Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 316 - Yemen War Mosaic 316

Yemen Press Reader 316: Katar, Islah-Partei und Saudi Arabien – Washington Post wäscht USA rein – Emirat. Foltergefängnisse im Jemen – Hadhramaut –Armut und Wirtschaft im Krieg – Cholera – u. a.

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

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Qatar, Islah Party, and Saudi Arabia – Washington Post whitewashing the US – Emirati torture prisons in Yemen – Hadhramaut – Poverty, War, and Political Indifference – Cholera – and more

Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Klassifizierung / Classification

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

cp1a Cholera

cp2 Allgemein / General

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

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

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche/ UN and peace talks

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp9 USA

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp15 Propaganda

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

Klassifizierung / Classification

***

**

*

(Kein Stern / No star)

A = Aktuell / Current news

B = Hintergrund / Background

C = Chronik / Chronicle

D = Details

E = Wirtschaft / Economy

H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions

K = Krieg / War

P = Politik / Politics

PH = Pro-Houthi

PS = Pro-Saudi

T = Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

By June 26th, cholera cases reported were 218,798 and deaths hit 1,400. In just two days, 10K+ increase in cases, and 66 deaths

27.6.2017 – Le Monde Diplomatique (** B C P)
*Qatar crisis: Saudi Arabia as anti-hero?

Gulf analyst Neil Partrick goes as far as to argue that the crisis ‘represents the total failure of the Gulf Union project.’ What light does the crisis throw on Saudi Arabia’s charges against its junior but equally wealthy GCC partner, and what does it have to do with the relations of both Qatar and Saudi Arabia with Yemen, where both countries have been involved in military operations since 2015?

Without specifying the dealings Qatar may have had with the Houthis in recent months, it implied that it had been disloyal to the Saudi-led multinational coalition that is currently battling the rebels and remnants of the army of former president Ali Abdullah Salih, on a number of fronts. (Saudi Arabia launched its military intervention, Operation Decisive Storm, in March 2015.) Providing neither context nor proof, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya has accused Doha of secretly funding the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In contrast to Saudi Arabia, Qatar tied its prestige to mediation efforts between Yemeni warring factions. In 2007, its leadership invited members of the opposing parties to Doha.

After three years of intermittent fighting, on 16 June 2007, a ceasefire brokered by Qatar came into effect. But following renewed clashes, the fragile agreement collapsed. Peace talks resumed in Doha, and the two parties that had been at war and the Qatari prime minister signed a new agreement on 1 February 2008.

Concerned that the agreement might pave the way for Houthi leaders to take up government posts, Saudi Arabia opposed the deal. General Ali Muhsin, who had close ties with crown prince and minister of interior Nayef bin Abd al-Aziz, wanted to continue the war, and branches of the Islah party (see below) encouraged King Abdullah to come on board. Making false claims against the Houthis by accusing them of abducting a number of German, British and South Korean nationals in Saada, their home province, the Yemeni president then conducted yet another, even more destructive war against them.

The sixth war was prosecuted jointly by the Yemeni and Saudi Arabian armies. Saudi Arabia officially declared it a jihad against ‘evil-doers’ outside its borders which had been one of the Saudi state’s raisons d’être since the 18th century. In February 2010, a ceasefire was agreed by the Yemeni government, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. However, neither were the latter incorporated into the state’s political fabric nor were steps taken to address reconciliation, confidence-building measures and reconstruction, so the door was left open for further future conflict.

Several of Qatar’s neighbours have accused it of harbouring `terrorist and sectarian groups that aim to destabilise the region including the Muslim Brotherhood…and Al-Qaeda.’ However, one wonders whether Saudi Arabia, which leads the campaign to bring pressure to bear on Qatar to turn its ‘foreign policy on its head’, has a case. In 1990, Saudi Arabia encouraged the establishment of an Islamic party, the Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah). Described by The Economist as the ‘local offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood’, the party also embraces some Salafis and conservative Sunni businessmen. Having worked in partnership with the General People’s Congress (GPC) party in order to undermine the Yemeni Socialist Party in the early 1990s, in later years Islah proved vital for the creation of a nominal opposition alliance, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP). Islah’s militia played a decisive role in defeating the South during the war of 1994 between northern and southern political elites and their armies. The party’s supporters fought as paramilitaries on the side of the northern army, and portrayed the conflict as a ‘War of the Believers’. In spite of demands made on Husayn al-Houthi by Ali Abdullah Salih to join the fight against the South, he declined.

Writing about the early 2000s, Sarah Philipps, senior lecturer in International Security and Development at Sydney University, explains that ‘the Muslim Brotherhood, the basis of what is now a large part of the Islah Party, was also supported by Saudi Arabia – by Gabriele Vom Bruck

http://mondediplo.com/outsidein/qatar-crisis-saudi-arabia-as-anti-hero

My comment: This article is not only interesting for the Qatar crisis, but also for Yemen. The article shoes the role of Qatar in peace efforts in the years 2007 / 2008, the development and role of Islah Party (Muslim Brotherhood) and the changes in Saudi politics on Muslim Brotherhood.

26.6.2017 – Fair (** B P)

After US-Backed Bombing Sparks Famine in Yemen, WaPo Editor Insists ‘US Not the Problem’

Washington Post deputy editorial page editor Jackson Diehl took a massive, human rights-violating catastrophe—the US-assisted Saudi bombing of Yemen for the past two-and-a-half years, and the massive famine it’s caused—and somehow turned it into a write-up on how good and noble the United States is. Diehl cynically whitewashed the US’s role in the crisis and turned Saudi Arabia’s primary defender in the Senate, Lindsey Graham, into an unsung hero—a true masterwork in public relations reality inversion.

Diehl framed the topic as something both public and media have ignored, insisting, “No One Is Paying Attention to the Worst Humanitarian Crisis Since World War II” (6/25/17). This is a bold rhetorical gambit, not least because Diehl himself hasn’t made Yemen a topic of an article since the bombing first began in February 2015. “No one’s noticing this thing I just noticed” is a great way to frame oneself as a moral visionary, without the arduous work of ideological coherence.

Not only does Diehl ignore the US’s role in supplying arms, giving logistical supporting and even facilitating torture on behalf of Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen (a complicity so deep the US State Department itself warned the US could be liable for war crimes), he actually writes, “the United States is not the problem here.” In fact, he paints the US as a lone moral voice:

Painting Graham as the savior of Yemen—when, more than any other US politician, he defends and advocates on behalf of the country bombing Yemen—is uniquely perverse and craven. The article continued like a State Department press release.

Diehl has a long history of taking the worst, most violent excesses of US empire and suggesting they are, in fact, good.

Omitting US’s responsibility for the carnage in Yemen, while a journalistic crime in its own right, is par for course with most media (FAIR.org, 2/23/17). Diehl takes it one step further: Under the pretext of feigning outrage over a very real famine, Diehl attempts to recast the US not as one of the disaster’s primary drivers, but as the only country that can save the day; a noble, moral beacon in a sea of unseemly Arabs – BY ADAM JOHNSON

http://fair.org/home/after-us-backed-bombing-sparks-famine-in-yemen-wapo-editor-insists-us-not-the-problem/ referring to https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/no-one-is-paying-attention-to-the-worst-humanitarian-crisis-since-world-war-ii/2017/06/25/70d055f8-5767-11e7-ba90-f5875b7d1876_story.html

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

26.6.2017 – RT (** A P)

Vereinigte Arabische Emirate unterhalten mit US-Hilfe 18 Foltergefängnisse im Jemen

Die Vereinten Arabischen Emirate betreiben ein Netz von illegalen Geheimgefängnissen im kriegsgeschüttelten Jemen. In diesen Gefängnissen werden mutmaßliche Terroristen mit US-Hilfe missbraucht und gefoltert. RT Deutsch sprach mit der Jemen-Analystin Nadwa Dawsari, die erklärte, dass die pro-saudische und emiratische el-Hadi-Regierung an Unterstützung in der Bevölkerung verliert.

Die autokratische Golfmonarchie in Abu Dhabi betreibt im südlichen Jemen mit loyalen jemenitischen Milizen mindestens 18 Geheimgefängnisse, berichtete die internationale Nachrichtenagentur AP vergangene Woche. Rund 2.000 Häftlinge sind in den Gefängnissen täglich Missbrauch und Folter ausgesetzt. Sie genießen keinerlei Rechtsschutz, heißt es.

Um die alliierten Golfmonarchien Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate im Krieg gegen den Jemen zu unterstützen, stellen US-Militärs neben logistischer Kriegshilfe auch so genannte "Listen zur Befragung von Gefangenen" zur Verfügung. Das US-Militär wertet Befragungsprotokolle aus. AP schließt, dass die USA in Folterpraktiken verwickelt sind. US-amerikanische Bürger waren an einigen Verhören direkt beteiligt.

RT Deutsch sprach mit der Jemen-Expertin Nadwa Dawsari vom amerikanischen Institut POMED mit Sitz in Washington, die sich kritisch über die Erfolgsaussichten der saudisch geführten Koalition in Jemen äußerte. Dawsari sagte mit Blick auf Folterverwürfe und unter Berufung auf lokale Quellen, dass Menschen in Jemen besorgt über die Verhaftungswellen wie in Hadramout oder Mukalla. Die Betroffenen werden wegen Terroranschuldigungen für Monate ohne Zugang zur Außenwelt verhaftet und festgehalten.

Die Zustimmungsrate unter jemenitischen Zivilisten für das Lager von Präsident el-Hadi, Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate bemisst die Analystin als sehr gering. Die lokale Bevölkerung „beschuldigt Hadi und seine Minister, dass sie nutzlos, korrupt und egoistisch sind. Sie geben ihre Verantwortung für ein luxoriöses Leben in Riad auf“, äußerte Dawsari.

Die Nachrichtenagentur AP sprach mit ehemaligen Häftlingen. Diese berichteten über unmenschliche Haftbedingungen. So wurden Gefangene unter anderem in Schiffscontainern untergebracht, die mit Fäkalien verseucht waren. Wärter peitschten Insassen mit Stahldrähten. Andere wurden in Container mit brennenden Tonnen gesperrt, die den Raum in dunklen Rauch hüllten. Auch berichtet AP darüber, dass Gefangene in einem Feuerkreis an Spieße befestigt wurden, um Geständnisse zu erzwingen.

Beamte der US-Regierung dementieren bisher jegliche Beteiligung an den emiratischen Foltergefängnissen. Ein Mitglied der jemenitischen Spezialeinheiten „Hadramaut Elite“, die von den Emiraten ausgebildet werden, erklärt jedoch Gegenteiliges. Demnach sind US-Streitkräfte manchmal nur wenige Meter von den Foltergefängnissen entfernt stationiert.

Die Spezialeinheit Hydramaut wurde im Jahr 2016 von Abu Dhabi gebildet, um Mukalla vom al-Kaida-Ableger einzunehmen. Daraufhin trieben die Einheiten rund 400 Menschen mit unbestätigten al-Kaida-Verbindungen zusammen.

Die jemenitische Regierung unter Präsident el-Hadi hat in der Küstenstadt Mukalle nur wenig zu melden, berichtet AP. Sogar in Aden, wo die el-Hadi-Regierung angeblich ihren Regierungssitz betreibt, haben Milizen mit Verbindungen zu Abu Dhabi das Sagen. Diese Milizen bilden laut AP einen „Staat im Staate“. Sie kontrollieren in Aden die Hälfte des großen Gefängnisses im Mansoura-Distrikt und die Militärbasis Biir Ahmed.

Nadwa Dawsari schätzt ein, dass die el-Hadi-Regierung im Grunde eine "Schattenregierung ist, die von der saudischen Hauptstadt Riad aus operiert“. Die Regierungspräsenz sei nur symbolisch, fügte sie hinzu und bestätigt damit, dass el-Hadi kaum Einfluss in Aden genießt. „Aden wird von lokalen Führern mit Unterstützung aus den Emiraten geführt“, äußerte Dawsari.

Jemenitische Beamte kritisieren, dass auch die US-Amerikaner ihre Verhöre von Terrorverdächtigen auf Schiffen vor den Küsten Jemens durchführen. Gegenüber AP sagte ein Beamter, dass er Zeuge war, als Gefangene zur Befragung auf ein Schiff gebracht wurden. Die Vernehmungen wurde von US-amerikanischen Experten durchgeführt.

Nach Auffassung von Dawsari ist das Image der el-Hadi-Regierung unter der jemenitischen Bevölkerung auch deshalb fast ausnahmslos negativ, weil es im Grunde „keine Regierung gibt“, wie eine 40-jährige Frau aus Tais beschrieb. „Sie leben in einer Parallelwelt.“ Abgesehen von Aden und Tais wird die Saudi-geführte Intervention in Yemen landesweit negativ bewertet, betonte die Politikwissenschaftlerin Dawsari.

Mehrer US-Verteidigungsbeamte bestätigten auf Anfrage der Nachrichtenagentur AP, dass das Pentagon eine Untersuchung zu den Foltervorwürfen im Jemen einleitete. Die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate dementieren, dass es überhaupt Geheimgefängnisse in Jemen gibt. Der jemenitische Brigadegeneral Farag Salim el-Bahsani, Kommandeur des zweiten Militärdistrikts in Mukalla, behauptet, dass die Folterungen „übertrieben dargestellt" würden – von Ali Özkök

https://deutsch.rt.com/der-nahe-osten/53042-vereinigte-arabische-emirate-folter-gefaegnis-usa-jemen/ und kurzer Bewricht von Newsfront: https://de.news-front.info/2017/06/26/neue-regierung-alte-politik-berichte-uber-us-foltergefangnisse-im-yemen/

25.6.2017 – Fars News (** B P)

Saudis and Americans Are Making the Best Torturers in Yemen

In Yemen, the object of US-backed, Saudi-led terrorism is terrorism; the object of oppression is oppression; the object of torture is torture; and the object of murder is murder.

That’s why the war criminals always mystify, torture, mislead, and surprise the world community as much as possible. They make the best torturers because they understand defeat, desperation and fear, and they can use it

Not surprisingly, senior Pentagon officials acknowledge that US forces have been involved in interrogations of detainees as well. Silly enough, they deny any participation in or knowledge of human rights abuses and torture program. This is while interrogating detainees who have been abused and tortured violates International Law, which prohibits complicity in torture.

Several US defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the topic, have told the media that American forces do participate in interrogations and abuse of detainees at locations in Yemen, provide questions for others to ask, and receive transcripts of interrogations from Emirati allies. They say US senior military leaders are aware of allegations of torture at the prisons in Yemen, looked into them, but were satisfied that there had not been any abuse when US forces were present!
This is wishful thinking. What you are hearing from Yemen comes from history – specifically from the Bush administration era. It comes from the record of the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay Prison torture programs, persecuting terror suspects, and torturing prisoners and all that sort of stuff. And it comes from the other side, too, from those who aided and abetted the CIA’s secret rendition program and flights – mainly the UAE, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It comes not only from the War Party in Washington but also from its regional associates. Every single ally that has a problem with the resistance front has ended up by persecuting other people, torturing them, and killing them because they don't accept their occupation and regional designs.
Wherever you look in modern history, you find that. It’s still going on: Human Rights Watch says the abuses in Yemen "show that the US hasn't learned the lesson that cooperating with forces that are torturing detainees and ripping families apart is not an effective way to fight extremist groups."

It is painfully clear that Saudi Arabia, the United States and their partners in crime have never tried to turn the page on the Bush era. They promised to end the torture of terror suspects, arguing that these inhuman acts had undermined their credibility. But still they worked with the Trump White House to continue the Bush administration’s use of torture in Yemen. They even helped the CIA resurrect special military courts at the Guantanamo Bay – the place the White House had promised to shut down.

With the Saudis and their American allies still crossing the line on torture and International Law, and even acknowledging it, the UN should hold the Trump administration to account for relieving, comforting and assisting Saudi Arabia and all those who torture and countenance torture in Yemen.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960404001807

My comment: Iranian point of view on the Emirati / Hadi government torture prisons in Yemen (earlier reporting: YPR 314 and 315, cp1. - Anyway, this article is quite sound – apart from keeping in mind that Saudi Arabia (up to what we know in the moment) is not involved in this scandal, and that we must keep in mind that Iranian prisons and torture will be little better.

25.6.2017 – The Atlantic (** B P)

The Danger of Yemen's Secret Prisons

Black sites in the war-ravaged country help ensure that it will remain fertile ground for terrorists for years to come

In 2010, I met an American held in what was then Yemen’s most notorious secret prison: Political Security.

At the time, I was working as a lawyer and director at Reprieve, a human-rights NGO. My team specialized in abuses of the “war on terror”—from Guantánamo to “black sites,” secret U.S. prisons where suspects were held and tortured outside the rule of law. Though this was early in the Obama era, it was already clear that many dubious counter-terror policies of the Bush years never stopped.

Over time, I interviewed others who had passed through secret detention in Yemen, and worked with local rights groups who represented dozens more. Once freed, most alumni of these facilities hesitated to describe their experiences. But they spoke of prisoners held without charge or trial, in abject squalor, some for over a decade. They wanted to know whether I could do anything for them. Most of the prisoners were not American, and lacked an American’s comparative legal (and diplomatic) advantages. To my shame, I had to explain I could not help.

U.S. involvement in black sites like these persisted through the Bush and Obama years alike, fueling the sense among locals that America was happy to support Yemen’s most lawless and abusive paramilitaries. For all the lofty rhetoric from the blast-wall encased U.S. embassy, Washington, in truth, did not seem terribly interested in upholding the rule of law.

Last Thursday, the Associated Press reported that one of the U.S.-backed belligerents in Yemen’s ongoing war, the United Arab Emirates, has set up a chain of black sites across Yemen’s south. Once again, it appears the United States is heavily involved in the detention: Defense officials admit that theyparticipate in interrogations of detainees at locations in Yemen, provide questions for others to ask, and receive transcripts of interrogations from Emirati allies.” For those of us who have worked on secret detention in Yemen before, all this strikes a familiar, ominous note.

If anything, conditions in these new prisons are worse than what I saw.

Abusive prisons like these radicalize local populations, and often create a hardened cadre of opponents.

Through the war on terror, America has repeatedly failed to accept that its checkered history with secret detention in Yemen has bred new enemies.

The risk of blow back is all the worse today, given Yemen’s abject desperation.

Even military experts recognize that AQAP succeeds, in part, by focusing on “national struggle.” Yet the U.S. response to the group seems to ignore that it is, in effect, a political player in its own right, vying for local legitimacy. It is a hybrid entity, part terrorist group, part local insurgency, that intermarries with the population and seeks, in some places, to extend a level of Taliban-style governance.

But even apart from the conditions in the prisons, close collusion with the Emiratis is more politically risky than backing the former regime’s paramilitary prisons. What the United States sees as counter-terrorism, locals see as taking sides in a civil war.

Already, the United States is viewed, correctly, as underwriters of the Saudi-Emirati coalition. The coalition has also leaned heavily on Emirati commando forces (Defense Secretary James Mattis likes to call the UAE “Little Sparta”) to prosecute counter-terrorism policy in Yemen, with disastrous results.

It is obvious that these practices, carried out today in Yemen’s south at scale, will spark bitter resentment. They may even prolong the civil war. The Saudi-Emirati coalition has claimed to be winning the Yemen war more than once. It is far from clear that it can – by Cori Crider

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/06/yemen-black-sites-aqap-terrorism-saudi-arabia/531489/ = http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2017/06/danger-yemens-secret-prisons/138969/

and an abriged article by Salon: http://www.salon.com/2017/06/25/inside-numerous-secret-prisons-in-yemen-the-uae-tortures-and-the-u-s-interrogates-detainees-report/

27.6.2017 – Aljazeera (* A P)

Film: "Hard scenes" .. The extinguishing of cigarettes in his body and skin with metal tools .. Ali Kurda victim of the prisons of the secret security in Aden, run by Abu Dhabi forces

https://twitter.com/AJArabic/status/879349441072832514

26.6.2017 – Shia Waves (* A P)

Film: HRW: UAE backs torture and disappearances in Yemen

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

25.6.2017 – PBS News Hour (* A H)

Film: Torture alleged in U.S. search for al-Qaida in Yemen

As the U.S. continues to work with Yemen and the UAE on counter-terrorism operations, an Associated Press investigation has found that hundreds of men captured in the hunt for al-Qaida militants are being detained in prisons run by those countries, where allegations of human rights abuses and torture are rife. AP Reporter Maggie Michael, who wrote the story, joins Hari Sreenivasan from Cairo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxSCMy7zGlc

26.6.2017 – Al Araby (* A P)

UAE denies role in torture sites across Yemen after investigations point to complicity

The United Arab Emirates has denied claims it is running secret prisons in Yemen where torture was said to be widely used against detainees in various reports published by the Associated Press and Human Rights Watch.

In an official statement released by the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, officials tried to accuse the Houthi movement of propaganda and claimed that it was a political manoeuvre to "defame the Arab coalition in Yemen, which intervened to save the Yemeni people.”

The statement suggested only Yemeni authorities were involved in the running and managing of jails in Yemen, and claimed the UAE's role in the war-torn country was limited to training Yemeni forces.

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/6/26/uae-embroiled-in-yemen-torture-sites-controversy

My comment: LOL. AP and Human Rights Watch are Houthi organizations – that’s quite new to me.

25.6.2017 – American Civil Liberties Union (* A P)

FOIA REQUEST ON U.S. COMPLICITY WITH TORTURE IN YEMEN

Freedom of Information Act request asking the U.S. government to turn over all records relating to interrogations at a network of secret prisons in Yemen where detainees are being tortured as reported by The Associated Press.

DOWNLOAD LEGAL DOCUMENT

https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/foia-request-us-complicity-torture-yemen

26.6.2017 – London School of Economics and Political Science (** B P)

Hadhramout from Federalism to Civil War: Demands and Realities

This memo was presented at a workshop on ‘Yemen’s Urban–Rural Divide and the Ultra-Localisation of the Civil War‘ organised by the LSE Middle East Centre on 29 March 2017.

Hadhramout in the eastern part of Yemen and its biggest province could be a unique model for a federal form of governance. The province special conditions and the high oil revenues that resulted from the oil exploration activity in 1993, give Hadhramout the capability to having local authorities with high level of independency. Hadrhamout shares a 700 km border with Saudi Arabia and has a large diaspora living in the Gulf countries, some of which are leading investors who might play a significant role in carrying investments in Hadhramout. The majority of Hadhrami people are not politically affiliated but most share a Hadhrami identity they believe is particular to the province.

The Hadhrami people are predominantly religiously conservative. The Hadhrami tribal federation supported calls for self-determination, which were launched by the Southern Movement in 2007, but at the same time demanded self-autonomy over Hadhramout.

In 2015–2016, Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took over Mukalla, Hadhramout’s main city, and ruled the city for almost a year before the Arab Coalition led an offensive in April 2016 forcing them out. The Arab Coalition used Hadhrami trained forces – knows as the Hadhrami Elite forces – to carry out the offensive. These same forces have been in charge of the security in Mukalla since then.

Demands for Federalism

Lengthy discussions during the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) resulted in a consensus for moving towards decentralisation. NDC delegates representing Hadhramout originally called for self-determination, joining the Southern Movement’s demands, however as the NDC sessions were concluding, President Hadi managed to convince them that a federal system would guarantee high-level empowerment over decision-making processes and wealth.

Hadhramout was a leading example of self-governance since 2006 through its local councils.

Hadhramout between Civil War and Post-Conflict

As fighting erupted in the city of Aden in March 2015, military and security forces stationed in Mukalla were evacuating their positions towards the North. General Abdulrahman Al Halili mentioned that Al Qaida exploited the political void and captured the city of Mukalla in April 2015. However, interviews with local residents and security personnel in Hadhramout confirmed that Al Qaida’s takeover of Mukalla was smooth, without armed confrontation by the military or security forces.

Al Qaida used some locals from Hadhrami tribes to provide tribal cover for their presence in the city.

Current governor of Hadhramout Ahmed Bin Buraik said in a phone interview that the Hadhrami Elite Forces – a force composed of only Hadhrami tribe members – were trained by Emirati Special Forces in July 2015 and continued to receive training until taking control of Mukalla in April 2016. The Hadhrami Elite Forces still run the security apparatus in the city to this date. The newly trained forces were accused of arbitrary detention, misconduct and lack of respect for the rule of law after taking over Mukalla – by Baraa Shiban

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2017/06/26/hadhramout-from-federalism-to-civil-war-demands-and-realities/

22.6.2017 – Arab Gulf States Institute (** B E H K P)

Bickering While Yemen Burns: Poverty, War, and Political Indifference

The war – the latest in a succession of conflicts in Yemen – has also had a devastating effect on the economy in what was already the Arab world’s poorest country, pushing millions of Yemenis from humanitarian crisis into what aid agencies warn will soon be outright famine.

The economic crisis comes at a time when aid agencies, traders, and government institutions are struggling, for a variety of reasons, to deliver much-needed basic goods, and when prices are rising to the point where a large proportion of the population simply cannot afford to eat, in no small part because the overall economy has ground to a halt. Most unsettling, this is a man-made crisis. Many of the limiting economic and logistical factors are driven not so much by the violent nature of the war but by political decisions being made by the parties to the conflict.

This paper was researched and written in late 2016 and early 2017. Based on a series of interviews, on-the-ground research, hard data, and other reporting from key international and local organizations, it builds a narrative of the historical roots and evolution of the economic and humanitarian crisis that predated Yemen’s civil war. It then discusses the current context and offers recommendations for international policymakers for addressing Yemen’s human

Key Findings:

Yemen is in the midst of a deeply complex humanitarian and economic crisis that will not be resolved by a formal end of hostilities, and which threatens the prospects of millions of Yemenis for decades to come.

The structural drivers of the crisis include a population dependent on subsidized fuel and mass imports of basic commodities, particularly rice and wheat; an economy supporting 26 million people largely dependent on an ailing hydrocarbon sector; a foreign exchange crisis; unsustainable domestic debt; and widespread underdevelopment. These problems have been exacerbated by decision making that has consistently prioritized political gains over human lives.

Humanitarian delivery and access has been constrained by a de facto naval blockade, the closure of Sanaa airport, the politicization of aid by local militias and other national and regional actors, and a collapse in the wider economy as well as by frontline fighting, particularly in the city of Taiz.

The ability of traders and other businessmen to bring basic goods like food and fuel into Yemen has been constrained by a combination of naval interdictions of cargo ships entering the country, damaged infrastructure, and issues in the domestic and international banking sectors. These constraints have helped cultivate black and gray markets that directly benefit the key armed groups fighting the war.

Yemen’s public sector, already overstretched at the beginning of the war, has been strained to the breaking point, particularly the health ministry, and the politicization of state institutions has served to further damage their effectiveness.

Corruption has spiraled since the beginning of the conflict, and the war has become a moneymaking venture for many armed groups and a new cadre of economic players, creating an incentive system for many people involved in the war to continue fighting.

Increasing dependence on less formal trade routes and delivery mechanisms has facilitated the flow of arms and other illicit materials into the country, deepening the conflict.

Since the beginning of the war, the international community has been forced to devote considerable time and energy to mitigating the repercussions of decisions made by the legitimate government of Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition, and the Houthi-Saleh alliance.

In the case of a number of these decisions, foreign powers have repeatedly cautioned against the actions taken only to find their voices ignored, as with the naval blockade of Yemen during the early days of the war and the relocation of the Central Bank of Yemen from Sanaa to Aden without sufficient planning.

State control of local institutions varies hugely on a regional basis, with government in some parts of the country largely run by local leaders with little input from either the rebel-led administration in Sanaa or the legitimate government, which operates between Riyadh and Aden.

A long-planned assault on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah by the Saudi-led coalition would undoubtedly lead to shortages of many staples and rocketing market prices while doing little to weaken the resolve of the Houthi-Saleh alliance to continue the war – and could actually enhance its control over revenue-generating trade routes.

Recommendations for International Policymakers:

http://www.agsiw.org/bickering-while-yemen-burns-poverty-war-and-political-indifference/ and full study: http://www.agsiw.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Salisbury_Yemen_ONLINE.pdf

cp1a Am wichtigsten: Cholera / Most important: Cholera

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

27.6.2017 – EPD (** A H)

Cholera-Epidemie fordert neue Opfer

Die Cholera-Epidemie im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen wird immer dramatischer: Bislang wurden schon 219.000 Verdachtsfälle erfasst, wie die Weltgesundheitsorganisation am Dienstag in Genf mitteilte. Etwa 1.400 Menschen seien bereits an der behandelbaren Infektionserkrankung gestorben. Damit habe sich die Zahl der Verdachtsfälle seit Freitag um etwa 26.000 erhöht, in demselben Zeitraum seien 130 weitere Menschen gestorben. Die Hungersnot behindert zudem den Kampf gegen die Cholera.

http://www.taz.de/!5421533/

27.6.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (** A H)

Map: According to ERCC cholera outbreak update/map, by June 24th, 208'203 cases, 1'344 deaths, and Houthi-controlled areas hardest hit.

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/879769746169884673

27.6.2017 – Reuters (** A H)

WHO hopes Yemeni cholera outbreak is half done at 218,000 cases

A major cholera outbreak in Yemen may have reached the halfway mark at 218,798 cases as a massive emergency response has begun to curb its spread two months into the epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Soon after the outbreak began, the WHO saw a risk that it could affect 300,000 people within six months. But it spread at double that speed, prompting a far-reaching emergency response that may have turned the corner.

"We have never seen something so explosive in Yemen," Ahmed Zouiten, WHO's senior emergency adviser for Yemen, told Reuters.

"We are really scaling up very aggressively our response and we hope that those results will start to show very rapidly."

Although most of Yemen's health infrastructure has broken down and healthworkers have not been paid for more than six months, the WHO is paying "incentives" to doctors, nurses, cleaners and paramedics to staff an emergency cholera network.

With funding help from the World Bank, the WHO is setting up treatment centers with 50-60 beds each, overseen by shifts of about 14 staff working around the clock. The aim is to reach 5,000 beds in total.

But the bigger impact is being made by oral rehydration points with about 10 staff, whose job is to catch cholera cases before they become severe and need hospitalization. The WHO wants to have 2,800 such sites - 10 for every treatment center.

"They are as close as possible to the people's dwellings, and we are able to get people who have just started to get diarrhea," Zouiten said.

The results are visible in the fatality rate, which show almost all governorates reporting daily deaths in single figures, or even zero. "The case fatality rate that is going down is a real thing," he said.

A map of the outbreak shows that the worst hit areas are largely controlled by the Houthi rebels. The worst cholera blackspots are Amanat al-Asimah, around the capital Sanaa, the port region of Hodeidah, and Hajjah governorate.

Case numbers in the first two have fallen sharply in the past week, and although Hajjah repeatedly topped 1,000 new daily cases, Zouiten said many were old cases being newly counted.

Despite the war, trucks taking vast amounts of supplies to fight the epidemic have not encountered great difficulties in reaching areas in need. "So far, whenever we needed road permits, we've got (them) – by Tom Miles

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-cholera-idUSKBN19I2B2?rpc=401& and by APP, AFP: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/yemen-cholera-outbreak-shows-signs-of-slowing-un-1.2049881

27.6.2017 – New News (* A H)

7 Deaths of 200 Cases of Cholera during the Past Two Days in Abyan Province

A government hospital in Abyan province declares an appeal for helping to counter the spread of cholera.According to report, seven of the 200 cases in Zunjubar and Jaar areas have died in the past two days.

The director of Al-Razi Hospital in Jaar area stated that the hospital is unable to treat more cases of the epidemic, stressing that ” today at least 50 cases of cholera patients reached the hospital which is more than the capacity of the hospital estimated with 30 beds.”

The statement appealed to “international organizations, local authorities and the Public Health office in the province to intervene urgently to save people from the cholera epidemic which spread among the citizens in a frightening way,” calling for “the providing of cholera medicines, including pink liquids which were run out completely from the hospital stores.”

The statement stressed on the need to open a second section in the hospital to receive cases as soon as possible ,and to put an end to the epidemic’s deploying.

http://newnewss.net/?p=6978

27.6.2017 – Augsburger Allgemeine (* A H)

Die gefährlichste Cholera-Epidemie der Welt: Seuche breitet sich unaufhaltsam aus

Verseuchtes Trinkwasser hat im Jemen die derzeit schlimmste Cholera-Epidemie der Welt ausgelöst. Immer mehr Menschen stecken sich an - bis August könnten es 300.000 sein.

Nun wird das Land auch noch von der zurzeit schlimmsten Cholera-Epidemie der Welt heimgesucht. Aktuell gibt es nach Angaben des UN-Kinderhilfswerkes Unicef und der Weltgesundheitsorganisation WHO mehr als 200.000 Verdachtsfälle. Mehr als 1300 Patienten seien schon an der Infektionskrankheit gestorben, ein Viertel davon Kinder, hieß es am Samstag in Genf. Die Seuche breitet sich rasant aus

http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/wissenschaft/Die-gefaehrlichste-Cholera-Epidemie-der-Welt-Seuche-breitet-sich-unaufhaltsam-aus-id41836571.html

27.6.2017 – CARE (** A H)

For Yemen, cholera could be the straw that will break the camel’s back

The scale and spread of this outbreak is unprecedented with number of infections increasing by the day within an environment where humanitarian and security challenges seem to multiply at equal pace.

Within less than two months, over 200,000 suspected cholera cases have been reported, with more than 1,300 associated deaths. At this rate, cholera may cause more death in Yemen than the war that is now in its third year of escalation. This outbreak could not have come at a worse time. Yemen’s service delivery institutions are at near collapse due to years of lack of resourcing, a lack of payment of salaries for civil servants, destruction of facilities as a result of prolonged conflict among a plethora of challenges. These institutions – specifically health, water and sanitation – are paramount to effectively countering any cholera outbreak.

Humanitarian actors, volunteer civil servants and health workers are racing against time to treat rising cases and prevent further infections. This is however fraught with challenges. Yemen’s Humanitarian response plan that was launched four months ago is currently only 30% funded, barely enough to meet the scale of humanitarian need in the country. Access to people needing assistance is difficult, not just due to active conflict but as a result of multiple barriers placed by conflict parties to humanitarian aid delivery.

And while humanitarians set up rehydration and treatment centers, hold clean up campaigns and chlorinate all possible water sources, there remains 17 million people facing a threat of famine, more diseases that go unaddressed due to a failing health system, and women, children and vulnerable groups that continue to bear the brunt of the crisis and remain faceless in the midst of efforts to bring an end to their suffering.

This cholera outbreak is but a symptom of multiple crises, requiring multiple solutions and cannot be handled in isolation. Peace is long overdue for Yemen and the conflict must end to allow for sustainable and inclusive peace. Humanitarian action cannot in itself cover needs and create sustainable measures to ensure access to basic services. Public service delivery institutions must restart or enhance their functions across Yemen to meet the scale of need.

Cholera is endemic to Yemen, and this is not the first nor will it be the last outbreak. Our response now will determine what humanitarians are almost certain to face in coming seasons. It is imperative that even while we scramble to save lives now, we support sustainable systems and measures that will ensure that Yemeni communities have better access to safe water, improved hygiene standards and access to vital health care – by Wael Ibrahim. Country Director, CARE International Yemen.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-cholera-could-be-straw-will-break-camel-s-back

27.6.2017 – Jens Laerke, UNOCHA (* A H)

Case fatality rate for cholera #Yemen dropped frm 1.7% in first wk to 0.6% now. But number of suspected cases skyrockets to 200,000+

https://twitter.com/JensLaerke/status/879615307463237633

25.6.2017 – Spiegel Online (** A H)

Jemen droht weltweit schlimmster Cholera-Ausbruch

Die Cholera-Epidemie breitet sich im Jemen immer weiter aus. Die Uno rechnet bis Ende August mit bis zu 300.000 Fällen - viele Menschen im Bürgerkriegsland sind bereits gestorben.

Im Jemen erkranken immer mehr Menschen an Cholera. In den vergangenen Wochen sind nach Angaben des Kinderhilfswerks Unicef und der Weltgesundheitsorganisation WHO jeden Tag 5000 neue Fälle registriert worden.

Die Hilfsorganisationen schlagen deshalb Alarm: Wenn sich nichts ändere, drohe die Zahl der Infizierten bis Ende August auf 300.000 zu steigen. "Wir stehen vor dem weltweit schlimmsten Cholera-Ausbruch", teilten Unicef-Direktor Anthony Lake und WHO-Chefin Margaret Chan mit.

http://www.spiegel.de/gesundheit/diagnose/jemen-uno-warnt-vor-weltweit-schlimmsten-cholera-ausbruch-im-buergerkriegsland-a-1154141.html

25.6.2017 – Tagesspiegel (** A H)

Film: Mehr als 1200 Cholera-Tote im Jemen

Im Jemen sind zahlreiche Menschen an der Cholera erkrankt - darunter viele KinderDie UNO befürchtet, dass die Zahl der Cholera-Fälle bis September auf 300.000 steigen könnteO-Ton Ismail Mansur, Kinderarzt:'Wir leiden unter einem Mangel an Medikamenten und medizinischem Personal hier auf der Cholera-Station im al-Sabeen-Krankenhaus. Viele Patienten aus allen möglichen Teilen des Landes kommen hierher. Wir wünschen uns, dass internationale Hilfsorganisationen die Krankenhäuser unterstützen, die vor den Toren Sanaas liegen. Das würde einigen Druck nehmen, der auf uns lastet.'1200 Menschen sind bereits an der Cholera gestorben

http://video.tagesspiegel.de/mehr-als-1200-cholera-tote-im-jemen.html

Mein Kommentar: Es sind schon mehr als 1200 Tote.

26.6.2017 – Muftah (** A H)

Yemen’s Cholera Epidemic Could Devastate the Country

Yemen’s ongoing civil war has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians and caused millions more to be displaced from their homes since 2015. Amidst this violence, the beleaguered country has struggled with food insecurity and famine. Over the past few months, another crisis has hit Yemen as well: a cholera epidemic.

Since April 2017, almost 180,000 people have been infected with cholera across Yemen, while another 1,310 people have died from infection. As Mohamed El Montassir Hussein, the Yemen country director for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), told NPR, the entire country has been affected, with cases reported in twenty out of twenty-two provincial governments.

In a recent press release, Oxfam estimated the epidemic has killed one person almost every hour. The crisis is so severe, in fact, that it is set to become one of the worst cholera outbreaks of the century.

Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, warned in early June that cholera cases could reach 300,000 by August if preventive measures were not taken immediately. By comparison, there were 172,000 reported cases of cholera worldwide in 2015, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Both the IRC and the WHO are trying to set up treatment centers, in order to provide medical aid to those suffering from the disease. UNICEF has also stepped in to compensate health care workers and “prevent a ‘complete collapse’ of Yemen’s health care system,” according to NPR.

More robust efforts are still needed, however. Oxfam has called on the international community to take substantial steps to contain the outbreak, asking wealthier nations to deliver on pledges of $1.2 billion made in Geneva this past April.

Notably, one country that has already stepped in to help is Saudi Arabia. On June 23, 2017, Saudi Arabia donated $66.7 million to UNICEF, the WHO, and other charitable organizations, to alleviate the cholera outbreak in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has had a significant hand in decimating the country’s infrastructure and contributing to the circumstances that helped bring about the outbreak. Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has had a singular impact on the war. Before becoming the crown prince, he served as the Kingdom’s defense minister, directing bombings and blockades against Yemen.

The only real way to truly address Yemen’s cholera outbreak is to institute a meaningful ceasefire, which Oxfam has called for. With Saudi Arabia continuing its airstrikes on Yemen, however, this remains an unlikely prospect – b< Fatima Mohie-Eldin

https://muftah.org/yemens-cholera-epidemic-devastate-country/#.WVHGlGjyiUk

25.6.2017 – BBC (** A H)

The horrors of Yemen's spiralling cholera crisis

Children dying in hospital hallways. Four sick people crammed into one bed. Patients connected to intravenous drips while sitting in their cars because the hospital is over capacity.

Welcome to the Yemeni healthcare system in 2017.

The bizarre and haunting scenes I have witnessed recently in the capital, Sanaa, are the consequences of a health catastrophe spiralling out of control.

In a country where vital infrastructure is devastated by a brutal and ongoing war, the toll of this cholera outbreak grows by the thousands every day.

Despite the sickness, the hospitals do not smell of vomit and diarrhoea. Instead, they smell of body odour - a testament to the overcrowding in many of these facilities.

Packed rooms and hallways are quiet. Patients look at us, with no expression. Parents hold the hands of their children, some of whose eyes roll into the back of their heads.

Overburdened medical staff do what they can but often do not have enough supplies or knowledge - two reasons cholera has spread so fast.

The cholera outbreak has infected more than 200,000 people across Yemen, and it appears that 500,000 could eventually become sick. More than 1,300 people have already died.

The disease should not be so ferocious. Preventing cholera is pretty simple in theory: wash your hands with clean water, drink clean water, and eat food that has been boiled or cooked.

But clean water in Yemen is a luxury. Municipal workers in Sanaa have not been paid in months. And so we have no electricity, rubbish piling high in the street, and a crippled water system.

The sewer system stopped working on 17 April. Ten days later, cholera hit. -

By Johannes Bruwer , International Committee of the Red Cross (photos)

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40369804?ocid=socialflow_twitter

26.6.2017 – European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (A H)

Map: Yemen – Recent cholera outbreak – DG ECHO Daily Map | 26/06/2017

http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-recent-cholera-outbreak-dg-echo-daily-map-26062017 and in full http://erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ercmaps/20170626_DailyMap_Yemen_Recent%20cholera%20outbreak.pdf

26.6.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A P)

Russian embassy in UK: #Yemen's human crisis ignored by Western govts. Russia's contribution to humanitarian plan: $1mln (0.2%) (images)

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/879356455207538688

cp2 Allgemein / General

27.6.2017 – SOFRP (* A P)

Suddenly the world discovers Yemen as the Gulf Cooperation Council unravels: torture, black sites, claims of US involvement

It seems international media and human rights organizations have suddenly “discovered” the crisis in Yemen. After more than two years of horrific war and civilian massacres carried out by the Saudi-led alliance, even CNN has found a conscience, recently publishing The images Saudi Arabia doesn’t want you to see and “Yemen is silent, forgotten… even a purposely forgotten emergency.” Yet images of extremely emaciated Yemeni children starved by the lengthy Saudi blockade on the ravaged third world country were already profuse outside of mainstream media, appearing on Yemeni activist social media accounts with regularity since the start of Saudi air raids in March 2015.

In response to CNN’s article, investigative journalist Ben Norton, who writes for liberal and progressive publications, acknowledged the following: – by Brad Hoff (paywalled)

https://sofrep.com/84473/suddenly-world-discovers-yemen-gcc-unravels-torture-black-sites-claims-us-involvement/

27.6.2017 – Middle East Monitor (* B H K)

In Yemen, cemeteries compete with amusement parks on Eid

Cemeteries in Yemen are now competing with amusement parks for public attention on the day of Eidul Fitr, Anadolu has reported. The size of the cemeteries has increased dramatically over the past two years of escalating conflict, with dozens of new burial sites created to cater for the victims of the war and accompanying hunger, malnutrition and disease, most recently cholera.

Special graves for war victims have been built by those with whom their loyalties lay; many groups now have their own “martyrs’ cemeteries”

It is traditional in Muslim communities to visit the cemetery on the days of Eid. The past two days has seen a steady flow of the families of the casualties of this increasingly bitter war go to the graves and read the Qur’an over their loved ones.

Said Abdul Qawi lives next to a Houthi cemetery in Sana’a; he told Anadolu that it turned into a sort of public park on Sunday, with a huge number of male visitors, followed by visits by women and children on Monday.

According to the residents of Taiz, the cemetery is expanding and taking more of their agricultural land due to the Houthi bombing of their city. The siege imposed on the city prevents many people from rural areas being able to visit their relatives’ graves.

The precise number of war victims in Yemen is unknown.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170627-in-yemen-cemeteries-compete-with-amusement-parks-on-eid/

27.6.2017 – New York Times (* B H K)

Life Beneath Bombs and Behind Blockade

When the coalition got involved in the civil war in 2015, it imposed a blockade on Hudaydah, and bombed the cranes that unloaded the ships carrying vital goods that used to flow through here to the whole country. Replacement cranes, paid for by the United States, have not been allowed through. Nor has enough food, fuel and medicine.

I watched recently as one woman from my village near Hudaydah died because the hospital didn’t have dialysis fluid for her. The children here are turning into skeletons: Some families manage only one meal a day. The hospitals lack electricity and medicine; they cannot pay salaries. Orderlies seem like robots, with no apparent feeling, as they accompany the dead.

Meanwhile, fishermen can no longer provide for their families because the coalition fires on their boats, claiming that they are going after the Houthis.

State employees haven’t been paid in eight months. There has been no electricity for two years, except what we can make from solar panels and generators. Two months ago, the water stopped, because the water supplier lacks diesel to run the pumps.

This is our situation: All of us Yemenis who hate this war are imprisoned. The Houthis imprison us, and in this prison the coalition kills us.

In the first week of May, coalition planes dropped leaflets about plans to “liberate” the town. When I arrived home, my mother greeted me with the scraps of paper that had landed on our roof. This didn’t feel like a threat or a warning, or even a request to leave. It felt like an announcement of death.

People here were horrified, but no one left. Most can’t afford to flee, while others have seen so much that they have resigned themselves to whatever their fate may be. An invasion would be an unforgivable war crime – By MANAL QAYED ABDALRAHMAN, a researcher for the Mwatana Organization for Human Rights

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/opinion/yemen-houthis.html

26.6.2017 – US News (* B H K P)

Yemen: Welcome to Hell

The country faces serious water issues and nearly 5,000 new cholera cases a day.

Yemen looks an awful lot like Hell on Earth right now – and virtually no one in the United States seems to know about it, or much less care.

Nearly every single one of Yemen's major water aquifers have run dry, which was the real root cause of the government's collapse. Water riots were already causing massive civil unrest long before the country's leadership looted the banks.

As a result of the ensuing military chaos, civilian casualties have been rising for months on end. Hundreds of thousands are facing starvation. Saudi-financed or Saudi-led military incursions in the region to keep its own southern border free of conflict have exacerbated the problems, and quite naturally fomented radicalism and terrorism that could spread worldwide.

And now yet another horseman of the Apocalypse rides through Yemen – the world's worst cholera outbreak has erupted.

Even as Yemen falters under the weight of climate-confounded water scarcity, civil war, starvation and now cholera, Trump has decided that the way forward is to bulldoze U.N. humanitarian aid, throw his financial support behind Saudi Arabia's military strategy in Yemen, and starve humanitarian efforts that are Yemen's last chance. His initial budget proposal to Congress contained massive cuts in U.S. contributions meant for precisely the sorts of humanitarian aid the war-torn country desperately needs.

Trump is attempting to design a new global hegemony that could ultimately be responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of people.

Trump's crusade to meet humanitarian desolation with military force is breathtaking in its simplemindedness. It is also wrong – and will ultimately cause trouble inside America.

Yemen will be ground zero for the new world order the president is trying to impose by collapsing global humanitarian cooperation and replacing it with bilateral military partnerships with countries such as Saudi Arabia – by Jeff Nesbit

https://www.usnews.com/news/at-the-edge/articles/2017-06-26/yemen-thanks-to-cholera-and-war-is-hell-on-earth

26.6.2017 – Radhya al-Mutawakel, Mwatana.org (* B H K P)

Human Rights Defender, Radhya al-Mutawakel's Speech

During a side session at the UN Human Rights Council's 35th session in Geneva in Switzerland on the 20th of June, Yemeni Human Rights defender, Radhya al-Mutawakel co-spoke on the violations committed against freedom of press in Yemen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGW-xYYZ6yE

26.6.2017 – Afrah Nasser (* B H)

My Speech at the UN Human Rights Council

Veröffentlicht am 26.06.2017

On the 20th of June, I participated in a side session on Yemen war and Public Freedoms; the seminar was co-run by the Committee to Protect Journalists organisation and the Gulf Center for Human Rights and others. Other panelists were Yemeni Human Rights defender Radhya al-Mutawakel from Mwatan Organization and Sherif Mansour from CPJ.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00w-cPuyA7s

and full transcript here:

21.6.2017 – Afrah Nasser (* B H K P)

My Speech at the UN Human Rights Council

During a side-session on Yemen war and attacks on public freedoms, yesterday at
the UN Human Rights Council 35 Session in Geneva, Switzerland. Panel was co-run my the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Gulf Center for Human Rights and other organizations.

Now, today’s event is much focused on public freedoms and I get a headache when I think of that – because how can we talk about freedoms when the public is in a life or death situation; actually, it’s in a death or death situation.

Sadly, millions of Yemenis’ options are limited; they are trapped in war, with no access to flee the conflict. With no food, no water, no medicine, no shelter and no nothing; they are left to die in a slow death.

The war has devastated the already poor country. The war has also devastated everything you can imagine of; freedom of expression, freedom of press, the right to food, the right to live in dignity, the right to dream for a better tomorrow - and above all it has devastated Yemenis’ trust in humanity. As the warring sides; meaning the Saleh/Houthi wing and the Saudi-led coalition and President Hadi wing, as they are all still fighting on who will have the biggest chunk of the cake, death is ripping Yemeni lives in multi-ways; In Yemen, today, if the Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes, or the Houthi & Saleh’s bombs and mines or the extremists’ bullets, or the torture at prisons or the epidemic diseases or food scarcity; if all these did not kill you, in Yemen today people are committing suicide.

Midst of all this death madness, I sometimes wonder; if these warring parties are fighting over who gets the biggest share of the cake, I wonder what is it that they’d rule if the nation is totally wiped out, eventually. I also wonder how all these reports don’t make weapon supplier countries like the US, UK and others rethink or investigate how their weapons sold to the Saudi-led coalition are used in Yemen war?

To sum up, I am not here today to give you the statistics and numbers of how many journalists or activists or civilians were killed, injured or expected to be killed. I am here to tell you that Yemeni people are so tired. Tired of the international community’s broken promises of sending aid which only 10 or 20 percent only were sent. Yemenis are so tired of the international community’s inaction in speeding up any peace talks that could end the war. And more importantly, Yemeni people are so tired of this piece of cake which the warring parties fight over at the expense of innocent Yemeni lives and future.

But am not tired. And I speak now, not as a journalist or Yemeni citizen or an activist. I speak as a human being who is enraged by the amount of injustices Yemenis have to endure. I am enraged seeing how in some countries animals are better treated than my fellow Yemenis. I am not tired of speaking up and so must this council - unless the Human Rights Council want to be at the wrong side of history and betray every value it proclaims to advocate for. I refuse to be tired because even if I were not Yemeni, I will speak up for these people because I think Yemenis deserve justice and live in dignity, just like me and you – by Afrah Nasser

http://afrahnasser.blogspot.de/2017/06/my-speech-at-un-human-rights-council.html

26.6.2017 – Eurasia Review (* B K P)

Activism Of Iran And Saudi Arabia In Yemen Following Qatar Tensions – Analysis

The crisis in Yemen is entering its 27th month at a time that not only this crisis, but also the situation in entire Middle East has seen remarkable changes. The ongoing crisis in the Arabian Peninsula in which Saudi Arabia and some other Arab states have cut ties with Qatar, is a phenomenon which will affect the situation in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and, to a lesser extent, Qatar, were known as the three sides of the attack on Yemen. Therefore, the speed of war on Yemen is expected to change as a result of this development. In fact, Saudi Arabia has once again turned into a center of crisis and tension for the entire region. The most important question posed in this paper is what differences exist between Iran’s and Saudi Arabia’s regional approaches and behavior with regard to Yemen?

Cholera spreading due to blockade of Yemen

Saudi-led alliance trying to occupy Yemen’s Hudaydah port

Tensions in Doha-Riyadh relations and Qatari forces leaving Yemen

Comparing activism of Iran and Saudi Arabia in the region

Mohammad bin Salman is actually taking advantage of the king’s illness in his pursuit of such aggressive measures so as to further restrict the power of the Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, on the one hand, and intensify his confrontational approach to Iran, on the other hand. Such behavior by Saudi Arabia has added fuel to instability in the region during the past three years. Riyadh has shown in the past two years that in times of political hardship, it will take it out on its southern neighbor, Yemen. Now that Riyadh’s new measures against Qatar have elicited negative global reactions, intensification of Saudi Arabia’s attacks on Yemen can be expected.

In conclusion, as long as Saudi Arabia continues to take “intervention and warmongering” as the axis of its foreign policy, any expectation about improvement in regional conditions and resolution of regional crises, especially the war in Yemen would be unrealistic – by Mohammed Moradi

http://www.eurasiareview.com/26062017-activism-of-iran-and-saudi-arabia-in-yemen-following-qatar-tensions-analysis/

My comment: Overview article, an Ifranian point of view in black and white. The view on Saudi Arabia looks realistic anyway.

25.6.2017 – Press TV Iran (B K)

Film: Saudi Arabia committing outright slaughter in Yemen: Commentator

Saudi Arabia is not simply waging a war against Yemen, but rather committing an "outright slaughter" in the country with the aim of exterminating the Yemeni population by any means possible, says an analyst.

“It is absolutely disgraceful. This is a humanitarian crisis. There needs to be sanctions put against Saudi Arabia immediately. This so-called war needs to stop and aid needs to get in to these people,” Max Igan told Press TV in an interview on Sunday.

The radio host also commented on the cholera outbreak in Yemen, which, he said, “lies squarely” in the hands of western governments who have supported the Saudi regime in its deadly campaign against Yemen.

http://presstv.com/Detail/2017/06/25/526478/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-cholera-outbreak-humanitarian-aid-war-sanctions

Comment by Judith Brown: Absolutely true. This is a man made massacre of innocents by causing this cholera outbreak by destruction of infrastructure and prevention of imports.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155661447373641

25.6.2017 – TRT (* B K)

Film: Overcrowded cemeteries in war-torn Yemen

War, famine and now disease are killing thousands of people in Yemen. Yusuf al Ahmadi, one of Sanaa's oldest gravediggers explains how the multiple deaths have made cemeteries overcrowded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=LLupfrVwNZc

6.4.2016 – Sputnik News (* B P)

Riyadh's Dirty Secret: Saudi Arabia Thirsty for Yemeni Oil, Gas Reserves

Why does Saudi Arabia continue to bomb Yemen back into the Stone Age? The crux of the matter is that Yemen has oil reserves, while Riyadh is steadily running out of the commodity, American political analyst Phil Butler explains.

According to American political analyst and researcher Phil Butler, the US-backed Saudi Arabian war against Yemen is neither about the longstanding sectarian strife between Sunnis and Shiites, nor about the much-discussed military campaign aimed against al-Qaeda in the region.

While Western media outlets usually refer to Yemen as a "small" energy producer, the truth of the matter is the country is sitting on substantial oil and gas reserves, which Saudi Arabia and its allies want to control, Butler notes.

In addition, Yemen lies at the Bab el-Mandab, a key checkpoint for maritime transit of oil, with 3.4 million barrels of oil passing through it each day.

In one of his previous analytical reports for New Eastern Outlook, Phil Butler called attention to the fact that Saudi Arabia's oil wealth is doomed to falter

In this context, it is hardly surprising that Riyadh has recently adopted an assertive and even aggressive foreign policy approach towards its neighbors.

"Running out of the last of the nation's only saleable resource, the Saudi royalty have put their country into a mess, the potential for revolution there being acute, should the people discover the real predicament. This is why we see an 'all in' Saudi aggressive stance, on Syria, with Iran, and especially where Yemen is concerned. While Washington think tank evangelists try and play the tensions off as Sunni-Shiite religious friction, new oil reserves are the truth of these matters," Butler writes.

https://sputniknews.com/politics/201604061037584835-saudi-arabia-yemen-gas-oil/

My comment: I missed this article in 2016. But I do not agree with Butler. That is only one aspect in several others.

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Siehe / Look at cp1, cp1a

27.6.2017 – Scotsman (A H)

Michael McKean: Yemen - a war that’s slipped under the radar

The world’s largest ­humanitarian disaster is unfolding, largely away from the gaze of the world’s media, in a country which most people may remember as the setting of a ­prize-winning novel and Ewan McGregor romantic comedy.

Edinburgh-based Mercy Corps has been working in Yemen since 2010. Before the war, we focussed on helping Yemeni communities build sustainable livelihoods, like supporting sesame farmers to improve production and access markets. But now, more than two years into the war, we’re just trying to keep ­families alive. We ­provide vouchers so that ­people can buy food, water and ­other emergency supplies, which also helps local traders to stay in business, receive valuable income and continue to provide jobs – by Michael McKean, director of ­programmes, Mercy Corps Europe.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/michael-mckean-yemen-a-war-that-s-slipped-under-the-radar-1-4486703

27.6.2017 – Yeni Safak (A H)

Turkey ready to send humanitarian relief cargo to Yemen

Turkey has prepared an aid cargo to ship to Yemen, where thousands of civilians lost their lives due to cholera, and thousands wait for medicine for treatment (photos)

http://www.yenisafak.com/en/world/turkey-ready-to-send-humanitarian-relief-cargo-to-yemen-2740295

24.6.2017 – Fuad Rajeh (A H)

Latest "suicide in despair" in starving #Yemen: a mother drowned herself & her 3 children in Hajjah city in northwest, reports said Saturday

https://twitter.com/fuadrajeh/status/878802268514111489

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

27.6.2017 – Sahafak (A T)

Explosive Device Dismantled on a Main Road in Bayda

http://sahafatak.net/show692400.html

27.6.2017 – New News (A P)

Excerpts of Asyed: Abdulmalik Al-Huthi Speech at Al-Quds World Day 22.6 .2017

http://newnewss.net/?p=6951

26.6.2017 – Yemen Updates (A P)

A protest in #Sanaa to demand the release of their fathers from #Houthis & Saleh's prisons #YemenChildren bear the conflict's brunt! (photo)

https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/879590697241899008

25.6.2017 – Sputnik News (*A P)

Several Houthi rebels die in exchange of fire in Yemen mosque

An exchange of fire in a mosque in Yemeni Amran province resulted in deaths of four Houthi rebels and inflicted injuries to three others, a local source told Sputnik Sunday.

The incident followed a conflict over voicing slogans in the mosque, where the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, took place, the source noted.

Yemen’s Amran province is located north of Sanaa and is in the hands of the Houthi rebels.

https://sputniknews.com/africa/201706251054964037-yemen-exchange-fire-mosque/

and

25.6.2017 – Josephjo1221 (* A P)

Dozens of worshipers in Shaharah area of Amran were killed & wounded by Houthis.

https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/878875207150252032

# Massacre _ Shaharah

Qiran al-Huthi wearing a military uniform killed this child, who said to him does not fit the cry in the mosque

P after more than 200 km from the front and wearing a military uniform (photos)

https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/878983178257674240

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

Siehe / Look at cp1

27.6.2017 – Haykal Bafana / Sayed Zaiddi (A T)

Islamic Defender Front leader Habib Rizieq Shihab, wanted by #Indonesia police, spends Eid in Tarim city in Wadi Hadhramaut (photo)

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/879613138701881344

Immensely dangerous for Tarim to host these kind of Islamic militia characters. Very dangerous. And note the UAE character in the photo.

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/879616403040501760

Many have asked me if the man in the blue shirt on the left is Zakir Naik, wanted by #India - I have no confirmation from anyone in Tarim.

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/879635950049087488

Yes, he's Zakir Naik (fugitive in India), residing in KSA nowadays.

https://twitter.com/zaibx/status/879669483685773312 referring to https://www.dawn.com/news/1269897

My comment: Hadhramaut as part of “president” Hadis “liberated” part of Yemen, a Save Heaven for international terrorists?

26.6.2017 – Alrawhani (A P)

In a UAE jet, Bahah arrived at Rayan airport/currently prison in Hadramawt where many have been tortured by the UAE & not open to the public

https://twitter.com/alkhatabyemen/status/879340855936548865

Remark: Bahah, former vice president of president Hadi, deposed by him.

26.6.2017 – Reuters (* B P)

Secular Yemenis live in fear after student is killed in Aden

A gunman paused for a moment after entering an internet cafe in the Yemeni port city of Aden, approached Amgad Abdulrahman and pulled the trigger three times.

As the 22-year-old law student -- a member of a cultural club set up by secularists -- lay dying, the gunman waved his pistol threateningly before retreating outside. He then walked away without a word.

No group has claimed responsibility for the May 14 killing in broad daylight in the Sheikh Othman neighborhood, a brazen attack even for a city gripped by lawlessness more than two years into a civil war.

Friends suspect Abdulrahman was shot dead by Islamist militants who they say are waging a campaign of persecution against secularists accused of promoting an anti-Islam message or being atheists.

Some residents fear the killing has taken the persecution to a new level, nearly two years after local fighters backed by a Saudi-led coalition drove Iran-aligned Houthi forces out of the southern city.

Although secularists have complained of harassment elsewhere in the country, they have not previously reported that anyone has been killed over their secularist beliefs.

Abdulrahman was a member a cultural club that was set up by secular students and intellectuals in 2016 and quickly came under pressure for broaching taboo subjects in public debates such as religion, women's rights and literature.

The identity of the club's opponents are not obscure, but hardline anti-Western groups al Qaeda and Islamic State have taken advantage of the civil war to press their own agenda in southern Yemen.

Abdulrahman had been detained at a military base by a military commander and accused of being an atheist last December. He was freed days later, but friends say the incident convinced the family to suppress their grievances.

"The family cannot even think about going to some kind of authority or seek justice for him," Abdulrahman's friend said.

Another member of the club, Mohammed Ali, said someone had also attempted to kill him on Dec. 29 last year. He now lives abroad.

"It started when imams in Aden mosques talked about us publicly, called us infidels and accused us of spreading atheism," said Ali.

Others were jailed, according to a statement issued by the club after Abdulrahman's killing, and some residents fear religious extremists have infiltrated the southern security forces to destabilize Aden – By Aziz El Yaakoubi

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-assassination-idUSKBN19H10E

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

25.6.2017 – Haykal Bafana (AA P)

Every time Saudi Arabia donates $100M to the United Nations, @UN figures on #Yemen civilian deaths get reduced. 2016 : 12,000 2017 : 5,000

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/878880348662378496

Forward projections indicate that another $350M or so of Saudi largesse to the @UN will result in ZERO Yemeni civilians killed in this war.

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/878881335439437824

24.6.2017 - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (A H P)

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, Statement on Support for the Cholera Response in Yemen

I welcome the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s announcement yesterday that it will contribute $66.7 million to UNICEF and the World Health Organization to combat cholera in Yemen.

Once committed, the funding through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre will have a significant impact in our efforts to beat back the epidemic. We are grateful for the announcement and also thank all donors that have generously committed funds to the humanitarian response in Yemen.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/under-secretary-general-humanitarian-affairs-and-emergency-relief-coordinator-18

My comment: The disgusting praise for the main responsible of all these catastrophes in Yemen is continued (look at YPR 315, cp1a).

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

6.2016 – Beck Verlag (* B P)

Lohlker, Rüdiger

Die Salafisten

Der Aufstand der Frommen, Saudi-Arabien und der Islam

Mehr zum Buch

Die Salafisten predigen mit langen Bärten und Gewändern einen Islam der "Altvorderen" (salaf) und missionieren zugleich im Internet in jugendlicher Sprache. Rüdiger Lohlker erklärt, wo die Ursprünge dieser irritierenden Protestkultur liegen, welche unterschiedlichen Strömungen es gibt und wie mit saudischer Hilfe der Salafismus weltweit verbreitet wird. Sein wichtiges Buch öffnet die Augen für eine unterschätzte Gefahr.
Der Salafismus gilt als Inbegriff eines gewaltbereiten politischen Islam. Die Vordenker des "Islamischen Staats" sind ebenso Salafisten wie die Kämpfer von al-Qaida oder die Wahhabiten in Saudi Arabien. Doch es wäre ein Fehler, den Salafismus nur unter "politische Ideologie" und "Terror" zu verbuchen. Rüdiger Lohlker zeigt, dass die Ursprünge der sunnitischen Frömmigkeitsbewegung in einem Islam liegen, der sich - ähnlich wie Luther und die Reformatoren - auf die Quellen des Glaubens besinnt. Er beschreibt, wie sich hiervon eine militante Strömung abgezweigt hat, die den gewaltsamen Dschihad predigt, weltweit aggressiv missioniert, andere islamische Traditionen bekämpft und ein islamisches Gemeinwesen wie in den Zeiten der ersten Kalifen schaffen will - dies alles mit tatkräftiger und finanzieller Unterstützung aus Saudi-Arabien.

http://www.chbeck.de/Lohlker-Salafisten/productview.aspx?product=17678754 und Leseprobe (S. 1-24): http://www.chbeck.de/fachbuch/leseprobe/17678754_Salafisten%20(2).pdf

27.6.2017 – Reuters (* A E P)

The mysterious (and continuing) fall in Saudi foreign reserves

Net foreign assets at Saudi Arabia's central bank, a measure of its ability to support its currency, look set to fall sharply this year as oil prices slump and Riyadh expands its sovereign wealth fund to invest abroad.

They shrank from a record high of $737 billion (578.36 billion pounds) in August 2014 to $529 billion at the end of 2016 as the government liquidated some assets to cover the huge budget deficit caused by the fall in oil prices.

This year, an austerity drive and a partial rebound in oil prices have helped Riyadh make progress in cutting the deficit -- which narrowed 71 percent from a year ago to 26 billion riyals ($6.9 billion) in the first quarter.

But net foreign assets have continued to shrink at about the same rate, by $36 billion in the first four months of 2017 -- a mystery to economists and diplomats monitoring Saudi Arabia, and a potential blow to markets' confidence in Riyadh.

"This suggests that there remains a significant deficit in the balance of payments of Saudi Arabia, which is not due to declining oil export revenues," said Khatija Haque, head of regional research at Emirates NBD, Dubai's biggest bank.

Some analysts have speculated the fall is due to spending on Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Yemen.

This is unlikely; a top Saudi official indicated in late 2015 that the intervention -- largely a limited air campaign, not a major ground war -- was costing about $7 billion annually, in line with estimates by foreign military experts – By Andrew Torchia

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-economy-reserves-analysis-idUKKBN19I17R

My comment: The costs of Yemen war seem to be badly (or for propaganda reasons) underestimated here. Bombing Yemen by air alone is estimated US $ 2oo million daily, this would be US $ 73 billion a year.

26.6.2017 – AP (B P)

A Tale of Two Princes: How Trump and the Saudi King Rely on Their 30-something Kin

Jared Kushner and Mohammed bin Salman have skyrocketed to power and been entrusted with a wealth of responsibilities

Half a world apart, in a theocratic monarchy and a democracy, a king and a president are relying on their thirtysomething son and son-in-law to help consolidate power and push their policies.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman last week elevated his son Mohammed bin Salman to crown prince, setting him on course to become the next Saudi king. U.S. President Donald Trump relies heavily on son-in-law Jared Kushner to advance his agenda, the closest thing to a royal assist that the U.S. can muster.

In this tale of two princes, Trump’s son-in-law and Saudi Arabia’s new heir to the throne have skyrocketed to power and been entrusted with a wealth of responsibilities and wide-ranging duties, even though neither had the experience that comes with years of government service. The two have been presented to the public as outsiders who bring youthful energy and fresh ideas to sluggish bureaucracies with aging infrastructures.

http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.797668

My comment: Really a strange article.

26.6.2017 – Newsweek (A P)

Saudi Crown Prince Must Use Promotion To End Raif Badawi's Prison Ordeal, Wife Says

The wife of Saudi writer and blogger Raif Badawi, Haider, has called on the newly appointed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to "write a new history," release prisoners of conscience and end her husband's ordeal, in an exclusive interview with Newsweek.

Last week marked five years since Saudi Arabia jailed Badawi for advocating greater freedoms in the Gulf Kingdom. Badawi was charged with "insulting Islam" in 2014 after his arrest in 2012 for publishing liberal blog posts in a country where ultraconservative Islamic law and censorship rule supreme.

His sentence was 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes, of which he received 50 in January 2015. He was due to receive the lashes weekly in a public square in Jeddah, but they were halted for medical reasons – By Jack Moore

http://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-saudi-blogger-raif-badawis-wife-calls-new-crown-prince-end-ordeal-628961

My comment: He certainly will not do.

26.6.2017 – South Front (A P)

Fake News: Saudi Arabia Issues Ultimatum To Putin, Vows To Destroy “Russian Forces In Syria On 3 Days”

A fresh fake news story about the Saudi ultimatum to Russia is circulating online.

According to the reports issued by a number of media outlest (example), Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud issued a de-facto ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguing that Russia has to stop “its indiscriminate bombing” and threatened to destroy “Russian forces in Syria in 3 days.”

According to the media that spread such reports, the story orignis to the official Saudi Press Agency. However, the Saudi state-run media has not released this report and there are no such quotes of Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud are available online.

https://southfront.org/fake-news-saudi-arabia-issues-ultimatum-putin-vows-destroy-russian-forces-syria-3-days/ referring to reports like this: http://theduran.com/saudi-arabia-wont-go-soft-on-putin-anymore-vows-to-destroy-russian-forces-in-syria-in-3-days/

26.6.2017 – Financial Times (* B P)

A family coup in Saudi Arabia

There is something Shakespearean about what is happening. Who better to chronicle the unravelling story of the House of Saud? An ailing king breaks the delicate balance of the ruling family to promote his son — a young man whose vanity can be exploited by every breed of consultant and banker — over the trusted heir apparent. All this against the background of falling revenues from the kingdom’s one source of wealth, hostility from neighbours and sometime friends, in the context of a region split by the revival of religious conflicts. We are somewhere between King Lear and Richard II.

The market reacted negatively to the news, marking the oil price down again with Brent crude slipping below $45 a barrel.

The sole consolation is that we are only at the end of Act 1. There is much more news to come from Saudi Arabia. The fault lines are visible and the transfer of total power to MbS will expose them in the months ahead.

The diversification of the kingdom’s economy has been a national priority since at least 1980. Next to nothing has been achieved.

Second, Saudi is isolated, except perhaps for a rather unreliable ally in Washington. Its actions in Yemen have heightened the tensions in the region to no great effect and have exposed the weakness of the kingdom’s own defence forces. The resentment against the Saudi decision to allow oil prices to fall is intense and spreads across Opec and beyond.

Third, and perhaps most dangerous for the House of Saud, is the internal break with the religious powers. Instead of the slow but deliberate process of reform and modernisation put in place by the late King Abdullah and Prince Nayef, there is now a crown prince whose grand vision leaves little space for religion.

The only question is where the next step in the destabilisation will come from — the alienated part of the royal family? Iran? Isis or other fundamentalist groups who see in Saudi a crumbling state? – by Nick Butler

https://www.ft.com/content/78e87714-c846-3ddd-b94b-65a44654b106

25.6.2017 – Washington Post (* A P)

There’s reason to doubt Saudi Arabia’s charming new crown prince

MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, the 31-year-old who last week was named crown prince of Saudi Arabia, has been working assiduously to win friends and influence people in Washington. He’s acquired a lot of admirers, including in the Trump White House, by outlining plans to reform and modernize the Saudi economy, loosen domestic social controls and — not least — undertake tens of billions of arms purchases in the United States.

Yet as Prince Salman formally takes position to succeed his 81-year-old father, King Salman, there is growing reason for doubt about his capabilities. His market-oriented economic reforms look stalled. Meanwhile, his aggressive initiatives in foreign affairs are proving self-defeating — and damaging to the interests of the United States – by Editorial Board

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/theres-reason-to-doubt-saudi-arabias-charming-new-crown-prince/2017/06/25/f17ff988-582f-11e7-ba90-f5875b7d1876_story.html

25.6.2017 – Hussam Al-Sanabani (* B P)

The decisions at dawn and the downfall of Al Saud

I heard the Saudi story of the overwhelming majority of 31 out of 34 votes, the highest level ever, etcetera... But there are some questions that still need answers, in order for us to understand the Saudi Bedouin mentality. Before the vote, what was the agenda of the Saudi allegiance committee which met to discuss this? What was the cause of the calling of the vote? Was it a failure of Mohammed Bin Nayef (MBN) that caused him to be sacked? Bedouin mentality is based on looting, suspicion, doubt, excessive pride in one's strength and treason, even against close associates and allies. In the dark, the mad MBS bulldozer moves quickly and doesn't leave any survivors. After the meeting of the Saudi allegiance committe, the king issued a list of decisions without apparent justification for this mass purge of the Saudi pyramid of power. The decisions were made in the early morning and so the Saudi media was informed at a time when most of the Saudi people are asleep. It seems that the king or his son prefer to make their decisions at this kind of time. Perhaps this is for security reasons, or perhaps this is for conforming to the working hours in Washington. The looting, doubt, excessive pride in strength and treason of Bedouin ways was clear here.

These same Bedouin ways were obvious when the Saudis and their allies annonced the severing of ties with Qatar at dawn.

The youth of this family know that one's image is important. "Do what you want but show some religious behavior in front of the Saudi people... Talk about human rights and liberalism in the West, but do not give up the family's oil money even if the Saudi people are living in difficult situations". The family will continue to witness coups and the displacement of the members of old ruling cliques and their sympathisers. It is in the interest of all individuals and countries in the region to maintain a reasonable distance from them, so as not to become entangled in the internal conflicts of this family – by Hussam Al-Sanabani

https://www.facebook.com/notes/living-in-yemen-on-the-edge/the-decisions-at-dawn-and-the-downfall-of-al-saud/1413629078690118/

M comment: Interesting, but the author seems to like bedouins not at all. And by the same author:

24.6.2017 – Shafaqna (* B P)

Al Saud’s war on Yemen: excessive pride in strength and allies

why does a country like Saudi Arabia – with all its financial and military capabilities and with its population of nearly 30 million – insist to have allies and support for both its domestic and foreign policy decisions.
The Bedouin mentality of the king pushed him to have allies, they implicate dozen of countries to participate in it and has guaranteed the support of dozens of countries. Most of those countries were implicated in a war which they were not interested to go to.

I believe that in tne deep sense of the Bedouin king, he knows that he is wrong and in order to prove to his fans and others that he was not mistaken, he insists on gathering the largest number of allies.
The same mechanism happened when he boycotted Qatar.

On a domestic level, the king is keen to receive statements of support for all his decisions from everyone, even from the people who have been subjected to isolation decisions. Hundreds of supporting cables have circulated, the Saudi newspapers publish pages of congratulations and support of the important figures in Saudi Arabia for every decision taken by the king – by Hussam Al-Sanabani

http://en.shafaqna.com/al-sauds-war-on-yemen-excessive-pride-in-strength-and-allies/

My comment: This seems to be not so wrong, read this:

25.6.2017 – Fars News (A P)

Saudi Channel Shut Down after Releasing Subtitles of Non-Allegiance to New Crown Prince

The Saudi information ministry shut down a TV channel for rolling subtitles that said some Saudi tribes have defied expressing allegiance to new Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Social media users in Saudi Arabia reported that Badayah news channel has been closed after it released subtitles saying that bin Tamim tribes have rejected to express allegiance to the new crown prince.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960404000592

22.6.2017 – The Clarion Project (* A P)

Saudi Advisers to King Condemn Muslim Brotherhood

The Council of Senior Scholars, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, attacked the Muslim Brotherhood, saying the organization doesn’t care about the beliefs of the sunnah (the crucial oral tradition of the teachings, deeds and sayings of the Islamic prophet Mohammad).

In addition, the council said the Brotherhood’s way is to foment rebellion against their host countries. In a series of tweets, the council — which is tasked with advising the king on religious matters — said the Brotherhood’s primary goal is to use their host country’s political system to assume political power.

the former president of Yemen, Ali Abdallah Salah, condemned the Brotherhood saying the organization is responsible for the current civil war in his country.

Salah was talking during a meeting of the political branch of Al-Mo’tamar Ash-Sha’abiy Al-‘Aam, the General People’s Congress, the political party in Yemen which he heads.

“The terrorists that belong to the Muslim Brotherhood, who are connected to the organization abroad, caused the nakba [catastrophe] in Yemen by refusing to change the regime in a peaceful way. If they were really Muslims, they would have avoided hurting the people and country. They are extremist, terrorists,” Salah said.

https://clarionproject.org/saudi-advisers-king-condemn-muslim-brotherhood/

My comment: These are strange alliances. „Muslim Brotherhood“ in Yemen is Islah Party, supporting Saudi-backed president Hadi and a foe to ex-president Saleh, whose supporters and Houthi allies the Saudis are fighting in the Yemen war.

22.6.2017 – Reuters (* A P)

Trump, new Saudi crown prince share hardline views on Iran but risks abound

Saudi Arabia's new crown prince and likely next king shares U.S. President Donald Trump's hawkish view of Iran, but a more confrontational approach toward Tehran carries a risk of escalation in an unstable region, current and former U.S. officials said.

Iran will almost certainly respond to a more aggressive posture by the United States and its chief Sunni Arab ally in battlefields where Riyadh and Tehran are engaged in a regional tussle for influence.

Prince Mohammed, widely referred to as "MbS," has ruled out any dialogue with arch rival Iran and pledged to protect his conservative kingdom from what he called Tehran's efforts to dominate the Muslim world.

In the first meeting between Trump and MbS at the White House in March, the two leaders noted the importance of "confronting Iran's destabilizing regional activities."

But that could have unintended consequences, said some current and former U.S. administration officials.

"There’s a danger that his foreign policy instincts, that do tend to be aggressive, especially toward Iran, but also toward Sunni extremism, might end up distracting from what he wants to get done economically," said a former Obama administration official, referring to "Vision 2030," MbS's signature economic and social reform agenda.

Malley, who has met MbS, said his attitude toward Iran "stems from his strongly felt conviction that for too long the kingdom has been a punching bag, a passive witness to Iranian action, true or assumed, in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia's own eastern province."

"His view is that Saudi Arabia absorbed those blows and now there's no reason to absorb them anymore," Malley said - By Yara Bayoumy and John Walcott

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-succession-usa-iran-idUSKBN19D0DO

21.6.2017 – Washington Institute (*A P)

The New 'King' of Saudi Arabia

Although pro-American, now-crown-prince Muhammad bin Salman has a firm view of Saudi Arabia's place in the world and his own role in securing it.

MbS's appointment as crown prince should confirm the improved working relationship with Washington after the strains experienced during the Obama administration, chiefly over Iran and the nuclear deal. But sharp differences remain between the U.S. and Saudi position – by Simon Henderson

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-new-king-of-saudi-arabia

cp9 USA

Siehe / Look at cp1

26.6.2017 – Welt (* A P)

Trump bejubelt Etappensieg im Streit um Einreisebann

US-Präsident Donald Trump hat einen Etappensieg im Rechtsstreit um seine Einreiseverbote erzielt. Das Oberste Gericht in Washington setzte am Montag den temporären Bann gegen Bürger mehrerer muslimischer Staaten sowie sämtliche Flüchtlinge teilweise wieder in Kraft, nachdem untergeordnete Bundesgerichte das Dekret in den vergangenen Monaten blockiert hatten. Trump bejubelte die Entscheidung als "klaren Sieg für unsere nationale Sicherheit".

Allerdings handelt es sich nur um einen Teilerfolg. Denn von den pauschalen Verboten wird es Ausnahmen für solche Einreisewillige geben, die eine aus Sicht der Behörden authentische und unbedenkliche Beziehung zu Einzelpersonen oder Organisationen in den USA nachweisen können. Als Beispiele nannte das Gericht die Fälle von Reisenden, die Verwandte besuchen wollten oder von einer US-Hochschule zugelassen wurden.

Auch ist die Entscheidung des Supreme Court nur vorläufig.

Das Dekret sieht einen 90-tägigen Einreisebann für die Bürger der mehrheitlich muslimischen Länder Iran, Jemen, Libyen, Somalia, Sudan und Syrien sowie einen 120-tägigen Aufnahmestopp für Flüchtlinge aus aller Welt vor. Der Präsident bezeichnet die Einreiseverbote als notwendige Maßnahme zur Abwehr der Terrorgefahr. Dadurch solle Zeit gewonnen werden, um die Sicherheitsüberprüfungen von Einreisewilligen einer grundlegenden Revision zu unterziehen und gegebenenfalls zu reformieren.

https://www.welt.de/newsticker/news1/article165968188/Trump-bejubelt-Etappensieg-im-Streit-um-Einreisebann.html

26.6.2017 – Reuters (A P)

Yemen official says disappointed by U.S. Supreme court decision on travel ban

A Yemeni government official expressed disappointment over a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to allow much of President Donald Trump's ban on travelers from six Muslim-majority countries and all refugees to go back into effect.

"We're disappointed with this decision. We believe it will not help in confronting terrorism and extremism, but rather will increase feelings among the nationals of these countries that they are all being targeted," said Ahmed al-Nasi, an official in Yemen’s Ministry of Expatriate Affairs.

This was especially the case, he added, "given that Yemen is an active partner of the United States in the war on terrorism," conducting joint operations against militants inside Yemen – by Mohammed Ghobari

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-immigration-yemen-idUSKBN19H249

26.6.2017 – Foreign Policy in Focus (* B P)

Excessive and Avoidable Harm in Yemen

Instead of helping to avert the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the Trump administration is adding fuel to the fire.

Over the past few months, the Trump administration has settled on a strategy for the ongoing conflict in Yemen that it knows will lead to more suffering and violence in the country. Rather than trying to bring an immediate end to the war, which has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 civilians, administration officials have decided to help the Saudi-led coalition continue its efforts to pressure Houthi-led rebels into surrendering on Saudi terms, even if it means more violence.

Previous U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition has already had devastating consequences for the people of Yemen.

The Decision

In spite of the growing awareness, the Trump administration has begun taking the more aggressive position on the various matters under discussion.

In the first place, the Trump administration has decided to support new efforts to capture the port of Hodeidah. As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson explained to a congressional committee earlier this month, “we’re working with both the Emirates and the Saudis to gain agreement over how we might gain control of that port.” Although administration officials appear to have backed away from a military plan in favor of a new diplomatic strategy, they have decided to help the Saudi government gain control of the port. “We believe we can gain control of the port under some other third authority’s control,” Tillerson said.

Second, the Trump administration has decided to provide the Saudi government with the precision-guided munitions. It most clearly revealed its decision earlier this month, when it made a major effort to get the U.S. Senate to approve a future sale of the weapons to the Saudi government. “Trump administration officials spent the hours before the vote frantically making phone calls and holding briefings with lawmakers to stave off a defeat,” The New York Times reported. In the process, the Trump administration informed congressional officials that it would soon begin providing the weapons to the Saudi government by adhering to the previous weapons deal.

More broadly, the Trump administration has also decided to continue helping the Saudi-led coalition maintain its military operations against the Houthis. Although administration officials know perfectly well that they are increasing the risk of famine in Yemen, they have decided that military operations are necessary to keep pressure on the Houthis. The rebels in Yemen “have to know that they will never – they will never prevail militarily,” Tillerson explained. “But they’re only going to feel that when they feel the resistance militarily, so it’s important we keep the pressure on them.”

Indeed, the Trump administration has decided to take the hardline position on many key aspects of the war. Rather than trying to minimize civilian casualties by blocking the sale of munitions, keeping food distribution networks open by backing off of Hodeidah, and trying to prevent famine by ending its support of the the Saudi-led military operations, the Trump administration has adopted some of the most extreme positions in Washington, ensuring that the people of Yemen will continue to suffer. – by Edward Hunt

http://fpif.org/excessive-and-avoidable-harm-in-yemen/ = https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/06/27/excessive-and-avoidable-harm-in-yemen/

Comment: After two years of daily raids, of siege, of blocking aid, of carpet bombings, of drone strikes, contractors with boots on the ground and raids against AQAP which turn into civilians massacres?
Only now?
Obama and Trump Administration are equally responsible for the daily massacre of Yemeni civilians

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1414642078588818

25.6.2017 – Huffington Post (* B H K P)

Congress, Amartya Sen, and the Saudi-Imposed Famine in Yemen

On June 13, the U.S. Senate took a “proxy vote” on U.S. participation in the Saudi war and blockade in Yemen, when it narrowly failed [47-53] to support the Paul-Murphy-Franken of disapproval against part of Trump’s Saudi arms deal. Two days later, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a statement calling for immediate ceasefire to save Yemen from cholera and famine. Yet the Saudi war continues, with U.S. approval. Two days after the Security Council vote, at least 25 civilians were killed by a Saudi airstrike on a Yemeni market.

If the House Rules Committee does not allow such amendments - or even if they do - House Members can force a vote on U.S. participation on Saudi Arabia’s war by invoking Congressional war powers, since U.S. participation has never been authorized by Congress. The last time such a vote happened in the House was during the unauthorized 2011 bombing of Libya. If July 28 is the last day before the House leaves for the August recess, then such a resolution should be introduced by July 17 at the latest in order to allow a vote to be forced before the House leaves town.

There is no guarantee that a House vote will end the war. If we win a House vote, it’s possible, though not likely, that Trump would just ignore it – by Robert Naiman

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/congress-amartya-sen-and-the-saudi-imposed-famine_us_59502adfe4b0c85b96c65a8b = http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/41074-congress-amartya-sen-and-the-saudi-imposed-famine-in-yemen

27.6.2017 – AP (A P)

GOP senator to block arms sales over crisis with Qatar

An influential Republican senator said Monday that he'll withhold approval of U.S. weapons sales to several Middle Eastern allies until there is a clear path for settling a diplomatic crisis with Qatar.

Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that "recent disputes" among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council undermine efforts to combat the Islamic State and counter Iran – by Richard Lardner

http://www.dariennewsonline.com/news/politics/article/Senior-GOP-senator-seeks-path-for-resolving-11247153.php

Comment: It did not work for #Yemen but Qatar is so worth the worries.
Double standards

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1414797708573255

Comment by Hussam Al-Sanabani: In another words Qatar boycott disturb the US senate while the lives of millions in #Yemen & #Syria are expendable

https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/879388793958264834

Comment by Benjamin Norton: Thousands of killed Yemenis & a cholera epidemic didn't stop @SenBobCorker from selling arms—but Gulf "disunity" did

https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/879437778370666496

25.6.2017 – Politico (* A P)

Trump allies push White House to consider regime change in Tehran

As the new administration conducts a routine review of its Iran policy, senior officials are hinting that they're open to toppling the country's clerical regime.

As the White House formulates its official policy on Iran, senior officials and key allies of President Donald Trump are calling for the new administration to take steps to topple Tehran’s militant clerical government.

Supporters of dislodging Iran’s iron-fisted clerical leadership say it’s the only way to halt Tehran’s dangerous behavior, from its pursuit of nuclear weapons to its sponsorship of terrorism. Critics say that political meddling in Iran, where memories of a 1953 CIA-backed coup remain vivid, risks a popular backlash that would only empower hard-liners.

That’s why President Barack Obama assured Iranians, in a 2013 speech at the United Nations, that “we are not seeking regime change.”

But influential Iran hawks want to change that under Trump.

“The policy of the United States should be regime change in Iran,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who speaks regularly with White House officials about foreign policy. “I don’t see how anyone can say America can be safe as long as you have in power a theocratic despotism,” he added.

Cotton advocated a combination of economic, diplomatic and covert actions to pressure Tehran’s government and “support internal domestic dissent” in the country. He noted that Iran has numerous minority ethnic groups, including Arabs, Turkmen and Balochs who “aren’t enthusiastic about living in a Persian Shiite despotism.”

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared to endorse subverting the Iranian regime during recent testimony about the State Department’s budget when Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) asked the diplomat whether the Trump administration supports “a philosophy of regime change” in Iran – By Michael Crowley

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/25/trump-iran-foreign-policy-regime-change-239930

My comment: They do it again and again and again. In Iran first in 1953, in nearly all Middle and Southern American countries, in Ukraine worldwide… spreading hatred, despair and destruction worldwide.

and

26.6.2017 – Just Security (* A P)

Tillerson’s “Peaceful” Regime Change for Iran: Really? And What Comes Next?

At this point in our internecine political discourse, it is increasingly rare for foreign policy stories to survive more than a single news cycle unless they involve Russia. However, a bit earlier this month, an important story was barely a blip on the U.S. radar. In a public congressional hearing, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggested that U.S. policy toward Iran would include, among other things, support for “peaceful” regime change. At best, it reflected the inchoate state of the Trump administration’s Iran policy; at worst, it reflected an unexpected neo-conservative beachhead in President Trump’s nascent Iran policy. Either way, it is likely to trigger an enduring response from the Iranians, who will not distinguish between Tillerson freelancing, free-associating, or previewing U.S. policy toward Iran. The Trump administration must move quickly and decisively to clarify its policy toward Iran, both to the American people and to the international community.

A National Security Council spokesperson subsequently indicated that “an explicit affirmation” of regime change in Iran is not a policy option under consideration by the Trump administration.[2] However, this off-handed and caveated dismissal is hard to evaluate as compared to the view of a sitting Secretary of State testifying before Congress. Moreover, with a policy review process still ongoing, this assurance cannot promise that the Administration’s approach will ultimately exclude a regime change component, especially since Secretary Tillerson is a key player in that review. Thus, it only further clouds U.S. policy toward Iran.

What Next?

The Trump administration should seriously consider whether a regime change position – whether peaceful or otherwise – is a smart way to approach the problem set that Iran presents. The Administration should do so, preferably before other governments, imbued with new energy, come forward with proposals. Whatever “elements inside of Iran” supporting regime change that Tillerson was referencing, they will not be made stronger by highlighting their existence, specifically identifying them, or suggesting that they will receive foreign support. And especially not when those statements are made by a U.S. cabinet official – By Eric Pelofsky

https://www.justsecurity.org/42531/tillersons-peaceful-regime-change-position-iran-really-and-next/

25.6.2017 – Forbes (* B P)

The Coming War Between Saudi Arabia And Iran Will Make American Frackers Very Rich

Saudi Arabia and Iran are moving closer to a direct military confrontation that has the potential to disrupt Middle East oil supplies and push crude oil prices back towards the $60, even $100, level.

That’s a dream scenario for American frackers who will have to pump oil as fast as they can to make up any supply shortfall to America’s allies.

Recently, there are signs that the two adversaries are moving closer to a direct war, however, raising the possibility of a “military accident”in the Persian Gulf. That could disrupt Middle East oil supplies, sending oil back to $60 or even $100 in a matter of months, if not weeks.

“In case there is ‘a military accident’ in the Arabian Gulf, the oil supply route could be seriously disrupted,” says Athens based shipping expert Theo Matsopoulos.

That's certainly a dream scenario for American frackers, as they will pump oil as fast as they can to fill in the gap generated from the shortfall in the middle supplies.

That’s why Washington may do little if anything to stop a direct war between the two old adversaries. And Russia may go along with this scenario, as higher oil prices will benefit its own oil producers.

Paradoxically, a direct war will benefit the Saudi Kingdom, too. Higher oil prices will pave the way for its Aramco IPO; and give a very much needed break to its over-exploited oil wells - By Panos Mourdoukoutas

https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2017/06/25/the-coming-war-between-saudi-arabia-and-iran-will-make-american-frackers-very-rich/#595f30c878da

24.6.2017 – Alternet (* A P)

Trump Appointee Is a Saudi Government Lobbyist

Richard Hohlt is earning six figures from the Gulf kingdom bent on influencing Trump.

One of President Donald Trump’s newest appointees is a registered agent of Saudi Arabia earning hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby on the kingdom’s behalf, according to U.S. Department of Justice records reviewed by the Center for Public Integrity.

Since January, the Saudi Arabian foreign ministry has paid longtime Republican lobbyist Richard Hohlt about $430,000 in exchange for “advice on legislative and public affairs strategies.”

Trump’s decision to appoint a registered foreign agent to the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships clashes with the president’s vow to clean up Washington and limit the influence of special interests.

Trump singled out lobbyists for foreign governments for special criticism, saying they shouldn’t be permitted to contribute to political campaigns. Hohlt is himself a Trump donor, though his contributions came before he registered to represent Saudi Arabia – by Carrie Levine

http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/trump-appointee-registered-saudi-government-lobbyist

23.6.2017 – Amber Lyon (B P)

Film: Whistle blower, Amber Lyon, Tells How CNN works with Foreign Dictators to control the news

https://twitter.com/pamela_moore13/status/878381564882759680

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

26.6.2017 – Morning Star ( B K P)

TSSA: People of Yemen „pay for British jobs with their lives“

THE people of Yemen are paying the price for British jobs with their lives as Theresa May continues to allow arms sales to Saudi Arabia, TSSA conference heard yesterday.

Jill Murdoch, a delegate from the union’s Women in Focus group, accused the British government of “war crimes” for continuing to allow the export of weapons to Saudi Arabia while it bombs Yemen.

Conference heard how a staggering 194 arms licences have been issued and over £3 billion of weapons have been sold to the Saudis since the bombing of Yemen began in March 2015.

Ms Murdoch slammed the Prime Minister for working closely with arms manufacturer BAE to ramp up sales in the name of jobs.

She said: “We are telling people in Yemen and elsewhere that their lives are a price worth paying for our jobs.

“It’s a national disgrace that our standard of living relies on destruction elsewhere.”

TSSA will call on the Labour Party, the TUC and relevant unions to develop an alternative strategy for the use of skills and resources of the arms industry based on the 1976 Lucas shop stewards’ plan for converting swords to ploughshares.

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-6e47-TSSA-People-of-Yemen-pay-for-British-jobs-with-their-lives

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

Emirates: cp1

27.6.2017 – MEMRI (A P)

Film: UAE Cleric Wassim Yousuf: The Media Was the Jews' First Weapon against Islam

https://twitter.com/MEMRIReports/status/879567517680893952

Remark by David A. Weinberg: Blatant anti-Semitism by local preacher on Abu Dhabi TV, which is owned by the government of #AbuDhabi in the #UAE:

https://twitter.com/DavidAWeinberg/status/879716485182226432

Comment by Alberto Fernandez: Graphic reminder that anti-Semitic poison and loony worldviews are not just coming from one Middle East capital.

https://twitter.com/VPAFernandez/status/879672570689327104

26.6.2017 – AP (* B K P)

UAE MILITARY BUILDUP DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER YEMEN ALLEGATIONS

With soccer sponsorships, record-setting skyscrapers and wintertime golfing, the United Arab Emirates has projected an image of comfort and opportunity in a volatile region. But the quiet expansion of its military footprint is drawing a different kind of attention to the Gulf federation as it wades into some of the region's messiest conflicts.

The Emirates flatly denied allegations revealed in an Associated Press investigationlast week that its forces were running secret prisons inside Yemen where detainees were tortured, calling it "completely untrue."

The growing list of foreign commitments is drawing increased scrutiny to the federation of Gulf monarchies, which hosts some 5,000 American military personnel, as well as fighter jets and drones.

THE BUILDUP

The former British protectorate merged the smaller forces of its seven sheikhdoms into a national military force

CLOSE WESTERN ALLY

The UAE was one of the most prominent Arab members to join the U.S.-led coalition striking IS targets in Syria. Its contribution gained particular attention for the role played by a female fighter pilot early in the campaign.

And while its military only numbers in the tens of thousands, it spends a whopping 6 percent of GDP on defense, allowing it to acquire advanced weapons systems from France, Britain and the U.S.

"They're trying to curry favor with the U.S. by taking on more and more roles in the region, to carve out their niche and emerge at the coveted position of being Washington's Number One Arab Ally," said Christopher Davidson of Britain's Durham University.

"They've had to make deals with some unsavory characters to protect their flanks in places like Yemen, but in general they've proven more deft at keeping a cleaner image than, for example, the Saudis," he added.

YEMEN QUAGMIRE

AFRICA

The UAE has been building up a long-term military presence in Eritrea at its port in Assab, according to Stratfor, a U.S.-based private intelligence firm. Satellite images show new construction at a once-abandoned airfield the firm links to the Emiratis, as well as development at the port and the deployment of tanks and aircraft.

South of Eritrea, in Somalia's breakaway northern territory of Somaliland, authorities agreed in February to allow the UAE open a naval base in the port town of Berbera.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_UAE_MILITARY_AMBITIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-06-26-15-09-21 = https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/uae-military-buildup-draws-scrutiny-after-yemen-allegations/2017/06/26/8046d4aa-5aa3-11e7-aa69-3964a7d55207_story.html?utm_term=.b9f9ecb0166f

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

Siehe / Look at cp1

?6.2017 – Blick (* B P)

Neues Ultimatum in der Katar-Krise

https://www.blick.ch/storytelling/2017/katar/

27.6.2017 – New News (A P)

Saudi Companies Smuggle Goods to Qatar

http://newnewss.net/?p=6961

25.6.2017 – The Duran (* A P)

War coming in the Gulf? Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Sarajevo moment with Qatar

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ultimatum to Qatar threatens a wider regional war pitting key allies of the US against each other.

In July 1914 warmongers in the Habsburg government sent an insanely worded ultimatum to Serbia.

In June 2017 warmongers in Saudi Arabia have sent an insanely worded ultimatum to Qatar.

Will the result be a similar geopolitical catastrophe that will bring about the end of the Saudi Kingdom?

It is impossible to believe that anyone in Riyadh seriously believes that Qatar can comply with the terms of the Saudi ultimatum, just as no-one in Vienna in 1914 seriously thought Serbia would comply with the Habsburg ultimatum.

In both cases complying with an ultimatum phrased in such an extreme way would result in a complete loss of independence and sovereignty. For proudly independent countries like Serbia and Qatar that is inconceivable. Unsurprisingly the Saudi ultimatum has been rejected. The people who drafted the Saudi ultimatum in Riyadh cannot have expected otherwise, just as the people who drafted the Habsburg ultimatum in Vienna never expected it to be accepted either.

If the Saudi ultimatum to Qatar is intended to be rejected, just as the Habsburg ultimatum to Serbia was also intended to be rejected, the big question is what happens next?

I have already written that the previously announced steps taken by Saudi Arabia and its allies – closing land and air links to Qatar and breaking diplomatic relations – look very like preparatory steps before an armed attack on Qatar

Whilst I do not know this for a fact, I think it is at least possible that Saudi Arabia’s breaking of diplomatic relations and the land and air blockade it imposed on Qatar were intended to be followed up by a ground invasion of Qatar.

Such an aggressive step would be very much in character for Saudi Arabia’s volatile de facto leader Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Much as former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 1990 mistook a conversation with the US ambassador as a green light from the US to invade Kuwait, so it is possible that the equally foolhardy Prince Mohammed bin Salman misread some comments of US President Trump during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia as a green light for a Saudi attack on Qatar.

Since I wrote those words Turkey has further ramped up its support for Qatar.

The question is what will he do when his bluff is called and the 10 day time limit in the ultimatum expires with Qatar still having failed to comply with it? Will he step back and permit the Kuwaiti mediators to do their work, or will he escalate further? – by Alexander Mercouris

http://theduran.com/saudi-mohammed-salman-sarajevo-qatar/

and also

26.6.2017 – Middle East Eye (* A P)

A major war in the Middle East is now more likely than ever

The growing confrontation between the US and Russia in eastern Syria, combined with escalating tensions between Saudi and Iran, could spill over into conflict

The situation in Syria, and in the Persian Gulf region, is threatening to spiral into a regional and possibly even a global conflict.

Following the shooting down of a Syrian warplane by a US Navy jet on 18 June, tensions between the United States and Russia have escalated dramatically.

What makes the situation worse is the ever-increasing hostility between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Mohammad bin Salman is the architect of the new, openly aggressive Saudi foreign policy toward Tehran.

A glaring example which presents the outside world with a first glimpse of the dangerous foreign policy of the newly-elected, de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is a list of the conditions presented to Qatar on 23 June for lifting the sanctions imposed by Saudi-led bloc.

Many observers contend that curbing ties with Iran is central to the list.

Against this perilous backdrop, no party shows any intention of de-escalation, especially the two nuclear superpowers – by Shahir Shahidsaless

http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/major-war-middle-east-now-more-likely-ever-893905523

My comment: Conclusion: Trump’s foreign policy is a catastrophe for the whole world – as would have been Clinton’s.

25.6.2017 – Washington Post (* A P)

State Department issues unusual public warning to Saudi Arabia and UAE over Qatar rift

The State Department issued an unusual public warning to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday over a diplomatic rift with fellow U.S. ally Qatar, and suggested that the Saudis may have provoked a crisis and drawn in the United States on false pretenses.

Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the administration was “mystified” that — two weeks after announcing a diplomatic and economic embargo against Qatar over alleged support for terrorism — Saudi Arabia and the UAE have not publicly detailed their complaints.

“The more that time goes by, the more doubt is raised about the actions taken by Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” Nauert said.

“At this point, we are left with one simple question: Were the actions really about their concerns about Qatar’s alleged support for terrorism, or were they about the long-simmering grievances between and among the GCC countries?” - By Anne Gearan and Karen DeYoung

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/state-department-issues-unusual-public-warning-to-saudi-arabia-and-uae-over-qatar-rift/2017/06/20/66294a58-55e9-11e7-a204-ad706461fa4f_story.html

26.6.2017 – Ali AlAhmed / AJ (A P)

#Egyptian govt-backed TV incites for terrorist bombings inside #Qatar (film)

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/879344543472242689 and also https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/879753377260990464

"One explosion or two where you guys are in Qatar …' These TV presenters incited violence against another country and went unpunished (film)

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/879000252098854912

25.6.2017 – Oil Price (* A P)

What Is The Most Likely Outcome Of The Qatar Crisis?

http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/What-Is-The-Most-Likely-Outcome-Of-The-Qatar-Crisis.html

25.6.2017 – Reuters (* A P)

Turkey's Erdogan says Arab demands on Qatar unlawful

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar-turkey-idUSKBN19G06H

24.6.2017 – The Atlantic (* A P)

What's the Problem With Al Jazeera?

The most popular news channel in the Arab world sits uneasily at the center of the Qatar crisis.

Closing the station was an extreme demand, like the others on the 13-point list released late this week. Taken as a whole, the list asks Doha to do nothing short of change its entire foreign policy. The crisis shows no signs of ending—because, as the Al Jazeera matter illustrates, it is a chance for Qatar’s neighbors to air grievances they have harbored for years, if not decades.

Founded in 1996, Al Jazeera quickly rose to prominence by offering a medium for freewheeling debate and criticism of the region’s aging, authoritarian rulers. The one exception, of course, was reporting on Qatar itself.

Despite the headaches it caused, Al Jazeera’s Arabic channel (AJA) was a useful instrument of soft power for a tiny state that once tried to stand apart from both its neighbors and the region’s internecine feuds. Doha used to be a sort of Geneva-on-the-Gulf, the place where everyone went to hash out their differences.

At the start of the Arab Spring, both the emirate and the network shifted gears. They initially backed the uprisings, then narrowed their focus, throwing their support behind the Islamist groups that tried to fill the vacuum.

There was, and still is, a vast gulf between AJA and Al Jazeera English, which was launched in 2006. They share a name, but little else, even operating out of separate buildings across the street from each other – by Greg Carl Strom

https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/531471/

23.6.2017 – Juan Cole (* A P)

4 Nations twist Qatar’s arm, to close down Aljazeera

In a bid completely to return the Middle East to the old system of strict government media censorship, four countries have demanded that Qatar close down the Aljazeera television channel.

Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates made the demands formally via Kuwait, which is attempting to mediate the dispute between the four countries and Qatar

Aljazeera, from the late 1990s, emerged as a fresh voice on the Arab media scene. Its philosophy was to report all sides of an issue. They routinely interviewed Israeli officials. They brought on US State Department spokesmen.

In 2011 when the youth revolts broke out in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Libya and Bahrain, the existence of an independent satellite television station that reported events relatively dispassionately was important.

he four hawkish countries that made the demand that Aljazeera be closed are autocracies that enjoyed their previous media monopoly, and who are determined that nothing like 2011 ever happen again.

The joke used to be that Dubai-based al-Arabiya reported on everything but Saudi Arabia, and al Jazeera reported on everything but Qatar, but if you put them together, you could find out almost everything.

That joke would go onto the trash heap of history if Saudi Arabia and Egypt get their way.

https://www.juancole.com/2017/06/nations-qatars-aljazeera.html

24.6.2017 – The Duran (* A P)

COLD WAR IN THE DESERT: How the Qatar crisis is becoming a stalemate

The Qatar conflict could turn into a wider Middle East cold war which could ironically bring a measure of peace to the region.

With both sides seemingly unwilling to compromise and with Qatar given a list of ultimatums that no state could reasonably expect to voluntarily abide by, one could witness this cold war in the desert having wider implications in a broader regional shift in the Middle East. The first victim of this shift will be the functionality of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

With Iran growing sympathetic to the plight of Qatar and Turkey openly advocating for a pro-Qatari settlement, the two most important non-Arab powers in the region are now in alignment on a key issue after years being on opposite sides of the war in Syria for years.

With the war in Syria winding down and Turkey increasingly infuriated at America’s alignment with Kurdish fighters, there is a very real possibility that Turkey, Iran and more broadly Russia could find themselves as allies in the Middle East – by Adam Garrie

http://theduran.com/cold-war-in-the-desert-how-the-qatar-crisis-is-becoming-a-stalemate/

20.6.2017 – Middle East Eye (* A P)

Gas and the Gulf crisis: How Qatar could gain the upper hand

Asian markets, military allies and a crucial pipeline all offer Doha leverage against its adversaries amid the current crisis

http://www.middleeasteye.net/essays/qatar-and-gulf-crisis-who-holds-winning-card-energy-stakes-1648311614

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

27.6.2017 – Soraya Tebbani (A T)

Recognised them .. little pics of Saudi "honesty " that the world know except you brainwashed sheep!

https://twitter.com/2flamesburning1/status/879628668385058816

26.6.2017 – Critical Threats (A T)

Yemen Security Brief

Ibrahim al Banna, an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula(AQAP) religious scholar, called on Muslim religious scholars to show the umma, Muslim community, that it is a duty to undertake jihad and to condemn Saudi Arabia in a June 24 speech, “Congratulations and Reminder,” released by AQAP’s al Malahem Foundation for the Eid al Fitr holiday. AQAP’s senior spokesman Khaled Batarfi stressed the requirement to trust Allah and to be certain of one’s faith in the sixth video of his series, “Stories of the Prophets,” released through al Malahem on June 23. [1]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-june-26-2017 #

26.6.2017 – Ali AlAhmed (A T)

Film: #Saudi-backed #Alqaeda in #Yemen AQAP says its fighting Houthi/Saleh forces in 17 fronts (Arabic)

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/879476188959444992

cp15 Propaganda

Siehe / Look at cp1

27.6.2017 – Al Arabiya (A P)

What’s demanded of Qatar?

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2017/06/27/What-s-demanded-of-Qatar-.html

Remark: Saudi propaganda about Qatar.

27.6.2017 – Gulf News (A P)

Despite serious injuries, they want to fight for Yemen

Al Houthi attack victims who are recuperating at a Delhi hospital with UAE aid still not afraid to assist their army once back home

Despite suffering serious injuries in life-threatening attacks, Yemenis recuperating at a Delhi hospital want to go back at the earliest to assist Yemeni army fighting Al Houthi militia.

The mental trauma of the attacks and deadly wound infections have not shaken their fighting spirit, which otherwise helped their speedy recovery, according to doctors at VPS Rockland hospital that treats Yemenis as part of an Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) initiative. Gulf News visited these patients who were flown to New Delhi for treatment.

http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/society/despite-serious-injuries-they-want-to-fight-for-yemen-1.2049693

My comment: Emirati propaganda had told that the Emirates pay for injured Yemenis to be treated in Indian hospitals (Indian hospitals and doctors are much cheaper than Emirati or European ones). You would have believed they speak of civilian victims. Anyway, it’s just the Emirati’s Yemeni militia they care for.

27.6.2017 – Al Arabiya (A P)

PHOTOS: Eid brings joy to young victims of war in Yemen

Despite an on-going conflict that has devastated the country into the world’s worst humanitarian crisis since 1945, hospitalized children in war-torn Taiz gathered to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in a move towards normalcy.

Members from the non-profit organization “Basma Tifl” – meaning “Child’s Smile” in Arabic – organized a gathering at al-Thawra Hospital to celebrate Eid with young victims in an “attempt to improve the psychological state of the children and put a smile on those who lost them.”

Houthi shelling targeting civilian areas has hospitalized dozens of children, with many of whom left amputated (photos)

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2017/06/27/Eid-brings-joy-to-young-victims-of-war-in-Yemen.html

My comment: And all the children hit by “popular resistance” shells or by Saudi aerial bombs had to stay outside? – Saudi Arabia making propaganda for the expense of some balloons, sweets and pieces of cake.

26.6.2017 – Saudi Embassy in USA (A P)

Working for Peace in #Yemen: Saudi Arabia treats children with cholera. Houthis recruit child soldiers with stolen aid (image)

https://twitter.com/SaudiEmbassyUSA/status/879333497764294656

My comment: What a ridiculous propaganda. They only seem to know sex bombs in Riyadh. LOL.

26.6.2017 – Middle East Eye (A P)

Dubai security chief hails UAE, Egypt and Saudi leaders as 'next Arab Spring'

Dhahi Khalfan Tamim implied the future of the Middle East would lie with the three Arab leaders

In a Twitter post on Monday afternoon, Dhahi Khalfan Tamim - head of general security in the UAE emirate:

“The next Arab Spring will be led by three, the custodian of the two holy mosques, the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his royal highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed”

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/dubai-security-chief-hails-uae-egypt-and-saudi-leaders-next-arab-spring-1365353029

My comment: LOL, LOL, LOL.

26.6.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)

Hadi: Yemen on Verge of Important Victories

Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi called on the army and security forces in the province of Hadramout to improve their military presence and strike with an iron fist anyone who tries to upset calm.

In a telephone conversation conducted with Brigadier General Farag Salem al-Bahsani, commander of the Mukalla-based 2nd Military District, Hadi said the Yemeni army must continue to advance in the country and defeat insurgents.

For his part, Bahsani informed the Yemeni president about the latest field developments and the trainings of military staff in the region, the official Yemeni news agency reported on Sunday.

Hadi also praised the Saudi efforts in supporting legitimacy in Yemen, in a speech addressed to the Yemeni people on the occasion of the holy Eid al-Fitr.

He also congratulated the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on the occasion.

“Yemen stands on the verge of important victories embodied in the will of the Yemeni people and their determination to defend their land and honor,” the Yemeni president said.

https://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/hadi-yemen-verge-important-victories

My comment: “Yemen stands on the verge of important victories”: this war also is a civil war, that means also a victory of the other side is a “victory” of Yemen. Odd propaganda babble.

26.6.2017 – Gulf News (A P)

FNC Speaker spends Eid with Emirati soldiers in Yemen

Dr Al Qubaisi thanks troops for their sacrifices in the line of national duty

Al Qubaisi expressed immense pride in the UAE’s leadership, people and brave soldiers who are helping their brothers in Yemen regain their legitimate rights, as well as liberating the country from the hands of those who interfere with its security and stability.

Dr Al Qubaisi said that such massive efforts would contribute to building and restoring hope in Yemen.

“All Emiratis are forever grateful to you. Today, the young and old, men and women, are celebrating Eid knowing full well that we are safe thanks to the wise UAE leadership, and thanks to you, our brave UAE Armed Forces soldiers. It is thanks to the efforts that you exert on a daily basis, and thanks to your honourable defence and immense sacrifices in all fields and fronts that we are able to live in safety,” Dr Al Qubaisi said.

Dr Al Qubaisi conveyed her gratitude and thanks to members of the Arab Coalition forces from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan and Yemen for their efforts and sacrifices for the sake of the security and safety of the people in the Gulf and Arab world, and to help the people of Yemen

http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/government/fnc-speaker-spends-eid-with-emirati-soldiers-in-yemen-1.2049600

My Comment: "H E L P T H E P E O P L E O F Y E M E N" by bombing the country into ruins!!

23.6.2017 – Arab News (A P)

Iran is flexing its muscles

Iran’s military adventurism and destabilizing behavior have reached an unprecedented level that could turn regional tensions into a conflagration. Tehran’s stepped-up interference in Yemen is a direct threat to the Bab Al-Mandab strait and the security of neighboring countries. US officials say Iran is now providing cruise missiles to Yemen’s Houthis.

In Iraq, Tehran is obstructing efforts by state and non-state actors to bridge Sunni-Shiite gaps. It seeks to control Iraq, and has started a widespread campaign to influence decision-making and secure a victory for Shiite groups in parliamentary elections.

“Iran has been interfering even in the decision of the Iraqi people,” said Iraqi Vice President Iyad Allawi. “We don’t want an election based on sectarianism. We want an inclusive political process... We hope that the Iraqis would choose themselves without any involvement by any foreign power.”

In other Arab nations, Iran is trying to increase its influence by inciting instability and conflict. For example, the Saudi navy recently captured a boat with three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) near the Kingdom’s offshore Marjan oilfield – by Majid Rafizadeh

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1119241

My comment: That’s really odd Saudi propaganda, when looking at Yemen and Qatar in special.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1119241

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

27.6.2017 – Sanaa in the evening (A K)

Saudi-led coalition's fighter jets criss crossing Sana'a sky, with terrifying speed/sound, right this minute. Thirsty for more blood?

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/879724728168194048

27.6.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Citizen killed in Saudi airstrikes on Saada

The Saudi war planes launched two raids on citizens' car in Monabah district of Saada province, killing a citizen and wounding three others, an official told Saba on Tuesday.
The strikes hit the car in Al kharashah area in the district.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467827.htm = http://newnewss.net/?p=7016 and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8erashgCCQ

27.6.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Five Saudi air raids hit Saada

The US-backed Saudi warplanes launched five strikes on Shada and Razah districts of Saada province, an official told Saba on Tuesday.
The warplanes hit Shada district four times and Burkan area of Razah district one time, leaving large damage to citizens' properties, the official added.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467821.htm

27.6.2017 – Sanaa in the morning (UA K)

Constant fighter jets hovering over #Sanaa since early morning!

https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/879589889964220417

26.6.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Three citizens in Saudi strike on Saada

Three citizens, including a child, were killed and seven other injured when the US-Saudi warplanes waged a strikes on Razah district of Saada province, an official told Saba on Monday.
The strikes hit Al Shawaraq area in the district, the official added.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467740.htm and photos: https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/879373256914083840 and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44butkpZAT8

25.6.2017 – Yemen Today TV (A K PH)

Film: The tragedies of the Saudi aggression hijack the joy of Eid 26 - 6 – 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uel5Zmx47vw

25.6.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

US-Saudi warplanes wage 2 strikes on capital Sanaa http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467662.htm

25.6.2017 – Press TV Iran (* A K PH)

Saudi airstrikes kill 9 civilians in Yemen's Ma'rib province

At least nine civilians, including two women, have been killed and a number of others wounded in Saudi Arabia's airstrikes on residential buildings in Yemen's central province of Ma'rib.

According to Yemen's Arabic-language al-Masirah television network, the aerial aggression occurred on Sunday, when Saudi warplanes bombed homes in Ale-Massad neighborhood in Sirwah district. Earlier in the day, Saudi jets had bombed Sirwah eight more times.

The airstrikes and the killing of Yemeni civilians took place as Yemenis were celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The Saudi warplanes also carried out airstrikes on Yakhtal area of the Red Sea port city of Mukha in the southwestern province of Ta'izz, and al-Masahef and al-Sabhan areas in Baqim district in the northwestern province of Sa'ada. Possible casualties and damage of the strikes were not reported.

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/06/25/526487/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-airstrike-Sirwah-Saada-Jizan-Midi-Hadi-Houthis and by Saba net, mentioning only 8 killed: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467728.htm and film by Almasirah TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlJUFl2023g = https://www.facebook.com/Hona.Almasirah/videos/vb.1127621230602273/1560093960688329/?type=2&theater and part only: https://twitter.com/99auvowuu_722/status/879432982267932672 = https://www.facebook.com/StopTheWarOnYemen/videos/vb.319595141544022/688715981298601/?type=2&theater and photos from film: https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/879718702027083776

and film by Yemen Today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii5w9TI6VnE

and how the Saudi side tells it:

25.6.2017 – Al Arabiya (A K PS)

The Arab Coalition Forces, on Sunday, managed to carry out a qualitative intelligence operation, targeting the meeting headquarters of prominent Houthi leaders in Marib on Sunday.

According to local sources, the meeting included a large number of prominent leaders of the militias, including Mubarak al-Mashn, a Houthi leader and a member of the so-called Political Council of the coup, he was responsible for the Srwah front, and Nasser al-Zabli, one of the prominent leaders.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/06/26/Yemen-Coalition-carries-out-intelligence-operation-and-eliminates-Houthis.html

My comment: What should be „a qualitative intelligence operation,“ in this case??

25.6.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Enemy US-Saudi warplanes launch 16 airstrikes on Marib

Enemy US-Saudi warplanes launched more than 16 strikes on several areas in Serwah district of Marib province early on Sunday, an official told Saba.
argeted civilian areas were Makhdara, Dhaik, Najd, Rabieah, Hilam mountain and the popular market in Serwah.
The strikes left huge damages to houses and farms of the citizens.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467657.htm

25.6.2017 – Saudi war crimes / Yemen Today (A K PH)

Sa'ada: The two children who were injured in the explosion of a cluster bomb from the remnants of aggression in the area of Bani Moaz, Directorate of Sohar (photos; film)

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1692828314346489

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1414354555284237

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

27.6.2017 – New News (A K PH)

Film: US-KSA Warplanes Pounded a Mosque in Marib Province: Video

In this video ,the Saudi-led coalition fighter jets waged on 19-6 -2017 an air raid on a mosque in Serwah district of Marib province.

http://newnewss.net/?p=6979

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

27.6.2017 – MbKS15 (A K PS)

Deploying additional #Saudi Aardvark mine-clearing vehicles to #Yemen via #UAE C-17 Globemaster (photo)

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/879675545566539780

27.6.2017 – Yemen Updates (A K PS)

9 military brigades leave Aden to support and liberate Taiz, Mukiras and Damet (photo)

https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/879662819817512960

27.6.2017 – Yemen Updates (A K)

#Houthis & Saleh forces seized control of a new area around the town of Asilan in the eastern province of Shabwa.

https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/879655946640920576

27.6.2017 – Mohammed AlQadhi (A K)

2 civilians killed & 6 wounded in a shell fired by #Houthis while on this vehicle driving on road between Aldhabab-#Taiz city (photo)

https://twitter.com/mohammedalqadhi/status/879747329217179651

26.6.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A K PS)

a military official said that Houthi militias pounded on Sunday residential areas in the province of Taiz on the first day of the Eid.

“Rebels shelled army positions and residential areas directly after dawn prayers and then escalated their attack between the Eid and noon prayers,” Colonel Abdul Baset al-Bahar, deputy spokesperson for the Taiz front, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

Al-Bahar said the shells drove fear among children and women and had left evident material damage.

The colonel added that rebel militias were not targeting specific locations in Taiz, but were now dropping their shells in the entire city, targeting women, children and the elderly.

https://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/hadi-yemen-verge-important-victories

26.6.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Yemen Navy targets Saudi-led coalition warship off Mokha

The Yemeni Navy announced late on Sunday the targeting of a warship belonging to Saudi-led aggression coalition off Red Sea port city of Mokha, Taiz province, the navy said in a statement obtained by Saba.
The attack, which was carried out by a suitable weapon, hit the warship accurately, read the statement.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467725.htm

Comment: If you notice, Yemenis have never attacked a cargo ship, a fishing boat or a cruiseliner (the very few passing by).

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1414274351958924

My comment: There are many reports in pro-Houthi / Saleh and Iranian media. They all are very short without any details. Western and pro-Saudi media do not report at all. The earliest reports in English I realized were on social media:

25.6.2017 – Saudi War Crimes (A K PH)

Yemeni sea defence announced targeting Saudi-led Coalition ship off the coast of #Mocha #Yemen

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/photos/a.1434086430220680.1073741828.1434084576887532/1692825787680075/?type=3

25.6.2017 – Husam Al-Sanabani (A K PH)

A Saudi lead coalition navy landing ship was hit tonight in Mocka, making it the second navy ship to be targeted within two weeks

https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/879093308559118337

Pro-Houthi / Pro-Saleh reports:

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467832.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467831.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467816.htm

https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2017/06/27/1447356/yemen-army-targets-saudi-backed-mercenaries-with-homegrown-missiles

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467750.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467741.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467728.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news467660.htm

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/06/25/526455/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Jizan

Pro-Hadi / Pro-Saudi reports:

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/879775133589569536

https://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/yemen-army-regains-control-strategic-areas-marib and http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302620844

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2017/06/26/Yemen-Coalition-carries-out-intelligence-operation-and-eliminates-Houthis.html

https://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/yemen-dozens-militiamen-killed-marib-clashes-amid-government-forces-advance

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

27.6.2017 – Bloomberg

At $240 a Pound, the World's Original Coffee Producer Is Back in Business

It used to be impossible to find. Now mocha’s taking the coffee world by storm.

For decades, coffee insiders have complained that Yemeni coffee had dipped in quality, wasn’t traceable, and had weird quality defects. But most also knew that a good cup of Yemeni Udaini, as the varietal is called, could convert coffee haters into third-wave believers.

Now, these high-quality Yemeni beans are being imported to the United States for the first time since the advent of specialty coffee, thanks to the social enterprise-turned-coffee roaster, Port of Mokha, named for the port in Yemen from which the first coffee shipments began coming in the 1400s. The beans are fast gaining acclaim as some of the best in the world, with industry-wide recognition that is bringing positive headlines to a war-torn nation – by Nikki Ekstein

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-27/the-best-coffee-in-the-world-now-comes-from-yemen

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-315-yemen-war-mosaic-315

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-315 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-315:

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

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:

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

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

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

Dietrich Klose

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

Dietrich Klose

Was ist Ihre Meinung?
Diskutieren Sie mit.

Kommentare einblenden