Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 302 - Yemen War Mosaic 302

Yemen Press Reader 302: Cholera breitet sich weiter aus–Die Lage in Sanaa–Die Rolle der Emirate, Menschenrechtsverletzungen und Kriegsverbrechen–Saudi-Arabien: Unterdrückung in Awamiyah–und mehr

Bei diesem Beitrag handelt es sich um ein Blog aus der Freitag-Community.
Ihre Freitag-Redaktion

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Cholera is spreading further – The situation at Sanaa – The role of the Emirates and violations of Human Rights and war crimes – Saudi Arabia: Oppression at Awamiyah – 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

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp15 Propaganda

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

16.5.2017 – ZDF heute (** A H)

Film: Cholera breitet sich im Jemen aus

Im Jemen sind nach Angaben der Vereinten Nationen inzwischen mehr als 180 Menschen an Cholera gestorben. Außerdem gebe es mehr als 14.000 Verdachtsfälle, sagte UN-Sprecher Stéphane Dujarric. Das jemenitische Gesundheitsministerium hatte am Montag noch von 125 Toten und mehr als 10.000 Verdachtsfällen gesprochen.

http://www.heute.de/cholera-breitet-sich-im-jemen-aus-47189270.html = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PP5dqbLDqc

16.5.2017 – Euronews (** A H)

Film: Jemen: Notstand wegen Cholera-Ausbruch

Nach dem Cholera-Ausbruch im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen hat das Gesundheitsministerium den Notstand ausgerufen. Die Behörden seien nicht mehr in der Lage, die Katastrophe einzudämmen, erklärte das Gesundheitsministerium am späten Sonntagabend in der Hauptstadt Sanaa.

https://www.hna.de/welt/schockierende-bilder-so-schlimm-ist-lage-im-jemen-zr-8313245.html

and more films by local media / und mehr Filme von lokalen Medien: Al Masirah TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwHHOYB-gLM , Yemen Today TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzvt_d8N5xs

16.5.2017 – Deutsche Welle (** A H)

Film: Yemen: Cholera threatens lives of thousands

A cholera outbreak in Yemen has people flooding the corridors and surrounding grounds of hospitals, where desperately needed medical supplies are rapidly dwindling. Can a full-blown humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country be averted?

http://www.dw.com/en/yemen-cholera-threatens-lives-of-thousands/av-38854779

16.5.2017 – Red Cross (** A H)

60-year-old Zahraa lies sick with cholera at a hospital in Sana’a, #Yemen. Numbers affected continue to rise with 14,065 suspected cases.

https://twitter.com/ICRC/status/864541078275411971 and this figure also by UNICEF: https://twitter.com/UNICEF_Yemen/status/864513487388725249 and by WHO: https://twitter.com/WHOYemen/status/864489666543800320 and a list of distribution by provinces, outdated already: https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/864612229412507649

My comment: Figures are skyrocketing, compare to following report:

16.5.2017 – Reuters (** A H)

Cholera death toll in Yemen reaches at least 180: Red Cross

Cholera has killed at least 180 people in Yemen in recent weeks, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday, a day after authorities declared a state of emergency in the capital Sanaa and called for international help. Dominik Stillhart of the ICRC told reporters in the port city of Aden that at least 180 people had died from the acute diarrhoeal disease since April 27, and that 11,000 more suspected cholera cases had been reported across the impoverished country.

Houthi authorities have said 115 of those who have died were in the city of Sanaa and its province.

Sanaa has been worst hit, followed by the surrounding province of Amanat al-Semah, WHO data has shown. Cases have also been reported in other major cities including Hodeidah, Taiz and Aden

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-cholera-idUSKCN18A10M

Comment: What about the unreported deaths? Those who have no money to reach a hospital?

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1372078639511829

My comment to comment: That’s absolutely true – that means there are much more victims…

16.5.2017 – Reuters (** B H K)

Spread of combat, cholera wreaks misery, collapse in Yemen

Spilling into the hallways of crowded Yemeni hospitals, children writhe in pain from cholera. Displaced villagers roam baking hot plains and barren mountains to evade warring militias.

The escalating outbreak of disease and displacement of tens of thousands by recent fighting has inflamed one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, pushing Yemen's war-pummeled society ever nearer to collapse.

The United Nations now estimates that in Yemen a child under the age of five dies every 10 minutes from preventable causes, two million people have fled fighting near their homes and only half of hospitals have staff and supplies to function normally.

More than ever before in the war, state institutions are losing their ability to withstand the spread of pestilence and the mounting death toll.

A battle for control of the central bank has left salaries in Houthi-held lands in and around Sanaa largely unpaid for six months, ruining the lives of hospital and sanitation workers.

Pumps to sanitize the water supply sit idle for lack of fuel, while maintenance agencies tasked with chlorinating aquifers go without salaries and supplies.

Doctors treating the cholera outbreak fare little better.

A streak of misery runs the length of Yemen's western Red Sea coast - from fighting in the north along the border with Saudi Arabia to a new coalition-backed offensive working its way up to the main port of Hodeidah from the south.

The campaign has forced around 50,000 to flee for safety from the area this year, according to the United Nations, many of whom had already escaped homes affected by fighting there.

"The Americans are now much more hawkish on Iran," a Western diplomat told Reuters. "It's possible that they could support an escalation of the conflict in Yemen in order to send Iran a message." – By Noah Browning and Mohammed Ghobari

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-aid-idUSKCN18C18G

My comment: An overview article describing the Yemen situation. – Taking the last sentence quoted here serious: If a single person would act like the US: it’s like killing a child playing in the street “in order to send my neighbour a message”. That’s US logics and US foreign policy. And more overview article on the cholera outbreak: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/as-the-world-turns-yemen-dies-from-conflict-famine-and-cholera/article/492774 and http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2017/05/16/deadly-cholera-outbreak-brings-back-focus-on-yemens-forgotten-war/

15.5.2017 – NPR (** A H)

Why A Man Is On An IV In His Car Outside A Hospital In Yemen

From Aden, Yemen, Dominik Stillhart, director of global operations at the International Committee for the Red Cross, talked with NPR's Ari Shapiro about the cholera outbreak and the dire state of health care in Yemen.

How bad is this latest outbreak?

Well, I have just spent the past four days here. The latest figures in the cholera outbreak show that there have been more than 11,000 cases, 187 people have died and the disease seems to be spreading like wildfire.

It is spread through water. Do people have access clean water and to medical care?

This is precisely one of the problems here after two years of brutal conflict that has brought this country to its knees. Not only were 8,000 people killed in the conflict and 44,000 wounded, in addition there is all the vital infrastructure like public services — health, water, sewage, sanitation, garbage collection — that are running dangerously low and creating conditions for the spread of the disease.

What do you see in the hospitals?

I visited two hospitals, actually, and both have received hundreds of new cases of people affected by watery diarrhea and suspected cholera. The scenes were heartbreaking. We saw up to four people in one single hospital bed. Patients waiting in the garden outside. I even saw one man was sitting in his car with an IV drip attached to his window because there was no place in the hospital.

What's the impact of the fighting on efforts to fight cholera?

The conflict has seriously affected health here. Our estimation is that the health system is running at 45 percent of its capacity. In many ways, the conflict has made matters worse. Now what is needed is a collective effort from international organizations supporting health authorities here to address the crisis.

Do you expect things will get worse before they get better?

It's always difficult to say. It depends not only on the response, it also depends, for instance, on ... garbage collection. There is also urgent need to address the question of clean drinking water.

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/05/15/528498233/why-a-man-is-on-an-iv-in-his-car-outside-a-hospital-in-yemen

17.5.2017 – RT (** A H)

Rotes Kreuz und UN zu RT: Jemen vor dem Kollaps - Schlimmste humanitäre Krise seit 1945

Experten des Roten Kreuzes und der UN haben gegenüber RT die katastrophale Lage im Jemen geschildert. Derzeit greift die Cholera im Land um sich und Millionen Jemeniten droht der Hungertod. Vor allem die saudi-arabische Intervention sei dafür verantwortlich, so die Vertreter der Hilfsorganisationen.

Führende internationale Organisationen wie das Rote Kreuz und die UN haben die saudi-arabische Bombardierung und Blockade des Jemens als wichtigste Gründe für den Ausbruch der Cholerakrankheit angegeben. Die Epidemie forderte bereits 180 Menschenleben.

Dominik Stillhart, Einsatzleiter des Internationalen Komitees vom Roten Kreuz (IKRK), nannte im Gespräch mit RT die Lage „katastrophal“. Es gebe insgesamt 11.000 bestätigte Cholerafälle. Die Krankenhäuser, die er persönlich in der jemenitischen Hauptstadt Sanaa besuchte, seien überfordert. Patienten müssten sich Betten teilen. Ständig kämen weitere Patienten hinzu.

Stillhart zufolge zerstörte die Militärintervention der saudi-arabisch angeführten, vom Westen unterstützen Koalition sunnitischer Staaten gegen schiitische Rebellen im Jemen insgesamt 160 Krankenhäuser und andere medizinische Einrichtungen. Das jemenitische Gesundheitssystem sei „ernsthaft geschwächt.“

Der Vertreter des Roten Kreuzes gab außerdem der saudi-arabischen Luft- und Wasserblockade gegen den Jemen die Schuld für die Hungersnot und das Elend im Land, die den Ausbruch der Cholera ermöglicht haben. Mittlerweile riefen die jemenitischen Verantwortlichen den Notstand aus.

Aufgrund des wirtschaftliches Zusammenbruchs erhalten die jemenitischen Beamten seit acht Monaten ihre Löhne nicht. Auch die Kanalisation und die Müllentsorgung seien lahmgelegt. Inzwischen fließt dreckiges Wasser durch die Straßen von Sanaa, wenn es regnet, sagte Sara Tesorieri, Mitarbeiterin des Norwegischen Flüchtlingsrates. Dies seien die perfekten Bedingungen für Cholera, die in den entwickelten Staaten nahezu ausgelöscht ist.

„Es gibt das Problem der Verhinderung der Importe. Das beeinflusst einigermaßen die humanitäre Hilfe, aber vor allem beeinflusst es, wie groß die Hilfsbedürftigkeit ist. Der Jemen importiert 90 Prozent seiner Lebensmittel, also gefährdet jegliche Blockade das Land sehr ernsthaft,“ erklärte Tesorieri.

Auch die Behörden erschweren unsere Arbeit und die einfache Tatsache, dass die Kämpfe andauern, behindert uns. Es ist schwer, in einige Gebiete zu gelangen.“

Menschen können kein sauberes Wasser kaufen,“ sagte der Humanitäre Koordinator der UN im Jemen Jamie McGoldrick gegenüber RT. „Wir können einfach nicht erkennen, wie wir diese Situation schnell beheben können. Und Zeit ist hier sehr wichtig, weil die Cholera nicht auf uns wartet.“

Alle drei Experten warfen den führenden internationalen Mächten vor, es versäumt zu haben, genügend diplomatische und finanzielle Ressourcen für die Beendigung des Konfliktes ausgegeben haben.

https://deutsch.rt.com/der-nahe-osten/50708-jemen-vor-kollaps-schlimmste-humanitare/ und Film: https://deutsch.rt.com/der-nahe-osten/50708-jemen-vor-kollaps-schlimmste-humanitare/

and almost identical in English:

15.5.2017 – RT (** A H)

‘Entirely preventable’: Aid agencies blame Yemen blockade, economic collapse for cholera outbreak

Leading international organizations including Red Cross and the UN have pointed to the Saudi-led blockade and bombing campaign over the past two years as central causes behind the cholera epidemic that has already taken over 180 lives.

Calling the situation “catastrophic,” Dominik Stillhart, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Director of Operations, told RT from Yemen that with 11,000 confirmed cases the hospitals he personally visited in the capital, Sana’a, were “really struggling to cope,” with “heartbreaking” scenes of people having to share beds, amid a never-ceasing inflow of new patients.

Stillhart said that that 160 hospitals and other medical facilities have been destroyed, predominantly as the result of bombing by the Saudi-led, Western-backed coalition of Sunni Muslim states that have been attempting to put out a Shia rebellion that began in spring 2015, “seriously weakening the health system.”

The ICRC second-in-command also blamed the Saudi-imposed aerial and naval blockade for leading to the famine and poverty that provided a breeding ground for the epidemic, which has resulted in a declaration of a state of emergency.

“There is a situation where people are not only affected by the direct consequences of conflict, but the economy has been seriously slowed down, because it is very costly to move goods across the country through the different frontlines. Then there is the aerial blockade, and it is difficult to move food into some of the seaports,” said Stillhart, who insisted that ICRC have “repeatedly called on the conflict participants” to allow full access for humanitarian supplies.

Stillhart estimated that over 17 million Yemenis – two-thirds of the population – require humanitarian assistance, and 10 million are in “acute need” of food aid.

The collapse of the economy has led to civil servants, including public sanitation workers, not being paid for eight months, which has meant that “garbage-laden water has been running through the streets of Sana’a when it rains,” creating the perfect conditions for a disease that has mostly been eliminated even in the developing world, says Sara Tesorieri, Advocacy and Policy Adviser for Norwegian Refugee Council in Yemen.

https://www.rt.com/news/388479-yemen-cholera-red-cross/ with films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=mVe0pMO1XVg (Stillhart interview and distressing images) and https://www.rt.com/news/388479-yemen-cholera-red-cross/ (Interview with Idriss Jazairy, UN special rapporteur)

15.5.2017 – Süddeutsche Zeitung (** A H)

Cholera in Jemen außer Kontrolle

Der Mangel an sauberem Trinkwasser hat in Jemen zum Ausbruch einer Cholera-Epidemie geführt. Laut dem Internationalen Komitee vom Roten Kreuz (IKRK) sind allein in den vergangenen zwei Wochen mindestens 115 Menschen in dem bitterarmen Land an der Durchfallkrankheit gestorben. Es gebe weitere 8500 Krankheitsfälle in 14 der 22 Gouvernorate, sagte Dominik Stillhart, IKRK-Direktor für die Hilfsoperation in Jemen bei einer Pressekonferenz in Sanaa.

Die von den aufständischen Huthi-Milizen kontrollierte, international nicht anerkannte Regierung in Sanaa rief den Ausnahmezustand aus, weil sie nicht mehr in der Lage sei, die Seuche unter Kontrolle zu bekommen – von Paul-Anton Krüger

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/gesundheit/infektionskrankheit-cholera-in-jemen-ausser-kontrolle-1.3506554

und

15.5.2017 – Deutschlandfunk (** A H)

Die Zahl der Verdachtsfälle gibt das Rote Kreuz mit mehr als 11.000 an

http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/jemen-cholera-breitet-sich-aus.1939.de.html?drn:news_id=745254

15.5.2017 – Stern (** A H)

Film: Jemen erklärt nach Cholera-Ausbruch den Notstand in Sanaa

Etwa 7,6 Millionen Menschen leben im Jemen der WHO zufolge in Gebieten, die einem hohen Risiko einer Cholera-Übertragung ausgesetzt sind.

Nur wenige medizinische Einrichtungen funktionieren noch im Jemen, wie dieses Mutter-Kind-Krankenhaus in der Hauptstadt Sanaa. Dabei breitet sich die Infektionskrankheit Cholera rasant aus. Die Ärzte haben große Probleme, die Patienten zu versorgen, sagt der Krankenhausleiter HUSSEIN EL HADDAD. "Die Situation ist sehr schlecht. Zahllose Kinder leiden unter Cholera. Es gibt nicht genug Betten, das technische Know-how ist auch nicht ausreichend, um mit der Situation umzugehen." Innerhalb weniger Tage vervielfachte sich die Zahl der Cholera-Toten im Land. Die Behörden haben in Sanaa bereits den Notstand erklärt. Das Gesundheitsministerium rief am Sonntag humanitäre Hilfsorganisationen auf, dem Land bei der Eindämmung der Epidemie zu helfen und eine "noch nie dagewesene Katastrophe" abzuwenden. Das vom Bürgerkrieg gebeutelte Gesundheitssystem ist nach Informationen der staatlichen Nachrichtenagentur Saba nicht mehr in der Lage, die Infektionskrankheit in den Griff zu bekommen.

http://www.stern.de/video-jemen-erklaert-nach-cholera-ausbruch-den-notstand-in-sanaa-7453880.html

15.5.2017 – Reuters (** A H)

Cholera strikes Yemen's Sanaa; state of emergency called

Cholera has killed at least 115 people in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the local Saba news agency said, after authorities on Sunday declared a state of emergency over the outbreak and called for international help to avert disaster. Only a few medical facilities are still functioning and two-thirds of the population are without access to safe drinking water, the United Nations has said.

"What is happening today exceeds the capabilities of any healthy health system, so how can we (cope) when we are in these difficult and complicated conditions," Saba quoted the Houthi-run administration's health minister Mohammed Salem bin Hafeedh as saying.

The ministry, after meeting in Sanaa with U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick and other international officials, called on humanitarian organizations and aid donors to help it avert an "unprecedented disaster".

It declared a "state of health emergency in the capital," the agency said.

Saba said 8,595 suspected cholera cases were recorded in Sanaa and other Yemeni provinces between April 27 and May 13, while laboratory confirmed cases were 213.

The acute diarrhoeal disease, which can be fatal within hours if left untreated, has killed 115 people, the agency said.

(Reporting by Ali Abdelatti Writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi, Sami Aboudi)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-cholera-idUSKCN18A10M and by Saba Net: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464696.htm and by BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39918415 and by Aljazeera: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/state-emergency-yemen-sanaa-cholera-crisis-170515075723016.html

15.5.2017 – AFP (** A H)

Film: Yemen cholera outbreak spreads amid conflict

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubB6jmJYjPI&feature=player_embedded

15.5.2017 – TV New Zealand (** A H)

Film: 'It's shocking' - desperately ill children with cholera lie in hospital corridors waiting for treatment in Yemen

The United Nations and local officials have said that a cholera outbreak has infected nearly ten thousand people across Yemen and killed over a hundred in the past few weeks.

Khaled Al-Montaser, the head of Sanaa's Health Office, said more than 9,000 cases had been reported, with nearly 1,500 infected patients in the capital alone, stretching medical resources and causing overcrowding in wards across the city.

Al-Montaser said that the country's Ministry of Health was working hard and had declared a "state of emergency".

At Al Sabeen Hospital, children infected with the diarrhoea-causing disease were seen lying on mattresses on corridor floors while available beds slept multiple patients.

Rajat Madhok, UNICEF's Chief of Communications and Advocacy in Yemen, told the Associated Press that there were around 8,500 suspected cases of diarrhoea, causing a "public health crisis" in the wartorn country.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/its-shocking-desperately-ill-children-cholera-lie-in-hospital-corridors-waiting-treatment-yemen-v1 and a film by Sky news (Arabic): https://twitter.com/mohammedalqadhi/status/864509319576002562

15.5.2017 – Press TV Iran (** A H)

Film: Cholera has claimed 115 lives in Yemen since April 27: ICRC

Yemen's Health Ministry has declared a state of emergency in the capital Sana'a, which is being run by the Ansarullah Houthi movement, as the International Committee of the Red Cross says cholera has claimed at least 115 lives and left thousands more ill.
The ministry urged humanitarian organizations and aid donors to help avert an "unprecedented disaster" caused by the epidemic, Saba news agency reported.
Meanwhile, ICRC director of operations, Dominik Stillhart, said in a news conference in Sana’a on Sunday that the deaths had occurred between April 27 and May 13.
"We now are facing a serious outbreak of cholera," Stillhart said, citing figures compiled by the Health Ministry.
Over 8,500 suspected cases of the waterborne disease were reported in the same period in 14 governorates across Yemen, Stillhart added.
The latest figures are up from 2,300 cases in 10 governorates last week.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Stillhart said hospitals were filled beyond capacity with patients displaying symptoms of cholera.
"There are up to four cholera patients in one single bed," Stillhart said, adding, "There are people in the garden, and some even in their cars with the IV drip hanging from the window."
Sherine Varkey, a UNICEF deputy representative, said patients spilled out of hospital rooms into the corridors of Sabeen hospital in Sana’a on Saturday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DnGV4YLtdA

My comment: Figures just from few days ago, already totally outdated…

15.5.2017 – UNICEF (** A H)

Film: .@VarkeySv: "@UNICEF and other humanitarian actors are working day and night to respond to the #YemenCholera crisis." #YemenChildren

https://twitter.com/UNICEF_Yemen/status/864184438812528641

15.5.2017 – The American Conservative (** A H K P)

Cholera Strikes Yemen’s Capital

In addition to starving the population, the Saudi-led war has devastated Yemen’s health care system with the bombing of hospitals and the blockade that also deprives patients of needed medicine. Malnourished people are more likely to become sick, and more likely to die from their illnesses, and Yemen’s health care system is already so severely strained that it is not going to be able to cope with major outbreaks of disease.

Famine and disease will likely claim far more lives in Yemen than fighting, but these deaths have been nonetheless been caused by the war. Like the famine that threatens Yemen, outbreaks of disease like this one in the capital are a product of a senseless war that the U.S. has been helping the Saudis to wage on Yemen for over two years. Unless the war is brought to a halt and the blockade is lifted, conditions will continue to deteriorate and many more lives will be needlessly lost.

Unlike many other conflicts around the world, this is one where the U.S. has the ability to use its influence for the better and might at least limit the harm being done to the civilian population. Unfortunately, the current administration seems more interested in selling the Saudis more weapons than pressuring it to change its policies – By DANIEL LARISON

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/cholera-strikes-yemens-capital/

14.5.2017 – World Health Organization, UN Children's Fund, WASH Cluster, Health Cluster (** A H)

Yemen: Acute Watery Diarrhea / Cholera Outbreak - Situation Report #2 (9 - 14 May 2017)

Situation Overview

• The number of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD)/ suspected cholera cases has increased dramatically and the outbreak expanded to 18 out of 22 governorates.

• Sana’a City is the most affected area, with more than 4000 suspected cholera cases. Cases have been reported across all districts and neighborhoods.

• From 27 April to 14 May 2017, a total of 11,046 suspected cholera/AWD cases were reported from 18 governorates, including Sana’a (13%), Amanat Al-Asimah (38%), Amran (9%), Dhamar (4%),
Al-Mahweet (5%), Ibb (6%), Al-Dhale’a (3%), Hajjah (9%), Al-Hudaydah (1%), Taiz (3%), Abyan (2%),
Raymah (1%), Aden (1%) Sa’adah (1%) and Al-Bayda (4%) governorates.

• Out of the total reported cases, 124 deaths were reported.

• A total of 208 cholera cases have been confirmed by laboratory testing.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-acute-watery-diarrhea-cholera-outbreak-situation-report-2-9-14-may-2017 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Situation%20report%20Cholera%20in%20Yemen%2C%209%20to%2014%20May%202017Fin.pdf

15.5.2017 – Crisis Group (** B H P)

The Counter-productive Isolation of Proud and Hungry Sanaa

Our Arabian Peninsula Senior Analyst April Longley Alley finds pride, resilience and an eagerness to end the conflict during field research and many conversations in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. She concludes that isolating one side or making the famine and suffering worse will only prolong the war.

Still a Vibrant City

A Hidden Hunger

I see no lines of people queuing for food. Bakeries and restaurants are still open, and there are fruits and vegetables in the stands.

The problem is not the availability of food – at least in Sanaa for now- but having the money to buy it.

Silent suffering is growing under the façade of normality. People talk of spending down their savings. Landlords say they are not collecting rent because renters cannot pay. People are depending ever more deeply on their personal networks, with money from relatives abroad being sent in via money transfer agencies.

Women are at an immediate disadvantage because local customs make it hard for them to go out and get help on their own.

A sense of proud resilience is probably what is underestimated most by the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition. Even people who are not natural supporters of the alliance between the Huthis’ militia and former President Saleh feel a kind of solidarity as a result of the war, the isolation that has been imposed on them, and the wider damage inflicted by the bombing and the blockade.

This is not to say that there is no frustration or anger directed at the Huthis, whom many Yemenis blame for triggering the violence and now for not being able to run an effective government. But most anger, even hatred, is directed toward Saudi Arabia.

The prospect of a Saudi-led invasion of the north’s most important port, Hodeida, is stoking anti-Saudi and anti-U.S. sentiment, as well as a sense of solidarity in Sanaa.

The “us versus them” mentality that pits Sanaa against Saudi Arabia is mirrored inside Yemen along a number of internal divides. In Sanaa, I witness strong solidarity, despite differences, against what is viewed as “foreign aggression”.

Power in Sanaa

In Sanaa, the Huthis appear to have gained the upper hand over Saleh on military/security issues. Yet their capability on the battlefield is not matched by competence in governance, a dynamic that is reviving and increasing the popularity of Saleh and his GPC party.

Meeting the famed Yemeni leader is an unexpected highlight of the trip.

The Huthis themselves admit that governance is not their strong suit.

A commonly heard refrain from those who oppose the Huthis, including among Saleh’s GPC, is that the war is strengthening the Huthis and extending their political life, since no one can challenge them as long as they are leading the fight against the “external aggression”.

During my short visit, I see no overt sign in Sanaa of the Iranian support that some believe is critical to the Huthis’ resilience. The Huthis receive diplomatic and media support, as well as some military assistance from the Iranians, but the importance and scope of the latter is contested.

Conversations in Sanaa are likely to mock Iranian influence as much as Saudi Arabia. “Show us one dead Iranian revolutionary guard”, is a common refrain one hears in response to accusations from Gulf countries of strong Iranian support for the war. Huthi leaders maintain that they make decisions independently of Iranian advice, even if many in the movement admire Iran’s regional political role and share with the Iranian political establishment a deep hostility towards Wahhabism.

Since the peace talks broke down in August 2016, the GPC and the Huthis are uncomfortably cooperating in a national salvation government. Despite near-complete political isolation and a lack of resources, this government is trying to keep up appearances.

There’s a deepening sense of isolation.

It is hard to overstate the impact of this isolation of the Huthi/Saleh alliance, and how much of an echo chamber Sanaa has become as a result. There is no doubt that this alliance has significant popular support in the city and other areas under its control. Yet with minimal UN or diplomatic contact, there are few bridges between the effective rulers of north Yemen and the outside world.

This isolation is clearly militating against negotiation and compromise. The closure of Sanaa airport in particular is compounding the siege mentality.

The Search for Peace

My whirl of meetings and impressions make me conscious that Yemen’s social fabric has been stretched and frayed, but not torn completely. Communities are working together at the local level to feed those in need. The idea and desire for diversity of opinion is present in Sanaa, even if there is little pluralism for now. Women, too, are playing an increasingly important role, especially on the dangerous divide between the Huthis and Islah. Islah women, for instance, are doing the hard work of following up on cases of disappearances or jailings of Islah members. Because people trust the women more and fear them less, their involvement can ease tensions. Many average Yemenis are swimming against the strong tides of sectarianism and social fragmentation engulfing the country and the region.

Yemenis are pining for a path out of the war.

The Huthi/Saleh bloc is sensitive to any solution that would be perceived as surrender to Saudi Arabia or the Hadi government. They must work with local constituencies that are seething with revenge toward their northern neighbour.

Then there is the separate but related issue of finding a compromise among Yemen’s competing power centres, a challenge that will need to take into account the country’s new reality of decentralisation and regional autonomy – by April Longley Alley

https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/yemen/counter-productive-isolation-proud-and-hungry-sanaa

15.5.2017 – Al-Bab (** B P)

Yemen is broken and it's falling apart

There are three possible outcomes to the war in Yemen: reconstruction as a single state, partition into two states – north and south – or fragmentation into multiple statelets. Of these, only a single state can offer some hope of a more secure future for the Yemeni people but the prospects for achieving it look increasingly slim and the balance of probabilities points towards fragmentation.

Unification of north and south

The modern Republic of Yemen is a recent creation, brought about in 1990 by unification of the Marxist-run People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in the south and the traditionalist Yemen Arab Republic in the north.

Ceasefire – and then what?

With the war now in its third year, and with an ever-worsening humanitarian situation inside Yemen, the need to call a halt is obvious. That would be a start but it is not a solution.

The need, then, is for something never achieved in Yemen's recent history: government that is relatively free from corruption and nepotism; government that treats peopel equitably and does not maintain power through patronage; government that commands respect from the vast majority of Yemenis and inspires confidence among investors and aid donors. It's a very tall order, but without it there will be more armed conflicts sooner or later.

'The United States of Yemen'

Before war broke out, Yemen had been on the point of turning into a federal state comprising six regions – two in the south and four in the more populous north. The "United States of Yemen", as some dubbed it, was seen as the best hope for preserving national unity. Redistributing power to the regions was partly a defence against separatist activism but also a reaction to the inadequacies of central government under Saleh's rule.

The federal plan was not without merits. It could, in theory, make government more responsive to regional and local needs. In Yemen's case, though, several factors mean that federalism – far from holding the country together – is likely to weaken national government even more and increase the likelihood of fragmentation.

One problem is uneven distribution of people and resources. As currently conceived, the federal region of Hadhramaut, in south-eastern Yemen, accounts for about 50% of the country's land mass, 80% of its oil production and only 10% of its population.

Federalism will accelerate the country's break-up unless there is also a central government in Sanaa which has enough authority to arbitrate between regions is capable of imposing its will when necessary, in ways that Yemenis can recognise as just and fair.

The north-south divide

In addition to the centrifugal tendencies reflected by federalism there are also demands in the south for full-blown independence.

The latter years of Saleh's presidency saw a revival of separatist agitation, driven mainly by feelings of injustice at the way he had treated the south, especially in the aftermath of the 1994 war.

Bizarrely, rather than focusing on the future, separatist discourse often propagates an illusory view of the past in which the accepted historical narrative of the colonial period, and to some extent the socialist era too, has been turned on its head.

Fragmentation by default

Internationally, there is no political support for dividing Yemen north and south or for breaking it up into smaller pieces. The UN is firmly committed to a one-state solution and the declared aim of the Saudi-led military coalition is to restore unity under the semi-legitimate rule of ousted president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Events on the ground, though, point in the opposite direction. While the Saudis continue bombing in the north, the Emiratis have been working more quietly, but with limited success, to establish a semblance of order in the south. From the coalition's point of view this is a necessary step and a prelude to extending "legitimate" government across the whole country. But the problem is that so far they have not been able to extend it by military means.

The result, unintentionally, is a de facto partition which in theory is only temporary but could easily become permanent. This, inevitably, has given encouragement to the southern secessionists. The other side of the coin, though, is that a separate state in the south also means a separate state in the north – one which under current conditions would be dominated by Houthis, thus terrifying the Saudis.

Worse still, there are now also divisions in the south.

As a result, Yemen now has four would-be governments with ambitions to rule nationally or regionally and halting the country's break-up looks more and more like an impossible task – by Brian Whitaker

http://al-bab.com/blog/2017/05/yemen-broken-and-its-falling-apart

15.5.2017 – Just Security (** B P)

UAE, a Key US Partner in Yemen, Implicated in Detainee Abuse

The actions of the United Arab Emirates, another leading member of the coalition in receipt of extensive US and international support, deserve much greater scrutiny.

The problems in this case are not only related to the air campaign, but that the UAE military and UAE-backed forces are implicated in enforced disappearances and ill treatment of detainees in their ground operations. And it is UAE ground forces who would serve at the tip of the spear in any assault on Hodeidah port. The plans for taking the key Red Sea port are highly controversial due to its potential humanitarian implications for famine in Yemen, but it is a major offensive operation that the Trump White House is considering supporting.

Our interviews with several experts with on the ground information and our culling together of reliable open source materials provide a worrisome picture of a UAE military with the capacity to deal a heavy blow to al-Qaeda, but with separate aspirations of its own in Yemen, and reports of serious abuses in its detention operations.

As January’s US-UAE ground raid highlighted, the United States may become directly implicated in UAE detention practices through joint operations, depending on the detainee contingency plans worked out with the UAE.

Accordingly, the revelations of UAE detainee abuse should be especially concerning for the US and other international supporters, further heightening the legal risk for governments and their officials personally, and involving the US in a range of harmful and counterproductive practices that threaten to alienate the local Yemeni population. Specifically, these revelations will raise alarm bells for US officials who have come to rely on UAE intelligence about al-Qaeda, and should be concerned as to whether any information was obtained from these detainees.

UAE and US military missions in Yemen

The US and the UAE are partners in two different wars in Yemen today—one pitched against the Houthis, a Shiite rebel group which overthrew the internationally recognized government in a civil war, and one pitched against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

UAE force structure in Yemen

The UAE forces in Yemen include its Emirati Presidential Guard, an elite force that played a key role in retaking Aden from the Houthis. Peter Salisbury, Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House, explained in an email to us, “The Special Forces unit within the Emirati Presidential Guard has taken the lead in Yemen in coordinating the Yemeni militias for the UAE … and have very close relations with US Special Forces present in Yemen.”

The UAE has relied increasingly on building up local forces within Yemen.

In Aden, the UAE has helped create, train, fund, and supervise another militia group, the Security Belt Forces, which became embroiled in a recent breakdown of relations between Yemeni President Hadi and the UAE. The Security Belt Forces include “some 15,000 southern fighters deployed across four provinces and mainly commanded by hard-line Muslims known as Salafis,” according to an in-depth report by the Associated Press.

An important question that determines which State may be legally on the hook for any war crimes or other violations committed by these militia groups is the issue of control.

Experts backed this up with consistent information about the UAE’s control over these militia groups. Salisbury said, in an email to us, “The UAE is in control in Mukalla. The Emiratis select the military commanders, they train and pay the forces, and they direct and carry out joint operations with them. President Hadi does not have control over Yemeni forces in Mukalla.”

US-support to UAE and Hadrami Elite Forces

The US has reportedly provided extensive and sustained support to the UAE.

US defense officials also told the Military Times in May 2016 that the US provides the UAE in Yemen with “intelligence support, advice and assistance with operational planning, maritime interdiction and security operations, medical support and aerial refueling.” The Pentagon also considers the UAE a “long-time partner.”

There are also reports that the US may have provided support directly to the Hadrami Elite Forces.

Where did all the detainees go?

The US government and individual officials risk running into a host of legal problems in their support and reliance on foreign military partners who may engage in war crimes. Credible allegations of detainee abuse and enforced disappearances by UAE-backed forces raise particular concerns for the US in this regard.

UAE-backed forces have captured many suspected al-Qaeda and Houthi operatives, including as a result of more than 250 raids in and around Aden, a senior military commander told Reuters. Within a month of taking control of Mukalla, General Faraj Salmin, commander of Yemen’s Second Military Zone in the eastern province of Hadramout, said that his forces had captured “around 250 members of al-Qaeda, including some leaders.” Weeks later, the forces were still reportedly conducting “extensive search operations throughout Mukalla to flush out Al Qaeda elements.”

In January 2017, the U.N. Security Council-mandated expert panel, in one of the most detailed, specific, and meticulously-researched reports on the conflict to date, revealed that it had documented five incidents of enforced disappearances:

“The Panel investigated five incidents relating to six individuals who were forcibly disappeared after being arrested by the Hadrami Elite Forces between May and November. One was detained at the Riyan airport and has subsequently been released. Another was a professional tradesperson who undertook some technical work for AQAP while it was the de facto authority in the area. The other five have no known links to AQAP.”

Earlier in the same month, the US-headquartered Center for Civilians in Armed Conflict (CIVIC) reported similar allegations:

“In Mukalla, Hadramout, reports of disappearances and ill treatment of persons detained by the Yemeni Elite Forces—counterterrorism forces trained and mentored by the UAE—are emerging and warrant investigations… According to relatives of victims CIVIC spoke with, detainees taken by Elite Forces are kept in prison cells created in al-Rayan International Airport in Hadramout. UAE officers are present at al-Rayan airport and relatives believe that they are aware of the situation.”

Nadwa Al-Dawsari, Senior Nonresident Fellow with the Project on Middle East Democracy and lead researcher and author of the CIVIC report, told us that these identified cases were symptoms of a wider condition.

The US State Department’s annual human rights report on Yemen, released in March of this year, states: “Local NGOs and media also reported that individuals tied with al-Islah have been arbitrarily detained in Mukalla by UAE-affiliated Security Belt forces.”

Amnesty International has reported on incidents of arbitrary detention at Aden airport, which was under the control of UAE-backed forces.

These findings are consistent with the few independent news reports that have covered the situation in Aden.

The UAE-backed forces are not the only groups alleged to have committed enforced disappearances in Yemen—the Houthis are implicated in “widespread and systematic” cases of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and torture, in the UN Panel and CIVIC reports, as well as reports by the Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, and Human Rights Watch—but the actions of US partners pose particular concerns for American involvement and potential complicity.

Legal and policy issues

What this means for Yemen and the fight against al-Qaeda – By Ryan Goodman and Alex Moorehead

https://www.justsecurity.org/40978/uae-key-partner-yemen-implicated-detainee-abuse/

16.5.2017 – Just Security (** B K)

Hundreds of foreigners are fighting for UAE in Yemen—How war crimes trials may deter them

the widespread employment of foreign nationals in the military forces of the United Arab Emirates, a key partner in the Saudi-led coalition, presents a previously unnoticed avenue to deter atrocities and enforce international criminal law.

Commentators on Just Security have presented various legal analyses regarding the commission of war crimes by the Saudi-led coalition. Even with legal liability identified, however, it has been hard to make the case for deterrence when the likelihood of actual enforcement seemed so remote. The U.S. and U.K, both key supporters of the coalition, have largely rebuffed requests to investigate the allegations

There is, however, a more promising (albeit surprising) opening for an ICC investigation: The Commander of the Emirati Presidential Guard, Major General Mike Hindmarsh, is an Australian citizen. Because Australia ratified the Rome Statute back in 2002, the ICC has jurisdiction to prosecute Australian nationals, including Hindmarsh.

There is much still for journalists to help uncover about the specifics of Emirati Presidential Guard’s operations in Yemen and about Hindmarsh’s role.

From the vantage of The Hague, an investigation of war crimes in Yemen could play in favor of the ICC’s institutional objectives. While the Office of the Prosecutor has historically been unwilling to offend the interests of Western powers, this dynamic may be changing.

Nonetheless, an investigation of Hindmarsh, or other foreign nationals employed by the UAE, would require the Office of the Prosecutor to break new ground.

In addition to the ICC, there is also the opportunity for national-level prosecutors to exercise jurisdiction over alleged war crimes in Yemen.

What’s more, to the extent that one accepts the ICRC’s interpretation of Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions, Australia has “a duty to take action in order to safeguard compliance with the Geneva Conventions.

As the Saudis and Emirates consider an operation to take over the Port of Hodeida, the concrete possibility of war crimes investigations against the sizable number of foreign nationals involved may be the best incentive yet for international backers of the coalition to urge restraint - By Rebecca Hamilton

https://www.justsecurity.org/40970/hundreds-foreigners-fighting-uae-yemen-how-war-crimes-trials-deter/

16.5.2017 – 21. Century Wire (** A P)

Is Saudi Arabia Bombing Its Own Citizens?

Recently, a number of images and footage have emerged of Saudi government forces bombing, shelling, firing and bulldozing houses – not in neighboring Yemen, but in their own eastern province of Qatif in the Awamiyah town, a story which has been erupting on social media over the past week, as reports suggest that the Kingdom continues its crackdown on its own citizens.

Pictures purportedly from the scene circulating on social media showed smoke rising over the area, where bulldozers, excavators and police armored cars were stationed.

For a fourth day in a row starting May 10, the Saudi regime officials have imposed a curfew in the town of Awamiyah with frequent firing of bullets at houses, mosques and hospitals.

According to reports, the aggression escalated further when the Saudi regime forces raided the historic neighborhood of Al-Masoura in Al-Awamiya, and shot dead a two-and-a-half year old child and a young man.

With more than 30,000 people living in the town of Awamiyah, the hometown of martyr Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, some activists are now reporting that Saudi regime has totally isolated the town with cement blocks and the situation is worsening as residents are now also suffering from food shortages and are deprived of medical aid. Hygiene management committees were also improvised in the besieged areas as a result of the designated Saudi company suspending its work in the region.

Other reports of cluster bomb usage have emerged on social media in a display of unexplainable aggression and animosity from authorities towards their own citizens. If true, this would follow a pattern of behavior by the regime in Riyadh, as last year Saudi Arabia was forced to admit their use of UK-made cluster bombs in neighboring Yemen.

To get a better picture of the situation inside the town of Awamiyah, I spoke with Mohammed Al Nimr, son of the martyr Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, senior Shia cleric executed by Saudi Arabia in January 2016.

Saudi forces stormed the historic neighborhood, opening fire on the people who refused to leave their houses, a decision by Saudi authorities in a bid to destroy Al-Masoura’s houses.

The attack started at dawn on Wednesday May 10, with Saudi forces bringing bulldozers and other vehicles to raze some houses.

Al-Masoura is a neighborhood that comprises historic buildings in Al-Awamiya, in Qatif province, which lies in the Eastern province. The Saudi authorities have warned the residents to evacuate the area, claiming the destruction operation is aimed at building modern compounds to place the “buildings which are to fall.”

Even when presented with evidence the “civilized world” still refuses to acknowledge that their Gulf allies crackdown on their citizens and subject their detainees to severe torture, degrading treatment and brutal executions. On the contrary, the UK and Saudi Arabia are set to agree closer ties in areas including defense, security, intelligence and trade – by Marwa Osman

http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/05/15/is-saudi-arabia-bombing-its-own-citizens/

10.5.2017 – European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (** A P)

Saudi Arabia is leading a military operation in Awamiyah, terrorizing tens of thousands of civilians and opposing the United Nations demand of protecting the traditional Mosawara neighborhood

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia raided the city of Awamiyah at 3:40 am on Wednesday, 10 May 2017, placing the city under siege by closing most of its outlets. The raid was carried out by a large number of heavily armed armored and military vehicles, accompanied by equipment to demolish the heritage Mosawara. While Saudi Arabia normally uses special emergency forces for such raids, Twitter accounts appearing to be affiliated with or close to the Ministry of Interior have also referred to the use of National Guard forces and other forces.

The current raid, which has not ended up to the point of writing this report, comes in the background of increased raids previously reported by the European Saudi Human Rights Organization (ESOHR). These raids, have resulted in many human and material losses and attacks on unarmed women and civilians. In March 2017 alone, Saudi Arabia carried out two raids that resulted in extrajudicial killing of three young men and other material losses.

Thirty five days ago, three experts from the United Nations, called upon Saudi Arabia to halt the demolition and forced evictions operation in the Masawara neighborhood of Awamiya as these actions violate international law. This process by the Saudi authorities appears to be the largest of its kind. Tractors and demolishing equipment supported by military vehicles began to demolish houses in Mosawara district. While many other vehicles belonging to security forces fire indiscriminately throughout the city of Awamiya endangering the lives of a population of nearly 30 thousand people.

The Saudi government says it is hunting down wanted men accused of committing multiple crimes and is labeling them as terrorists. On several occasions, the organization has noted that the government, in an official manner, or through Twitter accounts affiliated with it, promptly charged people without investigation or trial, as well as without having any of them detained.

The organization also asserts that Saudi Arabia does not have an independent judiciary or investigative body thereby making these bodies untrusted. The organization has followed some cases that were executed on January 2, 2016, including claimant of rights and justice Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, as well as minors and demonstrators. The organization found that the charges used in their execution were charges of reparation or coercion, or ones that have not been legally proven.

At approximately 4 pm, the Saudi forces closed additional entrances to the city with concrete barriers. Some residents see this as an indication of the intention to continue the raid until demolishing the largest number of houses possible and the arrest or killing of as many as possible of the wanted persons who have been chased for months. From time to time, a number of these wanted as well as other non-wanted persons have been killed in an extrajudicial manner in the streets of densely populated neighborhoods.

For nearly six years, many Saudi writers and journalists have been writing in Saudi official newspapers a hundreds of articles and news reports that are offensive to the residents of Qatif and the city of Awamiyah and accusing them of being linked to Iran. Bloggers and Interior Ministry accounts on Twitter have consistently accused individuals from the city of Awamiya of criminal offenses before conducting any investigations or judicial decisions.

The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights believes that Saudi Arabia employs the term “counter-terrorism” in a way that violates basic human rights principles. This aims to cover its serious violations against the wanted persons and citizens in general. The organization also believes that Saudi security measures, which violate international law, escalate violations and increase human and material losses. There was no possibility of prosecuting the perpetrators of these violations at home as the Ministry of Interior is pursuing a policy of impunity, and protection of its security elements (with photos)

http://www.esohr.org/en/?p=764

Remark: More, details from social media: cp8.

cp2 Allgemein / General

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

15.5.2017 – Talk Politics (* B K)

The War in Yemen, Put Simply

[Overview article]

https://talk-politics.com/2017/05/15/the-war-in-yemen-put-simply/

15.5.2017 – Janes (A K P)

US intelligence says Iran supplying 'explosive boats' to Yemeni rebels

Iran is providing "explosive boat technology", unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and missile support to Yemen's rebels, US Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on 11 May.

The rebels are believed to have used an unmanned boat loaded with explosives to attack the Saudi frigate Al-Madina off Yemen on 30 January (subscribers only)

http://www.janes.com/article/70386/us-intelligence-says-iran-supplying-explosive-boats-to-yemeni-rebels

My comment: This is no “news”: They told this weeks ago already. It’ coming on the table again as president Trump will visit Saudi Arabia now – and the US is fully supporting Saudi Arabia’s anti-Iranian policy.

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Mehr zur Cholera / More on cholera: cp1.

16.5.2017 – Finanznachrichten (* A H)

Tödlicher Cholera-Ausbruch im Jemen verschärft humanitäre Situation

Die internationale Hilfsorganisation CARE warnt vor einer weiteren Ausbreitung der Cholera im Jemen.

"Der Cholera-Ausbruch hätte das Land zu einem schlechteren Zeitpunkt nicht treffen können. Millionen Menschen im Jemen wissen bereits jetzt nicht, wie sie die nächsten Wochen überleben können", so CARE-Generalsekretär Karl-Otto Zentel, der vor einigen Wochen vor Ort war. Im Jemen zeichnet sich derzeit eine der größten humanitären Krisen unserer Zeit ab. 19 Millionen Menschen benötigen dringend Hilfe, sieben Millionen davon sind vom Hungertod bedroht. Der seit Jahren andauernde Konflikt hat zum Kollaps öffentlicher Infrastruktur und des öffentlichen Dienstes geführt. Für Sanaa wurde am Sonntag der Notstand ausgerufen.
"Um die Cholera einzudämmen, müssen Menschen Zugang zu sauberem Wasser und Sanitäranlagen haben, sonst haben sie kaum eine Chance. Im Jemen sind aber weniger als die Hälfte aller Gesundheitsstationen überhaupt funktionstüchtig, für viele Erkrankte ist das ein Todesurteil", so Zentel. "Wenn nicht dringend mehr getan wird, werden weitere Menschen an Cholera erkranken und sterben."

http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2017-05/40724563-toedlicher-cholera-ausbruch-im-jemen-verschaerft-humanitaere-situation-etwa-2-500-menschen-an-cholera-erkrankt-007.htm

Mein Kommentar: Die Zahlen sind schon wieder längst veraltet.

16.5.2017 – CARE (* A H)

Yemen’s Dire Humanitarian Crisis Threatened by Deadly Cholera Outbreak

The global poverty-fighting organization CARE is alarmed by the increase in reported cases and deaths resulting from a cholera and an acute watery diarrhea, or AWD outbreak in Yemen.

“This cholera outbreak could not have come at a worse time. Millions of Yemenis are already facing multiple crises that threaten their survival,” says Wael Ibrahim, CARE Yemen’s country director.

The situation risks getting worse if urgent measures are not taken. CARE calls for an increase in efforts by all actors to prevent further infections and support the treatment of cholera cases. This will require increased access to affected populations and increased resourcing of the health, water and sanitation response in the country as well as support to Yemeni service delivery institutions.

CARE is providing support in preventing the spread of cholera in affected areas.

http://www.care.org/newsroom/press/press-releases/yemens-dire-humanitarian-crisis-threatened-deadly-cholera-outbreak

16.5.2017 – Huffington Post (* A H)

Hospitals On The Brink As Cholera Kills 184 In Yemen’s Capital In Mere Days

The outbreak in Sanaa is the second in less than a year in the war-torn country.

At least 184 Yemenis have died of cholera just this weekend in the capital

“There are hundreds of patients here,” Ahmad Algobary told Huffpost over the phone while describing the scenes at the hospital. “A lot of patients came from villages, from Sanaa city and around Sanaa. It is horrible situation. I can’t even walk through the hospital hallway.”

Oftentimes, civilians in the villages assume the symptoms are a case of bad diarrhea, leaving it untreated until it’s too late, Algohbary said.

The outbreak poses a significant threat given the drastic deterioration of the health care infrastructure after three years of civil war.

In response to the outbreak, Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, has set up cholera treatment centers in five hospitals – By Rowaida Abdelaziz

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cholera-sanaa-yemen_us_5919be94e4b0031e737f4392

16.5.2017 – Xinhua (* A H)

7.6 million Yemeni people live in high-risk areas for cholera, UN says

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that an estimated 7.6 million people live in areas at high risk of cholera transmission in Yemen, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Monday.

"Inadequate sanitation infrastructure, coupled with displacement, overcrowded shelters and settlements, increase the risk of person-to-person cholera transmission," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

In response, the UN is supporting 33 diarrhoea treatment centers in Yemen, and ten oral rehydration therapy centers have been opened, he said.

The UN has established two emergency centers, in Aden and Sana'a, with Rapid Response Teams to monitor and treat contaminated water sources, he added.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-05/16/c_136286526.htm#0-fbook-1-68087-b182d7286068ff4101843e17368e4b10

16.5.2017 – Living in Yemen on the edge (A H K)

This is a very important post by Dr. Anis Al-Asbahi, a Yemeni microbiology specialistof diseases transmitted by bacteria.
Please read carefully (with thanks to Hussam Al-Sanabani for having rapidly translated this in English)

''The Coalition used all kinds of international prohibited weapons, including chemical and biological, which are easy to use and spread quickly.
For example, the use of anthillic bacteria Bacillius antirx in addition to several types of pathogenic bacteria, release the production of drug resistant strains.
Dr. Anis added that it is not excluded that the aggression has developed strains of the bacteria vebire Chloria to cause diseases in areas it could not invade.
Dr. Anis confirmed that there are cases of cancers of the blood and lymph nodeni ,which increased in areas under the bombardment of the aggressors: this is evidence of the quality of chemical weapons which cause genetic defect in humans, resulting in diseases such as blood, lymph nodes and skin cancers.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1373360832716943/?type=3

My comment: This sounds not reasonable to me, there are quite natural reasons for the spread of cholera.

15.5.2017 – UNOCHA (A H)

HC McGoldrick to Yemeni press: "UN and authorities have set up an emergency center for collecting information on cholera cases in #Yemen."

https://twitter.com/OCHAYemen/status/864169901434564612

15.5.2017 – Yemen Updates (A H)

Cholera epidemic is sweeping the Central Prison in #Sanaa. 11 cases have been reported!

https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/864138278106222592

16.5.2017 – Oxfam (* A H)

Yemen: Swift injection of funds is needed after capital hit by surge of new cholera cases

Sajjad Mohamed Sajid, Oxfam's Country Director in Yemen, said: "Funds are needed immediately to stop the spread of cholera. Lives hang in the balance. Those countries that a few weeks ago generously pledged money to help the embattled people of Yemen need to act now.

"This surge of cholera cases is yet another challenge for the Yemeni population who are already at breaking point, with millions facing famine and over two years of a brutal war. Only a fully funded and prompt humanitarian response will allow aid agencies to prevent cholera from killing more people."

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2017/05/yemen-cholera-outbreak#1vcjAMepE53tABh1.01 and statement by CARE: http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-s-dire-humanitarian-crisis-threatened-deadly-cholera-outbreak

16.5.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)

Yemen asks ICRC to save cholera-stricken abductees

Yemen Human Rights Ministry has demanded International Committee of the Red Cross to swiftly intervene to save the lives of over 45 abductees affected by Cholera inside prisons of the Houthi-Saleh militias.

Human Rights Minister Mohammed Askar said in a letter to ICRC that the abductees have not access to needed healthcare the prisons of Habrah and the Political Security.

He made clear that the abductees are held I inappropriate cells, affirming that the Houthi-Saleh militias put some of them in cells which are full of sewage.

Meanwhile, the Abductee's Mothers Association (AMA) has warned against Habrah Prison in the capital Sana'a, appealing to save the lives of the abductees.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-6956

My comment: Yemen”, “minister” = the Hadi government, using the cholera for anti-Houthi propaganda.

16.5.2017 – Al Sahwa (A H P)

AMA warns against spread of Cholera in Habrah prison

The Abductee's Mothers Association (AMA) has warned against Habrah Prison in the capital Sana'a, appealing to save the lives of the abductees.

AMA on Saturday issued a statement in which it appealed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Committee of Red Cross and the Attorney General to save the lives of thousands of abducted held in prisons and immediately release them to hospitals to have treatments.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-6957

15.5.2017 – Suhf (A P)

Houthis expel cholera patients from Dhamar General Hospital

The head of the Dhamar General Hospital, appointed by the Houthis , Jamal al-Shami, yesterday removed a number of patients with cholera epidemic from the hospital, and was not receiving them or providing any therapeutic assistance to them.

The sources explained that the head of the hospital hospital Dhamar, directed the removal of 13 patients suspected of suffering from severe watery diarrhea (cholera) from the building of the body after they intended to treatment, justified this inhumane act that the terrible hospital can not receive any new cases of cholera, Absorption does not allow him to do so according to the medical source.

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/161536 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F161536&edit-text=

My comment: The health system is collapsing, while cholera is used for anti-Houthi propaganda.

16.5.2017 – Khulood al-Alhddad (A H)

As many Yemeni kitchens look like (photo)

https://twitter.com/khuloodalhadda1/status/864502114348937218

16.5.2017 – World Food Programme (* A H)

Yemen: Working Together to Reach Hodeidah

As the looming risk of famine is spreading across Yemen, the Logistics Cluster is scaling up its efforts to assist the affected population. But in Yemen, even reaching those in need is a challenge and the Logistics Cluster is working relentlessly to ensure that the humanitarian staff and relief cargo make their way into the country.

For this purpose, every month the Logistics Cluster facilitates an airlift, offered to the humanitarian community by WFP Aviation/UNHAS, which transports humanitarian cargo from Djibouti to the capital of Yemen, Sana’a.

On May 8, 2017, the latest airlift transported 45 mt of nutrition and medical supplies on behalf of World Relief Germany, Partnership for Supply Chain Management, Action Contre la Faim (ACF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

ACF aims to further transport its nutrition supplies from Sana’a to the governorate of Hodeidah, on the western coast of the country. These nutrition supplies consisting of Plumpy Sup, a ready-to-use food supplement used to treat moderate acute malnutrition for children between 6-59 months, will be used in 25 health facilities in Hodeidah to treat approximately 3,000 children.

The governorate of Hodeidah is one of the worst affected governorates of the country, sharing 28 percent of the total burden of severely malnourished cases in Yemen, including children. The cholera outbreak, declared in September 2016, has further exacerbated the already dire situation in Hodeidah.

Until recently, ACF was importing its relief items into Yemen through the port of Hodeidah, but the growing security challenges have prevented the organisation, along with many others, from being able to rely on the port as an entry point into the country.

http://www.logcluster.org/blog/working-together-reach-hodeidah = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-working-together-reach-hodeidah

16.5.2017 – International Committee of the Red Cross (* A H P)

Yemen: Access to detainees a humanitarian must

The suffering of thousands of families who have had no contact with relatives detained in relation to the conflict in Yemen must end, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday.

"We urgently call on all sides, including states supporting parties on the ground, to ensure unconditional and immediate access to people detained in relation with the conflict," said Dominik Stillhart, ICRC's global Director of Operations, who completed a five-day visit to Yemen on Tuesday.

"Hundreds of families have approached us on this issue. Some of them have been without news from their loved ones for years. Enforced disappearances and allegations of ill-treatment and deteriorating conditions further add to the plight of detainees and to families' anxiety," Mr. Stillhart added.

Such visits are a non-negotiable humanitarian imperative, Mr. Stillhart said. They also would be an important contribution to the building of mutual trust amongst Yemeni communities.

The ICRC last year visited more than 11,000 detainees in Yemen and 250 Yemeni detainees in Saudi Arabia. "However, many conflict-related detainees remain off-limits in many locations. This has to change in the best interest of all sides," Mr. Stillhart said.

https://www.icrc.org/en/document/yemen-access-detainees-humanitarian-must = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-access-detainees-humanitarian-must

16.5.2017 – Global Partnership (A H)

Yemen’s local education group moves sector planning forward amid the crisis

Despite a humanitarian crisis and an economy in tailspin, about 90% of Yemen's schools are open, with the government trying to continue the education of over 5 million children and youth

Education planning in countries mired in conflict can be a struggle, not least because security concerns often push aside other priorities. So, it was a big lift to see the Yemeni local education group agree on a transitional education sector plan after a 4-day meeting in late April. GPE in coordination with UNICEF and UNESCO, facilitated the meeting of senior Ministry of Education officials from Sana’a and Aden, development partners and civil society organizations.

The 3-year transitional plan is important because it will help the government’s development partners coordinate better on education, and make more effective use of domestic and international support. GPE is providing technical and financial assistance to put the plan together and see it through until completion.

http://globalpartnership.org/blog/yemens-local-education-group-moves-sector-planning-forward-amid-crisis

13.5.2017 – RT (* A H)

Film (Interview): Yemen’s famine of Biblical proportions

We go live to the UK/Saudi-backed war in Yemen with Sara Tesorieri less than a week before Donald Trump's first foreign visit - to Saudi Arabia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0YwJBzPUnI

15.4.2017 – Oxfam (* A H)

Oxfam Yemen Situation Report #41, 15 April 2017

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/oxfam-yemen-situation-report-41-15-april-2017 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Yemen%20External%20SitRep%2041%20as%20of%2015%20April%202017.pdf

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

16.5.2017 – Critical Threats (A T)

May 16, 2017

Al Houthi-Saleh forces looted and destroyed the home of a tribal leader accused of collaborating with anti-al Houthi popular resistance forces in al Dhaleh governorate on May 15. Al Houthi-Saleh forces seized the village of Rabia’tain in Juban district, central al Dhaleh on May 15 after two days of fighting with Hadi government and popular resistance forces. They destroyed the home of Sheikh Abdul Hakim al Omari after taking the village.[4]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-may-16-2017 and by Almasdar Online: http://almasdaronline.com/article/91258

16.5.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A )

Yemen prime minister Bin Habtoor opened Yemeni conference of Neurosurgery in Sanaa today, despite all horrors of US-Saudi aggression (photo)

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/864524856498552833

16.5.2017 – Al Araby (* A P)

Strained relations: Houthis shut down pro-Saleh newspaper

Yemen’s Houthi rebels banned a newspaper owned by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's political party in Sanaa, local reports said on Tuesday.

The rebels shut down the al-Mithaq newspaper, a publication run by the General People's Congress (GPC) in the capital, said editor-in-chief Mohammed Anam.

Anam called on Yemeni and Arab journalists, as well as the Federation of Arab Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists to stand in solidarity with the publication, whose journalists are allegedly subjected to intimidation and prosecution.

The publication was banned after reaching "the courts,” he said, which “aims at thwarting freedom of speech under false pretences and silencing the voice of the General People’s Congress.”

Since the Houthi takeover of the capital, the rebel group, backed by Saleh’s forces, have shut down all satellite channels, newspapers and websites deemed hostile to them, prompting some to begin broadcasting abroad.

Meanwhile, dozens of journalists have been abducted, killed or imprisoned while covering the deadly conflict.

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/5/16/strained-relations-houthis-shut-down-pro-saleh-newspaper

16.5.2017 – Amnesty International (A P)

Yemen: Protect Muhammad Qahtan

Political activist Muhammad Qahtan is in the custody of the Huthi armed group in Yemen. His whereabouts are unknown and he is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. There are concerns that his health may be deteriorating.

1) Please write immediately in English, Arabic or your own language:

https://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent-actions/yemen-protect-muhammad-qahtan-ua-1116/

16.5.2017 – Saba Net (A P)

SPC (Supreme Political Council) directs to face cholera outbreak, condemns dividing Yemen

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464850.htm

16.5.2017 – Saba Net (A H P)

President chairs meeting to discuss the epidemiological situation of cholera

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464761.htm

16.5.2017 – Saba Net (A H P)

President meets Chargé d'Affaires of Iranian Embassy in Sana'a

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464759.htm

16.5.2017 – Suhf (A P)

Houthi leader killed in Dhamar

Security sources revealed the assassination of Houthi leader Sadiq Taha al-Ahdal with two of his companions in the electricity street in Dhamar province Monday morning, which is one of the senior leaders of the Houthis in the province.

According to the sources, the assassination of Sadiq al-Ahdal was during his return from the Reda district in the province of Baidah after a meeting of the supervisors of Dhamar points, and Sadiq al-Ahdal maintains wide relations with various parties and active personalities.

Al-Ahdal is the head of the mandate authority for the sheikhs. This mandate is one of the most important works for the tribal crowd because it is focused on sending the sheikhs from Dhamar province and a private father to Saada to take courses, signing and covenants between them and the Houthi group.

The security sources did not disclose the perpetrator of the assassination, and confirmed that it is too early to confirm, and that security is in the process of investigating the incident.

There were major differences between the leaders of the conference and the leader Sadiq al-Ahdal, accusing them of being in the fifth column and they are working for the coalition, while accusing him of cutting the row and seeks to weaken the Congress Party and dismantle and attract active figures.

The media reports have talked about the status of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the General People's Congress Party to the plan to eliminate the Houthi group and its founding, beginning with the media dynasties and assassinations of prominent leaders and active in the group.

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/161108 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F161108 and also https://www.suhf.net/yemen/160661

16.5.2017 – Suhf (A P)

Tension in Dhamar after the assassination of Houthi leader and the escape of a conference leader after the attempt to arrest him

Tension in the province of Dhamar between the militia of the Houthi group and the General People's Congress of the ousted Ali Abdullah Saleh after the assassination of Houthi leader this morning.

On the same level, the Houthi militia stormed the home of the late Sheikh Mohammed Hussein al-Maqdeshi, loyal to the deceased Saleh, one of the sheikhs of the Anas tribe in Dhamar province, after clashes between the two parties on Monday morning with various light and medium weapons.

Al-Maqdashi managed to escape while the Houthis managed to storm his house after besieging him in an attempt to arrest him.

It is certain that the assassination of the Houthi leader and the attempt to arrest Sheikh Mohammed Hussein al-Maqdashi are intertwined and indicate the extent of the tension reached by the relationship between the Houthi group and the Congress party.

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/161121 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F161121

15.5.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A H P)

Houthis claim Cholera is a US bio attack on #Yemen and plastering Sana'a streets with message. Seriously, how dumb & convoluted can you be (photos)

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/864067817091604481

Comment by Judith Brown: Well that is taking advantage of a grave situation. The cholera outbreak is not due to chemical warfare but the Saudi led attacks on Yemen's infrastructure.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155521343728641

15.5.2017 – Josephjo1221 (A P)

Huthi priesthood. You laughed the world on your stupid! Shou expects militias who did not know the way to school, but bandits who attacked Sanaa (photo)

https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/864092404261031936

My comment: The same photo as before. Comments like this show the rift between the Houthis and the Saleh followers. And also the following one, a comment to a statement by Mohammed al Houthi:

15.5.2017 – Josephjo1221 (A P)

Cursing America day and night and stealing Kalashi in Yemen and then bears America responsibility for the salary !! This is the Huthi of fun ..! (image)

https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/864100953980633088

15.5.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)

"American terrorism drags the region&the world into the hell" reads this huge poster in the middle Yemen capital Sanaa (photo)

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/864073095467982848

15.5.2017 – Yemen Updates (A P)

In Damar: Armed clashes & exchange of shooting between #Houthis and Sheikh Hussein al-Maqdashi!

https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/864102714535546880

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

15.5.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)

Gulf of Aden Security Review

The internationally recognized Yemeni government led by President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi attempted to prevent Gulf states from supporting the newly-formed Transitional Political Council of the South. The Council’s self-declared president, former Aden governor Aydarus al Zubaidi, met with Saudi-led coalition officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between May 13 and 15. Hadi government Foreign Minister Abdul Malik al Mikhlafi called his Emirati, Kuwaiti, and Qatari counterparts on May 13 for assurances that they would not side with the Transitional Political Council. Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash revised his previous comments accusing the Hadi government of nepotism and stated that “the role of the UAE in Yemen is supporting Saudi Arabia… it is committed to support the legitimate government in Yemen.” Bahraini Interior Minister Rashid al Khalifa and Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi also expressed their countries’ support for the Hadi government on May 14, according to official Hadi government sources. Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Abdul Latif al Zayani also endorsed the Hadi government. Zubaidi and Council Vice President Hani bin Brik reportedly plan to meet with UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in Riyadh. Pro-Hadi government media denies that the group will meet.

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-may-15-2017 and details (footnote): https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-may-15-2017#_ftn1

16.5. Yemen Updates (* A P)

Zubaidi & Ben Brik under house arrest in Riyadh for questioning their act of defiance against the legitimacy!

https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/864554240735416321

My comment: The leaders of the Aden “coup” had been in Riyadh for negotiations. I am not at all astonished about this.

16.5.2017 – Suhf ( A P)

Who is Idruss Zubaidi according to the definition and information of Al Jazeera?

A politician and activist in the southern Yemeni movement, took the post of governor of Aden , but President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi dismissed, to be announced in May 2017 for his presidency of the Presidency of the Southern Transitional Council, which was formed in the city of Aden.
Birth and birth
Idroos Qassem Abdel Aziz al-Zubaidi was born in 1967 in the village of Zabid in the southern province of Dali .
Study and training
He studied at the Faculty of Aviation and graduated from the rank of Second lieutenant.
Functions and responsibilities:

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/162325 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F162325

16.5.2017 – Al Araby (* A P)

UAE-Saudi differences risk boosting separatists in Yemen

The speed at which the political turmoil is deepening in war-wracked Yemen is mindboggling. Yesterday's friends are emerging as today's opponents, and poverty, displacement, death and political turmoil are spiralling out of control.

Last Thursday, a dramatic development in Aden brought fresh complexity to the country's already protracted conflict.

This significant political shift has one clear aim: To establish an autonomous south in Yemen.

Now, the legitimate government whose members reside in Riyadh, appears crippled.

With the latest announcement of the southern transitional council, Aden is depicted only as the capital of the south.

Currently, the city remains calm, and there have been no further clashes between pro-government groups and secessionist enthusiasts since those after the council was declared.

When the government fled from Sanaa in 2015, the Saudi-led coalition bombed the Houthis day and night. The use of force was the coalition's sole mechanism for defending the government. Now, questions are being asked as to whether force will be used to counter the anti-government events in Aden.

The political chasm between President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and many of the southern separatists is worryingly wide. When president Hadi sacked the former governor of Aden - the man who declared the transitional council - Hadi fundamentally opened a new wound in the south. Currently, healing this wound is a complicated prospect, and the ceiling of southern demands is unrealistically high.

It would, however, be inaccurate to say that the legitimate government has no loyalists or supporters in Aden. It does, and this makes for the possibility of a confrontation between the two rivals unless tensions are defused.

In a bid to de-escalate the recent chaos in Aden, Saudi Arabia on Friday invited Al-Zubaidi, and southern former (fired) minister Hani bin Buraik to come to Riyadh. The invitation serves as definite evidence that the aspirations of the southern people are respected, but that the legitimacy of the internationally recognized government cannot be revoked in areas under the control of the coalition forces.

However the two superpowers of the coalition - KSA and UAE - may endeavor to camouflage their contradiction with joint statements, the rift has grown conspicuously more solid.

Uncertainty regarding the future of Aden will remain, unless Saudi Arabia and the UAE come together to contain the consequences of the formation of the southern council – by Khalid Al-Karimi

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2017/5/16/uae-saudi-differences-risk-boosting-separatists-in-yemen

My comment: The author evidently is a “president” Hadi supporter. The phrase of “legitimate government“ reappears four times. Hadi’s legitimacy ended in Feb. 2014, or at least in Feb. 2015.

16.5.2017 – Al Araby (* A P)

GCC: Aden-based Southern Transitional Council 'doomed to fail'

The formation of the Aden-based 'Southern Transitional Council' is a negative step in the ongoing Yemen conflict, Gulf leaders have declared, nearly a week after it was announced by the dismissed governor of the temporary capital.

"This is a negative development in the course of the Yemeni situation," Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid al-Jarallah said on Monday. "The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have rejected this development. It is doomed and all indications run contrary to this declaration and path."

On Friday the Gulf Cooperation Council denounced the council, stating: "We support the United Nations efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the Yemeni crisis according to the Gulf initiative, its executive mechanism, the outcomes of the national dialogue and Security Council resolution 2216," according to a statement published by the Saudi news agency, SPA.

In a statement, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Abul-Gheit expressed concern that the development could prolong conflict in the war-torn country, calling on all Yemenis to "pursue solidarity and unity in this hard moment to spare the country the risks of division."

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/5/16/gcc-aden-based-southern-transitional-council-doomed-to-fail

16.5.2017 – Suhf (A P)

Urgent: The first tribes of the South decided to march towards the capital Aden to deter the security belt forces

The son of Sheikh Sheikh Sabah al-Sabihi, Abdulrahman Jalal Abdulqawi Shaher al-Subaihi, in the southern province ofLahj , called on Tuesday to stop the attacks on the security forces of the Arabcoalition forces, especially the UAE .

Al-Subaihi said in a statement to all the Sabeeha tribes that despite their sacrifice in the defense of the homeland, the security forces continue to stab their backs with their repeated provocations and follow-up as men of security authority and turned from protector to executioner and tyranny tramples our dignity and honor and whenever we remain silent and tolerant On the national bosom and the Southern Brotherhood mastered the arrogance and irritability and trampled dignity and difficult here enumerate what they did.

He pointed out that the last of these crimes is their heinous crime of executing the young Said Bahaa al-Din al-Shukri on 10/5/2017 by the shu'ati and in front of his brother's eyes and in that dreadful way of adapting to him and filming the scene

Al-Subaihi called on the sons of Sabeeh to take up arms and assemble in front of the iron factory at Amran junction on Tuesday morning, 2017/5/16 AD, to go to the capital Aden and not to return until the implementation of their demands to control the channel or not return, but Almtulaf on shoulders. https://www.suhf.net/yemen/161535 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F161535

16.5.2017 – Suhf (A P)

The Southern Movement in the Mif'at district of Shabwa declares its full and absolute support to the Southern Transitional Council

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/162010 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F162010

16.5.2017 – Suhf (A P)

From the inside of the capital Riyadh ..: Hani Ben Brik responds to the newspaper "Okaz" Saudi Arabia

Hany Ben Brik, vice president of the so-called Southern Transition Council, responded to a report by the Saudi daily Okaz on Sunday titled "Dissolution of the separatist council ... and Zubaidi and Ben Brik give satisfaction to legitimacy", which angered southerners on a large scale.

"The Okaz newspaper has a lot of respect and appreciation for what it does in the service of our Saudi country," said Ben Brik, who is in Saudi Arabia with Zubaidi in a tweet on his Twitter account.

The Okaz report revealed the popularity of the Southern Transition Council. South Hashtag, who opposed the newspaper's report, was able to enter the list of the most frequently discussed topics in Twitter, the most popular social networking site in Saudi Arabia.

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/161114 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F161114&edit-text= and https://www.suhf.net/yemen/161538

Remark: The heads of the Transitional Council visiting Saudi Arabia: Look at YPR 301, cp6.

And this is the Saudi “Okaz” site article claiming the dissolution of the Transitional Council:

14.5.2017 – Okaz (* A P)

The dissolution of the "separatist council" .. Zubaidi and Ibn Brik give satisfaction to legitimacy

A Yemeni presidential source revealed that the governor of Aden, Idruse Zubaidi, and the Minister of State, Hani Brik, met with Yemeni President Abdurbo Mansour Hadi in Riyadh on Saturday in preparation for their meeting with the president in the coming hours. The source confirmed to Okaz that Zubaidi and Ibn Brik To implement Hadi's decisions to dismiss them from office.
Meanwhile, a reliable source in the Yemeni government said that ongoing dialogues between the government and the remaining members of the so-called "Southern Transition Council" to discourage them from this secessionist move. The source expected that Aiderous and Ibn Brik will announce in the coming hours the dissolution of the Council and the inclusion under the leadership of legitimacy. Zubaidi and Ibn Brik arrived in Riyadh earlier to meet with Hadi and the leadership of the coalition, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister of Yemen, Major General Hussein Arab in a statement to «Okaz».
He explained that all Arab leaders named in the so-called Transitional Council assured the government that it has nothing to do with it, and that they stand with the legitimacy of Hadi, stressing that the people of the south stand in line with the constitutional legitimacy.
He praised the position of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries led by Saudi Arabia keen on the security and stability of Yemen, pointing out that priority in the south must be given to the issues of living, such as electricity, after the government succeeded with the support of the coalition to impose security, but the services still worry civilians.
For its part, the local councils and the Executive Office in Aden declared their support for the statement issued by President Hadi's meeting with his advisers.

http://okaz.com.sa/article/1546621 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fokaz.com.sa%2Farticle%2F1546621

My comment: There is such a lot of propaganda fog in this whole story that it seems almost impossible to recognize what actually happened.

15.5.2017 – Suhf (A P)

See the pictures .. The first appearance of "Eidros Zubaidi" in Saudi Arabia

Activists on social networking sites circulated a picture showing the governor of Aden, "Eidros al-Zubaidi" in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia, Zubaidi and the country's minister of state, Hani Ben Brik, called for consultations after forming a southern transitional council threatening to blow up the Arab alliance's efforts.

The governor of Aden, who was in a restaurant in Riyadh, was shown along with a number of South Yemeni figures.

A presidential source confirmed that "Eidros al-Zubaidi" and "Hani Ben Brik" met with advisers to President "Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi " in Riyadh on Saturday.

The presidential source told the newspaper Okaz , Saudi Arabia, Zubaidi and Ben Brik submitted to the legitimacy of their commitment to implement the decisions of Hadi judge to remove them from their positions (photos)

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/160927 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F160927

15.5.2017 – Yemen Updates (A P)

Representatives of the presidential protection brigades and Aden's forces rejected the Southern Transitional Council!

https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/864131262386249728

15.5.2017 – Suhf (A P)

Kerman: UAE forces prevent the legitimacy of the airports and ports of Aden and Hadramout

Yemeni Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman said Yemen's airports and ports in Aden and Hadramout were now under the control of UAE forces.
It said in a leaflet on its Facebook account that the UAE forces are preventing legitimate authority from entering and passing through these airports and ports.
And considered it a brutal occupation and described it stupid and disgusting.
In her pamphlet, Kerman stated that Yemen is a sin and an obstacle to the occupation, regardless of its form or type.
"I do not have a problem with the Aideros council
"I have a serious problem with those who replaced the coup control with their control, and they claimed they came to restore legitimacy," she said, referring to the UAE forces in Aden and Hadramout.
Yemeni activists have been sharply critical of the UAE for supporting the rebel rebellion led by Aden's Mujahid Adenourous Zubaidi and Hani Ben Brik. https://www.suhf.net/yemen/160916

My comment: Kerman, Peace Nobel Price winner, is Islah party and a 100% Hadi backer, fully neglecting the Saudi air raids. Now, she of course is anti-UAE.

15.5.2017 – Abu Sanad (A P)

Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohsen al-Kathiri, Sheikh of the Al-Katheer tribes in Hadramout and the Gulf, launched an attack on the Transitional Council (image)

https://twitter.com/abu__sanad/status/864180360455868419

16.5.2017 – Emirati News Agency (* A P)

UAE conducts military training course for recruits in Yemen's Socotra Island

The UAE Armed Forces has concluded an intensive military training course for recruits in the Yemeni island of Socotra.

The recruits, who underwent training in various disciplines, will help secure the island's coastal areas. They received training in field and battle skills, the use of various weapons, internal security, topography, live fire and first aid.

The graduates staged a parade to show their readiness to defend their country. They voiced their gratitude to the UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for training them to protect their homeland.

http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302614021 and by Press TV Iran: http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/05/16/522089/UAE-Yemen-Socotra--Saudi-Arabia

My comment: “President” Hadi had leased Socotra Island to the Emirates for 99 years. The Emirates misuse this unique island for their own purposes. On Socotra, a natural heritage site, see http://www.constantinealexander.net/2017/05/socotra-the-island-of-happiness.html

Comment by Judith Brown: Let's put this another way. UAE has been given a long lease on Soqatra, by Hadi - whom if you recall is probably not the legitimate president of Yemen though world leaders say he is, so arguably he didn't have authority to hand over any part of Yemen to anyone. And Hadi, having handed over Soqatra is now being sidelined by UAE so some good it did him - although I must say I do agree with the UAE treatment of Hadi - after all he is a stupid man with dubious morals and no skills at leading anything let alone Yemen. The newly recruited Yemeni troops are being trained to fight for Soqatra but in whose interests? Soqatra is part of Yemen and it was amazingly well stewarded by Yemen and I can't believe commercially minded UAE can do the same by leaving this amazing place with very little external interference. Before the arrival of UAE it was one of the ten most amazing UNESCO sites in the world. With all the threatened military development - a port and airbase and militarisation I can't see that it can stay that way for long.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155524856453641

Comment: Apparently, they cannot train in the UAE: it would spoil the image of sand, sun and sea destination. Which better place than the paradise island of #Socotra, under the banner of humanitarian aid?

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1677577932538194

16.5.2017 – Suhf (A T)

Gunmen in military uniforms kidnap three journalists, including an Emirati TV correspondent in Aden

Gunmen in a military uniform kidnapped three journalists on Tuesday evening in the southern city ​​of Aden .

According to press sources, gunmen in uniform kidnapped journalists Hossam Radman, a journalist in Al-Sahar newspaper, Majed al-Shuaibi, a reporter for the Abu Dhabi channels in Aden, and Hani al-Junaid, an activist and journalist in Al-Shara newspaper. According to the site "Yemen News"

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/162320 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F162320&edit-text=

15.5.2017 – Haykal Bafana (A T)

RIP : Amjad Abdulrahman Muhammad, a human rights NGO activist, shot dead yesterday by Al Qaeda & ISIS terrorists in Aden city, #Yemen. (photo)

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/864084271912423424

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

16.5.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A H P)

Yesterday,I asked UN chief in Yemen how much money they received from Geneva pledges? Listen to what he answered?

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/864463458766651392 and in film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WzH4IIvbO0&feature=youtu.be

16.5.2017 – Irish News (A H P)

Donor countries urged to fulfil aid pledge to Yemen amid deadly cholera outbreak

the UN humanitarian coordinator Jamie McGoldrick urged donor countries to fulfil more than $1bn (£774 million) in aid pledges made in Geneva last month.

http://www.irishnews.com/news/worldnews/2017/05/16/news/donor-countries-urged-to-fulfil-aid-pledge-to-yemen-amid-deadly-cholera-outbreak-1027169/

15.5.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)

Amended UN Roadmap for Yemen: Insurgency Must Retreat from Hodeidah 1st

Moving away from a comprehensive insurgency withdrawal from Sana’a to Hodeida, the United Nation’s roadmap for peace in Yemen is now focused on renewing negotiations which have reached a stalemate last August.

The UN now adopted an approach based on incremental progress.

Reviewing details on a phone call he had with UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi told Asharq Al-Awsat that international efforts are directed towards gradually ending the stalemate.

“Ould Cheikh believes that the impasse, caused by coup militias in Yemen, could be given a boost if withdrawal of insurgency forces starts with Hodeida, not Sana’a,” said Mekhlafi.

“The proposal is for coup militias to hand over the city and port of Hodeidah to full government control, under the conditions of humanitarian aid and commercial goods continuing to dock at the port,” Mekhlafi added.

“This proposal can provide solutions, virtually sparing Hodeidah from the liberation battle Yemeni government forces and the Saudi-led Arab coalition intend to pursue, particularly that the port of Hodeidah is used to smuggle weapons,” he added.

“The coalition and the Yemeni government offered to hand over the port of Hodeidah to be managed and supervised by the United Nations so that arms trafficking comes to a halt.”

“But when coup militias withdraw and the key port falls under the hands of the legitimate government, this is good.”

“Perhaps, he (UN envoy Ould Cheikh) sees the step as an expression of good intentions and commitment to completing negotiations till the end,” said Mekhlafi.

“During my conversation with Ould Cheikh, he stressed the need for the coup to abide by all terms and conditions they agreed upon, whether with respect to humanitarian issues, detainees and peace references,” added Mekhlafi – by Badr Al-Qahtani

http://english.aawsat.com/badr-al-qahtani/news-middle-east/amended-un-roadmap-yemen-insurgency-must-retreat-hodeidah-1st

My comment: This looks interesting in the first moment but is no real new approach to the Yemen problem. And a totally new approach would be needed if any peace should be achieved. The UN envoy is bound by the UN resolution 2216, which is flawed and totally one-sided and which had proved to be an obstacle to peace for two years now. – The idea that the Houthis should withdraw from Hodeida evidently follows the Hadi and Saudi propaganda of a greater arms export from Iran to the Houthis, what evidently is a propaganda without facts.

16.5.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)

FM calls for putting pressures on putschists to withdraw from Hodeidah

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister has said that the deadlock of Yemen's crisis may be broken and peace process may be moved forward if the militias withdraw from Hodeidah, pointing out that the withdrawal of Hodeidah will save the city from plunging into war.

He said that the Yemeni government and the Arab Coalition asked the United Nations to hand over Hodeidah Port to the United Nations to supervise it and prevent smuggling.

He further said that the legitimate government is keen to reach a reconciliations, calling for put further pressures on the Houthi-Saleh militias backed by Iran in order to restore security and peace to Yemen.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-6958

My comment: “the withdrawal of Hodeidah will save the city from plunging into war”: You call it blackmailing (of UN and “international community”).

16.5.2017 – Suhf (A P)

a government official comment on the talk about the withdrawal of the putschists from the port of Hodeidah

Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information Fayad Al-Nu'man said that the handing over of Hodeidah and its strategic harboring to the Yemeni legitimacy represented by President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the government of Dr. Ahmed Obaid bin Dajr by the militias of the two sides of the Houthi coup and Saleh and the clear and public recognition of the three reference points (the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanisms, Resolution 2216 issued under Chapter VII) by all the coupists fall under the steps of confidence-building to begin the implementation of a humanitarian truce called for by the UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed during his current tour

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/162013 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F162013&edit-text=

My comment: That is absurd because it would mean that the Hadi government would have occupierd Hodeoda simply by blackmailing and by spreading propaganda (of Iranians arming the Houthis on a large scale). – And “the three reference points”, quoted by Hadi officials again and again, are flawed obstacles to peace – now as two years ago.

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

Mehr / More at cp1

16.5.2017 – Press TV Iran (* A P)

Saudi Shia town under 'siege' for sixth day

A Saudi town has entered the sixth day under "siege" from the kingdom’s security services, with several people reportedly killed in clashes between police and protesters.

Saudi forces started their attack on Awamiyah on May 10, using gunships and heavy weapons. The city in the Eastern Province has a large Shia population.

The Saudi regime says the aim of the raid is to allow the demolition of the historic Almosara neighborhood to make way for a planned renovation project.

Activists have posted pictures and videos of bulldozers being accompanied by heavily armored military vehicles towards the site.

They say the residents of Awamiyah are suffering severe water shortage and are able to access power only from private generators.

Ameen Nemer, an activist originally from Awamiyah, told Middle East Eye online news portal that most of the entrances to the village have been blocked off so that "cars hardly go out or get in"."It's really hard for people and you can imagine these army vehicles, they would open fire like 24 hours. People can't sleep. You have these vehicles going back to where they come and then you have new ones come to replace these soldiers," he added. Last month, UN special rapporteur Leilani Farha warned that the controversial project threatened the historical and cultural heritage of Awamiyah “with irreparable harm".

"Residents have been pressured in many ways, including through power cuts, to vacate their homes and businesses without adequate alternative resettlement options, leaving them at best with insufficient compensation and at worst, with nowhere to go,” she said.

http://presstv.ir/Detail/2017/05/15/521966/Saudi-raid--Shia-Awamiyah

and more news from social media:

15.5.2017 – Various (* A P)

More than 30K residents in the eastern #Saudi city of #Awamiya are besieged now since 5 days, water supplies access is banned (photos)

https://twitter.com/alihmourad/status/864184390464745472

Film: This is not in #Yemen or #Syria, but in #Saudi Arabia, where #Trump's beloved allies are shelling civilians in the eastern city of #Awamiya

https://twitter.com/alihmourad/status/864181918891466752

Aldeerah & Alzara, Almaraweh and other parts of Awamia live in darkness after cutting off power. Armoured vehicles roaming & shooting MADLY

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864242750757195776

Film: The explosion is in Mowsawara. Not sure if it was the same sound reported.

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864245625352859656

13 explosions in 20 minutes, shootings on the Main Street heading to Safwa hysterically and randomly. Bullets are hitting almost everywhere.

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864247338788950016

#Awamiasiege2017 it's not a process of "developing" This act of aggression is a process of forced displacement. (photos)

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864063187896979457

Awamia main Street is empty. Only tools of death & forcible displacement are moving to Mowsawara now (photos)

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864096415777251329

The Saudi gov forces of terror attack Mowsawara using RPG, shooting heavily, the strongest within the last 6 days (photos)

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864160434751930370

Film: The Saudi gov forces attack is the reason behind the destruction. The only way to talk is through violence and force.

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864163829055442944

Film: Flames from Abo Al makarim house in #Awamiasiege2017 r rising. Frefighters stopped doing their job since the 10/05. Collective punishment

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864172533494542336

Photo: After night, the Saudi forces atrocities are unfold. The destruction of homes and a lot of memories are planned to be forgotten (photos)

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864177815108935686

Photos: Reports. Armoured vichcles r roaming streets surrounded Mowsawara directing lights to the roofs to make sure their crimes aren't documented.

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864181835143761925

Film: 1. Buildings are beeing destroyed by fire as a result of the Saudi barbaric military campaign. Smoke. Bullets and bombs.

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864268013184397314

Film: 2. Smoke can be seen from Jomaima neighbourhood. Firefighters don't work in Awamia for the 6th day. Out of 30 k how many ppl with asthma?

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864270852241707008

Film: 3. More than 9 houses are reported of being on fire. The damage is horrible. I can't sleep or eat seeing this.Made in The Kingdom of Terror

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864273866465718272

more photos

https://twitter.com/Ahmed_alkabaz/status/864322526251540480

Film: 7th Day, Eastern Part of Mowsawara, heart of Awamia. All Saudi gov abuse of power and crimes will be revealed and exposed. Yes, "developing"

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864435557174304768

Film: 7th day, few mins break, a chance to document the Northern part of Mowsawara, the heart of #AwamiaSiege2017 Saudi gov of oppression & terror

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864402986356924418

Film: 7th day, Heavy shootings and fire in different places in #Awamiasiege2017 . The Saudi military campign continues. Collective punishment.

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864534740271017984

7th day, Ahmad Mahmood Mosque, established in 1824, before Saudi Arabia even existed. Saudi gov ISIS mentality to destroy history is clear. (photos)

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864391302045159424

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864377164535398400

7th day, incendiary weapons used by Saudi gov forces of terror. Photos documented show holes on walls. Part of the destruction in Awamia (photos)

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864385743468322816

Intensifying the siege. Reminding ppl of the state power. Ohod main Street in Qatif city, access next to Albhari town is blocked (photos)

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/864426999967883264

#Saudi Monarchy forces use incendiary projectiles to burn #Shia civilian homes & wipe local history (photos)

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/864535525302165504

16.5.2017 – ABNA (A P)

ABWA's statement on Saudi Prince's unwise remarks about Mahdaviat and condemning invasion of Al-Awamieh in Yemen.

The violent attack to the citizens and mosques in the Shia city of Al-Awamieh is an action based on the Saudi prince "Muhammad Ibn Salman's" ideology who shamelessly spoke falsely about "Mahdaviat" and attacked Iran with a Takfiri, Wahabi, and terroristic attitude.

According to Ahlul Bayt News Agency – ABNA – Ahlul Bayt World Assembly has issued a statement condemning the Saudi invasion of Al-Masoureh neighborhood in the Shia city of Al-Awamieh, east of Saudi Arabia, and held International Society accountable for Saudi regime's sectarian actions.

The full text of the statement is as follows:

http://en.abna24.com/news/a-h-b-world-assembly/abwas-statement-on-saudi-princes-unwise-remarks-about-mahdaviat-and-condemning-invasion-of-al-awamieh-in-yemen_830055.html

Remark: earlier reporting YPR 301, cp8.

9.5.2017 – International Business Times (A P)

Saudi Arabia bars father from naming daughter after Ivanka Trump

Kingdom's interior ministry banned 50 names deemed as 'inappropriate and offensive' in 2014.

Saudi Arabia has forbidden a man from naming his daughter Ivanka, after one of the daughters of US President Donald Tump, according to reports. Salem Al Anzi told local media the civil status department made the decision as the name was foreign.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/saudi-arabia-bars-father-naming-daughter-after-ivanka-trump-1620752

15.5.2017 – Ali Al Ahmed (A P)

#Saudi @KingSalman gave highest award to Zakir Naik who promoted terrorist attacks

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/864200773990789120

referring to

2.12.2006 – Umer Khan (A P)

Film: Every Muslim Should be a Terrorist - Mullah Zakir Naik

A Muslim Scholar (Dr. Zakir Naik) known for his moderate and logical approach towards Islam declares that "Every Muslim Should be a terrorist. And that He is with Osama Bin Laden as far as he is terrorizing America". Unless world recognize the True Filthy Faces of these Mullahs; World Peace can NEVER be achieved. In the west these Mullahs present Islam as MOST PEACEFUL - while in countries having huge Muslim populations they openly preach Hatred, Violence & discrimination in the name of Faith.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxk5AAA5FbI

14.5.2017 – RT (A P)

Saudi cleric calls on FIFA to ban sign of cross, Twitter fires back immediately

A hardline Saudi cleric has called on football’s governing body, FIFA, to prohibit players from making the sign of the cross in celebration on the field. As expected, not only have his calls fallen on deaf ears, but he has also been lambasted online.

Mohammed Alarefe boasts 17.5 million Twitter followers, which, though impressive, is unlikely to hold any sway with FIFA’s elite.

“I’ve seen video clips of athletes, soccer players running, shooting and when they win they make the symbol of the cross on their chests and my question is do FIFA’s rules not forbid this,” he tweeted. Players and fans alike quickly pointed out the inherent hypocrisy in Alarefe’s statement.

https://www.rt.com/viral/388317-saudi-cleric-fifa-muslims/

Comment: Non of Abrahamic religions are accepted by Wahhabis. This is a good example Saudi #Wahhabism.

https://www.facebook.com/NotoWahabism/posts/1222651707863409

16.5.2017 – Anon (A P)

Film: We don't want Dina Ali's tragedy to happen again. Their family might kill them if they get back. #SaveAshwaqAndAreej

https://twitter.com/dontcarebut/status/864521607473229824

8.5.2017 – RT (* B P)

‘World continues to reward Saudi Arabia despite crimes against women'

Saudi women who attempt to flee Saudi Arabia are at great risk of being returned, possibly being punished by death, Moudi Aljohani, Saudi human rights activist, told RT America’s Manila Chan.

Saudi Arabia prohibits its women from working, obtaining an education or marrying without the permission of a male. Nevertheless, last month the country was elected to join a UN women’s rights commission to international outcry.

Recently, the world was made aware of the case of a 24-year-old Saudi female, Dina Ali Lasloom, who was seeking asylum in Australia when she was stopped during a layover in the Philippines and forcibly returned to Saudi Arabia.

According to reports, Lasloom was forcibly returned to Riyadh from Manila by two men said to be family members. Human Rights Watch has requested that Saudi officials provide details on the current status and well-being of the young woman.

RT: Do you find that Dina’s case is at all unique, or is this more common than people in the west realize?

MA: Unfortunately, it is not unique, it happened before. But we don’t really know the victims’ names. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist. This has happened many times when women want to flee the country. They don’t just track or just hold women in the country. Even if we try to leave the country they try to go after us, like what happened to Dina Ali. There is also a similar case that happened to three women who fled Saudi Arabia and were stopped in Malaysia. The Saudi embassy actually offered a financial reward for whoever finds them, because the subject of Saudi women causes the Saudi government international embarrassment. So they want to make sure that these women, when they flee the country, they don’t speak about what’s going on inside Saudi Arabia.

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/387593-women-violence-saudi-arabia/ and film (interview with Moudi Aljohani): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbfUAZSgjt8

cp9 USA

16.5.2017 – The American Conservative (* A P)

The War on Yemen and Trump’s Foreign Trip

Describing Trump’s agenda for his first foreign trip, his National Security Advisor recently said this:

“He [Trump] will encourage our Arab and Muslim partners to take bold, new steps to promote peace and to confront those, from ISIS to al-Qaida to Iran to the Assad regime, who perpetuate chaos and violence that has inflicted so much suffering throughout the Muslim world and beyond,” McMaster said.

McMaster’s description is hard to take seriously for a few reasons. First, the Saudis and their allies are busily perpetuating chaos and violence in Yemen, and some of them have been responsible for doing the same in Syria for years.

Everything the Trump administration has done so far has been to reward these governments for their recklessness and unreliability by promising to provide them with even more weapons and support than they were already receiving.

As I have said before, making Riyadh Trump’s first visit of his presidency is an unmistakable stamp of approval on the Saudi-led coalition’s destructive, illegal behavior in Yemen.

Meanwhile, Trump is fully embracing the coalition’s members. If Trump’s visit drew more attention to Yemen’s plight, that would be a very thin silver lining, but it is more likely that the enormous suffering of Yemen’s people and the destruction wrought by the coalition with U.S. backing will continue to go mostly unnoticed.

Of all the countries Trump could have chosen for his first visit, he chose to visit the country whose government is largely responsible for causing a major man-made famine in one of the world’s poorest countries and has implicated the U.S. in numerous war crimes because of our government’s assistance with their war effort. While Trump will be schmoozing with despots in Riyadh, millions of Yemenis will continue to be starved as a result of deliberate policy choices supported by Washington. That ought to appear prominently in every report on Trump’s trip abroad, but it will very likely be left out of almost all of them – By DANIEL LARISON

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-war-on-yemen-and-trumps-foreign-trip/

16.5.2017 – The American Conservative (* A P)

Sudan and the War on Yemen

One of the other invitees to the Saudi-sponsored summit that Trump will be attending is none other than Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir:

This news prompted Glenn Kessler to ask: Why would the White House allow an invitation putting the president at the same meal as a man charged with genocide?

I agree that Bashir’s invitation to attend the summit is repugnant, but why would we expect the Trump administration to object to it? Sudan is a member of the Saudi-led coalition that is attacking Yemen and has been for years, so it was predictable that their president would be invited to the Saudis’ summit. Since the U.S. is an enabler and supporter of the coalition, our government is on the same side as the Sudanese government. These are the sorts of governments that have agreed to help the Saudis in their reckless campaign, and our government is deeply complicit in that campaign.

Our government has no problem aiding and abetting coalition war crimes in Yemen, so why would it suddenly be put off by the invitation of another war criminal when he belongs to the same coalition? The summit’s hosts are partly responsible for creating horrific conditions in Yemen that will claim countless innocent lives if things continue as they are, but there is scarcely any criticism of Trump’s decision to make Riyadh his first foreign destination as president. If Trump (and much of Washington) can embrace the war criminals of Riyadh, why wouldn’t he associate with one from Khartoum?
The truly appalling thing in all of this is the continued support the U.S. is providing to the Saudis and their allies (including Sudan) as they cause massive loss of life.

It should go without saying that the U.S. shouldn’t be taking part in the Saudis’ sham of a summit, just as our government shouldn’t be involved in the atrocious war on Yemen. Trump faces little or no opposition for these things, and yet these are easily among the least defensible things he is doing as president – By DANIEL LARISON

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/sudan-and-the-war-on-yemen/

16.5.2017 – AP (* A P)

Sudan’s president invited by Saudi Arabia to Trump meeting

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been invited to this weekend’s summit in the Saudi capital with U.S. President Donald Trump and leaders from across the Muslim world, Saudi officials close to the king said Tuesday.

Al-Bashir, who has been Sudan’s leader since 1989, is wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands for war crime allegations. ICC prosecutors charged al-Bashir in 2009 and 2010 with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The summit that Trump is scheduled to attend Sunday, during his first overseas trip as president, is being organized by Saudi Arabia and will gather more than 50 top dignitaries from Muslim countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

In Washington, a senior State Department official said the United States opposes governments inviting anyone subject to outstanding ICC arrest warrants, including al-Bashir, and has made its position clear. The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity.

Saudi King Salman has expressed hope the summit in Riyadh “will establish a new partnership in confronting extremism and terrorism.”

Sudan has been under U.S. financial sanctions since the 1990s after being accused of state-sponsored terrorism. The E.U. placed an arms embargo on Sudan in 1994.

Shortly before leaving office, President Barack Obama temporarily lifted some financial sanctions on Sudan after seeing a reduction in military offensives by the government – By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI

https://www.apnews.com/951d765d37ad485cbcdabe9c40368500

16.5.2017 – The New Yorker (* A P)

WHAT DONALD TRUMP CAN EXPECT ON HIS TOUR OF THE MIDDLE EAST

On his first Presidential trip abroad, Trump has outsized ambitions—both naïve and godlike—laden with religious symbolism from all three Abrahamic faiths. He’ll visit the birthplace of Islam; the Jewish homeland; the birthplace of Jesus, in Bethlehem; and, then, the Vatican. “What President Trump is seeking is to unite peoples of all faiths around a common vision of peace, progress, and prosperity,” the national-security adviser, H. R. McMaster, told reporters on Friday. A senior Administration official said that Trump’s goal is “making sure that the three faiths work together.” Good luck.

Saudi Arabia is an unusual choice for Trump’s first stop as President, given his attitude toward the country during the Presidential campaign.

For the United States, Saudi Arabia is a second-tier ally, at best.

The White House said that Saudi Arabia reached out to Jared Kushner and unnamed others shortly after the election to encourage an early visit. In Riyadh, Trump will meet King Salman, hold a summit with a half-dozen leaders from the Gulf sheikhdoms, and dine with dozens of senior officials from the region. He’ll start building his new coalition of conservative Middle East leaders there, too.

“He will develop a strong, respectful message that the United States and the entire civilized world expects our Muslim allies to take a strong stand against radical Islamist ideology, an ideology that uses a perverted interpretation of religion to justify crimes against all humanity,” McMaster said. “He will call for Muslim leaders to promote a peaceful vision of Islam.” – By Robin Wright

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trumps-three-religion-tour-of-the-middle-east

Comment by Haykal Bafana: Oh. Trump's Riyadh speech will demand Saudi Arabia & 50 other Muslim leaders to abandon "radical Islamist ideology"

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/864542856588951552

My comment to comment: LOL.

16.5.2017 – AFP (* A P)

Trump to address religious divides in first trip abroad

US President Donald Trump will urge unity between the world's major faiths on an ambitious first foreign trip that will take him to Saudi Arabia, the Vatican and Jerusalem, the White House said Tuesday.

National Security Advisor HR McMaster laid out a detailed itinerary for the "historic trip," due to start late this week, and confirmed that Trump would address a gathering of Muslim leaders on his "hopes for a peaceful vision of Islam."

In Saudi Arabia, after a day of talks with King Salman and his crown prince, Trump will attend a gathering of dozens of leaders from across the Muslim world.

"The speech is intended to unite the broader Muslim world against common enemies of all civilization and to demonstrate America's commitment to our Muslim partners," McMaster said, adding that Trump will help open a center to de-radicalize extremists – by Jerome CARTILLIER

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-address-religious-divides-first-trip-abroad-173738892.html

and

16.5.2017 – AFP (A P)

#BREAKING Trump to give speech on Islam in Saudi Arabia: White House

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/864512345074225153

Comment by Haykal Bafana: Is this another event arranged by Saudi Arabia's new General Entertainment Authority?

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/864536270004998148

My comment to comment: Or by the White House new General Entertainment Authority?

15.5.2017 – New York Times (A H P)

Trump, About to Visit Saudi Arabia, Is Urged to Help Yemen

By making Riyadh, the Saudi capital, the first stop on his tour, observers say, Mr. Trump has signaled a desire to strengthen ties that were strained under the last administration.

“It’s very, very timely that the United States apply all the pressure it can with regard to all parties involved, including Saudi Arabia,” David Beasley, the newly installed head of the United Nations food relief agency, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

The State Department and other United States government agencies have tried to limit the effects of the hostilities, with little success – By NICK CUMMING-BRUCE

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/world/middleeast/trump-yemen-saudi-arabia.html?_r=0

My comment: This article describes the humanitarian catastrophe, but shows a strange view of the US role. The US appears as a peace broker and a moderating power – the opposite is true, the US has made this conflict, this war, this catastrophe possible and has fueled it. That’s subtle whitewashing what the author is doing here.

16.5.2017 – Press TV Iran (* A P)

Washington, Abu Dhabi sign military cooperation deal

The United States has signed a new military cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a key member of the Saudi-led military campaign against Yemen.

Pentagon spokesman Christopher Sherwood said in a statement on Tuesday that the updated defense accord replaced an agreement the two countries reached in 1994 and could allow Washington to send more troops and equipment to the Arab monarchy.

The spokesman described the deal as “a framework that dictates the magnitude and conditions of the US military presence in [the Arab] country.”

“This provides the US military with the ability to more seamlessly respond to a range of scenarios in and around the UAE, if necessary,” Sherwood added, without elaborating.

The announcement of the deal was made after US Secretary of Defense James Mattis met with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a day earlier to discuss the bilateral US-UAE military alliance.

"The agreement marks a new chapter in our partnership and reflects the breadth and depth of our ongoing cooperation," Mattis said in a statement after the talks.

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/05/16/522155/USA-military-cooperation-deal-UAE

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

16.5.2017 – Auswärtiges Amt (A P)

Helfen, wo wir können" - rasche Lösungen für Jemen

Humanitäre Hilfe leistet einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Linderung der unmittelbaren Not der Menschen in Jemen. Aber ein nachhaltiges Ende des Leids der Zivilbevölkerung lässt sich allein durch eine politische Einigung erreichen. Außenminister Gabriel traf am Dienstag (16.05.) den jemenitischen Premier Ahmed ben Dagher in Berlin, um mit ihm über Wege hin zu einer politischen Lösung des Konfliktes zu beraten.

Fortschritte im politischen Prozess sind derzeit jedoch kaum zu erkennen. "Wir müssen weiter aktiv nach politischen Lösungen suchen und Kompromiss-Möglichkeiten ausloten. Nur so wird eine Rückkehr zu einem Verhandlungsprozess möglich werden.", sagte Außenminister Gabriel im Vorfeld. Deutschland sei bereit, eine aktive Rolle einzunehmen in dem Versuch, einen politischen Prozess am Verhandlungstisch zu beginnen. Zur Lösung des tiefen innerjemenitischen Konflikts appelliert der Außenminister an alle Konfliktparteien. „Helfen wo wir können“: LOL.

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/DE/Aussenpolitik/Laender/Aktuelle_Artikel/Jemen/170516_HuHi_Jemen.html?nn=382590

Mein Kommentar: Gabriel im Blindflug. Er meint sicher wirklich, was er sagt. Deutschlands Mitschuld an der Lage im Jemen – als Waffenlieferant für die Saudis, als Verbündeter der Saudis und als treuer Vasall der USA blendet er natürlich dabei aus.

16.5.2017 – Ahmed Bin Dagher, Hadi gov. PM (A P)

Federal Republic of Germany is supporting #UN efforts 4 obtaining comprehensive peace in #Yem along with its support to legitimate President

https://twitter.com/ahmedbindaghar/status/864491086668066816

My comment: LOL.

15.5.2017 – Suhf (A P)

Ben Dagher meets Yemeni students studying in Germany and community in Berlin

The Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Obaid Bin Dagher met today in Berlin a group of Yemeni students studying in the Federal Republic of Germany, the presidents of the federations and some social figures from the Yemeni community in Berlin.

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/160920 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F160920&edit-text=

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

16.5.2017 – Critical Threats (A T)

May 16, 2017

The Chinese government announced plans to increase investment in Yemen on May 16. Chinese Ambassador to Yemen Tian Qi announced that China is ready to invest in railways, roads, ports, and humanitarian cooperation with the internationally recognized Yemeni government led by President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi. [3]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-may-16-2017

My comment: As China does in Africa – for Chinese benefit to exploit the resources.

16.5.2017 – Haaretz (* A P)

Gulf States Offer Unprecedented Steps to Normalize Israel Ties in Exchange for Partial Settlement Freeze

Various Sunni Arab countries offer to establish direct telecom lines with Israel, among other steps, if Israel makes gestures toward Palestinians, according to Wall Street Journal report

The Gulf states have compiled a proposal to take unprecedented steps toward normalization with Israel if the Netanyahu government in turn makes gestures to the Palestinians, such as freezing settlement construction in parts of the West Bank and easing trade restrictions in the Gaza Strip, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The report is based on details from a document that was prepared during discussions between various Sunni Arab countries. According to the report, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are leading the proposal, also updated the American administration and Israel on the bid – by Barak Ravid

http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.789477

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

16.5.2017 – Steem it (* A K P)

US-Saudi Arms Deal Worth a Record $100 Billion Close to Completion

Like his predecessors, the Trump administration continues to supply the oppressive Saudi regime despite their abysmal human rights record.

In recent years Saudi Arabia has been the largest importer of arms worldwide. The Saudis also spend the largest amount on weaponry as a percentage of GDP.

https://steemit.com/news/@v4vapid/us-saudi-arms-deal-worth-a-record-usd100-billion-close-to-completion

Remark: This already had been reported earlier. – With background.

cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees

16.5.2017 – UN High Commissioner for Refugees (* A H)

UNHCR brings aid to flashpoints in Yemen, warns of deteriorating conditions

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Hostilities in the Red Sea governorate of Taizz, south of Al Hudaydah, have displaced almost 50,000 people since the start of 2017. This is in addition to the three million who have been uprooted since the beginning of the conflict in Yemen, of whom two million remain displaced and one million have provisionally returned home to precarious conditions.

UNHCR field teams have last week returned from emergency distributions in Taizz’s embattled district of Mokha, one of the worst affected areas in the governorate where humanitarian access has been challenging due to ongoing clashes and movement restrictions imposed by parties to the conflict.

UNHCR has managed to secure access to Mokha for the third time this year. The latest UNHCR aid distribution in Mokha will cover more than 6,200 people with emergency assistance, adding to the 69,857 already reached since the start of this year. Another 17,745 people have been reached in Hudaydah in the same period.

Taizz governorate has been a flashpoint in the conflict, generating 27 per cent of internally displaced people in Yemen, and also hosting another 303,672 displaced people. Many who have attempted to flee hostilities in Taizz have been displaced elsewhere across the governorate.

In Mokha, UNHCR teams observed worsening conditions for both those displaced by conflict and the local communities hosting them. Many people are living out in the open in harsh conditions and without adequate shelter, protection and material assistance.

In Hudaydah, UNHCR field teams also observed a huge spike in humanitarian needs. Displaced people are now living on the streets with some taking shelter on pavements, and others most vulnerable including female and child-headed households turning to negative coping strategies to enable their survival such as through begging and child labour, which is now rampant across the governorate.

UNHCR has warned late last month an intensification of conflict in Al Hudaydah would lead to large-scale displacement of up to an additional half a million people, further increasing needs and vulnerabilities in an high-need area which is already host to a sizeable displaced and conflict affected population and suffering from critical levels of food insecurity.

With Hudaydah host to more than 109,000 displaced individuals, many are reporting anxiety about reports of possible intensifications in hostilities in the governorate, unsure of how and where they would flee.

In anticipation of any further intensification in hostilities, UNHCR is leading efforts with humanitarian partners to respond to additional displacement under different scenarios.

http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2017/5/591ab6054/unhcr-brings-aid-flashpoints-yemen-warns-deteriorating-conditions.html = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/unhcr-brings-aid-flashpoints-yemen-warns-deteriorating-conditions

16.5.2017 – UNICEF (* A H)

Improving children's lives in Djibouti: stories from the field - May 2017

Ratha and Moubarak fled Yemen in horrific circumstances. Gathering what belongings they could, they travelled by boat to Djibouti with their families in order to escape the bombs and gunfire surrounding them. Both now live in Markazi refugee camp, in northeast Djibouti.

http://reliefweb.int/report/djibouti/improving-childrens-lives-djibouti-stories-field-may-2017 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/PUBLICATION%20Stories%20from%20the%20field%20-%20UNICEF%20Djibouti%20-%20May%202017.pdf

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

15.5.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)

Gulf of Aden Security Review

May 15, 2017

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants attacked al Houthi-Saleh forces in central Yemen on May 13 and 14. AQAP militants targeted al Houthi-Saleh forces with small arms fire and an improvised explosive device (IED) in separate instances al Zahir area, southern al Bayda governorate on May 13. AQAP militants also ambushed al Houthi-Saleh forces near al Zuqab village in western al Bayda on May 13. AQAP militants killed two al Houthi-Saleh troops and seized their weapons near ‘Awayan village southern al Bayda governorate May 14. AQAP militants also threw a hand grenade at..al Houthi- Saleh forces in Damt city, near the Ibb-al Dhaleh governorate border on May 14.[2]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-may-15-2017

16.5.2017 – Critical Threats (A T)

May 16, 2017

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released an 18-minute video of a battle against al Houthi-Saleh forces in central Yemen on May 16. The video depicts AQAP militants seizing Jabal Nawfan and the surrounding area in western al Bayda governorate. The battle may have occurred on April 4. The video opens with narration accusing the U.S. of supporting the al Houthi-Saleh bloc. AQAP has released seven propaganda videos since May 1.[2]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-may-16-2017

16.5.2017 – Elisabeth Kendall (A T)

#AQAP #Yemen releases its 6th film in May alone: Battle to clear strategically important Jabal Nawfan (al-Bayda'/Dhamar) of Houthis, 18 mins (photos)

https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/864477728023744512

cp15 Propaganda

16.5.2017 – Tagesspiegel (A P)

„Die Rebellen haben uns den Krieg aufgezwungen“

Der Ministerpräsident des Jemen, Ahmed ben Dagher, über die Unterstützung durch Saudi-Arabien, die Bedingungen für eine Feuerpause und die humanitäre Krise seines Landes.

Herr Ministerpräsident, Saudi-Arabien unterstützt Ihre Regierung gegen schiitische Huthi-Milizen. Die Bundeskanzlerin und die USA haben Riad aufgefordert, seine Luftangriffe zu beenden, weil diese schwerwiegende Folgen für die Zivilbevölkerung haben. Warum passiert das nicht?

Zunächst möchte ich klarstellen, es geht hier nicht um einen Krieg, den Saudi-Arabien im Jemen führt. Es gibt vielmehr eine arabische Koalition, die die legitime Regierung des Jemen gegen Rebellen unterstützt. Auch andere arabische Staaten sind also beteiligt. Und die Koalition hat erst eingegriffen, als die Huthi uns angegriffen haben. Sie haben also den Krieg verursacht.

http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/interview-zum-buergerkrieg-in-jemen-die-rebellen-haben-uns-den-krieg-aufgezwungen/19811312.html

mein Kommentar: Mit dem Besuch in Deutschland wird dem Ministerpräsidenten der Hadi-Regierung nun auch in Deutschland eine Bühne geboten, um die altbekannte Propaganda auch auf Deutsch zu verbreiten.

16.5.2017 – Suhf (A P)

In the speech of our country at the Arab-German Economic Forum - Ben Dagher confirms that what is happening in Yemen is the result of the desire to seize power and wealth by the coup

Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid Bin Dagher lauded the role of Germany and its continuous support for Yemen over the historical stages of the 1960s, which are development assistance distributed throughout Yemen .

In a speech delivered at the 20th Arab-German Economic Forum held in Berlin, Ben Dagher said that Yemen unfortunately is experiencing a tragic situation as a result of political conflicts and the desire to gain power and wealth by groups that have turned against legitimacy.

"The brothers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and friends around the world, including Germany, played a key role in the fact that Yemen went to dialogue in accordance with the Gulf initiative."

He said that after the transition of power in 2011, the Yemenis fought a comprehensive national dialogue for about a year in which the roots and dimensions of the problem in Yemen and its relationship with the Arab environment was discussed.

He pointed out that Yemen emerged from the crisis under the auspices of the United Nations and the brothers in the Gulf with a political document witnessed by the world, but the entire Security Council met in Sana'a for its blessing.

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/162014 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F162014

My comment: Stupid propaganda, for which Germany is giving the stage.

16.5.2017 – Kuwait News Agency (A P)

Y emen conf. calls for national dialogue under legitimate gov t

A conference on Yemen held in Brussels on Tuesday called for the return of the legitimate government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to administer the country and bring peace and stability.

http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2612328&Language=en

My comment: A 100 % propaganda “conference”, organized by “Brussels Forum of Wisdom and World Peace“.

16.5.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)

Saudi newspaper: Iran funded council created by Aden's former governor

The Saudi newspaper of Mecca has said that Iran was behind the foundation of a council headed by the former governor of Aden Aidroos al-Zabidi and the former minister of state Hani Bin Buraik.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-6955

My comment: No idea is too absurd that Saudi propaganda will not propagate it.

15.5.2017 – Jerusalem Post (A P)

BAM STRAIT: IT’S TIME WE GOT SERIOUS ABOUT YEMEN

A show of strength, such as the recent Tomahawk strikes in Syria, can do wonders to ward off potential threats and bolster allies, without boots on the ground.

W e are finally getting serious in Yemen, and it’s about time. With the advent of the Trump administration, a new day has dawned not only over America, but over the troubled Middle East. After eight long years of strategic drift, we are now returning to the sensible foreign policy of helping our friends and harming our enemies in the region. A perfect example of this strategy is Yemen.
Trump administration defense officials have approved a stepping-up of both diplomatic and military efforts to restore peace in a chronically troubled Yemen. This supports our allies in the region who want to do the same.

Last year, I led a congressional fact-finding mission to some of our most important allies in the Middle East. Arab leaders in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain all expressed their serious concerns about the dangerous instability in Yemen, largely due to the malign influence of Iran. Although they were also concerned about Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq, that threat paled in significance to them compared to Yemen. They view Iranian backing of the Houthi rebels in Yemen as an existential threat in their own backyard.
Iran’s destabilization of Yemen is not just an existential threat to our Arab allies, it exacerbates a threat we already face to our own homeland from al-Qaida in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP).

We not only better protect our homeland by engaging more in Yemen, but we also have a golden opportunity to demonstrate loyalty and support to our Gulf state allies. They were understandably alarmed by the Obama administration’s perceived tilt toward Iran.

Also, by denying Iranian proxies a military foothold, we keep one of the world’s critical seafaring chokepoints open and free.

I am confident that we now have the right leadership in the White House, the Pentagon and Congress to achieve this goal and secure the future peace and prosperity of our homeland, and the safety and security of our Middle East allies, for years to come – BY DOUG LAMBORN, US congressman.

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/BAM-Strait-Its-time-we-got-serious-about-Yemen-490820

My comment: Crazy, a threat to peace and psychopathic. And, a fine demonstration of the simple fact: The US is the most dangerous state in the world. – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Lamborn

15.5.2017 – The National UAE (A P)

Cholera shows Houthis’ failure

For more than two years, Sanaa has been under the control of the Houthi rebels – it was they who came down from their northern province stronghold and took over the capital and it was they who mounted a coup against the government of Abdrabu Mansur Hadi. After two years, they have still not been able to run the capital adequately, and the cholera outbreak is proof of this.

Yes, Yemen is in the midst of a war – a war, it should be noted, that the Houthis started – but the war in Sanaa has not reached the ferocity that it has in too many other cities and towns in Yemen. That the Houthis cannot make even the best-resourced city in the country work shows how ill-equipped they are to govern.

Indeed, the Houthis themselves understand this. This was part of their intentions in 2014 when they first marched into Sanaa. Rather than govern openly, they sought a "political partnership" with Mr Hadi – the idea being that they would pull the strings in the background while Mr Hadi and his team took the blame. The same process is how Hizbollah has maintained influence in Lebanon, holding the parliament to ransom, but not putting their people front and centre.

Mr Hadi refused to do so and the Saudi-led coalition is seeking to restore him to power. Yemen needs legitimate and competent leadership, not an occupying power that cannot run a city – by Editorial Board

www.thenational.ae/opinion/editorial/cholera-shows-houthis-failure

Comment by Haykal Bafana: Disgusting op-ed by @TheNationalUAE., when Aden & Abyan also cholera-hit

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/864172422219616256

15.5.2017 – Arab News (A P)

A new North Yemen civil war in the making?

A crucial assumption that seems to underpin the broader international expectations about Yemen’s predicament is that a halt to the Arab coalition’s military intervention would almost inevitably de-escalate things and lead to a permanent settlement to the conflict. That assumption, based on a very simplistic take on the war, is highly questionable.

Although it may be the most visible aspect of the war, the coalition’s intervention is only one layer of a far more complex crisis that would more accurately be described as a handful of intersecting conflicts, with roots in Yemen’s modern history. These conflicts and their aftermath explain much of the present ordeal.

The current crisis has amplified many of these unresolved grievances that in turn render it extremely difficult to resolve. But in its essence, this crisis is about the predatory ambitions of centralized power and territorial control of both sides of the improbable Houthi-Saleh alliance.
Tellingly, all other Yemeni factions who oppose it endorsed the federation proposal that emerged from the National Dialogue Conference, an imperfect but by far the most promising way forward.
A premature withdrawal of Arab coalition forces would most likely mean the perpetuation of a conflict that no faction can win, the permanent fragmentation of Yemen and a doomsday economic scenario. It would remove the main element of pressure on the Houthi-Saleh alliance, which has time and again prioritized the military option.
Saleh’s most recent attempt to reach out to Saudi Arabia is yet another indication that he is likely to turn against the Houthis when the time is right. The rising tensions between Saleh’s General People’s Congress and the Houthis offer some hope that the improbable alliance that triggered Yemen’s existential crisis is one step closer to breaking point – by Dr. Manuel Almeida, the former editor of the English online edition of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1100176

My comment: A more intelligent propaganda, trying to downplay the importance of the Saudi coalition interference and warfare in Yemen. Yes, there are many local reasons of the conflict. The Saudi interference which had lasted decades (spreading Wahabism especially in the Zaidi North) of course had been omitted by the author. – And the “North Yemen civil war in the making” is little more than a Saudi propaganda hypothesis – while a new civil war might begin in Southern Yemen every day now.

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

17.5.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)

The Violations and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 16 May 2017 (full list):

https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/826759587474408/?type=3

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

16.5.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)

The Violations and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 15 May 2017 (full list):

https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/826470374169996/?type=3

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

15.5.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)

The Violations and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 14 May 2017 (full list):

https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/825981594218874/?type=3

16.–17.5.2017 – Sanaa at night (A K)

#Saudi jets are over the capital #Sanaa now .

https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/864547327209598976

17.5.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)

Coalition aircrafts bomb Houthis sites northern al Mocha

http://almasdaronline.com/article/91257

16.5.2017 – New News (A K PH)

Saudi jets Pound Yemeni Farms in Saada

The Saudi-US aggression’s warplanes continue their massively striking the northern of Saada province.

local sources stated that Saudi missiles and bombs were waged yesterday targeting civilian farms in Shada district.

The air-raids caused considerable damage to the targeted farms in the region, the sources confirmed.

The bordering regions of Shada, Razih, Dhahir and Munbah always are under the ongoing bombardment by the Saudi troops , whereas Saada suffers some of the highest numbers of civilian casualties and material loss.

http://newnewss.net/?p=5472

16.5.2017 – Saba Net (* A K PH)

US-Saudi fighter jets hit citizens' houses, farms in different provinces

The US-backed Saudi fighter jets continued fierce strikes on properties of citizens in several provinces over the past hours, killing and injuring a number of women and children, a military official told Saba on Tuesday.
A citizen was killed by Saudi soldiers' fire in Al Mashnaq area of Saada province

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464800.htm

15.5.2017 – Tasnim News (* A K PH)

Saudi Jets Hit Civilian Areas in Yemen’s Capital

Saudi warplanes targeted residential areas in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a on Monday, leaving large groups of people under the rubble of their flattened homes.

Civilian areas in the district of Hamdan in Sana’a were heavily pounded by Saudi jets, Yemen’s official Saba news agency reported.

A large number of people, including kids and women, were killed in the air raids.

The strikes also hit Dhain Mountain, causing heavy damage to citizens' properties, the report added.

https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2017/05/15/1408685/saudi-jets-hit-civilian-areas-in-yemen-s-capital

15.5.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Two Saudi airstrikes hit Hamadan

The US-backed Saudi warplanes launched on Hamadan district of Sanaa province, a security official told Saba on Monday.
The strikes hit Dhain Mountain, causing heavy damage to citizens' properties

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464681.htm

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

16.5.2017 – Fars News (* A K PH)

Ansarullah Ready for Biggest Operation to Defend Yemen's Territorial Waters

The Yemeni army and popular committees (including Ansarullah) have prepared their forces for the biggest operation aimed at confronting possible aggression against the country's coasts and territorial waters.

The Arabic-language September 26 news website quoted an informed military source as saying that the Yemeni forces are ready for launching operations codenamed 'al-Bahr al-Masjour' to defend their country against enemy aggression.

According to the report, if the Saudi and US aggressors approach the Yemeni coasts and the Red Sea waters, the army and its allies will start their largest-ever defensive operation.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960226001281

16.5.2017 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)

3 women killed in Saudi rocket attack on northwestern Yemen

Three women have been killed when Saudi military forces launched a rocket attack against a residential area in Yemen’s northwestern and mountainous province of Sa’ada as the Al Saud regime goes ahead with its atrocious onslaught against its impoverished southern neighbor.

Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network that the projectile targeted a neighborhood in the province's Shada'a district on Tuesday.

Separately, a girl suffered grave injuries when an internationally-banned cluster bomb exploded in the neighboring province of Amran.

The blast took place in the small al-‘Amishah town of Harf Sufyan district. The ordnance had been left over from an earlier Saudi strike.

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/05/16/522139/Saudi-rocket-attack-residential-area-Saada-civilians-killed

16.5.2017 – Yamanyoon (A K PH)

Saudi Artillery Killing Citizens in Saada

The Saudi artillery border waged dozens of shells at the areas border of Saada province.

A local source said, the artillery shells hits the citizens homes and killed citizen ,

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=74045&lang=en

15.5.2017 – Anadolu (A K)

Houthi rebels take district in S. Yemen: Commander

At least 10 Houthis killed fighting pro-government forces in Yemen's southern Dhale province, according to military source

Abu Jamil al-Maresi told Anadolu Agency on Monday that Houthi fighters had seized the Al-Rabatayn region of Yemen’s southern Dhale province after pro-government fighters had withdrawn from the area.

He said at least 10 Houthi rebels had been killed fighting government forces in the area -- and scores more injured -- within the past two days alone.

“Pro-government forces withdrew from the area after their ammunition supplies were exhausted,” al-Maresi said.

http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/houthi-rebels-take-district-in-s-yemen-commander/818834

15.5.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Mercenaries' shelling wounds four children, two women in Marib

The shelling hit houses of citizens, injuring the four children and two women

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464698.htm

and

16.5.2017 – Saudi war crimes (A K PH)

The crime of the mercenaries of the Saudi-US aggression in Marib yesterday

Marib-Harib al-Qaramish In the crimes of the most heinous crimes against civilians, the mercenaries of the Saudi-American aggression bombed the homes and property of the citizens of the Directorate of Harib al-Qaramesh in Marab governorate with mortars and artillery

The artillery bombardment targeted the children and women of the Bani Rbaih area of Baharib al-Qaramish on the morning of this day

Targeting resulted in the martyrdom of the child Zayed Mujahid Saleh Amer Rabeeh and wounding three others one of them is very dangerous and the injury of two women, were transferred and their aid to the capital Sana'a for treatment

It is worth mentioning that all those who were targeted by one family Kano next to their home and away from the fronts and confrontations (photos)

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1677107695918551 and less photos also at https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1677108559251798 and also at http://newnewss.net/?p=5475 and report by Saba Net: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464801.htm and film by AlMasirah TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1kOeXd5NbU

Pro-Houthi- / Pro-Saleh reports:

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464802.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464795.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464790.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464786.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464784.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464697.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464690.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464685.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news464684.htm

Pro-Hadi- / Pro-Saudi reports:

http://almasdaronline.com/article/91257

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

16.5.2017 – Muscat Daily (* A H)

Citizen plans another aid delivery to war-hit Yemen after supplying 55 tonnes in first trip

Nasr al Jadhami is in the process of taking another container full of supplies to Yemen before Ramadan. Following this mission, he plans to visit Mombassa and Kenya to dig water wells. “This will be my second trip to Yemen. I delivered 55 tonnes of aid in February. I hope to deliver at least that quantity on my upcoming trip, but so far my container is only one-third full.

Thanks to word-of-mouth and social media, people from all backgrounds and creeds have been donating. We need rice, flour, milk, milk powder, sugar, baby formula, salt, cooking oil and blankets.” The 44 year old humanitarian, who works as a PRO with a shipping company has been organising such missions at around Ramadan for the past nine years. He has urged people to donate for the cause generously.

Humanitarian trailblazer Jadhami plans to go further West into Yemen and reach people who need most help. “Last February, I made it to the Hadhramout region of Yemen. This time, the plan is to go further west into Yemen and reach people who need the most help. I will be assisted by Yemeni not-for-profit, non-governmental association, Al Nahdhah. During my time in Yemen, I plan to make contacts, find the best routes to access the most needy, so I can share this information with others who wish to help. Oman continues to play an important role as an entry point into Yemen as the war-stricken country’s port and airport facilities have been damaged.” – By Zain al Tauqi

http://www.muscatdaily.com/Archive/Oman/Citizen-plans-another-aid-delivery-to-war-hit-Yemen-after-supplying-55-tonnes-in-first-trip-50tf

My comment: A real hero of our time.

16.5.2017 – Yamanyoon (A P)

Photos: Paintings reflect the resistance of the Yemeni people

http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=74018&lang=en

15.5.2017 – Zoomin TV

Film: Jemen: Dieser Mann macht aus Kriegstrümmern Kunst

Seit Jahren herrscht im Jemen Krieg. Der 29-jährige Sief Al Jabri hat eine Gruppe gegründet, die aus Patronenhülsen und anderen Kriegsspuren Kunst macht.

http://ze.tt/jemen-dieser-mann-macht-aus-kriegstruemmern-kunst/

5.2017 – Istituto Affari Internazionali (unrated B K P)

The Frailty of Authority. Borders, Non-State Actors and Power Vacuums in a Changing Middle East

Governance failures, combined with 21st-century social, economic, environmental and demographic conditions, have all contributed to paving the way for the rise of highly heterogeneous non-state and quasi-state actors in the Middle East. Has the state, then, been irremediably undermined, or will the current transition lead to the emergence of new state entities? How can the crumbling of states and the redrawing of borders be reconciled with the exacerbation of traditional inter-state competition, including through proxy wars? How can a new potential regional order be framed and imagined? This volume provides a historical background and policy answers to these and a number of other related questions, analysing developments in the region from the standpoint of the interplay between disintegration and polarization. Volume produced within the framework of the New-Med Research Network.

Yemen. While sectarianism dominates explanations for the civil conflict, the reality is much more complex. In particular, it should be pointed out that the process of unification of the country in the early 1990s marginalized south Yemen, leading to periodic bouts of rebellion against the central government quite separate from the conflicts with sectarian undertones that feature in the struggle with the Zayidis, for example. In short, sub-national challenges centred on socio-economic grievances and notions of social justice are an important part of the story of the weakening and collapsing Arab state.

State interaction with non-state actors provides an interface with politicized communities. In this case, non-state actors become the representatives of community interests in a similar way to political parties in democracies, albeit often without any mandate. For instance, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen represent (or claim to represent) Shia interests.

In Yemen, tribal militias have supported the military for decades; more recently, they have operated under the name Popular Resistance Committees against Al-Qaida in the Arab Peninsula as well as against Houthi militias.

In Yemen, the Houthis took over military barracks and official infrastructure in their assault on Sanaa, declaring themselves to be the new Yemeni army – by Lorenzo Kamel (ed.)

http://www.iai.it/en/pubblicazioni/frailty-authority and full PDF: http://www.iai.it/sites/default/files/newmed_authority.pdf

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-301-yemen-war-mosaic-301

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-301 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-301:

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

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:

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

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

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

Dietrich Klose

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

Dietrich Klose

Was ist Ihre Meinung?
Diskutieren Sie mit.

Kommentare einblenden