Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
Zuerst: Verschleppte der Huthis / At first: Houthi detainees
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Cholera
cp2a Allgemein: Die Eskalation der Krise / General: The escalation of crisis
cp2b Allgemein: Sonstiges / General: Other
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO und Friedensverhansdlungen / UN and peace talks
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
cp12b Libanon / Lebanon
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Söldner / Mercenaries
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp16a Luftangriff mit 60 Toten / Air raid killing 60
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
Zuerst: Verschleppte der Huthis / At first: Houthi detainees
(** A P)
Houthi militias break detainee into two halves under torture
Last Saturday peaceful oppositionist Ahmed al-Wahashi, one of their detainees, died after they tortured him too brutally and broke him from his backbone into two halves.
Informed sources told Al-Asima news website that he was incarcerated in Habrah notorious jail.
"The supervisors of the jail Hani Asoreihi and Abdukhaleq al-Matari had been torturing him for days" before they broke him into two halves.
The mothers of the prisoners in the Houthi-Saleh militias' jails, organized in the self-proclaimed Abductees' Mothers Association, said that al-Wahashi's death is the latest of so many activists who have been killed under torture of the radical militias. The militias have killed 70 activists under torture over the past two years, Association sources told the website.
Torture techniques the militias use include electric shocks, sleep deprivation, mock execution, hanging upside down by feet until consciousness is lost and s
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-12628
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
Keep in mind what Wahabism hates most: diversity
Luftangriff in Hajjah tötet 60, siehe cp16a
Air raid at Hajjah killing 60, look at cp16a
(** A H P)
Vereinte Nationen warnen vor massiver Hungersnot
Mehrere Millionen Menschen könnten betroffen sein, warnt die UN: Die Blockade der Saudi-Arabien geführten Militärkoalition müsse umgehend aufgehoben werden.
Zuvor hatte der Sicherheitsrat auf Antrag Schwedens hinter verschlossenen Türen über die Lage im Jemen beraten. Das Gremium brachte anschließend seine "Besorgnis" über die "katastrophale humanitäre Lage im Jemen" zum Ausdruck.
Lowcock forderte, reguläre Flüge der Vereinten Nationen und ihrer Partnerorganisationen in die Städte Aden und Sanaa müssten sofort wieder zugelassen werden. Auch an den Häfen müsse der Zugang wieder ermöglicht werden, um Lebensmittel, Benzin und Medikamente ins Land zu transportieren.
http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2017-11/jemen-un-warnt-vor-massiver-hungersnot
(** A H P)
In Jemen bahnt sich eine Hungersnot mit Millionen Opfern an
UN-Nothilfekoordinator Mark Lowcock warnte vor einer riesigen Hungersnot im Jemen „mit Millionen Opfern“. Wenn die Militärkoalition unter Saudi-Arabiens Führung ihre Blockade nicht beende und Hilfslieferungen ermögliche, „wird es die größte Hungersnot werden, die die Welt seit Jahrzehnten erlebt hat“, sagte Lowcock vor Journalisten, nachdem er vor dem UN-Sicherheitsrat gesprochen hatte.
(** A H P)
Jemen: Saudische Blockade sperrt auch humanitäre Hilfe aus
Hilfsorganisationen warnen vor katastrophalen Konsequenzen. 7 Millionen Bewohner des Landes sind von den Hilfslieferungen vollkommen abhängig
Die Hilfslieferungen in den Jemen sind vorläufig eingestellt. Was viele befürchtet hatten, nachdem Saudi-Arabien infolge des Raketenangriffs auf den Flughafen in Riad die Zugänge in das Land noch stärker abriegeln ließ, ist nun bittere Wahrheit.
Humanitäre Operationen sind blockiert, meldet OCHA (Amt für die Koordinierung humanitärer Angelegenheiten, der UN zugehörig), nachdem die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Koalition die Schließung der See- und Flughäfen angeordnet hatte. Alle Schiffe mit Handelsgütern sollten die Häfen in al-Hudaida und Saleef verlassen. Auch Flüge im humanitären Dienst seien ausgesetzt.
Kommentar: Was wird jetzt wohl vom sogenannten Wertewesten für Reaktionen kommen? Werden SA Sanktionen angedroht, wird die Hungerblockade gewaltsam aufgehoben, äußert sich auch der französische Außenminister und prangert den Krieg gegen Zivilisten an und warnt er schon mal SA vor ernsthaften Konsequenzen? Was kommt von den USA werden auch Sie sich SA zur Brust nehmen und auf die Einhaltung der Menschenrechte und den Schutz der Millionen von Zivilisten im Jemen bestehen und ernsthafte Konsequenzen androhen?
Und zum Schluss, was macht Madam Merkel,
(** A H P)
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock – remarks at stakeout on developments in Yemen – 8 November 2017
As you know, a number of measures have been introduced recently by the coalition, effectively closing air, sea and land access to Yemen.
I have told the Council that unless those measures are lifted and five particular steps that I am going to run through are taken, there will be famine in Yemen.
It will not be like the famine that we saw in South Sudan earlier in the year where tens of thousands of people were affected. It will not be like the famine which cost 250,000 people their lives in Somalia in 2011. It will be the largest famine the world has seen for many decades, with millions of victims.
So what I said to the Council was that in addition to the measures I called for in Sana’a on the 28th of October, in Riyadh on the 29th of October and that I set out again for member states on Monday. I want now to see five additional measures:
- Firstly, an immediate resumption of the regular UN and other humanitarian partners’ air services to Sana’a and Aden.
- Secondly, a clear and immediate assurance that there will be no further disruption to these air services.
- Thirdly, immediate agreement to the prepositioning of the WFP – the World Food Programme – vessel in the water off Aden, and assurances that there will be no further disruption to the functions that it supports.
- Fourth, an immediate resumption of humanitarian and commercial access to all the seaports of Yemen – especially for food, fuel medicines and other essential supplies.
- And fifth
(** A H P)
U.N. warns if no Yemen aid access, world will see largest famine in decades
United Nations aid chief Mark Lowcock warned on Wednesday that if a Saudi-led military coalition did not allow humanitarian aid access to Yemen then it would cause “the largest famine the world has seen for many decades with millions of victims.”
Lowcock, who visited Yemen late last month, briefed the U.N. Security Council behind closed doors at the request of Sweden.
“I have told the council that unless those measures are lifted ... there will be a famine in Yemen,” he told reporters. “It will be the largest famine the world has seen for many decades with millions of victims.”
Lowcock said the U.N.’s World Food Programme was feeding seven million people a month in Yemen. “What we need is a winding down of the blockade ... so that we can save the lives of those people,” he said.
The U.N. Security Council expressed concern about the humanitarian situation, Italian U.N. Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi, council president for November, said after Lowcock’s briefing.
“The members of the Security Council emphasized ... the importance of keeping all Yemen’s ports and airports functioning, including Hodeidah port, as a critical lifeline for humanitarian support and other essential supplies,” Cardi said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-saudi-un/u-n-warns-if-no-yemen-aid-access-world-will-see-largest-famine-in-decades-idUSKBN1D839T and by AFP http://www.france24.com/en/20171109-un-yemen-headed-towards-mass-famine-amid-saudi-blockade = http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5063945/UN-council-meets-Yemen-coalition-blocks-aid.html
My comment: “Expressed concern”: The standard phrase for doing nothing.
(** A K P)
Yemen Faces Largest Famine in Decades Because of Saudi Blockade
The scale and severity of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis have made it the worst in the world for years, but the crisis has not generated the outrage or a commensurate international response in all that time. Perhaps the huge numbers of potential victims of mass starvation will finally shock the world into paying attention to the effects of a war that has been mostly ignored. If not, there will be no excuse that the outside world didn’t know what was happening.
The coalition’s closure of all ports in a cruel and illegal act of collective punishment is already making that crisis much worse, and if it is not ended immediately it will kill a huge number of innocent Yemenis – by Daniel Larison
(** A P)
The Absurd, Failed War on Yemen
In addition to the cruelty of the Saudi-led coalition’s collective punishment of Yemen, we also have more evidence of the absurdity of the coalition war effort:
Saudi Arabia has barred Yemen’s president, along with his sons, ministers and military officials, from returning home for months
Hostility between the UAE and Hadi’s government has been out in the open for many months. Hadi has virtually no support inside Yemen thanks in large part to his backing of the atrocious coalition bombing campaign and blockade, and the UAE has aligned itself with local political actors in the south that have real influence. Nonetheless, restoring Hadi to power has been the very slender reed on which the coalition has based its intervention for the last two and a half years. Insisting that Hadi leads the “legitimate” government was the fig leaf the coalition was hiding behind. By barring Hadi and his officials from going back to their own country while claiming to be fighting on behalf of his restoration, the coalition has confirmed publicly that they were simply using the “legitimate” president as a puppet and now no longer find him useful. The Saudi-led intervention has been indefensible all along, and now there is no pretense that it is anything other than a war of aggression against a weaker neighbor – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-absurd-failed-war-on-yemen/
(** B H P)
Starving Yemen to Death
The Saudi-led blockade of Yemen has been starving the population of essential goods for years, but the complete shutdown of all ports threatens to cause massive loss of life if it is not reversed immediately.
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis was already the worst in the world, and the coalition’s decision to close all ports will make it far worse in a short period of time. The Saudis and their allies have been allowed and enabled by their Western patrons to inflict massive suffering on the civilian population of Yemen, and the patrons, including the U.S., rationalize the horrible things being done to Yemen by pretending that it has something to do with opposing Iran. The coalition’s collective punishment of Yemen’s civilian population is a gross violation of international law and the despicable act of a gang of despotic governments. It is to our government’s last discredit that it continues to support this war even now.
The coalition governments are now tightening their grip on a country that they have already been strangling for years, and still the U.S., Britain, and others have nothing to say about it – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/starving-yemen-to-death-3/
(** B H K)
Yemen: The invisible war
In Haidan no stone was without the scar of war. A town along the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border, Haidan’s people had started living in caves, cracks in the mountain their only refuge. While death stalked people, Nagda, the sole midwife in Haidan, went about bringing new life. Inside caves, in darkness, she delivered babies. Her kitchen knife cut umbilical cords. The war couldn’t stop her.
“Life doesn’t wait for anybody,” she would tell her husband.
“Nor does death,” he would argue.
Nagda travelled across three districts in Saada to help women. As the attacks there intensified, hospitals and clinics became targets. Each house in each village had its tale of tragedy. She knew of farmers blown to bits by cluster bombs when they took their sheep to graze. An airstrike in Saada had killed 47 people of whom 26 were children.
It was as though the Saudi-led coalition forces wanted to cleanse the rebel heartland of its people. Nagda got pregnant but continued to work. Often people paid her in food but most paid her with duas. When she went into labour, her husband ran from house to house for help. He didn’t get any. Nagda died giving birth.
Her husband named their daughter Eman, because that’s all he was left with: Faith.
http://series.fountainink.in/yemen-the-invisible-war/
Comment: A comprehensive, beautiful, haunting, painful read with poetic lines and all the sorrow of the war
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1548386345214390
(** A H P)
Kriegsgeschrei aus Riad
Die Saudis kündigen Militärschläge gegen Iran »zum passenden Zeitpunkt und in geeigneter Weise« an
In einer Erklärung, die das »Kommando der Koalition zur Wiederherstellung der Rechtsstaatlichkeit im Jemen« am Montag veröffentlichte, wird Iran auch für den Raketenzwischenfall vom Sonnabend verantwortlich gemacht. »Die Huthis« stünden »unter iranischem Kommando«; die Rakete sei vom Iran aus »eingeschmuggelt« worden. Es handele sich um »einen eklatanten Akt militärischer Aggression seitens des iranischen Regimes«, der möglicherweise sogar als »Kriegsakt gegen das Königreich Saudi-Arabien« zu betrachten sei. Dieses behalte sich »sein Recht« vor, »dem Iran darauf zum passenden Zeitpunkt und in geeigneter Weise zu antworten«.
Indessen deuten die Anzeichen darauf hin, dass die von Ansarollah abgefeuerte Rakete tatsächlich aus eigener Produktion stammt, wie die Organisation behauptet.
In der Erklärung des »Kommandos der Koalition« wird neben den Drohungen gegen Iran angekündigt, die Blockade gegen den Jemen noch strikter durchzusetzen.
https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/321301.kriegsgeschrei-aus-riad.html
(** A B K P)
The Israeli-Saudi alliance beating the drums of war
Netanyahu's new alliance with Saudi Arabia's crown prince might provide the military punch he needs to forge a successful series of attacks on regional enemies
After losing in Yemen and Syria, bin Salman appears willing to try yet a third time, turning Lebanon into a political football to even scores with foreign enemies. Unfortunately Hariri, like his father before him, is being squeezed to within an inch of his life. This time, by the Saudis instead of the Syrians.
The Saudi crown prince appears eager to ratchet up the conflict with Iran.
This indicates that Israel and Saudi Arabia are developing the sort of "no-daylight" relationshipthat Israeli leaders used to tout with their American counterparts. Together with their combined military might and oil wealth, these two countries could pose a highly combustible commodity.
Netanyahu desperately needs a distraction. A war against Lebanon is just the ticket. It would do wonders to unite the country just long enough to see the charges evaporate into thin air.
But there would be a major difference in this coming war: Saudi Arabia will join this fight specifically to give Iran a black eye. So attacking Lebanon will be only part of its agenda while attacking Iran directly will be the real Saudi goal.
With Israel joining the fight, the two states could mount a regional war with attacks launched against targets in Lebanon, Syria, Iran; sparking possibly counter-attacks against Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Gulf states.
bin Salman appears to have learned a critical political lesson from his Israeli ally: you need a foreign enemy in order to instil fear within your domestic constituency. You must build that enemy into a lurking, ominous force for evil in the universe.
That's one of the reasons bin Salman is intervening in the Yemen civil war. Despite a Saudi massacre inducing mass starvation and epidemic, bin Salman has been able to invoke Muslim schisms in order to paint Iran as "the aggressor" and threat to Saudi interests.
More recently, he declared his neighbours in Qatar to be persona non grata for not siding fulsomely enough with the Saudis against Iran. With bin Salman, you are either with him or against him. There is no middle ground.
In Lebanon, his strategy seems to be to provoke a political and financial crisis. Saudi Arabia provides a huge level of financial and commercial support to Lebanon.
Bin Salman seems to believe that if he withdraws such support, it will force the Lebanese to rein in Hezbollah. Though it's not clear how the Lebanese are supposed to restrain a political movement that is one of the largest and most popular in the country.
Israel is the elephant in the room here. It borders Lebanon and has fought two major wars there, along with a 20-year failed occupation of the south.
Finally, the US which had played a decisive role in preventing an Israeli attack on Iran for years, is now led by a president who's quite enamoured both of Israel and Saudi Arabia – by Richard Silverstein
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/saudi-arabia-enlists-israel-drumbeat-war-768675850 and on the same subject http://theduran.com/leaked-cable-confirms-israel-and-saudi-arabia-coordination-to-start-a-middle-east-war/
(** A K P)
Saudi Prince: No Really, Iran Committed “Direct Aggression” Against Us
Attention: We now interrupt our purge in progress for a regional sectarian war. Saudi Arabia’s new crown prince today accused Iran of “direct military aggression,” in a conversation with British foreign minister Boris Johnson and related by the royal family to the press. Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Johnson that Saudi Arabia might consider the missile attack from Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen “an act of war,” a move that might ignite a regional shooting war in Asia Minor:
Nor is that the only hint that the prince might be looking at a wide war to clear the decks in the Middle East. The Washington Post notes that Riyadh appears to have engineered a political crisis in Lebanon to challenge Iran there, too:
If so, we are playing with fire, quite literally if Iran’s close to a nuclear weapon. The Sunni-Shi’ite and Arab-Persian rivalries go back more than a millennium and have enough antipathy to create a massive conflict that could reshape and/or destroy the Middle East
https://hotair.com/archives/2017/11/07/saudi-prince-no-really-iran-committed-direct-aggression-us/
(** A K P)
Iran behind Yemen missile strike on Riyadh? Unlikely
The launch of a single missile portends an escalation of the Saudi-Iranian proxy war in Yemen and perhaps the region
Blaming Iran is linked to the tumultuous weekend that unfolded in Saudi politics, including a purge of prominent figures, as well as the death of a prince in a helicopter crash near the Asir region close to the Saudi-Yemeni border. Riyadh could have just blamed the Houthis, but blaming Iran, the boogeyman in the kingdom's discourse, would have even more resonance with a domestic Saudi audience.
However, Iran had no need to use Yemen to signal its ability to use missiles to strike Riyadh as it has already demonstrated the power of its own missile arsenal earlier in June. The Scud missile attack this weekend was most likely a Houthi decision to retaliate for a Saudi attack on a market earlier this month in Saada, the bastion of Houthi support.
The Houthi Scud attack was a tool of a desperate power facing a stronger one, as well as a mean of rallying their followers.
Rather, the rationale behind the Houthi missile strike bears similarities to Saddam Hussein's use of Scud missiles to attack both Saudi Arabia and Israel in 1991. The Scud in 1991 was a weapon of a desperate power facing a superior military foe bombarding Iraq from the air. The Houthi missile attack can be seen in the same light.
These missile strikes had no military role in terms of destroying a military target. They serve domestic purposes, as a mean of rallying the nation, demonstrating to the Iraqi or pro-Houthi Yemeni population that the leadership is avenging the bombarded populace.
Saudi sabre-rattling against the Houthis, coinciding with the purge of top Saudi personalities, portends another international crisis, whether it be Riyadh's further escalating the conflict with its southern neighbour, or opening a new front in Lebanon.
(** A H P)
Nach Raketenstart: Arabische Koalition schließt alle Häfen im Jemen
Das Kommando der arabischen Koalition im Jemen hat beschlossen, nach dem Raketenstart aus Jemen in Richtung der Hauptstadt Riad alle Häfen im Land zu schließen. Das meldet die saudische Agentur SPA unter Berufung auf eine Pressemitteilung der Koalition.
„Das Kommando der Koalition hat beschlossen, vorübergehend alle Boden-, Flug- und Seehäfen im Jemen zu schließen. Diese Maßnahmen werden mit Rücksicht auf die Notwendigkeit getroffen, die Ein- und Ausreise der Hilfskonvois weiter zu gewährleisten“, heißt es in der Pressemitteilung.
https://de.sputniknews.com/politik/20171106318176383-koalition-jemen-haefen-schliessung/
(** A K P)
Statement by the Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen
Following on what the Coalition had previously announced regarding the ballistic missiles launched by the Iranian-controlled Houthi militias from within Yemeni territory that targeted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the most recent of which was the flagrant military aggression by the Iranian-controlled Houthi militias which targeted the city of Riyadh on November 4, 2017 (Corresponding to 15/2/1439 Hijri) using a ballistic missile with a range of more than 900 Km. And, after the thorough examination of the debris of these missiles, including the missile launched on July 22, 2017 (Corresponding to 28/10/1438 Hijri) by experts in military technology, has confirmed the role of Iran's regime in manufacturing these missiles and smuggling them to the Houthi militias in Yemen for the purpose of attacking the Kingdom, its people, and vital interests.
To address the vulnerabilities in the current inspection procedures that led to the continuation of the supply of ballistic missiles and military equipment to the Houthi militias which enabled them to continue to commit crimes against the Kingdom, the Yemeni people, and the peoples of countries in the region, which constitutes blatant violations to international humanitarian laws, the Coalition’s Command has decided to temporarily close all Yemeni ground, air, and sea ports. These measures will be implemented while taking into consideration the continuation of the entry and exit of humanitarian supplies and crews in accordance with the Coalition’s updated procedures.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/statement-by-the-command-of-the-coalition-to-restore-legitimacy-in-yemen-300549845.html = http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1684682
My comment: The stupidity of this whole statement is to be seen most clearly in calling this missile attack a “the flagrant military aggression”, while Saudi Arabia is bombing and destrying Yemen for 2 ½ years now.
(** A H P)
Saudi-led forces close air, sea and land access to Yemen
The Saudi-led military coalition said on Monday it would close all air, land and sea ports to Yemen to stem the flow of arms to Houthi rebels from Iran.
The move, which follows the interception of a missile fired toward Riyadh on Saturday, is likely to worsen a humanitarian crisis in Yemen that has pushed some seven million to the brink of famine and left more than half a million infected with cholera, according to the United Nations.
The United Nations and international aid organizations have repeatedly criticized the coalition for blocking aid access, especially to north Yemen
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN1D60I8-OCATP
Comment: About 30% increase in gas and cooking gas prices in Sanaa since KSA's decision to close air, land, and sea entries to #Yemen. Houthis r too rich to be impacted by the price increase & their blackmarket lords will make $$$$ more bcz of siege. Only ordinary Yemenis will suffer more
https://twitter.com/Ndawsari/status/927656541356019713
Comment: Meanwhile UN Experts on #Yemen found no evidence of large scale weapons transfers from Iran, so really just a move to punish the population.
https://twitter.com/KateKizer/status/927584908826107905
Comment: This announcement makes clear that sending US security assistance to #Saudi violates the US Foreign Assistance Act.
https://twitter.com/KateKizer/status/927565590889484294
(** A H P)
Saudi-led coalition to close all Yemen land crossings, sea & air ports after missile targeted Riyadh
The Saudi-led military coalition announced Monday that it is temporarily closing all of Yemen's land border crossings, sea ports and airports in response to a ballistic missile that targeted Riyadh on Saturday.
According to the coalition's statement, cited by AP, the ban is temporary and will "take into account" humanitarian efforts in Yemen. The coalition blames Iran for supplying the missile to the Houthis, who say it was domestically maid. Iran has stated it is supporting the Houthis, but has denied shipping weapons to them.
https://www.rt.com/news/408863-saudi-yemen-ports-close/
My comment: The Saudis already want to starve out northern Yemen by a blockade. It seems they want to intensify this now.
(** A H P)
Yemen flights canceled after coalition shuts all ports
Yemen's national airline said Monday it has canceled all flights to the country's only two functioning airports after the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi rebels announced the closure of all land, air and sea ports.
The tightening of an embargo that has been in place since 2015 came after a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis at an international airport on the outskirts of the Saudi capital was intercepted. The Houthis have fired a number of missiles across the border in recent years, but Saturday's strike appeared to be the deepest yet within Saudi territory.
The closures could further limit access for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Arab world's poorest country.
It's not yet clear whether any supplies will be allowed to enter via land crossings with Saudi Arabia and Oman.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/business/article182971416.html
(** A H P)
Yemen cancels all flights due to Saudi blockade of impoverished country
All flights to and from the war-torn Yemen have been canceled after the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition, which has been pounding the impoverished country for over two and a half years, announced the closure of all land, air and sea ports in Yemen.
Yemenia, the flag carrier airline of Yemen, announced the decision on Monday, saying the Saudi-led coalition had denied permission to fly out of the remaining two functional airports of the country, located in the cities of Aden, in the southwestern province of Aden and Say'un, in the central province of Hadhramaut.
Both cities are situated in areas that are under the control of coalition allies, which are also loyal to Yemen’s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi
(** A H P)
UN Flights on Hold Behind Yemeni Borders Amid Missile Launch
The Saudi-led coalition has imposed a blockade on all transport connection of the country. In this case, no inspection procedures from abroad or carried out by the international bodies can be conducted within its' borders.
The UN has not received a permission to operate flights in Yemen because the Saudi-led military coalition had shut down the country’s borders earlier today, UN Secretary-General’s deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said on Monday.
https://sputniknews.com/world/201711061058863879-un-yemen-saudi-arabia/
and by Saudi media:
(* A P)
Saudi-led Coalition closing land, sea and air ports in Yemen to stop Iranian arms smuggling
The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's UN-recognized government on Sunday said it was temporarily closing all land, sea and air ports in Yemen to stop Iranian weapons from reaching Shiite Houthi insurgents.
A press statement by the Coalition Command said the decision was made after experts ascertained that the ballistic missiles being fired by Houthis from Yemen toward Saudi Arabia, including the one intercepted over Riyadh on Saturday night, were manufactured in Iran.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1189056/saudi-arabia and by Emirati media: http://www.thenational.scot/news/15644252.Saudi_led_coalition_embargoes_all_Yemen_air_and_land_ports/
(** A H P)
UN Should Consider Sanctions for Yemen Aid Obstruction
Saudi-Led Coalition’s ‘Temporary’ Blockade Puts Millions at Risk
Today, the United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen. Their discussion comes days after the Saudi-led coalition announced it would “temporarily” close all sea, land, and air entry into the country.
The Saudis claim that humanitarian aid will still be allowed into Yemen “in accordance with the Coalition’s updated procedures.” But UN humanitarian flights were put on hold on Monday. UN boats are not allowed to sail. All commercial flights remain grounded.
The truth is that the coalition’s existing restrictions on imports have already left Yemenis without the humanitarian assistance they desperately need. The coalition has delayed and diverted fuel tankers, closed a critical port, shut down the country’s main airport for more than a year, blocked rights groups from entering the country, and repeatedly interfered with UN flights carrying humanitarian workers. Adding more restrictive “updated procedures” just adds insult to injury.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/08/un-should-consider-sanctions-yemen-aid-obstruction
(** A H P)
The Saudis’ Cruel Collective Punishment of Yemen
The coalition blockade was already starving the population and impeding the delivery of aid before now. Completely closing all of Yemen’s ports will magnify the country’s humanitarian crisis, which was already the worst in the world. The Saudi-led coalition’s reaction is excessive and a blatant violation of international law. It is a cruel example of collective punishment in response to a lone missile attack. Starvation and preventable disease will claim the lives of many innocent Yemeni civilians because of the coalition’s response.
U.S. law requires that our government halt military assistance to governments that prevent the delivery of U.S.-funded humanitarian aid.
The missile attack and the Saudi response to it illustrate very well the stupidity of the war on Yemen. Saudi territory was not under attack when the intervention began two and a half years ago, and their capital certainly wasn’t threatened. After thirty months of relentlessly and indiscriminately bombing Yemen’s cities and towns, Riyadh itself is now coming under attack – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-saudis-cruel-collective-punishment-of-yemen/
(** A H P)
‘Catastrophic’ humanitarian blockade in Yemen putting millions at risk, UN warns
A blockade on basic supplies to war-ravaged Yemen is threatening millions of people and should be lifted immediately, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
The call follows a reported decision on Saturday by Saudi Arabia, which is leading the coalition fighting Houthi separatists in the country, to close air and sea ports in Yemen.
The three-year conflict has claimed the lives of well over 5,000 civilians and contributed to one of the world’s biggest humanitarian disasters, according to the United Nations.
Yemen imports up to 90 per cent of its daily needs and seven million people are being kept alive by humanitarian aid.
“Humanitarian operations are being blocked as a result of the closure ordered by the Saudi-led coalition, Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told reporters at the regular press briefing in Geneva.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=58044#.WgJ8kGjWyUk and statement in full https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/regular-press-briefing-information-service-7-november-2017-yemen and also https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/regular-press-briefing-information-service-7-november-2017-yemen
(** A H P)
A new Saudi blockade could worsen Yemen’s cholera crisis
A spokeswoman for the Red Cross, Iolanda Jaquemet, said the shipment of chlorine tablets, while not huge, “was critical,” given the scale of the cholera outbreak. She also expressed concern about a shipment of 50,000 vials of insulin for treating diabetes that were being shipped to the southern Yemeni port of Aden and due to arrive next week.
“There are currently no movements in and out of Yemen. Given how fragile the country is, and the way the conflict is being waged, any additional restrictions on imports can have catastrophic effect,” she said.
The report also criticized the Saudi-led coalition, which it said had “delayed and diverted fuel takers, closed a critical port and stopped lifesaving goods from reaching the population” during the war.
“While warring parties may impose blockades during an armed conflict, a blockade is unlawful if it has the sole purpose of starving the civilian population or denying the population goods indispensable for its survival.”
“It’s a full sealing,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid offending the coalition. “If it doesn’t get resolved in the coming days then we’re already looking at a disaster.”
(** A H K)
Yemen conflict sees ports abandoned
Yemen’s ports of Hodeidah and Saleef have been left in limbo following a UN order for commercial ships to leave.
A UN agency said it has suspended issuance of new clearances for all ships heading to Yemen and said the measure is "temporarily" until further notice, according to Xinhua.
Xinhua reported that a notice issued by the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM), stated
http://www.portstrategy.com/news101/world/middle-east/yemen-conflict-sees-ports-abandoned
(** A H P)
Yemen Has Been Cut Off From The World. This Is What Yemenis Need You To Know.
"All entries to Yemen are closed. We will die, we will die."
Following the Saudi blockade's announcement, Yemenis are tweeting using the hashtag #OpenAccessToYemen and sharing stories about their families who are unable to receive international aid, including basic needs like medicine. The blockade has forced prices up, making it difficult for ordinary citizens to even afford bread – let alone heating fuel as winter approaches.
Afrah Nasser, a Yemeni journalist currently in Washington DC, tweeted about her family in the capital Sana'a in one of the hashtag's most viewed tweets. Nasser told BuzzFeed News that the latest blockade was a "death sentence."
"Every time I call back home in Sana'a, it is to hear my mother is about to leave to attend a funeral or she just came back from a funeral," Nasser told BuzzFeed News in a WhatsApp interview.
Kawkab Ahmed, based in Istanbul, has a 2-year-old niece, Ellen, who is also in Sana’a. Ahmed said she was only surviving because their relatives abroad were sending money. “If this blockade continues, I don't know what will happen.”
https://www.buzzfeed.com/rosebuchanan/yemen-blockade?utm_term=.fq8zX1wdWw#.cvMnbDJ86J
(** A K P)
Saudi Bombing and Blockade Are Devastating Yemen, And Yemenis Know the U.S. Bears Responsibility
U.S.-backed Saudi aggression is stoking anti-American sentiment in Yemen.
Abdullah Allaw, chairman of a local human rights observatory, the Middle East Foundation for Development and Human Rights, gives In These Times a much higher number for the total death toll, due to direct and indirect consequences of the conflict. “From our active volunteers working all over the country in rural, urban and suburban areas, we have documents showing that 500,000 Yemenis died because of aggression over the last two years,” mainly of disease and malnutrition, he says.
About a million government employees have received little to no salary over the past year, in part because the Hadi government moved the bank.
Yemenis know that most of the Saudi weapons are U.S.-made: Abrams tanks, Bradley vehicles and some cluster bombs, not to mention the F-16 and F-15 fighter jets that fly over their heads around the clock.
As a result, anti-American sentiment is on the rise.
Huge posters in the streets of major cities proclaim, “America kills Yemeni people.” Televisions, radios and papers have daily shows using the hashtag #AmericaKillsYemeniPeople.
“We made this campaign because the Saudi war was declared against us from Washington, not from Riyadh,” says Mohammed Haidra, who coordinates the campaign.
The U.S. has not only turned the Yemeni people against it, but has also been supporting its enemies, al-Qaeda and ISIS, by supporting the Saudi Wahhabi regime which provides the ideological basis of these terrorist groups. These groups are also exploiting the chaos to further expand and recruit. “We must defend ourselves from such crimes and such Saudi tyranny and brutality.” – by Nasser Arrabyee
(** A P)
The U.S. tries to attack Iran at the U.N. — here’s why it might totally backfire
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. draws attention to Iran's role in backing Houthi rebels, but provoking Iran, say experts, might only bring greater instability.
This, said Ariane Tabatabai, director of curriculum of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Services, is pretty consistent with what the administration has been doing with Iran of “generally making vague statements that express some kind of grievance with Iranian actions. But we don’t typically have an actual, concrete follow up, and it’s left to the imagination as to what kind of policy response will be formulated,” she told ThinkProgress. The Trump administration, she suspects, is generally trying to push back on Iran’s actions in the region — not just in Yemen, but also in Syria and Iraq.
“The challenge in Yemen, much like Syria, is that you don’t have a side that has clean hands,” said Tabatabai. “The Saudis have essentially created the humanitarian crisis in Yemen — Iran has played a role, but it’s not been the main driver, as its been in other theaters. So the U.S., in aligning itself with the Saudis is doing itself a disservice.”
The optics of the war have been horrific.
Because the United States is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, it is unlikely to ever face sanctions for its role in Yemen.
“I think she [Haley] partly says that because it’s theater. She knows such a resolution is not going to get through. Russia and China are there and no one has an interest to take more aggressive action against Iran in the near term, especially when much of the world regards the situation in Yemen as not the fault of Iran, but the fault of U.S. partners such as Saudi Arabia and the [United Arab] Emirates,” said Cullis.
Still, he added that there is reason to think that the Trump administration might take real action on this regard, not in the United Nations but perhaps in the State or Treasury departments, which “won’t do any favors for them.”
Adding more sanctions won’t do anything — it’ll just be an escalating cycle of sanction that will eventually lead to going after Iran’s banks.
“The dangerous thing here is that we have two fairly inexperienced leaders who are both fairly hot-headed — that’s Trump and [Saudi Crown Prince Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] MBS — who are escalating things without fully understanding the possible consequences of their actions,” said Tabatabai. “We already have four battles that are open across the region — Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen — and we have states with weak central governments and terrorist groups running around. So destabilizing a pretty complex country, from a military operations perspective, like Iran, just doesn’t seem like the wisest idea.” – by D. Parvaz
(** B P)
Trump may have pushed Saudi Arabia and Iran closer to war
Saudi Arabia's moves over the past few days are bringing it closer to direct war with Iran.
But this process seems to have been kick started by the new Saudi crown prince's meeting with President Trump in March.
It crucial to keep this conflict contained to the Middle East.
Crucial news keeps flying out of Saudi Arabia at a frantic pace, but here's the bottom line: The Saudis are marching ever closer towards a wider regional war. And the U.S. may have helped send them down that path.
But the direct line to these more bellicose moves begins earlier than that and goes directly to the White House. While still deputy crown prince, bin Salman visited with President Trump in March of this year. During that meeting, they publicly declared Iran as the key regional security threat in the Middle East. That was step one.
Step two was President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia in May. That visit and the Saudi side of that agenda was arranged by bin Salman and was seen as a great triumph for him.
Step three came almost exactly a month after that visit, when bin Salman was made crown prince.
Step four seems to have come in September, when bin Salman reportedly secretly visited Israel to discuss Iran and other potential cooperative measures.
And now we're on the step five, which appears to be a combination of the purge to remove any possible internal hurdles towards a greater anti-Iranian push, and blatant protests against any real or perceived Iranian aggression.
There may be more intermediate steps to come, but we can all see where this is leading. A direct conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as opposed to the proxy war they're fighting in Yemen, looks inevitable.
(** A P)
What Saudi Arabia’s purge means for the Middle East
While the full scope and ultimate outcome of the weekend’s arrests remain unclear, the new developments should be understood in the context of interaction between Mohammed bin Salman’s short window for domestic power consolidation and Saudi Arabia’s unsettled regional position. Mohammed bin Salman’s domestic political ambitions and foreign policy moves have unfolded in a deeply uncertain environment, with both domestic power and regional order in an unprecedented state of flux.
The Yemeni missile attack, Hariri’s resignation, and the Saudi arrests would ordinarily be viewed as events of primarily local significance. In today’s context, however, they have sparked fears of a dangerous and unpredictable regional escalation against Iran. Since the Arab uprisings of 2011, Gulf regimes such as Saudi Arabia have lived in existential fear of the sudden eruption of popular mobilization, while pursuing unusually interventionist foreign policies across the region. The extended Saudi power transition at home and its erratic pattern of failed foreign policy interventions must be understood within this wider regional context – by Marc Lynch
(** A H P)
The Saudi power struggle hits the Arab world’s poorest country
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s apparent consolidation of power risks exacerbating an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been fighting an Iran-backed militia for more than two years.
On Sunday, shortly after carrying out a purge of royal cousins and other high-ranking officials, an emboldened crown prince announced that the coalition would forcibly close all of Yemen’s ground, air and sea ports.
“The idea of even more restrictions in Yemen is a cause for major concern,” said Scott Paul, a senior humanitarian policy adviser at Oxfam International who has worked in Yemen. “This could be a blip, but it could also be a sea change.”
Saudi Arabia’s move might simply be a public rebuke to Iran after Sunday’s attempted rocket attack. But some humanitarian officials characterized it as the latest example of Riyadh imposing a collective punishment on Yemenis while attempting to break the Houthis. Despite having an arsenal of weaponry purchased mostly from the United States, the Saudis are essentially fighting a war of attrition against the Houthis – by Max Bearak
(** A P)
Things that go bump in the night in Riyadh
It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Hariri's resignation, the Saudi purge, and the Houthi missile fired at Riyadh are interconnected
all branches of the royal family have been affected by this purge, and others that preceded it.
Would all this have happened without another green light from Trump? He tweeted yesterday that he "would very much appreciate Saudi Arabia doing their IPO of Aramco with the New York Stock Exchange, important to the United States!”
If it was not apparent to one and all, it surely must be now. The capital of insecurity in the Middle East is Riyadh, and moves by a 32-year old prince to acquire absolute power are capable of destabilising neighbouring countries and removing their prime ministers. Worse, this prince appears to be encouraged by a US president who does not know what he is doing.
Wiser heads in Washington DC, like the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson or the Defence Secretary James Mattis must be tearing their hair out - or what is left of it. – by David Hearst
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/things-go-bump-night-riyadh-1511882449
(** B P)
Yemeni War : Saudi Arabia and the Emirates
Saudi-Emirati cooperation in the Yemeni theatre of war is tied to the dynamics of conflict between competing axes in the region. While currently strong, a low ebb could follow
The status quo in the Yemeni war is no longer sustainable. This condition was shaped two years ago by the balances of forces and historical and geographical realities which, in turn, formed the forward contact lines between the chief adversaries.
Accordingly, in the substrata of the Yemeni civil war we find strains in three basic dualities: the Houthi and Saleh contingents in the Sanaa-based alliance, the Southern Movement versus the “legitimacy” camp in Aden, and, at the regional level, the Saudi Arabia-UAE duo. From time to time, the tensions within each duality express themselves with the purest clarity, splintering the patina of mutual political courtesies necessitated by their “alliances of necessity”. In this three-part series, Al-Ahram Weekly will explore the contradictions within each of these dualities that have aggravated the tensions between their component parts and prevented their alliances of expedience from developing into strategic alliances.
SAUDI ARABIA AND THE UAE — FROM COOPERATION TO RIVALRY TO COMPLEMENTARY COLLABORATION
FROM CONFUSION TO RIVALRY: April 2016 marked a turning point in the Saudi-UAE relationship. Abu Dhabi’s new outlook had more in common with US policy which Riyadh had defied through its direct intervention in Yemen.
If a permanent Emirati presence in Yemen is partially dependent on Abu Dhabi’s ties with Saudi Arabia, it is entirely dependent on the US umbrella. The US, for its part, regards the UAE’s armed forces as a more effective military body and it sees Abu Dhabi as readier to fight terrorism in southern Yemen than Saudi Arabia which has shown a tendency to ally with extremist groups against the Houthis and Saleh.
MILITARY COOPERATION AND POLITICAL ALTERCATION: By the time Barack Obama left office, the UAE had liberated most of the southern cities from Al-Qaeda. With the rise of Trump and his two-pronged policy of fighting takfiri terrorism, on the one hand, and the branches of Iranian influence in the region, on the other, the sources of Saudi-UAE dispute faded.
FROM RIVALRY TO MUTUALLY COMPLEMENTARY COLLABORATION: Developments in June proved critical to giving root to the strategic collaboration between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. That was when the embargo crisis suddenly erupted between the Arab quartet (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt) and Qatar.
WILL THE HONEYMOON LAST? – by Hossam Radman
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/22966.aspx
(** B K P)
The US-led war on Yemen: Washington is hiding its leadership of the war on Yemen behind the Saudis
The Reuters article didn’t reveal the true extent to which the United States is involved, but it did acknowledge that Washington supplies the bombs which Saudi pilots drop on Yemen and that the United States Air Force refuels Saudi bombers in flight. In other words, the United States plays a role in facilitating the campaign of indiscriminate bombing.
This instrument, which had served Washington well in locking up people it didn’t like, now proved problematic, and the reason why is that the United States provides practical assistance, moral support and encouragement to the Saudis in a campaign of indiscriminate (hence, war criminal) bombing. US military personnel and state officials are therefore open to war crimes charges under a legal principle Washington helped to establish.
In other words, not only is the United States providing encouragement and moral support to the Saudis — it’s actually running the war on Yemen. In the language of the military, the United States has command and control. The only thing it doesn’t do is provide the pilots to drop the bombs.
The struggle to end the war on Yemen, and the larger struggle to end the empire-building, the despotism, the dictatorship, of the United States, is not only a struggle for peace, but a struggle for democracy—and a struggle for the Enlightenment values of freedom (from despotism) and equality (of all peoples to determine their own affairs.) – by Stephen Gowans
https://gowans.wordpress.com/2017/11/06/the-us-led-war-on-yemen/ = http://www.herald.co.zw/the-us-led-war-on-yemen/
(** B P T)
My enemy’s enemy is my ally: How al-Qaeda fighters are backed by Yemen’s government
The government fights al-Qaeda in some parts of the country but is allied with it in others. How come?
The incident indicates the delicate interests which bind together partners within the conflict – and nowhere is this more evident than with the role of al-Qaeda on the battlefield.
A source in the Yemeni Information Ministry, speaking to Middle East Eye on condition of anonymity because he did not have authority to do so, said: "The Houthi is the enemy of both pro-government forces and al-Qaeda militants. So some militants from AQAP fight the Houthis with the pro-government forces and this serves the country."
How did this happen?
Al-Qaeda, like other militant movements, took advantage of the chaos to increase its powerbase and formed strong alliances with Sunni tribes in the south, which is currently under the control of the government.
Individual AQAP fighters approached the Popular Resistance leadership across Yemen to sign up. Once they had done so, they then reformed their AQAP groups.
AQAP has supported the Yemeni government, whose president and prime minister live in exile in Saudi Arabia. But politically, it has made life uncomfortable for the administration, which refuses to admit that AQAP personnel fight alongside its forces.
Yet the relationship is very public. AQAP fighters can be seen on foot or in their military vehicles in cities including Taiz, Lahj and some areas of al-Baidha province. They live among residents, buy their supplies from neighbourhood shops and eat in popular restaurants. Sometimes they resolve local disputes.
How AQAP is an ally and an enemy
Ibrahim al-Yasri, an independent political analyst for the Yemen Media Guide Centre for Development, based in Taiz, said: "The Yemeni government does not want to admit that AQAP militants fight with pro-government forces, so as to avoid the international sanctions of supporting al-Qaeda.”
Pro-government forces therefore do not fight AQAP in urban areas such as Taiz city or al-Baidha, Marib and other provinces, where the Houthi threat is ever-present.
But it does fight AQAP in areas where it does not need the group’s support. Such campaigns are carefully chosen.
(** B K)
Sudan’s Controversial Rapid Support Forces Bolster Saudi Efforts in Yemen
Saudi Arabia’s recent efforts to create a buffer zone inside northern Yemen have led to the increasing deployment of the RSF (al-Sudan al-Youm [Khartoum], September 29; Sudan Tribune [Khartoum], June 9). Their presence, however, is not without its drawbacks as a Houthi information war has made much of the RSF’s highly problematic past.
The RSF is one of the most powerful components of the Sudanese military. It is deployed mainly for counter-insurgency operations and includes among its troops a significant number of the Janjaweed militias that were linked to systematic human rights abuses in the Darfur region, particularly between 2003 and 2008. These forces have also been implicated in further systematic human rights abuses in Sudan.
The force is considered to be a type of “praetorian guard” for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
Al-Bashir’s decision to deploy the RSF in Yemen reflects the nature of the coalition’s counter-insurgency campaign there, particularly for Saudi Arabia.
The RSF has supported Saudi border security operations, and it is one the lead forces in the Saudi directed campaign to capture several northwestern Yemeni provinces, particularly in Hajjah governorate.
and a reminder, from August:
(** A H K)
31 Pictures That Prove Yemen Has Turned Into Hell on Earth
Societies pick and choose their outrage. What is one day considered barbaric is met with a collective yawn the next.
Unfortunately, for the innocent people of Yemen, the masses are completely uninterested in their current state of suffering. Maybe it’s because Western propaganda hasn’t sufficiently signaled in the direction of the misery and destruction facing the Yemeni people. Maybe it’s that the havoc is being carried out by Saudi Arabia and their cohorts, who are not only allies of the United States and the United Kingdom but also have the financial means to silence dissent in the West. Possibly, it’s that the U.S. and the U.K. are both backing the carnage on the ground in Yemen, not only via the providing of arms to the Saudi coalition but also providing military ground support.
Whatever the reason may be, the time has come for the world to wake up and realize there is more on planet earth than Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
http://theantimedia.org/pictures-yemen-hell-on-earth/
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Cholera / Most important: Cholera
(* A H)
Cholera-Epidemie im Jemen
Zahl der Todesopfer steigt auf 2.194.
http://www.trt.net.tr/deutsch/welt/2017/11/07/cholera-epidemie-im-jemen-842813
(* A H)
Yemen: Electronic Disease Early Warning System (eDEWS) Cholera Response Daily Epidemiological Update (2017-11-06)
906,702 cases, 2,194 deaths
(* A H)
Yemen: Cholera Response Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin: W44 2017 (Oct 30-Nov 05)
(* A H)
Yemen: Electronic Disease Early Warning System (eDEWS) Cholera Response Daily Epidemiological Update (2017-11-05)
905,995 cases, 2,192 deaths
cp2a Allgemein: Die Eskalation der Krise / General: The escalation of crisis
Mehr hierzu in cp1 und cp8 (Saudi-Arabien) und cp12b (Libanon)
More on this topic in cp1 and also cp8 (Saudi Arabia) and cp12b (Lebanon)
(* B H K)
Yemen is Yemen is no Country for Old Men, Young Men, Women — and Children Facing Famine
Yemen, immersed in a two-year old civil war, may now undergo a famine with millions of victims unless Saudi Arabia lifts its blockade on humanitarian supplies, a senior U.N. official said.
Remark: Overview.
(* A K P)
Iran and Saudi Arabia Edge Towards Direct Conflict
On November 6, Saudi Arabia publicly accused Iran of committing ‘an act of war’ two days after intercepting a ballistic missile launched from Yemen.• Escalating tensions with Tehran combined with a startling internal purge suggest Saudi foreign policy is undergoing a dramatic shift.• Rather than seek to lower regional tensions, the U.S. is fully and openly backing aggressive Saudi moves.• From the Gulf to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia views every issue through the lens of its regional struggle with Iran, with a greater conflict very likely.
http://www.soufangroup.com/tsc-intelbrief-iran-and-saudi-arabia-edge-towards-direct-conflict/
Remark: Good overview.
(* A K P)
What the missile strike on Riyadh means
Saudi Arabia has been dropping bombs on Yemen's capital city for 32 months. On Saturday, Yemen fired back.
What the missile represents depends on whom you ask.
But the Saudi response to the strike is ratcheting up a conflict that has caused what the United Nations calls the worst humanitarian crisis on earth. The next day, coalition jets struck civilian targets in Yemen.
"'I'm watching what's going on in the region over the last couple of days with extreme alarm because we've already these moves, says Kristine Beckerle. "After this weekend you had Donald Trump tweeting that he is supporting the Crown Prince and King Solomon in terms of their latest moves internally in Saudi," she says.
"And I'm sitting here wondering when, if ever, the US or the UK are going to come out and say something along the lines of 'We're very concerned about the recent attacks on Yemeni civilians by coalition airstrikes." – by Stephen Snyder
https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-11-07/what-missile-strike-riyadh-means
(* A K P)
Houthi missile threat highlights Saudi failure in Yemen
The Houthis' ability to launch missiles deep within Saudi Arabian territory gives them a tool that does not bring military gains, but does weigh heavy on the Saudi psyche.
When Saudi Arabia and some of its regional allies entered Yemen in March 2015 a major justification for the Riyadh-led coalition was the threat posed by the Houthi rebel movement’s “heavy weapons and missiles” near the kingdom’s border. Two-and-a-half years on, the mission on its own terms has been a failure.
Although such missiles have missed targets and frequently been intercepted by Saudi Arabia’s anti-missile systems, their firing alone has highlighted Riyadh and Abu Dhabi’s inability to decisively defeat the Houthis which now pose a growing threat to GCC security – by Giorgio Cafiero
https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/houthi-missile-threat-highlights-saudi-failure-in-yemen-12061
[More English articles below the German ones following here]
(* A P)
Saudi-Arabien hebt Konflikt mit Iran auf die nächste Stufe
Adressat der Drohungen sind die Hizbollah, die libanesische Regierung und Iran
Das Schweigen in der US-Regierung ist erstaunlich. Aus Riad kommen laute Ansagen Richtung Iran und auch dem Libanon, die in den Medien als "Kriegserklärungen" gewertet werden und im Umkreis des US-Präsidenten bleibt es still. Bislang gab es noch keine Erklärungen dazu vom US-Außenminister Tillerson oder vom Pentagon-Chef Mattis.
Nur Präsident Trump äußerte sich. Über Twitter teilte er mit, dass er großes Vertrauen in König Salman und den Kronprinzen von Saudi-Arabien habe. "Sie wissen genau, was sie tun."
Sie machen Kriegspolitik mit Drohungen.
(* A K P)
Rakete auf Riad - saudi-arabische Koalition beschuldigt Iran
Eine Rakete aus dem Jemen kam dem Flughafen in Riad gefährlich nahe. Saudi-Arabien warnt nun Iran, den Verbündeten der Huthi-Rebellen: Der Angriff könne als "kriegerischer Akt" aufgefasst werden.
Der Ton zwischen Saudi-Arabien und Iran wird schärfer: Das von Riad geführte Militärbündnis, das seit zweieinhalb Jahren gegen die Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen kämpft, machte die Regierung in Teheran für einen Raketenabschuss am Wochenende verantwortlich.
Die saudi-arabische Luftwaffe hatte eigenen Angaben zufolge eine Rakete nordöstlich von Riad abgefangen. Das Geschoss kam dem internationalen Flughafen gefährlich nahe. Es handelte sich um den ersten gezielten Raketenangriff der Huthi-Rebellen auf Saudi-Arabiens Hauptstadt. Das Militärbündnis reagierte mit einer Reihe von Luftangriffen auf Sanaa, die von den Rebellen gehaltene Hauptstadt des Jemen.
(* A K P)
Saudi-Arabien warnt iranische Regierung
Als „Kriegsakt“ gegen das Königreich - so will Riad die Rakete definieren, die am Wochenende vom Jemen aus in Richtung saudi-arabische Hauptstadt geschossen wurde. Saudi-Arabien sieht die Verantwortung beim Iran.
(* A P)
Saudis werfen Iran „Kriegsakt“ vor
Nach einem Raketenangriff auf Riad droht Saudi-Arabien mit Gegenmaßnahmen. Das Königreich sieht den Iran als Urheber der Attacke, Teheran weist das zurück. Am Montag setzte eine hektische Krisendiplomatie ein, im Fokus der Kritik steht die Rolle des Irans in der Region.
US-Präsident Donald Trump hatte am Sonntag gesagt, aus seiner Sicht sei die Rakete vom Iran kontrolliert worden. Ein US-Abwehrsystem habe das Geschoss aber aufgehalten. Saudi-Arabien hatte das System von den Vereinigten Staaten gekauft. Der Iran wies die Äußerungen von Trump als „Lügen“ zurück.
http://www.goettinger-tageblatt.de/Welt/Politik/Deutschland-Welt/Saudis-werfen-Iran-Kriegsakt-vor
(* A P)
Nach Raketen-Angriff auf Riad-Saudis werfen Iran "Aggression" vor
Datum:
Der Konflikt zwischen Riad und Teheran spitzt sich weiter zu. Das sunnitische Saudi-Arabien wirft seinem schiitischen Nachbarn "direkte militärische Aggression" vor.
Der Beschuss der saudischen Hauptstadt Riad durch pro-iranische Rebellen im Jemen könne als "kriegerischer Akt" betrachtet werden, sagte Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman.
Die EU-Außenbeauftragte Federica Mogherini nannte die Eskalation zwischen Saudi-Arabien und Iran "extrem gefährlich"
https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute/saudi-arabien-wirft-iran-aggression-vor-100.html
(* A P)
Saudi-Arabien verschärft die Kriegsrhetorik im Jemen
Der saudische Kronprinz Mohammed beschuldigt den Iran, die schiitischen Rebellen im Jemen mit Raketen zu beliefern – was einem "kriegerischen Akt" gegen sein Land gleichkomme
http://derstandard.at/2000067374400/Riad-verschaerft-Kriegsrhetorik-im-Jemen
Bemerkung: Überblick.
(* A P)
Saudi-Arabien wirft dem Iran „militärische Aggression“ vor
Riads Konflikt mit dem Iran heizt sich auf. Ärger gibt es im Jemen und im Libanon. In Saudi-Arabien gibt es Festnahmen.
Der Konflikt zwischen Riad und Teheran wird auch durch den Rücktritt des libanesischen Ministerpräsidenten Saad Hariri angefeuert. Der Regierungschef hatte am Wochenende von Saudi-Arabien aus seinen Rücktritt angekündigt – angeblich weil er um sein Leben fürchte. Der sunnitische Politiker pflegt enge Beziehungen zu Riad und gilt als Verbündeter. Er besitzt neben der libanesischen auch die saudische Staatsbürgerschaft.
Zeitgleich hat es am Wochenende eine große Verhaftungswelle in Saudi-Arabien gegeben.
US-Präsident Donald Trump begrüßte die Festnahmen. „Ich habe großes Vertrauen in König Salman und den Kronprinzen Saudi-Arabiens
und auch
Bemerkung: Überblick.
(* A P)
Raketenbeschuss aus dem Jemen: Iran weist Saudi-Arabiens Vorwürfe zurück
"Ungerecht, unverantwortlich, destruktiv und provokant": Mit diesen Worten wehrt sich Teheran gegen Anschuldigungen, hinter einem Raketenbeschuss auf den Flughafen von Riad zu stecken.
Iran hat die Vorwürfe Saudi-Arabiens zurückgewiesen, hinter dem Abschuss einer Rakete aus dem Jemen auf die Hauptstadt Riad zu stehen. Die Vorwürfe der von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Militärkoalition im Jemen seien "ungerecht, unverantwortlich, destruktiv und provokant", sagte der iranische Außenamtssprecher Bahram Ghassemi. Iran habe mit dem Raketenabschuss nichts zu tun.
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Irans Außenministerium: Anti-iranische Anschuldigungen der saudischgeführten Koalition sind leichtfertig und unverantwortlich
"Der Grund dieser Reaktion seitens der Jemeniten sollte in der Aggression der Saudis und nicht in der Tat oder Aufhetzung irgendeines anderen Landes gesucht werden," so Ghassemi am Montag.
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Das Wochenende hat den Mittleren Osten verändert - die Region droht, aus dem Gleichgewicht zu geraten
Nach einer Festnahmewelle und einer abgefangenen Rakete hat sich vieles verändert in der Region. Der prägende Konflikt zwischen dem sunnitischen Saudi-Arabien und dem schiitischen Iran aber bleibt bestehen - und spitzt sich weiter und weiter zu.
Das ist am Wochenende passiert:
Am Freitag erklärte der libanesische Ministerpräsident Saad Hariri überraschend seinen Rücktritt.
Am Samstag entledigte sich der saudische Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman vieler seiner Rivalen. 14 Prinzen und Geschäftsmänner, darunter einer der reichsten Männer der Welt, wurden in Gewahrsam genommen.
Der Konflikt zwischen Saudi-Arabien und dem Iran hat sich damit dramatisch zugespitzt. Droht nun, aus dem Kalten Krieg im Mittleren Osten ein heißer zu werden?
Der Eskalationskurs des saudischen Kronprinzen bin Salman destabilisiere die fragile regionale Lage weiter, sagt Sons im Gespräch mit der HuffPost.
Nicht nur innenpolitisch setzt bin Salman rigoros auf Konfrontation. Als Verteidigungsminister des Königreichs ist er auch für den Krieg im Jemen verantwortlich.
http://www.huffingtonpost.de/2017/11/06/mittlere-osten-saudi-arabien-iran_n_18479070.html und siehe auch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3huKzFiXeJk
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Kalter Krieg zwischen Teheran und Riad droht zu eskalieren
Saudi-Arabiens mächtiger Kronprinz hat den Ton gegenüber dem Iran deutlich verschärft und dem Erzfeind eine "direkte militärische Aggression" vorgeworfen. Der Beschuss der saudiarabischen Hauptstadt Riad durch proiranische Rebellen im Jemen könne als "kriegerischer Akt" betrachtet werden, sagte Mohammed bin Salman am Dienstag. US-Präsident Donald Trump stellte sich derweil demonstrativ hinter das harte Vorgehen des Thronfolgers gegen potenzielle Rivalen im Inland.
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Saudi-Arabien gegen Iran: "Mehr als nur Scharmützel"
Rhetorik, Ränkespiele, Raketen: Droht ein offener Krieg zwischen den beiden regionalen Mächten Saudi-Arabien und Iran? Nein, hofft Nahost-Experte Sebastian Sons. Denn ein Krieg würde die gesamte Region ins Chaos stürzen.
Die Eskalationsspirale dreht sich natürlich sehr schnell weiter und hat nun einen neuen Höhepunkt erreicht. Trotzdem bin ich immer noch guter Hoffnung, dass es nicht zu einem direkten militärischen Konflikt zwischen Iran und Saudi-Arabien kommt. Eigentlich können beide Länder an einem solchen Krieg kein Interesse haben.
http://www.dw.com/de/saudi-arabien-gegen-iran-mehr-als-nur-scharm%C3%BCtzel/a-41272299 und auch https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/iran-saudis-101.html
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Stellvertreterkrieg zwischen Iran und Saudi-Arabien spitzt sich zu
Mohammed bin Salman sparte nicht mit harten Worten. Der Raketenbeschuss auf Riad sei eine "eklatante und direkte militärische Aggression" des iranischen Regimes gegen Saudi-Arabien.
Ähnlich gereizt agierte die Monarchie auch in Richtung Libanon.
Dem Krieg der Worte könnte schon bald eine direkte Konfrontation zwischen den beiden Erzfeinden Saudi-Arabien und Iran folgen.
Mein Kommentar: Der Satz „Saudi-Arabien dagegen befindet sich überall in der Region in der Defensive“ ist Quatsch. Saudi Arabien befindet sich ganz im Gegenteil in der ganzen Region im Angriffsmodus: Gegenüber Jemen, Katar, Iran, Syrien, jetzt auch Libanon.Bitte keine solche Schutzbehauptung, das ist Propaganda!
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Saudis verbünden sich mit allen Anti-Houthi-Kräften im Jemen - Auch mit al-Kaida und IS
Saudi-Arabien hat den Iran für den Abschuss einer ballistischen Rakete aus Jemen auf Riad verantwortlich gemacht. RT Deutsch sprach mit jemenitischen Journalisten und Aktivisten über die saudische Jemen-Strategie, die bisher nicht von Erfolg gekrönt war.
„Die Rolle des Iran und seine direkte Befehlsgewalt über seine Houthi-Stellvertreter in dieser Angelegenheit stellt einen klaren Akt der Aggression dar, der auf benachbarte Länder abzielt sowie Frieden und Sicherheit in der Region und weltweit bedroht“, heißt es in der von der offiziellen saudischen Presseagentur veröffentlichten Erklärung.
Die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte militärische Koalition kündigte außerdem an, dass sie als Reaktion auf den Raketenstart alle Grenzübergänge, Seehäfen und Flughäfen im Jemen schließt.
Laut einer Erklärung der saudisch-geführten Koalition, die von der Nachrichtenagentur AP zitiert wurde, ist das Verbot zeitlich befristet und wird die humanitären Bemühungen im Jemen „berücksichtigen“.
Der jemenitische Journalist Saleh Khalid Saleh aus der Stadt Aden ist anderer Meinung. Er sagte RT Deutsch, dass die Saudis noch aggressiver künftig im Jemen vorgehen werden.
Der Jemen-Experte fügte gegenüber RT Deutsch hinzu, dass Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate, die den Kampf gegen die Houthis anführen, im Grunde keine Stärkung der Anti-Houthi-Kräfte möchten, um sie klein und uneinig zu halten. Damit zerstören Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate aber auch die gesamte Gesellschaftsstruktur des Landes.
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UNO warnt vor Hungertod durch saudische Blockade
Das Welternährungsprogramm der Vereinten Nationen befürchtet, dass im Jemen hunderttausende Kinder verhungern könnten, wenn die gegenwärtige Blockade des Landes anhält.
Der Direktor der UNO-Behörde, Beasley, warnte, etwa 70 Prozent der Bevölkerung wisse nicht, woher sie ihre nächste Mahlzeit bekommen solle. Eine von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Militärkoalition blockiert seit gestern alle Häfen und Flughäfen des Jemen.
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FAO: Blockade jemenitischer Grenzen gefährdet das Leben von hundertausenden Kindern
Laut dem Direktor der Welternährungsorganisation FAO wird die Blockade der jemenitischen Land- See- und Luftgrenzen durch die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Kriegskoalition dazu führten, dass Hunderttausend Kinder im Jemen in den nächsten zwei Wochen von einer Hungersnot betroffen sind.
http://parstoday.com/de/news/world-i33651-fao_blockade_jemenitischer_grenzen_gef%C3%A4hrdet_das_leben_von_hundertausenden_kindern und auch https://www.msn.com/de-ch/nachrichten/vermischtes/jemen-droht-hungerkatastrophe/ar-AAuwUix?li=BBqgbZS
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Film: Jemen steht vor Hungerkatastrophe
Im Kampf gegen die Huthi-Rebellen hat Saudi-Arabien die Häfen und Flughäfen im Jemen blockiert. Laut UNO kann das den Hungertod von hunderttausend Menschen zur Folge haben.
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Saudis edge towards 'war' with Iran
https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/1355787/
Remark: A long overview.
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The Middle East: It Will Only Get Worse
While the wave of dismissals and arrests of members of the ruling family, senior officials and prominent businessmen clouds prospects for Prince Mohammed’s economic reform plans, prospects of an escalation of Saudi-Iranian tensions bode ill for the rest of the region.
A Saudi-backed military alliance that includes the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt and Sudan appeared to open the door to a more direct confrontation between Saudi Arabia by denouncing the missile strike as “a blatant and direct military aggression by the Iranian regime, which may amount to an act of war against Saudi Arabia.”
None of this bodes well for the Middle East. Not only does it risk escalation in those countries in which Saudi Arabia and Iran are battling it out through proxies, it also risks fuelling sectarianism in a part of the world in which minorities are on the defensive, relations between Sunni and Shiite Muslims are frayed, and the cost of conflict and war is taking its toll on civilian populations.
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Saudis’ bolder moves to confront Iran echo across region
Crown Prince Mohammed's quest for power through proxies risks increasing conflicts in Yemen, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria
Saudi Arabia is more aggressively confronting its rival Iran on multiple fronts. It’s a policy that risks sharpening several conflicts in the Middle East, even though so far it has failed to score any successes in stemming Tehran’s influence.
The question is whether the Saudis will push even harder against Iran — and what will happen if they do. So far, the kingdom’s policies appear to have the full support of US President Donald Trump.
Direct confrontation with Iran?
Though Saudi Arabia said it reserved the right to respond over the Yemeni missile, it is unlikely to take direct military action against Iran.
Yemen
Neither side seems willing or able to escalate the fight, leaving a debilitating stalemate. But the missile strike underscores the potential for the conflict to grow beyond Yemen’s borders.
Lebanon
Syria
Qatar
https://www.timesofisrael.com/saudis-bolder-moves-to-confront-iran-echo-across-region/
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Saudis threaten all-out war with Iran
After years of proxy conflicts, are the Middle East's two great powers ready for war?
The proxy conflict in Yemen between the Middle East’s two great powers could become all-out war, after Saudi Arabia accused Iran of being behind a missile strike on Riyadh airport on Saturday.
CNN says this is the latest attempt by the Saudi government to accuse Iran of “not only being behind the actions taken in Yemen, but also for its purported behaviour in Lebanon”. It must been seen in “the context of a regional power play by the Saudis against Iran”, says Al Jazeera.
Lebanese leader resigns
http://www.theweek.co.uk/89557/saudis-threaten-all-out-war-with-iran
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Saudi Arabia and Iran in war of words
the current crisis extends far beyond Yemen: Saudi Arabia has made clear it wants to curb Iranian influence not just in the Arabian Peninsula but across the region.
Saudi Arabia is at odds with the Lebanese government after backing the resignation of Hariri, but curbing Hezbollah's influence and power will not be easy.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, George Alam, a political analyst, said: "Saudi Arabia, through its threats, want the Lebanese government and people to finish off Hezbollah. It is an invitation to civil war.
"There is a new front - Saudi, Israeli and the US - against Iran."
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/saudi-arabia-iran-war-words-171107183525935.html
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Yemen rebels threaten to attack Saudi, UAE airports
Shiite rebels in Yemen threatened on Tuesday to attack ports and airports in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, raising the stakes in a flare-up between Riyadh and Tehran.
The threat came hours after Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince accused Iran of "direct military aggression" through its support for the rebels -- a claim Tehran rejected as "contrary to reality"
https://www.afp.com/en/news/23/yemen-rebels-threaten-attack-saudi-uae-airports#.WgHLGNRg4FI.facebook and also http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-07/after-declaration-war-yemen-rebels-threaten-attacks-saudi-ports-and-airports
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Millions of Yemenis suffer 'nightmare' of war as closed borders halt aid
Hardship is intensifying for millions in Yemen, reeling from war, starvation and a major cholera epidemic, after its borders were closed, blocking vital food and medical deliveries, an aid worker said on Wednesday.
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Under Saudi Blockade, Yemen Torn By Competing Powers — And Facing Catastrophe
http://wshu.org/post/under-saudi-blockade-yemen-torn-competing-powers-and-facing-catastrophe#stream/0 = https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/07/562517457/under-saudi-blockade-yemen-torn-by-competing-powers-and-facing-catastrophe
Remark: Overview article. – And more similar: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-lauds-saudi-exposure-irans-support-yemen-rebels-51008380
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Yemenis denounce Saudi siege as 'collective punishment'
Yemenis have denounced Saudi Arabia's decision to close the country's land, air and sea ports, calling it an "unnecessary and dangerous act of collective punishment" that puts millions of civilians at risk and exacerbates the plight of the country's most vulnerable.
Khaled Abdallah, a 24-year-old resident of Sanaa, told Al Jazeera that Riyadh's latest announcement was nothing short of a "bullying tactic" and would fail to stoke unrest against the Houthis, a group of rebels who control the capital.
"The Saudis want to see us out in the streets protesting against the Houthis. While this may happen over time, they're forgetting they're the ones that have been terrorising us for the last 24 hours, dropping bombs in the darkest hours of the night," Abdallah said.
(A H P)
Yemen under siege: Closing only port is a death sentence – transport minister
The closure of Yemen’s al-Hudayda port – the country’s only open port- “would mean the death of the Yemeni people,” according to the Minister of Transportation Zakaria al-Shami speaking in Sanaa on Monday.
Al-Shami stressed that Yemen’s other border crossing points via land and air “are completely demolished.”
The minister stressed, “Al-Hudayda port is the lung with which the Yemeni people are breathing; it is the source for food, clothes, medicine for more than 21 million people.”
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Meldungen über Öffnung des Hafens in Aden
meldete die Nachrichtenagentur Reuters, dass die Militärallianz einem Insider zufolge den wichtigen Seehafen in der jemenitischen Stadt Aden wieder geöffnet hat. Die Sperre sei aufgehoben, so dass wieder normal gearbeitet werden könne, sagte demnach ein Hafenvertreter. Dies habe das Bündnis offiziell mitgeteilt.
Warum die Blockade aufgehoben wurde, war zunächst unklar. Aden ist jedoch weitgehend in den Händen der Kräfte, die von Saudi-Arabien unterstützt werden und die gegen die Huthi-Rebellen kämpfen.
http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/jemen-hunger-105.html
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Saudi coalition lets Yemen's Aden port reopen
The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthi movement in Yemen has allowed work to resume at the southern port of Aden, two days after ordering a nationwide stoppage, an official there said on Wednesday.
My comment: Hodeida port, the main port for Northern Yemen – on which depend ca. 80 % of the polulation – of course stays closed.
(A H P)
Consequences of Monday's total closure of airspace already set in. Fatalities in Seiyun airport yesterday
https://twitter.com/Moyenne1/status/927892132991561734 referring to http://aden-tm.net/NDetails.aspx?contid=35778 and as a reminder by NRC from August: https://www.nrc.no/news/2017/august/yemen-airport-closure-killed-more-people-than-airstrikes/
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Statement by the humanitarian community in Yemen on the complete closure of Yemen’s borders
The humanitarian community in Yemen is greatly alarmed at the decision by the Saudi-led Coalition (SLC) to close all of Yemeni airports, seaports and land crossings, which will prevent critical humanitarian aid deliveries and commercial supplies from reaching the country and the movement of aid workers in and out of Yemen.
The humanitarian situation in Yemen is extremely fragile and any disruption in the pipeline of critical supplies such as food, fuel and medicines has the potential to bring millions of people closer to starvation and death.
https://www.rescue.org/press-release/statement-humanitarian-community-yemen-complete-closure-yemens-borders = https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/statement-humanitarian-community-yemen-complete-closure-yemen-s-borders and article https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/11/08/nightmare-scenario-declare-aid-groups-saudis-put-yemen-under-total-blockade
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Humanitarian agencies condemn the closure of Yemen's air, sea and land ports
Oxfam and 17 other humanitarian agencies expressed serious concern today over the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition’s decision to temporarily close all entry points to Yemen, effectively sealing the country off.
The agencies demand that humanitarian operations are allowed to resume immediately and request clarity on the planned duration of the current closure and contingencies to allow humanitarian supplies to be delivered.
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Yemen: MSF calls on Saudi–led coalition to immediately allow access into Yemen for humanitarian organisations following the sudden closure of its borders
Over the last three days, the Saudi-led coalition has not allowed MSF flights into Yemen, directly hindering the organisation’s ability to provide life-saving medical and humanitarian assistance to a population already in dire need. As such, MSF is calling on the Saudi-led coalition to immediately allow unhindered access to and within Yemen so that humanitarian assistance can reach those most in need.
The statement by the Saudi-led coalition also included a broader warning for humanitarian organisations to avoid certain areas within Yemen. This would further exclude thousands of people most affected by the crisis from essential healthcare. Such measures would contradict the humanitarian principle of impartiality, which states that assistance should reach those who need it most, regardless of any political considerations.
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Red Cross medicine and UN flights blocked after Saudi Arabia closes all of Yemen's borders
Every 10 minutes, a child dies in Yemen of preventable causes such as malnutrition or diarrhoea and it is tipped to get even worse.
Since Monday, all humanitarian operations to Yemen — including United Nations aid flights — have been blocked after Saudi Arabia forced every single air and sea port in the country closed.
"We hope that it is reversed immediately," Rupert Colville, spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva.
Aid agencies and UN officials say the total closure is "catastrophic" and has the potential to cost the lives of thousands of malnourished children in Yemen, where millions are already on the brink of starvation.
Mr Colville said the UN would study whether the closure constitutes unlawful collective punishment.
"We have serious concerns that these reported closures will aggravate an already dire humanitarian emergency with appalling consequences for the civilian population," Mr Colville said – by Sophie McNeill
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-08/yemen-crisis-grows-as-port-closure-blocks-aid/9128598
and film:
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"They have one hope... peace,” Soumaya Beltifa @ICRC_ye describes the starvation and helplessness in Yemen #ABCTheWorld
https://twitter.com/abcnews/status/928223247128129536
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Yemen: An urgent call to keep borders open for health, medical supplies
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is urgently calling for Yemen's air, sea and land borders to be kept open to allow vital humanitarian supplies to enter the country.
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/yemen-urgent-call-keep-borders-open-health-medical-supplies
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The @ICRC joins the call for #Saudi to open #Yemen’s air, sea & land borders, saying vital humanitarian supplies must enter the country. (text in image)
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/927923643379744769
The @ICRC says Red Cross shipment of chlorine tablets, which are used for the prevention of cholera, was blocked at #Yemen’s northern border
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/927923905066610688
The @ICRC says medical supplies incl. 50k vials of insulin due to be shipped by next week. “Insulin cannot wait at a shuttered border"
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/927924300740521987
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Film: Thousands died with closure of #Yemen airport. Mohammed's dad was one of them. Now total closure endangers millions @NRC_Norway warns
https://twitter.com/NRC_MiddleEast/status/927846938321522688
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U.N., Red Cross urge Saudi-led coalition to re-open aid lifeline to Yemen
The United Nations urged the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen to re-open an aid lifeline to bring imported food and medicine into Yemen, whose 7 million people are facing famine in a country that is already the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The price of fuel jumped 60 percent “overnight” in Yemen and the price of cooking gas doubled, as long lines of cars are reported forming at petrol stations, he added.
Rupert Colville, U.N. human rights spokesman, said the office would study whether the blockade amounted to “collective punishment”, banned under international law but hoped that it would be temporary.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) joined the call.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un/u-n-calls-for-saudi-led-coalition-to-re-open-aid-lifeline-to-yemen-idUSKBN1D71BM and also http://www.dw.com/en/un-urges-saudi-arabia-to-end-blockade-on-yemen/a-41271430
Comment: "No one will be able to say later, particularly with respect to #Yemen, that they didn’t know what was happening"
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/927965185758855169
(* A H)
Film: 'Situation is catastrophic' as Saudi tightens blockade on Yemen
Saudi Arabia has tightened its land, air and sea blockade on Yemen in response to a missile attack by Houthi rebels earlier this week.
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Closure of Yemen's borders to aid deliveries is 'catastrophic', UN warns
Humanitarian groups and the UN have urged the Saudi-led coalition to reopen aid channels into Yemen, after a decision to seal the stricken country’s air, sea and land borders.
The UN described the closure of aid channels as “catastrophic”. Food, medicine and other essential supplies are “critical for the survival” of the country’s 27 million population, weakened by war, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) added
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/nov/07/closure-of-yemen-borders-to-aid-deliveries-is-catastrophic-un-united-nations-warns and also https://www.voanews.com/a/un-saudi-blockade-yemens-ports-causing-humanitarian-catastrophe/4104897.html
(A)
Government official: 10,000 tons of diesel ship docked at Mukalla port
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport in the Yemeni government Nasser al-Sharif said that the ship carrying 10 metric tons of diesel fuel was docked Wednesday at Al Mukalla port, in southeastern Yemen.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/95340
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UN aid flights blocked from Yemen after Saudi-led coalition seals borders
The Saudi-led coalition's decision to close off Yemen's air, sea and land borders prevented the United Nations on Monday from sending two humanitarian aid flights to the war-torn country, a UN spokesman said.
UN officials are in talks with the coalition to get permission for the flights to deliver aid to Yemen, where some seven million people are on the brink of famine.
"There were no flight clearances granted to our flights today," said UN spokesman Farhan Haq. "We expected to have two flights going and those are on hold for now."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5055675/UN-aid-flights-blocked-Yemen-Saudi-led-coalition-seals-borders.html and also http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-led-coalitions-blockade-yemen-halts-un-aid-shipments-860238485 and http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/11/07/saudi-closure-yemens-borders-crime-against-human-rights-houthi
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The Latest: UN expresses concern over aid to Yemen
4:10 a.m.
The head of the U.N. World Food Program is warning that hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen will be "on the brink of starvation" if the Saudi-led coalition's blockade of air, sea and land access lasts for even two weeks.
10:15 p.m.
The U.N. is expressing concern at the Saudi-led coalition's closing of all airports, seaports and land crossings in Yemen, warning that this may hamper the delivery of vitally needed humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people.
9:10 p.m.
A U.N. agency has suspended clearances for ships heading to Yemen and has urged all ships docking in the country’s Red Sea ports to leave immediately.
and a film by Aljazera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7nconRRgOo
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Saudis accuse Iran of 'direct aggression' over Yemen missile
The Saudis went into Yemen to counter alleged Iranian influence, but the campaign has proved a quagmire for the Saudi forces.
Iran is in the ascendant in Iraq, where it is a close ally of the Shia-dominated government. And it is "winning" in Syria too, helping to stabilise and consolidate the Assad regime. Saudi support for Syrian rebel factions has achieved nothing.
Now the Saudis seem to be focusing on another country where Iran's allies - in this case, Hezbollah - are well entrenched - Lebanon. But tinkering with that country's fragile stability has huge risks - not least the danger of prompting a crisis that could lead to a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41899643
Remark: Overview, background.
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Raketenangriff in Saudiarabien: Menschenrechtler werfen Huthi-Rebellen Kriegsverbrechen vor
Mit einem Raketenangriff auf den Flughafen von Riad haben Jemens Huthi-Rebellen «höchstwahrscheinlich» ein Kriegsverbrechen begangen. Das wirft Human Rights Watch der Miliz vor. Ungeklärt bleibt derweil die Herkunft der Rakete.
(* A K P)
Yemen: Houthi Strike on Saudi Airport Likely War Crime
Saudi-Led Coalition Closes Yemeni Land, Sea, Air Ports
The ballistic missile strike by Houthi-Saleh forces in Yemen on Riyadh’s main international airport on November 4, 2017, is most likely a war crime, Human Rights Watch said today.
“The Houthis’ launching of an indiscriminate ballistic missile at a predominantly civilian airport is an apparent war crime,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “But this unlawful attack is no justification for Saudi Arabia to exacerbate Yemen’s humanitarian catastrophe by further restricting aid and access to the country.”
https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/07/yemen-houthi-strike-saudi-airport-likely-war-crime
Comment: An attack primarily targeting civilians is a war crime. To target non-essential civilian infrastructure is a legitimate military response.
Indeed, #Yemen missile attacks on Saudi airports & civilian infrastructure are perfectly legal acts of self-defence under the laws of war.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/927839971377065984
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/927833676611837952
My comment to comment: I disagree. Attacking a civilian airport – and even more at a time when there are a lot of civilians – evidently is a war crime. And even in case nothing happens and nobody is killed, because the missile is intercepted. But, of course: War crimes of this type are happening in Yemen every day. All these Saudi coalition air raids targeting civilian areas must be treated the same way, whether they have any horrible impact – or even if they do not, just targeting means a war crime. And by this, you can see Saudi and western hypocrisy every day, day by day, since March 2015. Being outraged about this Houthi / Saleh war crime? You could be it, this could be honest – if you would be outraged the sdame way about all these Saudi air raids since March 2015.
(A P)
Houthi missile attack on Saudi capital is forbidden under international law, UN
The missile that was fired last Saturday from Yemen by the Houthi militias towards a civilian facility in the Saudi capital Riyadh is forbidden under international law, said spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Rupert Colville.
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302645007
My comment: Look at comment above.
(A P)
U.S. praises Saudi Arabia for exposing Iran's role in Yemen
The United States on Monday praised Saudi Arabia for “exposing” Iran’s role in Yemen and Tehran’s provision of missile systems to Houthi militia fighting there, following the interception of a missile fired toward the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday.
“We continue to maintain strong defense ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and work together on common security priorities to include combat operations against violent extremist organizations, and neutralizing Iran’s destabilizing influence in the Middle East region,” said Pentagon spokesman Marine Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway.
My comment: The US is inflaming the crisis even further. This is just a sign of it. And, as a reminder from March 2017: https://www.justsecurity.org/38543/hitting-iran-doesnt-hurt-u-s-intervention-yemen-backfire/
(* A P)
U.S. calls for U.N. action against Iran over Yemen missile
The United States accused Iran on Tuesday of supplying Yemen’s Houthi rebels with a missile that was fired into Saudi Arabia in July and called for the United Nations to hold Tehran accountable for violating two U.N. Security Council resolutions.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said information released by Saudi Arabia showed the missile fired in July was an Iranian Qiam, which she described as “a type of weapon that had not been present in Yemen before the conflict.”
“We encourage the United Nations and international partners to take necessary action to hold the Iranian regime accountable for these violations,” Haley said. It was not immediately clear what action the United States was calling for.
My comment: If there are required any actions by the UN, the UN should have acted against Sausi Arabia and it’s American backers already 2 ½ years ago.
(* A P)
US asks UN to respond to Iran supplying missiles to Yemeni rebels
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Tuesday accused Iran of violating international law by supplying ballistic missiles to Yemeni rebels and called on the U.N. to respond.
“By providing these types of weapons to the Houthi militias in Yemen, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is violating two UN resolutions simultaneously,” Haley said in a statement.
My comment: This is really insane when taking into account that the amount of arms the US is pumping into the Arabian peninsula and the Yemen war will be an estimated 10,000 times higher than what (seriously estimated) the Iranians bring there.
Comment: The building of a paranoia follows these very same steps.
We ask the US: what gave you the right to refuel Coalition's warplanes, provide intelligence, drone our children?
We demand the UN to halt the pantomime and act, behave - for once - in favour of Yemen.
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1741356886160298
(* A P)
US wants Iran 'held to account' for Houthi missile attack on Saudi Arabia
Europe's top diplomat Federica Mogherini warned the mounting tension was "extremely dangerous", and urged Riyadh and Tehran to seek a "minimum of common ground" on which to build peace.
"I know that this is not the wind that is blowing as the majority voice in the world of today," Mogherini told reporters at the EU mission in Washington.
"But allow me to bring a little bit of wisdom as the European voice in a world that seems to go completely crazy here: It's dangerous."
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/11/8/us-wants-iran-held-to-account-for-houthi-missile
and more articles:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/united-states-saudi-arabia-iran-supplying-weapons-yemen-houthi-rebels/
(* A P)
White House condemns missile attacks on Saudi by Yemen's Houthis
The White House on Wednesday condemned missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militias on Saudi Arabia, saying they threatened the region’s security and undermined efforts to halt the conflict.
“Houthi missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, enabled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, threaten regional security and undermine UN efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict,” the White House said in a statement as U.S. President Donald Trump began a visit to the Chinese capital.
“These missile systems were not present in Yemen before the conflict, and we call upon the United Nations to conduct a thorough examination of evidence that the Iranian regime is perpetuating the war in Yemen to advance its regional ambitions,” the statement added.
My comment: The last sentence quoted here ““These missile systems were not present in Yemen before the conflict“ is simply wrong.
(* A P)
Saudi crown prince calls Iran supply of rockets 'military aggression'
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said Iran’s supply of rockets to militias in Yemen is an act of “direct military aggression” that could be an act of war, state media reported on Tuesday, remarks reflecting sharply heightened strains between Riyadh and Tehran.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-iran/saudi-crown-prince-says-iran-supply-of-rockets-is-military-aggression-idUSKBN1D70QK and an article by Saudi media: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1189951/saudi-arabia
and
(* A P)
Saudi Crown Prince: Iran Supply of Rockets Is Military Aggression
The supply of rockets to the Iran-allied rebel Houthi movement could “constitute an act of war against the Kingdom,” SPA quoted the crown prince as saying in a telephone call with the British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson.
The crown prince told Johnson that the Iranian regime’s involvement in providing Houthi militias, which are affiliated with it, with missiles is a direct, military aggression by Tehran and amounts to being viewed as an act of war against the kingdom.
My comment: See below.
(* A P)
Saudi says reserves right to respond to Iran 'hostile actions'
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Monday his country reserved the right to respond to Iran’s “hostile actions”, an apparent reference to a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis who Saudi Arabia says are armed by Iran.
My comment: The problem is that there are no Iran hostile actions.
and
(A P)
We reserve right to respond to Iran hostile actions: Jubeir
Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir on Monday warned Tehran the Kingdom would not tolerate “any infringement” on its national security, following a weekend missile attack on Riyadh by Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.
“Iranian interventions in the region are detrimental to the security of neighboring countries and affect international peace and security. We will not allow any infringement on our national security,” Jubeir tweeted.
Jubeir said his country reserved the right to respond to Iran’s “hostile actions”.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/521222/SAUDI-ARABIA/We-reserve-right-to-respond-to-Iran-hostile-actions-Jubeir and also https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1076256/riyadh-warns-tehran-it-will-%E2%80%98respond-appropriately%E2%80%99-its-arming-yemen%E2%80%99s-houthis
My comment: The problem is: There are no “Iran hostile actions”. And: “Iranian interventions in the region are detrimental to the security of neighboring countries” is rather ridiculous comparing the Iranian “intervention” in Yemen to the Saudi bombing intervention since 2 ½ years.
(* A P)
Kingdom has right to defend its territories. Iran’s blatant aggression violates UN resolution: Cabinet
The Council of Ministers chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman at Al-Yamamah Palace here on Tuesday condemned the Iranian involvement in the missile attack on Riyadh by Yemen’s Houthi militias.
The Cabinet said that the hostile act targeting populated civilian areas proved Iran’s involvement in supporting the armed Houthi militias in a clear and blatant violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
This is considered a flagrant aggression targeting neighboring countries and global and regional security and peace, the Cabinet said, stressing the Kingdom’s legitimate right to defend its territories and people as per Article 51 of the UN Charter.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/521312/SAUDI-ARABIA/Kingdom-has-right-to-defend-its-territories
My comment: This is the typical Saudi propaganda repeated again and again. Keep in mind, the Saudis stared their bombing war against Yemen when there had not been any attack against Saudi territory.The first Houthi missile against Saudi territory was fired then weeks AFTER the first Saudi air raids in this war. – As the Saudis bombed and bomb Yemen, the Yemenis have the “right to defend its territories”. Now the Saudis cry about a” hostile act targeting populated civilian areas” which is “considered a flagrant aggression targeting neighboring countries and global and regional security” – well they themselves do exactly this in Yemen since March 2015 – daily.
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia threatens Iran after Yemen missile strike
Saudi Arabia has ramped up threats to Iran, saying there will be a response "in the appropriate time and manner," following a missile strike from neighboring Yemen, which has been under a nonstop bombardment campaign by a Saudi-led coalition for over two and a half years.
The coalition, which includes a number of Saudi Arabia’s vassal states under its command, said in a statement on Sunday that Iran was to blame for a Yemeni missile strike on Riyadh earlier in the day.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/06/541159/Saudi-Arabia-threat-Iran-Yemen-missile-strike-Riyadh
(A P)
Iranian FM Blasts Riyadh's "Dangerous" Allegations as against UN Charter
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif lashed out at Saudi Arabia's allegations that Tehran has supplied the Yemeni resistance group Ansarullah with missiles, describing it a violation of the international laws and the UN Charter.
Zarif made the remarks in a phone conversation with his British counterpart Boris Johnson on Tuesday.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960816001689
(* A P)
IRGC commander denies Trump claim on Saudi missile attack
Mohammad Ali Jafari, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has denied claims by President Donald Trump that Iran was responsible for the missile that was launched into Saudi Arabia from Yemen over the weekend. After Saudi Arabia claimed that the Houthis fired a ballistic missile into a heavily populated area for the first time, Trump, while on tour in Asia, said, “A shot was just taken by Iran, in my opinion, at Saudi Arabia.”
Jafari said in response to questions by reporters Nov. 5, “Trump has made many unaccountable, false and untrue statements and this is also one of those accusations.” Jafari continued, “Shipping missiles to Yemen is not even possible and these missiles that are being launched belong to Yemen, which are rebuilt and have had their range increased to pursue revenge for the blood of their martyrs.”
(* A K P)
Iran dismisses allegations it gave missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen
Iran has dismissed allegations that it provided missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen, after a ballistic missile fired from Yemen came close to the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Saturday.
"The claim that the missile was delivered to Yemen by Iran is baseless," Major General Jafari told reporters on Sunday, as quoted in semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
"These missiles have been manufactured by the Yemenis and their military industries," he said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/06/middleeast/iran-saudi-yemen-missile/index.html
(* A K P)
Iran’s top diplomat says the U.S.-Saudi relationship is ‘hazardous to regional health’
Iran’s Twitter-friendly foreign minister offered up some choice jabs Monday against the United States and its Saudi allies for what he called “regional bullying” and “destabilizing behavior” after Saudi officials blamed Iran for a missile that was fired at their capital from war-ravaged Yemen.
“Hazardous to regional health,” wrote Mohammad Javad Zarif in a barb directed at the close Saudi-U.S. ties.
(* A K P)
Saudi-led coalition blames Iran for Houthi missile attack
Saudi Arabia has blamed Iran for committing a possible "act of war" after a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted Riyadh. The rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia is heating up across the Middle East.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen accused Iran on Monday of supplying the ballistic missile that targeted Riyadh, saying it could be considered an act of war.
Saturday's missile launch is considered "a blatant act of military aggression by the Iranian regime, and could rise to be considered as an act of war against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the coalition said in a statement on the official Saudi Press Agency.
The statement said the kingdom "reserves its right to respond to Iran in the appropriate time and manner."
http://www.dw.com/en/saudi-led-coalition-blames-iran-for-houthi-missile-attack/a-41248951 and also https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabia-blames-iran-for-missile-attack-1509955160
My comment: This is ridiculous when taking into account the Saudi bombing war. And Iran has less to do with all this than France or Germany would.
(A P)
Major arms exporter France sides with US over Iran’s alleged support for Yemen fighters
France says it is taking seriously US allegations that Iran provides missiles to Yemeni fighters, amid Washington’s intensified weapons support for Riyadh, which is engaged in over two years of a deadly military campaign against its southern impoverished neighbor.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/08/541485/France-supports-US-claim-against-Iran-over-Yemen
(unrated A K P)
Houthi missile fired at Riyadh indicates intent to engage targets deep in Saudi Arabia, despite escalation risk (login only)
(* A K PH)
Navy warns Saudi aggression coalition of closing ports
The Yemeni navy and coastal defense warned the Saudi aggression coalition against the consequences of escalation and the closure of Yemeni ports.
"The navy and the coastal defense confirmed their readiness to respond to any folly by the aggression coalition," in statement received by Saba late on Monday.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478700.htm
(* B P)
The Wild Week In Mideast Geopolitics
This past week was geopolitically very eventful for the Mideast, even by the region’s dynamic standards, which shows that a new international order is indeed being formed there; but serious challenges still remain to its ultimate fruition.
Five interconnected events took place over the past week, in a powerful fashion, shaping the future of Mideast geopolitics. The prevailing belief is that the region is becoming more multipolar.
Likewise, the shifting sands in the Mideast are also making it possible for the US and its “Israeli” ally to creatively disrupt this process through the weaponization of chaos theory, or in other words, provoking artificial conflicts in order halt the success of this “paradigm shift” that is disadvantageous against their grand strategic interests.
The resultant outcome of this friction is that the Mideast is once again thrown into uncertainty at a crucial moment in its history and that the situation is a lot more complicated than some observers might present it as.
Bearing this contextual backdrop in mind, here’s a brief review of all that happened over this wild week and why it’s so important in terms of the bigger picture: – by Andrew Korbyko
https://www.globalvillagespace.com/the-wild-week-in-mideast-geopolitics/
(* A P)
UN Should Take Action against US, Saudi Arabia over Civilian Deaths
The warmongers claim their so-called Coalition Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen is doing all it can to avoid harming civilians and children, reiterating their non-existent commitment to follow international humanitarian laws in military operations. They further slam the United Nations for using what they call “unreliable sources loyal to Houthis” (Ansarullah resistance movement) to write reports against Saudi Arabia. Speaking of reliable sources of information for writing the reports, it suffices to mention two separate news that were published on Wednesday, November 8:
Yet the UN and member states are still avoiding a vote on a resolution that puts pressure on Saudi Arabia to end the war, much less condemn US-British involvement in the conflict. Saudi Arabia relies heavily on the US military for intelligence sharing, refueling flights for coalition warplanes, and the transfer of American-made cluster bombs, rockets, and other munitions used against civilian targets in Yemen.
The UN, however, has never authorized support for the war
The real news is for the international civil society to indicate an interest in the issue. The UN could do so by forcing a debate at the General Assembly and an on-the-record binding vote and resolution over the war. Under International Law, the UN should meet its international responsibility to end the war. To the people of Yemen, this is the way the UN should do its work. The world body should uphold its own Charter which is protecting international peace and stability.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960817001519
(* A P)
From missiles to threats: Comparing the coverage of the Yemen-Saudi conflict | The Knife Media
For this analysis, we compared two outlets covering recent events in the Yemen-Saudi Arabia conflict. We wanted to see how each reported on Yemen firing a missile into Saudi Arabia (story 1), compared to how each reported on Saudi Arabia accusing Iran for the incident (story 2). The first story includes a measurable act of violence that could have killed many people. In the second, there’s an accusation and a threat. Which of the two do you think the media distorted the most?
It turns out it’s the second story. For instance, The Associated Press’ (AP) coverage of that story was 24 percent more spun than the first. Compare the spin (bolded) in the outlet’s descriptions of Saudi-Iran relations:
cp2b Allgemein: Sonstiges / General: Other
(* B K P)
Film: Saudi regime wants 'Sunni-Shia conflict' out of Yemen war
Saudi Arabia is using everything at its disposal to turn the war on Yemen into a “Sunni-Shia conflict” by accusing Iran of supplying weapons to Yemenis, but the plot will fail, says a journalist.
The Yemeni people have the right to get weapons to defend themselves against the Saudi-led aggression. Accusing other countries is part of “Saudi tactics perhaps to say that the conflict is with Iran and not with Yemen,” Omar Nashabe told Press TV on Tuesday.
The journalist, who is working with al-Akhbar newspaper, also criticized the international community for showing an unfair reaction to a rocket attack on Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh early on Sunday.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/07/541325/Saudi-Arabia-Yemen-war
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia offers bounty for information on Houthi leaders
Riyadh has put some 40 high-ranking Ansarullah movement officials on terrorist list after Yemen targeted an international airport near the Saudi capital.
The leader of Ansarullah movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, and the director of the movement’s political council, Saleh al-Samad, are among those added to the list on Sunday.
The Saudis have also announced a bounty of up to $30 million for information leading to the arrest of the officials.
Meanwhile, the kingdom has boosted its blockade on Yemen, shutting down all the war-torn country’s air, sea, and land ports.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/06/541147/yemen-saudi-arabia-terrorist-list-missile-airport
and
(* A P)
Wanted: Saudi Arabia slaps bounties on Houthi leaders with millions on their heads
Forty members of Yemen's Houthi rebel group, including its leader and other senior figures that have been placed on a Saudi bounty list offering millions of dollars.
Rebel group chief Abdulmalik Badr al-Din al-Houthi as well as the group's President Saleh Ali al-Samad are among two mentioned in a list of names featuring some 40 individuals.
They have been accused of "planning, executing and supporting" terror activities, Saudi-run al-Arabiya news reported.
The list was issued by the Saudi ministry of interior, which offers rewards between $5 million to $30 million for information leading to their arrests or whereabouts of the rebel leaders.
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/11/6/wanted-saudi-arabia-slaps-bounties-on-houthi-leaders and also http://newnewss.net/?p=15036 with image
My comment: if these Houthis are “terrorists”, the Saudi leaders are even more.
(* B K P)
Film: 'Saudi Arabia seeks to colonize Yemen on behalf of US, UK’
Press TV has asked Kim Sharif, director of Human Rights for Yemen, as well as Jihad Mouracadeh, political commentator and Middle East expert, to share their views on the Saudi military aggression.
Kim Sharif believes that Saudi Arabia is seeking to “colonize” Yemen on behalf of its masters - namely the United States and Britain - which are supporting the kingdom’s “illegal” military campaign by selling it weapons.
She said there is a “holocaust” going on in Yemen, adding that the impoverished Arab nation has been turned into a “concentration camp” where people are being “systematically exterminated” by Saudi Arabia.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/08/541413/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-genocide-Hadi-US-UK-weapon-sales
(* B P)
Have Saudi and the UAE's aims in Yemen war shifted?
The two Gulf countries wanted to restore Hadi's government to legitimacy after a civil war broke out between Hadi's supporters and those loyal to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was overthrown during popular protests in 2011.
But according to some Yemenis, the coalition's goal has shifted.
Khaled al-Ansi, a Yemeni political analyst, says that Saudi's pressure to keep Hadi from returning to Yemen means that it has "failed in defeating the [Houthi] coup" and is now "turning its back on legitimacy".
"Saudi claims that it has liberated Aden and has control over it and that the coalition ended the coup there. But at the same time it says that it cannot protect Hadi in Aden. Then what does this mean?"
"As Yemenis, the picture has become clear for us. We accepted the presence of the coalition for defending legitimacy - not to ruin it. Now we find that there is an agenda different to the stated one - Saudi's presence in Yemen has become illegal," Al-Ansi told Al Jazeera from Istanbul.
Different agendas?
Saudi Arabia has expressed that it "wants out" of Yemen while the UAE has become more involved in the conflict, indicating a divide in the two countries' agendas.
Reality on ground dividing Hadi supporters
(* B P)
Will the GCC fall apart?
The truth, though, is that the GCC no longer exists as a collective security or developmental organisation, and perhaps never really did function in that capacity. The more troubling pattern that emerges these days is that Saudi Arabia wishes to lay down the law for all the Gulf states, who must submit to its leadership or suffer the same fate as Qatar: harsh economic sanctions and restrictions, along with veiled military threats and draconian but amateurish propaganda campaigns, designed to achieve either collapse and regime change internally, or swift acquiescence to Saudi Arabian rule in the region.
That would signal the death of the noble dream of a GCC collective march to security and prosperity, which has not happened yet, but appears imminent. Without meaningful compromises and enforceable agreements to end the assault on Qatar and agree on new mechanisms for genuine collective security and well-being, the GCC is doomed.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/gcc-fall-171107083437029.html
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp2a
(A H)
Yemeni Kidney Patients Appeal to the World After Closure of Dialysis Center
Renal patients in Yemen’s Ibb governorate held a protest today after the closure of the renal dialysis center at Al-Thawra General Hospital due to the depletion of solutions and substances required.
(A H)
Here is what we have noticed today during delivering orphan students school bags at Wadi Ahmed area in Sana'a. Most students has no bags in their first studying stage. Pix taken by @monarelief #Yemen
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/928292242342793216
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/928289775764852736
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/928285492252168204
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/928282899576774656
(A H)
Photos: Protest of renal failure patients in #Hodeidah city demanding to provide dialysis center with essential needs
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/927987580733349888
(A H)
Film: Thanks to all our donors School bags are ready 2 b delivered to orphan students in Sanaa's schools tomorrow @monarelief won't give up
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/927833008727523328
(* B H)
Shocking stats that reveal the full horror of life for children in war-torn Yemen
The UN's humanitarian agency OCHA has painted a bleak picture after its chief Mark Lowcock visited the country and heard "stories of atrocious suffering".
The full extent of the suffering being endured by many of Yemen's children has been revealed by the United Nations.
Bombed, displaced, malnourished, sick, married off young and with no schools to go to.
That's the bleak picture painted by the latest bulletin on the war-torn country from OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).
(A H)
Film: .@unicef launched a water project serving over 60,000 people in Saada city, northern #Yemen using solar energy.
https://twitter.com/UNICEF_Yemen/status/927799416324534272
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
(* B H)
Cash grants offer hope to displaced Yemenis facing eviction
With two million still displaced after years of conflict, UNHCR assistance helps the most vulnerable keep a roof over their heads and children out of work.
“We received the money yesterday, thank God for it! We gave half to the landlord and used the other half for food,” she explained.
With conflict still raging across the country, displaced families are now struggling to meet their primary needs including shelter, food and water. Eighty-eight per cent have been displaced for more than a year, with those living in rented accommodation often facing the lingering threat of eviction.
In response, UNHCR has provided the equivalent of US$200 in rental assistance to 9,200 vulnerable families at risk of eviction, identified by UNHCR field staff and partners through home visits, mobile assessment teams or by staff at drop-in community centres.
With extra funding for the scheme now received, UNHCR plans to disburse assistance to an additional 9,900 families before the end of the year.
(A H)
Yemen: Passengers Transport Overview - Djibouti – Aden - Djibouti, October 2017
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
(* A P)
Houthis offer Saudi princes political asylum in Yemen
Houthi rebels say they are willing to offer Saudi princes political asylum in Yemen, days after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman carried out the biggest anti-corruption purge in the kingdom's modern history.
A source close to the Houthi leadership told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that any Saudi prince or national seeking refuge would be "welcomed" by Yemen, their "brotherly neighbour".
and
(* A P)
SAUDI ARABIA PRINCES OFFERED ASYLUM IN YEMEN BY REBELS THEY ARE BOMBING
The Yemeni rebel group currently battling a coalition led by Saudi Arabia to retain control of the war-torn country's capital has offered asylum to Saudis fleeing a sudden anti-corruption purge led by the kingdom's crown prince.
http://www.newsweek.com/saudi-arabia-princes-offered-asylum-rebels-they-bombing-704838?piano_t=1
(A P)
Yemeni People Stage Rally in Solidarity with Palestinians
The participants in the demonstration, held on Monday, expressed their solidarity with Palestinians on the occasion of the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, which paved the way for the creation of Israeli regime, the Arabic-language Al Mayadeen TV reported.
(A E)
Severe queues outside gas stations across Sana'a this morning. Since closure of ports yesterday, fuel prices reportedly increased by 60%. (photo)
https://twitter.com/Shabia_M/status/927772551253757952 and https://twitter.com/EliasdDiab/status/927837171662417920 and https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/928300457369448449
and also
(A E)
Household gas being bought off the streets in Sana'a. Yemenis stockpiling fearing shortages. (photo)
https://twitter.com/Shabia_M/status/928133116958531584 and also http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-08/yemen-gas-bottles/9128642
(A E)
there is no need to queues in front of the petroleum stations”:YPC
The Yemeni Petroleum Company confirmed the availability of sufficient quantities of commercial oil derivatives.
(A K)
Yemen Confirms Russia, Korea's Assistance to Increase Range, Precision-Striking Power of Missiles
Spokesman of the Yemeni Army Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman announced that the country has received assistance from Russia and Korea to boost the range and precision-striking power of its missiles.
"We have used (experiences) of the Russian and Korean experts to develop the range and precision-striking power of missiles," Luqman said.
He added that the ballistic Borkan H2 missile which hit King Khalid airport in Northeastern Riyadh was just a "warning shot".
"We will intensify our attacks if the Saudi enemy continues aggression against the Yemeni nation," he warned.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960816000619
(A K P)
Yemen President commander-in-chief Samad attended today graduation of batch of navy forces in coastal province of Hodeida ( Nov 6, 2017)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/927568407498764288
(* A K P)
Houthis threaten to torpedo Saudi warships with new ‘underwater missiles’
Houthi forces showcased what they claimed were their newest anti-ship missiles, threatening to target Saudi warships “very soon.” The warning comes days after a missile fired from Yemen was reportedly shot down near the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Houthi forces recently unveiled what they said was their newest “torpedo missile,” allegedly capable of hitting enemy targets at sea. A video uploaded by the Al-Masdar news agency shows what appears to be a number of rockets on static display. Each projectile featured a warhead, several stabilizers and a tail.
Shiite rebels, backed by Iran, claimed the new weapon, dubbed ‘Al-Manbab,’ could be deployed “very soon” against Saudi warships blockading Yemeni ports. However, it is yet to be confirmed whether the video is authentic and the torpedoes are operational.
https://www.rt.com/news/409024-houthi-torpedo-saudi-warships/
and
(* A K P)
Yemen’s armed forces showcase domestically-manufactured naval missiles / Video & Pics
Yemen’s armed forces have showcased their domestically-manufactured naval missiles at an exhibition in the western port city of Hudaydah, with senior officials and military commanders of the Houthi Ansarullah movement in attendance.
and
(* A K P)
Yemeni commanders inspect naval missiles at Hudaydah exhibition
Senior Yemeni officials and military commanders of the Houthi Ansarullah movement have inspected domestically-manufactured naval missiles showcased by Yemen's armed forces at an exhibition in the western port city of Hudaydah.
Comment: Jeremy Binnie @JeremyBinnie Low-quality images, but these Yemeni rebel anti-ship missiles look like Chinese C-801, not Iranian Nour/C-802
https://twitter.com/BruceMctague/status/927616097750220800
(A P)
General People's Party of Yemen Condemns Saudi Bounty for Ansarullah Leaders
General People's Congress (GPC) party, affiliated to former Yemeni President Ali Abdollah Saleh, deplored Saudi Arabia for offering money in return for any information on Ansarullah leaders, describing Riyadh as the main supporter of terrorist thoughts in Yemen and the world.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960815001445
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
(A T)
I am so sorry for this lady, slaughtered by a terrorist's knife on the streets of Aden.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/928230552062316544
(A)
Emirati-backed security forces deploy troops to Abyan governorate, southern Yemen[4]
(* A P)
Yemen Denies Reports President Hadi is Under House Arrest in Riyadh
The Yemeni Presidency on Wednesday denied reports that President Abd Rabbou Mansour Hadi has been placed under house arrest in Saudi capital Riyadh.
A presidential source cited by the official Saba news agency termed reports about placing Hadi under house arrest as “lies”.
https://www.albawaba.com/news/yemen-denies-reports-president-hadi-under-house-arrest-riyadh-1045328
(* A P)
Yemen's Hadi under 'house arrest' as Riyadh tightens grip in Saudi Arabia
Hadi was placed under 'house arrest' after accusing the UAE of acting like an occupier after taking control of Aden airport
Saudi Arabia has placed Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Hadi and his sons under house arrest as Riyadh, barring them from returning home as the kingdom continues its crackdown on alleged corruption.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, Yemeni officials confirmed Hadi, his sons and several ministers with him in Riyadh have been prevented from going to Yemen, reported AP.
"The Saudis have imposed a form of house arrest on them," the commander said. "When Hadi asks to go, they respond it's not safe for him to return as there are plotters who want to take his life and Saudis fear for his life."
Officials said the ban was prompted by enmity between Hadi and the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels and has come to dominate southern Yemen, the portion of the country not under rebel control, reported AP.
Anonymous sources also told Middle East Eye that Hadi had been under house arrest for months and since he clashed with UAE Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed during a meeting earlier this year.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemens-hadi-under-house-arrest-riyadh-tightens-grip-saudi-arabia-1713860405 and also http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/yemen-president-hadi-house-arrest-riyadh-171107082638642.html
(A T)
Gunmen assassinate cleric in Alfeush
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-12627
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Saudi barred Yemeni president from going home, officials say
Saudi Arabia has barred Yemen's president, along with his sons, ministers and military officials, from returning home for months, Yemeni officials tell The Associated Press, a sign of how much the leader-in-exile has been deeply weakened in a war fought in his name by the Saudi-led coalition against rebels in his country.
The officials said the ban was prompted by the bitter enmity between President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the coalition and has come to dominate southern Yemen
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article182971416.html
(A T)
Militants blow up Congregation for Reform Party premises
Unknown militants have detonated the premises of the Congregation of Reform in Daar Saad in the temporary capital Aden, local sources said.
The security sources have not yet disclosed who stands behind the terror attack.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-12629
(A T)
#AQAP #Yemen claims yday's assassination of guard of Security Director for Hadramawt Wadi & Desert in Mankhar (its 3rd Hadramawt op in Nov)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/927495491931332608
(A T)
Anti-Terrorism Forces Engage in Heavy Clashes with Terrorists in Lahj
http://en.smanews.org/anti-terrorism-forces-engage-in-heavy-clashes-with-terrorists-in-lahj
(* A T)
Selbstmordanschlag auf Gebäude der Sicherheitskräfte im jemenitischen Aden
In der jemenitischen Regierungshochburg Aden ist am Sonntag ein Selbstmordanschlag auf das Hauptquartier der Sicherheitskräfte verübt worden. Das Attentat löste Gefechte zwischen bewaffneten Regierungsgegnern und Sicherheitskräften aus.
http://www.zeit.de/news/2017-11/05/jemen-selbstmordanschlag-auf-gebaeude-der-sicherheitskraefte-im-jemenitischen-aden-05072804 und auch https://www.pressreader.com/germany/neues-deutschland/20171106/281685435115638
(A T)
Al-Anboury: All Security Units Involved in eliminating Terrorists and There are Charred Corpses that Couldn’t be Identified”
A supreme security source indicated that all security units of anti-terrorism and commandos, involved in clearing Adan Criminal Investigations Building off terrorists
(* A T)
Details of the Terrorist Attack on Adan Police Department
This is the biggest terrorist attack on a vital facility in Adan as number of attackers may exceed 40. The attack started with a car bomb heavily loaded with explosives. More than 12 hitmen stationed on nearby buildings and targeted everyone after the explosion. The rest of attackers continued the attack under full cover of hitmen. Three other cars loaded with armed terrorists engaged in the battel that took place inside the police department. Terrorists used criminal detainees as human shields during the attack.
http://en.smanews.org/details-of-the-terrorist-attack-on-adan-police-department
and
(* A T)
Film: Yemen hostage crisis claimed by Daesh ends with 35 dead
Yemeni forces have ended a hostage crisis, with 29 police officers and six civilians dead, a day after the attack claimed by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group began with bombings, official sources say.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/06/541206/Yemen-Daesh-hostage-crisis
and
(* A T)
Aden death toll rises to 46: Yemeni government
The death toll from this weekend’s suicide bombing in Yemen’s southern city of Aden rose to 46, according to Yemeni authorities.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said that some 47 people had also been injured in the attack.
On Sunday, a man rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the main security headquarters in Aden before assailants attacked the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/aden-death-toll-rises-to-46-yemeni-government/958620
(* A T)
Latest Official Census of Victims of the Terrorist Attack on Adan Criminal Investigations Building
According to office Adan Deputy Governor for martyrs and injured affairs, SAMA news is publishing names of (23) martyrs, but the number may increase because of critical cases of some injured.
and
(A T)
Intel accuses Aden security leaders of conniving with terrorists
A senior Military Intelligence source has accused the security leaders of Aden of conniving with the terrorists who carried out a terror attack that the intelligence had tipped off the security leaders over.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-12630
Remark: Earlier reporting YPR 354.
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp2a
(* A H P)
Parties to 'brutal conflict' in Yemen must respect international humanitarian law – UN official
Expressing horror at continued violence perpetrated by all parties to the conflict in Yemen, the top United Nations humanitarian official in the country has called on the conflicting sides to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.
“In particular, I ask [the parties] to adhere to the principles of distinction between civilians and combatants and proportionality in the conduct of hostilities and refrain from directing attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure,” said Jamie McGoldrick, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, in a statement Sunday.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=58030#.WgPYSWjWyUl
(* A K P)
Press briefing on Yemen
Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Rupert Colville
Location: Geneva
We are deeply concerned by a series of attacks in Yemen over the past week that have killed dozens of civilians -- including several children -- and we appeal to all parties to respect international law governing armed conflict.
Civilians must never be put in harm’s way during any conflict. International humanitarian law prohibits attacks against civilians and civilian objects, indiscriminate attacks, and it obliges all parties to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects.
On 1 November, two airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition hit the Al Layl market in the Olaaf area of Sahaar district in Saada governorate, killing 31 civilians, including six children, and wounding 24 others. The victims were Qat sellers and guests at the Al Layl hotel. We understand the coalition is investigating the incident.
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22365&LangID=E My comment: Here, the warring parties are blamed namely. And, for the Nov. 1 attack, the Saudis’ story is evidently stated to be a lie.
(A P)
After Saudi Puts Full Blockade on Yemen, ICP Asks UK & France of Humanitarian Law
Inner City Press then asked France's Francois Delattre, who called it a hard question and said he'd get back with an answer. Video here. We're still waiting. Where is the United Nations Secretariat and envoy on this?
http://www.innercitypress.com/yemen9questions110617.html
(A H P)
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock: Briefing to Member States on Yemen, 06 November 2017
Conflict is causing death, injury, sexual violence and abuse, damage and destruction, massive displacement, loss of livelihoods, hunger and disease. Travelling on both sides of the conflict’s front lines helped me grasp the cascading consequences for civilians.
I again implore everyone to do everything – everything – they can to ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law, to eliminate all interference with essential humanitarian work, and to behave in a proportionate way, mindful of the consequences of their actions on civilians.
Everywhere I went, I saw roads, bridges, factories, hotels, and houses that had been destroyed by bombing or shelling.
(A P)
Parties to 'brutal conflict' in Yemen must respect international humanitarian law – UN official
Expressing horror at continued violence perpetrated by all parties to the conflict in Yemen, the top United Nations humanitarian official in the country has called on the conflicting sides to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.
“In particular, I ask [the parties] to adhere to the principles of distinction between civilians and combatants and proportionality in the conduct of hostilities and refrain from directing attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure,” said Jamie McGoldrick, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, in a statement Sunday.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=58030#.WgCtL2jWyUk
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
Mehr / More at cp1 and cp2a
(A P)
Iran urges 'friendship' with Saudi Arabia amid Yemen row
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday gestured "friendship" between two major Muslim states of Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Rouhani urged Saudi Arabia to cease what he called their "hostile" policies towards the Islamic republic, Press TV reported.
He said Iran supports development of regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, adding that "there is no way other than brotherhood, friendship and helping each other."
"This is a strategic mistake and miscalculation to think that Iran is not your friend, but the United States and Israel are," Rouhani said in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
http://www.china.org.cn/world/2017-11/09/content_41867143.htm
(A K P)
Rouhani Warns Saudi Arabia of Iran's 'Might' in Wake of Houthis' Missile Launch
The Iranian leader has commented on the Yemeni Houthis' attack targeting Saudi Arabia, as well as Tehran's relations with Riyadh.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned Riyadh of Iran's "might," adding, "People more powerful than you have been unable to do anything against the Iranian people."
According to Rouhani, Yemeni Houthi rebels' missile attack targeting Saudi Arabia was a "reaction to aggression."
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201711081058909907-rouhani-iran-saudi-arabia-yemen-houthis/ and also https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171108-iran-houthi-missile-attack-on-riyadh-reaction-to-saudi-aggression/
(A K P)
Iran: Intensified Bombing of Yemen's Residential Areas Indicates Saudi Despair
The Iranian foreign ministry strongly condemned the Saudi-led coalition's continued bombing of residential areas in Yemen which killed and wounded tens of civilians, describing it as a sign for Riyadh's despair.
"Saudi Arabia's intensified bombing of residential areas, continued siege, shutting down marine transportation, ground and air ways of Yemen and not allowing in the humanitarian aid and needs of civilian people all show the country's despair and failure in attaining the objectives of its aggression against Yemen," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Wednesday.
He also blasted the international community for keeping mum about such crimes, calling on the UN and influential countries to endeavor to immediately stop the attacks and adopt the necessary measures to protect the lives of Yemeni civilians, specially women and children.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960817000799 and also http://www.irna.ir/en/News/82723897
(* A P)
Iran says Saudi Arabia facing results of its 'wars of aggression'
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday Saudi Arabia was blaming Iran for the consequences of its own “wars of aggression”, after his Saudi counterpart accused Tehran of threatening regional security.
“KSA (Saudi Arabia) is engaged in wars of aggression, regional bullying, destabilizing behavior (and) risky provocations. It blames Iran for the consequences,” Zarif said on his Twitter account.
(A P)
Saudi Officials’ Anti-Iran Remarks ‘Unfounded’: Envoy
Iran’s UN Ambassador Gholamali Khoshrou described allegations by Saudi authorities that Iran provided missiles to Houthi fighters in Yemen as “unfounded”.
„Such provocative statements by the Saudis are nothing but an attempt to shift the blame and to distract attention from its war of aggression against Yemen. However, this cannot exonerate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from its international responsibility for committing war crimes and violating the international humanitarian law, including further blocking humanitarian access to an already famine-stricken Yemen.“
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp2a
There is coming up a bulk of articles on the Saudi “purge”. Some are reasonable, others are just Copy and Paste, others just are cynic when pretending this would have anything to do with “reforms” or even should be seen as a positive move. I just can shortly show most of them.
(* B P)
Is Mohammed Bin Salman rewriting Saudi Arabia's history?
The Saudi crown prince's imaginary history of the kingdom is meant to justify repressive measures
What Mohammad bin Salman points to, in both cases, is not just politics but also history. However, bin Salman, who seems to have become the ultimate authority in the kingdom, announces certain policies, and then moves to justify these policies by means of his own version of the kingdom's history in the past three decades.
But to what extent, then, does the crown prince’s version concur with the known history of the kingdom?
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/mohammed-bin-salman-rewriting-history-saudi-arabia-633696870
(A E P)
Gulf Stocks Lose $6.8 Billion in 72 Hours Amid Saudi Purge
Stock bourses across GCC decline as political risk rises
Total market capitalization of equities falls to 2016 low
Saudi Arabia’s anti-corruption purge and deepening feud with Iran have spurred a selloff across Gulf stock markets to the tune of almost $7 billion, a sign of the volatility to come as governments in the region push ahead with reforms.
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia makes further anti-graft arrests: sources
Saudi Arabian authorities have made further arrests in an anti-corruption crackdown on the kingdom’s political and business elite, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
A number of those held most recently include individuals with links to the immediate family of the late Crown Prince and Defence Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz who died in 2011, the sources said.
Others appear to be lower-level managers and officials, one of the sources said.
(* B P)
Reform and royal rivalry: milestones in Saudi crown prince's ascent
A crackdown on corruption ordered by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince caps a frenetic 2-1/2 years in which he has tried to remodel a conservative kingdom ruled by cautious elderly men into a modern state no longer dependent on oil.
Following are the main challenges Prince Mohammed bin Salman has tackled since his father King Salman bin Abdulaziz made him defense minister of the world’s largest oil producer in January 2015 and then deputy crown prince the following April.
My comment: And again, Salman is labeled as reformer – this is throwing smoke grenades. Otherwise, some information here.
And again, Salman as the great “reformer”:
(A P)
Saudi Arabia’s Saturday Night Massacre
Now is the beginning of a new Saudi Arabia or the end of an experiment.
https://geopoliticalfutures.com/saudi-arabias-saturday-night-massacre/
(* B P)
New Saudi Arabian Leadership ‘Manic,’ ‘Unhinged’ and ‘Obviously Very Dangerous’
If the claim from Riyadh that Lebanon had declared war on Saudi Arabia “wasn’t so bizarre and grotesque, it would be funny,” Peter Ford, former British ambassador to Syria, told Sputnik Radio’s Loud & Clear Tuesday.
There have been purges of Saudi officials from top positions, detention of princes at the five-star Ritz Carlton in Riyadh and mysterious deaths of high-ranking Saudi officials, to name just a few of the huge stories to come out of the oil-rich country in recent days. The way the young Saudi crown prince is acting is best described as "manic and unhinged, and obviously very dangerous," Ford said.
"I'm one of many Saudi watchers in Washington," Loud & Clear host John Kiriakou said. "I've been following Saudi Arabia for 28 years now, first at the Central Intelligence Agency, later at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I can honestly tell you, I have never seen anything like this coming out of Saudi Arabia."
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201711081058903779-saudi-leadership-manic-unhinged-dangerous/
(* A P)
Another war brewing in the Persian Gulf
In the Persian Gulf, another conflict is brewing between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Riyadh is ready to open a "second front" after Houthi Shiites launched a missile on Saudi Arabia from Yemen. The Saudis took it as an act of war.
Riyadh threatens neighbors
Crisis in the royal family
http://www.pravdareport.com/world/asia/08-11-2017/139136-saudi_arabia_war-0/bn
(* A E P)
Mehr als 1.200 Konten in Saudi-Arabien eingefroren
Anzahl der gesperrten Konten steigt seit Sonntag stündlich
Einem weiteren Banker zufolge sind Einzelpersonen stärker als Unternehmen betroffen.
https://www.derstandard.de/story/2000067375712/mehr-als-1-200-konten-in-saudi-arabien-eingefroren
(* A E P)
Saudi Crackdown Targets Up to $800 Billion in Assets
Authorities detain more prominent businessmen, freeze bank accounts
The Saudi government is aiming to confiscate cash and other assets worth as much as $800 billion in its broadening crackdown on alleged corruption among the kingdom’s elite, according to people familiar with the matter.
Several prominent businessmen are among those who have been arrested in the days since Saudi authorities launched the crackdown on Saturday, by detaining more than 60 princes, officials and other prominent Saudis, according to those people and others.
The country’s central bank, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, said late Tuesday that it has frozen the bank accounts of “persons of interest” and said the move is “in response to the Attorney General’s request pending the legal cases against them.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabia-expands-crackdown-on-elite-1510062385
My comment: To put it simple: It’s just robbery. The whole story reminds of the Roman emperor Vespasianus, of whom Suetonius tells: “He is even believed to have had the habit of designedly advancing the most rapacious of his procurators to higher posts, that they might be the richer when he later condemned them; in fact, it was common talk that he used these men as sponges, because he, so to speak, soaked them when they were dry and squeezed them when they were wet.“ (Sueton, Vesp. 16.2)
(* B P)
DEEPDIVE: NEW ORDER IN HOUSE OF SAUD
How Saudi king’s 32-year-old son Mohammed bin Salman, who has charmed Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, became the most powerful prince in world’s leading oil exporter in two years.
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/deepdive-new-order-in-house-of-saud/articleshow/61539176.cms
Remark: A good overview of Prince Salman.
(A E P)
Saudi Arrests Fail to Spook Bond Investors. They've Seen Worse
Consolidating power in MBS’s hands is positive in long run
Aberdeen Standard is ‘reasonably positive’ on Saudi Arabia
(A E P)
Reform or risk? Saudi Arabia investors try to read the runes
Investors hope the sweeping anti-graft probe ensnaring some of Saudi Arabia’s top politicians and businessmen is a sign of reform but those holding its bonds worry about instability.
Saudi stocks recovered their losses after the wave of arrests over the weekend, but bonds came under pressure as investors pondered the outlook for the kingdom
(* A P)
Q&A: Saudi Arabia's Game of Thrones: Who got caught in the widening corruption crackdown?
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-saudi-arabia-arrests-20171106-htmlstory.html
(A P)
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince plays for high stakes
The reform ambitions are so vast that they are colliding with each other
https://www.ft.com/content/641bc28e-c2e7-11e7-a1d2-6786f39ef675
My comment: It’s mainly just a fireworks of propaganda, stupid.
(* A P)
The Opposite of Game of Thrones.' What the Arrest of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Really Means
In interviews, analysts and diplomats with contacts inside the Saudi royal family suggested that some the royals had been chosen for arrest because they possessed power independent of the crown prince, who is often referred to by his initials, MBS. While rumblings of discontent within the ranks of the royal family surfaced when he was appointed crown prince in June, there was no sign of a real challenge against the young prince’s authority. The roundup of high-profile Saudis did not spare those who expressed support for MBS, including Alwaleed.
http://time.com/5012396/saudi-arabia-prince-alwaleed-bin-talal-arrested/
(A E P)
Here’s Where A Saudi Prince Arrested In ‘Anti-Corruption’ Purge Has Invested His Billions
(A E P)
Prince Alwaleed $1.2 Billion Poorer Since Saudi Corruption Purge
(* A P)
The purge in Saudi Arabia, explained
“It is the most volatile period in Saudi history in over a half-century.”
The roundup is part of a series of steps that MBS has taken since becoming crown prince in June to secure his own position as, essentially, the architect of Saudi policy for the remainder of his father’s reign.
The goal appears to be a fundamental transformation of the Saudi political system, previously based on consensus within the royal family and compromise with the religious establishment, into a more centralized systemin which power is more heavily concentrated in the hands of the monarch.
Whether bin Salman’s consolidation is good or bad depends on where you look.
The weekend’s crackdown is thus not merely a minor family dispute: It is the most significant shot yet in a war over Saudi Arabia’s policy and political future, one that is very far from over.
“The unusual arrest of prominent figures close to the Saudi royal family this weekend is a big deal. It is part of unprecedented and hasty measures that could have tremendous repercussions on Saudi Arabia and the region," Abdeslam Maghraoui, a professor of political science at Duke University, writes via email. “Keeping in mind that Bin Salman is still crown prince, the succession after his father’s death or retirement will not be smooth.”
https://www.vox.com/world/2017/11/6/16613088/saudi-arabia-princes-arrested-mohammed-bin-salman
(unrated A E P)
Film: Trump praises bin Salman's political purge, but Saudi stocks fall
the arrests of wealthy businessmen and owners of media outlets have shaken the markets.
(unrated A P)
Film, talk: Is the Saudi crown prince a reformist or power-hungry?
(* A E P)
Saudi banks freeze more than 1,200 accounts in probe, number still rising: sources
Saudi Arabian banks have frozen more than 1,200 accounts belonging to individuals and companies in the kingdom as part of the government’s anti-corruption purge, bankers and lawyers said on Tuesday.
(A E P)
Saudi Arabia Says Only Private Accounts Suspended in Crackdown
(A E P)
Saudi Economic Affairs Council reaffirms commitment to the rights of individuals and corporates
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1189846/saudi-arabia
My comment: What a bad joke looking at what is just happening.
(* A E P)
Saudi mass arrests jolt markets, play to ire over corruption
Most major Gulf stock markets slid early on Tuesday on jitters about Saudi Arabia’s sweeping anti-graft purge, a campaign seen by critics as a populist power grab but by ordinary Saudis as an overdue attack on the sleaze of a moneyed ultra-elite.
(B P)
Santiago Pepperino sent us a Google search on the peace and loving Saudi Arabia: 'Saudi Arabia threatens..' and the list is long (image)
(A P)
Who did Saudi Arabia round up in the latest anti-corruption crackdown?
Salman accused the princes and former ministers of corruption and locked them in the Ritz hotel in Riyadh
But who are some of the other individuals that have been rounded up in the latest alleged move against corruption in the Gulf Kingdom?
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia purge widens with 'arrest, no-fly list'
Saudi Arabia's anti-corruption purge has widened after one of the country's top businessmen was reportedly detained, accounts were frozen and a no-fly list was drawn up.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/saudi-arabia-purge-widens-arrest-fly-list-171106194340690.html
(* A P)
Saudi officials warn they have the powers to freeze assets
Saudi officials have warned that the kingdom’s sweeping anti-corruption crackdownallows them to freeze the accounts and assets of suspects, saying initial evidence revealed “widespread corruption in a number of cases”.
Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb, the attorney-general, said taking suspects discreetly into custody to prevent “flight from justice” was the first phase of the operation, and had allowed “a great deal of evidence to be gathered”.
https://www.ft.com/content/24ef5980-c315-11e7-b2bb-322b2cb39656
(* A P)
The Saudi Royal Purge—with Trump’s Consent
With the tacit support of President Trump, King Salman of Saudi Arabia and his powerful son launched an unprecedented purge of their own family over the weekend. The major targets were royal brethren who controlled money, the media, or the military.
“It has all the appearances of a coup d’état. Saudi Arabia is rapidly becoming another country. The kingdom has never been this unstable.”
The purge sent shockwaves of fear through the kingdom
Both critics and supporters believe that the purge’s mastermind is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The arrests are an attempt to consolidate the Crown Prince’s powers.
Many experts predict additional arrests are to come.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-saudi-royal-purge-with-trumps-consent
and
(* A P)
Donald Trump: I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing....
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/927672843504177152
Comment by Kenneth Roth: In other words, Saudis can imprison people w/o due process, force Lebanon PM to resign, keep killing Yemen civilians, it's all ok with Trump
https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/927855727053541376
(* A P)
A resignation, detentions and missiles: 24 hours that shook the Middle East
When 32-year-old Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman rose to power two years ago, many predicted that change was afoot. The events of November 4 have shown that change would not just be swift, but also seismic, extending unremittingly beyond the kingdom's boundaries.
A 24-hour sequence of political bombshells began on Saturday afternoon
A resignation sets the stage
Riyadh intercepts ballistic missiles
Saudi Arabia wages war within and without
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/05/middleeast/middle-east-eventful-24-hours-analysis/index.html
Comment: Consolidation reshuffle reform modernization vision control? Nope. Only one word now for Saudi Arabia : Desperation.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/927602874464505860
(* B P)
What the helicopter accident tells us about Saudi Arabia
The case of sacked high-ranking officials, the missile from Yemen and recently the helicopter accident are all signals of a palace coup about to happen in Saudi Arabia
This proliferation of princes, crown princes, governors, and deputy-governors make it hard to understand the functioning of the Saudi administration. It remains a totally obscure, authoritarian state apparatus
What ignites this change in Saudi Arabia is probably more a dire need to reform the state rather than a theological debate over the flexibility and implementation of Wahhabism. Saudi Arabia is rich beyond imagination and the immense part of wealth created by oil revenues are used to create a modern infrastructure in the country, which is not at all coupled with better and participative governance.
The new unfolding events in Saudi Arabia, taken within the context of recent political developments, looks like a palace coup, sounds like a palace coup and progresses like a palace coup. Whether it is a palace coup, we don't know yet, but time will show.
(*A P)
Im Nahen Osten droht die Eskalation zwischen Erzfeinden
Hariris Rücktritt soll deshalb wohl die Hisbollah in die Enge treiben, nachdem sie in Syriens Bürgerkrieg siegreich war und Hariri im Libanon zu immer größeren Zugeständnissen zwang.
Hinter Hariris Rücktritt steckt der saudische Kronprinz
Das Resultat aus dem Handeln von MBS: Saudi-Arabien erwirtschaftete 2016 ein gewaltiges Haushaltsdefizit.
(* A)
Saudischer Prinz stirbt bei Absturz
Ein saudiarabischer Prinz ist am Sonntag bei einem Hubschrauberabsturz in der Nähe der Grenze zum Jemen ums Leben gekommen. Der staatliche Fernsehsender Al-Arabija meldete dem Kurzbotschaftendienst Twitter, Prinz Mansur bin Mokren, Vize-Gouverneur der Provinz Assir, sei bei dem Unglück gestorben. An Bord des Hubschraubers seien noch weitere Funktionsträger gewesen.
(* A K P)
The last 48 hours in Saudi Arabia: Everything you need to know
A missile attack. Arrests of powerful businessmen. A lot is happening fast.
- Saudi Arabia announces new anti-terror law
- Saudi Arabia intercepts a missile northeast of the capital Riyadh
- Saudi Arabia appoints new ministers for economy and the National Guard
- Saudi Arabia's anti-corruption committee arrests princes, businessmen, and ex-ministers
- Saudi prince killed in helicopter crash near the border of Yemen
https://stepfeed.com/the-last-48-hours-in-saudi-arabia-everything-you-need-to-know-6426
and a similar overview:
(* A K P)
Saudi Arabia Has Shaken Up The Middle East — This Is How
Tensions mounted in the region following the abrupt resignation of Lebanon’s prime minister Saad Hariri and an extraordinary www.sabanews.net/en/news478709.htm royal family members, including a billionaire prince, in Saudi Arabia.
The moves by the Saudi leadership illustrated the dramatic shift the kingdom has undergone from a somnolent and conservative force under King Abdullah, who died two years ago, to a more unpredictable and potentially destabilizing regional power under Salman and his 32-year-old son and heir apparent, Mohammed.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/borzoudaragahi/this-is-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-huge-shake-up-in and also https://medium.com/@GeopoliticsAlert/saudi-whirlwind-another-dead-prince-iranian-missiles-more-warrants-880213f18914
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Saudi Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd, a business partner of former Lebanese PM Hariri, dies during arrest
The Saudi purges continue to become increasingly brutal as it appears that the Hariri resignation had everything to do with internal Saudi matters.
Former FBI special agent Ali H. Soufan has confirmed that Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd has been killed during an attempt by the authorities to arrest him as part of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s great purge of the Saudi elites. He died when his security contingent got into a firefight with regime gunmen attempting to make an arrest.
http://theduran.com/saudi-prince-abdul-aziz-dies-arrest/
and
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Second Saudi Prince Confirmed Killed During Crackdown
Following the death of Prince Mansour bin-Muqrin in a helicopter crash near the Yemen border yesterday, the Saudi Royal Court has confirmed the death of Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd - killed during a firefight as authorities attempted to arrest him.
The Duran and Al-Masdar News both report that the prince died when his security contingent got into a firefight with regime gunmen attempting to make an arrest.
Prince Aziz (44) who was the youngest son of King Fahad.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-06/second-saudi-prince-confirmed-killed-during-crackdown
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Purge of Saudi princes, businessmen widens, travel curbs imposed
A campaign of mass arrests of Saudi Arabian royals, ministers and businessmen expanded on Monday after a top entrepreneur was reportedly detained in the biggest anti-corruption purge of the kingdom’s affluent elite in its modern history.
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What Saudi purge and Prince Salman's game of thrones means for West Asia politics
The purge of the princes, unprecedented in recent Saudi politics, is clearly aimed as clearing the way for Prince Mohammed bin Salman to ascend the throne
Clearly, at one stroke, associates of Prince Miteb and the Al Abdullah branch of the royal family are included in the purge, suggesting that the crown prince would have had intelligence reports of their leading a coup or just being seriously disgruntled. These reports could have been generated from domestic and/or external sources, the latter most probably being from US agencies.
The Trump presidency has affiliated itself very closely with the crown prince and has extended solid political support to the kingdom in its confrontation with Iran and, since June this year, with Qatar. There are reports of close personal ties between the crown prince and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, who, among other responsibilities, is heading the president’s efforts at promoting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
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The inside story of the Saudi night of long knives
Princes, ministers and a billionaire are 'imprisoned' in the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton while the Saudi Arabian Army is said to be in an uproar
War breaks out within the House of Saud, as Asia Times had anticipated back in July. Rumors have been swirling for months about a coup against MBS in the making. Instead, what just happened is yet another MBS pre-emptive coup.
A top Middle East business/investment source who has been doing deals for decades with the opaque House of Saud offers much-needed perspective: “This is more serious than it appears. The arrest of the two sons of previous King Abdullah, Princes Miteb and Turki, was a fatal mistake. This now endangers the King himself. It was only the regard for the King that protected MBS. There are many left in the army against MBS and they are enraged at the arrest of their commanders.”
http://www.atimes.com/article/inside-story-saudi-night-long-knives/
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FLOODS, IRAN AND A CHINESE CHANNEL: WHAT’S REALLY BEHIND SAUDI PRINCE’S CRACKDOWN?
Prince Mohammed’s attack on royal family members and military commanders shows an intention to wield absolute power – but also speaks to his plans for reform and his approach to the war in Yemen.
Prince Mohammed has his plate full with the fallout from the crackdown and the ratcheting up of regional tensions.
Beyond grandiose plans, he has yet to deliver on the economic aspects of his reform plans articulated in his Vision 2030 that matter to ordinary Saudis. Prince Mohammed has so far delivered on limited, headline-grabbing social changes such as lifting the ban on women’s driving and access to sports stadiums. Those moves are needed for his economic reforms and address aspirations among youth. He is, however, yet to deliver on jobs in a country that has high un- and under-employment and whose population has been weaned on cradle-to-grave welfare.
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Saudi Arabia, at War With Itself
Obstacles that could keep the king’s chosen successor from taking the throne are being removed.
Forget Yemen, Syria and Lebanon, just a few of the countries in which Saudi Arabia is fighting a proxy war with Iran, its long-time enemy. The Saudi royal family now appears to be at war with itself. Regardless of who wins, the conflict could destabilize Saudi Arabia, which was already weakening anyway.
Riyadh’s inability to deal with external threats, if anything, will only intensify its domestic ones. Even though the king and his son have the upper hand, an inability to effectively counter the Iranian threat could weaken their position at home and thus aggravate the infighting.
https://geopoliticalfutures.com/saudi-arabia-war/
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Saudi Crackdown Raises Specter Of Wider Spread Dissent – Analysis
It raises questions about the reform process that increasingly is based on a unilateral rather than a consensual rewriting of the kingdom’s social contract. “It is hard to envisage MBS succeeding in his ambitious plans by royal decree. He needs to garner more consent. To obtain it, he must learn to tolerate debate and disagreement,” quipped The Economist, recently referring to Prince Mohammed by his initials.
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Two more Saudi firms say board members reported detained
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Saudi banks freeze accounts of suspects detained in probe
Saudi Arabian banks have begun freezing the accounts of suspects ensnared in an anti-corruption probe, banking and business sources told Reuters on Monday.
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Saudi Attorney General says detained individuals have been questioned
Saudi Arabia’s Attorney General said on Monday detailed questioning of individuals detained on the back of an anti-corruption probe had taken place and “a great deal of evidence” had already been gathered.
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Saudi's Al-Tayyar says work continues despite board member reportedly detained
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Breaking: #Saudi Monarchy religious militia holds a workshop on combating sorcery. @SaudiEmbassyUSA supports it (photo)
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/928071959589654529
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp2a
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Is the US Fanning the Flames of the World’s Largest Humanitarian Catastrophe?
American military involvement in Yemen is pitting Trump against some GOP lawmakers.
American involvement in the war firstbegan in 2015 under the Obama administration—without authorization by Congress.
In a political tug-of-war, however, House leadership pushed through legislation determining that the War Powers Resolution does not apply to the Yemen conflict. They revoked the resolution’s privileged status and prevented it from coming to a full floor vote. Kate Gould, the legislative director for Middle East Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, calls the maneuver yet “another example of House leadership going to extreme measures, including violating the War Powers Resolution, to block any kind of consideration of the US role in wars being waged around the world.”
“This is the greatest humanitarian catastrophe right now in the world; it should appeal our moral conscience,” says Khanna. But also, he adds, “This is a debate about our foreign policy. We’ve often made matters worse with our interventionism, and we should have the humility to have more restraint in our foreign policy. I think this whole process of Congress debating it is going to move the needle.”
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Trump Plays With Fire in Saudi Arabia
The president's tacit support for Mohammed bin Salman's crackdown could worsen regional tension.
Alongside these western-friendly reforms, however, bin Salman has shown an inclination towards dictatorial control, and a series of rash attempts to interfere in neighboring states. The ongoing Gulf Cooperation Council crisis – where Saudi Arabia and a small group of states are blockading Qatar – is perhaps the clearest example.
It also marks a larger pattern for the crown prince of saber-rattling against Iran
Yet it is in domestic politics that Saudi Arabia's young crown prince may have its most destabilizing effects.
Unfortunately, the White House has largely embraced bin Salman's policy choices. The Gulf Cooperation Council crisis erupted shortly after Trump's successful visit to the kingdom, and met with little condemnation from the president. Meanwhile, last week's visit by the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner apparently did little to dissuade bin Salman from following through with Saturday's arrests.
If the president cares about regional stability, he should use his close ties with Saudi leadership not to praise bin Salman's destabilizing actions, but instead to push his domestic and regional policies in a more productive, less damaging direction.
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Trump weighs in on Saudi purge in tweets
President Trump weighed in Monday on the reported arrests of dozens of Saudi princes, current and former government officials and business leaders.
In a pair of tweets, Trump appeared to side with King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is reportedly overseeing the newly formed anti-corruption committee that ordered the dramatic purge.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-updates-trump-tweets-king-salman-confidence-htmlstory.html
and
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Trump Undercuts His Advisers Again With Saudi Tweets
Tuesday tweet backed arrests of princes and ex-officials
State Department hadn’t yet finished review of the incident
President Donald Trump again showed how quickly his tweets can outrun U.S. foreign policy planning, after he backed Saudi Arabia’s king and crown prince over the arrests of dozens of officials before the State Department had completed its review of the moves.
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WATCH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN WHY THEY WON’T VOTE ON WAR IN YEMEN
Yet American lawmakers are still avoiding a vote on authorizing U.S. involvement in the conflict.
Congress, however, has never authorized U.S. support for the war
The Intercept recently visited Capitol Hill to talk to lawmakers about why there has never been an on-the-record vote to authorize the war. Watch the video, produced with NowThis, here:
Several members of Congress indicated an interest in the issue, noting that the Obama and Trump administrations’ reliance on the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force to justify U.S. involvement in the conflict is absurd. That authorization, after all, was designed to fight the terrorist groups responsible for the September 11 attacks, not to intervene in Yemen’s civil war.
For 16 years, the executive branch has pointed to the AUMF as legal justification for its involvement in conflicts across the Middle East and Africa, a strategy that is legally questionable. But the use of the AUMF in the Yemeni context is especially bizarre given that the AUMF’s target is Al Qaeda, and the group AQAP — Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula –is fighting alongside the U.S.-Saudi coalition against the Houthi rebels.
Other lawmakers quickly dismissed The Intercept’s questions on the issue.
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US’ Pentagon, Congress disagree on support for Saudi coalition in Yemen
US Pentagon has confirmed its continued support for Saudi Arabia in its war on the Houthis in Yemen while Congress has agreed to discuss a draft resolution which demands the cessation of American support for the Arab Coalition.
The statements show differences and contradictions in the American vision between the Pentagon and Congress about whether or not to support the forces of the Arab Coalition.
The Pentagon welcomed the Saudi statement that reveal the role of Iran in Yemen and its “involvement” in the support of Houthi militants and in supplying them with ballistic missiles, in a statement issued yesterday by spokesman Adrian Rankin-Galloway.
My comment: I would not call this “disagree”.
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Trump praises Saudi purge, voices confidence in King, Crown Prince
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed a move by Saudi Arabia’s future king that tightened his grip on power through the arrests of royals, ministers and investors in an anti-corruption purge.
Trump tweeted on Monday that he had “great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia” following the mass arrests - the biggest such purge of the kingdom’s affluent elite in its modern history.
Trump also tweeted that “they know exactly what they are doing,” adding: “Some of those they are harshly treating have been ‘milking’ their country for years.”
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Most of Congress "Likes War" and Opposes Ending US Support for Saudi War in Yemen
Several members of Congress have introduced legislation to invoke the War Powers Act with an aim to shut down US support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, but the resolution will not pass because the vast majority in Congress doesn't oppose war
Lawrence Wilkerson in interview
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=20391 and in film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUtISHq2R0E
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
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British envoy: We are fully aware of Iran’s negative role in Yemen
The British ambassador to Yemen said on Tuesday that the United Kingdom and the international community are fully aware of the seriousness of the negative role of Iran in Yemen.
Simon Shercliff stressed on the need to put an end to Iran's intervention and support for Houthi militias and fighters allied to ousted President Ali Abdallah Saleh.
My comment: Britain is a wariing party in Yemen – and it is fueling the conflict instead of helping to end it.
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Stop Arming Saudi Arabia
by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT)
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia has unleashed a brutal bombardment on the people of Yemen, and weapons produced in the UK are playing a central role in these attacks. We need your support to take legal action to end UK complicity in the devastation of Yemen.
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-arming-saudi
Comment by Judith brown: PLEASE contribute to this very important court case in U.K. CAAT are appealing the court ruling in July that amazingly said that the selling of weapons that are being used to commit what sounds exactly like violations of international humanitarian law are actually legal. If we can get this ruling altered it will make a crucial difference to the world's perspective on the sale of weapons - and apart from Yemen the weaponising of Saudi when the country is so unstable at this moment is crazy and does not bode well for world peace.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156088501638641
My comment: That is western perversion: You need money to get justice.
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UK sales of bombs and missiles to Saudi Arabia increase by almost 500% since start of Yemen war
Campaigners say ‘mountain of evidence’ shows British-made weapons being used to commit war crimes
More than £4.6bn of arms were sold in the first two years of bombings, with the Government grant increasing numbers of export licences despite mounting evidence of war crimes and massacres at hospitals, schools and weddings.
British-made bombs have been found at the scene of bombings deemed to violate international law but the UK has continued its political and material support for Riyadh’s campaign.
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Film: Emily Thornberry on Saudi's War in Yemen
Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry, talks to Middle East Eye's Editor in Chief David Hearst and Columnist Peter Oborne on British selling of arms to Saudi Arabia for their war in Yemen.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/multimedia/video/emily-thornberry-saudis-war-yemen-1757679018
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
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Die ARD Tagesschau verbreitet Kriegspropaganda Saudi-Arabiens gegen den Iran
Seit Monaten verbreitet die ARD tagesschau Lügen und Kriegspropaganda mit der Behauptung, beim Krieg Saudi-Arabiens gegen das Nachbarland Jemen handele es sich um einen „Stellvertreterkrieg“ zwischen Saudis und dem Iran. In Wahrheit kämpfen im Jemen weder reguläre iranische Truppen, noch gibt es irgendeinen Beweis für eine andersartige militärische Unterstützung der Huthis aus Teheran.
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Der externalisierte saudische Bürgerkrieg auf Tagesschau.de
Die Festnahme von „elf Prinzen und Dutzende[n] frühere[n] Regierungsminister[n]“, darunter Prinz Alwalid bin Talal, dem „reichsten Menschen der Arabischen Welt“, wird jedoch von der Tagesschau als Kampf „gegen die Korruption im Land“ dargestellt und ein Interview mit einem nicht näher genannten „Passanten“ soll die Unterstützung der Bevölkerung für diese Maßnahmen suggerieren. (…) Alles in allem wird das, was in anderen Ländern als Säuberungswelle – wohlgemerkt: innerhalb der Elite – bezeichnet würde, in den Kontext eines „Modernisierungskurses“ und der „Vision 2030“ gestellt. (…) Säuberungen (…) können nicht losgelöst von kriegerischen Konflikten in der Nachbarschaft verstanden werden, wie es die ARD-Nachrichtenredaktion versucht. Saudi Arabien externalisiert seine Konflikte, was im Jemen zur Katastrophe führt und einen Krieg mit dem Iran immer wahrscheinlicher macht. Offenbar hat es dabei großen Rückhalt aus den USA – und von der ARD.
http://www.imi-online.de/2017/11/07/der-externalisierte-saudische-buergerkrieg-auf-tagesschau-de/
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Auswärtiges Amt zum Abschuss einer Rakete über Riad
Zu dem Beschuss der saudi-arabischen Hauptstadt Riad mit einer Rakete am vergangenen Samstagabend, zu dem sich die jemenitischen Huthi-Rebellen bekannt haben, sagte ein Sprecher des Auswärtigen Amts heute (06.11.):
Die Bundesregierung verurteilt diesen versuchten Angriff auf ein ziviles Ziel dennoch auf das Schärfste. Es kann für einen solchen Akt keine Rechtfertigung geben.
Zugleich wird einmal mehr deutlich, wie dringlich eine politische Lösung des Jemen-Konflikts ist.
Mein Kommentar: Welchen saudischen Bombenangriffen auf Jemen – auch nur die mit Dutzenden an Toten betrachtet – hat die Bundesregierung ebenfalls „auf das Schärfste“ verurteilt???
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
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Egypt's president backs Saudi purge, urges de-escalation with Iran
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday he was against military strikes on Iran or the Tehran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, saying there was enough turmoil in the Middle East.
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Leak: Israel mobilisiert volle diplomatische Unterstützung für Saudi-Krieg gegen Iran und Hisbollah
Am Dienstag wurde der Inhalt eines Schreibens bekannt, das Israel anlässlich der Konfrontation zwischen Saudi-Arabien und dem Libanon an all seine Botschaften schickte. Es könnte der erste formelle Beweis dafür sein, dass sich Israel und Saudi-Arabien im Kampf gegen den Iran und dessen Verbündete koordinieren.
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"Explosive" Leaked Secret Israeli Cable Confirms Israeli-Saudi Coordination To Provoke War
Early this morning, Israeli Channel 10 news published a leaked diplomatic cable which had been sent to all Israeli ambassadors throughout the world concerning the chaotic events that unfolded over the weekend in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, which began with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's unexpected resignation after he was summoned to Riyadh by his Saudi-backers, and led to the Saudis announcing that Lebanon had "declared war" against the kingdom.
The classified embassy cable, written in Hebrew, constitutes the first formal evidence proving that the Saudis and Israelis are deliberately coordinating to escalate the situation in the Middle East.
The explosive classified Israeli cable reveals the following:
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Abbas Heads to Saudi Arabia in Unplanned Visit to Discuss Iran, Trump's Peace Push
Palestinian president's snap visit was planned 24 hours prior
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/1.821303
Comment: Mahmoud Abbas summoned to Riyadh. One assumes Palestinians are praying that he too gets locked up in the Ritz.
https://twitter.com/glcarlstrom/status/927537772558155776
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Der saudi-arabische König Salman hat am Montag den überraschend zurückgetretenen libanesischen Ministerpräsidenten Saad Hariri empfangen. Hariri hatte am Samstag während seines Besuchs in Saudi-Arabien in einer im Fernsehen übertragenen Stellungnahme seinen Rücktritt erklärt. Darin warf er dem Iran vor, sich in arabische Angelegenheiten einzumischen. Der vom Iran unterstützten Hisbollah-Miliz sagte er nach, den Libanon als Geisel zu halten.
Der Rücktritt hat den Libanon verblüfft. Die Regierung des kleinen Landes wurde ins Chaos gestürzt.
http://www.goettinger-tageblatt.de/Welt/Politik/Deutschland-Welt/Saudis-werfen-Iran-Kriegsakt-vor
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Saudi crimes on display in Arbaeen march
Yemeni activists have put on display photos of Saudi crimes committed in Yemen on different parts on the path of pilgrims marching from the holy city of Najaf to the holy city of Karbala, Iraq, for Arbaeen
http://en.abna24.com/news/middle-east/saudi-crimes-on-display-in-arbaeen-march_865082.html
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Turkey rebukes ballistic missile attack on Saudi Arabia
Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned the recent ballistic missile, launched by the Houthi militia in Yemen.
In a statement the ministry said: “We condemn the targeting of Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 4 by a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi militia in Yemen.”
http://aa.com.tr/en/politics/turkey-rebukes-ballistic-missile-attack-on-saudi-arabia/957454
My comment: How stupid you can be to “rebuke” this missile attack while not having rebuked the Saudi bombing war for 2 ½ years now???
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France warns of ballistic proliferation after Houthis target Riyadh
France’s foreign minister on Sunday said that a ballistic missile strike by Yemeni Houthi rebels targeting Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh showed that there was a danger of wider ballistic proliferation across the region.
“France strongly condemns the ballistic missile strike claimed by Houthi rebels,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement. “It highlights once again the danger ballistic proliferation poses to the entire region.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-missiles-france/france-warns-of-ballistic-proliferation-after-houthis-target-riyadh-idUSKBN1D5115 and also http://en.rfi.fr/middle-east/20171106-france-condemns-houthi-missile-attack-saudi-arabia
My comment: How stupid you can be to “rebuke” this missile attack while not having rebuked the Saudi bombing war for 2 ½ years now???
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
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Turkey’s President Erdogan to visit Qatar next week amid Saudi crisis
Turkey looks to assure Qatar of a continued alliance as Saudi Arabia faces potential chaos.
http://theduran.com/turkeys-president-erdogan-visit-qatar-next-week-amid-saudi-crisis/
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Qatar c.bank’s foreign reserves, liquidity drop in September
The Qatar central bank’s international reserves and foreign currency liquidity dropped in September, in a sign of capital outflows caused by sanctions imposed by other Arab states.
Remark: Read with care, by Saudi media.
cp12b Libanon / Lebanon
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Poor #KSA. In past few years, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Qatar and Iran have launched wars against it. Snort.
https://twitter.com/snarwani/status/927986299335790593
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Libanon – Hariris Rücktritt – Der Eröffnungsschuss des Saudi-Krieges gegen die Hizbollah
Vor vier Tagen fragten wir: Ist die „gemäßigte Al-Qaida“ auf Hizbollah angesetzt? Die implizite Antwort in diesem Artikel war: „Ja, der Krieg kommt in den Libanon.“
Der libanesische Premierminister Saad Al-Hariri ist heute mit einer Stellungnahme Saudi-Arabiens auf dem saudi-arabischen Fernsehsender Al-Arabia (Video) zurückgetreten. Das ist der erste Schuss des Krieges.
Solange die Kämpfe in Syrien und im Irak andauerten, blieb der Frieden im Libanon erhalten. Mit dem Ende der Kriege ist der Libanon wieder der Ort, an dem die Stellvertreterkämpfe ausgetragen werden.
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Lebanon in limbo: High stakes in the prime minister’s resignation
The announcement Saturday by Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri that he was resigning from the Beirut government was an unhelpful shock — both for the well-being of Lebanon, a precariously balanced country at best, and overall equilibrium in the Middle East. He made the announcement while in Saudi Arabia, which indicates the forces at play.
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Lebanon - The Next Front In The Great Gas War
The Great Gas War has already two distinct fronts: The now relatively quiet Northern Front in Ukraine and the Southern Front in Syria in which the Western empire has been losing. It looks to me that Lebanon is being targeted as the next front, where the West hopes its loses might be recouped.
I suggest, however, a powerful reason that a new war with Hezbollah may be in the offing is because Lebanon is the next link in any gas pipeline that could potentially bring Iranian Gas to Europe.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-07/lebanon-next-front-great-gas-war und dazu auch https://publikumskonferenz.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=2276
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#Washington: We support the #Lebanese government, but we consider #Hezbollah a terrorist organization
https://twitter.com/AlArabiya_Eng/status/927998077700538369
Comment: Does Washington not know that 17 of the current government’s 30 ministers belong to an alliance headed by Hezbollah and 2 are Hezb members?
https://twitter.com/Ali_Kourani/status/928032113873563648
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EU, U.S. affirm Lebanon support, diverging from Saudi
The European Union on Wednesday affirmed support for Lebanon following the resignation of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, echoing U.S. backing for the Beirut government which Saudi Arabia has accused of declaring war.
Statements of support from EU ambassadors to Lebanon and the U.S. State Department on Tuesday struck a sharply different tone to Saudi Arabia, which has lumped Lebanon together with the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah as parties hostile to it.
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Saudi reopens Lebanon front in struggle with Iran
Saudi Arabia has opened a new front in its regional proxy war with Iran, threatening Tehran’s powerful ally Hezbollah and its home country Lebanon to try to regain the upper hand.
With Iranian power winning out in Iraq and Syria, and Riyadh bogged down in a war with Iran-allied groups in Yemen, the new Saudi approach could bring lasting political and economic turmoil to a country where Tehran had appeared ascendant.
The resignation on Saturday of the Saudi-allied Lebanese prime minister Saad al-Hariri, announced from Riyadh and blamed on Iran and Hezbollah, is seen by many as the first step in an unprecedented Saudi intervention in Lebanese politics.
“The Saudis appear to have decided that the best way to confront Iran is to start in Lebanon,” a European diplomat said.
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Is Lebanon caught in a Saudi-Iran regional power play?
Recent developments in Saudi Arabia - including the sacking and detention of senior ministers and princes, and the televised resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri from Riyadh - come in the context of a regional power play by Saudi against Iran, analysts say.
Al Jazeera explores who the key players are and how the situation reached this point.
What is Hariri's connection to Saudi Arabia?
What is behind the anti-Hezbollah sentiment?
What will happen to Lebanon's government?
Who has the regional advantage?
Who is leading the charge in Saudi?
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From Lebanon To Saudi Arabia: Thanks For Declaring War On Us, But Can You Chill The Fuck Down?
While the premise of Saudi military action against Lebanon is far-fetched; after all, they are barely holding it together in Yemen against some rebels anyway, the mere notion of such a huge and capable country declaring war against Lebanon is horrifying.
What this means is that Saudi Arabia can turn Lebanon into another Qatar (minus the money) effectively barricading it both economically and strategically.
(A P)
EGYPT NOT CONSIDERING MEASURES AGAINST LEBANON'S HEZBOLLAH
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said that Egypt is not considering taking any measures against Hezbollah despite Saudi Arabia's call for sanctions against the Lebanese Shi'ite political and military group.
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Egypt-not-considering-measures-against-Lebanons-Hezbollah-513627
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Lebanon's Hariri visits UAE as home crisis escalates
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri visited the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, his first trip outside Saudi Arabia, as regional tensions aggravated by his surprise resignation escalated into a domestic crisis.
My comment: Is he prime minister or former prime minister?
And
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Photo op in Abu Dhabi w/ MbZ does not mean Saad Hariri is no longer a Saudi hostage. Where are they going to fly him next? Bahrain
https://twitter.com/snarwani/status/927997422126628867 referring to https://twitter.com/MohamedBinZayed/status/927866194689961984
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Former Lebanese PM says Hariri will return to Lebanon
Former Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora said on Tuesday that the head of his political party, Saad al-Hariri, who resigned as prime minister on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, will return to Lebanon.
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Lebanon PM under house arrest in Saudi Arabia: pro-Hezbollah paper
Saad al-Hariri, who quit as Lebanese Prime Minister in a weekend broadcast from Saudi Arabia, has been held under house arrest in the kingdom, a pro-Hezbollah daily said on Tuesday citing unnamed sources.
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Jubeir Says Yemen Missile 'Launched by Hizbullah' as Sabhan Warns Lebanese
Firebrand Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan meanwhile issued new warnings to Hizbullah and Lebanon, saying King Salman had briefed resigned Premier Saad Hariri on “Hizbullah's aggression against Saudi Arabia” during their meeting earlier in the day.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not accept that Lebanon be part of a war on Saudi Arabia,” Sabhan said in a phone interview with Al-Arabiya TV.
“We will deal with Lebanon's government as a government that has declared war because of Hizbullah's militias,” Sabhan added, noting that “Hizbullah's militias influence all the decisions that Lebanon's government takes.”
“The Lebanese government must understand the threat that Saudi Arabia is facing from those militias,” the Saudi minister added.
He pointed out that Hizbullah “takes part in every act of terrorism against Saudi Arabia,” noting that Riyadh “will use all political means and other means to confront Hizbullah.”
“The Lebanese must choose between peace and submission to Hizbullah,” Sabhan urged.
(* A P)
Blasting Hezbollah, Riyadh accuses Lebanon of declaring war on kingdom
Gulf affairs minister says Beirut must reign in terror group, while Saudi Arabia's FM blames Iran-proxy for Yemen missile launch
A Saudi minister on Monday accused Lebanon of declaring war on the Gulf kingdom by failing to reign in the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group, as tensions between Riyadh and Tehran spiked over the resignation of Lebanon’s prime minister and fighting in Yemen.
“We will treat the government of Lebanon as a government declaring a war because of Hezbollah militias,” Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan told Saudi news station Al-Arabiya.
The statement came days after Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri resigned his post while visiting Riyadh, saying he feared a an assassination plot against him, and lashing out at the influence of Hezbollah and Iran on his country.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/blasting-hezbollah-riyadh-accuses-lebanon-of-declaring-war-on-kingdom/
(* A P)
Saudi minister: Lebanese government ‘declaring war’ on Saudi Arabia
Saudi minister of Gulf affairs, Thamer al-Sabhan, said on Monday that Lebanon had declared war against Saudi Arabia because of what he described as aggression against the Kingdom by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.
“We will treat the government of Lebanon as a government declaring war on Saudi Arabia due to the aggression of Hezbollah,” he said in response to the recent decisions taken by the Lebanese government.
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia says Lebanon has declared war against it
The Saudi kingdom fears that Iran-backed Hezbollah is seeking to consolidate power in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia and Iran have also traded accusations over Saturday's attempted missile strike on Riyadh by Yemeni rebels.
The resignation on Saturday of Lebanese Saudi-allied Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has stepped up Saudi Arabia and Iran's regional power struggle.
With Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah seeking to gain from Lebanon's political instability, Saudi Arabia responded on Monday by claiming that the new Lebanese powers that be had declared war on the oil-rich kingdom.
http://www.dw.com/en/saudi-arabia-says-lebanon-has-declared-war-against-it/a-41267078
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia says Lebanon declares war, deepening crisis
Saudi Arabia accused Lebanon on Monday of declaring war against it because of aggression by the Iran-backed Lebanese Shi‘ite group Hezbollah, a dramatic escalation of a crisis threatening to destabilize the tiny Arab country.
Lebanon has been thrust to the center of regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran since the Saudi-allied Lebanese politician Saad al-Hariri quit as prime minister on Saturday, blaming Iran and Hezbollah in his resignation speech.
My comment: This Saudi bullying also could destabilize the fragile state of Lebanon and lead it to a new civil war. And the US is applauding.
(* A P)
Fearing for his life, Hariri announces resignation
Saad Hariri Saturday announced his resignation from the post of prime minister in a televised statement from Saudi Arabia, citing Iran’s political over-extension in the region and fears of assassination.
Comment: He resigns while in #Saudi Arabia, Never before a prime minister announces his resignation from out side of his country.
https://twitter.com/nasseratta5/status/926805983073939457
(* A P)
Saad Hariri Quits as Lebanon Prime Minister, Blaming Iran
Lebanese and regional analysts, whether supporters or opponents of Hezbollah, said it appeared that Mr. Hariri had been pressured to resign by his patrons, the Saudis, as they and the United States ratchet up efforts to counter Iranian influence. The resignation came after weeks of sharp American and Saudi condemnations of Iran, including from President Trump, and new American sanctions against Hezbollah.
By pushing out Mr. Hariri, analysts said, Saudi Arabia could deny Hezbollah a credible Sunni governing partner — an attempt to isolate it and deny it the fig leaf of a national unity government.
Yet the resignation also shows how few options Iran’s opponents have. Without Mr. Hariri in power, the United States and Saudi Arabia lose their main partner in the Lebanese government.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/world/middleeast/saad-hariri-lebanon-iran.html
(* A P)
Iran: Hariri resignation aims to stoke regional tension
Iran has said that the resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Saturday aims to "create tension in Lebanon and the entire region".
In a statement on Iran's state news agency, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said his country rejects "Hariri's claims against Iran as a repetition of false and unfounded anti-Iran accusations by the Zionist regime, the Saudis and the Americans".
(* A P)
War is coming: Three billionaires seek to actively destabilize Lebanon; Europe should get ready for a disaster beyond even the Syria war
PM Hariri’s statement – from Saudi Arabia no less – on his resignation that destroys Lebanon’s invaluable security consensus (on eof the few examples of real Sunni-Shia power sharing and also an important Sunni-Christian power sharing arrangement with President Aoun). Hariri, Trump and MB Salman, alongside some Israeli leaders and other GCC folks, are about to plunge everyone into a Great War.
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia wants to weaken Hizbullah & Iran in Lebanon by denying them a Sunni partner. How effective will this be? (THREAD) 1/12
By hobbling Lebanon and humiliating the most prominent Sunni politician, Saudi prince MbS plays directly into Iran’s hands. 4/12
Most Lebanese were happy with govt cooperation and looking ahead to next year’s elections. Most are tired of conflict. 5/12
Every day that Lebanon limps along without a government will be blamed on Saudi Arabia, not Hizbullah. 6/12
https://twitter.com/QifaNabki/status/927266763464675330
(A P)
Hezbollah says Saudi Arabia forced Lebanese PM to quit
Lebanon’s Shi‘ite Hezbollah group on Sunday accused Saudi Arabia of forcing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to quit, and called for calm in an effort to contain the political crisis unleashed by his resignation.
(* A P)
#Nasrallah: what spurred me to speak to you today is the resignation of PM #Hariri. I won't be talking about other regional developments.
#Nasrallah: few days ago, a #Saudi official threatened Lebanese gov and our PM was required to go to #SaudiArabia
#Nasrallah: After #Hariri came back he assured cabinet that #Saudi is keen on preserving Lebanon stability and will provide help to Leb army
#Nasrallah: however, #Hariri was reuired to go back to #SaudiArabia again from where he announced his resignation.
#Nasrallah: No one knows what happened in #SaudiArabia in the 24 hrs before #Hariri announced his resignation.
#Nasrallah: we consider that #Hariri's resignation was initiated by #SaudiArabia. Why didn't they let him announce this from Lebanon?
#Nasrallah: Even the text of his announcement was written by #Saudi. All of us from all walks in Lebanon are surprised.
#Nasrallah: This is very destabilising for #Lebanon and we, in Hezbollah, didn't wish for this, despite difficulties.
https://twitter.com/les_politiques/status/927203977346760704
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
(A K P)
At Dhahran, next to first Hawk 165 (UK T2) to be assembled in Kingdom by @Saudi_Air_Force - coincidentally the 1,000th Hawk @BAESystemsAir (photo)
https://twitter.com/Chf_Eng_Air/status/928102598019813377
My comment: British help building war planes for Saudi Arabia in Saudi Arabia. This man is he: https://twitter.com/Chf_Eng_Air . And also look at https://twitter.com/Chf_Eng_Air/status/927624939712151553
cp13b Söldner / Mercenaries
Siehe / Look at cp1 (Sudan)
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
Siehe cp1, cp6 / Look at cp1, cp6
(* A T)
America in grave danger from terrorists? The numbers tell a different story
Despite the horror of the New York truck attack, data shows that western countries remain very safe when compared to other parts of the world (with interesting infographic)
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2017/nov/05/america-terrorism-risk-global-data-new-york
(A T)
#IslamicState in #Yemen posts photos of young "martyrs" who bombed & gunned Criminal Investigations Building in Aden Sunday: from Hadramawt, Ibb, Ta'iz, Shabwa (photos)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/928092751312408577
(A T)
ISIS attacks al Houthi-Saleh positions in al Bayda governorate, central Yemen; Emirati-backed security forces deploy troops to Abyan governorate, southern Yemen; senior AQAP cleric discusses importance of education and criticizes Yemeni jihadists[3]
(A T)
Senior AQAP cleric discusses importance of education and criticizes Yemeni jihadists[5]
(A T)
#IslamicState #Yemen claims heavy & medium weapons attack vs Houthi barracks in Qayfa in al-Bayda' yday, cutting supply route & seizing arms (image)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/927865651221409792
(A T)
AQAP attacks Emirati-backed forces in eastern Yemen[3]
(A T)
AQAP targets al Houthi-Saleh forces in al Bayda governorate, central Yemen (4]
(* B T)
Film: Waffen, Al Nusra & Saudis: Ex-Außenminister Katars plaudert über Syrien-Krieg aus dem Nähkästchen
Der ehemalige Außenminister sowie Premierminister von Katar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, hat in einem Fernsehinterview Details zum Syrien-Krieg bekannt gegeben. Ihm zufolge hatten Saudi-Arabien und Katar beschlossen, gemeinsam am Sturz des syrischen Präsidenten Baschar al Assad zu arbeiten. Er spricht auch über Waffenlieferungen, die über die Türkei nach Syrien gebracht wurden. Auch räumt er ein, dass es möglich sei, dass die Al-Nusra-Front zeitweise unterstützt wurde. (deutsche Untertitel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64fZA8oXY7U
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Macron wirbt für Frieden am Golf
Frankreichs Präsident Macron ist nach Saudi-Arabien gereist. Dort forderte er eine friedliche Lösung des Konflikts mit dem Iran
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/macron-in-saudi-arabien-101.html
Mein Kommentar: So ist das in der Tat Propaganda. Macron hatte auch einen Waffendeal im Gepäck. Ja, so wirbt man für Frieden.
(A P)
PM says conflict will continue since rebels refuse peace
Prime Minister Ahmed bin-Daghr said that "the battle with Houthi rebel militias will continue as long as the militias refuse the Arab peace initiative and the UN resolutions."
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-12693
My comment: The problem is: For Hadi government newspeak, “peace” = submission.
(A P)
How does Iran smuggle ballistic missiles to radical Houthis in Yemen?
The pro-government Dep. Governor of the Red Seaport city of Hodeidah Waleed al-Qudeimi, unraveled the trick to Al-Sharq al-Awsat daily as follows: "Iran takes advantage of the poor scrutiny of vessels sailing off the coast of Hodeida to smuggle ballistic missiles; they de-assemble the missiles and ship them in food and bulk wheat containers, to be re-assembled later when they arrive in mainland Tihama cities, (also) by 75 Iranian experts available there."
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-12692
(A P)
White House: Iran ‘prolonging Yemen war’
Iran is prolonging the war in Yemen in pursuit of regional domination and is undermining UN efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict, the White House said on Wednesday.
A White House statement condemned Iran’s actions and pledged US support to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf partners against Tehran’s “blatant” violations of international law.
“Houthi missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, enabled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, threaten regional security,” the White House said.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1190491/saudi-arabia
My comment: This is extremely odd when the White House is fueling a regional conflict by objecting to Iran what Saudi Arabia does day by day – on an increasing scale, as US support encourages it.
(A P)
How the War in Yemen Explains the Future of Saudi Arabia
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is determined to confront Iran in the tiny, war-ravaged country.
If you’re searching for the real story here, look to Iran.
For MbS and the Saudi leadership, attacks from Yemen represent a phobia which the Houthis and their Iranian backers delight in tweaking.
My comment: The usual mainstream media junk.
(A P)
What a great puff piece that whitewashes a backdrop of sweeping intolerance where govnt critics are jailed for Tweets, workers abused...#UAE
https://twitter.com/krisbogos/status/927934962359308288 referring to a NYT article
(A P)
Yemen Refuses to Become Iranian Platform Targeting Neighboring Countries
The Yemeni government has refused to turn Yemen into an Iranian platform to launch rockets and target neighboring countries, calling on the international community to act quickly to deter the Houthi militias firing ballistic missiles.
Yemeni government spokesman Rajeh Badi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the actions of Houthi militias and their threats confirm that they have become an Iranian tool to plunge the region and the world into wars.
He said that the main objective of Iran's support of these militias is its intention to turn Yemen into a platform for firing rockets at neighboring countries.
The legitimate government refuses to turn Yemen into an Iranian platform to launch rockets in all directions, Badi added, noting that these threats require rapid action from the international community.
My comment: Finally! This is the dull Hadi government propaganda related to the latest events I long had waited for!
(A P)
UN not serious about stopping rebel militias, says army commander
The commander of the Sixth Military Region Maj. Gen. Ameen al-Wa'ili said that "two years into the war in Yemen, the UN has not taken any step to protect the Yemeni people and is not serious about stopping these [Houthi-Saleh rebel] militias."
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-12659
My comment: More of nonsense-propaganda.
(A P)
Obama Admin worked to establish Iran's influence, says Presidential officer
The Obama Administration worked in its last weeks to establish Iran's influence in the Arab region by accepting the de facto situation in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, said the Director General of the Presidential Office Abdullah al-Alimi.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-12662
My comment: No end to nonsense.
(A P)
Presidential advisor calls for designating Iran a sponsor of terrorism
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-12661
(A P)
What Washington should do about the Saudi power play
All of which offers America strong reasons to back the new powerhouse — and perhaps encourage his better angels. Remember, one of President Trump’s regional strategic goals is reversing the dangerous advances Iran made during the Obama years. This is also a rare opportunity to nudge Saudi Arabia away from its extremist-leaning form of Islam, which has been so malignant throughout the Mideast and beyond.
http://nypost.com/2017/11/06/what-washington-should-do-about-the-saudi-power-play/
My comment: LOL.
(A P)
Saudi Arabia’s 'Saturday Night Massacre' might play right into US interests
But make no mistake, Saudi Arabia’s version of the Saturday Night Massacre was less about corruption than the accumulation of overwhelming power in the hands of MbS. With the arrest of the powerful prince in charge of the kingdom’s most effective fighting force, the praetorian National Guard, MbS now controls all of Saudi Arabia’s most powerful political, economic, and security institutions.
No one should have any doubts. If successful, MbS’s revolutionary program to transform Saudi society would unambiguously serve U.S. interests.
My comment: This is a typical western mainstream view: Salman as “reformer” and thus as an appropriate ally of the West. This fits to be propaganda.
And well-known Thomas L. Friedman also playing the “Salman reformer” drum:
(A P)
Attention: Saudi Prince in a Hurry
He is a young man in a hurry. I’ve found his passion for reform authentic, his support from the youth in his country significant and his case for making radical change in Saudi Arabia compelling.
Indeed, there are two things I can say for sure about him: He is much more McKinsey than Wahhabi – by Thomas L. Friedman
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/opinion/saudi-prince-reform-coup.html
(A P)
Iranian Weapons-Smuggling to Yemen’s Houthis Passes through 3 Countries
The Arab Coalition Supporting Yemen's Legitimacy showed evidence on Monday of the Iranian tactics to smuggle qualitative weapons to Houthi militias in Yemen and modernize outdated arms.
It added that the smuggling process starts from Lebanese “Hezbollah”-controlled regions in Syria, then passes through Iraq and Iran before reaching Yemen.
Tehran also supplies militias with experts and modern techniques to manufacture remote-controlled explosives-laden speedboats to use them in attacks against ships and therefore affect the navigation in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea.
My comment: Look how a branching propaganda story universe is built up.
(A P)
Newspaper Close to Khamenei Confirms Iran Complicity in Houthi Missile Attack against Riyadh
A newspaper close to the office of Iranian Supreme leader Ali Khamenei hinted Monday at Iranian complicity in the ballistic missile that was fired by Yemen’s Houthi militias towards the Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Kayhan newspaper, which is close to Khamenei’s office, ran a controversial headline on Monday suggesting that Houthi rebels in Yemen will next target Dubai, prompting widespread reactions in Iran.
My comment: Nice propaganda. But this headline is no sign of any Iranian “complicity”; already weeks ago the Houthis had proclaimed that the Emirates would be their preferred target of missiles. And read a “normal” report on this:
(* A P)
Controversy in Iran over headline targeting Dubai
Despite the apparent restraint shown by Iranian diplomats and military commanders alike, the hard-line Kayhan daily chose a headline for its Nov. 6 front page that prompted a dire warning by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Moreover, the moderate Jomhuri-e Eslami newspaper, whose editor-in-chief — just like Kayhan's — is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, slammed the hard-line newspaper for deciding to go with the contentious headline.
and
(A P)
Iranian Hard-Line Daily Kayhan Suspended Amid Saudi Tensions
Kayhan -- a harsh critic of the government of President Hassan Rohani, a self-proclaimed moderate -- defended the headline on November 7 and said that it had merely reported on threats made by Huthis.
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-kayhan-newspaper-suspended-saudi-tensions-dubai-missile/28842421.html
My comment: That’s right, Houthis had made such threats.
(A P)
Missile attack on Riyadh ‘an act of war’ by Iran
A Houthi missile fired at Riyadh may be considered an act of war by Iran, and Saudi Arabia will not tolerate any infringement of its national security, senior Saudi officials said on Monday.
Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa said Iran was a danger to the region, and the Harvard scholar and Iranian affairs expert Majid Rafizadeh said the international community should hold Tehran accountable.
“Compromises, concessions and diplomatic maneuvering don’t work with the Iranian regime,” he told Arab News. “Iranian leaders view concessions as weakness.”
Rafizadeh said Iran was the leading state sponsor of terrorism.
Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri, a Saudi political analyst and international relations scholar in Riyadh, said the international community should have prevented Iran from creating havoc in the region.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1189476/saudi-arabia
My comment: This article is summing up the newest odd Saudi propaganda. Here, I just want emphasize “Rafizadeh said Iran was the leading state sponsor of terrorism”: LOL when looking at Saudi Wahabism born Al Qaeda, Al Nusrah, ISIS. – “said the international community should have prevented Iran from creating havoc in the region”: LOL, LOL. Saudi Arabia created havoc in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Qatar, Libya…
Comment: Now what? #Saudi Arabia says Houthis smuggle Iran missiles through Shabwah, an area controlled by #UAE forces.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/927757174301970432
(A P)
The 'evidence' produced by Saudi Arabia: this truck supposedly served the purpose of smuggling 'MISSILE' by land in #Yemen. (photos)
My comment: LOL. Take a picture of the next truck you see in the street.
(A P)
IN PICTURES: Evidence of Iranian support to Houthi militia in Yemen
My comment: A few little dubious ships a longer time ago – that’s all they have. LOL.
(A P)
The Riyadh Rocket shows what’s at stake in Yemen
Historically, Britain built its admired and valuable reputation by taking leadership positions on international issues. It would be both right and advantageous for us to rediscover that authority by setting out clearly why we are backing the Gulf coalition to succeed. Scrutinising the conduct of the war is only one of four roles we need to play in this conflict. Britain must also provide military and intelligence support to our allies, humanitarian assistance to the Red Crescent, and pressure on the Iranians to withdraw their sponsorship of the revolutionaries – by Geoff Hoon, UK Defence Secretary between 1999 and 2005
https://reaction.life/riyadh-rocket-shows-whats-stake-yemen/
My comment: A typical Western, British propaganda piece of (neo-)colonial bias.
Compare also this:
(A P)
Dismantling Iran’s Illicit Networks
To date, the United States (US) and its allies have failed to fully integrate their capabilities to counter Iran’s actions which threaten global stability.
http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/dismantling-iran%E2%80%99s-illicit-networks
(A P)
Yemen’s rebel masters in Tehran must be held to account
In a similarly nihilistic fashion, almost every day the rebels send shorter-range missiles across the Saudi border, some of which land on schools and private homes, killing and injuring innocent civilians, including Saudis and Yemeni refugees.
Intentionally targeting civilians, and the use of grossly inaccurate weapons, can be described as war crimes under the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols governing the conduct of warfare, not to mention the rules of decency and chivalry.
The UN’s credibility is at stake.
The international community should be united against the threats coming out of Iran.
Next, action is needed to immunize the region against those “tentacles.”
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1188901
My comment: This is ridiculous propaganda thinking at the Saudi bombing war.
(A P)
Saudi Arabia warns Iran Yemen missile attack ‘may be act of war’
Riyadh-led coalition threatens Tehran with retaliation after rocket shot toward Saudi airport by Iran-backed Houthi rebels
blaming the launch on Iran and warning it could be “considered as an act of war.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/saudi-arabia-warns-iran-yemen-missile-attack-may-be-act-of-war/
My comment: This is ridiculous as well. 1) The missile attack of course is an act of war, but not from the Saudis but from the Houthis. 2) This is a war, thus „acts of war“ of this kind are nothing special, and the Saudis are committing „acts of war“ killing civilians, and destroying infrastructure on a daily basis.
(A P)
Iran ‘arming Houthis to attack Saudi Arabia, UAE’
Iran is supplying Houthi militia with arms to attack Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Col. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, said on Sunday.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1188936/saudi-arabia
My comment: Stay serious. „US ‘arming Saudis to attack Yemen“ makes 10.000 times more sense, looking at the size of arms sales.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(* A K PH)
The Violation and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 6–7 Nov 2017
(A K PH)
On Tuesday evening, November 7, 2017, the Saudi Aggression Squadron launched eight raids on Bani al-Harith Directorate in Sana'a Governorate.
A security source told "Khobar" that the air force launched eight raids on the Technical Institute of the Air Force in the area of Jadir Bani Bani al-Harith, causing significant material damage.
The source said that the aviation continued to fly extensively in the atmosphere of the capital Sana'a and its environs (photo)
(A K PH)
Photos of Saudi air raid at Saudi embassy, Sanaa, Nov. 6, 2017
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1741247062837947 and also at https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/927848628416282624 and https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/927848430424199168
(A K PH)
Citizen killed in Saudi airstrike hit Saada
A citizen was killed and three others were injured on Tuesday when the US-backed Saudi warplanes hit Baqin district of Saada province one time, an official told Saba.
The strike hit a citizen's car, killing the driver and wounding three others
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478747.htm and http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478748.htm
and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu5eoC_XBVc = http://almasirah.net/gallery/preview.php?file_id=9552 = https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/928004944162115584
(A K PS)
Air Raids on Sanaa by Arab Ally
Heavy explosions were heard in Sanaa, under control of Al-Houthi and Saleh militias, after air raids by the Arab Ally, under commandership of Saudi Arabia, on Al-Delimy air base. Citizens of Sanaa asserted that five air raids were launched on the air base located inside the parameters of Sanaa International Airport
http://en.smanews.org/air-raids-on-sanaa-by-arab-ally
More air strikes reported:
Reported on:
Nov. 8:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478910.htm Sanaa city
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478889.htm Saada, Asir
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478845.htm Marib
Nov. 7:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478718.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478726.htm
Nov. 6:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478712.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478709.htm
(A K)
Coalition led by Saudi Arabia fired UN office in Yemen before visit of the organization's deputy secretary
The coalition led by Saudi Arabia fired the UN office in Yemen before visit of the organization's deputy secretary, TASS reported.
"The coalition led by Saudi Arabia delivered air strikes on the area in the capital of Yemen, where the office of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations is located, a few hours before the arrival of Deputy Secretary General of the World Organization, Mark Loucock to Sana," the message said.
http://www.kaztag.kz/en/news/detail.php?ID=577035
cp16a Luftangriff tötet 60 / Air strike killing 60
(** A K PH)
Update: Death tolls of Saudi airstrikes on Hajja rises to 60 citizens
The death tolls in 16 Saudi airstrikes hit Aflah district of Hajja province on Tuesday evening rose to 60 citizens ,an official told Saba on Wednesday.
The airstrikes hit a house of the citizen and the rescuers , who rushed to save the victims, killing 60 citizens.
The official said the US-backed Saudi warplanes waged other strikes on a gas station and al-Masira channel's crew, killing and injured a number of the citizens.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478830.htm
(** A K PH)
Saudi Air Raids on Yemen’s Hijjah Claim Dozens of Civilian Lives
The Saudi warplanes raided a civilian building in Hirran area in Hijjah province, as the KSA-led coalition continues to wage war on Yemen, claiming over 60 lives and injuring scores of others.
The Saudi warplanes continued flying over the scene of the massacre whose victims included women and children to prevent the ambulances from rescuing the injured, Al Manar reported.
Some medical sources also said the attack's death toll has climbed to over 60, as many injured people lost their live in hospitals due to the severity of their wounds
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960817000602
(** A K PH)
Saudi air strikes kill children in Yemen's Hajjah area
At least 30 Yemenis, including women and children, have been killed in a series of Saudi-led air strikes in north Yemen, activists and local media said.
Hussain al-Bukhaiti, a pro-Houthi activist, told Al Jazeera at least 16 air strikes targeted the village of Hiran in Hajjah province on Tuesday, killing 30 people, including a family of 10.
Quoting local residents, Bukhaiti said the raids started shortly after midnight, targeting the home of Sheikh Hamdi, a Houthi loyalist, killing him and his family.
The strikes reportedly continued until 5pm local time (14:00 GMT). According to Bukhaiti, the devastation prevented relatives and rescue workers from retrieving the bodies of the dead.
Al Masirah, a TV channel run by the Houthis - a group of rebels who control Hajjah province, the capital Sanaa, as well as other parts of central Yemen - said 10 paramedics were also killed.
(** A K PH)
Saudi Air Strike Kill 30 Civilians in Yemen’s Hajja
More than 30 civilians, mostly women and children have lost their lives after Saudi military aircraft launched 18 air strikes on Haran area of Yemen’s province ,which was the scene of a similar massacre days earlier.
The fatalities were caused by Saudi air raids against residential building belong to Hamdi Jumae . The house involves his brothers’ family , which all of them were died .
According to the people of the region , they had faced difficulties in carrying out evacuation operations as the aggression’s jets were hovering massively , targeting any one has tried to approach to the pounded house. As well , five cars were completely damaged .(photos)
(** A K)
Another Saudi Massacre: 30+ Killed Today Including Children and Rescuers
At least 18 gruesome raids targeted a residential area of Yemen’s Hajjah province this morning killing over 30 according to local sources. Among those killed include an entire family, women, children, and over 10 rescue workers.
The exact number of casualties cannot be confirmed since Saudi planes are attacking rescue vehicles and news crews entering the scene.
Additional attacks in the same area struck supply roads leading to remote areas thus prohibiting food, water, and aid delivery.
(** A K PH)
Aggression kills or injures 50 civilians in Hajjah
The US-Saudi aggression coalition warplanes on Tuesday waged more than 16 air raids on Hajjah province.
The aggression coalition air raids hit Harran area in Aflah district in the province, killing and injuring more than 50, including women and children.
The aggression warplanes continued flying over the area, hindering the arrival of medics to reach the targeted area.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news478790.htm
(* A K PH)
The toll of the victims of the massacre of Saudi American aggression against civilians in the region of Oran in Hajjah province to 60 martyrs and wounded, including 10 paramedics.
On Tuesday, the air force targeted more than 18 consecutive air strikes, the homes of Hamdi al-Hakami and Sheikh Abdullah al-Khumsi in the Hajjah area.
IOF prevented the ambulance crew from approaching the crime area for five hours.
A cameraman and a reporter from Al-Massira TV were also injured when an Israeli air strike targeted their car with an air strike while attempting to cover the massacre.
The Ministry of Health spokesman said the outcome is not final, likely increase in number due to some serious injuries to victims.
https://almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=15315
Photos:
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1741336116162375
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1741331552829498
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1741349679494352
first film Almasirah TV:
https://twitter.com/YEMENICONGRE3S3/status/927955891462332417 = https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/928018199299452928
First photos of the raid:
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/927905043491246086
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/927893208687960065
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1741212186174768
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/927888860041883648
films bei Almasirah TV:
http://almasirah.net/gallery/preview.php?file_id=9541(19:33)
http://almasirah.net/gallery/preview.php?file_id=9542 = https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/927999242353938434 (7:17)
https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/927997701979099138 (5:45)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaDbW-WnzJg = http://almasirah.net/gallery/preview.php?file_id=9554 = https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/928018199299452928 (3:00; part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxuRrqSH0P0 = http://almasirah.net/gallery/preview.php?file_id=9588 = https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/928377011730567168 (3:16; part 2)
and Saudi claims:
(A K PS)
17 #Houthi leaders killed in #Saudi-led Coalition airstrikes in #Hajjah governorate, via: AlArabiya
http://almasirah.net/gallery/preview.php?file_id=9541 19:33)
http://almasirah.net/gallery/preview.php?file_id=9542 = https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/927999242353938434 (7:17)
https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/927997701979099138 (5:45)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaDbW-WnzJg = http://almasirah.net/gallery/preview.php?file_id=9554 = https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/928018199299452928 (3:00)
(A K PS)
Series of 12 #Saudi-led Coalition airstrikes on a #Houthi militia camp in #Hajjah governorate kill about 50 militants
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/927952293097541632
and
(A K P)
Spokesman of Al-Houthi Militias Denies Targeting Al-Sammad by Arab Ally Air Raids
In a tweet via his official account on Tweeter, Mohamed Abd El-Salam, official spokesman of Al-Houthi militias denied the news appeared in several news sites of targeting Saleh Al-Sammad in Hajja. Al-Arabia Channel, in a breaking news on Tuesday, indicated that the Arab Ally air forces targeted several al-Houthi leaders including Saleh Al-Sammad in Hajja, northern of Yemen.
Ans now pro-Hadi reporting makes it this way:
(A K P)
30 killed in Saudi offensive against Yemen’s Houthis
Saudi Arabia targeted the Houthi territory in north Yemen today, killing civilians including women and children, reported Al Jazeera.
The air strikes targeted a village in Hiran, located in the Hajjah region in the north of the country. Thirty people died in the strikes, Hussain Al-Bukhaithi, a Yemeni-based journalist told Al Jazeera.
Air strikes began at midnight and continued for five hours, according to locals on the ground.
The first strike targeted Sheikh Hamdi’s family home, a Houthi loyalist, killing him and his family.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171108-30-killed-in-saudi-offensive-against-yemens-houthis/
My comment: This air raid was no “offensive against Houthis”. In the article they mention civilians only. If this Sheik was a “Houthi loyalist”, that does not mean he was a fighter – and thus a civilian house stays a civilian house and is no military target ever.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
(A K PS)
Photos. Najran: the fall of fragments of military projectiles fired by Huthion of # Yemen on residential neighborhoods in # Najran.
https://twitter.com/alekhbariyatv/status/927925633262465024
https://twitter.com/alekhbariyatv/status/927926126156148736
(A K)
A new update after the battles of North Front Bounty in the mountains of Yam - Dboua – Al Hawl – Bani Barq
https://twitter.com/YemConfMaps/status/927629251205099520
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(unrated D)
Journalists Invited To Tour One Of Yemen's Safest Cities
The Arab country of Yemen has been devastated by a civil war and famine. The governor of the safest province in Yemen invited journalists to see his boomtown.
https://www.npr.org/2017/11/07/562486278/journalists-invited-to-tour-one-of-yemens-safest-cities
(D)
Audio: WorldLink: The art of storytelling
We're going to look at different ways artists see our world, including a street photographer from Yemen
http://m.dw.com/en/worldlink-the-art-of-storytelling/av-40830284
(* -)
Children in Yemen: Some photos I've taken for Children
http://muhamedy.com/albums/children-in-yemen/
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-354-yemen-war-mosaic-354
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-354 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-354:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm und / and http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
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