Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 321 - Yemen War Mosaic 321

Yemen Press Reader 321: Leben und Tod in Abs–Jemen im Juni–Exminister Boussara über Frieden–Saudis exportieren Wahabismus – US-Politik stärkt Extremisten–Cholera–Gericht erlaubt Waffenexporte-ua

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Life and death in Abs – Yemen in June 2017 – Ex-minister Boussara on peace for Yemen – Saudi Arabia exporting Wahabism – US policy empowering extremists – Cholera – London High Court rejects bid to halt British arms sales to Saudiand 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

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp9 USA

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp15 Propaganda

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

Klassifizierung / Classification

***

**

*

(Kein Stern / No star)

A = Aktuell / Current news

B = Hintergrund / Background

C = Chronik / Chronicle

D = Details

E = Wirtschaft / Economy

H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions

K = Krieg / War

P = Politik / Politics

PH = Pro-Houthi

PS = Pro-Saudi

T = Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Londoner Gerichtsurteil / London High Court: cp10

10.7.2017 – Doctors Without Borders (** A H)

Yemen: Life and death in Abs

Yemen is being devastated by a large-scale humanitarian emergency. The collapse of the health system is particularly evident in Abs, where we are battling a major cholera epidemic.

One hot June day, Zahra Hussain woke up to find her twins had fallen sick, their bodies limp as rag dolls. Zahra had no money for milk - let alone a ride to the nearest hospital, an hour’s drive away.

“I’m putting my trust in the hands of Allah,” she decided. Stepping outside into the blistering sun, her daughters in her arms, her husband by her side, she waited for fate to intervene.

For Zahra, fate eventually did intervene, in the form of a stranger who stopped his car and offered to take her to Abs, where MSF runs a cholera treatment centre (CTC) in a school adjacent to the hospital.

For Zahra, the centre signified the best hope she had of saving her daughters, Kholah and Saher. Leaving her four other children at home with her father, who was also ill, Zahra, her husband and the twins got into the car. There was no other choice.

Ahmed Qassem, the Emergency Room Supervisor, was in the hospital when the family arrived. At the CTC, the medic on duty took the babies and made a quick assessment. The seven-month-old sisters had contracted cholera three days earlier, were severely dehydrated and had gone into shock, he concluded.

The babies were among the youngest patients the clinic had ever received.

“We used to receive 10 or 15 patients a day. Now we see more than 100,” Ahmed said. Ten days later his staff would receive a record 479 patients in a single day. The government declared a state of emergency in May. The United Nations has described the situation as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

In many ways, Abs, a small town in Hajjah governorate, has become a crucible of the multiple forces shaping Yemen’s current crisis. It has the highest concentration of displaced people in the region.

Many fled violence in their village only to find poverty and insecurity in Abs. The town is about 50 kilometres from the frontlines. From inside the hospital, you can sometimes hear the low hum of war planes circling overhead.

Since the current outbreak erupted, the CTC has treated more than 12,200 people. Treatment is provided free of charge to patients, who hail from as many as ten different districts, and who travel for up to five hours to reach Abs.

Zahra’s town, in Hayran district, is also close to the frontline: “I feel scared. It’s not like before, when you could go anywhere and still feel safe,” she said. Still, she says: “I´d never leave my country. I want my country to go back to the way it used to be.”

Most of Ahmed’s patients are like Zahra: poor, and unemployed. Many are shocked to learn that cholera can be warded off with simple precautions. Most don’t own soap, and, without any access to treated water, they drink whatever they can find.

“It’s hard just to get my children the milk they need. I spend many days looking for milk, worried and anxious. My children have been raised in the war,” Zahra said.

Inside the CTC, the heat was oppressive, exceeding 45 degrees. Medics scrambled to treat the twins for dehydration; then, using a special tape measure, calculated the circumference of their mid-upper arms. The measurement is used to determine whether a person is suffering from malnutrition.

For a seven-month old baby, anything under a measurement of 115 millimetres is considered severe. The twins’ arms measured 100 millimetres, well into the red zone.

Hospitals under attack

There are other reasons why patients are reluctant to stay too long. Hospitals, once considered a safe haven, protected under international law, have come under attack. Since the war began, at least 274 health facilities have been damaged or destroyed by airstrikes and in many cases, forced to close, choking off medical access to vast swaths of the population according to the World Health Organization.

Abs Hospital was struck on 15 August, last year. An airstrike hit a car parked in the hospital compound. The force of the blast struck the triage zone and emergency room. Ahmed, in a meeting at the time, initially thought an oxygen tank had exploded. When he stepped outside, he couldn´t believe what he saw.

“It’s impossible to imagine that we were bombed,¨ he remembers thinking at the time. ¨When I saw the ER on fire I ran towards the maternity ward. I was in shock, my entire team could be dead. I approached the Emergency Room several times, but it was too painful. Soft tissue, amputated bodies… Terrible.”

Clinics forced to close

When cholera flared in April, everything changed. The hospital overflowed with cases, and staff took over the nearby school, empty because its students were on summer holidays. Tents were erected in the playground, cholera beds moved into the classroom, and chlorine stations set up in the hallways.

Inside the CTC, doctors struggled to stabilise the twins.

A chance of survival

On 15 June, two days after they were admitted, the twins were transferred to the Abs hospital’s feeding centre, where they began to stabilize – by SONIA VERMA (with photos)

https://www.msf.org.uk/article/yemen-life-and-death-abs

Remark: Cholera and more. Also look at cp1a and cp3.

9.7.2017 – Elshabani 1 (** B P)

Today Yemen newspaper reveals dozens of secret prisons belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood (Islah Party) and the Salafis in Taiz are practicing the worst violations against innocent civilians (see image, Arabic)

https://twitter.com/Elshabani1/status/884108773161406465

Remark: This is a pro-Houthi / Saleh newspaper. This article still did not appear in the online version: http://www.yemen-today.net/

7.7.2017 – Sanaa Center (** B H K P)

Yemen at the UN – June 2017 Review

Summary

In June, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a Presidential Statement regarding the Yemeni crisis – the first council outcome on Yemen in almost 14 months. A UNSC Presidential Statement, while important as a statement of council policy, is considered less weighty than a UNSC resolution and lacks the mandatory enforcement power of a Chapter 7 resolution.

In the United States, a bipartisan effort in Congress to block the sale of precision guided munitions to Saudi Arabia – due to concerns they would be used against civilian targets in Yemen – narrowly failed to pass in a US Senate vote. By month’s end, however, the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations announced that it was blocking all new arms sales to Gulf Cooperation Council countries until the dispute between Qatar and a block of Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, was resolved.

That dispute erupted in early June when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Libya’s eastern-based government and the Maldives all suspended diplomatic ties with Doha and imposed a blockade on air, sea and land traffic with Doha, accusing Qatar’s rulers of sponsoring terrorism and attempting to destabilize the region. In Yemen, the move had various implications, from Qatar being expelled from the Saudi-led military coalition intervening in the conflict, to changes in the frontlines in Al Bayda governorate when tribal forces fighting on behalf of the internationally recognized Yemeni government left their positions after Saudi Arabia listed their leader as a Qatari-sponsored terrorist.

Continued infighting was apparent amongst forces ostensibly backing the Yemeni government, with Yemeni President Abdo Rabbu Mansour Hadi firing the heads of three southern governorates for their participation in the Transitional Political Council for the South, a group that seeks independence for Southern Yemen.

Through June there was a rapid uptick in the spread of cholera in Yemen; by July 1 the World Health Organization was reporting almost 250,000 suspected case, with 5,000 new infections appearing daily and some 1,500 associated deaths – half of which are children – since the second wave of the epidemic began at the end of April.

Last month both Human Rights Watch and the Associated Press published investigative reports revealing the use of secret detention facilities, torture and forced disappearances by Emirati-backed forces in Aden and Hadramawt governorates. US legislators began calling for an official investigation after it was revealed that American military personnel had, among other things, provided questions for interrogators at the prisons and been present for various interrogations, though Pentagon officials denied any awareness of, or involvement in, torture.

http://sanaacenter.org/publications/yemen-at-the-un/4478

Remark: A good overview on June 2017.

10.7.2017 – Suhf Net (** B P)

Boussara out of silence and reveals the solution in Yemen .. And sends an important message to all!

After a media absence that lasted more than two years, the former Minister of Higher Education, Dr. SalehBoussara, addressed the crisis in Yemen. Believes that the military decision and the implementation of Security Council resolutions will not solve the crisis in Yemen and will not stop the cycle of violence. From here, he stressed the need to return to peace, warning of the disruption of Yemen to «many Yemenites»

Where is Yemen heading today?

Were you with federalism, is federalism still, under the collapse of the rest of a fragile central state, currently applicable?

We have been with federalism and we are still, but today, after this blood, the social fabric and the collapse of the state, we need to rebuild and repair the torn fabric, and we need to rebuild and deal with the aftermath of the war and the wounds that have already left society. Therefore, the federalism and the six provinces, such as the Osman shirt, were destroyed and through it all that was built in the last decades since the revolution of 26 September 1962, the revolution of 14 October 1963 and 30 November 1967, Instead of being a new stage in the lives of Yemenis, federalism has become a conundrum that has destroyed everything that has been built in the past and present. Strangely enough, the federalism and the six provinces who rejected the local government as a division of Yemen into 22 countries soon rejected the war.

You have presented an important project to resolve the crisis, and supported the emergence of a third bloc to pressure the parties to the conflict to return to dialogue and stop the war and end the siege ... What is the most important thing in this project?

The third bloc project was presented in cooperation with academics and politicians and through the center of "Al-Rasheed for enlightenment, training and studies" in Aden , with the aim of establishing a broad social movement to press for:

- Stop the war by all parties involved in the internal and external.

- Lift the siege imposed on Yemen by the countries «Arab Alliance».

- The return of the Yemeni political parties to the dialogue table, to reach a short transition stage in which everyone participates.

And that all parties then go to parliamentary, presidential and judicial elections equally between the north and the south, and that the political parties leave this elected legitimacy to consider all matters, including the form of the state, the southern issue, the army and others, each according to its competence. Elections mean the restoration of legitimacy, and the social mobility of the press is carried out by all means.

While the loyalists of the «coalition» insist that the military solution is the solution, you say that the military solution will not stop the violence and can not be a solution?

No military resolution will solve the problem, nor will the Security Council resolutions solve the problem.Suppose the legitimate forces entered Sana'a , would this solve the problem? Will the decisions of the Security Council be implemented after the military decision? I think everyone knows that the military decision is not possible for any of the parties to the conflict, and even if we assume that it was done, the war will not be able to govern Yemen.

We must take into account today several variables, including the Qatari-Saudi-Emirati dispute, as well as the start of Mohammed bin Salman's accession to the throne in Saudi Arabia , in addition to America's relationship with the Arab world under President Donald Trump , Much less money in light of declining oil production revenues.

How do you see the optimal solution?

The best solution is to return the parties to the conflict to the national dialogue, to reach a short transition stage and then to establish the legitimate state with its three legislative, executive and judicial institutions through free and fair elections. The entry of Sanaa will only be the end of a period of violence and the beginning of another new stage of war, perhaps more violent than the previous stage.

Is the administration of the legitimate government in Aden a model for post-military decision?

The legitimate government arrived in Aden by force. Is Aden now better than Sanaa? Has legitimacy provided a model for the modern civil state and the outputs of the national dialogue in a small city? Is this government able in Aden to organize a popular festival with 5,000 people? Does the interim capital live a state of acceptable services? Is the government in close contact with the people or is it "locked in love" ... Palace lovers, where it is short periods and leave the country?

Where are the embassies of the "Alliance" countries in Aden? Where is the civil aviation of the "coalition" countries in the interim capital? What is happening today in the temporary capital Aden is a model of military discount areas. Even the "Aden Radio" and the "Aden Channel" are not broadcast from within the interim capital, but broadcasts and cassettes are abroad.

Have you warned about the division of Yemen into "many Yemenis"? Is Yemen really heading toward division?

The division in Yemen has already started. There is a state in Hadramout and a state in Aden and a legitimate government that comes to Aden from time to time. Many are appearing on television and there is little presence. There is a municipality in Marib . Today, there is a transitional council south of Aden which has a great influence in Aden, And Abine, in addition to the existence of the Supreme Political Council in Sanaa, and if the war continues we have to wait for more ruling authorities in Yemen. Divisions in Yemen have already begun

A political council in Sana'a and a transitional period in Aden, a government in Sana'a and another in Aden, how can these entities melt in favor of the one Yemen in your opinion?

The current forms of power in Yemen can only dissolve as a transitional phase in a temporary presidential council and an interim government. All authorities will return to the capital Sana'a for a very short period until the elected and forthcoming legitimacy is born through the fund. This can solve the problems through dialogue and by all means as an elected legitimacy.

Have you confirmed in previous statements that failure to find a just solution to the southern issue will not provide any stability for any peace in Yemen?

The southern issue was and still is one of the reasons for this war, as a result of its failure to solve a just solution based on the "no harm and no harm" with the continued unity of the Yemeni people before the unity of the land. The resolution of the crisis, which provides peace and development for a long time, was not possible before before 2011, and the resolution of the southern issue, as well as the post-2011 rulers, and the rule and rule of Yemen during this war did not solve the southern problem, I do not know why.

The question I am asking today is: Where did the $ 350 million provided by the State of Qatar go to contribute to resolving the human rights issue of the South? The draft of the six territories (2 in the south and 4 in the north) would not solve the southern problem or the central problem, but was one of the main reasons for the ignition of this war.

I pointed out that the method of excluding the other and not coexisting with the other, are you living with Ansar Allah as an active force on the ground?

I am with the coexistence of all in Yemen, "Ansar Allah" or other social forces, and every person with an opinion or thought to make his idea a political framework, and elections are the rule of all. Every political, economic or social force has to run the elections if it wants to participate in power, whether ruling or opposing. The homeland is for all, for the Zaidi, the Shafi'i, the Sufi, the Sunni, and the Salafi. The religion is for God and the homeland for all.

A message to all parties to the conflict?

The keys to the solution are still in the hands of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and America, and perhaps Iran at the other end, but the Yemenis can solve their problems if the political entities extend their hands to peace, and we hope that this will happen before Yemen goes into total collapse and is torn into small cantons. Everyone should know that the hands of Saba and Hamir in Yemen will not be limited. Rather, these negative effects will extend to all parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Those who played with fire in Syria were rebelling against it, and the same situation will be in Yemen.

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/200217 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F200217&sandbox=1

10.7.2017 – Deutsche Welle (** B P)

Saudi Arabia exports extremism to many countries - including Germany, study says

A British study has found that Saudi Arabia plays a key role in the radicalization of Muslims. The Wahhabi influence, fueled by oil money, can be seen in Germany as well, says researcher Susanne Schröter.

It has long been known that Saudi Arabia has been exporting Wahhabist ideology - largely similar to the ideology of the so-called "Islamic State" (IS). Propaganda material and organizational expertise are being sent along with money. People are being hired to build mosques, educational institutions, cultural centers and similar organizations, so that Wahhabist theology can reach the public – with great success.

The export of Wahhabism got off the ground after the Islamic revolution in Iran. The revolution had dramatically shaken the Saudis.

Then, they started promoting Wahhabism through intermediaries and organizations like the World Muslim League in different countries throughout Asia, Africa and parts of Europe – for example, in former Yugoslavia where Muslims and Christians fought against each other in the civil war. Wahhabists saw it as gateway, where money was needed since the Muslim population was ready for a new and radical ideology.

The result is that, in many parts of the world, a radical form of Islam is gaining the upper hand. I have experienced this first hand in Southeast Asia. In southern Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and sometimes Malaysia, it was always said that a special form of Islam was practiced, a much more open, much more tolerant version. There has been a dramatic development towards radicalism over the past three decades. It is perfectly clear that this development has been encouraged by Saudi money. Moreover, young intellectuals have been recruited with generous scholarships at Saudi universities. These people return to their homes after having studied at Saudi universities and suddenly carry out Wahhabi missionary work in all their home countries.

Pierre Vogel, perhaps the most well-known German Salafist preacher, studied on a Saudi scholarship in Mecca. Saudi Arabia has apparently influenced the radicalization process of Muslims in Germany. German media made such claims in December 2016, citing intelligence sources. It was said that religious foundations from the Gulf States, especially Saudi Arabia, supported local Salafist groups in Germany with the approval of their governments. To what extent does this correspond to your research findings?

This is absolutely consistent with our findings. In some cases, state-owned Saudi institutions were massively involved. There was once a Saudi attache in Berlin, Mohamed Fakihi. He had connections to the terrorist cell in Hamburg that carried out the attack on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001. Fakihi also was well connected to Berlin's Al-Nur Mosque, which often attracts attention for being a Salafist hotspot. The attache is now no longer there but back then, it was the first time people became aware of this.

We have seen that Saudi foundations are operating everywhere - partly underground and partly through intermediaries, like Nadeem Elias.

Professor Susanne Schröter is the director of the Frankfurter Research Center for Global Islam (FFGI), director of the Institute for Ethnology, principal investigator the cluster of excellence "The Formation of Normative Orders," director of the Cornelia Goethe Center for Gender Research and executive board member of the German Orient Institute.

The interview was conducted by Matthias von Hein.

http://www.dw.com/en/saudi-arabia-exports-extremism-to-many-countries-including-germany-study-says/a-39618920

7.7.2017 – Medium (** B P)

The US has aligned with Saudi Arabia’s extreme sectarian vision of the Middle East

To fight terror, the US reaffirms its policy of empowering extremists with arms and influence.

the Trump administration’s greater strategy is symbolic without substance.

The Trump administration’s proposal for the future of Middle Eastern relations has been described as creating a unified front of primarily Sunni-led nations — like an Arab equivalent to NATO — against Iran and terrorist organisations. The move mirrors previous mistakes of American foreign policy that involve empowering questionable ideologies at the expense of ethical integrity. In this mindset, international affairs are presented in a starkly sectarian Sunni-Shia binary and reliant on the false notion that Gulf nations have been effective allies against extremism while refusing to consider rational diplomacy with Iran.

The deal empowers the most undeserving and incompetent voices that actively work to hinder human rights, belittle the interests of Muslims throughout the world, and ultimately promote the alleged enemy of religious extremism.

As the deal indicates, sectarian framing will continue to be essential to US relations. But no human rights violation is too egregious in the pursuit of promoting freedom, with the right affiliation. Religious and political minorities have no promise of protection and serve as pawns of appeasement for select regional allies.

The US tacitly endorses Saudi Arabia and its intellectual influence through arms and strategic inaction: American weapons sales to the country increased to 96 percent over the course of the Bush and Obama administrations.

Framing a conflict in sectarian terms obscures the very real political dynamics that activate religious militancy. The US and other nations repeatedly ignore the actual interests and motivations of their opponents and allies, thus leading to misguided foreign policy decisions based on false presumptions.

The pattern of failed policymaking is obvious, as are the poor decisions and limited vision of the experts and leaders who are consistently responsible for it. What was justifiable and seemingly essential in the moment can quickly become detrimental when placed in the uncertain context of reality.

Saudi Arabia is an ineffective ally.

Saudi Arabia has done more to suppress human rights throughout the world — of Muslims and otherwise — than combat religious extremism. Despite being a recipient of both infinite resources and praise, the traditional Saudi-US alliance has yet to provide the United States with any significant tactical advantage or resolution in a core conflict. The ruling royalty and religious orthodoxy that enshrine their power are the clear benefactors of this reaffirmation of US foreign policy, achieving further legitimacy on the global stage in place of more worthwhile peers.

The negative impact of a Saudi-led, unified Arab front against extremism is already evident in the intentional disregard in Yemen

At a certain point, the impact of the Saudi state in Yemen is indistinguishable from the Assad regime in Syria and ISIS in Iraq. And for what but the satisfaction of incompetent despots?

Can one truly endow Saudi Arabia with the task of reconstructing the country without further civilian casualties and ethical atrocities? Has their administration earned that role through such betrayal and bloodshed?

History and current operations indicate that Saudi Arabia has yet to be significantly influenced by this style of diplomacy: the Kingdom and its peers are either incompetent or indifferent in stopping the funding and spread of Islamic extremism. Saudi Arabia itself is an autocracy enshrined in religious claims and theocratic governance.

The intelligence communities of the United States and beyond have repeatedly identified Gulf sources as critical to the funding of ISIS, al-Qaeda, and miscellaneous Sunni militants in Syria. The main purpose of uprooting militant fundamentalism is already defeated by the fact that these demands have long been repeated without impact from the responsible parties.

Saudi Arabia acts with the presumption that America will cater to its demands, and it has repeatedly been proven correct that the US government will forgo deeper geopolitical advantages in exchange for the illusion of access to influence.

Saudi Arabia has failed to advocate for Muslims.

To combat extremism, change perspectivesby Zac Tomlinson

https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/the-sectarian-vision-of-us-saudi-relations-4ab6976aad13

cp1a Am wichtigsten: Cholera / Most important: Cholera

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

10.7.2017 – Spiegel (** A H)

Cholera-Epidemie im Jemen: Mehr als 300.000 Verdachtsfälle - 1700 Tote

Die Zahl der Cholera-Verdachtsfälle im Jemen ist auf mehr als 300.000 gestiegen. Das teilte das Rote Kreuz mit und warnte davor, dass die Epidemie "außer Kontrolle" gerate. Mehr als 1700 Menschen seien bereits an der Krankheit gestorben.

Auch die Organisation Ärzte ohne Grenzen rief zu mehr internationaler Hilfe im Kampf gegen die leicht übertragbare Krankheit auf. Die Region Abs im Nordwesten des Jemen sei am stärksten betroffen. Die Versorgung der Menschen mit sauberem Wasser und sanitären Einrichtungen sei extrem schlecht, hieß es in einer Mitteilung der Organisation. Schon vor dem aktuellen Cholera-Ausbruch sei das ein großes Problem gewesen - nun sei es die Hauptursache für die Ausbreitung der Krankheit.

http://www.spiegel.de/gesundheit/diagnose/jemen-cholera-epidemie-breitet-sich-unkontrolliert-aus-mehr-als-1700-tote-a-1157089.html und Epoch Times: http://www.spiegel.de/gesundheit/diagnose/jemen-cholera-epidemie-breitet-sich-unkontrolliert-aus-mehr-als-1700-tote-a-1157089.html

10.7.2017 – Reuters (** A H)

Yemen cholera cases pass 300,000 mark, ICRC says

A 10-week cholera epidemic has now infected more than 300,000 people in Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday, a health disaster on top of war, economic collapse and near-famine in the impoverished country.

"Disturbing. We're at 300k+ suspected cases with ~7k new cases/day," ICRC regional director Robert Mardini said in a tweet.

The World Health Organization has said there were 297,438 suspected cases and 1,706 deaths by July 7, but it did not publish a daily update on Sunday, when the 300,000 mark looked set to be reached. A WHO spokesman said the figures were still being analysed by Yemen's health ministry.

Although the daily growth rate in the overall number of cases has halved to just over 2 percent in recent weeks and the spread of the disease has slowed in the worst-hit regions, outbreaks in other areas have grown rapidly.

The most intense impact has been in areas in the west of the country which have been fiercely contested in the two-year war between a Saudi-led coalition and armed Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.

The war has been a breeding ground for the disease, which spreads by faeces getting into food or water and thrives in places with poor sanitation.

In the past week a first few cases have appeared in Sayun city and Mukalla port in Hadramawt region in the east.

http://news.trust.org/item/20170710092706-99jvc and by The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/07/yemens-cholera-epidemic-reaches-new-heights/533175/

10.7.2017 – Euronews (* A H)

Film: 1600 Tote: Cholera-Epidemie im Jemen "außer Kontrolle"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOhWWZ323Ds

10.7.2017 – Aljazeera (* A H)

Film. Cholera infects 300,000 people in Yemen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Srb-9V7pfo

10.7.2017 – MONA Relief (* A H)

YEMEN: Urgent Aid Needed As Cholera Outbreak Kills Thousands

Today, and after almost 27 months of the war on Yemen, the economy is near collapse, public and private services have all but disappeared, and Yemenis have lost most of their livelihoods and depleted most of their saving.

The war in Yemen has devastated the lives of millions of people in all different sectors and a result of the war health sector was affected badly as the other sectors in the country. According to the UN statistics regarding the health sector there is nearly half of all health facilities are non-functional – An estimated 14.8 million people lack access to basic healthcare, including 8.8 million living in severely under-served areas. Medicine and medical supplies and materials are in chronically short supply.

Not only that but also infectious diseases started appearing everywhere in the country, We have noticed lately that cholera epidemic starting spreading very fast in the country, deteriorating the lives of millions of Yemenis, who started suffering due to the lack of health services in the their country – by Fatik Al-Rodaini

https://alistairreignblog.com/2017/07/10/yemen-urgent-aid-needed-as-cholera-outbreak-kills-thousands/

10.7.2017 – Vice News (** A H)

CHOLERA EPIDEMIC CAUSED BY U.S.-BACKED WAR IS RAVAGING YEMEN

On April 17, the sewer system in Yemen’s capital city of Sana’a stopped working. The country’s brutal civil war had created a fuel shortage, and the generators that kept sewers functioning had run dry.

Just 10 days later, a cholera epidemic gripped the city. Within two months, that epidemic had spread throughout the country.

The ICRC says it’s the world’s “single largest humanitarian crisis.” About 7,000 new infections are reported every day.

“The situation is catastrophic,” ICRC spokesperson Soumaya Beltifa said from Sana’a. “There is no hopeful sign that it’s going to slow down, [and] the health system is going to collapse in a matter of months.”

Beltifa says less than half of the healthcare facilities in Yemen — already the Gulf’s poorest country before the war broke out — are functional.

“This deadly cholera outbreak is the direct consequence of two years of heavy conflict,” Unicef and the World Health Organization said in a joint statement in June.

Without treatment, the death rate for cholera victims is 50 percent — but the disease isn’t difficult to treat via rehydration if victims are able to get help.

“Imagine a country that’s gone through a war where most… health centers have been damaged and medical staff haven’t been paid since September last year,” said Helena Valencia, the Yemen head of mission for Médecins Sans Frontières, which is operating two health facilities in the country. “And imagine that 2 million people have been forced to leave their homes and are now living in tents without access to clean water or latrines…. That’s the type of dramatic humanitarian crisis we’re seeing in Yemen today because of the conflict.” – By Greg Walters

https://news.vice.com/story/cholera-epidemic-caused-by-u-s-backed-war-exploding-in-yemen

10.7.2017 – The American Conservative (* A H)

Yemen’s Cholera Epidemic Is ‘Spiraling Out of Control’

Yemen’s cholera epidemic continues to spread:

Ten days ago, there were 200,000 cases reported, so just during this month the disease has spread to another hundred thousand people. More than fifty thousand of these new cases have been reported in just the last week. At the current rate, there could easily be half a million cases of cholera in another month. Conditions in Yemen demand immediate emergency aid and an urgent need to halt the fighting so that aid agencies and the overwhelmed health care system can better contain the spread of the disease.

Yemen’s civilian population was already coping with the world’s worst humanitarian disaster before this epidemic, and now they have to contend with the world’s worst outbreak of cholera. The epidemic is spreading so quickly because so much of the country’s infrastructure has been destroyed, the health care system is in tatters, and millions of Yemenis have been starved for more than two years in large part because of the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led intervention and blockade.

Many of the world’s major powers–including the U.S. and Britain–are complicit in the wrecking and starving of Yemen, or most of the rest have been disgracefully silent in the face of multiple humanitarian crises that threaten the lives of millions of innocent civilians. While there is a bit more attention being paid to the unfolding disaster, the scale and severity of Yemen’s catastrophe have been ignored by much of the outside world, and the international response continues to be woefully lacking – by Daniel Larison

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/yemens-cholera-epidemic-is-spiraling-out-of-control/

10.7.2017 – Ärzte ohne Grenzen (** A H)

Cholera-Epidemie: Im Nordwesten des Jemen ist dringend mehr Hilfe nötig - Wasser- und Sanitärversorgung muss umgehend verbessert werden

In Abs im Nordwesten des Jemen ist dringend mehr Hilfe im Kampf gegen die aktuelle Cholera-Epidemie nötig. Die Region ist am stärksten vom Ausbruch betroffen. Vor allem die Versorgung der Menschen mit sauberem Wasser und sanitären Anlagen muss dringend verbessert werden, um eine weitere Ausbreitung der Krankheit zu verhindern. Cholera wird über verunreinigtes Wasser übertragen. Seit dem Ausbruch der Krankheit Ende März hat Ärzte ohne Grenzen die Kapazitäten für die Hilfe in Abs verdoppelt. Teams der Organisation haben bereits mehr als 12.200 Patienten mit Verdacht aufCholera und akutem wässrigen Durchfall behandelt.

Die ersten Cholerafälle in Abs, einem Distrikt der Provinz Haddscha, wurden Ende März registriert. Seitdem ist die Zahl der Patienten dramatisch gestiegen. Das Cholera-Behandlungszentrum von Ärzte ohne Grenzen in der Stadt Abs nahm an einigen Tagen fast 500 Patienten auf. In Haddscha leben geschätzte zwei Millionen Menschen und zusätzlich mehr als 376.000 vertriebene Jemeniten. Rund ein Viertel der Vertriebenen lebt in Abs, oft in abgelegenen Gebieten, um sich vor Luftschlägen und gewaltsamen Angriffen zu schützen. Gleichzeitig sind die Menschen dadurch von jeglicher Versorgung abgeschnitten.

„Die Versorgung der Menschen in Abs mit sauberem Wasser und sanitären Einrichtungen ist extrem schlecht“, sagt Gabriel Sánchez, Programmleiter von Ärzte ohne Grenzen. „Das war bereits vor dem aktuellen Cholera-Ausbruch ein großes Problem und ist nun die Hauptursache für die Ausbreitung der Krankheit. Entweder es passiert jetzt etwas, oder in den nächsten Wochen und Monaten werden noch mehr Menschen erkranken.”

In den Cholera-Behandlungszentren verteilen die Teams von Ärzte ohne Grenzen Hygiene- und Desinfektions-Sets sowie Chlortabletten zur Wasseraufbereitung. „Wir müssen uns nicht nur um die Patienten kümmern, sondern auch Häuser desinfizieren und Wasserquellen mit Chlor behandeln“, beschreibt Christina Imaz, Logistik-Koordinatorin von Ärzte ohne Grenzen. „Für die Verteilung von sauberem Wasser müssen Orte eingerichtet werden. Öffentliche Plätze wie Märkte und Bushaltestellen, an denen sich viele Menschen sammeln, müssen regelmäßig desinfiziert werden. Leider wird das derzeit noch nicht systematisch gemacht.“

https://www.aerzte-ohne-grenzen.de/jemen-cholera-epidemie-dringend-mehr-hilfe

10.7.2017 – Doctors Without Borders (** A H)

'Cholera is everywhere': Patient and staff testimonies from MSF's cholera treatment centre in Abs, Yemen

An urgent scale-up of aid is needed in the northern district of Abs, the area worst affected by Yemen’s cholera outbreak, according to international medical organization Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The disease is spread by contaminated water, so water and sanitation activities are particularly vital to tackle the problem at source, says MSF.

Below are some testimonies from staff and patients at MSF's cholera treatment centre in Abs:

Dr. Ahmad Hasan Azman, general practitioner

"I have worked with MSF since December 2016. People in this area rely on daily labor, unlike people living in the highlands, who can rely on qat cultivation. People in Abs are not highly-educated and they do not have savings or fixed jobs. The people of this area are the most affected. Due to the current crisis, these people have lost their livelihood and that’s why many of them come here to the hospital. We get a lot of very complicated cases; people in bad situations. When we ask the caretakers, they say that they did not have enough money to take the patient to a hospital. We’ve been struggling with the cases we receive, because they often arrive quite late; in a very advanced stage of illness. We receive patients from more than half of the governorate of Hajjah, not only the residents of Abs district. We receive a lot of internally displaced people (IDPs). We face problem in convincing some patients, especially their mothers, to keep their sons or daughters to stay in the inpatient therapeutic feeding center and complete the entire treatment. Some of them stay just for a few days, then decide to leave. We try to inform them that the healing process requires that the patient go through the different phases and gain weight, but a lot choose to leave against medical advice. They return 2 – 3 weeks later with the same complications and diseases due to neglect and poor personal hygiene that can cause diarrhea. War has been impactful. At least, I feel that all the efforts and care did not go to waste. I love it when I see a child smile."

Ahmad Qasem, emergency department supervisor

"Abs hospital is known as the only public hospital in the area. This is the only place where people can get free medical services. People of this area have no other place to go besides and their situation is really bad because of the war, immigration, and diseases which depend on the weather. We’ve witnessed many cases of malaria (recently), amounting to 120 cases a day. We also see respiratory infections and other common diseases. There are also car accidents and war injuries, as well as tribal conflicts. These people arrive here in bad shape. They barely have a roof over their heads and footwear to protect their feet. You’ll find a big family of 7 members living in a 3x3 meter tent. People before were living in their homes with dignity, having enough money to get through. However, some people have now lost their houses and money, some even lost part of their families. I remember a 2-year-old child who lost all his family in an airstrike, and was taken by another neighboring family. Now, this child is an orphan with no one to support him. He was lucky to find someone to rescue him. We hear stories like this a lot. You just don’t know what to do when you see this. When I saw these cases in this shape, I involuntarily cried. Many cases have touched me, but maybe the most impactful one for me was when this hospital was bombed (in August 2016). I was working in the emergency department,

http://www.msf.ca/en/article/cholera-is-everywhere-patient-and-staff-testimonies-from-msf-s-cholera-treatment-centre-in

10.7.2017 – Doctors Without Borders (** A H)

Yemen: Urgent need for improved water and sanitation to curb cholera

An urgent scale-up of aid is needed in the northern district of Abs, the area worst affected by Yemen’s cholera outbreak. The disease is spread by contaminated water, so water and sanitation activities are particularly vital to tackle the problem at source, says MSF. “In Abs district, our teams are seeing an extremely poor sanitation situation and insufficient access to clean drinking water,” says Gabriel Sánchez, MSF programme manager for Yemen.

“This is clearly a main factor in the spread of the current cholera outbreak. Water and sanitation was an issue even before the cholera outbreak, but it is especially concerning now. Either we act now or we will face an even bigger humanitarian crisis in the weeks and months ahead.”

Abs, in Hajjah governorate, registered its first cholera case in late March. Since then, the number of cholera cases has exploded, with MSF’s cholera treatment centre in Abs town receiving as many as 462 patients in a single day – more than anywhere else in Yemen.

With more than 376,000 displaced people among an estimated population of two million, Hajjah hosts more displaced people than any other Yemeni governorate. About a quarter of these are sheltering in Abs district, often living in remote areas without basic services so as to lessen the chance of being targeted by airstrikes or other types of violence associated with the conflict.

In the cholera treatment centres set up by MSF in Hajjah governorate, teams are distributing disinfection kits, which include mops, brooms, soap and chlorine tablets for purifying water supplies.

“As well as treating patients, their houses need to be disinfected and water sources need to be chlorinated,” says Cristina Imaz, MSF logistics coordinator.

“Clean water distribution points need to be set up, and places where people gather – like markets and bus stations – need to be sprayed regularly. However, these activities are not being done systematically at present.”

Since cholera broke out in late-March, MSF has doubled the scale of its emergency response in Abs district.

http://www.msf.org/en/article/yemen-urgent-need-improved-water-and-sanitation-curb-cholera = http://www.msf.org/en/article/yemen-urgent-need-improved-water-and-sanitation-curb-cholera

Remark: For Abs, also look at cp1and cp3.

10.7.2017 – BEZ (* B H)

"El cólera es el resultado directo del bloqueo a Yemen"

El 83% de la población civil vive sin agua potable ni comida

El 83% de la población civil vive sin agua potable ni comida

10 de julio de 2017

Yemen se muere de sed y de hambre. El país vive la mayor crisis humanitaria de su historia. El cólera se ha extendido a 22 de las 23 provincias del Estado y las víctimas se cuentan por miles: cerca de 15.000 personas han fallecido a causa del conflicto y 1.500 por la epidemia.

“El cólera es el resultado directo del bloqueo a Yemen, de las condiciones sanitarias y la falta de agua. En 2010, Yemen ya tenía un problema de escasez de agua muy grave. Después de que comenzara la guerra, en 2015, la situación tornó desastrosa”, explica a bez.es Eva Erill, directora de la ONG Solidarios sin fronteras, la única organización española que opera de forma permanente en Yemen.

Bloqueo internacional

El bloqueo informativo -las estaciones de televisión han cerrado y prácticamente no se permite el acceso a los periodistas- y de recursos liderado por Arabia Saudí (con el apoyo de Estados Unidos (EE.UU)- ha convertido a Yemen en un banco de pobreza. Tan solo el puerto de Hodeidah, que está en manos hutíes, permanece abierto bajo amenaza de ser bombardeado. Yemen, que importaba el 90% de los bienes con los que se abastecía, es el país más pobre de la region – by Beatrice Yubero

http://www.bez.es/496641626/espera-gente-ONU-Yemen.html

9.7.2017 – Press TV Iran (* B H)

Film: Cholera in Yemen: simply an outbreak or biological war

Yemeni people are trying to tackle the Cholera outbreak in the country by setting up makeshift hospitals and camps. Medics have also begun a field research to find out the sources of the epidemic. What they’ve found strengthens the idea that Saudi Arabia has started a biological war against Yemen. Our correspondent Mohammad al-Attab has the details.

http://presstv.ir/Detail/2017/07/09/527868/Cholera-Yemen-outbreak-biological-war

My comment: This idea was told several times now. It looks like conspiration theory: there are many natural reasons for the outspread of cholera.

9.7.2017 – I4Yemen (A H P)

The Government of #Djibouti refuses receiving #Yemen-is on its territory under the pretext of the spread of #Cholera and dengue fever

https://twitter.com/I4Yemen/status/884172952593285120

The so-called #Yemen legitimacy authorities are unable to issue health certificates for travelers through the port of #Aden to Djibouti

https://twitter.com/I4Yemen/status/884173623635972096

8.7.2017 - World Health Organization (** A H)

Yemen: Cholera Outbreak Daily Epidemiology Update: 8 July 2017

Highlights

From 27 April to 7 July 2017, 297 438 suspected cholera cases and 1 706 deaths (CFR: 0.6%) have been reported in 95.6% (22/23) of Yemen governorates, and 86.5% (288/333) of the districts.

Geographical distribution of cases

The four most affected governorates were Amanat Al Asimah, Al Hudaydah, Hajjah and Amran with 47.3% (140 750/297 438) of the cases reported since 27 April 2017. Amran, Al Dhaele’e and Al Mahwit governorates had the highest attack rates (20.5‰, 20.1‰ and 19.6‰ respectively), and Raymah, Hajjah and Ibb governorates the highest case fatality ratios (1.4%, 1.0% and 1.0% respectively) (see table).

Number of suspected cholera cases & deaths, AR and CFR by governorate, Yemen, 27 April – 7 July 2017

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-cholera-outbreak-daily-epidemiology-update-8-july-2017 and in full

http://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/yemen/Yemen_epi_d_update_20170708.pdf

8.7.2017 – MONA Relief (* A H)

Film: Cholera outbreak kills Yemen children

July 6: Cholera outbreak kills from April to July 2017 1600 people in Yemen
Film by mona relief showing how Yemeni people suffering due to this epidemic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ju_yvK2Omo&feature=youtu.be

8.7.2017 – The American Conservative (* A H)
Yemen’s Worsening Cholera Epidemic

Yemen’s cholera epidemic continues to worsen .

he epidemic has spread so quickly because of destroyed infrastructure, a devastated health care system, collapsing public services, lack of access to clean drinking water, and widespread malnutrition. All of these things have been brought on in large part by the actions of Saudi-led coalition and the “legitimate” Hadi government. The bombing campaign has wrecked roads, bridges, and ports, damaged water treatment plants, and destroyed or damaged many hospitals and clinics. The coalition blockade has deprived the civilian population of sufficient food and medicine. What food that does make it into the country is very expensive, and often more than the impoverished population can afford. The Hadi government moved the central bank that had until then been paying the salaries of government employees in rebel-held areas, and it did this despite numerous warnings that it would have a devastating effect on the population.

The report acknowledges some of this, but doesn’t really explain why 17 million Yemenis don’t have enough food or who was responsible for causing the halt in paying government salaries. The average reader would have no way of knowing that these were the results of deliberate decisions by the governments supported by the U.S.

Wael Ibrahim gives his account of what is happening in Yemen

Widespread malnutrition makes the population much more vulnerable to disease, and that in turn makes it more difficult to prevent the spread of the epidemic. According to UNICEF, a severely malnourished child is nine times more likely to die from a disease like cholera than a well-fed one, and there are now more than half a millionchildren with severe acute malnutrition and another million and a half that are acutely malnourished. Famine and preventable disease are threatening to cause massive loss of life in Yemen, but the international response to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis continues to be woefully inadequate – by Daniel Larison

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/yemens-worsening-cholera-epidemic/

6.7.2017 – Devex (** B H)

With limited aid, Yemen cholera 'getting worse every day'

Water

Responding to cholera generally takes two tracks: clean water and health care. The former is how the epidemic can be stopped — or how it accelerates.

People are getting sick because of “the shortage of clean water,” said al-Sonboli, describing the long queues for water at tanks and wells.

Humanitarians say they feel almost blind in improving the water situation in Yemen. The data on cholera cases is piecemeal and many areas are beyond access. “Normally in cholera, the epidemiologist is the one who will guide where to put in efforts” to decontaminate water supplies and educate residents about how cholera spreads, said Christina Imaz, a WASH expert in MSF’s emergency unit.

In Yemen, however, insecurity and poor access have prevented comprehensive epidemiological tracing. MSF and other health and WASH providers must instead rely on a now unpaid network of community health workers to report cases as they arise.

Once communities are identified to have cholera, aid workers should treat the water sources with chlorine and educate community members about how to avoid future contamination. But both pieces are proving complicated. Many boreholes are privately owned, meaning that there is no record of where they are; humanitarians must rely on communities to point out their water sources.

Nor do aid groups have access to many cholera-stricken communities for a long-term intervention. MSF, UNICEF and others in the WASH sector are relying on distributing family kits that include supplies such as chlorine tablets, jerry cans and soap, as well as easy-to-follow instructions about how to avoid infection.

They aren’t reaching everyone; Imaz estimates that maybe two out of seven affected villages have received supplies. Areas particularly along the frontlines of conflict are out of reach.

“Here, we are a bit blind, so we don’t really know what is happening in those places,” said Seguin. “In Yemen, we see bad things, but I think there are even worse things we don’t see.”

Treatment

Humanitarians say the cholera epidemic likely hasn’t peaked, and risks accelerating as the rainy season begins in a few months.

“There are still thousands who are becoming sick with the disease every day. The situation remains alarming,” a WHO spokesperson told Devex in an email. “We just revised our budget because we expect we’ll be responding to cholera for at least another six months and probably into next year.”

The lack of prevention and ongoing caseload means treatment is vital — and insufficient, for now.

Patient care relies on a network of hastily opened rehydration centers and diarrhea centers, including those supported by WHO, UNICEF and MSF, as well as government hospitals. The latter facilities are heavily oversubscribed – By Elizabeth Dickinson and Amy Lieberman

https://www.devex.com/news/with-limited-aid-yemen-cholera-getting-worse-every-day-90598

My comment: A good overview.

5.7.2017 – World Health Organization (*A H)

Map: Yemen: Cholera Attack Rate (‰) Population (From 27 April - 05 July 2017)

http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-cholera-attack-rate-population-27-april-05-july-2017 and in full: https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/system/files/documents/files/050717_attackrate.pdf

3.7.2017 – World Health Organization (* A H)

Yemen: Cholera Outbreak Epidemiology Bulletin (25 Jun - 1 July 2017)

For the first time since the beginning of the outbreak second wave, two cases were reported in Mukkala governorate, and tested positive with rapid diagnostic tests.

The apparent overall decline of suspected cases reported in the last weekly bulletin was not confirmed, and the apparent decline in the curve shown figure 1 should be interpreted with caution1. But a decline seems to have started since week 25 in the two most affected governorates, Amanat Al Asimah and Al Hudaydah.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-cholera-outbreak-epidemiology-bulletin-25-jun-1-july-2017 and in full: http://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/yemen/Yemen_epi_bulletin_20170703.pdf?ua=1

My comment: Many figures already are outdated.

cp2 Allgemein / General

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

10.7.2017 – Middle East Eye (A P)

Arabic press review: Get ready for Yemen's comeback kid

Newspaper claims Riyadh is now looking to back former Yemen president Saleh

The London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper has reported that Saudi Arabia has been persuaded that it should change its position towards the former Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and bring him and his family back to power. This takes place at the same time as Mohammed bin Salman's appointment as crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

The newspaper quotes the French subscription-based magazine, Intelligence Online, as saying that Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, is pushing for ousting the Yemeni pro-Saudi leader Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, and is working to persuade Mohammed bin Salman to do so.

Al-Quds al-Arabi claims t http://noozz.com/overnight-u-s-drone-strikes-hit-al-qaida-held-sites-in-yemen/hat Ahmad Asiri, the spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and Mohammed bin Salman's right-hand man, travelled to Abu Dhabi on 27 June to meet Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the son of the ousted Yemeni president.

Saleh, who was deposed in 2011 during Yemen's "Arab Spring", is currently in league with the Iran-backed Houthi movement - which Saudi Arabia is fighting – by Mohammad Ayesh

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/arabic-press-review-yemens-comeback-king-and-egypts-death-cult-1507703086

My comment: Up to now, just rumors.

and

10.7.2017 – Haykal Bafana (A P)

The final word : Ex #Yemen president Ali Abdullah Saleh statement issued tonight denies the claim of any rapprochement with #Saudi Arabia.

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/884493510577188865

10.7.2017 – Saba Net (A H P)

Aggression coalition blocks fuel ship to run Hodeidah's electricity station

The aggression coalition in the Red Sea blocked a commercial ship loaded with fuel, which was imported for operating electricity station in the port city of Hodeidah, a security official told Saba on Monday.
The official said in a statement that the ship carries a quantity of diesel allocated to run electricity in the city to alleviate the suffering of the citizens during the hot summer.
The authorities in the port urged the United Nations and the international organizations to pressure the aggression coalition countries to release the ship and allow it access to the port.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468808.htm

8.7.2017 – PBS (* B H K)
Attacks in Syria and Yemen are turning disease into a weapon of war

Today we are seeing another cruel method of warfare emerge on the battlefield: the weaponization of disease, particularly in Syria and Yemen.

Targeting health care facilities during conflict has occurred before. But unlike the attacks on hospital ships during World War I, or even sporadic attacks in more recent conflicts, the pace of attacks on health facilities, workers, and resources in Syria and Yemen is massive and unrelenting.

In the past three years, combatants in these conflicts have actively targeted health and humanitarian facilities and indiscriminately decimated civilian infrastructure.

All of this has created public health catastrophes — a massive cholera outbreak in Yemen, and new outbreaks of once-vanquished diseases like polio and measles in Syria and Yemen. These put millions of children at risk for death and illness.

My organization, Physicians for Human Rights, has mapped the systematic attacks on hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities in Syria – by Homer Venters

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/attacks-syria-yemen-turning-disease-weapon-war/ = https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/07/09/cruel-method-warfare-emerges-weaponization-disease/nqcI6FinghaayfbqNN7Y6M/story.html

8.7.2017 – Middle East Monitor (* A K P)

US: UAE setup secret military base in Yemen

The UAE has been setting up a military base in the Yemeni island Mayon without the knowledge of the internationally recognised Yemeni government, images taken by the US appear to show.

Arabi21 reported yesterday that America provided President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s government with images of the new base which is located in the strategic Bab Al-Mandab Strait.

Yemeni sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The United States informed the Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi about the [UAE’s] activity in this island which covers an area of 13 square kilometres.”

According to the source, the images show the construction of a military base in the island taken by satellites. The source did not give details about what the Yemeni government is planning to do in response.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170708-us-uae-setup-secret-military-base-in-yemen/

To reread (I missed that in 2015)

11.8.2015 – The National UAE (* B K)

Yemeni refugees return home to an Aden in ruins

“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe the damage,” said Muheeb Ishaq quietly, gazing in horror at the ruined airport terminal building and the shredded remains of hangars.

https://www.thenational.ae/world/yemeni-refugees-return-home-to-an-aden-in-ruins-1.52684

29.5.2017 – Middle east Eye (* B K P)

What are the real Saudi motives in Yemen?

#YemenWar

More than opposing Iran, for the House of Saud, chaos and anarchy in Yemen appear to be preferable to an emerging democracy

http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/what-are-real-saudi-motives-yemen-91196751

10.7.2017 – Suhf Net (* B P)

The documents ... "Secretly Confidential" reveal the documents of the agreement of leaders and kings of the Gulf states to protect their interests and determine policies

Details of the 2013 Riyadh agreement between the Gulf states and Qatar, the executive mechanism and the supplementary agreement 2014 have been published in the documents. The documents showed Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani's commitment to implement the terms of the agreement before Gulf leaders.

According to the documents, the agreement signed in Saudi Arabia in 2013 was mediated by Kuwait, and the agreements stipulated Qatar's commitment not to support and finance terrorism.

Doha pledged not to support the Muslim Brotherhood politically, politically or in any way, to remove the non-Qatari members of the organization from the country, to naturalize citizens with the aim of political influence, and to not interfere in the internal affairs of the Gulf states.

The documents showed Qatar's signature not to support any category in Yemen that poses a threat, and a commitment to shut down institutions that train and qualify those hostile to the Gulf States. The Qatari Emir's pledge to halt the support of the anti-Gulf media, prevent hostile organizations from taking his country as a launching pad for the attack, and commit to a collective approach to Gulf foreign policy have also been shown.

Qatar has pledged to implement the terms of the 2013 and 2014 agreements.

The agreements stressed that if Qatar does not adhere to the Gulf countries to take what it deems appropriate to protect its security and stability.

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/201364 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F201364

10.7.2017 – CDN Turner (* B P)

The handwritten document

On Saturday, 19/1/1435 (Hijri Calendar , November 2013), The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Kind Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz Al-Saud, the Kind of Saudi Arabia, and his brother His Highness Sheikh Sabbah Al-Ahmad Al-Jabber Al-Sabbah, the Prince of Kuwait, and his brother His Higness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the prince of Qatar, met in Riyadh.

They held extensive deliberations in which they conducted a full revision of what taints the relations between the [Gulf Cooperation] Council states, the challenges facing its security and stability, and means to abolish whatever muddies the relations. Due to the importance of laying the foundation for a new phase of collective work between the Council’s states, in order to guarantee its movement within a unified political framework based on the principles included in the main system of the Cooperation Council, the following has been agreed upon:

1. No interference in the internal affairs of the Council’s states, whether directly or indirectly. Not to give asylum/refuge or give nationality to any citizen of the Council states that has an activity opposes his country’s regimes, except with the approval of his country; no support to deviant groups that oppose their states; and no support for antagonistic media. 2. No support to the Muslim Brotherhood or any of the organizations, groups or individuals that threaten the security and stability of the Council states through direct security work or through political influence. 3. Not to present any support to any faction in Yemen that could pose a threat to countries neighboring Yemen.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2017/images/07/10/doc.-.jul.9.2017.-.11-30.pm.pdf

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Siehe / Look at cp1a (Cholera)

10.7.2017 – Aljazeera (* A H)

Film: UN food agency warns Yemen on brink of famine

Warning. Some viewers may find images in this video distressing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id-3OxuaNUM

10.7.2017 – Telepolis (* B H)

Jemen versinkt weiter in Not

Über 300.000 Menschen sind bereits an Cholera erkrankt, Millionen haben zu wenig Nahrung, das Gesundheitssystem ist zusammengebrochen

Seit Wochen wütet im Jemen die Cholera, die im Oktober des letzten Jahres Fuß gefasst hat. Schon bald hatten Hilfsorganisationen vor einer drohenden Epidemie gewarnt, aber die Weltöffentlichkeit lässt das Land und den Konflikt alleine.

Die Versorgung vieler Menschen ist auch aufgrund der Blockade nicht mehr gewährleistet, der Krieg und die saudischen Bombardierungen haben viele medizinische Einrichtungen und Krankenhäuser sowie die Infrastruktur zerstört. Nach dem Internationalen Komitee vom Roten Kreuz (ICRC) sind mittlerweile mehr als 300.000 Menschen in dem verarmten Land an Cholera erkrankt, 1 Prozent der Bevölkerung, jeden Tag kommen 7000 neue Kranke hinzu. In manchen Bezirken ist die Infektionsrate wie in der Hauptstadt Sanaa auf 20 Prozent gestiegen, so die WHO am Samstag.

Zwar hat sich die Wachstumsrate der Infektion auf 2 Prozent halbiert und hat sich in den am schlimmsten betroffenen Gebieten verlangsamt, aber es kommen in anderen Gebieten neue Ausbrüche hinzu. Am schwersten betroffen sind die westlichen Gebiete im Jemen, die von den Huthi-Rebellen und Soldaten, die dem früheren Präsidenten Ali Abdullah Saleh treu geblieben sind, kontrolliert und von der saudischen Koalition bombardiert werden. Fast 50 Prozent der Infizierten sind Kinder.

3 Millionen Menschen brauchen akut humanitäre Hilfe, berichtet OCHA, fast ebenso viele hungern. Die Größe der Epidemie übersteige die Möglichkeiten der Hilfsorganisationen, schreibt OCHA, die ihre knappen Ressourcen von der Lebensmittelversorgung auf die Bekämpfung der Cholera umstellen müssen. Vertreibungen und Hunger würden die Cholera-Krise verstärken.

Nach FAO sind 17 Millionen von Lebensmittelunsicherheit und 7 Millionen von Hunger bedroht. Die Lebensmittelpreise sind hoch, Wasser für die Landwirtschaft ist rar, die Hühnerfarmen sind am Wegbrechen, die Fischerei wurde in vielen Gebieten wegen der mangelnden Sicherheit und der Blockade der Häfen eingestellt.

Schon lange ist bekannt, dass vor allem mit dem Krieg, den die saudische Koalition mit Unterstützung der USA und indirekt anderen Staaten, inklusive Deutschland, gegen die Huthi-Rebellen in einem Stellvertreterkrieg mit dem Iran führt, für viele Zivilisten zur tödlichen Falle geworden ist – von Florian Rötzer

https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Jemen-versinkt-weiter-in-Not-3768456.html

10.7.2017 – Doctors Without Borders (* B H)

Yemen: “Some families have to choose between taking a child to hospital or feeding the others”

MSF project coordinator Roger Gutiérrez is back from seven months in Abs, Yemen where he helped re-establish health services after the town’s hospital was hit by an airstrike in August 2016. Here, he tells how repairing the physical damage was relatively simple, but rebuilding people’s confidence has been much harder.

In Abs hospital, the wards are bursting at the seams, as our medical teams do everything they can to meet people’s urgent health needs.

What’s happening in Abs sums up the current state of Yemen. More than two years after the conflict escalated, the country has been torn apart. Many health facilities are not functioning, or lack staff and medical supplies, and the health system has collapsed.

Abs is in Hajjah governorate, near the border with Saudi Arabia and close to frontlines. The region shelters tens of thousands of displaced people. Some families have been displaced two or three times already; they have suffered the trauma of losing family members to the bombing and fighting, of leaving their homes, jobs and social networks behind in the hope of rebuilding their lives from zero.

At first, it seems surprising that some have chosen to resettle in remote locations, far from public services such as schools, health centres – even from water sources and markets. But this is because they are afraid. They see crowded areas as places that might be targeted by violence, and so they have chosen to prioritise the safety of their families over access to services.

When a plane flies overhead, many patients and staff feel that fear, that vulnerability. For seconds everything stops. You see mothers disconnecting their children’s feeding tubes so they can run out of the hospital's nutrition ward. The bombing of the hospital in August 2016 not only destroyed the building, it also destroyed people’s confidence. Rebuilding that trust has taken months.

Gradually, since MSF teams returned to Abs last November, our health services have become known and trusted again. This is evident by the 20 per cent increase each month in emergency cases, and the fact that we are attending more than 250 births each month – even more than in Hajjah, the capital of the governorate. People arrive at the hospital after travelling for hours to access surgical services, or after driving 70 or 80 kilometres to be treated for basic illnesses like malaria.

Seeing the relevance of our teams’ work justifies all our efforts to make our humanitarian principles – such as the neutrality of our health services – understood – by Roger Gutiérrez

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-some-families-have-choose-between-taking-child-hospital-or-feeding-others

10.7.2017 - World Food Programme, Logistics Cluster (A H)

Infographic: Logistics Cluster - Yemen Operation - April to June 2017

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/logistics-cluster-yemen-operation-april-june-2017 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yemen-122015_0.pdf

10.7.2017 – US Agency for International Development (A H)

Yemen - Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #12, Fiscal Year (FY) 2017

The population in need of humanitarian assistance increased by nearly 2 million people between November 2016 and April 2017

USG announces nearly $192 million in new humanitarian funding to support critical relief efforts in Yemen

As of April 2017, more than 75 percent of Yemen’s population, or 20.7 million people, were in need of humanitarian assistance, an increase of approximately 2 million people since November 2016, according the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The UN agency cited amplified WASH needs, primarily driven by the renewed cholera outbreak, and worsening levels of food security as the main contributors to the increase in the number of people requiring assistance.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-complex-emergency-fact-sheet-12-fiscal-year-fy-2017 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/07.10.17%20-%20USG%20Yemen%20Complex%20Emergency%20Fact%20Sheet%20%2312.pdf

10.7.2017 – US Agency for International Development (A H)

Map: Yemen ‑ Active USG Programs for Yemen Response (Last Updated 07/10/17)

http://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-active-usg-programs-yemen-response-last-updated-071017 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/07.10.17%20-%20USG%20Yemen%20Complex%20Emergency%20Program%20Map.pdf

10.7.2017 – The Peninsula Qatar (A H)

ROTA funds initiative for Yemen self-employment

The Education Above All foundation, through its programme Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) has funded an initiative in Yemen promoting self-employment and entrepreneurship among youth and it has benefit the community largely.
The ‘Towards Better Economic Opportunities for Youth Project’ was implemented by CARE International in seven districts of the Sana'a and Hajjah governorates between 2013 and 2016 in Yemen. The project targeted 1,100 disadvantaged youth, aged 18 to 24, with a special focus on women and marginalised youth. The aim of the project has been to empower young people economically, through the provision of training in life skills.
The innovative project has played a major role in addressing unemployment and the need of giving skills training, and access to sustainable and appropriate forms of financing.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/10/07/2017/ROTA-funds-initiative-for-Yemen-self-employment

9.7.2017 – Saba New Net (A H)

Turkish aid vessels sail off Turkey bound for Yemen

A Turkish vessel carrying 10,000 tons of wheat flour, two mobile hospitals, 60 tons of medicine for cholera, 100 wheelchairs and other relief stuff left Turkey heading towards Yemen.
voyage toward the port city of Aden, Yemen's temporary capital.

http://www.sabanew.net/viewstory.php?id=19523

9.7.2017 – Your Abilities (A H)

This time @Yourabilities_o team distributed food baskets 4 desperate families n Amran. Many thnx 2 our sponsor's great efforts (photos)

https://twitter.com/Living_Yemen/status/884095280857133056

https://twitter.com/Yourabilities_o/status/884091088042172416

9.7.2017 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (A H)

Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan - Funding Status (As of 09 July 2017)

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-response-plan-funding-status-09-july-2017-enar and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/YEMEN_Funding%20Snapshot%2020170709%20EN%20final.pdf

7.7.2017 – AJ (* B H)

Film: Yemen's Kids

These children have seen death close up. Why is the world ignoring the kids of Yemen?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFyL20eL7LA = https://twitter.com/Ahmed5RR/status/883763350571814912

8.7.2017 – Josephjo1221 (B H P)

Documents, Arabic: The collapse of the health system in Yemen.

People die and there are those who do not want to search for ways to loot and steal, the citizen's last concerns.

https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/883736535882969088

8.7.2017 – Living in Yemen on the edge (A H)

Acram Mothana Haider is a young, talented, soulful Yemeni poet.
His poetry heals and depicts our mother land in these times of madness.
Acram never forgets anyone. If you can, check his page. The soul of our nation may be found in his words

''How Cruel You Are Fate!

My Feet drag me on
My miserable fate
To hand up what dropped
What left across
Alleys, quarters, streets,;
Cans, plastic bottles in all size
I used to do so
When I was a child

[…]

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1427873677265658

6.7.2017 – UNDHP (* B H)

Film: Enhancing nutrition services & practices in Hodeidah

As a part of Yemen Emergency Crisis Response Project cash for social services program, funded by World Bank and implemented by Social Fund for Development, Roqia tells the story of 221 female health educators who have so far identified and referred 13,487 cases of malnutrition among children, pregnant and lactating women for treatment in three districts (Al Marawa'a - Beit Al-Faqih - Zabid) of Hodeidah.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCLZQrEWjZ0

30.6.2017 – World Food Programme, Logistics Cluster (A H)

Yemen Operation Overview - 1 April - 30 June 2017

The ongoing conflict in Yemen makes access extremely difficult both for humanitarian staff and relief goods. As the cholera outbreak adds to the scale of the response, logistics support is required to ensure humanitarian organisations responding to the crisis can deliver efficient and effective assistance to the affected population.

The Logistics Cluster facilitates access to common logistics services (temporary storage; air, sea and overland transport; fuel distribution), and ensures coordination and Information Management to maximise the use of available resources in-country, and avoid duplication of efforts.

In response to the devastating cholera epidemic that has swept across Yemen, the Logistics Cluster is in the process of augmenting its capacity to ensure the additional logistics requirements are met quickly and efficiently.

Along with the regular monthly airlifts, four additional airlifts dedicated to the cholera response are being made available to the humanitarian community.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-operation-overview-1-april-30-june-2017 and in full: http://www.logcluster.org/document/yemen-operation-overview-april-june-2017

15.6.2017 – World Food Programme (A H)

WFP Yemen Situation Report #32, 1 - 15 June 2017

Highlights
- As of 15 June, WFP Yemen is only 26 percent funded for 2017 activities for June 2017. Based on current funding levels, if full entitlements are provided, as per the EMOP plan, WFP will have 70 percent of the commodities necessary for in-kind assistance for July and August and then will experience a full pipeline break for in-kind activities in September 2017 while voucher activities will have a complete pipeline break by the end of June 2017. Even with the existing targeting strategy, the pipeline for commodity vouchers will break in August 2017 and for in-kind and nutrition support in September 2017.

On the 08 June, a WFP food distribution point (FDP) was partially destroyed by an airstrike, which damaged 137 bags of wheat-flour, 3 bags of sugar, 3 bags of pulses and 4 vegetable oil cartons. WFP, with cooperating partners, is currently investigating the situation and will work with cooperating partners to ensure that FDPs are designated as non-target areas for all parties to the conflict.

Further to the approval in May by the UNHAS Steering Committee on the addition of an aircraft for UNHAS operations, the addition of an aircraft was officially approved the 13 June, and will be based in Amman starting the 01 July. This will enable WFP to increase humanitarian flights to Yemen to four times per week. This will provide the humanitarian community increased access to Yemen and will enable more emergency cargo to enter into the country.

http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/wfp-yemen-situation-report-32-1-15-june-2017 and in full http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/WFP%20Yemen%20Emergency%20Situation%20Report%2032%20-%2001%20-%2015%20June%202017.pdf

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

9.7.2017 – Al Sahwa (* A P)

Houthi-Saleh militias continue violating press, journalist, YJS says

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate has said that 21 journalists were killed by the Houthi Saleh militias and that the fate of 18 others is still unknown.

In a report, YJS said the violations committed against press and journalists increased with a rate of 30%.

The report registered 130 violations in the first half of 2017 in comparison of 100 cases in 2016.

The violations targeted about 100 journalists, media companies and included murder, attempted murder, abduction and arbitrary detention.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-8334

Remark: Seems to be recycled news.

10.7.2017 – Reuters (A P T)

Four Saudis sentenced to death in Yemen for 2014 beheadings

A court in Sanaa has sentenced to death four Saudis convicted of belonging to al Qaeda and beheading 14 Yemeni soldiers in a 2014 attack, according to media run by the Houthis, the northern rebel group in control of Yemen's capital.

The 2014 attack was one of many carried out by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) on state security targets in the period preceding Yemen's descent into full blown war involving Saudi Arabia. The conflict has killed around 10,000 people and displaced another 3 million.

"The criminal court in charge of terrorism cases in Sanaa on Sunday sentenced four Saudi nationals to death for belonging to al Qaeda and killing and beheading 14 soldiers of the 134th Brigade," al-Masirah television reported.

The court ordered for the men to be executed in public and in the presence of the families of those killed, the channel reported.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-saudi-idUSKBN19V13V

9.7.2017 – Saba Net (A P)

Saleh stresses on continuing steadfast against US-Saudi aggression, siege

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468721.htm

9.7.2017 – Fars News (A P)

Ex-President: Saudi Arabia to Blame for Yemen Cholera Outbreak

Yemen’s former President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, singled out Saudi Arabia as the source of what the United Nations estimates to be the world’s worst cholera outbreak in Yemen.

The Russia Today Arabic news channel quoted Saleh as saying that the Saudi-led coalition was behind the spread of the highly contagious disease through the use of internationally banned weapons.

"The coalition is using devastating weapons such as cluster and thermobaric bombs which leave very harmful effects for the people of Yemen," he added.

Saleh held the US, Britain and Israel to account, saying they are complicit in the "massacre of children and destruction of our homes" through supporting Saudi Arabia.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960418001283

8.7.2017 – CNN Arabic (A P)

Ali Abdullah Saleh: The Brotherhood is a "terrorist" group and American goods

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Saturday described the Muslim Brotherhood as a "terrorist group", saying the Brotherhood was "American goods" and its loyalty to the United States.

https://arabic.cnn.com/middle-east/2017/07/09/yemen-ali-saleh-muslim-brotherhood and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Farabic.cnn.com%2Fmiddle-east%2F2017%2F07%2F09%2Fyemen-ali-saleh-muslim-brotherhood

8.7.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A)

About 500,000 Yemeni students from primary&high school sat today4final exams despite3years of Trump-emboldened Saudi crimes against schools (photo)

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/883692685047070720

8.7.2017 – New News (A K P)

Arrested of Two Cells Works with the Enemy Affiliated with Islah Party

The security forces with the popular committees managed to control two groups of elements involved in working with the US-Saudi alliance in this criminal aggression.

A security source explained that the members of the two components are belonging to the Islah Party were involved in working with the aggression in the tasks of monitoring and raising information,also in the mobilization of mercenaries.

The source confirmed that the two components were in two governorate and referred to the competent authorities to complete the investigation, the source also pointed out security media will publish details and confessions during the coming days.

http://newnewss.net/?p=7531

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

10.7.2017 – Critical Threats (* A K)

Yemen Security Brief

A Hadi government fact-finding committee denied recent allegations of torture and abuse in Emirati-administered clandestine detention sites on July 10. Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghir formed the six-person committee on June 24 to investigate southern prisons. The committee denied the existence of any secret prisons in southern Yemen. An Associated Press report accused Emirati-backed counterterrorism forces of abusing detainees on June 22.[9]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-july-10-2017

My comment: This was a farce from the very beginning, nothing else had tob e expected (a lot of earlier reporting)

11.7.2017 – Suhf Net (* B P)

These are the details of the struggle of Abu Dhabi and Muscat in the skilled in Yemen

The province of Al- Mahra in the far east of Yemen is witnessing a fierce struggle between the Sultanate of Oman adjacent to it and the UAE in one of the most prominent stations of the struggle for influence between the two neighboring countries outside their territories.

Although the skilled remains outside the circle of war that has been going on for more than two years between the government forces backed by the Arab alliance , the UAE is one of its prominent members, and the militants of Ansar Allah and the ousted forces Ali Abdullah Saleh , But entered the circle of ambition of the UAE, which aroused the anger of Oman, which sees it as a traditional center of influence for them. According to Yemeni sources told " Arab21 ".

"Arab21" got details about the nature of the UAE moves, which have become the place of doubt and suspicion of Muscat.

Yemeni sources said that the city of Muhara border with Amman is witnessing a conflict between them and the UAE, through various means and roles, in an effort to find a foothold in this city, despite what this move is a nuisance to the Sultanate.

The sources, who demanded anonymity, told Arab21 that the role of Abu Dhabi in this city depends on a security crew hiding behind a human shield and a civilian named the UAE Red Crescent, which has become the most exciting facade of its various directions.

In this endeavor, the UAE has chosen to move under the cover of the "Red Crescent" humanitarian and humanitarian work, and to build relationships with some local leaders and social actors.

She pointed out that the Sultanate has a wide influence with official leaders and influence among the tribes there, but the UAE has become a constant inconvenience to her neighbor, in light of differences lying on the ashes from under fire, the latest "detection of a network of espionage and demonstrations in 2011, says Muscat The UAE is behind them, "the Emir of Kuwait intervened to contain the crisis.

The Yemeni sources said that Amman is considered the backyard and a traditional center of influence, and therefore sees the UAE's dispute as "unacceptable interference in its scope, after its policy has taken some of the symbols calculated in the Sultanate" and managed to find local allies loyal to it able to play A counter role to her neighbor Muscat.

https://www.suhf.net/ymn/201417 and in full: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fymn%2F201417

11.7.2017 – Suhf Net (A P)

Yemeni politicians talk about the future of the Southern Movement after ten years of its launch

Currently, after the developments and events experienced by Yemen in general and the southern governorates in particular, the question arises: What is the future of the southern movement after ten years of its inception?
Political activist and media activist in the southern movement, "Mansour Saleh," said that the movement moved today in advanced steps, and became the authority governing a number of southern provinces after it was just a hunt.
"The latest war and its results have led to a major shift in the tools of the Transitional Council (which was formed last month from 26 figures led by the former governor of Aden , Adiros al-Zubaidi), who became a military force represented by the southern resistance," he said. A political activist and influential in the politicallife .. Representative of the Southern Transitional Council, which seeks to move the march of mobility from work in the fields and squares to the policy rooms, and create channels of communication with the region and the world; pointing out that it is an important step will enable the mobility of short distances to reach the goals sought, The most important of which is S. The return of the South and the disengagement from the state of Yemeni unity, which was in May 1990, he said.
As for the writer and political analyst, "Ahmed Hermel," he told

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/201425 and in translation https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=ar&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F201425

10.7.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)

Yemen Security Brief

President of the Transitional Political Council for the South Aydarus al Zubaidi announced the council’s governmental structure on July 9. The council rivals the internationally recognized government led by President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi in southern Yemen. The council will consist of ten departments tasked with overseeing external relations, political organization, public information, the economy, and legal affairs. Al Zubaidi affirmed the council’s commitment to overseeing security and counterterrorism operations alongside the Saudi-led coalition. [1]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-july-10-2017

10.7.2017 – Critical Threats (A T)

Yemen Security Brief

Emirati-backed al Hizam security forces disrupted an attempted suicide bombing and captured two militants in Yafaarea, northern Lahij governorate on July 9. One militant detonated his explosives shortly after his capture, killing himself and injuring one member of the security forces.[4]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-july-10-2017

10.7.2017 – Middle East Eye (A P)

Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council recognises Hadi’s authority

The Aden-based Southern Transitional Council is ready to govern the provinces in the south of the country if the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi fails to do so, the group said yesterday.

The Council warned that it may resort to taking the necessary steps to manage the south and provide the necessary services to its citizens after the failure of the legitimate government to perform its duties.

It held the legitimate government responsible for the deteriorating situation in the southern governorates.

Announcing the formation of its internal services, the Council said: “The next few days will witness the completion of its organisational structure and the announcement of its bodies and branches in all provinces.”

The Southern Transitional Council is headed by former Aden governor, Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, who is supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170710-yemens-southern-transitional-council-recognises-hadis-authority/

My comment: An article where the headline contradicts to the text.

10.7.2017 – Yemen Updates (A T)

Bombing targets the home of the finance director of the Ministry of Defense in #Aden (photo)

https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/884276010585346049

9.7.2016 – Al Sahwa (A P T)

Shabwah Governor warns tribes from harboring terrorists

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-8332

9.7.2016 – Al Sahwa (A P T)

Unidentified persons kidnap son of Islahi leader

in Hadramout Salah Batais in the town of al-Qatan, Hadramout.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-8333

8.7.2017 – New News (B P)

Aden…The development of conflict and chaos…Yemen

The division or separation in the concept of a number of mercenaries in the southern provinces is the project adopted by the coalition of aggression, but in any way will be achieved this time.

The pro-Emirati parties believe that exploiting the current circumstances will help reach a part of Yemen and Saudi Arabia and its tools should be under Saudi supervision.

The division was prominent in the events called for by some of the leaders of the South represented by Zubaidi supported by UAE, recording a crack with the group of Hadi reflected in two activities, one in Ma’ala and the other in the Aruodh in a scene of unprecedented fragmentation and unprecedented.

The Gulf crisis has also been reflected on the southern scene after the adoption of the so-called Council attended the reformist party’s activities. This confirms that the leaders of the reform party from their membership of the Muslim Brotherhood movement was not convincing especially for the Emiratis and they are on the list of movements calculated on Qatar.

Another spark that will ignite the conflict is Saudi Arabia’s determination to form an anti-transitional council.

In conclusion, what is happening in the south of the conflict in general comes within the US game to break up the region and the South also, and that Saudi Arabia is seeking all of this to eliminate the influence of the UAE in the southern provinces on the sidelines of its conflict with Qatar, “and that Saudi Arabia and through the decisions of Hadi began in The shift of the affiliates to the UAE in preparation for arranging the status of its affiliates, named Hadi and reform.

http://newnewss.net/?p=7533

My comment: A view from the Houthi / Saleh side. I doubt whether the US really wants Yemen to be divided. - And the English is bad and hard to understand.

8.7.2017 – Southern Movement (A P)

July 7 2017 #SouthYemen held greatest demo of the day for their independence from #Yemen. Greater than #G20 demo. #MSM chose not to report (photos)

https://twitter.com/SouthHirak/status/883666733869010945

Remark: More reporting YPR 320, cp6.

4.7.2017 – Yemen Press (* A P)

Saudi Arabia is forming a Political Council Opposite to Transitional Council of UAE in South, Is this a Military Conflict?

Saudi Arabia is organizing a conference to announce the formation of a group of southern personalities to be prepared and equipped in Riyadh, parallel to the South Transitional Council supported by UAE, this will announce its support to Abd Rabbo Mansor Hadi and supports decisions that overthrew the most prominent leaders loyal to the UAE.

Which will be assembled, and what can follow to these steps?! Will it reach a military conflict wider than the clashes that take place between now and then between these agendas in Aden and Hadramout and a number of provinces? The figures called for this conference are the same personalities who work with Hadi and took a number of portfolios in previous and current governments in fighting for Hadi and Saudi Arabia.

What can be deduced and monitored so far is that everyone reached common points that go towards overthrowing the Brotherhood, Hadi allies, excluding the northern leaderships, establishing two southern entities that are free of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporting the independence of the south, and disintegration with the north, an entity with Saudi Arabia and Hadi and the other with UAE, and then move to new steps.

The call for the formation of southern council only to support Hadi suggested and supported by Saudi is going to play purely southern cards in the south and compete with UAE to attract the southerners as a separate entity from the north as Hadi’s legitimacy and so on , what will be the repercussions of these steps?! Those who follow the past events and are fully aware of the clashes now that the next step is military clash.

http://www.yemenpress.org/yemen/saudi-arabia-is-forming-a-political-council-opposite-to-transitional-council-of-uae-in-south-is-this-a-military-conflict.html

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

Siehe / Look at cp1

9.7.2017 – Al Monitor (* B P)

Saudi king shows no signs of slowing aggressive foreign policy

Saudi Arabia has overextended itself militarily and economically and it would behoove it to return to a more traditional approach in its foreign policy.
Since ascending to the throne 2½ years ago, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud has asserted a much more aggressive and assertive foreign policy than his predecessors. It is clear that Salman is a risk-taker. What is less clear is how successful he has been. The kingdom is bogged down in an expensive quagmire in Yemen, outmaneuvered by its rival Iran, and has broken the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Traditional alliances have fractured and opposition to Saudi policies is building on both sides of the Atlantic.

The king's most successful foreign policy initiative has been to curry favor with President Donald Trump at the Riyadh summit. But the Yemeni war and the Qatari debacle is costing the kingdom support on Capitol Hill. The latest half billion dollar arms deal for the Yemeni battlefield only narrowly won support in the Senate (53 to 47). Now the Senate Foreign Relations Committee leadership says it will not consider further arms sales to any GCC state until the Qatar crisis is resolved. The Saudis are the most endangered because they need constant resupply to fight against the Houthis.

In London, the Saudis are also feeling the heat.

With low oil prices on the horizon for the foreseeable future, the kingdom is facing tough economic challenges. It cannot continue spending more money per capita on weapons than any other country. Its hopes for economic reforms will be futile if defense spending is not constrained – by Bruce Riedel.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/07/saudi-arabia-king-salman-yemen-war-foreign-policy-qatar-g20.html

8.7.2017 – RT (* B P)

Evolutionstheorie auf Saudi-Arabisch

Blick auf den Schulstoff an staatlichen Schulen Saudi-Arabiens

Bücher aus der 4. Klasse legen den Schülern nahe, "Polytheisten und Ungläubige" zu hassen, damit sie zum wahren Glauben finden.

Bücher aus der 5. Klasse lehren die Schüler, dass "Muslime die ungläubigen Feinde Gottes weder lieben noch ihnen helfen dürfen". Mit "ungläubige Feinde Gottes" werden primär Juden, Christen und Schiiten bezeichnet. Im Unterschied zur Türkei, die kürzlich die Evolutionstheorie gänzlich aus dem Schulstoff gebannt hat, präsentiert Riad seine eigene: So wird von den Juden behauptet, dass sie Nachfahren von Affen sind, während Christen von Schweinen abstammen.

Bücher aus der 6. und 7. Klasse befassen sich u. a. mit Vorgaben für die muslimische Welt. So darf beispielsweise an Beerdigungen niemand anderes sprechen als der Vertreter des Klerus. Gefühle zeigen dürfen die Angehörige des Verstorbenen nicht und es darf an Gräbern nicht gebetet werden. Wer das alles dennoch tut, wird als "Ungläubiger" gebrandmarkt und entsprechend behandelt, weil diese "Schandtaten" eine direkte Nachahmung der Christen seien.

Bücher aus der 9. Klasse beziehen sich schwerpunktmäßig auf den Kampf gegen Ungläubige. So steht geschrieben, dass es "Teil der Weisheit Gottes ist, dass der Kampf zwischen Muslimen und Juden bis zur Stunde des Gerichts weitergeführt wird".

In der 12. Klasse steht dann die Pflicht zum Dschihad auf dem Programm. So heißt es dort: "Dschihad auf dem Pfad Gottes - welcher aus dem Kampf gegen Unglauben, Unterdrückung, Ungerechtigkeit sowie gegen jene, die diese ausführen, besteht - ist das Höchste im Islam. Diese Religion entstand durch den Dschihad und durch Dschihad wurde ihr Banner emporgehoben. Er ist eine der nobelsten Taten, welche einen näher zu Gott bringen, und eine der prächtigsten Handlungen des Gehorsams gegenüber Gott." – von Zlatko Percinic

https://deutsch.rt.com/meinung/53698-deutschlands-pakt-mit-teufel-in/

8.7.2017 – Al Arabiya (* A P)

Saudi Arabia to host G-20 summit in 2020

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Saudi Arabia is set to host the G-20 summit in 2020, reported Al Arabiya on Saturday.

The choice comes after a strong vote from the world’s leading nations who put their trust in Saudi Arabia, with its distinctive place among the world’s top 20 economies.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/07/08/Saudi-Arabia-to-host-G-20-summit-in-2020.html

Comment by Kristyan Benedict: Afraid of people protesting? - then hold your summit in a brutal dictatorship.

https://twitter.com/KreaseChan/status/883686279233363968

My comment: LOL, LOL, LOL.

8.7.2017 – Fars News (* A P)

Saudi King Likely to Step Down in Favor of Crown Prince

Some Arab social media outlets suggested on Saturday that Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud might sand down to be replaced by his son Mohammed, the new crown prince.

"The ground is being paved for Mohammed bin Salman to ascend to the throne, but the time for its public announcement has not been decided yet," al-Ahd al-Jadid twitter page, close to the decision-makers in Saudi Arabia, reported on Saturday.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960417001591

8.7.2017 – New News ( B E P)

670 Thousand Foreigners will Leave Saudi Arabia within 3 Years

A bank report has estimated the number of foreign workers who will leave Saudi Arabia is 670 thousand until 2020 as Saudi Arabia begins applying the escorts’ fees .

According to a report for the french Saudi Bank, the rate of leaving foreign workers will be around 165,000 workers per year, Makkah newspaper reported on Saturday.

The report referred to the escorts’ fee will save about 20 billion Riyals during the next three years.

The number of foreigners in the Kingdom is about 11.7 million . 7.4 million are working, while the number of companions is 4.3 million, making up 1.1 million families.

The Saudi authorities have begun on July 1 to apply fees to escorts for expatriate workers, which were approved by the Council of Ministers within the program of financial balance.

The fees will be collected when the resident renews his identity ,paying 100 Riyals per-month , so the amount will be 1200 riyals annually. Then the amount will be doubled in July 2018, and will reach 400R per month in July 2020 for a total of 4800R in the year.

http://newnewss.net/?p=7595

8.7.2017 – New News (B P)

Saudi Arabia provokes Conflicts in the Muslim world: Former Pakistani Prime Minister

Pakistan’s prime minister said that Saudi Arabia is stirring up conflicts between Arabs and non-arabs, as well as between Shiites and Sunnis, so Islamabad must not cooperate with Riyadh in this field.

As Zafarullah Khan Jamali talked to Farsnews Agency that Saudi Arabia is stirring up disputes between Arabs and non-arabs, as well as between Shiites and Sunnis, so Islamabad should not be in line with Riyadh in this field.

He said , “differences between Saudi Arabia and Qatar have proven that Riyadh is looking for excuses to suppress those who oppose it , relations with an Islamic country like Iran should not be a reason to impose a blockade on Doha.”

“The dispute will end between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but Doha has openly declared that it is making its own decisions freely in its relations with Tehran. Riyadh’s protest represents interference in the internal affairs of an independent country.”, as He added.

http://newnewss.net/?p=7598

8.7.2017 – Antimedia (* B P)

Media Silent as US Ally Saudi Arabia Massacres Its Own People

For the past 60 days, Saudi Arabia imposed a devastating siege on the Shiite town of Awamiya. And of course, mainstream western media remains silent.

These photos aren’t from Yemen, they’re from the Saudi Arabian eastern town of Awamiya. Where Saudi forces are waging war against an oppressed shia minority.

While the majority of Saudi citizens adhere to Wahhabi principles, many towns in the eastern province of Qatif– like Awamiya– hold a Shia majority. Where they’ve been essentially doomed to live in “ghettos” as second class citizens. But the Saudi oppression of Shiites and other religious minorities goes way beyond just economic devastation. In fact for the past two months Saudi forces have held Awamiya under siege, destroyed buildings with bombs and shelling, and set up barricades to control free movement. This is likely a response to Shia citizens calling for basic human rights.

In videos posted to social media, it looks like Saudi security forces are using white phosphorus to drive-out citizens from their homes. Residents also report that Saudi forces are shelling homes and buildings with .50 caliber weapons. In one instance, a building was set on fire and Saudi police refused to allow firetrucks to pass through the barricades.

It’s been confirmed that a number of people have died as a result of gunfire. But it’s unclear exactly what the death toll could be since Saudi Arabia severely restricts media access. When the Saudi-run state media are reporting the numbers, they surely can’t be trusted.

Of course, instead of reporting on the Saudis brutal repression, mainstream media has framed the story (in the few articles available) as though the Saudi security forces are simply clashing with an armed Shiite “militant” uprising. Which ultimately places the Saudi security forces in the “good guy” category just simply trying to keep order.

This however completely whitewashes the fact that the Shiite population in Saudi Arabia has been brutally repressed since the Kingdom’s formation 8with photos9

http://theantimedia.org/saudi-arabia-massacres-own-people/

10.5.2017 – Press TV Iran (A P)

Saudi police, civilians wounded in Qatif shooting attacks

A Saudi police officer and two civilians have been wounded after a shooting in the kingdom’s oil-rich Eastern Province, where the Riyadh regime has launched a heavy-handed crackdown against the Shia Muslim population.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/07/10/528031/Saudi-police-civilians-Qatif-Eastern-Province-

8.7.2017 – Latif Muhammed (* A P)

Film: Awamiasiege after 60 days, #AlSaud killing people of #Awamia & destroying city

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AUSFCO/permalink/345222919230990/ and another film https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/883803094987001856 = https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/884586800672628736

8.7.2017 – Ameen (A P)

60 days of the #Saudi forces of terror campaign in #AwamiaSiege2017 A sunset behind the wreckage in #Mosawara

https://twitter.com/nimramen/status/883781781815787520

8.7.2017 - Living In Yemen On The Edge (* A P)

Not #Yemen. Saudi Arabia.
Is the destruction caused by Yemenis?
No, this is Saudi Arabia bombing and shelling its own people in the village of #Awamiya hoping to force evictions while killing and cancelling hundreds of years of history.
58 days of siege and murder (photos)

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1698487503780570

My comment: Saudi Arabian interior policy.

cp9 USA

Siehe / Look at cp1

8.7.2017 – DPA (A H P)

G20: Trump verspricht 639 Millionen für Kampf gegen Hunger in Afrika

In der Sitzung der Staats- und Regierungschefs zu Afrika kündigte Trump am Samstag 639 Millionen US-Dollar (umgerechnet 572 Millionen Euro) für das Welternährungsprogramm (WFP) und andere Organisationen an, wie WFP berichtete. Allein 331 Millionen (296 Millionen Euro) davon fließen an die UN-Organisation. „Dies ist ein lebensrettendes Geschenk“, hieß es in einer Mitteilung.

https://www.merkur.de/politik/g20-trump-verspricht-639-millionen-dollar-fuer-kampf-gegen-hunger-in-afrika-zr-8468800.html

Mein Kommentar: Wieder einmal: Der Brandstifter als Feuerwehrmann. Das sind kaum Peanuts im Wergleich zu dem, was die USA für Militär, Kriegführung und Zerstörung weltweit ausgeben.

8.7.2017 – Reuters (A H P)

At G20 summit, Trump pledges $639 million in aid to four countries

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday promised $639 million in aid to feed people left starving because of drought and conflict in Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen.

Trump's pledge came during a working session of the G20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg, providing a "godsend" to the United Nations' World Food Programme, the group's executive director, David Beasley, told Reuters on the sidelines of the meeting.

"We're facing the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two," said Beasley, a Republican and former South Carolina governor who was nominated by Trump to head the U.N. agency fighting hunger worldwide.

The new funding brings to over $1.8 billion aid promised by the United States for fiscal year 2017 for the crises in the four countries, where the United Nations has estimated more than 30 million people need urgent food assistance.

"With this new assistance, the United States is providing additional emergency food and nutrition assistance, life-saving medical care, improved sanitation, emergency shelter and protection for those who have been affected by conflict," USAID said in a statement.

Rob Jenkins, acting head of the USAID's bureau of democracy, conflict and humanitarian assistance, said of the funding, over $191 million would go to Yemen, $199 million to South Sudan, $121 million to Nigeria and almost $126 million for Somalia – by Andrea Shalal

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-germany-famine-idUSKBN19T0LC

My comment: Urgently needed, but again: The arsonist as firefighter. And it's just peanuts compared to what the US is spending for military and warfare. The world would need it the other way round.

Comment: Keep the aid. Stop bombing, sieging, droning Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and #Yemen

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1427864430599916

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

10.7.2017 – Reuters (* A K P)

London High Court rejects bid to halt British arms sales to Saudi

London's High Court rejected on Monday a claim by campaigners that Britain's multi-billion-pound arms sales to Saudi Arabia should be halted because they were being used in Yemen in violation of international humanitarian law.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) had sought an order to block export licenses for British-made bombs, fighter jets and other munitions which it said the Saudi-led Arab coalition was using in a campaign against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen's civil war.

CAAT had been seeking a judicial review over the government's decision to allow arms exports to continue to Saudi Arabia, a major customer for British defense companies and an important British ally in countering terrorism.

"The claimant's claim for judicial review is dismissed," the High Court judgment said.

The court said there had been extensive political and military engagement with Saudi Arabia regarding the conduct of operations in Yemen and the Saudis had "sought positively to address concerns about International Humanitarian Law".

"Saudi Arabia has been, and remains, genuinely committed to compliance with International Humanitarian Law; and there was no 'real risk' that there might be 'serious violations' of International Humanitarian Law (in its various manifestations) such that UK arm sales to Saudi Arabia should be suspended or canceled," the court said.

CAAT said it would appeal against the decision – by Alistair Smout

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-saudi-arms-idUSKBN19V0Y7 and a larger article by Asian Image: http://www.asianimage.co.uk/news/15401272.-/

My comment: That’s disgusting – and the explanatory statement simply is ridiculous, fact-free and looks like bound to interests.

10.7.2017 – Middle East Eye (* A K P)

British anti-arms campaigners lose bid to block sales to Saudi Arabia

Campaigners have said they will appeal the verdict, which they say came despite global concern over the use of these weapons against civilians. To the dismay of campaigners half the case took place in secret in "close sessions" over national security concerns.

Andrew Smith, spokesperson for CAAT, said: "This is a very disappointing verdict, and we are pursuing an appeal.

"If this verdict is upheld then it will be seen as a green light for government to continue arming and supporting brutal dictatorships and human rights abusers like Saudi Arabia that have shown a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law.

"Every day we are hearing new and horrifying stories about the humanitarian crisis that has been inflicted on the people of Yemen. Thousands have been killed while vital and lifesaving infrastructure has been destroyed."

But despite the prospect of an appeal, the court ruling will come as a relief to British ministers and officials who have said that engaging with the kingdom is the only way to improve its record.

Speaking in the High Court on Monday, Lord Justice Burnett, who led the case with Mr Justice Haddon-Cave, said: "We have concluded that the material decisions of the secretary of state were lawful. We therefore dismiss the claim."

The court is also handing down a closed judgment detailing its verdict on the secret information that was not heard in public amid security concerns. But in a press statement released by the court on Monday the judges said: "This open-source material is only part of the picture."

The statement said that the Ministry of Defence had access to materials such as coalition fast-jet operational reporting data, high-res imagery, and UK defence intelligence reports and battle-damage assessments.

"The open and closed evidence demonstrated that the secretary of state was rationally entitled to conclude" the Saudi-led coalition was not deliberately targeting civilians, was properly investigating allegations of civilian casualties, and was engaging with the British government about its concerns, the judges found.

The court victory for the government means that exports will be able to continue arms export to Saudi Arabia, in a move that will come as a major relief to officials in London.

A halt or even a pause in exports would have endangered a relationship see as vital in London, where officials hope to sign a post-Brexit trade deal with Gulf states soon after the UK exits the European Union in 2019.

The UK’s close relationship with Saudi Arabia was repeatedly underscored in between the High Court judges hearing the case in April and the release of Monday’s verdict – by Jamie Merrill

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-caat-british-arms-trade-785232910

10.7.2017 – The Intercept (* A K P)

AFTER VIEWING SECRET EVIDENCE, U.K. COURT RULES ARMS SALES TO SAUDIS LAWFUL

In a legal challenge led by London-based organization Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT), two senior judges ruled on Monday that the government “was not irrational or unlawful” in its decision to approve export licences to the Arab kingdom. The 58-page verdict concluded that there was no “real risk” of “serious violations.”

CAAT said in a statement that it was “disappointed” with the ruling and plans to pursue an appeal. Non-governmental organizations working in Yemen described the judgement as “a dark day for the people of Yemen.” More than half of the three day hearing of the judicial review case that was held in February was closed to CAAT, the press, and the public. The judges stated that the U.K. government had “more sophisticated sources of information” than CAAT, but claimed it could not be disclosed in open court “for national security reasons.”

Explaining the reasoning for their ruling, the two senior judges said that Saudi Arabia had addressed concerns by setting up its own investigatory body. However, the Saudi Joint Incidents Assessment Team has released the initial results of an investigation into just 20 strikes, including attacks on two Médecins Sans Frontières-supported medical facilities in northern Yemen. In 14 of the 20 strikes, the Saudi investigators absolved the coalition of wrongdoing or responsibility for alleged violations.

Sir Vince Cable, a former British government minister, told The Intercept following Monday’s ruling: “I am disappointed by the verdict. U.K. dependence on exports to Saudi is unhealthy and is driving our foreign policy.” Cable signed off on U.K. arms sales to Saudi Arabia in his role as business secretary in 2015, the first year of the war. He has previously claimed he was “seriously misled” by the Ministry of Defence in the process.

The ruling was handed down amid a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Yemen. – by Iona Craig

https://theintercept.com/2017/07/10/yemen-uk-arms-sales-high-court-ruling/

My comment: For “secret evidence” also see below, Law Gazette. This “secret evidence” would contradict the obvious evidence – and it’s hardly “evidence”, but UK government’s propaganda narrative and interpretation.

More comments:

Secret evidence of what!? IHL violations clearly evident, if you're to counter, least be transparent why violations will continue.

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/884393717217591297

Ignoring the thousands of pieces of evidence showing IHL violations in #Yemen, the High Court instead based its ruling on "secret evidence."

https://twitter.com/shireen818/status/884438369387917312

What would Boris say if Russia or Iran claimed "secret evidence" justified their involvement in Syria? Asking for a friend.

https://twitter.com/LondonBrexiteer/status/884465036944699396

10.7.2017 – The Guardian (* A K P)

UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia can continue, high court rules

CAAT spokesman Andrew Smith said: “This is a very disappointing verdict, and we are pursuing an appeal. If this verdict is upheld then it will be seen as a green light for government to continue arming and supporting brutal dictatorships and human rights abusers like Saudi Arabia that have shown a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law.

“Every day we are hearing new and horrifying stories about the humanitarian crisis that has been inflicted on the people of Yemen. Thousands have been killed while vital and lifesaving infrastructure has been destroyed.” The case had exposed the UK’s “toxic relationship” with Saudi Arabia, he added.

Rosa Curling of Leigh Day said: “The law is clear: where there is a clear risk UK arms might be used in the commission of serious violations of international law, arm sales cannot go ahead.

“Nothing in the open evidence, presented by the UK government to the court, suggests this risk does not exist in relation to arms to Saudi Arabia. Indeed, all the evidence we have seen from Yemen suggests the opposite: the risk is very real ... Our government should not be allowing itself to be complicit in the grave violations of law taking place by the Saudi coalition in Yemen.” – by Alice Ross

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/10/uk-arms-exports-to-saudi-arabia-can-continue-high-court-rules

10.7.2017 – Law Gazette (* A K P)

Secret evidence shoots down arms trade judicial review

Secret evidence about the extent of links between the UK and Saudi Arabia has helped kill off a legal challenge to the sale of weapons used in the conflict in Yemen.

Ruling in Campaign Against Arms Trade v Secretary of State for International Trade today, Lord Justice Burnett and Mr Justice Haddon-Cave defend the use of secret hearings, so called closed material procedures. 'The advantage of the closed material procedure is that we have had full access to all the facts and materials relied upon by the secretary of state,' they state. These materials are considered in a secret 'closed judgment'. The published judgment states: 'It is sufficient to record here that the closed material, in our view, provides valuable additional support for the conclusion that the judgements made by the secretary of state were rational.'

Dismissing the challenge, the judges ruled that the government had available 'a much wider range of information' than its non-governmental organisation critics. This included MoD-sourced imagery and defence Intelligence reports. 'Much of this information is sensitive and necessarily cannot be referred to in detail in open session for national security reasons,' the judgment states.

According to the judgment, the Ministry of Defence 'provides significant training to the Saudi armed forces in relation to targeting and compliance with international humanitarian law'.

It concludes that the secretary of state for international trade 'was rationally entitled to conclude' that the coalition was not deliberately targeting civilians and that there was no 'clear risk' that there might be serious violations of international humanitarian law which would require arms sales to be suspended or cancelled – by Michael Cross

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/secret-evidence-shoots-down-arms-trade-judicial-review/5061951.article

My comment: “Secret evidence” when not being unveiled is baseless. Relying on such evidence is fundamentally undemocratic and resembles a secret trial. Whatever his “evidence” should be, it does not change the fact that British arms are sold to war criminal and Human Rights violators and are deliberately used against civilians.

10.7.2017 – Judiciary (A K P)

R (on the application of Campaign Against The Arms Trade) -v- The Secretary of State for International Trade and interveners

https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judgments/r-on-the-application-of-campaign-against-the-arms-trade-v-the-secretary-of-state-for-international-trade-and-interveners/

and in full

Judgment: https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/r-oao-campaign-against-arms-trade-v-ssfit-and-others1.pdf

Summary: https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/r-oao-campaign-against-arms-trade-v-ssfit-and-others-summary.pdf

10.7.2017 – The Independent (* A K P)

We lost our court case against the Government to stop it selling arms to Saudi Arabia – but that doesn’t mean we were wrong

If the ruling is not overturned then it will be regarded by Whitehall and Westminster as giving a green light to continue arming and supporting brutal dictatorships and human rights abusers

The verdict is deeply disappointing, and we are pursuing an appeal against it.

On paper, UK arms export criteria are very clear in saying that if there is a ‘clear risk’ that UK arms ‘might’ be used ‘in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law (IHL)’ then an arms sale should not go ahead.

If this criteria is to be applied properly then it must surely stop the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia, a country run by a regime that has one of the world’s worst human rights records and that has been widely accused of grave IHL violations in Yemen

If the ruling is not overturned then it will be regarded by Whitehall and Westminster as giving a green light to continue arming and supporting brutal dictatorships and human rights abusers, including Saudi Arabia. It will be regarded as permission to continue selling arms for use in war zones like Yemen, and into fragile and unstable political situations around the world.
The message that it will send to the Saudi military is even worse. It will tell them that they can continue exactly as they are in their brutal bombardment, which has already led to the deaths of thousands of civilians and the destruction of vital and lifesaving infrastructure.

One positive outcome of our legal case to date is that it has led to an increased scrutiny of the Government’s toxic relationship with Saudi Arabia. It is a relationship that needs to be examined and exposed more than ever – by Andrew Smith, Campaign Against Arms Trade

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/saudi-arabia-yemen-campaign-against-the-arms-trade-lost-case-a7833766.html

10.7.2017 – Amnesty International (* A K P)

Court ruling over UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia a ‘deadly blow’ to Yemeni civilians

“This is a deeply disappointing outcome which gives a green light to the UK authorities – and potentially Saudi Arabia’s other arms suppliers – to continue authorizing arms transfers to the Kingdom despite the clear risk they will be used to commit violations,” said James Lynch, Head of Arms Control and Human Rights at Amnesty International.

“Extensive and credible reports, including Amnesty International’s own research on the ground in Yemen, have in our view demonstrated that such weapons have been used to commit serious violations, including war crimes, against civilians in Yemen and that – in light of the clear risk – authorizing further transfers would be counter to the UK’s obligations under international law.
“The verdict is a deadly blow for Yemenis under attack from a Saudi Arabia-led coalition bolstered by UK-manufactured weapons.”

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/07/court-ruling-over-uk-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia-a-deadly-blow-to-yemeni-civilians/

10.7.2017 – Oxfam (* A K P)

High Court decision on UK arms to Saudi Arabia sets back arms control 25 years

Mark Goldring, Chief Executive of Oxfam GB said:

"The result of the Judicial Review into UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia for its use in Yemen is hugely disappointing. The court has not said that British arms have not killed civilians but has given the Government discretion to continue to sell arms.

"This sets back arms control 25 years and gives ministers free rein to sell arms to countries even where there is clear evidence they are breaching international humanitarian law. With little legal oversight on arms sales it is now imperative that Parliament holds the Government to account.

"The risk of fathers, mothers, sons and daughters having their lives cut short will continue in Yemen due to UK exported weapons. People's homes and local markets will continue to be bombed. And if the bombs don't kill them hunger and disease will.

"So much evidence has been presented in this case of the devastating impact on Yemen from selling arms to Saudi Arabia. There is a clear moral case for the Government to suspend its sales. It must now put its diplomatic weight behind a search for peace."

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2017/07/high-court-arms-to-saudi-arabia

10.7.2017 – Save the Children (* A K P)

STATEMENT: UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia

George Graham, Director of Conflict and Humanitarian Policy at Save the Children, said:

“We are deeply disappointed by this decision. Britain is selling bombs to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen. And the Saudi-led coalition is killing children in repeated violations of international humanitarian law. This is not a point of contention – the evidence is overwhelming. It has been documented by UN reports, by aid groups on the ground and by credible human rights organisations.

“Our teams on the ground have seen first-hand what attacks by the Saudi-led coalition mean for children. Like the two little girls we’re helping who were bombed at a funeral in February. One lost every finger on her right hand, the other girl lost her mother. But they were lucky – another child was killed.

“We can be proud of the difference the UK is making in Yemen – British aid is keeping children alive. But at the same time, our weapons are helping to fuel a war that is killing children and destroying their schools and hospitals. As a nation, our greatest export should be hope, not fear.

“We continue to believe that the UK will stand taller in the world if we make the right decision and immediately suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia.”

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/2017-07/statement-uk-arms-sales-saudi-arabia

10.7.2017 – The Guardian (* A P)

Saudi Arabia's standing is damaged despite ruling on arms exports

High court has concluded that Britain acted lawfully over weapons sales, but judgment will do little to help end war in Yemen

The high court ruling that the UK acted lawfully in granting export licences to UK firms selling arms to Saudi Arabia for use in the Yemen conflict may be a relief to the government, but does little to clean up Britain’s relationship with Riyadh, let alone bring an end to the desperate civil war in Yemen.

The judgment is a reflection on the way in which the government came to its decision rather than its wisdom. The ruling said the Saudi bombing campaign probably breached international humanitarian law, but that was for the UK government and not the court to assess.

The ruling is also likely to lead to political pressure for the law on arms sales to be tightened so the threshold for barring sales is lowered.

It hardly helps the Saudi’s standing that the Foreign Office won the case brought by the Campaign Against Arms Trade largely due to evidence provided by the UK security services in closed court. The UK-Saudi relationship is shrouded in too much secrecy.

A more open relationship would require the Saudis to make a big cultural shift, including explaining openly how they intend to conduct and win the war in Yemen.

Above all the high court ruling brings no one any closer to an end to the conflict in Yemen between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, and the UN- and Saudi-backed government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi – by Patrick Wintour

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/10/saudi-arabia-standing-damaged-despite-ruling-on-arms-exports

10.7.2017 – The Guardian (* A K P)

The Guardian view on arms to Saudi: Yemen needs peace

The sale and support of British weapons are causing immense suffering to civilians in Yemen. The high court ruling that they are legal is perverse

The high court judgment that continuing British arms sales to Saudi Arabia are legal may not be surprising but it is none the less profoundly shocking. The civil war in Yemen in which these weapons are used is peculiarly futile and destructive. Both sides are guilty of atrocity and attacks on civilians. Neither is capable of victory. But British arms and British servicemen providing technical support are helping to prolong the war and so to increase civilian suffering. On the other hand, they are making British companies lots of money, something which clearly matters more to Theresa May, who visited Riyadh this April and explained that “it is in our national interest to ensure that the values that underpin us as Britons are values that we promote around the world”; trade deals with the Gulf will be very important after Brexit.

The case is the result of a long campaign to expose and if possible to end the use of British weapons as part of the Saudi intervention in the Yemeni civil war. At every step, the governments involved have worked to obfuscate the obvious truths.

The Ministry of Defence keeps its own database of atrocities from the conflict and has recorded so far 41 occasions on which the coalition appears to have breached international law. The question is how much this should matter, whether it could entirely have been avoided, and whether the Saudis are really trying to learn from their mistakes.

Much of the government’s defence in the high court was heard in secret. The closed judgment, on the basis of material deemed sensitive to national security, remains closed. But it’s clear from the open part of the judgment that the court was convinced by the argument that the Saudi armed forces, whoever they might have killed in the past, will be improving their aim in the future. The secretary of state was therefore “rationally entitled to conclude” that our sales and support might continue. This is an exercise of the kind of rationality peculiar to the British establishment. Reason might lead to a different conclusion. The campaigners are asking for leave to appeal. It should be granted – by Editorial Board

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/10/the-guardian-view-on-arms-to-saudi-yemen-needs-peace

10.7.2017 – Jack (A P)

Photo: These are the CLOWNS of London's HIGH Court.

https://twitter.com/Jack62448376/status/884362605564837888

Comment by Beatrice de Filippis: Their hands are dripping blood. Of #Yemen

https://twitter.com/Bilquis66/status/884366077014290432

10.7.2017 – Patrick Wilcken (A E P)

BAE Systems shares jump 2.1 percent after after UK Judicial Review ruling on arms to Saudi Arabia

https://twitter.com/pwilcken/status/884374470747721728

9.7.2017 – The Guardian (* A K P)

UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia under threat as court ruling on terrorism looms

Verdict due on Monday over humanitarian challenge claiming weapons may have been used to kill civilians in Yemen

Britain will be forced to suspend the sale of what potentially could be billions of pounds worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia if it loses a high-profile legal case on Monday.

The high court is due to give its verdict in a judicial review that puts arms sales export policy in the dock and has the potential to embarrass the government.

The ruling comes at a crucial time for bilateral relations. The government has been accused of burying a report into the funding of terrorism in the UK that is believed to be particularly critical of Saudi Arabia, the largest buyer of British arms. The UK has licensed more than £3bn of arms to Saudi Arabia in the last two years alone – by Jamie Doward

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/08/arms-sales-saudi-arabia-yemen-high-court-challenge?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Tweet

20.4.2017 – Campaign Against Arms Trade (B K P)

Film: A Rough Guide to the UK Arms Trade

The UK government claims to have a "responsible" policy on arms exports. But is that really the case?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGh5z3vYQs4

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

8.7.2017 – RT (* B P)

Deutschlands teuflischer Pakt mit Saudi-Arabien

Die wahhabitische Golfmonarchie predigt ihren Schulkindern Hass und Dschihad, finanziert extremistische Kräfte auf der ganzen Welt und überzieht ihre Nachbarn mit Krieg. Dennoch will sich auch Berlin die lukrativen Geschäfte mit Riad nicht entgehen lassen.

Alles wird dem Big Business untergeordnet, und ein skurriler Narrativ soll der Bevölkerung verkaufen, Saudi-Arabien wäre tatsächlich ein "Stabilitätsfaktor in der Region", wie es etwa Regierungssprecher Steffen Seibert gerne bezeichnet und Kanzlerin Merkel selbst bestätigt - weil "gerade der Iran eine große Bedrohung ist", so Merkel weiter.

Es geht immerhin um handfeste Interessen. Dabei spielt es ganz offensichtlich keine Rolle, dass laut BND und Verfassungsschutz Saudi-Arabien und andere Scheichtümer auch in Deutschland die wahhabitische Lehre unter dem Sammelbegriff des Salafismus verbreiten.

Wie die meisten westlichen Regierungen, die sich Milliardengeschäfte mit den Saudis erhoffen, hält sich auch die deutsche Regierung auffällig bedeckt zur aktuellen Krise auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, wo ausgerechnet Riad dem kleinen Nachbar Katar vorwirft, den Terrorismus zu unterstützen.

Dabei gab es auch dazu eine Untersuchung des Europaparlaments, welche zum Schluss kam, dass beide Länder - und dabei insbesondere wahhabitische Einrichtungen im Sinne der ihr zugrundeliegenden Ideologie - den Terror in Syrien, Libyen, Tunesien, Ägypten, Marokko, in der Sahelzone, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesien und auf den Philippinen schüren und unterstützen.

Wie gesagt: Merkel geht es um handfeste Interessen in Saudi-Arabien. Schon seit Jahren ist beispielsweise der deutsche Bundesgrenzschutz im wahhabitischen Reich aktiv am Aufbau eines ähnlichen Dienstes beteiligt, was sich Berlin mit Sicherheit fürstlich bezahlen lässt.

Den Weg geebnet dafür hat der Rüstungskonzern Airbus Defence & Space (vormals Teil von EADS) mit Sitz im bayrischen Taufkirchen, der den Verkauf von High-Tech-Grenzzäunen und mit einem Team von Bundespolizisten dessen Implementierung als Dienstleister der EADS durchgeführt hat.

Aber damit soll ja jetzt angeblich Schluss sein, wenn man den Worten der Kanzlerin Angela Merkel Glauben schenken darf. "Wir haben sehr strikte Richtlinien für den Export von Waffen", heißt es.

Tochtergesellschaft auf der italienischen Trauminsel Sardinien, von wo aus es dann per Luft- und Seefracht weiter nach Saudi-Arabien geht. Auf diese Weise bringen die "strikten Richtlinien" natürlich herzlich wenig.

Stattdessen schloss das Verteidigungsministerium unter Ursula von der Leyen einen Vertrag mit Riad ab, wonach Deutschland die Ausbildung von Teilen der saudischen Armee übernehmen soll. Laut der Verteidigungsministerin betrachtet Berlin die Saudis als "schwierigen, aber zentralen Partner in der Region".

So zentral, dass sich Deutschland zum größten Handelspartner des wahhabitischen Reiches aufschwingen möchte – von Zlatko Percinic

https://deutsch.rt.com/meinung/53698-deutschlands-pakt-mit-teufel-in/

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

10.7.2017 – Bid BH (A P)

Nabeel Rajab Sentenced to 2 Years In Absentia for Speaking to Journalists

Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was sentenced to 2 years in prison by Sheikh Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa, a judge in the Lower Criminal Court

The human rights defender has spent over a year in pre-trial detention, largely in solitary confinement

He was sentenced in absentia, and has not been able to attend court since he was hospitalised in April. Of 14 court hearings, Rajab has been unable to attend the past 9.

His lawyers state he was denied basic fair trial guarantees

Rajab has another trial on 7 August in relation to his twitter account, for which he faces up to 15 years for criticising the war in Yemen and torture in Bahrain

http://birdbh.org/2017/07/breaking-nabeel-rajab-sentenced-to-2-years-in-absentia-for-speaking-to-journalists/ and comment by HRW: https://twitter.com/iainlevine/status/884442109276762117

10.7.2017 – Ali AlAhmed (A P)

#Kuwait Monarchy jails peaceful political activists like Meslam Albarak but plans to assimilate #returning #ISIS terrorists (image)

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/884426170326020097

Film: Disgusting video showing #Kuwaiti aid workers requiring hungry #Africans 2 convert 2 Islam b4 giving them food #US

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/884417015502573569

9.7.2017 – Linkedin (* B P)

All the UAE’s men: Gulf crisis opens door to power shift in Palestine

With attention in the Middle East focussed on the Gulf crisis, the United Arab Emirates is elsewhere seeking to reshape the region in ways that could alter its power dynamics. The UAE’s latest effort concentrates on clipping the wings of Hamas and installing its own man in the Gaza Strip in a move that would likely strengthen cooperation with Israel, potentially facilitate an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, and take the Jewish state’s increasingly close ties to the Gulf state out of the shadows – by James M. Dorsey

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/all-uaes-men-gulf-crisis-opens-door-power-shift-palestine-dorsey

8.7.2017 – Washington Post (* A P)

Bahrain is stripping dissidents of their citizenship, and the U.S. is silent

The tiny island kingdom of Bahrain is increasingly turning to a particularly draconian tool of repression: stripping dissidents of their citizenship.

Rights activists say authorities have revoked the citizenship of 103 people so far this year, already more than in 2016. All were convicted of terrorism-related crimes in trials that rights activists say lacked due process and transparency.

The pace of citizenship revocations has increased amid an intensifying crackdown on opposition. And activists charge that the silence of the West, particularly the United States and Britain, has emboldened authorities to press ahead with more repressive measures than the kingdom has employed since the response to mass protests in 2011 – by Kristen Chick

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/bahrain-is-stripping-dissidents-of-their-citizenship-and-the-us-is-silent/2017/07/08/3ad347d0-5154-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

9.7.2017 – RTe (* A P)

The mouse that roared: How Saudi Arabia underestimated Qatar (and Yemen) – by Catherine Shakdam

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/395777-saudi-arabia-qatar-iran-gcc/ = http://tapnewswire.com/2017/07/the-mouse-that-roared-how-saudi-arabia-underestimated-qatar-and-yemen/

9.7.2017 – Al Araby (A P)

Outrage as young Emirati arrested over 'sympathy' with Qatar

Ghanem Abdullah Mattar was arrested this week after posting a video

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/blog/2017/7/9/outrage-as-young-emirati-arrested-over-sympathy-with-qatar?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=sf

9.7.2017 – Al Araby (* A P)

Qatari attorney general says Doha to sue blockading countries

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/7/9/qatari-attorney-general-says-doha-to-sue-blockading-countries

8.7.2017 – Alahed News (* A P)

The Gulf Crisis and the 13-Point Wish List

https://english.alahednews.com.lb/essaydetails.php?eid=39154&cid=269#.WWGtYYjyi00

5.7.2017 – Middle East Eye (* A P)

The Qatar crisis: Welcome to the liquid Middle East

It may appear that the Gulf rift has sparked a new regional order as countries have lined up with or against Qatar. But don't be surprised if today's alliances shift just as quickly

http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/liquid-middle-east-1523192101

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

5.6.2017 – Unimondo (* A K P)

Il vero record di Renzi: sestuplicato l’export di armamenti

Nei 1024 giorni di permanenza a Palazzo Chigi, Matteo Renzi ha raggiunto un primato storico di cui però, stranamente, non parla: ha sestuplicato le autorizzazioni per esportazioni di armamenti. Dal giorno del giuramento (22 febbraio 2014) alla consegna del campanellino al successore (12 dicembre 2016), l’esecutivo Renzi ha infatti portato le licenze per esportazioni di sistemi militari da poco più di 2,1 miliardi ad oltre 14,6 miliardi di euro: l’incremento è del 581% che significa, in parole semplici, che l’ammontare è appunto più che sestuplicato

Rispondendo alla suddetta interrogazione, Gentiloni ha però dovuto riconoscere le “la ditta RWM Italia, facente parte di un gruppo tedesco, ha esportato in Arabia Saudita in forza di licenze rilasciate in base alla normativa vigente”. Un’assunzione, seppur indiretta, di responsabilità da parte del ministro. Il quale, nonostante i vari organismi delle Nazioni Unite e lo stesso Ban Ki-moon abbiano a più riprese condannato i bombardamenti della coalizione saudita sulle aree abitate da civili in Yemen (sono più di 10mila i morti tra i civili), ha continuato ad autorizzare le forniture belliche a Riad. E non vi è notizia che le abbia sospese, nemmeno dopo che uno specifico rapporto trasmesso al Consiglio di Sicurezza dell’Onu non solo ha dimostrato l’utilizzo anche delle bombe della RWM Italia sulle aree civili in Yemen, ma ha affermato che questi bombardamenti “may amount to war crimes” (“possono costituire crimini di guerra”).

Nella Relazione inviata al Parlamento spiccano le autorizzazioni all’Arabia Saudita per un valore complessivo di oltre 427 milioni di euro. Tra queste figurano “bombe, razzi, esplosivi e apparecchi per la direzione del tiro” e altro materiale bellico. La relazione non indica, invece, il paese destinatario delle autorizzazioni rilasciate alle aziende, ma l’incrocio dei dati forniti nelle varie tabelle ministeriali, permette di affermare che una licenza da 411 milioni di euro alla RWM Italia è destinata proprio all’Arabia Saudita: si tratta, nello specifico, dell’autorizzazione all’esportazione di 19.675 bombe Mk 82, Mk 83 e Mk 84. Una conferma in questo senso è contenuta nella Relazione Finanziaria della Rheinmetall (l’azienda tedesca di cui fa parte RWM Italia) che per l’anno 2016 segnala un ordine “molto significativo” di “munizioni” per 411 milioni di euro da un “cliente della regione MENA” (Medio-Oriente e Nord Africa) – di Giorgio Beretta

http://www.unimondo.org/Notizie/Il-vero-record-di-Renzi-sestuplicato-l-export-di-armamenti-166511

cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees

8.7.2017 – UN High Commissioner for Refugees (A H)

Somalia: Refugees and Asylum-seekers Statistical Report with UNHCR - 30 June 2017

http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/refugees-and-asylum-seekers-statistical-report-unhcr-30-june-2017 and in full: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/58430

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

10.7.2017 – Xinhua (* A T)

Overnight U.S. drone strikes hit al-Qaida-held sites in Yemen

Overnight airstrikes launched by a U.S. drone hit a number of al-Qaida-held sites in Yemen’s turbulent southern province of Abyan, causing huge blasts, a military official told Xinhua Monday.

The military source based in Abyan confirmed that the unmanned U.S. plane struck al-Qaida-held sites in Sabar area of Abyan province late on Sunday night, causing huge explosions that rocked the area.

He said that suspected arms depots and a camp used for training new al-Qaida recruits were successfully pounded in the aerial bombardment.

Unknown number of al-Qaida gunmen were either killed or injured due to the missiles that directly hit their locations.

Residents in the area told Xinhua over phone that “several blasts were heard in the rugged areas used by al-Qaida militants in Abyan province.”

Elsewhere in Yemen’s southeastern part, a gathering of al-Qaida gunmen was struck by unmanned U.S. drone in Azzan town, former bastion of the terrorist group.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-07/10/c_136432455.htm

10.7.2017 – Critical Threats (* A P)

Yemen Security Brief

A U.S. airstrike struck an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula(AQAP) vehicle and killed an unnamed commander in Azzancity, Shabwah governorate on July 10, according to local sources. [2]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-july-10-2017

cp15 Propaganda

10.7.2017 – Saudi Press Agency (A P)

385 civilians killed and or injured by Houthi militias in Yemen in June, report

A report issued by the Yemeni Alliance to Monitor Human Rights Violations said today that 180 civilians were killed and 205 injured by the force of Houthis in Yemen last June.
The report added that June witnessed the occurrence of 917 human rights violations, including 236 abductions, 33 forcible missing, eight tortures, ten children military recruitment, out of them five in Zamar province, three in Amran and two in Al-Hodaida.

http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1646669

10.7.2017 – Saudi Press Agency (A P)

6825 permits issued for international relief organizations to run specific operations in Yemen

The Command of the Alliance in support of legitimacy in Yemen confirmed keenness to facilitate relief and humanitarian aid process being implemented by international relief and humanitarian organizations in Yemen according to international law, it was reported here today.

In a statement, the command said that the evacuation and humanitarian operations unit, an affiliate of the alliance, has since the launch of determination storm and restoration of hope issued as many as 7825 licenses, out of them 3214 air permits, 2467 sea permits and 1144 land permits.

The statement warned from the repercussions of Houthi militias obstructing the flow of those humanitarian operations, through abductions, theft and port attacks.

The alliance demanded the world community to coerce the coup in Sanaa to show respect to the human side of the issue to pave the way for achieving security and stability in the region.

http://sites.alriyadh.com/en/article/1160474/6825-permits-issued-for-international-relief-organizations-to-run-specific-operations-in-Yemen

My comment: “community to coerce the coup in Sanaa to show respect to the human side of the issue to pave the way for achieving security and stability in the region”: LOL.

10.7.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)

Yemeni Insurgents Carry out Mass Executions against Deserters

Insurgency militias in Yemen have carried out mass executions, killing several of their members on accusations of fleeing a losing battle against government forces, said army chief of staff Mohammed al-Maqdishi.

Maqdashi condemned the executions in the Mokhadara area in Sirwah and vowed to prosecute militias’ leaders for all their crimes against the Yemeni people.

Yemen’s Saba news agency reported Maqdishi as saying that Sirwah, west of Maarib, will soon be liberated and it will soon be within the government’s jurisdiction and control.

https://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/yemeni-insurgents-carry-mass-executions-deserters

My comment: Saudi-backed Hadi army army chief of staff.

10.7.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)

Houthis Confuse Social Fabric by Buying Off Tribes with People’s Money

Insurgents in Yemen plan to buy the loyalty of as many tribal sheikhs as possible, using the money of the people in which they have taken by force after transferring the revenues of the areas under their control to what they call the “war effort.”

Houthi and Saleh militias are working on fragmenting the national and social fabric and have prioritized changing the sheikhs and rebelling against them, especially in the outskirts of Sana’a, according to Yemeni sources.

Sources stressed that the coup militias will issue resolutions that convict these sheikhs of treason in order to get fighters to continue their coup against the legitimate authority.

The coup militia has earlier established the so-called “Tribal Cohesion Council” and appointed a loyal sheikh as its president, taking advantage of the policy of some countries that support terrorism.

Houthis have forced the tribal heads in Yemen to choose between two options, either being loyal to them or ousting the unqualified sheikh and appointing another one to fill his place.

https://english.aawsat.com/a-alghabiri/news-middle-east/houthis-confuse-social-fabric-buying-off-tribes-peoples-money

My comment: “taking advantage of the policy of some countries that support terrorism”: Which ones? Saudi Arabia??? – “plan to buy the loyalty of as many tribal sheikhs as possible”: that’s what Saudi Arabia is doing every day with it’s oil billions.

10.7.2017 – Al Sahwa (AK P)

Chief of General Staff Maj. Gen. Mohammed Ali al-Maqdashi on Saturday revealed that the Houthi-Saleh militias carried out mass murders against soldiers who defected their militias.

During a visit of some military units in Sirwah district of Marib governorate, al-Maqdashi vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable and punished.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-8361

Remark: Of “president” Hadi’s army.

9.7.2017 – Arab News (A P)

WHO chief thanks King Salman for anti-cholera funding

The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed his thanks and appreciation to King Salman for the Saudi Arabia’s donation of $66.7 million to combat cholera in Yemen.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1126621/saudi-arabia

My comment: We already got this. Now, the WHO thanks again to the state which up to now has payed ca. US$ 175 billion to bomb Yemen when it had payed US$ 66 million to fight against some of the consequences of it's own crimes.

And

Did you know that SA paid $65 million for that disgusting Trump spectacle?

https://twitter.com/DrGreenmantle/status/883766494324289537

8.7.2017 – Al Arabiya (A P)

Only Saudi Arabia can stop Iran from dominating region

The Iranian leadership does not hesitate to exploit everything for its own benefit. The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi that “the Americans are against the Shiite Popular Mobilization because they want Iraq to lose its core power.”

Iran wants everything that relates to Arab matters.

After striking Iraq and Syria, Iran felt that there is an opportunity. Hence, it waged a revolution against Saudi Arabia. The Arab region had almost become under the control of Iranian, Turkish and Israeli forces. Now, the main obstacle that Iran will face is not the US, but Saudi Arabia and Egypt. It is crucial for Arabs to affirm that they are the owners of the land and it is necessary for Saudi Arabia to carry on what it is already doing. With all due respect for all Arab countries, Saudi Arabia is the only country that can frighten Iran!

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2017/07/08/Only-Saudi-Arabia-can-stop-Iran-from-dominating-region.html .

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

11.7.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)

The Violations and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 10 July 2017 (full list):

https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/857831274367239/?type=3

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

10.7.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)

The Violations and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 9 July 2017 (full list):

https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/857568454393521/?type=3

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

8.7.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)

The Violations and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 8 July 2017 (full list):

https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/856759757807724/?type=3

10.7.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

US-Saudi aggression launches three raids on Sana'a

The US-Saudi aggression warplanes waged on Monday three air raids on Sanhan and Bani Bahlool district in Sana'a province.
A local official told Saba that the hostile warplanes destroyed a Police Security department in Raimah Humaid area. The raids also caused huge damage to citizens' houses.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468857.htm

10.7.2017 – Sanaa at daytime (A K)

It dosen't make a difference but I have to tell you what is going on? Again & again Saudi jets flying now over our heads in Sanaa.

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/884355267022004225

10.7.2017 – Critical Threats (A K)

Yemen Security Brief

Saudi-led coalition warplanes targeted al Houthi-Saleh positions in northern Yemen on July 9. Coalition warplanes struck al Houthi-Saleh forces on Jebel al Doud and Jebel Shada, western Sa’ada governorate, near the Yemeni-Saudi border. The strikes destroyed al Houthi-Saleh B-10 recoilless rifles and killed 27 fighters. Coalition warplanes also launched four strikes in al Ghayl district, western al Jawf governorate, destroying an al Houthi-Saleh weapons store.[7]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-july-10-2017

Remark: From Pro-Saudi / Pro-Hadi sources.

10.7.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi warplanes target home in Baqim

US-backed Saudi aggression warplanes destroyed a citizen's home in Baqim district of Saada province overnight, a security official told Saba on Monday.
The strikes flattened the home to the ground and badly damaged the nearby houses.
The Saudi aggression fighter jets also waged other raids on al-Boka area in Kattaf district, causing huge damage to the citizens' properties.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468801.htm

10.7.2017 – Tasnim News (A K PH)

Saudi Jets Attack Civilian Targets in Yemen’s Marib

Saudi warplanes continued their relentless military aggression against Yemen in the central province of Marib, leaving dozens of the Arab country’s civilians dead and injured.

On Sunday, Saudi jets bombed residential areas in the areas of al-Makhdra and al-Rabiah in Sirwah district, Saba news agency reported.

A large group of residents, including women and children, were killed during the raids.

https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2017/07/10/1460676/saudi-jets-attack-civilian-targets-in-yemen-s-marib

My comment: Saba does not mention any killed victims:

9.7.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi jets raids Serwah

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468701.htm

9.7.2017 – MbKS15 (A K)

#Kuwaiti Air Force F/A-18C Hornets operating at King Khalid AFB, Khamis Mushait (photos)

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/883962903312961536

Remark: Operating in Saudi Arabia, bombing Yemen.

9.7.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

U.S.-Saudi warplanes launch 6 raids on Amran

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468696.htm

9.7.2017 – Sanaa at daytime (A K)

Hello world, Intense Saudi jets flying now over the sky of Sana'a. Same news being reported since March 2015 as nothing changes.

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/884075588281147396

8.7.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi Aggression continues criminal air strikes on provinces of the Republic

raid on the directorate of Mouza east of al-Mokha in Taiz province.
He also said the air aggression launched six strikes on the districts of Harad and Medi in the province of Hajjah and another raid on the directorate of Serwah in the province of Marib.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468626.htm

8.7.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi aggression jets strike Jawf

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468607.htm

8.7.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

Saudi jets wage raids on poultry farm in Hodeidah

Saudi aggression fighter jets waged on Friday three air raids on Tahitia district of Hodeidah province, an official told Saba.
The raids targeted a poultry farm in al-Jbla area, destroying it completely.
Meanwhile, the enemy warplanes also fired sound bombs north of the district.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468618.htm

Remark: Had been reported by other media earlier already.

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

10.7.2017 – Suhf Net (A K PS)

The militia of the coup escalates its shelling of the villages of Mares with Katyusha rockets

Saleh and Houthi militias stepped up their indiscriminate bombardment of Palestinian villages and farms with heavy weapons in the Maris district of Qataba district, north of Dalea province.

According to sources in the Popular Resistance in Maris, the militias stationed in the city of Dimit and Jabal Nasa, on Monday, fired Katyusha rockets in the village of Hjlan in Mars, and the bombing caused the destruction of a number of houses and farms of citizens and left panic among the people, especially women and children.

It added that the militias have stepped up their indiscriminate shelling of Katyusha rockets and artillery recently on the villages of Rahba, Sun, Zila, Hjlan and neighboring villages.

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/201358 and in translation https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F201358&edit-text=

10.7.2017 – Suhf Net (A K PS)

Engineering teams dismantle naval mines planted by the militia near the port of Midi

Arab coalition forces found marine mines planted by the coup militia near the port of Midi inHajjah province, military sources said.

According to the sources, the engineering teams in the national army and Arab coalition forces have dismantled during the past few days hundreds of naval mines planted by the coup militia near the coast of Midi, some of which claimed the lives of dozens of citizens, including fishermen.

https://www.suhf.net/yemen/201434 and in translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suhf.net%2Fyemen%2F201434&edit-text=

10.7.2017 – Press TV Iran (B K PH)

Film: Saudi army’s defense line with Yemen completely collapsed: Analyst

A political analyst says Saudi Arabia’s defense line in its southern borders with Yemen has “completely” collapsed, two years after Riyadh launched the deadly war against its impoverished neighbor.

In a Monday interview with Press TV, Yemeni political activist and commentator Hussein al-Bukhaiti described the retaliatory attacks by the Yemeni army against the Saudi forces as “very effective” and noted, “The main weakness of the Saudi-led coalition is its southern border … in the last several months the Yemeni [army] backed by [the] Ansarullah movement has used several tactics to attack behind the enemy line.”

“All these have resulted in cutting most of Saudi army [’s] supply line in the south. The Saudi army [’s] defense line in that area has completely collapsed,” the analyst pointed out.

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/07/10/528033/Yemen-Saudi-arabia-war

10.7.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A K PS)

Saudi Civilian Injured by Yemeni Militant Projectile

A Saudi civilian was injured and two vehicles were completely damaged when a number of projectiles fired from inside Yemen hit the southwestern Saudi province, Arda.

https://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/saudi-civilian-injured-yemeni-militant-projectile

10.7.2017 – Al Sahwa (A K PS)

Houthi-Saleh militias kill female child in Taiz

The Houthi Saleh militias on Saturday sniped to death a 15-year female child, Saima al-Sufi in Taiz.

Last week, the militias sniped to death a 18 year girl, Entisar Shurki and wounded two other women; Lool Lutf and Bardees Abdullah.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-8362

9.7.2017 – Xinhua (* A K)

Saudi-led warships shell Houthi positions in Yemen

Warships of the Saudi-led Arab coalition launched an intensified bombing on a number of positions held by fighters of the Shiite Houthi group in war-torn Yemeni province of Taiz on Sunday, a military official told Xinhua.

According to the military source, "the Saudi-led warships based near the Mocha seaport bombed several positions held by Houthi fighters in Hamli and Khaled Bin-Walid military bases in the western part of Taiz province."

Arms depots and military vehicles belonging to the Houthi militias were completely destroyed in the Saudi-led bombing in Taiz's western area, the source said.

Medical sources in the area confirmed to Xinhua that the shelling that targeted the Houthi-controlled sites resulted in killing 15 Houthi gunmen and injuring more than 20 others.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-07/09/c_136430202.htm = https://in.news.yahoo.com/saudi-led-warships-shell-houthi-positions-yemen-152005868.html

My comment: That’s the Saudi way to “secure” international shipment in the Bab a-Mandab street: shelling the coastline by warships.

8.7.2017 – Yemen Conflict Map (A K)

Map: Yemen Update map of Sarwah Front - Marib Governorate

https://twitter.com/YemConfMaps/status/883785708833570820

8.7.2017 – Mohammed Al-Qadhi (* B K)

Pictures for serious damage of #Taiz #radio building, studio & previous archive, dating back to 50 years. (photos)

https://twitter.com/mohammedalqadhi/status/883733790673252354

On the rubble of #Taiz #radio building which was along with its previous archive damaged by the #war. (photos)

https://twitter.com/mohammedalqadhi/status/883732208250433540

8.7.2017 – AlMasirah TV ( K PH)

Al-Masirah channel in the advanced positions of the heroes in the borderline port

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lr2-4XtEa8

8.7.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)

The Mercenaries' artillery, meanwhile, targeted citizens' houses and farms in the districts, Jawf province

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468607.htm

Pro-Houthi / Pro Saleh reports:

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468859.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468860.htm

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/07/10/527998/Yemeni-forces-mountain-Jawf

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468788.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468790.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468804.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468717.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468716.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468694.htm

http://newnewss.net/?p=7584

http://newnewss.net/?p=7570

http://newnewss.net/?p=7569

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468615.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468625.htm

https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2017/07/08/1459003/several-saudi-forces-killed-in-yemeni-army-s-attacks-on-najran and http://www.sabanews.net/en/news468611.htm

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960417001135

Pro Saudi / Pro Hadi reports:

https://english.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/yemen-two-pro-houthi-saleh-military-commanders-killed-jouf-taiz

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

10.7.2017 – Middle east Eye (* B P)

Arab monarchies and the illusion of stability

The Arab Spring barely touched the region's monarchies. But as the Qatari crisis shows, for the region's kings, the era of stability and exceptionalism is coming to an end – by Galip Dalay

http://www.middleeasteye.net/essays/arab-monarchies-and-illusion-stability-7545029

7.2017 – Pinterest

145 beautiful Yemen photos
https://www.pinterest.de/emaradu1/yemen/?lp=true

9.7.2017 – Living in Yemen on the edge

#Yemen is under siege, bombed 24/7, strangled by famine and cholera. Yemen has been destroyed. But not the resilience and creativity of a student who needed the car to continue his studies. Lacking the amount for a new vehicle, he did the only thing he could: he made one himself.
Have a look:

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1429031517149874 referring to film: https://twitter.com/Ahmed5RR/status/853973709354348544

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-320-yemen-war-mosaic-320

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-320 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-320:

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

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:

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

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

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

Dietrich Klose

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

Dietrich Klose

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