Emirati base in Eritrea – Speeches at Security Council meeting – Children brides (German) – US Iranophobia – Saudi Arabia and terrorism – GCC / Qatar crisis – Iran and Yemen – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche/ UN and peace talks
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
PH = Pro-Houthi
PS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
31.5.2017 – Just Security (** B K P)
The UAE’s Military and Naval Reliance on Eritrea Makes the War in Yemen Even Riskier for the U.S.
Eritrea’s assistance to the UAE is deeply concerning, but it is not the only African country where the Gulf nation has set its sights for military expansion. Described once by Defense Secretary James Mattis as “Little Sparta,” the UAE is expanding its military and strategic foothold in the Horn of Africa, an expansion directly linked to its campaign in Yemen. These efforts have mostly gone unnoticed.
Aside from general concerns regarding the UAE’s military and naval bases in Somaliland, Puntland, and Eritrea, the Emiratis involvement in the Horn does elicit important legal and policy concerns that demand greater scrutiny. It also further reveals the extent of African state involvement in military operations in Yemen. These questions include whether the UAE is violating a United Nations arms embargo on Eritrea, what the scale and nature of Eritrea’s support to the UAE is in Yemen, what extraterritorial human rights and humanitarian law obligations African states have with respect to the conflict in Yemen, and lastly what legal and policy risks African states face in providing assistance to the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen.
The UAE’s 2017 military and naval base agreement with Somaliland is only the latest in a series of overtures the Gulf nation recently made in the Horn of Africa region.
Controversially, Eritrea has reportedly provided its troops to fight in Yemen. According to a report by the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somali and Eritrea, 400 Eritrean soldiers have been embedded with UAE-backed forces in Yemen fighting on behalf of the Saudi-led coalition.
Far from just training Yemeni fighters, the UAE has reportedly used the Eritrean base as a transit point for African soldiers from Sudan and Senegal. The UAE has also launched military operations from the base, including airstrikes in southern Yemen. Sudanese battalions have, for instance, been transported from Assab to Aden to assume responsibility for security in Aden, and to participate in war efforts in Yemen’s mountain areas of Ibb and Taiz.
Assab also served as a base of operations for UAE combat ships involved in enforcing the coalition’s naval blockade of the Red Sea ports of Hodeidah and Mokha in Yemen.
Aside from contributing to apparent violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Yemen, the UAE base agreement in Eritrea appears to further violate a 2009 UN Security Council sanction imposed on Eritrea for its alleged role in providing weapons, logistical, and financial support to armed groups in Somalia, specifically to the “al-Qaeda-linked” group al-Shabaab.
The extent of the UAE’s involvement in Eritrea begs the question of whether it is directly violating U.N. sanctions.
UAE’s support for Eritrea, a pariah state on the continent known as the “North Korea of Africa,” also has wider implications for the United States, which has partnered with the UAE military in Yemen.
States in the Horn of Africa should also be wary of any cooperation with the UAE that may directly or indirectly drag them into the war in Yemen and accordingly risk their complicity in violations of international law carried out by the Saudi-led coalition.
The extent of African State involvement in Yemen, in support of its Emirati partner, is truly troubling. Continued assistance to the Gulf States, with knowledge that such assistance would support credible reports of international violations, underscores the need for the African human rights system to take up the issue, voice their concern, and ensure their role as a guarantor of human rights and government accountability on the continent – By Rahma A. Hussein
https://www.justsecurity.org/41450/uaes-military-naval-reliance-eritrea-war-yemen-riskier-u-s/
30.5.2017 – UN Security Council (** A B H K P)
Women in Yemen Bear Brunt of Suffering, Civil Society Leader Tells Security Council, as Special Envoy Recounts Assassination Attempt
Security Council
7954th Meeting (AM)
Crisis Already Here, Warns Humanitarian Chief, as Permanent Representative Blames ‘Imposed War’ on Houthi Fighters, Islamic State
Only an end to war would reverse the suffering endured by the people of Yemen, a civil society representative from that country told the Security Council this morning, emphasizing the conflict was taking the greatest toll on women.
Radhya Almutawakel, Chairperson of the Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, emphasized the need for a long-term commitment to promoting peace in the face of hostile extremist groups, impending famine and the outbreak of previously eradicated cholera. She urged the 15-member Council to establish an independent international commission of inquiry to investigate violations of human rights, stop the sale of weapons to those involved in such violations, and demand an end to aerial and ground attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Among other critical steps, the Council should also ensure the release of all arbitrarily held, and forcibly “disappeared”, civilian detainees and demand unhindered humanitarian access, she said. It was still possible to turn the situation around and chart a path towards peace, democracy and economic development, irrespective of the tough circumstances on the ground. “We hate war, we want to live” was the most common refrain heard from the vast majority of Yemenis not involved in the fighting.
Describing the conflict as the result of accumulated mistakes by all concerned, she said there were real opportunities to end it and forge a fair settlement that would set Yemenis on track to building a State grounded in the rule of law. She described extremists groups as “virtual landmines” in Yemen’s future, noting that her organization had documented grave violations by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, including strikes on homes, markets, hospitals and schools that had resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, most of them women and children. It had also documented extensive violations by the Ansar Allah armed group — as well as extrajudicial executions by the forces of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi — and allied parties and armed groups, she said.
Yemenis expected the international community to take serious steps to restore confidence in the ability of the United Nations to ensure the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as the promotion of justice, she said. The Council should make a unified effort for the revival of peace talks, for the “comprehensive” inclusion of all Yemini parties in those negotiations, and for the legitimate participation of civil society, women and youth, she said, adding that Council members should “stand beside Yeminis” and end the transfer of arms to all the warring parties.
Briefing on political aspects, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, said Yemenis were paying the price for the reluctance of key parties to embrace — or even discuss — the concessions needed for peace. The absence of stability, economic opportunity and rule of law meant that Yemen will remain a haven for extremist groups, he warned, while affirming that an attack on his convoy in Sana’a on 22 May had only increased his determination to pursue a negotiated political settlement. He urged the Council to convey strongly to the parties that they must engage immediately with the United Nations to seek agreement on steps to avoid further bloodshed, halt the slide towards famine, and recommit to a peaceful end to the war.
Stephen O’Brien
Yemen’s representative likened the situation in his country to a scene from Dante’s Divine Comedy, describing Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, “the leader of the criminal coup”, as sitting in a cave while claiming the right to rule. The terrorism of the Houthi movement and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) — controlled by “hidden hands” and Iranian intelligence — were “leading our lives to a nightmare”. They had ended the Yemeni dream of a democratic federal State, he said, adding that the war had been imposed on the Government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. The Government had nevertheless extended a peaceful hand on the basis of the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative and Security Council resolutions, he said. Urging the Council to criminalize massacres by the Houthis, he asked how many Yemenis must fall victim before the United Nations took action. He also appealed to the Council to continue a unified effort to end the suffering in Yemen by taking a firm stance against the “kill masters”.
https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sc12847.doc.htm = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/women-yemen-bear-brunt-suffering-civil-society-leader-tells-security-council-special and more summarized (Ould Cheikh, O’Brien only): http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56864#.WS4yqWjyiUl and abridged by AFP: https://www.yahoo.com/news/world-watches-yemen-descends-total-collapse-un-165247516.html and by Middle East Eye: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/world-watches-yemen-descends-total-collapse-un-1705220057 and by Voice of America: http://www.voanews.com/a/un-says-yemen-now-worlds-largest-food-insecurity-crisis/3877704.html and Ould Cheikh, look below.
My comment: O’Brien see below. The Hadi government spreading it’s well-known propaganda, using some new ideas from time to time: al-Houthi sitting in a cave; where does “president” Hadi sit? In the country he claims to be president of or in his Riyadh cave? – That are Almutawakel and O’Brien who tell what really happens in Yemen. – If you want to read more on Almutawakel’s and Ould Cheikh’s speeches read the UN article on the original site, there you find further statements, and the speeches in full also below:
30.5.2017 – Just Security / Mwatana (** A B H K)
Yemeni Human Rights Activist Radhya Al-Mutawakel’s Speech to the UN Security Council
Yesterday, leading human rights defender Radhya Almutawakel, the Chairperson of the Yemeni NGO, Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, briefed the UN Security Council on the war in Yemen. This was the first time that a representative of Yemeni civil society has ever delivered a statement to a UN Security Council briefing. Almutawakel presented alongside Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, and Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
Mwatana Organization investigates violations by all sides to the war in Yemen, and has reported on killings of civilians committed by the United States, the Saudi-led coalition, and the Houthis. In her statement, Almutawakel briefed the Security Council on the grave impacts of the war on Yemeni civilians and infrastructure. She called on the Security Council to revive comprehensive and inclusive peace talks, and called on all member states to stop arms transfers to all parties to the conflict. She also called on the Council to create an international independent commission of inquiry to investigate violations.
The full text of the speech follows:
“I come to you from the forgotten Yemen, overburdened by bearing witness to the grave human suffering of millions of Yemenis as a result of the war. My country is in a state of total collapse. On my shoulders I bear the weight of the stories that have been gathered over the last three years by Mwatana Organization for Human Rights. Mwatana operates across Yemen in extremely difficult and complicated conditions and we do everything possible to document and give voice to the victims and survivors of human rights violations that are happening daily by all parties to the conflict, in all parts of the country. One of Mwatana’s goals is to build a human rights memory that will provide the foundation for future justice and accountability for the people of Yemen.
Most Yemenis are not involved in fighting in this war. The most common refrain we hear from people in our field work is: “We hate war. We want to live.”
War in Yemen has not happened suddenly, it is a result of accumulated mistakes by all parties throughout the past years. However, there are real opportunities to end this war and realize a fair settlement that puts Yemenis on track to build a state grounded in the rule of law” ….
https://www.justsecurity.org/41570/yemeni-human-rights-activist-radhya-al-mutawakels-speech-security-council/ = http://mwatana.org/en/3052017626
Comment by Nasser Arrabyee: Thanks for Yemeni activist @RAlmutawakel For briefing UNSC yesterday about US-Saudi war crimes, starvation, and famine (photo)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/869896742355030016
Comment by Judith Brown: WOW what a speech. May, Cameron, Hammond, Johnson, and of course my MP Rees-Mogg and especially the obnoxious Tobias Ellwood should listen to her and hang their heads in shame.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155576504953641
Comment: This speech should be carved on stone and read over and over again.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1389386984447661
30.5.2017 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (** A B H K)
Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O'Brien, Statement to the Security Council on Yemen, 30 May 2017
As I have previously briefed this Council in recent months, urgent action is required to stem the suffering. And yet, based on facts and – as ever – in complete candour, I return here to report the situation on the ground has continued to spiral downwards towards total social, economic and institutional collapse. Yemen has the ignominy of being now the world’s largest food security crisis with more than 17 million people who are food insecure, 6.8 million of whom are one step away from famine. Crisis is not coming, it is not looming, it is here today – on our watch and ordinary people are paying the price.
What is worse the threat of famine is driven and exacerbated by conflict.
It is not just the food security situation. The institutional capacity of Yemen to respond to the basic needs of the population is crumbling, exacerbated by the failure of the Central Bank – following its move from Sana’a to Aden - to operate in the interests of the people it is intended to serve. All parties to the conflict in Yemen have proven their continued inability to put the genuine needs of the Yemeni people first.
Over one million civil servants have not been paid for months, affecting more than eight million people, pushing more and more families toward poverty and starvation.
The strain being placed upon the all-too-fragile Yemeni system became all too evident in the last month, with the extensive, desperate resurgence of cholera.
The UN and partners are working tirelessly to help authorities on all sides – from Aden to Sa'adah and from Hudaydah to Taizz – meet the challenge posed by this cholera outbreak.
Let me now turn to the issue of access. Hudaydah Port is a lifeline for Yemen, being the primary point of entry for commercial and humanitarian imports into the country, which historically is 80 to 90 per cent dependent on imported food staples. It is also the only port in Yemen that can handle fuel, and bulk and containerized cargo at scale. Yet there is intermittent access of vessels to Hudaydah port due to diversion or clearance delays by the Coalition, which – coupled with the threat of an attack on Hudaydah port – has sapped traders’ confidence. While on average it took a week to sail into the ports, it now takes five times as long on many an occasion. Given rising costs, major shipping companies are now simply avoiding the Red Sea ports, thereby depriving the Yemeni people of desperately needed food and fuel.
I appeal to Member States to ensure that all efforts are made to keep Hudaydah port open and operating. An attack on Hudaydah is not in the interest of any party, as it will directly and irrevocably drive the Yemeni population further into starvation and famine.
Aside from Hudaydah, the parties must commit to ensuring that all other ports, as well as land routes, are open for both humanitarian and commercial imports as humanitarian action alone cannot meet the needs of a population of 27 million people.
Time is running out.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/under-secretary-general-humanitarian-affairs-and-emergency-relief-coordinator-17 and in article by New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/30/world/middleeast/yemen-civil-war-cholera-famine-girls-marriage-united-nations.html?_r=0
30.5.2017 – UNO (** A H K P)
Briefing of the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Yemen to the open session of the UN Security Council
Tragically, the violence continues on numerous fronts, deepening the suffering of the Yemeni people. Much of the violence has focused on the western coastline of Taiz governorate, where pro-Government forces are attempting to make progress from Al-Dhubab and Al-Mokha towards Al-Hodeidah port and inland towards Taiz city. An assessment mission carried out by humanitarian agencies in early April found that Al-Dhubab town was largely empty due to widespread destruction of infrastructure and contamination by unexploded ordnance and landmines. In Al-Mokha town an estimated 40 per cent of houses and infrastructure have been damaged by the fighting.
I will not hide from this Council that we are not close to a comprehensive agreement. The reluctance of the key parties to embrace the concessions needed for peace, or even discuss them, remains extremely troubling. Yemenis are paying a price for their needless delay.
So far, we managed to avert military action in Al Hodeidah. The spread of fighting to the city would lead to a devastating loss of civilian life and infrastructure. It would threaten the flow of food and medical supplies through the port and bring further suffering to the Yemeni people.
I have made it clear to the parties during my recent meetings with the Government of Yemen and with political leaders in Sana’a that they must reach a compromise on the situation in Al-Hodeidah, in order to prevent such a horrific scenario. I regret that the Ansarallah – General People’s Congress delegation in Sana’a did not meet me to discuss the framework for such an agreement.
My proposal, which includes security, economic and humanitarian elements, would allow for the continued flow of commercial and humanitarian supplies and ensure the end of any diversion of customs revenues and taxes so that they can be used to support salaries and services rather than the war or personal benefit. Agreement on these issues between the parties will safeguard the population of Al-Hodeidah against further harm and preserve commercial and humanitarian supply chains and the payment of salaries.
I have proposed an agreement which avoid military clashes in Hodeida that should be negotiated in parallel with an agreement to ensure the resumption of salary payments nationally to all civil servants.
Such an agreement will require mechanisms to ensure that all state revenues, whether collected in Hodeida, Sanaa, or elsewhere, are used in support of salary payments and the preservation of essential government services in all areas of the country.
Commercial importers currently lack access to the financing required to sustain imports of essential goods. I welcome the efforts to create a trade finance facility that will allow commercial importers access to the hard currency that they need in order to pay for imports.
During the past two months, the demands of the southern governorates for greater autonomy have become more prominent. These calls show again the urgent need for a peace agreement so that Yemenis can engage in discussions to finalize the constitution, agree on a framework for addressing past injustices and prepare for the election of a leadership that puts the country on the path towards recovery and prosperity.
Yemenis all over the country have been worn out by this conflict.
https://osesgy.unmissions.org/briefing-special-envoy-un-secretary-general-yemen-open-session-un-security-council and in film: http://webtv.un.org/watch/ismail-ould-cheikh-ahmed-special-envoy-on-the-situation-in-the-middle-east-yemen-security-council-media-stakeout-30-may-2017/5453323724001
My comment: A great problem of these negotiations is that the UN still does not treat all parties equal. All negotiations are bound to UN Security Council resolution 2216, which was dictated by Saudi Arabia and the US and which is totally one-sided. This resolution and its consequences thus are the main obstacles to peace.
And that is what Saudi propaganda is making of this speech, Arab News: UN envoy slams Houthis for shelling civilian areas, http://www.arabnews.com/node/1108211/middle-east . The pro-Saudi partisanship of this envoy is eveidently seen by the fact that he namely slams “forces allied with Ansarallah and Ali Abdullah Saleh” for shelling at Taiz, and further on just is mentioning “airstrikes”. Air strikes by whom? By the Icelandic airforce, Vatican fighter jets, or by Aliens??
Comment by Talib al-Hassani: Look at http://www.yemenpress.org/yemen/wald-sheikh-continues-to-cover-the-saudi-crimes-in-his-briefing-to-un-security-council.html (quoted below at cp7).
And it is not strange that the Saudis praise him: http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1636512
29.5.2017 – Spezialinfo (** B H P)
Die Gebärmutter gerissen
Kinderbräute im Jemen sterben durch Vergewaltigung in der Hochzeitsnacht.
Jede zweite Braut im Jemen ist minderjährig. Kinderheirat ist dort an der Tagesordnung. Nach einer Studie zur Überwachung von sozialem Schutz von 2014 waren 13 Prozent aller Mädchen unter 18 Jahren verheiratet. Und fast die Hälfte aller Frauen im Alter von 20 bis 49 Jahren waren vor ihrem 18. Lebensjahrs bereits verheiratet.
Anfang September 2013 schaffte es ein tragischer Fall in die Medien: Eine Achtjährige ist wenige Stunden nach ihrer Eheschließung verblutet. Bei der Vergewaltigung in der Hochzeitsnacht durch den 40-jährigen Ehemann aus Saudi-Arabien ist dem Mädchen die Gebärmutter gerissen. Ein ähnliches Schicksal ereilte eine 12-Jährige. Nur wenige dieser Fälle gelangen, dank Bemühungen von Menschenrechtsorganisationen überhaupt in die Öffentlichkeit.
Ein Mädchen kann im Jemen verheiratet werden, „wenn es dazu bereit ist“. So steht es im Familiengesetz. Diese angebliche "Bereitschaft" lässt viel Interpretationsraum zu. Ein Mindestalter für die Ehe gibt es nicht.
Die Begründung: Solch eine Begrenzung stünde auch nicht im Koran. Grundsätzlich dürfen Kinder im Jemen ab der Geburt zwangsverheiratet werden. In der Regel betrifft das Mädchen. Meistens werden sie an einen sehr viel älteren Mann verschachert, wenn man sie als ausreichend entwickelt wähnt, oder genug Geld über den Tisch rollt. Ab 15 dürfen sie offiziell vergewaltigt werden, die meisten Ehemänner halten sich aber nicht daran und fallen schon viel früher über sie her.
Die Kinderschutzorganisation Seyaj setzt sich im Jemen gegen Kinderehen ein.
http://www.spezialinfo.com/kinderbraeute-jemen/
30.5.2017 – The Nation (** B P)
Don’t Fall for the Washington War Hawks’ Iranophobia
Their demands for war and regime change should be ignored.
Still, there’s one major problem with bold, sweeping pronouncements (laced with one’s own prejudices) of the sort Secretary of Defense Mattis recently offered on Iran: They’re almost always wrong. It’s the essential flaw of “lumping”—that is, of folding countless events or ideas into one grand theory. But, boy, does it sound profound! The truth is that Iran is simply not behind most of the turmoil in the Middle East, and until Washington’s policymakers change their all-Iran-all-the-time mental model, they are doomed to failure. One thing is guaranteed: They are going to misdiagnose the patient and attack the wrong disease.
So, is the secretary of defense correct? Is Iran really behind all regional trouble in the Greater Middle East?
Hardly. In fact, such an assertion—and the language of absolutes that goes with it—is by definition problematic. In a Washington filled with Iranophobes, the demonization of that country is already a commonplace of everyday political chatter and it almost invariably rests on three inflated assumptions about Iran’s menacing nature:
In other words, when it comes to Iran… well, it’s complicated. The trouble is that Americans generally don’t do nuance.
If you want to grasp this point more fully, just think about Secretary of Defense Mattis’s recent statement again. He assures us that Iran’s shadow hovers over every regional crisis in the Middle East, which is empirically false. Here, for instance, are just a few recent conflicts that Iran is not behind or where its role has been exaggerated:
§ The ongoing spread of Al Qaeda affiliates in Syria and on the Arabian Peninsula. Iran actually abhors such groups, and certainly wasn’t behind their rise.
§ Or, if you want, take Yemen, since supposed Iranian meddling in the Middle East’s poorest state happens to be one of the favorite drums Washington’s Iranophobic hawks like to beat. And yet a range of credible reports suggest that the much-decried collusion between Iran and the Houthi rebels, who are the focus of the Saudi war in that country, is highly exaggerated.
There’s an uncomfortable truth that Washington needs to face: US policy toward Iran hasn’t achieved its goals despite almost four decades of effort since an American-installed autocrat was overthrown there in 1979. Foreign policy hawks—Democrats and Republicans alike—will undoubtedly fight that reality tooth-and-nail, but as with the Cuban embargo, Iranian isolation has long outworn any imagined usefulness. That ostracizing Iran remains fashionable reflects domestic political calculus or phobic thinking, not cogent strategy, and yet our new president just traveled to Saudi Arabia, a truly autocratic country, and in the wake of an Iranian election that was by all accounts resoundingly democratic, denounced that land as despotic and all but called for regime change.
So here’s a question that, believe it or not, is okay to ask and is not actually tantamount to treason: What exactly does Iran want and fear? – by Major Danny Sjursen, US Army strategist and former history instructor at West Point.
https://www.thenation.com/article/dont-fall-washington-war-hawks-iranophobia/
30.5.2017 – The Duran (** A P T)
We know which country exports terrorism, and the US and Europe will never hold them to account
Radical Islamic terrorism emanates from a Sunni nation…we know the country, but western leaders refuse to do a damn thing about it because of petrodollar riches.
In the wake of the massacre in Manchester, people rightly warn against blaming the entire Muslim community in Britain and the world.
The ultimate inspiration for such people is Wahhabism, the puritanical, fanatical and regressive type of Islam dominant in Saudi Arabia, whose ideology is close to that of al-Qaeda and Isis. This is an exclusive creed, intolerant of all who disagree with it such as secular liberals, members of other Muslim communities such as the Shia or women resisting their chattel-like status.
What has been termed Salafi jihadism, the core beliefs of Isis and al-Qaeda, developed out of Wahhabism, and has carried out its prejudices to what it sees as a logical and violent conclusion. Shia and Yazidis were not just heretics in the eyes of this movement, which was a sort of Islamic Khmer Rouge, but sub-humans who should be massacred or enslaved. Any woman who transgressed against repressive social mores should be savagely punished. Faith should be demonstrated by a public death of the believer, slaughtering the unbelievers, be they the 86 Shia children being evacuated by bus from their homes in Syria on 15 April or the butchery of young fans at a pop concert in Manchester on Monday night.
The real causes of “radicalisation” have long been known, but the government, the BBC and others seldom if ever refer to it because they do not want to offend the Saudis or be accused of anti-Islamic bias. It is much easier to say, piously but quite inaccurately, that Isis and al-Qaeda and their murderous foot soldiers “have nothing to do with Islam”. This has been the track record of US and UK governments since 9/11. They will look in any direction except Saudi Arabia when seeking the causes of terrorism.
One of the great cultural changes in the world over the last 50 years is the way in which Wahhabism, once an isolated splinter group, has become an increasingly dominant influence over mainstream Sunni Islam, thanks to Saudi financial support.
The culpability of Western governments for terrorist attacks on their own citizens is glaring but is seldom even referred to. Leaders want to have a political and commercial alliance with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf oil states. They have never held them to account for supporting a repressive and sectarian ideology which is likely to have inspired Salman Abedi.
The reason these two demonic organisations were able to survive and expand despite the billions – perhaps trillions – of dollars spent on “the war on terror” after 9/11 is that those responsible for stopping them deliberately missed the target and have gone on doing so – by Alex Christoforou
28.5.2017 – Al-Bab (** A P)
Blow by blow: the Gulf's extraordinary war of words over Qatar
Since Tuesday, Qatar and its emir have faced a barrage of attacks from Saudi and Emirati media – attacks which have clearly been launched with the blessing of their respective governments. Qatar now stands accused of jeopardising the Gulf's security and prosperity, and – in the words of one headline – committing political suicide.
The trigger for this furore was a news item purporting to quote remarks made by the emir at a military graduation ceremony in Qatar. The story appeared briefly on the website of Qatar's official government news agency, QNA, before the website went offline amid Qatari claims that it had been hacked. Days later, the website is still unavailable.
After some initial uncertainty about the authenticity or otherwise of the report, it is now clear that the story was fabricated. A military ceremony did take place and the emir was present but numerous sources – including people who were there – insist that the emir made no speech.
The event had also been filmed for Qatari television but none of the broadcast footage shows the emir speaking. All claims about what the emir is supposed to have said are derived from a single source: the now-vanished story on the news agency's website.
Regardless of that, Saudi and Emirati media continue to behave as if the story was true. While some have reported Qatar's claims of fabrication – only to dismiss them – others have ignored them completely.
In any case, Al-Arabiya made clear that it did not believe the website had been hacked. On Wednesday it published an article claiming to have "proof" that QNA was not hacked.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, an article in the Saudi Gazette continued to attack the emir as if his speech were an established fact.
The scale and ferocity of this onslaught has been extraordinary, though the visible part so far is only a media war: the Saudi and Emirati governments have been almost entirely silent, though they have blocked various Qatar-linked news websites. But to view this frenzy as something cooked up purely by the media would be a mistake. Mainstream journalists in the Arab countries don't suddenly start attacking another Arab head of state without some signal of approval from on high: it would be more than their jobs (and liberty) are worth.
Al-Arabiya, based in Dubai's Media City and owned by the Saudi MBC company, is a competitor of Qatar's al-Jazeera. Between Wednesday and Sunday it posted at least ten articles about the emir and/or his alleged speech, most of them hostile
In the Emirates, meanwhile, Gulf News published seven Qatar articles over two days:
That is an interesting point, because Qatar is in the odd position of denying having said things that it actually thinks. The remarks attributed to the emir at the military ceremony mostly reiterated Qatar's previously-known positions on various issues – notably Iran and terrorism.
The question this raises is why anyone would see a need to concoct an imaginary speech that reflected the emir's real views, or something pretty close to them.
One answer is plausibility. The purpose of fake news is to fool people into believing it and, as things stand, there are plenty who believe the quoted remarks from the emir were genuine. Too much deviation from things the emir might be expected to say would have cast doubt on the story's authenticity.
The key point, though, is not so much the story's content as its timing – just two days after the "Muslim summit" in Riyadh attended by Trump. It looked like a defiant gesture from the emir towards a meeting which had succeeded in deflecting attention away from the machinations of Arab states and focused on Iran as the main cause of the region's problems.
Without the story of the emir's speech there would probably still have been rumbings about Qatar's attitude from other Gulf states but the story – true or not – provided something around which to build a campaign aimed at bringing Qatar into line.
An American connection
According to Qatar's foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, there had already been moves in the United States to put pressure on Qatar ahead of the summit. During the previous five weeks, he said, 13 articles about Qatar had appeared in American media – which the minister considered an unusually large number.
At least four of these articles, though in different publications, had all been written by people working for a single Washington-based think tank, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD):
By a remarkable coincidence, on 28 May – the day of the emir's alleged speech to his troops – the Foundation for Defense of Democracies was holding a conference in Washington aimed at influencing American policy towards Qatar. Organised in conjunction with the Hudson Institute and the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security, its title was "Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood’s Global Affiliates".
Terrorism and politics
Qatar certainly has dodgy friends, but targeting it in this way is more about politics than combating terrorism. If terrorism were the main issue there would also be talk of sanctioning Saudi Arabia (to name but one) instead of supplying it with weapons.
However, the central issue in the current war of words appears to be Qatar's relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran. Qatar is a member of the GCC, along with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE but, to the disappointment of these other members, generally tries to chart its own course where foreign policy is concerned.
In particular, it doesn't buy the GCC's often hysterical view of Iran. There's also a practical reason for that, since geography has forced Qatar and Iran to share the world's largest gas field.
James Dorsey, a senior fellow at in international studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, explores the political background in a recent article. Dorsey sees the latest moves as an attempt to pull Qatar – kicking and screaming, if necessary – more firmly into the GCC fold:
It remains to be seen whether Qatar's Arab neighbours will have more success this time than they did in 2014 – by: Brian Whitaker
http://al-bab.com/blog/2017/05/blow-blow-gulfs-extraordinary-war-words-over-qatar
1.6.2017 – War on the Rocks (** B K P)
Iran’s Growing Casualty Count in Yemen
One aspect of this war has received scant coverage: the steep and increasing casualty count of IRGC and Hizballah operatives in Yemen. The Houthi raid and its aftermath exemplify Iran’s growing casualty rate and increasing costs in Yemen. Forty-four IRGC and Hizballah operatives have been killed or captured in Yemen’s civil war, based upon an analysis of Yemeni and Gulf Arabic news reports on killed, captured, and wounded advisers in Yemen over the last two years. Outside of a few vague statements, Iran and Hizballah have not publicly commented about their military operations or losses in Yemen.
Iran’s Strategic Raison d’Etre in Yemen
Iranian support for the Houthis is part of Iran’s encirclement strategy for the Arabian Peninsula in which it utilizes covert support for disenfranchised Shia communities to seed rebellions that could replace Sunni regimes with pro-Tehran regimes.
On March 8, 2015, a Hizballah commander announced that eight of its fighters had died while fighting in Yemen. Three weeks later, anti-Houthi tribal militias captured three IRGC officers and one Hizballah adviser fighting alongside Houthi forces in the southern and eastern governorates of Aden and Shabwah. Iranian and Hizballah military advisers for the Houthis are now being killed and captured in expanding numbers in Yemen.
The IRGC’s Missile and Military Training Programs
The IRGC’s death toll in Yemen is already more than double this year than what it was last year. In February, Saudi coalition airstrikes took out five IRGC advisers and one IRGC missile officer, known as “the Afghan,” in the northern governorate of Sa’ada. In March, Iran recruited additional Afghan advisers from IRGC-backed Afghan Shi’a militias in Syria and deployed them to provide military support for the Houthis in Yemen.
Logistics and Supply
Coalition check points along the northern route are seizing Iranian weapons shipments, drones, and munitions while the Yemeni military chokes off Iran’s southern supply route. Yemeni forces recently besieged Shabwah’s eastern city of Bayhan, the “artery” of Iran’s eastern smuggling network, and set up checkpoints along the paved road between Shabwah and Mahrah.
Iran and Hizballah’s Maritime Campaign
In January 2017, the Yemeni military began a new coastal offensive, “Golden Spear,” with the support of Sunni tribal militias and Emirati Special Forces that specifically targeted Hizballah activity in Yemen over the last three months.
In January and March, the Yemeni military and Sunni tribal militias captured seven Hizballah advisers in Taiz and Ma’rib.
The IRGC and Hizballah serve as key force multipliers for Houthi anti-ship operations. On January 14, the Yemeni military and Sunni tribal militias captured two Hizballah naval warfare experts in Taiz’s western coastal town of Dhubab – by Joshua Koontz
https://warontherocks.com/2017/06/irans-growing-casualty-count-in-yemen/?singlepage=1
My comment: This articlw is the most detailed seen up to now on this subject. – Anyway, it seems to rely mostly just on all former and seemingly unproven claims by pro-Saudi, pro-Emirati and pro-Hadi sources, as part of the great anti-Iranian paranoia propaganda campaign, as it also shows up in this article. There will be necessary really proofs of all cases in question. What I have seen so far, has jaust been claims, no proofs at all. The most strange case which is reported by Koons: “In February, Saudi coalition airstrikes took out five IRGC advisers and one IRGC missile officer, known as “the Afghan,” . How anybody could know the nationality of men killed by an air strike? The Saudi air force must have extremely good radars to recognize this, must it??
Comment by Haykal Bafana: Please find a new job.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/870460283067789312
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Cholera / Most important: Cholera
1.6.2017 – UNICEF (** A H)
ALARMING: In the last 24 hours alone, the numbers of suspected #cholera cases have gone up from 65,300 to over 69,559 across
https://twitter.com/UNICEF_Yemen/status/870351887857582080 and an report by Doctors Without Borders, outdated figures. https://twitter.com/UNICEF_Yemen/status/870351887857582080
2.6.2017 – UNICEF (** A H)
Unprecedented spread of cholera in Yemen as health workers race against time to save children
Statement by UNICEF Regional Director, Geert Cappelaere, following his visit to the war-torn country
Click here to download multimedia material including photos and videos
“I have just concluded a trip to Yemen to oversee UNICEF’s response to the unprecedented cholera outbreak that is gripping the country.
“Cholera is spreading incredibly fast in Yemen, turning an already dire situation for children turn into a disaster. In just over one month, close to 70,000 cholera cases were reported with nearly 600 fatalities. The number of suspected cases is expected to reach 130,000 within the next two weeks.
“Cholera doesn’t need a permit to cross a checkpoint or a border, nor does it differentiate between areas of political control.
“At the triage in one of the few functioning hospitals I visited, I witnessed harrowing scenes of children who were barely alive - tiny babies weighing less than two kilos – fighting for their lives.
“I fear that some of them must have died overnight.
“Many families could barely afford the cost of bringing their children to hospital.
“But they are the lucky ones. Countless children around Yemen die every day in silence from causes that can easily be prevented or treated like cholera, diarrhoea or malnutrition.
“I met health workers racing against time to prevent cholera from killing more children. They are dedicated and committed, despite not receiving their salaries in almost nine months. They are Yemen’s unsung heroes and we have to do everything possible to provide them with the medical supplies and the support they desperately need. All authorities in Yemen must come together to start paying the country’s civil servants again.
“Since the start of this outbreak four weeks ago, UNICEF has been working with partners to respond. Our teams on the ground have provided safe water to over 1 million people across Yemen and delivered over 40 tonnes of lifesaving medical equipment – including medicine, oral rehydration salts, intravenous fluids and diarrhoea disease kits.
“But the international community needs to do more to provide immediate support to relief efforts in health, water and sanitation, nutrition and community mobilization. UNICEF urgently requires US$16 million to prevent the outbreak from spreading further.
“But most importantly, it is time for parties to the conflict to prioritise the boys and girls of Yemen and put an end to the fighting through a peaceful political agreement. This is the ultimate way to save the lives of children in Yemen, and to help them thrive.”
1.6.2017 – Aljazeera (** A H)
Film: Yemen cholera outbreak: More than 500 dead in one month, says UNICEF
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) says more than 500 people have died from cholera in Yemen in just one month.
UNICEF has warned that the disease is spreading at an alarming rate.
1.6.2017 – Tagesschau (** A H)
Mehr als 500 Tote in einem Monat
Im Jemen grassiert eine Cholera-Epidemie: Innerhalb eines Monats sind nach Angaben der Vereinten Nationen 532 Menschen an Cholera gestorben, darunter 109 Kinder. In Wirklichkeit könnten es noch deutlich mehr sein. Denn bei den Zahlen handele es sich nur um die bestätigten Fälle, erklärte das Kinderhilfswerk Unicef. Symptome einer Infektion wie wässrigen Durchfall zeigen demnach insgesamt rund 65.000 Menschen. Allein etwa 1000 Kinder suchen täglich Hilfe bei den wenigen Gesundheitsstationen im Jemen.
Die Zahl der Infizierten steigt von Woche zu Woche, doch noch immer ist ein Ende der Epidemie nicht in Sicht. Cholera wird vor allem durch verunreinigtes Trinkwasser ausgelöst. Im Jemen haben zwei Drittel der Bevölkerung laut Unicef keinen Zugriff auf sauberes Wasser. Laut der Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) leben etwa 7,6 Millionen Menschen im Jemen in Gebieten mit einem hohen Risiko einer Cholera-Übertragung.
Doch nicht nur das Wassersystem ist zusammengebrochen. Auch die sanitären Anlagen und das Gesundheitssystem funktionieren mehrheitlich nicht. Eine Behandlung der Infizierten wird dadurch erschwert. Es fehlt an Medikamenten und medizinischer Ausrüstung.
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/cholera-jemen-107.html und von UNICEF: https://www.unicef.de/informieren/aktuelles/presse/2017/cholera-im-jemen/142642
1.6.2017 – Emirati Press Agency (* A H)
UAE delivers 50 tonnes of cholera medicine to Yemen
A UAE cargo plane carrying 50 tonnes of cholera medicine has arrived at Yemen's Aden International Airport as part of efforts to help the country counter the spreading disease.
A similar shipment is expected to arrive tomorrow, following orders from the UAE leadership to dispatch 100 tonnes of cholera medicine as emergency aid to Yemen to help people suffering from the outbreak, which swept most of the Yemeni governorates.
http://www.wam.org.ae/en/details/1395302617197
Remark: Mostly needed at: Sanaa.
1.6.2017 – Red Cross (** A H)
Yemen is in the grip of a deadly cholera outbreak. Yet today, less than 30% of the country's needed medicines are getting in.
https://twitter.com/ICRC/status/869893828706258944
Yemen: where the international community aids and abets a blockade of 70% of medical supplies to 27 million people during a cholera outbreak
https://twitter.com/ionacraig/status/870160095921008640
1.6.2017 – Al Ahram (* A H)
Cholera crisis in Yemen
In addition to the current 50,000 cases of cholera in Yemen, there could be a further 250,000 over the next six months if nothing is done to stop the conflict in the country
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/20619.aspx
Remark: Overview article.
31.5.2017 – European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (** A H)
Map: Yemen – Recent cholera outbreak – DG ECHO Daily Map | 31/05/2017
http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-recent-cholera-outbreak-dg-echo-daily-map-31052017 and in full: http://erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/getdailymap/docId/2093
31.5.2017 – International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (** A H)
Yemen: Cholera Outbreak - Information Bulletin
More than two years of conflict in Yemen have left more than 18.8 million people need some form of humanitarian assistance with 10.3 million severely in need of assistance. UNHCR reports 3 million displaced.
The health sector in Yemen is on the verge of collapse. At least 274 health facilities have been damaged or destroyed.
More than half of all health facilities in Yemen are either closed or only partially functioning. An estimated 14.8 million people now lack access to basic healthcare, including 8.8 million living in severely under-served areas, 14.5 million people lack access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Since 27th April, a second outbreak of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) / Cholera cases followed a previous outbreak in September 2016. Latest information released by WASH and Health Clusters as of 27th May; indicated that:
19 governorates out of 22 governorates are affected;
52,140 suspected cases of Cholera/AWD were reported in Sana’a (5,383), Amanat Al-Asimah (12,544), Amran (5,972), Dhamar (2,507), Al-Mahweet (3,594), Ibb (2,177), Al-Dhale’a (1,919), Hajjah (5,980), Al-Hudaydah (2,463), Taiz (3,394), Abyan (1,365), Raymah (761), Aden (793) Sa’adah (86), Al-Bayda (2536), Lahj (328), Al Jawf (271), Ma’areb (59) and Shabwah (8) governorates;
308 confirmed cases with laboratory testing;
417 deaths (CFR 0.9%) were reported.
During the last 7 days, the daily average number of cases was 2,529.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-cholera-outbreak-information-bulletin and in full: http://www.ifrc.org/docs/Appeals/17/M_IB_YE_2017.05.31.pdf
31.5.2017 – UNICEF (** A H)
Over 1,000 children seek treatment for watery diarrhoea daily as number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen soars
In the past 72 hours, the number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen has risen by 10,000 to a total of 65,300. Over 1,000 children suffering from acute watery diarrhoea have been reporting to health facilities every day. In just one month, cholera has claimed at least the lives of 532 people, including 109 children. These numbers represent only verified cases and actual figures are expected to be much higher.
In response to the outbreak, UNICEF has sent in three aircrafts carrying over 40 tonnes of lifesaving supplies including medicines, oral rehydration salts, diarrhea disease kits and intravenous fluids to treat more than 50,000 patients. But needs continue to increase, with medicines and other vital medical equipment in short supply.
“The situation in Yemen is teetering on the verge of disaster. The water, sanitation and health systems have all but collapsed. Over 27 million Yemenis are staring at an unforgiving humanitarian catastrophe. The biggest victims of this man-made tragedy are Yemen’s most vulnerable population - its children,” said Dr. Meritxell Relaño UNICEF Representative in Yemen. “The international community needs to support long-term investments in social services like water and sanitation. Otherwise, deadly disease outbreaks will strike again and kill many more.”
With barely functional water treatment plants, sewage and uncollected garbage is gathering in residential areas and contaminating water sources. Two thirds of Yemen’s population have no access to safe drinking water. Half of the country’s health facilities aren’t working, and medical staff haven’t been paid for over 8 months. Yemen’s weakened health system is completely overwhelmed by the scale of the cholera emergency.
31.5.2017 – Anadolu (** A H)
Cholera outbreak kills 532 in Yemen: WHO
At least 532 people have died since a cholera epidemic broke out in war-torn Yemen one month ago, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In a Twitter post on Wednesday, the WHO said more than 65,300 suspected cases of cholera have been recorded in 253 districts in the country.
http://aa.com.tr/en/health/cholera-outbreak-kills-532-in-yemen-who/831638
31.5.2017 – Almasdar Online (* A H)
Residents and patients: al Thawara hospital became hotbed of cholera infection
Local residents and patients in Ibb province complained on Saturday about al Thawrah Public Hospital becoming a hotbed of cholera infection, especially after the outfall of the sewage system with the hospital administration doing nothing about it.
A medical source told Almasdaronline that the patients were severely affected by the outfall of the sewage system, which also leaked to the main street threatening the local residents with many infections.
The source stressed out that leaving the sewage of the hospital without treatment is a major source of cholera epidemic, which has been taking the lives of citizens in the province since nearly a month.
In this regard, high figures of cholera infected citizens were reported from Ibb province
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91605
31.5.2017 – Mark Curtis (* A H P)
BBC reports #Yemen ‘total collapse’ without noting UK arms. Like covering malaria without mentioning mosquitos.
https://twitter.com/markcurtis30/status/869929721114624003 referring to http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40101639
30.5.2017 – ZDF Heute / Wiener Zeitung (** A H)
UN befürchten bis zu 200.000 Cholera-Fälle im Jemen
Im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen sind nach Angaben der Vereinten Nationen inzwischen etwa 500 Menschen an Cholera gestorben. Darüber hinaus befürchten die UN bis zu 200.000 Fälle in der Zukunft - und das UN-Hilfsprogramm von zwei Milliarden Dollar ist erst zu 20 Prozent finanziert.
Die Zahl der Cholera-Fälle im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen könnte den Vereinten Nationen zufolge auf bis zu 200.000 steigen. Zu den bislang bekannten rund 60.000 Verdachtsfällen könnten in den kommenden sechs Monaten rund 150.000 hinzukommen, sagte UN-Nothilfekoordinator Stephen O'Brien am Dienstag im UN-Sicherheitsrat. Rund 500 Menschen seien bereits an der Krankheit gestorben.
"Das Ausmaß des Ausbruchs war nicht nur bedrückend vorhersehbar, sondern auch eine direkte Folge des Konflikts", sagte O'Brien. Das geschwächte Gesundheitssystem habe zur Ausbreitung der Krankheit beigetragen: Medizinische Angestellte seien monatelang nicht bezahlt worden, der Zugang zu Trinkwasser und sanitären Anlagen sei erschwert, der Müll vielerorts seit Monaten nicht abgeholt, dazu kam die Regensaison. Das habe perfekte Bedingungen für die Epidemie geschaffen.
McGoldrick sagte, Cholera könne behandelt werden, doch die Menschen würden unnötigerweise in stillen Winkeln ihrer Dörfer sterben. Das UN-Hilfsprogramm von zwei Milliarden Dollar (1,79 Milliarden Euro) sei erst zu 20 Prozent finanziert. Da die Kämpfe weiter gingen, stehe das Schlimmste aber wohl noch bevor.
http://www.heute.de/buergerkrieg-im-jemen-bis-zu-200.000-cholera-faelle-befuerchtet-47280568.html = http://www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/top_news/895201_Das-Ausmass-des-Cholera-Ausbruchs-war-vorhersehbar.html
30.5.2017 – World Health Organization (** A H)
Yemen: Cholera Outbreak Epidemiology Bulletin (27 April - 30 May 2017)
From 27 April to 30 May 2017, 65,041 suspected and 316 confirmed cholera cases. 532 deaths (CFR: 0.8%) have been reported in 19 of the country's 23 governorates (82.6%). Most of the cases were still reported in the western governorates.
Between 28 and 30 May, 6,150 cases and 23 deaths (CFR: 0.4%) of cholera were reported.
Although during the last seven days (24-30 May 2017), the daily average number of cases (i.e., 2,777 cases/day) decreased compared to the previous seven-day period (i.e., 3,369 cases/day), the outbreak doesn't seem to have reached yet its peak. This trend can be seen in most of the affected governorates.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-cholera-outbreak-epidemiology-bulletin-27-april-30-may-2017 and in full: http://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/yemen/Yemen_epi_bulletin_20170530.pdf?ua=1
30.5.2017 – AlMasirah TV (** A H)
Film: The cholera epidemic in Yemen is increasing (Arabic)
The official statistics of the Ministry of Public Health and Population in Sanaa that the latest statistics monitored on Tuesday to the cholera epidemic amounted to 61 thousand and two hundred and six cases of suspicion, while the number of deaths to 517 deaths in different governorates of the Republic.
Dozens of people from different age groups, especially children, arrive on a daily basis at the reception and treatment centers, with a significant increase in the spread of the epidemic by the month of Ramadan.
The lack of medicines and scarcity in the reception centers exacerbated the suffering of the patients, as specialists pointed out that the continuous siege on the Yemeni air and sea ports and the prevention of the entry of medicines into the Yemeni market is the reason.
Through its spokespersons, the Ministry of Health appealed to the international community and international organizations to do their duty to lift the siege and allow medicines to enter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3D5StUipeI
30.5.2017 – TRT (** A H)
Film: Yemen Cholera Crisis: Interview with WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic
More than 55 thousand people are suffering from cholera in Yemen and more than 500 people died. Healthcare system is not working in the country and people die from curable disease every day. Only 70 percent of need are met says spokesperson of WHO Tarik Jasaravic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKhhxOLsb2Y
30.5.2017 – AP (* A H)
UN aid chief in Yemen warns of cholera rise without more aid
A senior United Nations official says treatable diseases like cholera could ravage Yemen this year without an increase in aid and an end to the two-year-old civil war.
Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. humanitarian chief in Yemen, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that poverty and disease are visibly spreading amid the havoc of war.
McGoldrick spoke in the Jordanian capital of Amman after a recent trip to Yemen. He says that people in Yemen are "dying unnecessary, preventable deaths in quiet corners of villages."
He says the U.N.'s $2 billion Yemen aid program for 2017 is less than 20 percent funded. He says the runaway poverty and continued fighting ensures the worse is yet to come.
McGoldrick says that "it's going to be a very sad year for Yemen."
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/aid-chief-yemen-warns-cholera-rise-aid-47718580
29.5.2017 – Euronews (** A H)
JEMEN: WHO FORDERT SCHNELLE HUMANITÄRE HILFE
Mehr als 50.000 Fälle wurden bislang registriert, 478 Menschen starben bereits an den Folgen der Cholera.
67 Tonnen medizinische Geräte und Medikamente hat die WHO erst kürzlich in das völlig verarmte Land gebracht, doch das reicht kaum für das Nötigste (mit Film)
http://de.euronews.com/2017/05/29/jemen-who-fordert-schnelle-humanitare-hilfe und siehe auch https://www.nachrichtenxpress.com/2017/05/humanitaere-katastrophe-ausbruch-von-cholera-in-jemen/
29.5.2017 – International Committee of the Red Cross (** A H)
Yemen: War in the time of cholera
On 5 May, the Ministry of Health and Population in Sana'a declared a state of emergency. Since then, in only three short weeks, 52,000 cases have been reported – along with 478 fatalities.
With the country's health care system decimated by two years of war, health care workers are struggling to cope. Today, only 45% of hospitals are operational - and medicines and medical supplies are in desperately-short supply
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/yemen-war-time-cholera
Remark: The date given here is wrong.
29.5.2017 – Asia Today (** A H)
Film: Cholera outbreak kills 480 in Yemen, one third of victims are children
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MGwJugfsdA and more films by Yemen Today TV (Arabic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H5fg4tVRnc and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nulrdYhE7_w
29.5.2017 – Reuters (** A H)
Yemen cholera death toll rises, but number of infections drop: WHO
The number of people who have died in a cholera epidemic affecting Yemen has risen to at least 471, according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures released on Monday.
But the latest WHO bulletin covering the period from April 27, said that there was a "significant decrease" in the daily average number of cases recorded in the week up to May 27 compared to the previous seven-day period.
The WHO said on Monday that the average daily number of cases recorded between May 21-27 was 2,529 - down from 3,025 in the previous seven days.
The bulletin said that the total number of suspected cases stood at 51,832.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-cholera-idUSKBN18P1CU
29.5.2017 – UNICEF (** A H)
Children In Yemen Need Our Support To Stop The Spread Of Cholera
Yemen is currently facing a fast-spreading cholera outbreak that is of an unprecedented scale. In the last month, the number of reported cases has nearly doubled since the previous outbreak, and a much more infectious strain seems to be the culprit this time: contaminated water, untreated sewage and uncollected garbage have led to more than 400 associated deaths alone.
Overcrowded cities are helping the disease spread quickly. Amongst a crumbling health system and poor infrastructure, this epidemic is continuing to spread against the backdrop of a major humanitarian crisis, and children continue to bear the biggest brunt.
One out of every hundred people are dying in this most recent outbreak. In just one month there have been 41,866 new cases - of these, 30% are children. The consequences could be catastrophic if the world does not act now.
Malnourished children and people living with other chronic health conditions are now at greater risk of death as they are facing a ‘triple threat’ of conflict, famine and cholera - this outbreak has come at a time when children really are at their most vulnerable – by Mike Penrose
Donate to protect children in Yemen - unicef.uk/yemen
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mike-penrose/yemen-civil-war-cholera_b_16818860.html
cp2 Allgemein / General
31.5.2017 – The American Conservative (* B H K P)
The Atrocious U.S.-Backed War on Yemen Continues
It bears repeating again that the humanitarian catastrophe now consuming the people of Yemen is entirely man-made. This catastrophe could still be prevented from getting worse if there were sufficient pressure on the warring parties to halt the fighting along with adequate funding for relief efforts and a lifting of the blockade that has been starving the country for over two years. Unlike some other conflicts where the U.S. and other Western powers have little or no influence, the war on Yemen is one waged by U.S. clients and fueled by U.S. and British support for the intervening governments. Washington has considerable leverage that it could use to rein in the Saudi-led coalition and possibly halt their campaign all together, but only if it is willing to use it. To date, neither the Obama nor the Trump administration has been willing to do that.
The U.S. and the coalition governments also have ample resources that they could use to alleviate the hardship of millions of starving and diseased Yemenis. These people suffer in large part because of the coalition intervention that our government has supported to the hilt, and so there is a special obligation on the governments responsible for this to redress the wrongs that have been done to them – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-atrocious-u-s-backed-war-on-yemen-continues/
31.5.2017 – Telepolis (* B H K P)
Vereinte Nationen: Jemen steht kurz vor dem totalen Zusammenbruch
Trump freut sich über Waffenverkäufe an Saudi-Arabien, die Welt sieht dem Elend der Menschen zu, die zwischen Machtblöcken und geostrategischen Interessen zerrieben werden
Seit langem bahnt sich nicht eine menschliche Katastrophe im Jemen an, sie breitet sich aus. Und anders als im Fall von anderen Staaten vollzieht sich die Katastrophe unter den Augen der Weltöffentlichkeit, die aber lieber woanders hin blicken (Merkel besucht die Saudis). Jemen, sowieso eines der ärmsten Länder, ist für Engagement offenbar zu weit entfernt.
Es kommen auch kaum Flüchtlinge aus dem Land, das im Süden Saudi-Arabiens gelegen, vom Landweg für Flüchtlinge abgeschnitten ist. Die wenigen, die fliehen können, gehen in den Oman, nach Saudi-Arabien, Dschibuti oder ausgerechnet nach Somalia, dem nächstgelegenen failed state. Auf dem Meer patrouillieren Kriegsschiffe und lassen weder eine Versorgung noch eine Flucht zu, während die von Saudi-Arabien geführte Koalition, die sunnitische Nato, die Huthis bekämpft und keine Rücksicht auf Zivilisten nimmt (Saudi-Arabien: 200 Millionen US-Dollar täglich für den Krieg im Jemen), während der Islamische Staat und al-Qaida sich ausbreiten und höchstens einmal von einer US-Drohne bedrängt werden – von Florian Rötzer
31.5.2017 – Global Risk Insight (* B K P)
Yemen: A forgotten war, new developments
Calls for the restoration of South Yemen, a worsening humanitarian crisis and the machinations of intervening regional powers all compound Yemen’s woes.
If Saudi Arabia does indeed push its attacks deeper into southern Yemen, further clashes will most likely ensue with Houthi militants which might exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation.
Key Wildcard factors in play in Yemen’s proxy war are the United States and the UAE. Sustained involvement from the UAE may eventually lead to the gulf state backing secession efforts which has been viewed as a scheme emanating from the country. Finally, if President Trump’s administration takes a more proactive stance in Yemen through troop involvement or even logistical or strategic guidance of Saudi troops, the civil war could increasingly change shape - by Warsame Galaydh
http://globalriskinsights.com/2017/05/yemen-forgotten-war-new-developments/
Remark: Overview article.
30.5.2017 – SABC Digital News (* B H P)
Yemen on brink of collapse
The situation in Yemen is spiralling towards total social, economic and institutional collapse with more than 17 million people food insecure and almost 7 million one step away from famine. This was the candid assessment shared with the Security Council by the UN’s top humanitarian official as the council also learned that a comprehensive peace agreement between the warring parties appeared a long way off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw4LtZulz6s
30.5.2017 – Brookings (* B K P)
Reaping the fruits of war in Yemen
The $110 billion arms deals signed by Trump and King Salman is yet another example of the appalling lengths some will go to in order to benefit from a lucrative war business without acknowledging the death and destruction that such deals cause.
The Saudi-led military coalition that has been fighting the Houthis and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s allies in Yemen since 2015 has largely failed in its mission.
The argument for Saudi strategic military gains in Yemen to force the Houthis to the negotiating table thus no longer holds.
Trump hailed the arms deals as “tremendous investments” that would create “jobs, jobs, jobs” for Americans. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pointed to the importance of the deals in fighting “Iranian-related threats which exist on Saudi Arabia’s borders on all sides.” Nothing was said about the millions of victims of the war—and of the arms deals—who continue to suffer.
Yemen’s so-called “forgotten war” is actually the proxy war that just keeps giving, creating jobs for the Americans, the Saudis, and the British, one Yemeni child at a time.
A political settlement that requires an end to the violence is crucial if Yemen is to get back on its feet. A halt to the arms sales by both the U.K. and United States is a critical first step. Lifting the blockade of ports such as Hodeida to allow humanitarian aid in is another step that must be implemented urgently. A serious revival of the peace negotiations where all parties to the conflict could participate is another obvious priority.
Given the resilience of the Houthis and their allies, as well as their superior familiarity with the landscape where battlegrounds could emerge, continued air bombardments are highly unlikely to be successful. Bombing the Houthis into submission also means further displacement, increased food insecurity, and thousands more dead.
The culprits in the war in Yemen are many, as are the drivers of the conflict. Resource distribution, tribal rivalries, so-called counterterrorism initiatives, and a geo-political wrangling over Iranian versus Saudi dominance have all claimed the lives of innocent civilians. Many of these deaths, along with the cholera outbreak and widespread starvation, are preventable. The entirely unethical multi-billion dollar arms deals, however, continue to be signed without so much of a mention of those directly affected by their deadly consequences – by Noha Aboueldahab
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2017/05/30/reaping-the-fruits-of-war-in-yemen/
29.5.2017 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (A P)
Al-Arabia said: Aljazeera is a liar Al Jazeera said: Al-Arabia is a liar For the first time, I see news of honesty in the two channels
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/869371057274331136
29.5.2017 – Telesur (* B K P)
Yemen - a Nation in Resistance Against Wahhabi Imperialism
Yemen was earmarked for a brutal military takeover the minute its people began to assert their sovereign rights against the diktat of Saudi Arabia.
Beyond the bloodshed, the inhumane humanitarian blockade and the disappearing of a people‘s cultural heritage lies a betrayal far more biting and vile … Yemen you see was denied the truth of its Resistance Movement so that it could be reduced to an illegitimate rebellion against the so-called legitimacy of the former presidency.
Western capitals, those wannabe beacons of democracy and human rights, have systematically defiled, vilified and otherwise criminalized Yemen’s Resistance Movement so that the world would not wake up to the reality of its main regional partner: Saudi Arabia.
A violent theocracy raised on the ideology of Takfir, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been instrumental over the past decade in the spread of radicalism - as expressed by groups such as al-Qaida, the Taliban, Boko Haram and of course Daesh (aka ISIS). A profoundly reactionary regime that rejects the notion of religious freedom, al-Saud’s monarchy has nevertheless been hailed a model of stability and steadfastness against Terror by western powers.
Takfiri is frequently used in reference to Daesh (also known as ISIL or ISIS) but the term has a hidden universal applicability that surpasses our era while exposing the dark ideology languishing in the core of the phenomenon – by Catherine Shakdam
My comment: This certainly could not refer to the South of Yemen – a country breaking in parts.
28.5.2017 – Fuad Rajeh (B)
In Yemen, the international community-- or as they say the international policy-- has not failed only in ending one of the world's horrible wars but also in averting or at least addressing the world's largest humanitarian crisis and stopping epidemic outbreaks on top of which is the fast spreading cholera. I know, Yemeni factions are the first one to blame for inaction and shouldering responsibility, and before that to be held accountable for disasters here. But let's be honest: the war in Yemen is multifaceted with regional and international players making all decisions over Yemen.
I can't imagine the world is just running mouth about Yemen's tragedies without a serious and effective action to help 19 million people-- 10 million of whom are very close to famine.
What we see is that the world is very active and clever about reporting and documenting crises and problems, but big losers when it comes to helpful action.
Yemen: a stain on the global conscience
https://www.facebook.com/fuad.rajeh/posts/10208685124917712
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
1.6.2017 – The National UAE (A H)
WHO sent expired medicines to Taez, say Yemen health officials – by Mohammed Al Qalisi
1.6.2017 – Fuad Rajeh (B H)
Poverty-triggered suicide and organ trade on the rise #Yemen
--In the latest poverty-triggered suicide in war-torn and collapsing Yemen, a mother poisoned her two girls, 12 and 9 years old, in Ibb province, a report said today.
After they had lately suffered from extreme poverty amid the ongoing war and after disagreements with the father--I understood the father abandoned them-- the mother decided to end their lives with poison.
It was the latest suicide triggered by hunger or fears of hunger in Yemen which is facing the world's largest humanitarian crisis after two years of war.
Two thirds of the population, 19 million, need aid and protection. 10 million are facing hunger, the UN says.
All services and the national economy are collapsing. The country is also facing a severe liquidity crisis with employees left unpaid for an eighth successive month.
These circumstances have pushed some Yemenis to desperate options such as ending their lives by suicide or selling organs.
In recent months, several suicide incidents were reported including those by desperate public servants because of poverty. Also, some people were offering organs such as kidneys for sale---they wanted money in order to feed their families or pay for rent or medical treatment.
https://www.facebook.com/fuad.rajeh/posts/10208713244180676 = https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1389534287766264
1.6.2017 – SBS (* A H)
Audio: Yemen crisis 'not looming, it's here now': UN
The UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien says Yemen is on the brink of social, economic and institutional collapse after two years of war. As journalist Laura Silvia Battaglia reports, his remarks come as the world body struggles to raise the aid funding necessary to address what it regards as a "tragedy of unprecedented proportion" – By Francesca Valdinoci
31.5.2017 – Al Monitor (* B H)
Delivering $1 billion aid to Yemen faces difficulties
In April, donors pledged more than $1 billion in aid to finance humanitarian efforts in Yemen. The United Nations, Sweden and Switzerland organized the High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen, which sought to raise funds to finance the response plan of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Given the extremely chaotic environment, expecting implementation of a fully transparent aid delivery process would be overly optimistic. The current political and military situations point to bleak prospects for aid deliverability in the war-torn nation.
The Saudi- and UAE-led coalition has for a while been demonstrating its desire to move the ongoing fight on the west coast toward the Houthi-held port city of Hodeidah.
The capacity of the port at Aden, which receives about 20% of all imports, simply cannot be expanded overnight by 500% to receive almost 100% of imports and humanitarian aid entering the country.
Both the Aden and Marib alternatives will increase the cost of transporting food and medicines, since the Houthis have been imposing extra tariffs on goods crossing from areas held by the internationally recognized government, on top of taxes collected by the internationally recognized government, which puts additional burdens on the average citizen.
Another challenge to equitably delivering the pledged aid will be overcoming the political differences among the de facto powers controlling the country. The political and regional polarization could take its toll on the ease with which international and, most important, domestic nongovernmental organizations work in areas controlled by the different warring parties.
It is of great importance for all stakeholders in this conflict to show more ownership of the will to guarantee a more efficient and transparent aid delivery process. Otherwise no matter how high pledges are, donors risk having assistance failing to reach those in critical need – by Afrah Nasser
31.5.2017–1.6. – MONA Relief (* A H)
Films:
At the end of food distribution. Beneficiaries go home happy. @monareliefye could help 600 families this Ramadan with food rations.
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870466572757995520
Your donations are in the field. @monareliefye's team providing food aid to must vulnerable families in Sanaa. Plz donate to help us. #Yemen
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870457052627427328
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870451512044134400
Photos:
Ramadan in #Yemen 2017 Food aid baskets delivered in Sanaa by @monareliefye's ground crew Plz support our work and donate. May 31, 2017
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870068200368635910
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870068253011398656
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870068710131761152
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870069284797652992
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870070291824881664
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870077583282536450
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870076143516475392
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870076425596002306
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870076898138783746
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870077197117267968
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870070136866316289
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/870069014592180224
31.5.2017 – Anadolu (A H)
Turkey dispatches emergency food aid to Yemen’s Taiz
Five hundred food packages were delivered to the Yemeni city of Taiz on Wednesday by Turkey’s Diyanet Foundation, according to Yemen's official SABA news agency.
The Association for Improvement and Favor, a local charity, has been tasked with distributing the aid to the city’s poor.
http://aa.com.tr/en/africa/turkey-dispatches-emergency-food-aid-to-yemen-s-taiz/831957
31.5.2017 – Your Abilities (A H)
A thank you message from Your Abilities (your.abilities.org) NGO.
''For the orphan child..for displaced family.. For poor family.. For putting a smile on their faces..for them..today, Y.A distributed food packages for the needy people for the month of RAMADAN and will continue aiming to give the poor, displaced and orphan people what they need in the program of solidarity and compassion and showing them they are not forgotten. Y.A reached out, today, a number of destitute families and will target other families in the coming stages. Many Thanks for the supporters of this campaign.'' (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1388464157873277
30.5.2017 – Fatik Al-Rodaini / MONA Relief / EPA (* A H)
Plz RT and share @monareliefye delivering for the 3rd time food aid baskets to Jewish community’s members in Sana’a. #Yemen May 30, 2017 (photos)
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/869695003584540673
Thank u so much our donors. Without your donations we couldnt do anything. Food aid delivering by @monareliefye in Sanaa. (photos)
https://twitter.com/monareliefye/status/869711254935437312
Hello guys Jewish community's members #Yemen received today food aid baskets from @monareliefye We r doing our best through helping our ppl (photos)
https://twitter.com/saif200459/status/869654329204117504
Head of Mona Relief Yemen, Fatik al-Rodaini, (L) helps a member of the Yemeni Jewish community to carry food supplies provided by Mona Relief Yemen at a Yemeni army-protected compound in Sana'a, Yemen, 30 May 2017. According to reports, the 67 Yemeni Jews who refused to join the secret airlift to Israel, live in a Yemeni Army-protected compound in the capital Sana'a and in the neighboring city of Raydah.
30.5.2017 – Yemen Today TV (* B K)
Film (graphic): The weapons of Saudi aggression cause a new condition to deform the embryos in Bajil, Hodeidah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGH3poIMzn4
30.5.2017 – Disasters Emergency Committee (* B H)
It is not too late – life-saving interventions continue in Yemen
DEC member charities are working tirelessly to help as many people as possible. By the end of March, they reported that together they had reached around 200,000 people with donations from the DEC appeal and aim to reach up to an additional 1.3 million people by July 2017, operational challenges permitting.
Saleh Saeed, CEO of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), said: “The extent of the challenges to help the people of Yemen are huge. The biggest problem is access; most of the main roads are blocked off and it is very difficult to get to the large numbers of people in need. There are also delays with some of the planned programme activity due to the authorities being slow to sign off permits. The country is almost completely dependent on imported food and getting food into the country has been delayed due to damage at the main port in Hodeida. All this is contributing to an enormously challenging situation for local aid workers.
“However, even in some of the worst conflict zones such as the city of Taiz, DEC member charities are managing to reach thousands of people.
http://www.dec.org.uk/article/it-is-not-too-late-%E2%80%93-life-saving-interventions-continue-in-yemen = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/it-not-too-late-life-saving-interventions-continue-yemen
29.5.2017 – CARE (* B H)
Yemen on the brink of total collapse
CARE initiated well-building projects to support and teach people how to seal open wells and sink new and safe ones, powered with solar systems. This is important both for people’s safety and survival. The protracted escalated to new heights for the last two years, resulting, among others, in limited access to clean water. Some families told me that they only drink half a glass of water per day. To prevent this, CARE supports the reconstruction of water sources and the construction of new cisterns.
During my visit to Wadi Merweh, a small village close to the capital Sana’a, I meet with Khalid Tafica. His well was reconstructed with the support of CARE.
Without enough water, crops cannot grow. Without food, people suffer from hunger. It is a vicious circle, which is impossible to break free of without international humanitarian aid.
Yemen has another problem. Lack of clear water results in poor hygiene and sanitation practices. This means that there is not enough clean water to wash hands, for personal hygiene or sanitation. This poses a higher risk for the spreading of diseases such as cholera. During my visit in Aden someone told me that almost 40 percent of the buildings have no access to the sewer. Many people died from cholera in this area. The closest hospital is often many kilometres away and it takes hours of walking to get there.
Lack of water highly affects the region around Aden; people live with the bare minimum of supplies. Before the war began, they were connected to the city’s water supply system, which was destroyed during attacks. The population now is completely cut off. CARE supports them with water cisterns – By Karl-Otto Zentel, National Director of CARE Germany-Luxemburg
https://www.care-international.org/news/stories-blogs/yemen-on-the-brink-of-total-collapse
29.5.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A H)
Poverty forcing many young boys into joining militias and young girls into marriage. A generation of #ChildSoldiers & #ChildBrides in #Yemen
There was a time when street beggars asked for money. Now many folds more, whole families, and begging for food. Truly heartbreaking.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/869257054099255297
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/869254008162144257
29.5.2017 – Aljazeera (* B H)
Millions of Yemenis face hunger during Ramadan
According to aid agencies, 17 million people do not have enough to eat, in what the UN calls the "largest humanitarian crisis in the world".
Typically, people shop throughout Ramadan, but Yemeni storekeepers have nothing to celebrate.
More than two million children are acutely malnourished in Yemen, where a child under five dies every 10 minutes of preventable diseases, according a report by UNICEF published in December.
This is the third Ramadan Yemen faces in a state of war. A majority of the population has only limited access to food and medicine (film, photos)
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/news/2017/05/millions-yemenis-starving-ramadan-170529080752822.html
29.5.2017 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A H)
Real time pix .@monareliefye now distributing for the 5th day Ramadan food aid rations to most needy families in Sanaa. #Yemen #monarelief (photos)
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/869199579459309570
In Ramadan campaign @monareliefye was able to feed 450 families in Sanaa. Our campaign is to continue plz donate at http://monareliefye.org
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/869354446614142977
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/869355908001824768
29.5.2017 – SMEPS (A)
After using Modern input supplies Farmers have a great harvest season, more jobs, reducing cost, time and high quality products
https://twitter.com/smepsyemen/status/869196998808940545
17.4.–15.5.2017 – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Food Security Cluster (A H)
Map: Yemen 4ws Partners Coverage based on Food Security and Agriculture Cluster activities - April 2017
http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-4ws-partners-coverage-based-food-security-and-agriculture-cluster-activities-april and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yemen_fsac_livelirest_gap_map_mar2017_0.pdf
Map: Yemen - Emergency Livelihoods Assistance: Number of Beneficiaries Targeted/Reached by the Food Security and Agriculture Cluster Partners - March 2017
http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-emergency-livelihoods-assistance-number-beneficiaries-targetedreached-food-0 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yemen_fsac_emergency_livelihoods_gap_map_mar2017.pdf
Map: Yemen - Livelihoods Restoration: Number of Beneficiaries Targeted/Reached by the Food Security and Agriculture Cluster Partners - March 2017
http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-livelihoods-restoration-number-beneficiaries-targetedreached-food-security-and-3 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-livelihoods-restoration-number-beneficiaries-targetedreached-food-security-and-3
Map: Yemen - Emergency Food Assistance: Number of Beneficiaries Targeted/Reached by the Food Security and Agriculture Cluster Partners - March 2017
http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-emergency-food-assistance-number-beneficiaries-targetedreached-food-security-and-2 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yemen_fsac_emergency_food_assistance_gap_map_mar2017.pdf
30.4.2017 – Oxfam (* A H)
Oxfam Yemen Situation Report #42, 30 April 2017
Crucial and vital sectors are greatly affected by the protracted conflict; health sector is operating with only 45% health facilities functioning. Education sector is greatly damaged as 234 schools are totally damaged and 1265 schools are partially damaged with 143 schools hosting IDPs and 24 schools are occupied by armed groups which resulted in preventing 720.000 students from attending school in addition to 2 million students out of schools due to the crisis http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/education_statu... and 513,000 IDP school-aged children are more likely to face enrolment difficulties in the communities where they are sheltering http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/YEMEN%202017%20... .
A report by two INGOs documents a series of deadly attacks on hospitals and medics over the past two years calls on UNSG to add the Saudi Arabia-led coalition to the list of countries violating children’s rights in conflict http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/2017-04/un-must-list-saudi-arabia-led-... .
Two governorates, Taiz and Al Hudaydah are particularly at risk of famine in the absence of urgent humanitarian and livelihood assistance. Pockets of famine may emerge if they are not prioritized for assistance http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/FAOYemen_SitRep... .
The UN HC for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick highlighted that Hodeida was a vital lifeline for millions of Yemenis, who were facing starvation stating that” the port is the most essential and crucial part to feed people and get medical services into Yemen. The Hodeida port is the only port that we can use to serve the bulk of the population in need” https://travelwirenews.com/un-official-asks-saudi-to-stop-bombing-yemens... .
Months of unpaid salaries have affected over three-quarters of the impoverished country’s teachers, meaning up to 4.5 million children may not finish the school year. At the moment we have more than 166,000 teachers in Yemen that have not received a salary since October last year. This is more or less 73 per cent of the total number of teachers in Yemen https://www.davidicke.com/index.php/article/409537/saudi-war-yemen-may-p... .
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/oxfam-yemen-situation-report-42-30-april-2017
30.4.2017 – World Health Organization (A H)
Map: Yemen: Snapshot of Health Facilities based on Reported Deaths and Injuries (19 March 2015 - 30 April 2017)
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-snapshot-health-facilities-based-reported-deaths-and-injuries-19-march-2015-30 and in full: http://applications.emro.who.int/docs/YEM/COPub_YEM_2017_19709_EN.pdf
30.4.2017 – Reach (A H)
Survey on Humanitarian Assessments in Yemen - April 2017
In February 2017, the largest consolidated humanitarian appeal ever for Yemen was launched. Despite the anticipated increase in humanitarian funding, access to reliable information on humanitarian needs in Yemen remains sparse.
The ability of humanitarian actors to conduct assessments has been hampered by many factors including insecurity due to the ongoing conflict and other assessment constraints.
To better understand these factors, REACH in cooperation with OCHA conducted a web-based survey between 16 and 23 March 2017 to inform the humanitarian community on the assessment efforts made in Yemen along with the challenges faced in the last 12 months. The survey received 31 responses: 11 from national NGOs, nine from international NGOs and two from United Nations agencies. The survey respondents are currently operational in 267 out of 333 districts across all 22 governorates of Yemen.
This overview describes the type and geographical scope of assessments conducted in Yemen during the last 12 months and the assessment constraints faced by organizations. The cleaned data set is available on the REACH Resource Centre and has been distributed to partners and the broader humanitarian community.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/survey-humanitarian-assessments-yemen-april-2017 and in full: http://www.reachresourcecentre.info/system/files/resource-documents/reach_ymn_factsheet_assessmentconstraintsurvey_apr2017_1.pdf
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
1.6.2017 – Nadwa Dawsari (A P)
He & others protested to demand salary n May 20th. #Houthis abducted him then tattooed # 20 on his wrist.Sanaa s ruled by psychopaths.#Yemen (photo)
https://twitter.com/Ndawsari/status/870336665272889344 and more at https://twitter.com/sala7faiz/status/870322139353812993
1.6.2017 – Yemen Press (A K PH)
The Role of the Yemeni Military Industries in the Development of Russian Missiles…Oregon Missile…Mission and Specifications
The Yemeni Military Industries and the Popular Committees have developed a Soviet missile called Oregon, the most powerful surface missile in the world after being developed by the Yemeni Military Manufacturing Department, surpassing the BM 30 Smirch missiles, the most powerful ballistic missile in the world. In the range of 90 km compared to the range of the original 40 km in addition to the accuracy of injury 100% after the development of the accuracy of the injury of the Soviet, which amounts to 80-85% in addition to the increase of war head to 140 kg, compared to the original weight 100 kg, Launchpad only Salih, which is a ragama containing 16 rockets to individual platforms and bunkers..
There is no doubt that the achievements of research and development of the Yemeni military industries division of the army and the popular committees are strategic achievements of the heavy caliber and have a key role in changing the rules of war and upset the equations of confrontation at all levels for the benefit of the army and the popular committees and in raising the ceiling of losses of invaders and mercenaries, whether human or mechanical, Will be harvested by the missiles with the original technical specifications.
My comment: It is Uragan, not Oregon. This i an old Soviet missile which has been frequently used in the Ukraine war. It is unclear what the “Yemeni Military Industries“ would have done in this case.
1.6.2017 – Yemen Press (A P)
Yemenis Burn Leaflets Dropped by Saudi Warplanes in Dhala’a
The warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition dropped dozens of leaflets on Tuesday on villages in the region of Al-Oud in Dhala province.
According to local sources, the leaflets attempted to influence the residents on working in favor of its current military operation against the newly established government, formed by Ansar Allah and General People’s Congress most prominent parties in Yemen.
In a response, the people of the region gathered the leaflets and let the flames of fire vanish them.
http://www.yemenpress.org/yemen/yemenis-burn-leaflets-dropped-by-saudi-warplanes-in-dhalaa.html
31.5.2017 – Almasdar Online (A P T)
Al Bayda: gunmen set ambush for political security director, Houthis abduct 30 civilians
A group of armed men have sat an ambush to attack the Houthi-appointed political security director in Mukiras district south of the central province of al Bayda, killing one of his security personnel, a local source said on Tuesday.
The source told Almasdaronline that unidentified gunmen opened fire on the convoy of the Political Security Director Salem al Wahayshi in Mazouqin area of Mukiras, but he survived the attack, while one of his security personnel was seriously wounded and another killed.
After the incident, the Houthi militants and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh launched a raid on the area, and abducted about 30 civilians on the background of the incident
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91616
31.5.2017 – Saba News (A P)
President chairs meeting to develop Zakat revenues
The meeting reviewed Zakat revenues and the importance of its controlling and directing its to rightful ways, which would help the poor and vulnerable society segments.
The meeting discussed aspects related to opening a special Zakat account for full supply. It also discussed the necessity of mobilizing all energies, especially local authorities to develop Zakat revenues especially in the holy month of Ramadan and find the best way to deliver it to a large segment of society as well as to improve the economic situation of the society.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465972.htm
Remark: 'zakat' is the payment made annually under Islamic law on certain kinds of property and used for charitable and religious purposes, one of the Five Pillars of Islam: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakat
31.5.2017 – Deutschlandfunk (* A P)
Bahai im Jemen unter Druck
In der Stadt Sanaa im Nordjemen, über die die international anerkannte Regierung von Präsident Hadi die Kontrolle verloren hat, ergingen Mitte April Haftbefehle gegen 25 Angehörige der Bahai-Religion. Sie wurden gezwungen, ihrem Glauben abzuschwören.
"Ich kenne die Bahais vor Ort sehr gut. Die meisten, die auch inhaftiert sind, persönlich, durch meine Zeit, als ich dort vor Ort in der Bahai-Gemeinde war", sagt Erfan Diebel.
Er lebte bis 2011 im Jemen - als Mitarbeiter der Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit, einer staatlichen deutschen Entwicklungshilfeorganisation.
"Seit Monaten – in Einzelfällen auch schon seit Jahren – gibt es immer wieder willkürliche Inhaftierungen. Es gibt keine fairen Gerichtsprozesse. Oftmals weiß man nicht genau, warum die Bahais verhaftet wurden, aber in den meisten Fällen ist es ganz klar, dass es aufgrund der Religionszugehörigkeit ist."
Bereits seit 2013 sitzt Hamed bin Haydara in Haft. Er wartet bis heute auf eine ordentliche Gerichtsverhandlung. Im August vergangenen Jahres gab es eine Massenverhaftung von 60 Teilnehmern eines Bildungsprojektes, von denen die Hälfte Bahai waren; und am 5. April diesen Jahres wurde ein Mitarbeiter des Roten Kreuzes in Sanaa aufgrund seines Glaubens verhaftet – auch er ein Bahai.
Die Vorfälle im Jemen erinnern an das Vorgehen gegen die Bahai im Iran, schreibt Ahmed Shaheed, der Sonderberichterstatter der Vereinten Nationen für Religionsfreiheit, in seinem Bericht vom 22. Mai – Von Frank Aheimer
30.5.2017 – Radio Farda (A P)
U.N. Rapporteur: Persecution Of Baha'is In Yemen Mirrors Iran's Actions
UN Special Rapporteur on religious freedom warned on Monday, May 29 that persecution of Baha’is in Yemen resembles the actions of Iranian authorities against the same minority in Iran.
“The recent escalation in the persistent pattern of persecution of the Baha’i community in Sana’a mirrors the persecution suffered by the Baha’is living in Iran,” said Ahmad Shahid.
https://en.radiofarda.com/a/yemen-bahai-persecution-iran-un-human-rights-expert/28518180.html
Remark: Look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%ADs
30.5.2017 – Haykal Bafana (A P)
Mush zayn : GPC media confirms a failed assassination bid on Sheikh Hashid Abu Shawarib in #Yemen capital Sanaa. Some gunmen arrested.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/869751355304497153
30.5.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)
Yemen security Brief
Demonstrators in Aden set fire to the car of the Aden Electricity Director on May 30 to protest ongoing electricity outages. [5]
30.5.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)
Yemen Security Brief
Al Houthi movement leader Abdul Malik al Houthi released a video on May 29 commemorating the start of Ramadan. Al Houthi called for jihad against Saudi Arabia, the U.S., and their “clients.”[2]
29.5.2017 – Haykal Bafana (A P)
Billboard in #Yemen capital Sanaa : "The children of Yemen are slaughtered by U.S. & UK cluster bombs. No to American terrorism." (photo)
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/869276497185525760
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
1.6.2017 – Critical Threats (A T)
Emirati-backed Hadhrami Elite Forces seized several thermal anti-tank missiles during a raid in Daw’an district, eastern Hadramawt governorate on May 31. Hadrami Elite Forces uncovered the missiles during a raid on the homes of individuals connected to “terrorist elements,” according to a press release issued by security force [5]
1.6.2017 – Anayemeni (* B P)
Experts called for a Yemeni and global stand to stop UAE’s suspicious deal, urging every free media person to participate in a campaign to prevent UAE’s devastation of Yemen’s natural resources.
The differences between Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the UAE have disclosed more details about UAE’s secretive movements of on the Yemeni island of Socotra: e.g. granting the UAE nationality to Socotrans, establishment of military bases in preparation for accession of the island to UAE authority, and establishment of a telecommunications project of the UAE Telecom. During this month, rare trees and stones were moved out of Socotra, particularly the dragon-blood tree, gum tree, and wild basil, in addition to many types of rare stones from the island. According to sources, these natural assets are put inside giant containers, and loaded on ships brought for this purpose.
http://www.anayemeni.net/show988562.html
2.6.2017 – Almasdar Online (A T)
Five civilians killed, four others injured in bomb blast in al Jawf – source
A local source in al Hazm city, the center of Al-Jawf province north of Yemen, said on Thursday that five civilian people were killed and four others injured in a bomb blast in a Qat public market.
No party so far has claimed responsibility for the incident.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91668
2.6.2017 – Almasdar Online (A T)
Hadramout: pro-government forces storm houses, seize thermal missiles
The pro-government forces in Hadramout province, southeastern Yemen, said on Thursday that it had raided a number of houses in Dawan district, and seized a number of thermal missiles.
The Second Military Region said in a statement published on Facebook that the Hadhrami Elite Forces have raided a number of suspected houses in Dawan.
“The forces seized thermal missiles in some of the raided houses, handed them over to the military camp command, and arrested the house owners and those dealing and sympathizing with the terrorist elements.”
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91669
31.5.2017 – Almasdar Online (A T)
Taiz: civilians injured in an attack on al Thawra hospital
a medical source said that unidentified gunmen have attacked al Thawra Hospital security guards after they were been prevented from entering the hospital with their arms.
“Two civilians were injured in the attack, one of them was seriously injured.”
The hospital's security guards, of the 170th Air Defense Brigade, have repelled the attack, stopped the militants, and forced them to flee after violent clashes. According to the source
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91606
1.6.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)
Yemen Security Brief
Aden Security Forces assumed control of Aden International Airport on June 1 after clashes between rival Yemeni forces that receive Saudi and Emirati patronage. Aden Security Forces Director Shalal Ali Shaye’a relieved Aden International Airport security director Saleh al Amri of duty after receiving orders from the Emirati commander in Yemen, Major General Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed. Shaye’a’s appointment reflects frustration with al Amri and his militia after nearly four months of tension over control of the airport. The UAE announced a plan to rehabilitate and maintain the airport on June 1.[2]
1.6.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (* A P)
Arab Coalition Forces Restore Order at Aden International Airport after Clashes
A state of calm returned to Aden’s airport, in the interim capital of Yemen, after clashes erupted on Wednesday between two factions of the forces charged with protecting the security of the airport.
Forces directed by coalition forces stepped in to stop clashes between airport security forces, on the one hand, and forces loyal to another military commander, a Yemeni military commander told Asharq Al-Awsat.
One combatant was killed and the fighting ended when other forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition intervened.
Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr had reviewed post-clashes developments at the airport with Arab Coalition Brigadier General Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed.
The airport was scheduled to receive various flights early-on Thursday, meaning coalition forces had to swiftly intervene and reinforce order, reinstating airport security, PM Daghr said.
The prime minister’s bureau issued a statement stressing the need to avoid shedding more blood in the airport infighting between the forces backing airport commander Saleh al-Omari and forces backing his deputy al-Khodr Kurdah.
“The coalition commander told the prime minister that the coalition forces tried to intervene to prevent the fighting from escalating after it had already resulted in the death of a security member and the injury of many,” the statement said.
“Kurdah refused the request for calm, prompting coalition forces to step in and issue a serious warning against both parties, ordering them to abandon arms and exit the premise,” it added.
Later on, Aden’s security service announced that it had officially regained full supervision over the Aden International Airport.
“The situation at the airport is calm now. Forces of the Arab coalition forces backed by local security units are now fully in control of the airport,” Aden police spokesman Abdul Rahman al-Naqib was quoted as saying.
The security chiefs who caused the security situation on Wednesday handed themselves over to the authorities.
My comment: A very dubious story, look at reports below. At Aden, the rivalry between Saudis and Emirates and the proxies of both is virulent. Thus, speaking of “coalition forces” having gained control of the airport, does not tell much. It’s pro-Saudi or pro-Emirati forces?
Comment by Haykal Bafana: LOL! Media spin with a camel tilt
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/870275815971409924
and another version:
1.6.2017 – New News (* A P)
Bloody Clashes in Aden Airport, Aden Governor Threat UAE, Southern Movement
After bloody clashes ,Eleslah party could control Aden airport and blockade the troops which follow UAE in aiming to arrest them and expel them out the airport.
Bloody fighting has begun last Tuesday till this moment . A soldier was killed and injured others during the fighting .
Local source confirmed that Apache planes as well warplanes participated in pounding several military bases near Aden airport as the Anti-missiles attempted to shoot it down.
And in attempt to reduce the angry southern people , Bin-dager called the conflicts’ sides to calm. . He claimed that the Elselah party’s interference came to resolve the clashes between Saleh Alomari and his deputy “Alkhader Kurdah”.
Meanwhile, the new governor of Aden who is opposing the southern movement “Abdul-aziz Almaflhi” threatened any military attack after Elselah party’s dominating Aden airport.
As well as the new governor called all the sides to be calm and be neutral after connecting with deputy of the Interior Minister , the head of the participated operations , the security manager and the Emergency Force Commander, and gave a message for UAE that Aden is not a city for mess.
My comment: Eleslah = Al Islah, the Muslim Brotherhood party which is backing President Hadi. Thus, pro-Hadi / pro-Saudi forces finally had taken the airport. Many reports lack a clear explanation of “Who is who” in this last conflict.
And this sounds like another version again:
2.6.2017 – Almasdar Online (A P)
PM Ben Daghr urges calm after battles in Aden airport
The Yemeni prime minister urged on Wednesday the two parties to the conflict in the airport of the southern Aden city
“The Emirati commander of the coalition forces told me that Al Khader Kurdah had refused to stop fighting with his nephew Abu Qahtan, who is Kurdah’s manager in the security forces of the airport,” Ben Daghr wrote on his official Twitter account.
He added that this had required the coalition forces to intervene, and to warn the two parties to leave the weapons aside.
“The Emirati commander of the coalition forces informed the prime minister that the coalition forces have tried to intervene to prevent the fighting between Abu Qahtan and his uncle Kurdah after the death of one soldier and injury of two others from both sides.” Added Ben Daghr.
“The prime minister stresses the need to avoid shedding more blood in the fighting between the airport security commander Saleh al-Omari and his deputy Al Khader Kurdah.”
Ben Daghr pointed out that he had made a number of contacts with commanders of some military units near to the Aden airport, and urged them for further calm.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91666
31.5.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)
Yemen Security Brief
Saudi-backed Yemeni forces fought Emirati-backed forces for control of Aden International Airport on May 31. Deputy Director of Security at Aden International Airport, al Khader Saleh Kurdah, led the Saudi-backed forces, which support President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government. The Emirati-backed forces are pledged to Aden Security Director Shalal Ali Shaye'a and the Political Transitional Council for the South. The clash began after Kurdah resisted Emirati-backed Aden Security Forces and al Hizam counterterrorism forces that attempted to arrest him. Hostilities escalated when Kurdah’s supporters fired anti-aircraft guns toward Emirati fighter jets. Aden Security Forces led by Aden International Airport Security Director Saleh al Amri later arrested Kurdah and currently control the airport. Kurdah’s forces likely attempted to seize the airport to allow officials from President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government, who are currently based in Riyadh, to enter Yemen without the approval of the rival Political Transitional Council. [1]
31.5.2017 – AP (* A P)
UAE-BACKED FORCES GAIN CONTROL OVER ADEN AIRPORT
Forces backed by the United Arab Emirates have taken over the airport in the southern city of Aden, according to Yemeni security officials, further fueling tension between internationally recognized President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the UAE.
The officials said that one soldier from among the forces guarding the airport died in clashes Wednesday morning. The officials spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to brief the media – by Ahmed Al-Haj
31.5.2017 – Middle East Eye (* A P)
UAE-backed fighters take Aden airport from Hadi forces: Report
Report suggests that forces supported by the UAE fought fighters loyal to exiled Yemeni president at Aden airport
Yemeni forces backed by the United Arab Emirates have taken the airport in the southern city of Aden, reports have said, further fuelling tension between exiled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the Emirati armed forces.
The officials told the Associated Press news agency that one soldier died in clashes over the airport on Wednesday morning.
Witnesses, who did not specifically mention UAE-backed forces or Hadi, told Reuters that fighters loyal to rival factions in Aden, the seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government, traded gun and rocket fire for nearly three hours at the city's airport on Tuesday night.
Comment by Judith Brown: More information on the rift between Hadi and UAE. And it's not just about control of the airport - UAE has long been sceptical about the abilities of Hadi - for example, when Bahah was Hadi's deputy they clearly preferred him - so Hadi sacked Bahah - just as he sacked other officials that UAE preferred. He really is a megalomaniac
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155576561648641
and Fuad Rajeh reporting quite different:
31.5.2017 – Fuad Rajeh (* A P)
Aden, and maybe whole Yemen, in limbo
Saudi-led forces have intervened and taken over Aden Airport after overnight clashes between local factions.
Well, it seems the situation at Aden Airport is still tense. Battles erupted between the security belt forces which are responsible for securing the regions liberated from the Houthi-Saleh forces and the airport protection forces last night. Several soldiers from both sides were killed and injured.
Local sources said the situation is under control after the Saudi-led forces took over and spread within the airport. Actually, nothing is under control in Aden amid the ongoing exile of the government and growing calls for separation. Sporadic battles have been reported at the airport several times in recent months. And I think the leader of the airport forces is still refusing to give up.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/
My comment: Who did take the airport now?
31.5.2017 – Reuters (A P)
Rival factions clash at Aden airport - witnesses
Fighters loyal to rival factions in Aden, seat of Yemen's internationally-recognised government, traded gun and rocket-fire for nearly three hours at the city's airport over Tuesday night, witnesses said.
One combatant was killed, they said. The clash ended when other forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition intervened, a security official said.
The incident indicated the government's inability to enforce order nearly two years after it recaptured the southern port city from its foes in the Iranian-backed Houthi movement.
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKBN18R1ES = http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUKKBN18R1ES?rpc=401&
31.5.2017 – Anadolu (* A P)
Local police contain clashes at Yemen's Aden airport
Police called in after strategic airport is rocked by clashes between quarreling security elements
Police on Wednesday scrambled to secure an airport in the coastal city of Aden -- which currently serves as Yemen's provisional capital -- after clashes between rival groups of security forces, according to a local police source.
In a press statement, Aden police spokesman Captain Abdulrahman al-Naqib said local police forces had been commissioned by a Saudi-led Arab coalition -- which is active in Yemen -- to “secure and protect” the strategic airport.
According to al-Naqib, the situation at the airport had since been contained after clashes broke out earlier Wednesday between rival security personnel tasked with safeguarding the facility.
The clashes reportedly led to the death of at least one soldier and the injury of two others.
According to the police spokesman, a dispute arose between the airport’s security director and his deputy, with the latter refusing to comply with an order to investigate some of his subordinates.
The dispute quickly escalated into armed clashes between the two officers.
“[Saudi-led] coalition forces demanded the surrender of personnel loyal to the security deputy,” al-Naqib said.
“But after the latter refused to comply, security forces -- backed by military aircraft -- stormed the airport, eventually seizing control of the runway,” he added.
Ultimately, the spokesman explained, the security deputy -- along with his subordinates -- surrendered to Aden Security Director Major-General Shalal Ali.
“All those who engaged in acts of violence will be subject to investigation,” he said – By Shukri Hussein
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/local-police-contain-clashes-at-yemens-aden-airport/831941
My comment: This report does not make things any more clear. Let’s wait for more information. The whole matter shows the deep rift within the so-called “Saudi coalition”.
Comments by Haykal Bafana: #Yemen : After night of armed clashes/airstrikes, #Saudi coalition forces have seized control of Aden Airport from #Saudi coalition forces.
Original (Englisch) übersetzen
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/869921593111326721
#Yemen : Battle tanks of #Saudi coalition forces now surround Aden Airport in preparation to expel #Saudi coalition forces.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/869954356866633729
31.5.2017 – Adengad (A P)
A warplane intensifies its flight over Aden International Airport and anti-aircraft sounds
A warplane intensified its flight over Aden International Airport shortly before.
Anti-war guns fired intensely, creating a state of fear in the city center
Local residents of Aden said that war planes were still flying at the moment of writing the story over Aden International Airport.
Medium-weapons fire was heard.
http://adengad.net/news/261767/
31.5.2017 – Adengad (A P)
Clashes erupt around Aden airport
A powerful explosion believed to have been caused by air guns shook the vicinity of Aden International Airport minutes ago.
Witnesses said the explosion was moderate.
The explosion followed armed clashes.
Local residents told Aden tomorrow that a warplane flew over Aden, opening the sound barrier.
Security forces advanced towards Aden International Airport at dawn.
http://adengad.net/news/261765/
31.5.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)
The president of the Political Transitional Council for the South, Aydarus al Zubaidi, met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan in the UAE. Zubaidi is meeting with officials throughout the region in an effort to secure international support for the council, which formed in May 2017 to seek greater autonomy for southern Yemen. The UAE backs members of the Political Transitional Council against the Islah party, a rival political bloc affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Transitional Political Council members announced a plan to visit European capitals to request support on May 30.[3]
30.5.2017 – European Council on Foreign Relations (* B P)
Yemen beginning to come apart at the seams
Europeans should consider three sets of actions that could help stabilize the conflict.
Mounting tensions in the south of Yemen
Hadi and the largely Riyadh-based internationally recognised government have little sway over the city (as is the case for much of the ground they nominally control), and they are being increasingly challenged by former allies.
Simultaneously, the increasing strength of secessionist forces has threatened to tear Yemen apart. Such separatist sentiment, it is worth stressing, is far from new, stemming from the Saleh government’s centralization of power after the country’s 1994 civil war and exacerbated by bloody crackdowns on the Southern Movement after its formation in 2007.
But support for secession hit a new high after the Houthis’ and their allies’ scorched-earth invasion of Aden in 2015, which deepened longstanding north-south divisions. Owing in part to the support of the United Arab Emirates, key figures with secessionist leanings—most notably Zubaidi—have increased their strength on the ground in Aden. Lately they have come into conflict with both pro-Hadi forces and those aligned with the Islah party, which incorporates the bulk of the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood. The fallout, though partially contained through Gulf mediation, has led to continuing tensions.
Events on the ground in Aden continue to underline the deep instability in much of south Yemen. Zubaidi, bin Brayk and their allies may be the strongest forces on the ground, but their control is far from uncontested. While the Jihadis who once held sway over whole neighbourhoods have largely been driven underground, control of the city remains split between a mosaic of (often extremist) armed groups.
Owing to its strategic location and historical Al Qaeda presence, unrest in South Yemen could reverberate beyond Yemen’s borders. Renewed tension in South Yemen risks dragging key Gulf states further into a sinkhole of conflict, further destabilising the peninsula.
This should be of great concern for Europeans, who should consider three sets of actions that could help stabilise the conflict.
The first is sustained outreach with Southern forces currently left out of the internationally-backed political process.
The second is to increase efforts to return order and the rule of law in Aden.
Finally, Europe should increase coordination with the Gulf States regarding both stabilisation and mediation efforts in the south – by Adam Baron
http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_yemen_beginning_to_come_apart_at_the_seams_7291
My comment: the Gulf States are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
29.5.2017 – Alwaght News (A P)
Zayed’s Sons and their Suspicious Role in Yemen
This trite repetition of the suspicious role played by UAE in the Yemeni file obliterates all allegations made by its parrots about ‘media campaigns intended to belittle the sacrifices of the State (i.e. UAE)’. It also stultifies the tune of the Muslim-Brotherhood complex that Emiratis keep clamoring about to cover for their suspicious roles and other trivialities which have become too stinky to save the face of the Emiratis or the scavengers at the tables of UAE rulers.
Moreover, such political behavior pushes us to put many question marks on the nature of the role played in Yemen by the rulers of the United Arab Emirates under the banner of Asifat-ul-Hazm (Disciplinary Storm) operation led by Saudi Arabia following the coup d’état of Al-Houthi militia. Increasing suspicions are aroused of UEA’s project in Yemen in terms of its nature and compatibility with the Arab Coalition’s political and military objectives in Yemen and the interests of the other countries in the region, particularly Saud Arabia (the primary stakeholder in the Yemeni file).
What are the reasons that have pushed the sheikhs of Abu Dhabi and Dubai to risk all the wealth accumulated by the founding sheikh – in terms of national solidarity, astonishing economic abundance (even by international standards), stable political conditions, and a regionally most advanced military inventory – in order to have a controlling hand in the Yemeni governorates of Abyan and Marib?
http://www.alwaghtnews.net/news1353.html
My comment: Another document of the conflict between the Emirates and Saudi Arabia – and their proxies – in Southern Yemen. This article is from a pro-Hadi, pro-Saudi author.
30.5.2017 – Nasreen Murad / Yemen Updates (A P)
Rejecting Yemeni families to continue their journey back to Yemen through Cairo airport! World remains silent (document)
https://twitter.com/Nasreen_and_I/status/870142758924697600
Yemenia Airways asks int'l airlines not to accept requests from #Yemen citizens to travel to Cairo for transit to return to Aden & Si'oon! (photo)
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/870257994885365760
Remark: Earlier reporting YPR 305, cp6.
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
For the Security Council session: cp 1.
1.6.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)
Yemeni women accuses UN Security Council of disregarding abductees
The Abductees' Mothers Association has accused the UN Security Council of disregarding the case of Yemeni abductees who were unfairly and illegally held in custodies of the Houthi-Saleh militias for years.
The association on Thursday arranged a protest before the UN office in Sana'a, denouncing the disregard of the UN Security Council and its special envoy to Yemen Esmail Ould Cheikh Ahmed to the suffering of the abductees and their rights
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-7514
1.6.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
Yemeni Deputy PM Denies Omani Mediation on Resumption of Talks
Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdul Malik al-Mekhlafi has denied that there has been a mediation by Oman to resume intra-Yemen peace talks.
The minister explained to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that his visit to Muscat, Oman is within the framework of the bilateral relations of the two neighboring countries and has nothing to do with the direct negotiations.
He confirmed that he didn’t meet with any members of the insurgency and reiterated the government’s support to the UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
Mekhlafi said the government believes that cooperation with the UN is the best means to achieve peace based on the three references.
https://english.aawsat.com/abdul-hadi-habtoor/news-middle-east/yemeni-deputy-pm-denies-omani-mediation-resumption-talks and by Critical Threats: https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-june-1-2017 and by Al Sahwa: https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-7515 but read the Omani statement: http://www.atheer.om/en/37019/omans-permanent-un-envoy-sultanate-supportive-of-un-efforts-in-yemen/
My comment: Also separated talks can be helful for meditation.
31.5.2017 – Yemen Press (* A P)
Wald-Sheikh Continues to Cover the Saudi Crimes in his Briefing to UN Security Council
The international envoy continues to give an unrealistic picture of the situation in Yemen and cover the Saudi crimes of aggression declared and the siege imposed more than two years ago as one of the main reasons for the worsening humanitarian situation and the deteriorating economic conditions.
New briefing of the international envoy Ismail Wald Sheikh to the UN Security Council on the situation in Yemen, away from the major fallacies contained in his report and attempts to cover up dozens of crimes committed by the aggression forces and the deaths of dozens of civilians, including children and women over the past few months, the international envoy continues to mislead the reasons the economic crisis and the siege imposed by the states of aggression for more than two and a half years.
This time, Wald Sheikh links political and economic solutions with the handing over of salaries and the aggravation of human suffering, which is actually due to the continued aggression and the declared blockade.
He ignores in this context dozens of raids of the aggression coalition on the port of Hodeidah after the destruction and targeting of all ports in a clear war aimed at the national economy and push the country to the lack of the simplest living requirements.
The international consensus in the Security Council on the existence of an escalating humanitarian crisis should be resolved through a cease-fire and a political solution lacking a realistic vision of the reasons that hinder it, including the payment of seventeen countries, including more than ten countries participating in this council to stop the aggression and siege to a sovereign state.
Despite dozens of reports documenting airstrike crimes and reports on the deterioration of the economic situation is clearly linked to the siege, the seriousness of negotiations remains a missing point – by Talib al-Hassani
31.5.2017 – Al Arabiya (A P)
Houthis slam UN envoy to Yemen once again
The Houthi leader accused Ould Sheikh of working for the benefits of the Arab coalition rather than the Yemeni people.
My comment: Ould Sheikh’s partisanship for the Hadi “legitimate” government is evident, his potics of comforting the Saudis as well. Anyway, the UN Security Council’s one-sided resolution 2216 in fact is limiting him to exactly that – and thus his peace efforts will fail unteil there will be a new and realy neutral resolution.
And thus it is not at all strange that:
1.6.2017 – Saudi Press Agency (A P)
Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen Welcomes UN Envoy's Statements regarding Handing over Hodeidah Port
An official source at the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen has welcomed statements of UN Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmad at the Security Council where he called upon Houthi militias and ousted Saleh forces to hand over Hodeidah port to a neutral side.
In a statement, the source added that the UN envoy's statements asserted previous demands of the coalition regarding the UN supervision on the port for protecting the Yemeni people against arms smuggling operations carried out by the militias and confiscation of humanitarian and medical aid arriving in the port.
http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1636512
31.5.2017 – Al Araby (* A P)
Yemen's rival factions discuss peace plan in Oman
Oman is mediating between Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi's government and its Houthi opponents over a UN plan to resume peace talks in the war-torn country.
A Yemeni government official speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters on Tuesday that Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel Malek al-Mekhlafi was in Muscat for talks.
The invitation is to discuss ways to bridge differences with the Houthis over plans presented to Yemen last week by UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
The plans included confidence-building measures such as turning over the Red Sea port of Hodeidah to a neutral party, opening Sanaa airport to civilian traffic and paying civil servants' salaries.
The Omani side has conveyed to Mekhlafi the Houthis' willingness to accept this plan but also its insistence that civil servants' salaries be paid first.
"The differences regarding Hodeidah now centre on the identity of the neutral party which will manage the port," the official said.
He added that the Omani side had informed Mekhlafi in talks on Monday that the Houthis were ready to agree to Ould Cheikh Ahmed's plan in full.
"The differences are not confined to the neutral party that will administer Hodeidah port," the official said.
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/5/31/oman-meets-yemens-rival-factions-over-un-peace-plan
Comment by Hussam Al-Sanabani: "No salaries, unless you hand your neck to your enemy". The UN incitement draft that will increases the ignition of war.
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/869865218591129602
30.5.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)
Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s foreign minister, Abdul Malik al Mikhlafi, traveled to Muscat, Oman on May 29 to negotiate with representatives from the al Houthi-Saleh bloc. U.S., EU, and UN representatives are reportedly participating in the negotiations, according to Turkish state media. British and American officials hosted a separate planning meeting with Yemeni military officials in Amman, Jordan, on May 29 focused on plans to disarm the al Houthi-Saleh bloc and set conditions for a lasting peace. UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed failed to establish terms for a ceasefire during his May 23 visit to Sana’a.[1]
30.5.2017 – Reuters (* A P)
Oman mediating between Yemenis over U.N. peace plan: official
Oman is mediating between Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government and its Houthi opponents over a U.N. plan to resume peace talks in the war-torn country, a Yemeni government official said on Tuesday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi was in Muscat at Oman's invitation to discuss ways to bridge differences with the Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa with their allies, over plans presented by the U.N. special envoy to Yemen last week.
The plans, presented by U.N. Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed during a regional tour last week, included confidence building measures such as turning over the Red Sea port of Hodeidah to a neutral party, opening Sanaa airport for civilian traffic and paying civil servants' salaries.
The Omani side has conveyed to Mekhlafi the Houthis' willingness to accept this plan but also its insistence that civil servants' salaries be paid first.
"The differences regarding Hodeidah now center on the identity of the neutral party which will manage the port," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-talks-idUSKBN18Q26C
Comments by Haykal Bafana: Reuters report says Houthis have agreed to hand over Hodeidah port to 3rd party control, as demanded by Saudi Arabia. Suicidal move.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/869747483882262529
Move is credited by Reuters to Oman mediation. The only Houthi condition is salary payment. I seriously doubt this.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/869749099716915200
30.5.2017 – Reuters (* A P)
As Yemen faces famine, U.N. works to avert attack on food port
U.N. officials warned on Tuesday as they work to avert a Saudi-led attack on a key port.
The United Nations has warned the Arab alliance fighting Iran-aligned Houthis against any attempt to extend the war to Hodeidah, a vital Red Sea aid delivery point where some 80 percent of Yemen's food imports arrive.
"An attack on Hodeidah is not in the interest of any party, as it will directly and irrevocably drive the Yemeni population further into starvation and famine," U.N. aid chief Stephen O'Brien told the U.N. Security Council, urging all U.N. member states to help keep the port open and operating.
"Yemen now has the ignominy of being the world's largest food security crisis with more than 17 million people who are food insecure, 6.8 million of whom are one step away from famine. Crisis is not coming, it is not even looming, it is here today," he said.
U.N. Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told the Security Council on Tuesday he had made clear to the parties to the conflict that they must reach a compromise to avoid the "horrific scenario" of military action moving to the port.
However, he noted the Houthis and the allied General People's Congress, the party of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, did not meet with him in the capital Sanaa to discuss a possible agreement that he had proposed – By Michelle Nichols
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un-idUSKBN18Q24V
30.5.2017 – Sputnik News (* A P)
Al-Hodeida Port in Yemen Needs Protection for Aid Deliveries to Continue - Envoy
UN Special Envoy for Yemen said that a plan for Al Hodeida is aimed at keeping the Yemeni port open for international aid deliveries.
A plan for Al Hodeida is aimed at keeping the Yemeni port open for international aid deliveries, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
"I have proposed an agreement to avoid military clashes in Hodeida," Cheikh Ahmed said. "My proposal, which includes security, economic and humanitarian elements, would allow for the continued flow of commercial and humanitarian supplies."
The special envoy added his proposal will also ensure that no funds are diverted from customs revenues and taxes, so the money can then be used to pay salaries and support services rather than used for military purposes.
Cheikh Ahmed warned that the spread of fighting in the city would lead to tremendous losses of civilian life and infrastructure that is needed to offload commercial and humanitarian supplies.
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201705301054134970-yemen-aid-deliveries/
and as reported by a Saudi media:
30.5.2017 – Al Arabiya (* A P)
UN envoy: We succeeded in preventing a military operation in Hudaydah
In an address to the Security Council, UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said on Monday that military operation in Hudaydah has successfully been prevented.
“We have succeeded so far in preventing a military operation in Hudaydah.” Cheikh Ahmed.
This came during a session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, devoted to discuss the situation in Yemen.
My comment: What should this tell us? Do the Saudis really have stopped plans of an assault at Hodeida?
29.5.2017 – Muftah (* B P)
How UN Negotiations on Yemen Exclude the South and Why That Must Change
Through its two special envoys to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, who served between 2011 and 2015, and Ismail Ould Chiekh Ahmed, who took over for Benomar, the United Nations, which has been leading efforts to resolve the current Yemeni crisis, continues to completely ignore one very critical element of the conflict: the Southern issue. The UN’s failure to effectively recognize the genuine grievances and fair demands of the Southern Movement (Hirak) will hamper its efforts to resolve the civil war, which recently marked its second year.
Ever since unification with the North, Southerners have felt marginalized and disadvantaged by the central government.
UN-supported processes, including the National Dialogue Conference (NDC), a transitional dialogue held in Sana’a from March 2013 to January 2014 following Saleh’s forced resignation as president, have all been designed to marginalize Southerners, or at least to refrain from recognizing them as equal to Northerners.
Various Southern parties had repeatedly made clear they would not accept any negotiated agreement they did not participate in and will not allow any other party to control their land. Southerners are keen to engage in the current negotiations, but, in order for that to happen, the UN must provide conditions for their participation – by Nadwa Al-Dawsari and Ahmed Omer Ben Fareed
https://muftah.org/un-yemen-negotiations-exclude-the-south/#.WSwJI8ZCSUk = http://untribune.com/un-negotiations-yemen-exclude-south-must-change/
Comment: The South is a story of neglect lasting decades.
One thing both journalists, Nadwa Al-Dawsari and Ahmed Omer Ben Fareed, seem to forget is the intervention and presence of Emirates in the South.
The 'Southern issue' as it is often called, needs to be addressed and not after any peace deal is made (whenever that will be).
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1386880384698321
1.6.2017 – Yemen Extra (A P)
It was just the day before yesterday, a group of 10 ambassadors to Yemen has issued a statement condemning the UN special envoy being thrown by eggs by protesters demanding the UN lifting blockade on Sana’a International Airport and providing salary payments as promised for state employees, which they lacked for more than 6 months.
These ambassadors never issued a statement condemning Saudis bombing a funeral hall, killing dozens of civilians or demanding an end of war that left the country devastated amid a Cholera outbreak which hit the state, killing tens of dozens. So for Al Saud, if they really cared about Yemen’s legitimate government, they would invest in building institutions, infrastructure, and in fostering a social climate conducive to result in a Yemeni self-rule and self-sufficiency.
http://www.yemenextra.net/2017/06/01/6273/
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
1.6.2017 – IRNA (* A P)
Saudi Arabia in war with itself, entire region: DEP FM
Deputy foreign minister for Arab and North African affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari has criticized the Saudi regime for its brutal crimes in the region, Yemen in particular, stressing that the Saudia rulers 'won’t come off the Yemeni war victorious just as the Soviet Union failed to win in Afghanistan.'
The Iranian diplomat made the remarks in a recent interview with the English language daily Tehran Times.
The full text of his interview, appeared on the newspaper on Wednesday, follows:
http://www.irna.ir/en/News/82551835/
28.5.2017 – Khamenei (* B P)
The Roots of Wahhabism, What Everyone Should Know
In order to diminish the violent effects resulting from Wahhabist ideals, ideals that essentially operate like a disease captivating the human psyche, we must learn it--acknowledge its history and origins. In the first part of a three-part series on Wahhabism we will address the roots and origins of this extremist cult.
The genesis of this exceedingly vast cult can be traced back to Saudi Arabia, where it emerged and initially manifested with a little help from friends loyal to the Royal Saudi family (1); its branches radiating outward, through concepts rooted in what is commonly known as “Wahhabism.” Henceforward, like any other weed that smothers life surrounding it, Wahhabism must certainly be dug out by the roots before it spreads any further. Thus, in order to diminish the violent effects resulting from Wahhabist ideals, ideals that essentially operate like a disease captivating the human psyche, we must learn it--acknowledge its history and origins. We must get to know its {Wahhabism’s} depth and impact--everywhere: how it is utilized by certain global powers and political entities to control and influence bands or individuals affected by its doctrines--groups like ISIS; and how it spreads.
there is a common misbelief among copious scholars that the late Mohammad Ibne Abdul al-Wahhab was the Father of Wahhabism or Wahhabi doctrine. Contrariwise, he was not the true founder of Wahhabi creed: although, the cult of stern thought and spurious religious ideology has earned his name--for carrying on and leading the Wahhabi reform movement progressively… and aggressively. At the core of Wahhabi ideology lies a deeper, yet still, sinister past--dating back to almost 700 years ago--beginning with a man on a tumultuous mission, a man named Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah: If ever a father had been named for sowing the Wahhabi seeds of thought, it should be this man – by Anahita Hamzei,two time graduate from the Texas A&M University System. She has traveled and lived in the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2013.
http://english.khamenei.ir/news/4867/The-Roots-of-Wahhabism-What-Everyone-Should-Know
My comment: On the website of Ayatollah Khamenei. Of course, this is 100 % the Iranian view, but nevertheless interesting. The question how similar many aspects of the Ayatollah’s ideology are close to Wahabism by themselves must be asked anyway.
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
Look at cp1, cp7a
31.5.2017 – Human Rights Watch / Huffington Post (* A E K)
No Ordinary IPO: Why Aramco Investors Should Scrutinize Saudi Rights Record
Global investors are no doubt closely following what is billed as the world's largest initial public offering with Saudi Aramco’s plans to float in 2018. Yet as investors weigh putting money into a state-controlled oil company, they should worry about whether they could subsidize Saudi war crimes in Yemen. The traditional opacity of Saudi institutions means they may never know.
The Saudi narrative is clear. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is leading an ambitious transformation plan to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy. This initiative represents a radical break from the country’s conservative past, which relied for decades on oil income for government revenues and enabled the state to offer generous subsidies to its citizens with minimal taxation.
The media are reporting that Saudi Arabia seeks to sell off up to five percent of Saudi Aramco in the anticipated IPO. Experts suggest that the value of the company is between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion, making it by far the world’s largest ever initial public offering.
One major concern for investors should be the management of the sovereign wealth fund and what kinds of investments it will make. Saudi Arabia has made no secret of the fact that it plans to develop a domestic weapons industry, with Vision 2030 specifically calling for localizing defense industries.
That should give pause to investors while Saudi Arabia is fighting a brutal conflict in Yemen. – by Adam Coogle
https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/05/31/no-ordinary-ipo-why-aramco-investors-should-scrutinize-saudi-rights-record 0 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/592ef4ede4b017b267edff47
29.5.2017 – The American Conservative (* B P)
Expecting the Saudis to ‘Combat Extremist Ideology’ Is Folly
Imagine being credulous enough to accept at face value that a Saudi run center for “combating extremist ideology” is useful. At best, it is a show put on for appearances’ sake for the benefit of gullible Western audiences. The purpose of that show is to distract attention from the effects of actual Saudi policies in the surrounding region. It won’t come as a shock that Ferguson doesn’t talk about any of those policies or their effects.
The Saudis and some of their Gulf allies have been arming and funding jihadists in Syria for years, and over the last two years they have waged a pitiless war on Yemen that has sometimes involved their collaboration with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) fighters. At the very least, the war on Yemen has been a boon to AQAP, but the Saudis are so preoccupied with fighting the Houthis and their allies that they don’t care. No one could look at their record and believe that the Saudis are reliable partners in “combating extremist ideology,” and so no one should buy for a minute that their new center is anything more than a Potemkin village of counter-terrorism – By DANIEL LARISON
29.5.2017 – Angry Qatifi (A P)
Fatima Almuzain starts #Ramadan2017 with a news that #Saudi Supreme Court approved the crucifixion of her son #AbdullahTurif. #Qatif
https://twitter.com/AngryQatifi/status/869369571668611072 referring to https://twitter.com/um3bdullah6raif/status/868060040065888257
29.5.2017 – Gulf News (A E P)
Saudi net foreign assets dip below $500b as BofA sees headwinds
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority said on Sunday its net foreign assets fell by $8.5 billion from the previous month to about $493 billion
Saudi Arabia’s net foreign assets dropped below $500 billion in April for the first time since 2011 even after the kingdom raised $9 billion from its first international sale of Islamic bonds. But the pace of the decline in reserves this year has puzzled economists who see little evidence of increased government spending, fuelling speculation it’s triggered by capital flight and the costs of the kingdom’s war in Yemen.
29.5.2017 – The Globe and Mail (* A P)
Saudi razing of Shia quarter condemned by UN human rights monitors
United Nations human rights monitors including a Canadian expert are condemning Saudi Arabia’s use of force to clear and raze a minority Shia Muslim neighbourhood in the country’s Eastern Province – measures that have fuelled more bloody conflict there.
Al-Masora, a 400-year-old walled quarter in Awamia, a village in the Al-Qatif Region bordering the Persian Gulf, has been a flashpoint in the conflict between Saudi Arabia’s ruling Sunni Muslim majority and its tiny, disenfranchised Shia minority.
The Saudi government has said it wants to remove and redevelop the ancient neighbourhood of Al-Masora for health and safety reasons. Shia activists, however, say the Saudis want to eliminate a hideout for militants trying to avoid police. The quarter’s narrow streets, for example, thwart the passage of combat vehicles that authorities use to control Awamia – by Steven Chase
and
29.5. ff. – Various (* A P)
Awamiya siege in social media:
https://twitter.com/AngryQatifi/status/870375896741330944
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/870307255786274817
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869999896635609090
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869870123947044865
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869864454942588930
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869554665641435136
https://twitter.com/TheAlSadah/status/869611736575467522
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869505113005727745
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869492899993530372
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869457072894640128
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869334768059654148
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869318861329489920
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869366180552876032
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869149132270821376
https://twitter.com/TheAlSadah/status/868886223380721664
https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/869179999278047234
Remark: More reporting in the last YPRs.
cp9 USA
5.2017 – Move On Petition (* A P)
Congress: Stop the Saudi Arms Deal. Stop the Famine in Yemen.
To be delivered to The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
Pledge to oppose the Saudi arms deal. Use your leverage to stop the Saudi-imposed famine in Yemen.
https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/senatordurbin-senatorcardin.fb49?source=s.fb&r_by=9380648
1.6.2017 – CNN (* A P)
Saudi Arabia ramps up Washington lobbying with former Trump advisers
In the weeks before President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia on his first foreign trip, the Saudi government hired three US lobbying firms to do its bidding in Washington, including an obscure group made up of former Trump advisers that will receive $5.4 million for one year's work, federal records show.
The Saudis have now added six U.S. lobbying firms since Trump's election in a bid to improve frayed relations with the United States -- and to capitalize on a president who skewered them as a candidate but is now seen as an ally.
The Saudi Interior Ministry hired Sonoran Policy Group of Arizona in May -- the day after Trump announced he would visit Saudi Arabia -- as a "government affairs and commercial sector adviser" for $5.4 million, according to records the firm filed with the Justice Department. That's a startling sum even in the lucrative business of lobbying for foreign governments.
Sonoran's lobbying work over the years has focused on small domestic clients including California technology companies, federal records show. It had no experience representing foreign governments until December.
But it does have extensive ties to Trump.
Sonoran hired in December as its president Stuart Jolly, the political director of a pro-Trump political-action committee that raised $28 million and the Trump campaign's former national field director.
"Stuart is really one of the geniuses and brains behind this great human experiment that Donald Trump did," Sonoran owner Robert Stryk said in an interview in January. He marveled at Jolly's access to Trump after Sonoran secured its first foreign client, the New Zealand government.
"I text Stuart Jolly and say we need to get Mr. Trump to talk to the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Within 30 minutes this man got us the private cellphone of Mr. Trump," Stryk told the New Zealand Herald.
A White House official said Trump had not spoken to Jolly since he left the Trump campaign, in April, and that Jolly might have had Trump's old cellphone number, which has been inactive since January.
Stryk himself is a longtime Republican operative who represented former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in 2016, brokering a $1.2-million book deal that later fell through.
Another Sonoran lobbyist, Jacob Daniels, was chief of staff for the Trump campaign in Michigan, where Trump's surprise win helped him capture the White House.
A third lobbyist, Robin Townley, joined the firm in March after a brief stint on Trump's National Security Council staff.
Neither Sonoran Policy Group nor the Saudi embassy returned phone calls and emails. Jolly left Sonoran this month to start his own firm, according to Politico.
But with other former Trump aides still there, the firm remains well positioned to take advantage of its connections – By Thomas Frank
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/01/politics/saudi-arabia-lobbyists-trump/index.html
1.6.2017 – Al Monitor (A P)
Question on Saudi democracy gives State Dept pause
US officials came out Tuesday to praise and defend President Donald Trump's first Middle East tour, but one question about democracy in the region was met with a diplomatic pause.
Acting assistant secretary of state Stuart Jones -- appeared momentarily ill-at-ease at a press briefing.
His account of success in building ties with Saudi and other Muslim and Arab leaders matched the later White House briefing in substance, if not in Spicer's hyperbolic language.
But when an AFP reporter asked him whether the United States believes that democratic governance could help limit the spread of extremism, he fell silent.
For 20 long seconds, Jones stood silently at the podium considering his response as reporters stirred nervously. Then he repeated the criticism of Iranian democracy.
Trump and Tillerson's visit, he said, had made progress in working with the countries of the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council to combat extremism -- of the kind backed by Iran.
"Clearly one source of extremism, one terrorism threat, is coming from Iran and that's coming from a part of the Iranian apparatus that is not at all responsive to its electorate," he said.
Officials took no more questions -- but the uncomfortably long pause was quickly picked up upon by outside observers.
Shadi Hamid, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and writer on Islam and politics, tweeted: "Good God. That's the longest pause I've ever seen from a US official."
In a headline to a blog post, the progressive news magazine Mother Jones quipped: "At the State Department, sometimes silence speaks volumes."
and
30.5.2017 – Alex Emmons (A P)
Film: Watch as Stuart Jones, a high-level acting official in the State Dept, is asked why they criticize Iranian elections but never Saudi Arabia:
https://twitter.com/AlexanderEmmons/status/869649552617463808
My comment: Superb!!
30.5.2017 – Yemen Peace Project (* A K T)
DEADLY US RAID IN MARIB WAS RECKLESS AND COUNTERPRODUCTIVE
These reckless raids and CENTCOM’s disingenuous attempts to evade accountability for civilian casualties are yet more examples of the US’ misguided counterterrorism strategy in Yemen. These incidents, coupled with the lack of accountability for civilian deaths, injuries, and property damage, inflame current anti-American sentiments in Yemen and the region, validate AQAP’s propaganda, and create a larger, more receptive recruitment pool for AQAP and other extremist groups. Far from “bringing stability” to Yemen as the Pentagon has claimed, actions like these exacerbate the local grievances driving conflict and radicalization. Rather than increasing its military counterterrorism operations, the US must reevaluate the true impact of operations like these, and craft a new counterterrorism strategy that better serves the interests of Yemenis and Americans alike – by HASHIM ELWAZIR
30.5.2017 – Reuters (* A P)
Path cleared for Congress to consider U.S. arms sale to Riyadh: State Department
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has authorized the State Department to notify Congress of the Trump administration's sale of precision-guided munitions for Saudi Arabia to use in its Yemen campaign, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday.
The notification is one of the last steps in the arms sale process and triggers a formal 30-day review to allow members of Congress to attempt to pass legislation to stop any sale.
U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation last week seeking to block about $500 million of a $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, including the portion on precision-guided missiles and other offensive weapons – By Yeganeh Torbati
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-arms-idUSKBN18Q29T
30.5.2017 – Huffington Post (* B P)
American Foreign Policy Cannot Be A Force For Good If It Arms Despots
If you’re somehow glued in the myth that the U.S. foreign policy is a force for democracy, a glance at the list of U.S. arms exports should rid you of those illusions.
Consider the facts
“Today truly is a historic moment in the U.S.-Saudi relations,” said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, ignoring the carnage in Yemen just as much as the Saudis.
Such appalling expressions of the U.S.’s role in the world are hardly new
Pundit after pundit has built a career on the back of a fantasy that America is a champion of democracy. They spent years harping on how America should take the lead to remove serial human rights abusers. Yet most of those same pundits remain disturbingly silent on the hypocrisy of America’s support for unelected despots.
This isn’t just about the arms trade, of course: it’s about the very nature of U.S. foreign policy. These repressive regimes aren’t just buying weapons; they’re also buying political immunity that undermines America’s already bleeding legitimacy. Yes, the defense industries provide jobs, but according to the non-governmental Campaign Against the Arms Trade, there’s substantial overlap in the skill sets between the arms and renewable energy sectors. Instead of supporting an industry that feeds weapon-hungry regimes, we could retool the economy to help save our planet. Is the prospect of runaway climate change a threat to our security? I would say so.
In the meantime, the U.S. arms industry reveals that democracy is alternatively held up as a justification or mocked as irrelevant in American foreign policy. Just look at the “leader of the free world,” handling the glowing orb with a tyrant who believes in chopping off people’s heads – by Ali Reza Naraghi
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ali-reza-naraghi/america-foreign-policy_b_16874572.html
29.5.2017 – The Cairo Review (* A P)
Empty Promises in Riyadh
The Trump administration pageant moves to the Middle East.
Is there a more benign method of combatting extremism in Trump’s policy grab-bag, given that $100 billion arms agreement with Saudi Arabia was signed but nothing was pledged to help with development in poor Arab countries? The space for a specific strategy for the new alliance against terrorism was left blank and, in a region brimming with human rights abuses, little was said to address the aspirations of youthful populations in the region still yearning for reform, except for the platitudes about living in peace once terror is defeated.
If the focus was on feel-good themes and solidarity in the face of a common threat, the good versus evil banner was a touch too melodramatic and rather void of realistic strategies. There were no follow-up sessions among foreign ministers and security specialists of the convening nations; it is doubtful U.S. diplomats will follow up with participants in the months ahead, for the simple reason that the Trump administration has left the State Department short staffed.
There has been no official mention of the concept of an “Arab NATO.”
The spread of famine, cholera, and dying children in Yemen stood in macabre contrast to the opulence of the room in which summiteers met. Their speechifying did not include any specifics on how this new coalition of the willing would counter Russia, Iran, and the Bashar Al-Assad regime in the Syria conflict – By Nabeel Khoury
https://www.thecairoreview.com/tahrir-forum/empty-promises-in-riyadh/
29.5.2017 – Fars News (A P)
Trump Won’t Say Syria and Yemen Deserve Peace
After closing an arms deal with Saudi Arabia worth $110 billion, US President Donald Trump refused to say whether Yemen is entitled to peace or ending the war on Syria is the best way to ensure its people have the security they need.
In his view, Saudi vassals have every right to incessantly pound Yemen and bring back to power the resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi
In the president’s view, the White House has every right to affect regime change in Damascus
Though Trump is unable to help regional allies to regime change Syria and Yemen, he did succeed in destabilizing the region for many years to come.
Trump’s discursive policy of weaponizing allies has inspired sectarian warfare as well because his administration hasn’t hesitated to carry out its threats against Iran and its close allies.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960307001822
Remark: Iranian view.
28.5.2017 – New York Times (* B P)
As Iran and U.S. Leaders Trade Barbs, Big Deals Proceed
President Trump, who has never made a secret of his hostility toward Iran, called recently for a grand regional strategy among Sunni nations to isolate the country. But Tehran received that threat with surprising equanimity because, in practice, the Trump administration has shown a willingness to do business with the country.
Tough talk from both sides, but back in Iran, they are awaiting the delivery of a fleet of American-made Boeing airliners, the result of two deals worth $22 billion for the United States company.
Mr. Trump, whose America First campaign was based in part on the promise of reviving industrial employment, was apparently not eager to kill an order estimated to create 18,000 jobs.
The Trump administration appears to have grasped an important point about Iran: The very thing that the administration complains and worries about — Iran’s expanding influence in the region — makes it imperative that the two countries maintain at least a working relationship.
The United States will have a hard time solving problems in the Mideast without Tehran’s cooperation.
That is why some analysts are saying there would be room for compromise if the two countries ever sat down to talk, with the United States trading its control over the Iranian economy for concessions in regional affairs from Iran – By THOMAS ERDBRINK
26.5.2017 – Foreign Policy (* A P)
Defiant Congress Sparks Showdown With Trump Over Saudi Arms Deal
The White House and Congress are headed for a showdown over President Donald Trump’s massive multibillion-dollar arms package for Saudi Arabia. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate are calling for congressional hearings and scrutiny into the planned arms sale, which Trump finalized during his trip to Saudi Arabia this week.
Sens. Chris Murphy (D.-Conn.), Al Franken (D.-Minn.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced a joint resolution of disapproval for the deal. Under a provision of the Arms Export Control Act, they now have to wait 10 days before bringing their measure to the floor of the Senate.
They hope to block the sale of weapons and equipment to the Royal Saudi Air Force, though it represents only a portion of the total $110 billion arms package.
On the House side, Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) urged the House Foreign Affairs Committee to reconsider selling precision-guided munitions to Riyadh — a sale blocked by former President Barack Obama in December 2016 over civilian casualties in Saudi airstrikes on Yemen. The two lawmakers urged a hearing on the deal before the window for congressional oversight on the sale closed on June 20.
The debate showcases waning congressional support for a historic U.S. ally plagued by rampant human rights abuses, a controversial war in Yemen, and export of extremist ideologies to other parts of the world – BY ROBBIE GRAMER and RUBY MELLEN
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
1.6.2017 – New News (A P)
UK Home Secretary Refuses to Apologize for Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
Amber Rudd, the British Home Secretary, suggested that arms sales to Saudi Arabia are strengthening the British defense industry while refusing to consider the multi-billion deals as controversial.
Rudd made the comments while standing in for Prime Minister Theresa May at a live BBC debate for the leaders of seven British political parties, RT reported.
May had faced criticism for her decision to not take part in the event.
During an often-fractious debate, Rudd was asked about Britain’s arms deal with the Middle Eastern state by Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas.
“I will make no apology for being a government that wants to defend this country,” said Rudd. “We will make sure that our defense budget is well-funded and we will do that by having a strong economy and make sure we can do that by having a strong industry.”
“Saudi has the right,” she added, as others began to interject.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960311000671 = http://newnewss.net/?p=5938
My comment: That’s always the same fairy tales we are told. “to defend this country” has nothing to do at all with selling arms to the Saudis – quite the contrary is true, as also was told after the Manchester attack. – “Saudi has the right,” – wherefor? To bomb Yemen??? Interesting.
1.6.2017 – MbKS15 (A K P)
Photos. Last two EF Typhoon jets (8023/8024) for the Royal #Saudi Air Force during a test flight yesterday at Warton
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/870190064093077509
My comment: British-Saudi complicity in photos.
31.5.2017 – The Guardian (* A P)
'Sensitive' UK terror funding inquiry may never be published
Investigation into foreign funding and support of jihadi groups operating in UK understood to focus on Saudi Arabia
An investigation into the foreign funding and support of jihadi groups that was authorised by David Cameron may never be published, the Home Office has admitted.
The inquiry into revenue streams for extremist groups operating in the UK was commissioned by the former prime minister and is thought to focus on Saudi Arabia, which has repeatedly been highlighted by European leaders as a funding source for Islamist jihadis.
The Observer reported in January last year that the Home Office’s extremism analysis unit had been directed by Downing Street to investigate overseas funding of extremist groups in the UK, with findings to be shown to Theresa May, then home secretary, and Cameron.
However, 18 months later, the Home Office confirmed the report had not yet been completed and said it would not necessarily be published, calling the contents “very sensitive”.
A decision would be taken “after the election by the next government” about the future of the investigation, a Home Office spokesman said
In his letter to May, Brake wrote: “It is no secret that Saudi Arabia in particular provides funding to hundreds of mosques in the UK, espousing a very hardline Wahhabist interpretation of Islam. It is often in these institutions that British extremism takes root.”
The contents of the report may prove politically as well as legally sensitive. Saudi Arabia, which has been a funding source for fundamentalist Islamist preachers and mosques, was visited by May earlier this year – by Jessica Elgot
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/31/sensitive-uk-terror-funding-inquiry-findings-may-never-be-published-saudi-arabia and by Sputnik News: https://sputniknews.com/military/201706011054176612-saudi-terror-funding-kept-secret/
26.5.2017 – Channel 4 (* A P)
Film: Jeremy Corbyn: "We must be brave enough to admit the ‘war on terror’ is not working."
The Labour Party leader says it is time to accept the "connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries and terrorism here at home".
https://www.facebook.com/Channel4NewsDemocracy/videos/1315133541897919/
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
30.5.2017 – AFP (A P)
Friedensforscher sehen wegen US-Präsident Trump viele Ungewissheiten
Führende deutsche Friedensforscher haben vor den von US-Präsident Donald Trump geforderten drastischen Erhöhungen der Nato-Ausgaben gewarnt.
Als Reaktion auf die ungelösten gewaltsamen Konflikte in Syrien und im Jemen hält das Friedensgutachten humanitäre Hilfsmaßnahmen für zentral. Die Verhinderung von Massakern, Massenmord und Massensterben durch die Kriegsfolgen müsse Vorrang haben. Konkret fordern die Friedensforscher eine internationale Debatte über Schutzzonen in diesen Ländern.
Die Bundesregierung fordern die Friedensforscher auf, fortan alle Rüstungsexporte nach Saudi-Arabien zu verweigern. Das Königreich spiele im Konflikt im Jemen eine verschärfende Rolle.
https://www.afp.com/de/nachrichten/2523/friedensforscher-sehen-wegen-us-praesident-trump-viele-ungewissheiten = https://de.nachrichten.yahoo.com/friedensforscher-sehen-wegen-us-präsident-trump-viele-ungewissheiten-104333939.html
29.5.2017 – Andreas Kindl, German ambassador to Yemen (A K)
I have not heard a single convincing reason why #Sanaa airport has been closed for commercial flights for almost ten months. Anyone?
https://twitter.com/AmbSanaa/status/869321713607114753
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
31.5.2017 – Sputnik News (A P)
Saudis Reportedly Invite Russia to Work With 'Arab NATO'
Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman is likely to have invited Russia to work with the emerging Saudi-led military alliance in the Middle East during his visit to Moscow, political analyst Gevorg Mirzayan wrote for Sputnik.
"It is an open secret that Riyadh is trying to set up a regional bloc to counter Iran, if not undermine its influence in the entire Middle East. As part of this process, Saudi Arabia has employed Donald Trump by offering him a trade and investment project worth $350 billion. The Saudis are also promoting the idea of creating an 'Arab NATO.' Apparently, Prince Mohammad discussed Russia's participation in this project," the analyst said.
Mirzayan, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Sciences of Finance University under the Russian government, pointed out that Russia seems to be lukewarm about this idea.
https://sputniknews.com/politics/201705311054164706-saudis-russia-arab-nato/
30.5.2017 – Al Araby (* B K P)
UAE base in Somaliland soon to launch military operations
The UAE's controversial military base in Somaliland could become operational within the very near future, the autonomous region's foreign minister said on Friday.
The base is still being constructed in Berbera, located 100km north east of the capital, Hargeisa, but UAE ships have already started docking at its deep-water port.
"We don't believe the use of the facility will add to the uncertainty and the conflict in the region," Saad Ali Shire told Voice of America.
"UAE has already a base in Assab, Eritrea, which is operational, and the use of the base in Berbera is not going to add anything new to the conflict."
Shire was previously extremely vocal in his opposition to the UAE base in Berbera and once threatened to resign over the issue.
The minister said he had changed his mind for "economic reasons".
30.5.2017 – Tasnim News (A E P)
UAE's ENOC Clears Iran Oil Dues: Report
Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) has paid its outstanding oil dues to Iran, a report said.
Iran received more than $4bn from ENOC as part of the UAE retailer's settlement of its debts owed to Iran for pre-sanction oil and gas purchases, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera broadcaster reported on Tuesday.
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2017/05/30/1423204/uae-s-enoc-clears-iran-oil-dues-report
Comment by Haykal Bafana: After Qatar, UAE now Safavid heretic allies. Riyadh will flip. Again.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/869746390263619584
30.5.2017 – Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (* B P)
Why the Trump Administration Should Reconsider Oman
Oman’s unique foreign policy record – which ranges from facilitating the early U.S.-Iranian contact that eventually led to the nuclear agreement, to its active contribution to the Middle East peace process, to more recently supporting the United Nations-sponsored Yemen peace negotiations – was also ignored altogether during the president’s speech, even though he thanked each of the other GCC countries for their respective commitments to fighting extremism and regional terrorist groups.
In fact, it may be that the very nature of Oman’s engagement in efforts to defuse regional conflicts has prompted the Trump administration to view it warily, given Washington’s efforts to restore close relations with Saudi Arabia. In this context, Oman’s established links to both Tehran and the political leadership of Yemen’s Houthi insurgents – clearly valued by the administration of former President Barack Obama – may be seen now as reasons to keep Oman at arm’s length.
Given that Trump has pledged to reset U.S.-GCC relations and accelerate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as part of an apparent strategic effort to counter Tehran’s “malign” regional influence, it is also surprising that Qaboos is the only GCC leader that Trump has yet to call, especially considering Oman is the only GCC country to enjoy pragmatic relationships with Iran and Israel.
In recent years, Oman used its channels to Tehran – and to the Houthis in Yemen – to gain the release of a half dozen U.S. citizens who had been detained, efforts that earned Oman public expressions of thanks from Obama.
On the surface, Oman’s quiet diplomatic style of doing business appears to be by design: By maintaining a policy of neutrality and noninterference, Oman seeks to preserve its independence and stability by closely aligning with Britain and the United States while balancing relations with its powerful neighbors, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Given Trump’s quest to forge a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace agreement, Oman could potentially again play a pivotal role through its MEDRC networks – by Sigurd Neubauer and Yoel Guzansky
http://www.agsiw.org/why-the-trump-administration-should-reconsider-oman/
29.5.2017 – Oman Observer (A P)
Oman, Yemen review good relations
His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmood al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, received on Monday Abdulmalik Abduljalil al Mekhlafi, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Yemen, currently visiting the Sultanate. During the meeting, the Yemeni official conveyed greetings of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi of Yemen to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, along with his best wishes of permanent success to His Majesty and the government.
HH Sayyid Fahd reviewed the existing good bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries and means of enhancing them, and expressed the Sultanate’s wishes of security and stability for the Yemen and its people.
http://omanobserver.om/oman-yemen-review-good-relations/
Remark: Oman as mediator in Yemen: cp7.
29.5.2017 – Canadian Foodgrains Bank (A H P)
Canadian Government to Match Donations for Famine Response
The Government of Canada will match donations from individual Canadians in response to severe food crises in Somalia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Yemen and surrounding regions dollar-for-dollar through its new Famine Relief Fund.
The announcement was made May 29 in Ottawa by the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development.
The fund is retroactive to March 17, and runs until June 30.
“Canadians have always demonstrated great compassion when it comes to humanitarian crises,” she said. “Together, we can make a difference and bring relief to people who need urgent help.”
http://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/canadian-government-match-donations-famine-response
My comment: Canada makes US $ 15 billion in military vehicles sales to Saudi Arabia.
31.5.2017 – Reuters (* A P)
Bahrain outlaws main secular opposition group
A Bahraini court on Wednesday ordered the dissolution of the main secular opposition group which the government accuses of supporting terrorism, a ruling that human rights campaigners said was aimed at silencing peaceful dissent.
The National Democratic Action Society (Waad), a social and political association in a country where parties are not allowed, campaigns for democracy, human rights and social freedoms. It tweeted that the court had ordered it dissolved and its assets seized. The ruling is subject to appeal.
The Justice Ministry, which filed a case against Waad in March accusing it of "serious violations targeting the principle of respecting the rule of law, supporting terrorism and sanctioning violence," welcomed the court ruling.
The court said the group had glorified as "martyrs of the homeland" men convicted of killing three police officers in a bomb attack in 2014, the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency BNA. The men were executed this year, Bahrain's first use of capital punishment in years.
Later in the evening, police blocked roads around Waad's headquarters preventing people from getting through, Redha al-Mosawi, a leader of the group, tweeted. The group had intended to brief journalists during an evening gathering it organises for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said the court ruling was part of a wider crackdown on opposition groups and would prove counter-productive – By Sami Aboudi
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bahrain-security-waad-idUKKBN18R0Y6?il=0
26.5.2017 – American Herald Tribune (* A P)
Bahrain - Paying the Price for Trump's Saudi Sales
Following this discussion, a short two days later, the Bahraini regime, supported by its parents in Riyadh and with logistical support from Washington, London and no doubt Tel Aviv, proceeded to initiate a massive crackdown on the town and home of Sheikh Issa Qassem, a non-violent, civil rights leader and senior Islamic scholar, Diraz.
The entire region must be looked at collectively to understand the dynamics at play.
What is the Saudi regime doing in Yemen?
Now, that America has openly and clearly decided that Iran is the boogeyman, they have stepped up and supported the Saudi DAESH in a suit entity, and are now raising a campaign against any who choose to fight back, or even tweet, against the tyranny of this Saudi Entity and its branches – by Shabbir Hassanally
http://ahtribune.com/in-depth/1680-bahrain-trump-saudi.html
Remark: An Iranian viewpoint, anyway sincere. Earlier reporting YPR 305, cp12.
cp12a Katar / Qatar
Look at cp1. Earlier reporting YPR 305, cp12a. And the propaganda is going there and back.
31.5.2017 – Reuters (* A P)
Gulf Arab row rattles Trump's anti-Iran axis
Just 10 days after President Donald Trump called on Muslim countries to stand united against Iran, a public feud between Qatar and some of its Gulf Arab neighbours is jolting his attempt to tip the regional balance of power against Tehran.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are incensed by Qatar's conciliatory line on Iran, their regional archrival, and its support for Islamist groups, in particular the Muslim Brotherhood, which they regard as a dangerous political enemy.
The spat shows no sign of abating, raising the prospect of a long breach between Doha and its closest allies that could have repercussions around the Middle East.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani arrived in Kuwait on Wednesday for talks with his counterpart Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah that are expected to address the rift. Kuwait, a past mediator between Gulf states, has offered to help ease tensions.
But few expect an early end to what is not their first feud. Three years ago Saudi Arabia and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha for similar reasons, although they returned after less than a year.
Analysts point to the unusual willingness of Qatari state-backed media on one side, and Saudi and Emirati media on the other, to trade rhetorical broadsides in public.
Some analysts speculate Riyadh and Abu Dhabi felt confident to authorise criticisms of Qatar by their deepening friendship with Trump, confident that his opposition to Iran and all Islamist armed groups reflects their views more than Qatar's.
"When Trump gave fulsome support in Riyadh and said, 'let's isolate Iran' that sent a signal to the UAE and Saudi, which felt emboldened and said: let's let loose everything we have on Qatar," said Gerd Nonneman, professor of International Relations and Gulf Studies at Georgetown University in Qatar.
Such animosities can have ramifications across the Middle East, where Gulf states have used their financial and political clout to influence events in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen amid upheaval caused by the Arab Spring – By Sylvia Westall and Tom Finn
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar-usa-idUSKBN18R1AA
31.5.2017 – Middle East Monitor (* A P)
In wake of Trump visit, Saudi-led Sunni bloc already splintering
The Saudi-orchestrated bloc of Sunni Muslim states celebrated at US President Donald Trump's visit to Riyadh is splintering less than two weeks after the summit. There is growing unease with the summit's intense animosity toward Iran and increasing concerns that the Saudis are inflaming the sectarian divide between Sunnis and Shiites. Trump's domestic troubles are also raising doubts over whether Washington is reliable.
The Saudis next escalated the dispute with Qatar considerably. The Saudi media reported May 28 on an open letter from the Al-Shaykh family, the descendants of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The letter is signed by all 200 of the male descendants of the founder of Wahhabism in the kingdom. The al-Shaykhs are the al-Saud's critical partners in the ruling of the kingdom and provide its religious legitimacy. The minister of Islamic Affairs and the grand mufti both signed the letter.
The letter accuses the emir of an unidentified Gulf emirate of falsely claiming that he is a descendant of Wahhab. This false claim is not only "fabricated" but it also is allegedly being used to misinterpret Islam.
The letter is from the heart of the clerical establishment in Saudi Arabia and amounts to an indictment of the legitimacy of the Qatari ruling family. It is unprecedented in GCC politics for one state to dispute the legitimacy of another's royal family. It's also a quarrel within Wahhabism.
The Qatari quarrel is highly visible and has gone on before. It's a repeat performance of the "uppity" Qataris' challenging their bigger brother – by Bruce Riedel
31.5.2017 – Ali AlAhmed (A P)
Eyes on #Kuwait Wednesday where emir of Qatar arrives to find an out of Saudi/UAE political warfare. Saudi wants complete Qatari submission
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/869765201603821568
31.5.2017 – Gulf Times (A P)
Qatar, US stress on strategic ties
HE the Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani held yesterday a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The two sides stressed that they will follow up on the outcomes of the meeting held between HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and US President Donald Trump, which took place on the sidelines of the Riyadh Summit in Saudi Arabia.
The meeting discussed enhancing the strategic bilateral co-operation in political, economic, security, and military fields to achieve mutual interests.
http://www.gulf-times.com/story/551663/Qatar-US-stress-on-strategic-ties
31.5.2017 – Saudi Gazette (A P)
Qatar reportedly gave $500m to Popular Mobilization militias in Iraq
Iraqi sources confirmed to Okaz that Qatar’s foreign minister met with his counterpart in Baghdad last week, and asked him to transfer half a billion dollars, intended as ransom money for the release of kidnapped Qataris, as a gift from Doha to support popular mobilization militias.
In early April, Doha sent its ambassador in Baghdad to try to secure the release of 24 Qatari nationals who were kidnapped by Iraqi militias.
Three days later, adviser of the Qatari Emir and Doha’s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani boarded an aircraft with 23 bags containing nearly half a billion dollars.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/world/mena/qatar-reportedly-gave-500m-popular-mobilization-militias-iraq/
My comment: Saudi propaganda.
30.5.2017 – The Guardian (A P)
Quotes were falsely attributed to the emir of Qatar and its foreign minister
Our country was the victim of a hacking attack that led to ‘fake news’, says Saif Ahmed Al Thani, director of Qatar’s Government Communications Office
Your article (Saudi Arabia and UAE block Qatari media over incendiary statements, 25 May) lends credence to the idea that fraudulent “quotes” – falsely attributed to the emir of Qatar and Qatar’s foreign minister – placed by hackers on a Qatari website might actually be genuine. They are not.
Allow us set the record straight: the government of Qatar noticed the appearance of “hacked” material on the Qatar News Agency’s website at 12.15am on Wednesday 24 May. Qatar’s Government Communications Office released a statement at 1am alerting the news media that the quotes were not authentic. Most media outlets covered our statement and stopped publishing or broadcasting the fraudulent material – by Saif Ahmed Al Thani, Director, Government Communications Office, State of Qatar
30.5.2017 – Fars News (* A P)
Trump and His Pals Summon Deamons of War and Chaos
The Qatar-backed London-based Middle East Eye website published an incendiary cartoon that shows US President Donald Trump and two Arab leaders apparently summoning the devil rejoicing at death and “more dead kids”. [CARTOON]
http://en.farsnews.com/imgrep.aspx?nn=13960309001214
30.5.2017 – Arab News (A P)
Qatar-backed website slammed over cartoon showing Trump 'summoning devil'
An incendiary cartoon published by a Qatar-backed news website that shows US President Donald Trump and two Arab leaders apparently summoning the devil has been widely criticized online.
The cartoon, by US-based illustrator Katie Miranda, shows Trump, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi around a crystal ball, in a scene inspired by a real-life photocall during the inauguration of an anti-terror center in Riyadh earlier this month.
But the cartoon, published on Wednesday, shows the devil and an “underworld” below the leaders gathered around the crystal ball, with the line “we have been summoned!” and demons rejoicing at death and “more dead kids!”
It was published by the London-based website Middle East Eye, which despite claiming to be independent and having “no political master,” is widely believed to be backed by Qatar. (images)
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1107221/media = http://newnewss.net/?p=5884
My comment: By a Saudi media.
29.5.2017 – Press TV Iran (* A P)
Family of Saudi Wahhabism founder disowns Qatar emir amid tensions
Descendants of the founder of Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi ideology have disowned Qatar's ruling family amid heightened tension between the two Persian Gulf neighbors.
According to Saudi Arabia's Okaz newspaper, 200 descendants of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab have denied in a statement claims that the 18th-century cleric was the Qatari emir's great grandfather.
The statement has not mentioned the Qatari emir by name but has referred to his construction of a mosque named after Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, demanding that Qatar rename the mosque.
http://presstv.com/Detail/2017/05/29/523530/Saudi-Wahhabism-founder-disowns-Qatar-Emir and also http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/05/29/523606/Bahrain-Sheikh-Hasan-alDehi--Shia-Muslims
29.5.2017 – Al Arabiya (A P)
Qatari intelligence founder: ‘Doha has lost its mind’
Retired general Mahmoud Mansour, Qatari intelligence founder, told Al Arabiya that “Doha has lost its mind” as a diplomatic spat between the country and its Gulf neighbors widened in recent days.
This came as Mansour spoke on Al Arabiya’s Panorama program as he tried to explain the mechanism of how Iran's infiltration into Arab countries
My comment: Saudi propaganda. Iran behind everything – even the weather? And just more:
29.5.2017 – Arab News (A P)
Qatar’s deal with the devil
On the same day that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had a weekend phone conversation with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued his latest broadside against Saudi Arabia and the Arab coalition.
The Iranian response is typically to employ an asymmetric strategy to divide and weaken its adversaries. Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, senior military officer of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Khamenei’s personal adviser, has deployed this strategy with impunity over the past decade.
That is why recent reports that a Qatari official met with Soleimani fit into the wider operational methodology of the IRGC. Soleimani is the keeper of Iran’s foreign policy, particularly when it relates to the Arabian Gulf and Syria.
Qatar already once before struck a deal with the devil, when they negotiated directly with Iran to gain the release of members of the royal family who were kidnapped, shockingly, by Iraqi Kata’ib Hezbollah militants.
Doha’s negotiations with Iran have proved to be a bitter display of utter humiliation and kowtowing to Soleimani and the Iranian sectarian agenda he represents – by Oubai Shahbandar
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1106766
My comment: Saudi propaganda.
Comment by Bin Maymun: #Saudi lobbying $$ hard at work to discredit #Qatar Individual Foreign Agents Registration form
https://twitter.com/BinMaymun/status/869199234255511552 referring to https://www.fara.gov/docs/5483-Short-Form-20160429-402.pdf
28.5.2017 – ESO Human Rights (A P)
Qatar deported Mohammad al-Otaibi to Saudi on 25/05/2017 after received an asylum in Norway. Saudi tortures detainees & misses justice (photo)
https://twitter.com/ESOHumanRights/status/868788264815271936
And Qatar now emphasizes it’s humanitarian help for Yemen:
30.5.2017 – Qatar Tribune (A H P)
QC campaign to combat cholera outbreak in Yemen
QATAR Charity (QC) has begun finalising a campaign to combat cholera epidemic in Yemen, which is expected to benefit 40,000 people.
The campaign will focus on providing drinking water in the affected areas in order to prevent people from using polluted water that results in the infection and supporting health centres to offer medicines and treatment.
http://www.qatar-tribune.com/news-details/id/67681
While Qatar is blaming the USAE for it’s Yemen policy:
29.5.2017 – Alwaght (A H P)
In Yemen, Qatar’s Support for Development vis-à-vis UAE’s Suspicious Role
Despite that the Saudi-led Arab Coalition – comprising ten Arab states, including most GCC States – has announced the determined course of its military operations against Al-Houthi group and declared its support for the restoration of legitimate power in Yemen, UAE deviated from this predetermined course and started to play a suspicious role, easily recognizable to everyone observing the situation.
The United Arab Emirates has turned into an obstacle for government officials in Aden, the newly declared interim capital of the country. UAE officers impose control over the city’s affairs, using UAE-backed proxies who flagrantly act against President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his cabinet.
UAE supports the Southern Movement aiming at the division of Yemen, while the Saudi-led Arab Coalition seeks to preserve the territorial integrity of Yemen and its sovereignty. This makes the role of UAE in Yemen clear to all,” said Mukhtar Ar-Rahabi, a journalist in the Yemeni President’s Office.
Qatar’s Developmental Role in Yemen
Since March 26, 2015, when Asifat-ul-Hazam (the military operation of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition) was launched against Al-Houthi rebels in Yemen, the State of Qatar has been providing assistance for the Yemeni people in terms of humanitarian aid, through the implementation of dozens of charitable projects and the provision of aid to tens of thousands of IDPs.
http://www.alwaghtnews.net/news1302.html
cp13 Waffenhandel / Arms trade
31.5.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)
Yemen Security Brief
The U.S. may sell Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense systems to Saudi Arabia as part of an arms deal signed on May 20, according to the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The THAAD system is designed to intercept ballistic missiles while minimizing the likelihood that their payload will detonate. It could reduce casualties inflicted by al Houthi-Saleh ballistic missile attacks in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.[4]
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
1.6.2017 – Critical Threats (A T)
Yemen Security Brief
AQAP militants attacked al Houthi-Saleh forces on two separate occasions in southern al Bayda governorate, central Yemen. AQAP militants ambushed an al Houthi-Saleh vehicle on May 30 and detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) targeting an al Houthi-Saleh armored vehicle on June 1 near Mash’aba village, southern al Bayda. AQAP fights alongside anti-al Houthi tribal militias in central Yemen to promote itself as the defender of Sunnis in Yemen.[4]
1.6.2017 – Press TV Iran (* A P T)
Houthis rule out role in alleged attack on oil tanker in Bab el-Mandeb
Yemen’s Houthis have dismissed any role in an alleged recent attack on an oil tanker off Yemen's coast, describing the incident as a US plot to make the region insecure.
Saudi Arabia which is waging a deadly war on Yemen said on Thursday that a boat had fired three rocket-propelled grenades at the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker while the vessel was passing through the Bab el-Mandeb into the Red Sea on Wednesday.
In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Thursday, the kingdom said none of the crew was hurt in the attack and the tanker managed to sail on into the Red Sea.
Riyadh was investigating the attack, the statement read, as it accused Yemen's Houthi fighters of threatening maritime security.
The incident took place near Perim also called Mayyun, a volcanic island in the Bab el-Mandeb that has been controlled by Saudi forces since 2015.
Ansarullah spokesman Muhammad Ali al-Houthi said the Yemeni army and allied Houthi fighters had no role in Wednesday’s alleged attack.
It is an attempt in line with US conspiracies to make Mandeb Strait insecure, he said, adding the waters are under the control of Saudi-US forces and they are responsible for any incident there.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/06/01/523886/Yemen-Houthi-Ansarullah-US
and
1.6.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P T)
Yemen army spokesman Lukman: We did not target oil tanker off our coasts.Aggression media use this allegation to justify more attacks there (photo)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/870424300540628995
and
2.6.2017 – Yemen Extra (A P T)
New Propagandas of US-Saudi Aggression Coalition in Yemen
The pursuit of direct control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the occupation of important islands, is another witness to the true aims of the aggression forces which is total in contradiction to their claims of restoration of legitimacy.
The conclusion is that any foreign movement in Bab al-Mandab would benefit United States of America to stabilize it military presence and bring in more naval forces in the region, but what is different this time is that marketing is an important task for the Saudi and UAE.
http://www.yemenextra.net/2017/06/02/new-propagandas-of-us-saudi-aggression-coalition-in-yemen/
31.5.2017 – Reuters (* A T)
Oil tanker attacked in key shipping lane off Yemen
Unknown assailants attacked an oil tanker on Wednesday in a strategic Red Sea waterway near Yemen in the latest flare-up in an area through which much of the world's oil passes.
The EU Naval Force said in a statement that the attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades before breaking off their assault on the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker MT MUSKIE in the southern Bab al-Mandab Strait. The tanker is 70,362 tons deadweight.
A spokesman for the EU force said the attack did not appear to have been launched by pirates and was likely related to "continuing instability at sea off the coast of Yemen."
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-shipping-attack-idUSKBN18R2N9 and also http://www.oceanuslive.org/main/viewnews.aspx?uid=00001219 with map
Comment by Hussam Al-Sanabani: This area is under the control of pro Hadi militia and the Saudi coalition
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/870016747272720385 and map https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/870077205338050562
and what Saudi propaganda made of this incident:
31.5.2017 – Al Arabiya (A P)
Houthis attack oil tanker in key shipping lane off Yemen
Houthi militias attacked an oil tanker on Wednesday in a strategic Red Sea waterway near Yemen in the latest flare-up in an area through which much of the world’s oil passes
Comment by Hussam Al-Sanabani: There is No limit to the Saudi stupid propaganda.
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/870063812539539456
and giving up this claim:
1.6.2017 – Emirati News Agency (A P T)
Coalition Command for Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen: Oil tanker attacked by RPGs from a boat off Yemeni coast
The Command of the Coalition for Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen announced that on Wednesday morning, a tanker under the flag of the Marshall Islands, was attacked by a naval boat using three Rocket-Propelled Grenades, RPGs, off the Yemeni coast near Bab Al-Mandab between the islands of Yemeni Myon and Djiboutian Saba'.
The Saudi Press Agency quoted the Command as saying, in a statement, that not one of the tanker's workers was hurt, and the ship is currently on its way into the Red Sea, adding that a thorough follow-up of the incident is being conducted to discover the involved party.
The Command of the Coalition for Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen renewed its warning that the continuing practices of Al-Houthi militias of arms and ammunition smuggling activities into Yemeni territories affect the security of navigation in this vital part of the world.
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302617083
My comment: Still blaming the Houthis – Saudi attacks at boats and the coastline are a much greater threat for navigation.
and as reported by AP, referring to the Saudi coalition statement, but making clear where the incident actually happened:
1.6.2017 – AP (A P T)
The attack happened near Perim, or Mayun in Arabic, an island that commands the strategic strait and has been controlled by coalition forces since 2015 when they seized it from Yemeni rebels.
http://www.france24.com/en/20170601-oil-tanker-fired-off-yemen-saudi-led-coalition and similar at The National UAE: http://www.thenational.ae/world/oil-tanker-comes-under-fire-while-passing-through-yemens-mandeb-strait
31.5.2017 – Critical Threats (A P)
Yemen Security Brief
The.Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) Wilayat al Bayda released a photoset of its militants planning and conducting an attack against al Houthi-Saleh forces in northwestern al Bayda governorate on May 30. The photoset featured militants firing a combination of small arms and artillery at al Houthi-Saleh forces in the Zahara area. ISIS Wilayat al Bayda last claimed an attack on May 16.[5]
30.5.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)
Yemen Security Brief
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released the ninth edition of its With the Quran series featuring a lecture from deceased AQAP scholar Harith Bin Ghazi al Nadhari, dated February 2014. [4]
30.5.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)
Yemen Security Brief
AQAP clashed with al Houthi-Saleh forces in central Yemen. AQAP militants attacked al Houthi-Saleh forces in Dhi Madahi, al Sawm’aa district, southern al Bayda governorate on May 30 and detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) that killed five al Houthi-Saleh troops in nearby Madhawqain, southern al Bayda, on May 29. AQAP militants also attacked al Houthi-Saleh forces with small arms fire in Hammat Sarar, northwestern al Bayda on May 26.[6]
29.5.2017 – Terror Monitor (A T)
Al-Qaeda claims to have killed five Huthis with an improvised explosive device targeting their vehicle in the area of Almkoqin in the province of Al Bayda.
https://twitter.com/TerrorMonitorAR/status/869324869049229313
Publication of the organization Islamic State pictures of clashes with the Houthis in the area of Dhahra Bqifa in the province of Al-Bayda.
https://twitter.com/TerrorMonitorAR/status/869306447531839489
https://twitter.com/TerrorMonitorAR/status/869306608886718464
#IslamicState Releases Pictures Showing Attacks On #Houthis Positions In Al-Dahara In Qaifa Of #AlBaida Governorate.
https://twitter.com/Terror_Monitor/status/869451636363726848
1.6.2017 – Terror Monitor (A T)
#AlQaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (#AQAP) Releases Video Showing Suicide Bombing In #Hadramawt On May 10.
https://twitter.com/Terror_Monitor/status/870455796865290240
cp15 Propaganda
1.6.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)
Yemen Representative accuses Iran of running ISIS, Houthis
Yemen Representative to the UN Security Council Khalid al-Yamani said on Tuesday during a session of the council that Iran's intelligence runs the Houthi-Movement, ISIS and al-Qaeda in Yemen, affirming that they turned Yemenis' life into nightmares.
"The Houthi-Saleh rebel militias undermined Yemenis' aspirations which were come out of the National Dialogue Conference which included the creation of a federal democratic state in which all people share power and resources" he added.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-7477
My comment: That’s 100 % absurd. Iran neither “runs” the Houthis nore those who want to kill all Shiites.
29.5.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat ( A P)
Yemen: Millions in Counterfeit Currency Run by Coup Militias
Coup militias in Yemen have staged multiple attempts for running and laundering millions of counterfeit Yemeni Riyals, as well as illegal arms, a military source said.
The trafficking largely was directed towards Sa’ada, where the Houthi insurgency leader Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi is based. It also comes a few days after government forces seized hundreds of millions of counterfeit cash in the Jawf province, northeast the country.
Jawf’s National Army and Popular Resistance Spokesman Abdullah al-Ashraf told Asharq Al-Awsat that anti-government militias try, on almost daily basis, to smuggle large sums of counterfeit money, illegal arms and drugs.
My comment: That sounds like a propaganda story.
Comment by Judith Brown: Says Saudi news agency. I guess not too much different to USA selling its debt by transferring fictional currency.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155569346993641
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
1.6.2017 –Legal Center (* A K P)
The Violations and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 31 May 2017 (full list):
31.5.2017 –Legal Center (* A K P)
The Violations and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 30 May 2017 (full list):
30.5.2017 –Legal Center (* A K P)
The Violations and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 29 May 2017 (full list):
29.5.2017 –Legal Center (* A K P)
The Violations and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 28 May 2017 (full list):
2.6.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Arab Coalition kill 7 Houthi militants western Taiz - source
Seven militants of the Houthi group and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed on Wednesday and nine others wounded in several air raids launched by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition aircrafts on sites in Mozza and al Mocha districts in western Taiz province, southwestern Yemen.
A military source told Almasdaronline that the aircrafts have launched three air raids on Houthi reinforcements in al Hamili area and Khalid military camp in Mozza.
“Other air raids also targeted their sites northern al Mocha.”
The aerial bombardment has also resulted in the destruction of five military vehicles and heavy weapons. According to the source.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91667
1.6.2017 – New News (A K PH)
Saudi-led Coalition strike a House in Saada Province
An air strike for the US-KSA aggression’s warplanes was launched on a civilian’s house in Razih , the west of Saada province. Several casualties was happened as well scores of houses and properties were damaged as result of the raid.
The air strike targeted the house of Zabin Sabaan who condemn the pounding and the aggression’s crime against his house.
30.5.2017 – Bakeel Alkumaim (A K)
#Saudi warplanes launched an air raid on Nehm, Sana'a, targeted al-Henshat area, causing heavy damage to farms and houses (photo)
https://twitter.com/bakeelmohamed/status/869781090826944512
30.5.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi warplanes hit Hodiedah
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465922.htm
30.5.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K)
Saudi jet mistakenly bombs allied forces in southwest Yemen, four killed
The Saudi-led Coalition mistakenly bombed its allied forces in southwest Yemen, Monday, killing at least four members of the UAE-backed Southern Resistance units in the Al-Wasa’iya area of Lahj.
According to the pro-Saudi Aden Al-Ghad News Agency, local sources informed them that the Saudi Coalition carried out a faulty raid on the Southern Resistance, killing four members and wounding several others.
29.5.2017 – Jahaf (A K PH)
#Taiz: 10 airstrikes on Camp Khalid in Mawzie in the past hours, including 5 drone strikes
https://twitter.com/A7medJa7af/status/869307939563204611
29.5.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Two citizen killed in Saudi airstrike on Taiz
Two citizen were killed in Saudi airstrike on their cars in Mawza district of Taiz province, a military official told Saba on Monday.
The car was hit in Aqar Mountain area
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465860.htm
29.5.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Five Saudi airstrikes hit Saada
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465857.htm
29.5.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi warplanes hit Marib
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465858.htm
29.5.2017 – Pars Today (A K PH)
Jemen: Acht Tote bei saudischen Angriffen in Taez
Bei saudischen Luftangriffen in der jemenitischen Stadt Taez sind am Montag acht Menschen getötet worden.
http://parstoday.com/de/news/middle_east-i27536-jemen_acht_tote_bei_saudischen_angriffen_in_taez
29.5.2017 – New News (* A K PH)
Yemeni Civilians killed in Saudi Air strike on Taiz Province
Local source stated that the US-KSA aggression’s warplanes waged an air strike on Alaresh area of Taiz province . The source confirmed more than 10 civilians martyred and injured in the air raid (photos)
and photos in larger size:
29.5.2017 – Saudi War Crimes (* A K PH)
Massacre of Yemeni Civilians by US-Saudi-UAE Aggression in Taiz Province
On Sunday evening, the second day of Ramadan, the brutal crimes against citizens in the al-Arish region of Taiz Province continued at the hands of US-Saudi-UAE aggression forces which led to deaths and injuries of many innocent civilians.
According to a local source in Taiz that an Air Strike led to the killing of eight citizens and wounded others as an initial result, noting that a number of victims are still under the rubble and rescue operation and the recovery of victims continue until the receiving of the news at dawn of Monday.
The following are the names of the martyrs of al-Arish massacre in the Taiz province, committed by US-Saudi-UAE aggression yesterday night against the Yemeni people by Air Strike on commercial shop which was jam packed by innocent customers.
The victims were in a shop and in front of the gatekeeper in large numbers late at night. Yemenis used to be outside their homes during the holy month of Ramadan, before coalition planes launched a raid that turned the victims into scattered pieces.
There, the women and relatives of the victims went out not to search for the bodies of their loved ones, but to assemble their members, which were scattered by the missile launched by a coalition aircraft
Names of victims: (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1682763792019608 and https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1682455985383722 and https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1682441338718520
and more https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/869280891205541889
films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsTv2v2WwZs = https://www.facebook.com/Hona.Almasirah/videos/vb.1127621230602273/1527896750574717/?type=2&theater (Al Masirah)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpousHluEgg (Yemen Today)
and as reported by the other side:
31.5.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Arab Coalition aircrafts kill eight civilians in Taiz city
Eight civilians, including three children, were killed on Sunday evening by an air raid launched by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition aircrafts in al Arish area of Maqabnah district west of Taiz city, southwestern Yemen. Eyewitness said.
The eyewitnesses told Almasdaronline that the aircrafts bombed shops in al Arish area, in coincidence with aerial bombardment on sites of the Houthis-Saleh forces in Maqbanah, Mozza, and al Mocha districts.
The aircrafts also launched two air raids on Houthis’ reinforcements in Maqbanah, and two air raids on Aqar mountain in Mozza, which resulted in casualties.
In addition, the aircrafts launched five air raids on the northern area of al Mocha, killing five Houthi militants and wounding nine others
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91607
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
2.6.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Three civilians killed by a landmine explosion southern Taiz - source
Three civilians were killed when a landmine exploded Wednesday evening in the Najd Qassim area south of Taiz city in southwestern Yemen, a local source said.
The source told Almasdaronline that the three civilians were riding a motorbike on the main road in the area, before they were killed by the landmine explosion.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91664
2.6.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
11 civilians, 7 children, wounded by Houthis artillery shelling in Taiz
A human rights source said that 11 civilians, including children, were seriously wounded by the Houthis-Saleh militants’ artillery shelling on residential neighborhoods eastern Taiz, southwestern Yemen.
The source told Almasdaronline that a number of shells had hit the Republican Palace neighborhood, two of which bombed a house and a gathering of children, which led to the injury of 11 civilians, including 7 children.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91665
1.6.2017 – Critical Threats (* A K)
Yemen Security Brief
Al Houthi-Saleh forces launched a counterattack against Hadi government forces in Mokha district, western Taiz governorate on May 31. Al Houthi-Saleh forces attacked Jebel Nabidah, near Camp Khaled ibn Walid, and claimed to kill twenty fighters loyal to the Hadi government. Saudi-led coalition airstrikes targeted the attacking al Houthi-Saleh forces, killing nine. The attack marks an uptick for fighting in Mokha district, where front lines have not shifted significantly since Hadi government forces began an offensive on nearby al Hamali village on May 18.[3]
31.5.2017 – Government of Yemen (Aden government), Ministry of Human Rights (** A H K)
Taiz: Three Days of Killing and Destruction
(Update on Houthi-Saleh Militia Violations)
(Taiz, from 21 to 23of May, 2017)
For three consecutive days, killing of civilians continues in Taiz. Houthi-Saleh coup militia continues its incriminated acts against unarmed citizens in the city. Today, on May 23, 2017, the militia committed a new massacre against civilians through launching three missiles towards neighborhoods in downtown leaving 18 victims, dead and injured.
The initial toll resulted from direct targeting and indiscriminate shelling in three days, from 21 to 23 of May, 2017, has escalated to more than (36) civilian victims, (14) killed and (22) injured, most of which have serious injuries.
More than (11) children were killed or injured. (Look Table 1), which details the victims' data by age, date and incident (with names, photos, graphic)
http://www.yemenembassy.org/public/taiz/ and full PDF: http://www.yemenembassy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Taiz.pdf
31.5.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Taiz: Houthis kill a child
A local source told Almasdaronline that the five years old child Shareef Mohamed was killed while playing with other children in al Noor city western Taiz
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91606
1.6.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K PH)
Yemeni fighters Arming themselves from advanced weapons of US-backed Saudi-Emirati invaders. May 31, 2017, west coasts (photos)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/870191649514819585
31.5.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Dhamar General Hospital Refrigerator receive 35 Houthis dead bodies killed in Taiz – source
A medical source in the province of Dhamar, central Yemen, said on Monday that Dhamar General Hospital had received 35 dead bodies of militants from the Houthis-Saleh forces, coming from the city of Taiz, southwest of Yemen.
Since the beginning of last week, the fighting between pro-government forces and the Houthis-Saleh forces have been intensifying east of Taiz, where the pro-government forces have achieved military gains and took control of several sites, including the headquarters of the Central Bank and the Faculty of Medicine
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91620
31.5.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
UNESCO condemns killing 3 journalists and wounding two others by Houthis in Taiz
I condemn the attack that killed journalists Taqi al-Din al-Huthaifi, Wael al-Absi and Saad al-Nadhari, the organization's director-general Irina Bokova said in a statement
http://almasdaronline.com/article/91617
31.5.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression targets some areas in Sa'ada
The Saudi enemy continued on Wednesday targeting some areas in Sa'ada province, causing huge damage to citizens' properties.
A security official told Saba that a number of areas in the districts of Razeh and Munabah was hit by the artillery and shelling.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news466030.htm
30.5.2017 – Stratfor (A K)
Yemen: Government Forces Break Stalemate In Taiz
On May 29, pro-Hadi forces announced that they had captured the Republican Palace in Taiz, as well as its surrounding areas. Casualty numbers reported in the fight for the palace suggest that Houthi rebels attempted to hold the position at great cost. At least 78 Houthi fighters were reportedly killed in the advance, and 24 others were captured or surrendered.
The palace occupies an elevated location in eastern Taiz, allowing whoever controls it to establish a strong position in the city. This is why the Yemeni forces had redoubled their push to gain control of the palace over the past week. On May 25, they captured a medical school situated just below the palace, reportedly killing 27 Houthi fighters during the action. The following day, government forces reportedly reached the western gates of the palace complex, but it took three additional days of fighting to dislodge the rebels.
https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/yemen-government-forces-break-stalemate-taiz
My comment: The anti-Houthi propaganda permanently is telling about ruthless Houthi shelling at Taiz. And these pro-Hadi forces, they do not shell at all, when they “had redoubled their push to gain control of the palace”?? Don’t tell fairy tales, please.
30.5.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A K PS)
Yemen’s Legitimate Forces Seize Republican Palace in Taiz
My comment: If we should believe Saudi and president Hadi propaganda, it’s just the Houthis who are shelling at Taiz. – I don’t believe you can seize buildings in a city without shelling as well.
The other side (Houthi / Saleh) denies:
30.5.2017 – Yemen Press (A K PH)
More Than 40 Saudi Led Troops Killed in Failed Attack on Presidential Palace in Taiz
On May 30th 2017, the Yemeni army and popular committees confronted large attack of aggression troops in an attempt to advance towards the Presidential palace on Side of West.
A military source said that during the crackdown, more than 40 Saudi led troops were either killed or wounded which were led by paid agent commander Mohammad al-Muleki.
In another context, the Saudi led troops launched an attack after midnight at the residential neighborhood, including a large shelling at 2 am in the entrance to the village of Najdain.
The city of Taiz also witnessed intensive air raids of the Saudi aggression, where the aircrafts attacked 10 times on the camp Khaled in Taiz region including 5 raids by drones.
30.5.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Mercenaries' shelling hits houses of citizens in Taiz
Saudi-paid mercenaries shelled houses of citizens in Mawza'a district of Taiz province, a military official told Saba on Tuesday.
The shelling caused heavy damage to houses of citizens, the official added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465924.htm
29.5.2017 – Yemen Conflict Maps (A K)
Map: Yemen Front Serwah - Front Nahm
Marib and Sana'a governorates
New update 29.5.2017
https://twitter.com/YemConfMaps/status/869146113839947776
Map: Yemen Front of Bab el Mandab - South of the West Coast
Kohbob - dopab - maca al kakhwa
Lahj - Taiz - Hodeidah
New update 29.5.2017
https://twitter.com/YemConfMaps/status/869139151140081664
Map: Yemen Midi and Haradh Front - North West Coast
Hajjah - Jazan - Hodeidah
New update 29.5.2017
https://twitter.com/YemConfMaps/status/869139563469561856
Map: Yemen Presidential Palace Front - east of Taiz
Ammar Bin Yasser School - Central Bank
New update: 29/5/2017
https://twitter.com/YemConfMaps/status/869139791870390272
29.5.2017 – International Federation of Journalists (A K P)
Yemen : IFJ condemns horrific crime as 3 journalists are killed in bomb attack
The three photo-journalists: Taqi-eddin Al-Huzeifi, Wael Al-Absi, and Sa’ad Al-Nadhari, were killed on Friday, 26 May 2017, in a bomb attack carried out by theal Houthis which also injured two other photographers; Waled Al-Qadasi and Salah Al-Wahbani.
The IFJ strongly condemned the killing. The YJS called it a “terrorist massacre on journalists, who had been conducting their job consistently throughout the war, and have been covering the incidents in Taiz governorate.
Remark: reporting in YPR 305, cp17.
29.5.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
The Saudi-paid mercenaries targeted citizens' farms by artillery shells in Ramdhah and Al Hajlan areas, Marib province, causing heavy damage
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465858.htm
29.5.2017 – Yemen Updates (A K PS)
News about the liberation of the Republic Palace in Taiz by #Yemen Armed Forces & resistsance who pushed #Houthis back on battle ground!
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/869292729989255168 referring to https://www.suhf.net/yemen/172409 (Arabic)
29.5.2017 – Mohammed Al Qadhi (A K)
Film: Today's TV report on storming of presidential palace western gate in #Taiz & battles inside the compound.
https://twitter.com/mohammedalqadhi/status/869276273662709761
My comment: Success for pro-Hadi “popular resistance”.
Pro-Houthi / Pro Saleh reports:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465992.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465991.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465987.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465985.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465981.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465926.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465925.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465923.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465919.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465916.htm
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/869356489344987136
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465869.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465866.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465864.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news465855.htm
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
31.5.2017 – The National AE (A H)
Beggars flock to Oman from Pakistan and Yemen during Ramadan
Worshippers and residents say an unusually high number of beggars from overseas are in the country this Ramadan begging at the mosques or walking door to door.
"Yemenis go through a war and they find Ramadan difficult to make ends meet than the usual months. They just cross the border illegally and find their way to Muscat," said Hassan Al Khalili, one of the regular worshippers of a mosque in Muscat.
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-305-yemen-war-mosaic-305
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-305 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-305:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm und / and http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
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