
Drohnenangriff tötet Al-Kaida-Größe in Jemen
Bei einem Drohnenangriff im Jemen ist nach Angaben aus Sicherheitskreisen ein mutmaßlicher örtlicher Verantwortlicher des Al-Kaida-Netzwerks getötet worden. Ahmed Ali Saana sei in der Nacht in der südlichen Provinz Abjan von einer Rakete getroffen worden, erklärte ein Vertreter der jemenitischen Sicherheitskräfte.
http://www.n-tv.de/ticker/Drohnenangriff-toetet-Al-Kaida-Groesse-in-Jemen-article19782430.html = http://www.zeit.de/news/2017-04/06/jemen-oertlicher-al-kaida-verantwortlicher-bei-drohnenangriff-im-jemen-getoetet-06092804
6.4.2017 – Al Araby (A T)
Another suspected US drone strike kills Yemeni al-Qaeda suspect
A drone strike killed a suspected al-Qaeda militant in southern Yemen on Thursday as the US steps up its air war against the extremists.
The missile hit al-Qaeda provincial official Ahmed Ali Saana as he was riding a motorbike late on Wednesday in the town of Khabar al-Muraqasha in Abyan province, a major target of recent drone strikes, the official said on condition of anonymity.
My comment: Suspect, suspect…
cp15 Propaganda
8.4.2017 – Arab News (A P)
Feeling the pinch in Syria, Iran ups ante in Yemen
Feeling the heat from the US, Iran is attempting to shift global attention to Yemen, an analyst told Arab News, as Arab Coalition Forces intercepted 12 ballistic missiles launched by Houthi militias toward the Yemeni city of Al-Mokha. Rajeh Badi, Yemeni government spokesman, told Arab News on Saturday.
Twelve ballistic missiles launched in less than one hour is an extraordinary attack, he said.
He called on the international community to move vigorously to disarm the militia, which poses a risk to the lives of Yemenis.
Hamdan Al-Shehri, a political analyst and international relations expert, told Arab News that the launching of a large number of ballistic missiles in a short time constitutes a serious escalation by the Iran-backed rebels. He added that the Houthi attacks call for an international response to curb the Iranian intervention not only in Yemen but in the region.
“The Iranians have been supplying Houthis with weapons for years, and will continue to do so,” Al-Shehri said. “The US strike in Syria in response to the use of chemical weapons was decisive; a similar action must be taken against Iran in Yemen in order to bring the Yemeni crisis to a peaceful settlement.”
He said: “Iran is suspected of having a hand in Syria’s chemical attack just as it is behind the launch of the ballistic missiles on a densely populated Yemeni city of Al-Mokha. Fortunately, the coalition’s air defense system intercepted the missiles and prevented carnage of civilians. The international community should take this Houthi crime as a serious escalation and act without delay.”
Yemeni spokesman Badi said Iran is still supplying the Houthi militia with weapons and missiles via more than one route including Yemeni seaports, which are still under the control of these militias such as Al-Hodeida Port.
He called on the international community to liberate all Yemeni ports from the Houthis. He said missiles are being launched daily on the cities of Marib, Aden and Taiz.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1081511/middle-east
My comment: On the 12 intercepted missiles, cp17. – Also this attack is used for anti-Iranian propaganda and for propaganda t justify (and thus to prepare) the planned attack at Hodeidah port, which will cause terrible humanitarian consequences.
7.4.2017 – Arab News (A P)
Houthis marrying Yemeni underage girls by force: press
The Yemeni government said people kidnapped and held at militants’ prisons number more than 14,000 since the militias started invading several provinces two years ago. Besides, young girls are being forced to marry leaders and soldiers of Houthi militants despite parents’ refusal, local Yemeni press reported recently.
Parents who object to the forced marriage of their daughters are threatened with death, imprisonment, torture and even displacement and confiscation of property, according to an SPA report.
Houthis have been attempting to impose a foreign agenda and beliefs on the Yemeni civilians living in Sanaa and in other areas under their control, according to the reports.
The “Houthi supervisors,” as residents in Ibb Province call them, turned to forced marriage after the Yemeni society proved reluctant to accept the militants’ foreign agenda and traditions. Yemeni tribes reject marriages unless they are based on their own customs and traditions.
Local media reported a man in Madaq village in Badan Province was about to have his house and land confiscated when he refused to give his 16-year-old girl in marriage to a Houthi leader.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1080476/middle-east
My comment: That’s a Yemeni phenomenon here misused for anti-Houthi propaganda. And here a little bit on child marriage in Saudi Arabia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyjOwRjJBcU and http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/12/24/saudi.arabia.child.bride/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD and http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/17/saudi.child.marriage/
7.4.2017 – NCRI Iran News (A P)
The Chairman of the Gulf Research Center: America's Appeasement Policy Ends in Yemen
The Chairman of the Gulf Research Center, Dr. Abdulaziz Bin Saqr had an interview with Al-Jazeera TV on Tuesday, April 5th. In response to the question about the U.S.’s stance towards Yemen, he stated: “Donald Trump stressed on two issues in his campaign. The first issue was regarding the significance and danger of Iran’s ballistic missiles.
In Obama era, the U.S. government was appeasing Iranian regime and had no real commitments to the Arab Gulf countries. At the beginning of the ‘Decisive Storm Operations’ by the Saudi lead coalition, they promoted cooperation to some extent. Iran Nuclear Deal signed between P5+1 and the Iranian regime decreased the level of cooperation. However, the U.S. came to conclusion that the objectives of the Decisive Storm Operation were totally clear. The first priority was to restore the legitimate government in Yemen and then to avoid the domination of an illegal armed group.”
Al-Jazeera TV: “was the Decisive Storm Operation carried out in Yemen to restore the legitimate government in this country or did it begin to remove the influence of the dangerous Iran regime in the Gulf States?”
Dr. Abdulaziz Bin Saqr:” concerning Yemen, Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi was the person who asked for help. He urged the leaders of the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia to intervene and Saudi Arabia initially formed an alliance with the Gulf States and therefore, an Arabic and Islamic coalition was established in order to restore the legitimate government in Yemen. The strategic objective was to deal with the Iranian regime. When an armed group seizes the power, it demolishes the legitimate government and it will be supported later by the Iran regime. This situation would be totally dangerous for us.”
http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/terrorism-fundamentalism/22488-the-chairman-of-the-gulf-research-center-america-s-appeasement-policy-ends-in-yemen = http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/9109/US-appeasement-policy-ends-in-Yemen-Analyst
My comment: LOL.
6.4.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)
Spokesman of Arab Coalition slams comments of UN over Hodeidah Port
Spokesman of the Arab Coalition Ahmed Asiri has criticized the insistence of the UN to keep Hodeidah Port under the control of the Houthi-Saleh militias.
He called the United Nations to stand to the side of the Yemeni people, not to the side of the Houthi-Saleh militias.
Asiri previously said that the rejection of the United Nations to supervise Hodeidah Port left no option but to liberate the port.
Asiri told media outlets on Friday that the Arab Coalition will carry out military operation to restore Hodeidah Port which is currently run by the Houthis.
Asiri said that the Arab Coalition is preparing Mocha Port to receive relief and humanitarian assistance and to be as an alternative of Hodeidah port.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-5718
My comment: How and why the UN could and should seize power at any place in the world? – All this is a pretense to attack (“liberate”) Hodeidah. The humanitarian impact will be disastrous. – Mokha port does not have the capacity to replace Hodeidah. – “He called the United Nations to stand to the side of the Yemeni people, not to the side of the Houthi-Saleh militias.”LOL. “stand to the side of the Yemeni people” for Assiri is to starve them out.
6.4.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
More than 14,000 Detained, Kidnapped by Houthi Militias in Yemen
The number of captives in prisons of Saleh and Houthi militias has exceeded 14, 000 since the coup that began two years ago and the invasion of a series of Yemeni provinces.
In a statement, Yemen’s Ministry of Human Rights stated that around 3,000 were kidnapped including: Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi, Nasser Hadi and Mohammad Qahtan. Other political, media and rights figures were also kidnapped.
According to the statement, Saleh and Houthi militias adopted the gag policy, arrested opposing parties- or suspected opposers- and transformed more than 400 public facilities into detention and torture sites.
Up to 73 individuals were killed after being tortured by the militias that have used all possible means of torture and humiliation.
The statement added that: “While the world national, regional and international institutions demand the halt of criminal acts and the prompt release of detainees, those continue with their criminal acts, arrests, torture and humiliation. ”
The ministry, through its report submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in its 34th session, clarified the number of detainees and discussed with several international authorities the necessity of taking action to release the captives and reveal their fate.
http://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/14000-detained-kidnapped-houthi-militias-yemen and by Al Sahwa: https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-5721
My comment: There are many people who had been detained by the Houthis. How many actually? I doubt on figures given by the Hadi government and Saudi media. Such reports serve propaganda purposes. – And the auction starts: Asharq al-Awsat is 14.000, Al Sahwa is 17.000, who will have more?
6.4.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
Yemeni Senior Tribesmen Meet with KSA Defense Minister
Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, who is also the kingdom’s Defense Minister, recently met with senior Yemeni tribal sheikhs, reported Saudi Press Agency SPA.
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed gave a speech in which he welcomed the visiting delegation.
In his address, Prince Mohammed conveyed greetings sent by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, emphasizing deep-rooted ties between the two countries and their people, saying that Saudi Arabia views Yemen far and foremost an Arab nation.
He added that the greatest mistake committed by enemies propagating foreign agendas is that it tried to infringe on the depth and basis of Arabs, which drew the attention of all other Arab nations.
Over the last year and a half, tables have turned across the Arab and Islamic world, Crown Prince Mohammed added.
He said that the people of Yemen do not need help, with their valor alone and unity they are able to wipe out the enemy.
“But we, your brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Arab Gulf states, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Morocco or all over the Arab and Islamic world, cannot see the mobilization and standing up of Yemeni men without being beside them–we are with you in every step to the last day in our lives, as we were in the past and we will be in the future,” Prince Mohammed vowed before the delegation of senior Yemeni tribesman.
7.4.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
Yemeni Tribal Leaders: No Impartiality with the Coup, Supporting Legitimacy a Duty
Tribes of Marib, Saada and Hajjah have renewed their commitment towards supporting the legitimate forces in Yemen and joining efforts to achieve the missions of the Arab Coalition. The tribes asserted that they will continue to protect their provinces from the rebel militias and will back stability and security.
Marib’s Governor Sultan al-Arada described the meeting between Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, and Yemen tribal leaders as very positive, adding that the situation encourages exerting more efforts for the sake of legitimacy in Yemen.
Arada pointed that the rebel forces are waging a war by proxy on the Yemeni people and are not keen to reach a peaceful political solution that puts an end to the crisis in the country
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat he added: “The initial meeting with the deputy crown prince embodies the Saudi faith in the role of Yemeni tribes. We received from the deputy crown prince appreciation and support – this meeting contributes in building trust and bolsters Saudi-Yemeni ties.”
Arada expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia for its unlimited support on the military and humanitarian levels. He also called on the Yemeni tribes not to be impartial and support Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Following the meeting, the Yemeni tribes addressed the political components and tribes in Yemen urging them to stand by the Yemeni legitimacy and to contribute in liberating the country from the rebel forces so that security and stability prevail in Yemen, from north to south, as it was the case before the coup.
Othman al-Majali, minister of state for parliament and Shura council and an eminent sheikh in Saada, stated that the Saudi kingdom backed the Yemeni people in face of the coup that was supported by Iran.
6.4.2017 – Living in Yemen on the edge (* A P)
Saudi Arabia believes that tribal sheikhs are the last card
SAUDI ARABIA ASKS FOR ALLEGIANCE AND REPAYS WITH MONEY:
Saudi Arabia believes that tribal sheikhs are the last card to play in Yemen in the face of hostility with Saleh and Houthis as the Islah party, which ranks on the terrorist list, is only still cherished by the UAE.
Amidst the uneasiness of the UAE, Saudi Arabia summoned 150 sheikhs from Yemen to a meeting in Riyadh that received great attention from the Saudi leadership. The meeting was attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Bin Salman, during his reception of the sheikhs, praised them and affirmed that the Kingdom would be with them in "good and evil".
Informed sources added that the Saudi leadership demanded that the sheikhs gather with absolute loyalty to the power of Saudi Arabia, with no links to the UAE or other parties.
In return, they would receive financial rewards. The rewards were handed immediately with distribution of bags of money .
Saudi Arabia's choice and its bet on the tribes at the expense of the internationally rejected reformist party is confirmed by the reformist leader and tribal sheikh Hamid al-Ahmar who was insulted by the Saudis who boycotted the speech at the Movempik Hotel in Riyadh before the official meeting.
In the context of the Saudi media and rights activist Bassam Al-Barq wrote in his Facebook page, "Every Saudi Sheikh was paid 200 thousand Saudi riyals. They paid them a total of 30 million Saudi riyals. This is less than 20 million Saudi riyals for adults. 50 million Saudi riyals. Starvation and unpaid staff for the seventh month and students abroad do not find the value of eating?! "
The source of the Correspondent Net pointed out that the UAE leadership is greatly disturbed by the tribal meeting called by Saudi Arabia and doubt about the objectives of Riyadh from this meeting.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
8.4.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
The Violations and Crimes that are committed by#Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 6/4/2017 (full list):
8.4.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
The Violations and Crimes that are committed by#Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 6/4/2017 (full list):
8.4.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
The Violations and Crimes that are committed by#Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 5/4/2017 (full list):
8.4.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
US-Saudi airstrikes on capital of Sanaa
The US-backed Saudi warplanes launched on Saturday four strikes on al-Sabeen and Ma'en districts in the capital of Sanaa, an official told Saba.
The fighter jets hit a September 21 garden Ma'en district twice and two others on al-Nahdain area of al-Sabeen district, causing heavy damage to citizens' farms and private, public properties, the official added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461430.htm
Update: Saudi aggression warplanes 11 strikes on Sanaa
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461452.htm and as reported by a pro Hadi / pro-Saudi source: http://almasdaronline.com/article/90248
8.4.2017 – Sanaa at daytime (A K)
Coalition's fighter jets resume airstrikes in #Sanaa! Constant and intense.. (photo)
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/850689229357289475
The capital Sanaa now is under heavy Saudi bombardment. Huge explosions rocks the city as #Saudi jets continue flying over the sky.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/850687703721103360
Saudi Air Force Aggression Bombing the Capital Sana'a Now (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1660236787605642
Sanaa BOMBARDED: 5 Saudi airstrikes rock #Yemen capital shaking 1000s of family homes as children walk home from school (photo)
https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/850700849424855041
Today ,5 #Saudi air strike on 21 Sept Garden in the capital #Sanaa #Yemen photos of the attack (photos)
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/850713556320440320
Another coalition strike on the palace complex South #Sanaa (photo)
https://twitter.com/Wesamqaid/status/850677495745609728
Airstriks 10 minutes ago (photos)
https://twitter.com/A7medJa7af/status/850674970560692225
#Sanaa an airstrike targeted a house near Al-Nahdeen area, many reportedly killed!! The house is Completely destroyed
https://twitter.com/ManalAlthurairi/status/850690600563339264
US-backed Saudi war criminals bombed Yemen capital Sanaa with 11 airstrikes over the last three hours.Emboldened by US aggression on Syria?
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/850707136996925441
8.4.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
US-Saudi fighter jets, warships hit Mokha
The US-backed Saudi fighter jets and warships on Saturday hit a number of areas in Mokha district of Taiz province, a security official told Saba.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461419.htm
8.4.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
US-Saudi airstrikes hit 6 Red Sea Hodiedah districts
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461384.htm
8.4.2017 – Tasnim News (* A K PH)
Saudi Warplanes Target Civilian Areas in Yemen’s Hudaydah
Saudi warplanes launched six air raids on residential areas in Yemen's western port city of Hudaydah, killing and injuring dozens of civilians.
On Saturday, Saudi fighter jets pounded civilian areas in the districts of Hais, Khokha, Kamaran, Nikhaylah and al Drehimy in Hudaydah killing scores of civilians, Yemen’s Saba news agency reported.
The assaults also caused material damage to public and private properties.
In a separate development, at least five civilians lost their lives in Saudi airstrikes on residential areas in the Yemeni provinces of Hajjah and Ta’izz.
According to Yemen’s al-Masirah television, Saudi warplanes launched two air raids on residential buildings in Hajjah’s Hayran district on Friday night.
At least three people were killed and five others injured in the aerial attacks.
Saudi jets also pounded Maqbanah district in the southwestern province of Ta’izz on Friday, leaving a teen and a child dead, while another boy was wounded in the attack.
8.4.2017 – Ahmad Alghobary (A K)
14 #Saudi air strike targeted several areas in Almalhet area #Saada #Yemen Their targets are mountains and rocks
8.4.2017 – Khabar Agency (A K PH)
Saudi raids destroy a bridge in Saada
On Saturday, April 8, 2017, a coalition of Saudi-led aggression led by Saudi Arabia bombed a bridge in the Baqam district of the northern province of Sa'ada. Other raids took place in several areas of the province.
Local sources told "Khobar" that the planes of aggression targeted Barqala bridge at the Directorate of Baqam with a raid that led to his departure from service and caused severe material damage, and caused the disruption of the road and the disruption of passenger traffic and stop their work.
It pointed out that a series of raids targeted the area and its surroundings in the Directorate of the phenomenon, while the raid focused on the area of Bani Sayah of the Directorate itself (photo)
http://www.khabaragency.net/news77567.html
7.4.2017 – Ahmad Alghobary (A )
#Saudi jets targeted a Water well in Maqbana area #Taiz #Yemen 2 children killed Names with ages Ali 6 Mokhtar 10
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/850405493956857856
6.4.2017 – Legal Center (A K PH)
6/4/2017
The warplanes of Saudi-led coalition launched (1) airstrike that targeted civilians' houses and killed (2) children, injured (13) others including women and children and destroyed (2) houses, damaged (14) nearby houses in #AlKhobah_area, #Hayran_district in #Hajja_province... (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/posts/804350393048661 = https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1659969684299019
To this raid also refer reports from two days later:
8.4.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi airstrikes kill 3 citizens in Hajjah
Three citizens were killed and more than five others wounded in two air raids conducted by the US-backed Saudi aggression warplanes that targeted the homes of residents in Hiran directorate, a security official told Saba on Saturday
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461397.htm and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JcnIgJMXdg
and from this film:
8.4.2017 – NTH news (A K PH)
Hajjah: Preliminary photographs of the victims of the raids on the houses of citizens in the village of Jumana Directorate of Hiran
8.4.2017 – New News (A K PH)
The first pictures for the victims who killed in Saudi air raids on their houses in Hiran district . Two women and a child were killed ,and 19 others were wounded including women and children
http://newnewss.net/?p=4195 and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=70492&lang=en
6.4.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
9 air raids by Saudi aggression on Sanaa
US-Saudi aggression coalition warplanes waged nine strikes on Beni al Harith directorate north of the capital Sanaa overnight, a military official told Saba on Thursday.
The airstrikes hit al Orok area three times, where a hospital and a nearby house were totally destroyed, in which a woman and child were injured.
The six other strikes hit Bir Zahir area in the same district.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461233.htm
6.4.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
US-Saudi warplanes wage 2 raids in Nehm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461231.htm
8.4.2017 – Shuaib M. Almosawa / Hussam Al Sanabani (A K)
An Egyptian residing in Haja province of Yemen was reportedly killed in airstrikes by the Saudi led coalition of which Egypt is a member
https://twitter.com/Shuaibalmosawa/status/850785961025863681 referring to
https://twitter.com/DrHassanSarrar/status/850738697511333888 (photos)
Due to the blockade, they couldn't'send his body to Egypt. He was buried in the city he loved, the ppl of Hajah came out for his funeral
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/850791570311970817 and https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1331821466870880
6.4.2017 – Goobjog (* A H K)
Bodies of Somali refugees killed in Yemen attack yet to be buried as families seek answers
The bodies of Somali refugees killed in suspected gunship attack in the coast of Yemen are yet to be buried about three weeks after the attack while some families are still in the dark over the fate of their loved ones.
Somali consular general in Yemen Ahmed Abdi Hassan told Goobjoog News only nine families have contacted the authorities in Yemen to allow the burial of their deceased kin in Yemen while 31 other bodies still remain unclaimed.
Some of the families are yet to get any information regarding their loved ones. Hassan said seven of the 17 injured persons are in critical condition and will require further treatment abroad. “The government of Somalia is organizing for further treatment of the seven people who are critical injured,” said Hassan.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
8.4.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
US-Saudi fighter jets, warships hit Mokha
The warplanes hit Yakhtal area nine times, as the warships fired more than 16 rockets on different areas in the same district.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461419.htm
8.4.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Mercenaries killed in Mokha#
A number of US-Saudi-paid mercenaries were killed and others wounded when the army and popular forces shelled their groups western Mokha district of Taiz province, a military official told Saba on Saturday.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461456.htm
8.4.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Dozens of mercenaries killed in Mokha
Dozens-Saudi-paid mercenaries were killed and others wounded when the army and popular forces fired tens of missiles on their gatherings and in Mokha district of Taiz provinces, a military official told Saba on Saturday.
The shelling hit the mercenaries, killing and wounding dozens.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461481.htm
but from the other side:
8.4.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Arab Coalition air defense systems intercept 12 Houthi-fired ballistic missiles on al Mocha
A military official said on Saturday that the air defense systems of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition have intercepted twelve ballistic missiles fired by the forces loyal to the Houthi group and former president Saleh on the pro-government forces’ sites in al Mocha city, western Yemen.
The leader in the popular resistance Omar Dawbala has written on Facebook that the coalition air defense systems have intercepted the ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis.
A local source in al Mocha city told Almasdaronline that violent explosions were heard in the airspaces of the city after the missiles were destroyed.
Moreover, local residents in al Mocha have published photographs for the remains of the missiles falling near their houses, while some other missiles have fallen down in the outskirts of the city, which became a stronghold of the pro-government forces and popular resistance after securing it last February.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/90250 and photo also here: https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/850631037373870080
7.4.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Mercenaries launch artillery attacks on citizens' houses in Serwah
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461375.htm
7.4.2017 – IANS (A K)
Indian national killed in projectile attack from Yemen
Saudi civil defence said on Friday that an Indian national was killed and three others were injured in the border city of Najran when they were hit by projectiles fired from Yemen
http://www.india.com/news/agencies/indian-national-killed-in-projectile-attack-from-yemen-2006198/
6.4.2017 – Ruptly (A K)
Film: Yemen: Saudi-backed forces make gains in northwest of Taiz
The Yemen National Army, backed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, gained control of areas in the northwest of Taiz following fierce fighting against Houthi militants and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Thursday.
According to the Taiz military unit Facebook page the forces gained control over Radar hill on Khamsin street, as well as the Qare' hill, overlooking the same street.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-oNAYm6Zzs
Houthi / Saleh reports:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461482.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461440.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461434.htm *
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461376.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461232.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461234.htm
Pro-Saudi / Pro-Hadi reports:
http://almasdaronline.com/article/90216
http://almasdaronline.com/article/90217
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news461346.htm
http://almasdaronline.com/article/90205
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
8.4.2017 – Al Monitor
Message on the walls
Yemen's graffiti has become more and more political as artists struggle to respond to increasing violence.
This piece, on display in Sanaa, cries that the country is being split in two (photo)
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/contents/articles/galleries/yemeni-street-graffiti.html
8.4.2017 – AP (* A )
Suspected Somali pirates attack ship off Yemen: Authorities
Suspected Somali pirates have again hijacked a vessel on one of the world's crucial trade routes, authorities said Saturday night, the latest in a string of attacks after several years of silence.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations piracy watchdog said on its website it had received a report from a vessel under attack and possibly boarded off the coast of war-ravaged Yemen. It gave no further details.
Somali pirates in recent weeks have hijacked at least two vessels with foreign crews in the waters off Somalia and Yemen, marking a return of the threat after half a decade.
A source with the ports ministry in Somalia's northeastern semiautonomous state of Puntland said armed pirates hijacked a ship flying under the Tuvalu flag and were steering it toward Somalia's northern coast. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
Graeme Gibbon Brooks, the CEO of the British firm Dryad Maritime, said security officials believed the vessel to be a bulk carrier.
A Somali pirate, Bile Hussein, said he was aware that pirates had managed to board a ship near Yemen's Socotra island despite resistance from the crew – By ABDI GULED AND JON GAMBRELL
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PIRACY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-04-08-14-05-47 = http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/piracy-watchdog-vessel-reports-attacked-off-yemen-46675580 and by Reuters: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN17A0MB
8.4.2017 – Gulf Times (A)
Yemen dream big in ‘second home’ Qatar
The Yemeni national team coach and captain have thanked the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and the Qatar Football Association (QFA) for helping them to dream big, during troubled times in their country.
The war-torn nation are seeking qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates and are playing their home matches in the host nation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup thanks to the QFA’s support.
http://www.gulf-times.com/story/543529/Yemen-dream-big-in-second-home-Qatar
7.4.2017 – Yahoo (* B)
Coffee Industry in Yemen: The Past, Present, Future and the Entrepreneur Who Dares to Revive It
For decades, farmers in Yemen have raised their legendary coffee beans in high-elevation farms. Since 2015, coffee bean exports have ultimately dropped
37-year-old Hussein Ahmed, CEO of Mocha Hunters, remains unfazed amid the ongoing war in Yemen and not even President Trump is stopping him from achieving his dream. What began as a love for coffee evolved into a mission to uncover the best coffee in Yemen, and then share that coffee with the world. A recent Forbes article, Coffee Commando, highlights the work Ahmed is doing. After finding a business partner that shared his love of coffee, Mocha Hunters was born and registered in 2016. Now, Ahmed has a group of 25 farmers in Bani Matar and Anis. By working with these farmers, Ahmed has already produced 1 ton of dried coffee cherries – by Haitham Alaini
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/haitham-alaini-coffee-industry-yemen-130000443.html
8.4.2017 – Helmut Bahr
Film: Jemen 2007.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME-JG2--1mU
7.4.2017 – Ossama Al-awadi
Film: Wie sieht Jemen aus . DIE Beste Beschreibung des Jemens.
Das schönste Video über Republik Jemen ,das nicht nur die Vielfalt der Natur zeigt, sondern auch die historische Architektur .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQylGRe_ms8
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-290-yemen-war-mosaic-290
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-290 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-290:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm und / and http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
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