Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
Zuerst: Verschleppte der Huthis / At first: Houthi detainees
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Blockade / Most important: Blockade
cp1b Am wichtigsten / Most important: Saudis, USA, UK
cp1c Am wichtigsten: Salman-Interview / Most important: Salman interview
cp1d Am wichtigsten: Mehr / Most important: More
cp1e Seuchen / Epidemics
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
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 Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp15a Propaganda: Saudis "retten" Journalistinnen / Saudis "save" journalists
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
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)
Urgent appeal for Abductees‘ Mothers Association to release the abductee Abdullilah Seylan who has deteriorated due to severe torture (text in image)
https://twitter.com/abducteesmother/status/934506963756560385
(A P)
Hodeidah children shout out where our fathers are
Mothers appeal to the human conscience to save their children from the prisons of Huthi (photos)
https://twitter.com/abducteesmother/status/934460793206255616 and https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=757910264396663&id=505200403000985
(A P)
Joint letter from children of the abducted and forcibly hidden persons in Houthi-Saleh armed prisons to member and observer states (text in image)
https://twitter.com/abducteesmother/status/934325668652945415
(A P)
The Mothers' Association organizes a trip for the kidnapped children of Sana'a during the Children's Week (photos)
https://twitter.com/abducteesmother/status/933739848481067012 and https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=757087811145575&id=505200403000985
A pause for the children of the abductees in Sana'a In line with World Children's Day, we call for the release of their parents
https://twitter.com/abducteesmother/status/932570525557252098 and https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=755779971276359&id=505200403000985
(A P)
"Majidi witnessed" the story of a girl waiting for the return of her father kidnapped every day . (photos)
https://twitter.com/abducteesmother/status/932631252091498497 and https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=755862311268125&id=505200403000985
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Blockade / Most important: Blockade
Mehr unter / More at cp2a
(** A H P)
Blockade gelockert: Schiff mit Hilfsgütern erreicht Jemen
Erstmals seit Wochen durfte wieder ein Schiff mit Nahrung den Jemen anlaufen. In dem von einem Stellvertreterkrieg zerstörten Land herrscht eine Hungernot, Seuchen drohen.
5500 Tonnen Mehl erreichten am Sonntag per Schiff den Hafen von Hodeida. Lange nicht genug, aber dennoch eine wichtige Hilfe für die Hunger leidenden Menschen im Jemen. Hilfslieferungen in das Land waren seit Anfang November blockiert.
(** A H P)
Saudi-led coalition allows first aid ship into Yemen's Hodeidah port: local officials
A ship carrying 5,500 tonnes of flour docked in Yemen’s Hodeidah port in the Red Sea on Sunday, the first after more than two weeks of a blockade by a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi movement, local officials said.
The delivery is the first aid to arrive through Hodeidah port, controlled by the Houthis, after the coalition allowed a flight carrying humanitarian aid workers to the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday.
“The ship is 106 meters long and carries 5,500 tonnes of flour,” one of the Yemeni officials said.
(** A H P)
First food aid in weeks docks at rebel-held Yemen port: WFP
A vessel carrying the first shipment of food aid in three weeks docked Sunday at the rebel-controlled Red Sea port of Saleef in western Yemen, a United Nations official said.
Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme for the Middle East and North Africa region, said some 25,000 tons of wheat will be offloaded early on Monday.
She said "strong winds" were preventing the offloading from taking place on Sunday.
Saleef port is around 70 kilometres (45 miles) north of the key port of Hodeida, also on the Red Sea and in rebel hands.
Hodeida port is the main conduit for UN-supervised deliveries of food and medicine and vital to UN efforts as it is closest to the majority of people in need.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5119093/First-food-aid-weeks-docks-rebel-held-Yemen-port-WFP.html and also http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42131361
(** B H K P)
A YEMENI HOLODOMOR.
The Holodomor was the name given to a man-made famine in the Ukraine in the mid-1930s. It killed between 2.5 and 12 million Ukrainians. "Holodomor" in Ukrainian roughly translates to "to kill by starvation."
A Yemeni Holodomor is being executed by Saudi Arabia, with American, British and Canadian taxes, in the names of American, British and Canadian citizens.
And frankly, the lack of attention the current situation is getting is absolutely shocking.
So, to recap...
To add insult to, well, another violation of international law, the Royal Saudi Navy instituted a naval blockade of the Mandeb Strait, separating Yemen and the Horn of Africa. This naval blockade is supported by the United States, it has, thus far, only allowed a handful of the necessary aid to flow through -- meaning that food and water and medicine are in dire supply in Yemen, as aid organizations that send food and water often have their ships turned back as part of anti-weapons trafficking operations by the Saudi and US Navy, as Iran has been alleged to be smuggling weapons into the hands of the aforementioned Shi'ite Houthis.
While I do not in any way condone the launch of that missile into Saudi Arabia, which, if it had hit, would have killed hundreds if not thousands of innocent Saudi citizens -- I cannot simultaneously ignore the egregious situation that a combination of factors have created.
Officially, the Saudi Government is a signatory nation to the Geneva Conventions and adheres to those Conventions. Their conduct in Yemen calls that commitment squarely and fairly into question. It is one thing to strike a legitimate military target, , for example -- an Army barracks -- , and accidentally kill civilians contractors working at that barracks. It is quite another thing to strike a target that is a non-military target -- , such as the strike on the MSF facility, or the prison --, and kill many civilians *on purpose* -- you *know* there are civilians present, because it is not a military target, it's a hospital, or a school, or a prison.
Remember that word? "Holodomor" -- to "kill by starvation" -- do you think that might apply here?
Do you think that, maybe, if you:
Do you think that it is OK that we, the People are essentially complicit in the murder -- and it is murder -- of millions of innocent people, because there are weapons being sold to Saudi Arabia which are then used to murder Yemeni civilians, with our money and in our names?
You should know that the Government of your country is aiding-and-abetting a Yemeni Holodomor with your money and in your name.
And it should make your blood boil – by Jack Hawkins
https://www.facebook.com/jack.hawkins.5209/posts/10155194094907914 = https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1565013570218334
(** B H P)
The US-Saudi Starvation Blockade
Our aim is to "starve the whole population – men, women, and children, old and young, wounded and sound – into submission," said First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill.
He was speaking of Germany at the outset of the Great War of 1914-1918
A comparable crime is being committed today against the poorest people in the Arab world – and with the complicity of the United States.
If airfields and ports under Houthi control are not allowed to open and the necessities of life and humanitarian aid are not allowed to flow in, the Yemenis face famine and starvation.
What did these people do to deserve this? What did they do to us that we would assist the Saudis in doing this to them?
The Houthis are not al-Qaida or ISIS. Those are Sunni terrorist groups, and the Houthis detest them.
Saudis argue that the specter of starvation will turn the Yemeni people against the rebels and force the Houthi to submit. But what if the policy fails. What if the Houthis, who have held the northern half of the country for more than two years, do not yield? What then?
Are we willing to play passive observer as thousands and then tens of thousands of innocent civilians – the old, sick, weak, and infants and toddlers first – die from a starvation blockade supported by the mighty United States of America?
Yemen today is arguably the worst humanitarian crisis on earth, and America’s role in it is undeniable and indispensable.
If the United States were to tell Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that we were no longer going to support his war in Yemen, the Saudis would have to accept the reality that they have lost this war – by Patrick J. Buchanan
http://original.antiwar.com/buchanan/2017/11/23/us-saudi-starvation-blockade/ = http://buchanan.org/blog/us-saudi-starvation-blockade-127888
(** A H P)
YEMEN: 600 NEW CASES OF STARVING CHILDREN EVERY DAY
Yemen is seeing an estimated 20,000 new cases of severely malnourished children aged under-5 every month, an average of 27 children every hour. These numbers are likely to rise significantly despite the reported opening of access to humanitarian supplies, as a continued restriction on commercial and humanitarian imports pushes prices of basic goods beyond the reach of ordinary families, warns Save the Children.
A continued commercial blockade on Hodeidah is aggravating the already devastating food crisis, leading to a significant increase in child deaths from acute malnutrition and preventable diseases. The prices of basic goods like milk, sugar and petrol have risen sharply forcing many parents to make impossible choices like whether to buy medicine for a sick child or food for a hungry one.
Abdu Saleh, father to 10-month-old Qais*, said:
“Sometimes my son is breastfed by his mother and sometimes we have to give him formula because his mother doesn’t have any milk. I cannot provide her with enough nutrition to breastfeed the baby. The blockade is affecting all citizens, no food has entered the country, no medicine…now half the people are dying because of it.”
The cut in supplies, whether humanitarian aid or commercial goods, means a widespread famine is possible within 3-4 months. Already, seven million people are struggling to get even one meal a day.
Tamer Kirolos, Yemen Country Director, Save the Children, said:
“Yemeni children, it seems, are being intentionally starved and deprived of life-saving medicines and vaccines. We see the impact of this every day, when desperate parents bring their acutely malnourished children in for treatment because they can’t feed them. Unfortunately, too many young children don’t get help in time and lose their lives. This is an entirely preventable and man-made tragedy. As long as a blockade on commercial imports remains, Yemeni children will continue to suffer.”
https://www.savethechildren.net/article/yemen-600-new-cases-starving-children-every-day
(** A H P)
Im Jemen geht das Wasser aus: Hilfsorganisation Oxfam schlägt Alarm
Weitere acht Millionen Menschen im Jemen könnten nach Angaben von Oxfam in den nächsten Tagen den Zugang zu sauberem Wasser verlieren, wenn die von Saudi-Arabien geführte Militärkoalition die Blockade der nördlichen Häfen nicht aufhebt. Insgesamt 24 Millionen Menschen wären dann von der Wasserversorgung abgeschnitten und es drohe eine erneute Ausbreitung der Cholera-Epidemie, die gerade erst zurückgegangen war, warnte die Hilfsorganisation am Samstag.
In den nördlichen Gebieten Jemensgehen die Benzinvorräte laut Oxfam bald zu Ende. Diesel, der unter anderem für den Betrieb von Wasserpumpen und den Transport von Hilfsgütern erforderlich ist, reiche noch maximal für acht Tage. An zentralen Orten wie dem Hafen von Hodeida ist die Wasserversorgung demnach von den Treibstoffvorräten der UN abhängig. Hilfsorganisationen unterstützten die Systeme zur Wasserversorgung, doch wenn Treibstoff noch knapper und teurer werde, sei dies immer weniger möglich.
Im Jemen geht das Wasser aus - weiter lesen auf Augsburger-Allgemeine: http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/politik/Im-Jemen-geht-das-Wasser-aus-id43342561.html
(** A H P)
Oxfam: Millionen Menschen im Jemen ohne Trinkwasser
Im Jemen droht laut Oxfam weiteren acht Millionen Menschen in den nächsten Tagen ein Leben ohne Trinkwasser. Insgesamt wären dann 24 Millionen Kinder, Frauen und Männer in dem Bürgerkriegsland von sauberem Wasser abgeschnitten
Eine nochmalige Ausbreitung der Cholera-Epidemie sei zu befürchten.
Das Wasserministerium habe erklärt, bereits sieben Städte hätten keinen Treibstoff mehr, in zwei weiteren reiche der Vorrat nur noch wenige Tage.
Shane Stevenson, Oxfams Länderdirektor im Jemen, verurteilte das Vorgehen der Saudis als "Akt äußerster Barbarei".
https://www.evangelisch.de/inhalte/147151/25-11-2017/oxfam-millionen-menschen-jemen-ohne-trinkwasser
(** A H P)
Millions of Yemenis days away from losing clean running water
Danger of Cholera comeback as four in five people will be without steady water supply
Eight million people in Yemen will be without running water within days as fuel runs out due to the Saudi-led coalition blockade of the country's northern ports, Oxfam warned today.
They will join the almost 16 million people in Yemen who already cannot get clean piped water, leaving more than four in five people without a steady supply of clean water.
A disruption to fuel supplies on this scale could trigger a fresh spike in a cholera epidemic which has seen nearly 950,000 suspected cases since April this year, but which had begun to ease in recent weeks.
In northern areas of the country petrol stocks are due to run out soon and diesel in approximately eight days. The country’s Ministry of Water reports that seven cities have already run out of fuel and two others will run out soon. Water supply in places such as the port of Hodeidah is reliant on fuel provided by the United Nations. Aid agencies agreed to support the water supply networks but they will not be able to continue as fuel is becoming scarce and more expensive.
Oxfam said that urgent action is needed to keep clean water flowing.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2017-11-23/millions-yemenis-days-away-losing-clean-running-water = https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/millions-yemenis-days-away-losing-clean-running-water
and
(** A H P)
This is how long cities in #Yemen have until fuel runs out - and clean water stops pumping. 10 days - Dhamar 3 days - Amran 3 days - Hajja 0 - Al Bayda 0 - Hodeida 0 - Sa’ada 0 - Taiz 0 - Sana’a + surrounding areas For 2.5 million people, it's already too late.
https://twitter.com/ICRC/status/934086893926600710
and
(** A H P)
Hodeida city is completely without water and sanitation. News websites quoted a local official on Friday as saying all water wells and sanitation system in the city are out of service because of lack of diesel and electricity. Remember: the UN says around 15 million people in Yemen lack access to clean water, adequate healthcare and sanitation. Thanks to West-backed Saudi war and blockade.
https://www.facebook.com/fuad.rajeh/posts/10209964473380624
Comment: This is the news from Hodeida, from a Yemeni journalist. This city already was very badly affected by famine with up to 40% of children acutely severely malnourished even before this exacerbation of the blockade. Now it is completely without water and sanitation. And yet the news this evening in U.K. didn't mention it - they are letting Saudi off the hook. Even if humanitarian aid starts arriving in Hodeida tomorrow (Saudi Arabia hasn't kept its promise so far) the most urgent need is water and without fuel to pump it from the ground then the people of Hodeida are doomed to die. Yet NOTHING on the news in U.K. this evening as if they did Yemen last week and its now off the agenda - again.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156139610228641
(** B H)
UNICEF: 23.000 Neugeborene und Kleinkinder 2016 im Jemen getötet
(** B H)
Yemen: In 2016, 23,000 newborns died due to preventable causes.
https://twitter.com/UNICEF_Yemen/status/933622229287555072
(** B H K P)
GEN. RATKO MLADIC WAS CONVICTED OF SIEGE WARFARE IN BOSNIA. WILL THE U.S.-BACKED SIEGE IN YEMEN FACE JUSTICE?
RATKO MLADIC GOT what he deserved, which is the beginning of the story.
Forget, for a moment, the legal jargon that defines what are known as crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. Think, instead, of this simpler thing: siege warfare.
WHATEVER CONGRATULATIONS ANYONE might feel about this news should be tempered with shame. Siege warfare is happening at this very moment in Yemen.
The International Criminal Court might seem the best forum for investigating what’s happening in Yemen, but as Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch notes, there are only two pathways for that to happen.
The most vivid critique of the ICC and other U.S.-supported war crimes tribunals of recent decades is that they are victor’s justice of a sort. The foreigners who face trial tend to be ones who made the mistake of committing their crimes without the backing of the U.S., or against the interests of the United States.
The critique goes deeper still. What of the war crimes — for the sake of nonjudgmental argument, let’s call them potential war crimes — directly committed by the United States itself in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan?
The trial of Ratko Mladic is a necessary reminder that our imaginations are no match for what the future may bring – by Peter Maass
https://theintercept.com/2017/11/22/bosnia-ratko-mladic-verdict-siege-warfare-yemen/
(** B H K P)
EDITOR’S TAKE: Yemen needs commercial imports to avoid famine
The reopening of aid lifelines to Hodeidah and Sana’a airport isn’t enough on its own
The semi-opening of Hodeidah and Sana’a is welcome news, if indeed the ships and planes full of food and vital medical supplies are really granted entry. But many Yemenis will need more than aid if they are to survive this crisis; they'll need commercial imports too.
Wheat is mostly shipped to Yemen unprocessed and in bulk and processed at Hodeidah, which, despite its diminished capacity thanks to airstrikes, still has working silos and grain mills. Vitally, there’s no indication yet that the Saudis plan to re-open this port to commercial imports.
Aden, under the Saudi coalition’s control, was re-opened last week for commercial trade and aid deliveries, but it only has 40 percent of the milling and storage capacity of Hodeidah. Other seaports were never really closed, but are too small to handle large-scale shipping anyway.
If traders are forced to use Aden for commerical imports, they may have to pivot to packaged flour or rice. A shift to flour would likely be costly, and that cost would be passed down to the Yemeni consumer.
There was already a blockade
All of this is not to mention that getting aid and commercial goods into any Yemeni port has been incredibly difficult since the war began in 2015.
A September Human Rights Watch report said the coalition’s restrictions on imports “have delayed and diverted fuel tankers, closed a critical port, and stopped life-saving goods for the population from entering seaports” controlled by Houthi-Saleh forces – by Annie Slemrod
Comment: Sure, but let's reflect. Why are we not demanding that Saudi Arabia #LeaveYemenAlone? None of this would be happening if Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the United States didn't bomb, invade, and starve tens of thousands of Yemenis to death.
https://twitter.com/shireen818/status/933463591247859713
(** B H P)
Ensuring Yemen’s lifeline: the criticality of all Yemeni ports (as of 13 Nov 2017)
Yemen has historically been 80 to 90 per cent dependent on imported food, medicines and fuel. All ports, including Al Hudaydah, Saleef, and Aden are necessary to meeting Yemen’s needs, as these ports service the population with varying capacities and proximities to population centres. Yemen requires monthly food imports of approximately 350,000 MT for survival, of which humanitarian imports are about 75,000 MT. Close to 80 per cent of imports, including commercial and humanitarian goods enter through Al Hudaydah/Saleef Ports. Combined, these have a handling capacity of 660,000 MT per month (150,000 MT fuel, 295,000 MT Food, 90,000 MT NFIs) and a milling capacity of 8,000 MT per day.
Although Al Hudaydah has sustained conflict-related damage, even at reduced capacity there is no viable substitute for the port both in terms of infrastructure and proximity to Yemen’s largest population centres. Approximately 71 per cent of the people in need in Yemen, and 82 per cent of all cholera cases (as of 31 October) are located in areas controlled by the authorities in the northern part of the country and in close proximity to these ports.
cp1b Am wichtigsten / Most important: Saudis, USA, UK
(** B P)
The Bottomless Cynicism of Saudi Diplomacy
Saudi Arabia’s actions in Yemen expose the hypocrisy of its humanitarian pretensions at the United Nations and in other international forums.
The tragedy in Yemen has starkly exposed the bottomless cynicism of Saudi statecraft, which claims the mantle of humanitarianism at international institutions to advance anti-humanitarian policies.
Note first that during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict Saudi authorities dismissed Israel’s arguments of self-defense against Hamas rocket fire, accusing it of “shameful war crimes” in the Gaza Strip.
For an even starker demonstration of Saudi Arabia’s duplicity, consider the latest UN General Assembly resolution it sponsored and introduced condemning the Assad regime in Syria. The country that cites the Quran as its constitution calls for a political transition for Syria toward a “democratic and pluralistic state”; the country that is only now planning to allow women to drive urges the “full and effective participation of women” in the Syrian leadership; and the country whose military coalition was blacklisted by the UN Secretariat for wartime violations against children expresses its “profound indignation” at the deaths of children in Syria.
Saudi Arabia, indeed, has a track record of working through institutions of the liberal world order to advance its own highly illiberal interests.
It is unsurprising that Saudi Arabia, while systematically flouting the norms of international institutions, uses those institutions to advance its national interests. A sober look at the hypocrisy of states that claim to speak for certain values should encourage skepticism when it comes to ceding the benefit of the doubt to UN’s word for anything. – by Eylona Levy
https://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/11/22/bottomless-cynicism-saudi-diplomacy/
(** B K P)
Operation: Shoot yourself in the foot
More than two years into a disastrous war, the coalition of ground forces assembled by the Saudis is showing signs of crumbling
Splits are emerging among the Yemeni and foreign ground forces fighting the Houthis in the country which could threaten the future of the Saudi-led coalition.
Sudan
Sudanese forces, which constitute the bulk of the 10,000 foreign fighters in the Saudi-led coalition, are suffering high casualty rates.
At home, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is also having second thoughts. He remembers the lifeline he got when Riyadh deposited $1bn in Sudan's Central Bank two years ago, followed by Qatar's $1.22bn.
But he hardly enjoys being known as "president of the mercenaries," and he has other relationships to consider.
Islah
Mutiny is also stirring in the ranks of Yemenis who two and a half years ago cheered the Saudi pushback against the Houthis who were trying to take over the entire country.
The Saudi relationship with Islah, the largest group of Yemeni fighters in the ground force employed by the coalition, has at best been ambivalent. The Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's closest partner in Yemen, Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, is openly hostile to the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Yemeni party.
Using Sudanese troops, the Emiratis have enforced the blockade of Taiz, the Islah stronghold, to the south and west, as well as fighting the Houthis to the north.
However, the Saudis themselves host the national leadership of Islah in Riyadh as they have the internationally recognised President of Yemen Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.
The line between hotel and prison accommodation appears to be a fine one these days in Riyadh
However, the regional Islahi leadership in Yemen is free to act and they are showing signs of doing their own thing.
They are feeling the political price they are paying for supporting a campaign that turned in Yemeni eyes from liberation to occupation.
Enough is enough. The regional Islahi leadership are now talking of starting direct negotiations with the Houthis, a senior Islah source told MEE.
"As a consequence of this, a lot of Islah grassroots members and regional leaders are start to feel that this coalition is too high a price to pay, especially as the popularity of the Saudi coalition among Yemenis who supported the intervention two years ago is at its lowest."
Oman
Oman, too, regards southern Yemen as its backyard. It is particularly worried about the takeover of a series of strategic ports and islands off Yemen by the Emiratis. A Qatari diplomatic source described this as the Emiratis' "seaborn empire," but the Omanis are upset by this too – by David Hearst
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/operation-shoot-yourself-foot-1469375052
Comment: Now this really is an interesting article. Islah has indeed been at odds with Emiratis since the start of the conflict and the assassinations have been documented individually but here they are drawn together to show a pattern of assassinations that seem to have UAE in some way implicated. The Houthi websites often describe the deaths of mercenaries but here we have a number out on it by an independent source, and it's also interesting that Sudan opposes Saudi policies in several areas an d the attrition rate amongst Sudanese mercenaries is so high that I guess this is provoking problems at home. It's interesting that UAE is part of the siege of Taiz now and until the Qataris left UAE was reported to be further south and not so directly involved... what is very interesting indeed and this is completely new to me, is that Islah and the Houthis are now involved in talks. If they can make an agreement this would make things much better in Taiz. Thank you Middle East Eye for this detailed and new information. Great journalism.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156144171758641
(** B P)
Malaysia’s ‘Arabization’ owes to Saudi ties
Prime Minister Najib Razak has taken cues and cash from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to push the Southeast Asian nation in a more Islamist direction
The deepening politicization of conservative Islam and concerns over the erosion of traditional religious practices and culture in Malaysia have brought the traditionally moderate multicultural nation’s ties to Saudi Arabia under new scrutiny.
Karima Bennoune, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for cultural rights, noted during a September visit deepening involvement of religious authorities in policy decisions, developments she said were influenced by “a hegemonic version of Islam imported from the Arabian Peninsula” that was “at odds with local forms of practice.”
The rapporteur’s statement alludes to the long reach of Saudi cultural influence made possible by decades of oil-financed proselytization via mosques and madrassas that promote Wahhabism, a puritanical interpretation of Islam, and the growing role of Saudi-trained Islamic scholars recruited into Malaysia’s civil service and religious establishment.
Wider public support for an interpretation of Islam and Muslim identity influenced by Saudi-sponsored ultra-conservatism has grown under the tenure of Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose office funds an Islamic bureaucracy promoting an exclusivist interpretation of the faith through various religious organizations.
“There’s this idea that the more like Arabs you are, the better Muslim you are. That’s the very real obliteration of our cultural heritage,” Marina Mahathir, founder of the Sisters in Islam organization and daughter of former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, said in a recent interview. “Arab culture is spreading, and I would lay the blame completely on Saudi Arabia.”
http://www.atimes.com/article/malaysias-arabization-owes-ties-saudi-regime/
My comment: That’s happening to almost ALL Muslim countries – and the West supports it by keeping the close alliance with Saudi Arabia. And later, the West is astonished about Islamist terrorists.
(** B K P)
Britain's secret role in Saudi Arabia's dirty war: UK troops are training army that has left a million on the brink of starvation, investigation finds
Up to 50 UK military personnel teaching soldiers who will be deployed to Yemen
The British Army is secretly training Saudi Arabian troops to fight in Yemen, where the country has been accused of committing crimes against humanity, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Up to 50 UK military personnel have been teaching battlefield skills to soldiers who will be deployed in the so-called ‘dirty war’.
Thousands of civilians have been killed in bombing raids and an estimated one million children are facing starvation and serious illness as a result of the conflict.
The Army’s involvement is part of Britain’s ‘shameful complicity’ in the suffering, according to Tory MP and former Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell.
The training mission – codenamed Operation Crossways – came to light only after the Army released photos and information by mistake.
Last night, Mr Mitchell demanded that the UK Government provide answers in the Commons about Britain’s role in Saudi military operations.
He said: ‘The UK has been shamefully complicit in Saudi’s role in Yemen, which has clearly included breaches of the Geneva Conventions.
'I have no doubt Parliament will require an explanation of this training mission in view of the high level of concern about the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Yemen.’
Operation Crossways involved troops from 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 Scots) teaching ‘Irregular Warfare’ (IW) techniques to officers from the Royal Saudi Land Forces Infantry Institute.
IW is a collective name for specific tactics used by conventional armies to defeat terrorist groups.
Due to the concern surrounding Saudi Arabia’s military operations in Yemen, Operation Crossways was never supposed to be made public.
It came to light only after a mission summary and photographs were inadvertently posted on 2 Scots’ Facebook page earlier this month.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5117571/Britains-secret-role-Saudi-Arabias-dirty-war.html
Comment: For nearly 3 years UK ministers have lied to parliament that UK is 'not a party' to the war in #Yemen. With still more evidence now, will any MP act to end this contempt for democracy?
https://twitter.com/markcurtis30/status/934780870623449088
(** B K P)
Complicit: America’s ‘Non-War’ Crimes in Yemen
Almost no one knows the backstory, understands the incessant suffering or contemplates the consequences, both moral and strategic. Why should the American public care? There’s no military draft, no new taxes, no food or fuel rationing on the homefront. Besides, unless one subscribes to the BBC, there’s almost no media coverage of the shadow war in Yemen.
Predictions are always tricky, but here’s one: Americans will come to regret their government’s role in Yemen as millions perish and al-Qaida/Islamic State rise ever more powerfully, like a mythical phoenix. The late Chalmers Johnson and the CIA call it “blowback”: The empire’s proverbial chickens come home to roost.
This isn’t a Trump story, unfortunately.
Obama quietly facilitated the Saudi terror campaign for the better part of two years. Reasons abound, but mainly the U.S. government was bamboozled by a Saudi (and Israeli) propaganda machine veritably obsessed with vilifying Iran. Not that the U.S. needed much encouragement; after all, Iran was labeled a charter member of George W. Bush’s “axis of evil.”
The scam goes something like this: Iran is Shia. Iran hates Israel and, supposedly—if doubtfully—threatens to “wipe Israel off the map.” The Saudis, our friends, are Sunni. The Yemeni Houthis are Shia (though a completely separate branch from the Iranians). Thus, Iran must be behind the whole Houthi rebellion and the Houthis merely an extension of Iran’s existential threat to Israel. Saudi Arabia must, therefore, be justified in its brutal bombing campaign. Consider it a twisted use of the transitive property of equality.
It’s not true, of course. Iran has, it seems, attempted to provide limited support to the Houthis, but it certainly wasn’t behind the rebellion, which is an age-old Yemeni problem.
That’s the rub. Yemenis are, in reality, merely pawns in a regional cold war; and, given Israeli and Saudi crimes, it is unclear the U.S. is on the right side. Now, with the hawks ascendant, the Iran nuclear deal decertified and Trump’s Iran hysteria reaching fever pitch, matters are likely only to worsen.
Undoubtedy, the suffering of Yemeni civilians is the core issue; but it’s not the only problem. America’s enabling of a Saudi terror campaign has left much of Yemen’s rugged provinces all but ungoverned. The result: al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)—once labeled the deadliest AQ franchise—and the nascent Islamic State (IS) faction have been empowered by the war.
The United States is failing in Yemen (and the entire Middle East, for that matter) ethically and strategically. America is complicit in the collapse of an impoverished, failed state that will undoubtedly breed generations of hopeless, displaced young men of the sort ripe for terrorist recruitment – by Major Danny Sjursen, a U.S. Army officer and former history instructor at West Point
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/complicit-americas-non-war-crimes-yemen/ and also https://www.politicshome.com/news/world/middle-east/news/90958/top-tory-accuses-britain-complicity-yemen-atrocities-uk-forces
(** B P)
Forget Russia - Here's How Much Israel Is Spending to Influence American Politics
According to Open Secrets, the pro-Israel "industry" has made the following political contributions since 1990:
Here is how these contributions were divided along party lines:
Over the two and a half decades, Democrat candidates received $83.16 million or 62 percent of the total compared to $49.95 million or 38 percent of the total for Republican candidates. As shown on this table, while the majority of the long-term benefits have gone to the Democrats, that amount has varied from a low of 49 percent in 2006 to a high of 75 percent in 1994:
Obviously, the pro-Israel "industry" is not a massive donor like the Securities and Investment, Real Estate and Legal industries but it is still a substantial player in Washington when it comes to "buying" political influence through political donations.
Let's look at the other side of political influencing in Washington, that of lobbying. Here is a graphic showing how much the pro-Israel sector has spent on lobbying on an annual basis since 1998:
And this doesn't take into account pro-Israel American Jews.
My comment: This article is explaining more aspects why the US is so biased in the Middle East.
(** B P)
Mainstream media falls in love with Saudi dictator Mohammed bin Salman
Mainstream media paints power-grabbing Saudi dictator as a visionary “reformer”
The UK’s Guardian and the paper of record The New York Times, are painting a picture of a Saudi dictator who has waged war against Yemen and Syria, about to stir up conflict with Iran, and purged his country of competing royals, as some sort of rogue, visionary “reformer.”
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has the mainstream media wrapped around his finger…the same media that boasts about their “exceptional” values…support for human rights, gay rights and women’s rights.
More fake news, hypocrisy from a mainstream media that is bought and paid for with Saudi oil lobby money.
For many in the Western press, Mohammed’s self-serving power grab is the action of a bold “reformer,” a roguish bad boy doing the messy but essential work of “reforming” the kingdom—the “anti-corruption” pretext of the purge largely repeated without qualification. The most prominent sources for this spin were two major newspapers, the New York Times and Guardian: – by Alex Christophorou
http://theduran.com/mainstream-media-gush-over-saudi-dictator-mohammed-bin-salman/
and on this subject also the following:
cp1c Am wichtigsten: Salman-Interview / Most important: Salman interview
This is an almost grotesque proof of the article by Christophorou above:
(** A P)
Saudi Arabia’s Arabic Spring, at last
I never thought I’d live long enough to write this sentence: The most significant reform process underway anywhere in the Middle East today is in Saudi Arabia. Yes, you read that right. Though I came here at the start of Saudi winter, I found the country going through its own Arab Spring, Saudi style.
To better understand it I flew to Riyadh to interview the crown prince.
It’s “ludicrous,” he said, to suggest that this anticorruption campaign was a power grab. He pointed out that many prominent members of the Ritz crowd had already publicly pledged allegiance to him and his reforms, and that “a majority of the royal family” is already behind him.
But one thing I know for sure: Not a single Saudi I spoke to here over three days expressed anything other than effusive support for this anticorruption drive. The Saudi silent majority is clearly fed up with the injustice of so many princes and billionaires ripping off their country.
This anticorruption drive is only the second-most unusual and important initiative launched by M.B.S. The first is to bring Saudi Islam back to its more open and modern orientation — whence it diverted in 1979. That is, back to what M.B.S. described to a recent global investment conference here as a “moderate, balanced Islam that is open to the world and to all religions and all traditions and peoples.”
A lawyer by training, who rose up in his family’s education-social welfare foundation, M.B.S. is on a mission to bring Saudi Islam back to the center.
Indeed, M.B.S. instructed me: “Do not write that we are ‘reinterpreting’ Islam — we are ‘restoring’ Islam to its origins — and our biggest tools are the Prophet’s practices and [daily life in] Saudi Arabia before 1979.” At the time of the Prophet Muhammad, he argued, there were musical theaters, there was mixing between men and women, there was respect for Christians and Jews in Arabia. “
If this virus of an antipluralistic, misogynistic Islam that came out of Saudi Arabia in 1979 can be reversed by Saudi Arabia, it would drive moderation across the Muslim world and surely be welcomed here where 65 percent of the population is under 30.
Saudi Arabia would have a very long way to go before it approached anything like Western standards for free speech and women’s rights. But as someone who has been coming here for almost 30 years, it blew my mind to learn that you can hear Western classical music concerts in Riyadh now, that country singer Toby Keith held a men-only concert here in September.
The Saudi education minister chimed in that among a broad set of education reforms.
So many of these reforms were so long overdue it’s ridiculous. Better late than never, though.
On foreign policy, M.B.S. would not discuss the strange goings on with Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon.
He insisted that the Saudi-backed war in Yemen, which has been a humanitarian nightmare, was tilting in the direction of the pro-Saudi legitimate government there, which, he said is now in control of 85 percent of the country, but given the fact that pro-Iranian Houthi rebels, who hold the rest, launched a missile at Riyadh airport, anything less than 100 percent is still problematic.
His general view seemed to be that with the backing of the Trump administration — he praised President Trump as “the right person at the right time” — the Saudis and their Arab allies were slowly building a coalition to stand up to Iran. I am skeptical.
Iran’s “supreme leader is the new Hitler of the Middle East,” said M.B.S. “But we learned from Europe that appeasement doesn’t work. We don’t want the new Hitler in Iran to repeat what happened in Europe in the Middle East.”
Someone had to do this job — wrench Saudi Arabia into the 21st century — and M.B.S. stepped up. I, for one, am rooting for him to succeed in his reform efforts.
And so are a lot of young Saudis.
This reform push is giving the youth here a new pride in their country, almost a new identity, which many of them clearly relish.
Now they have a young leader who is driving religious and economic reform, who talks the language of high tech, and whose biggest sin may be that he wants to go too fast – by Thomas L. Friedman
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/23/opinion/saudi-prince-mbs-arab-spring.html
And look at Friedman telling the same propaganda story on TV:
Comments: Friedman's pieces are like Trump's tweets, just when you think they can't sink any lower they remind you that they are bottomless pits.
https://twitter.com/thekarami/status/933921735463727104
Friedman apparently tried basking MBS in positive spotlight, nonetheles there are number of tidbits in the piece that prove otherwise.
https://twitter.com/pandagulu/status/933936567898525697
There has never been anything moderate, balanced or open about Saudi islam, not since the rulers made a deal with the Wahhabis. Thomas Friedman is whitewashing the most puritanical rightwing form of Islam. He should go live in Saudi and try it out
https://twitter.com/RaniaKhalek/status/934022820325220352
Still can't believe Friedman just wrote down whatever MBS told him and filed that with the times. Didn't even pretend to give it a critical thought.
https://twitter.com/JebBoone/status/933968793197563904
It's *quite* illuminating that the 2 foreign policy columnists most admired in DC circles - Tom Friedman & David Ignatius - are also the most devoted propagandists for Saudi despots. But remember: the real propaganda danger to America is the tiny RT
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/934027557460217857 referring to http://fair.org/home/david-ignatius-15-years-of-running-spin-for-saudi-regime/
This is what was pre-1979 Saudi Arabia. Same Wahhabi fanatics....Nothing 'moderate' about it at all. (text in image)
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/933977971018395648 and also https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/933996012556996609
Let's start with #Yemen, Iran does not control Sanaa! @tomfriedman No one who cares about human life will believe MBS has a shred of humanity in him until he stops this criminal war & puts diplomacy first. Let's see how fast he can do that!
https://twitter.com/khoury_nabeel/status/934041883332022277
So many things wrong with this piece, I don't even know where to start....
https://twitter.com/DEsfandiary/status/934037756405276672
Saudi money talking here with the tongue of American writer Thomas Friedman. Talking about rule of law! Transparency! And accountability. Money always talks.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/934292288829886465
(My comment to comment: That’s true in many cases. In the case of Friedman, I doubt. He always is this way, he really seems to believe what he writes, he is belonging to the elite’s most inner circle, he needs no Saudi money to write like this.)
It rings a bell! In a 2013 interview at Preaidential Palace, Friedman called president Hadi "Yemen's Mandela".The man has been hailing the now "Arab spring" prince's relentless war against his own country for nearly 3 years now
https://twitter.com/Shuaibalmosawa/status/933911830141067264
Indeed, MBS' aim to 'restore Islam to its origins' is not even a change of current Saudi state practice, much less reform. Tom Friedman's self-induced journalistic orgasm over Saudi Arabia fails to ken this.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/934361410133471233
To 'restore Islam to its origins' is the very definition of the extremist Wahhabi-Salafi Islam propagated by Saudi Arabia, which also feeds ISIS & Al Qaeda terror ideology. This is a statement borne out by decades of Saudi state practice. Not a reform by any means whatsoever.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/934356837301936133
A close analysis of the battlefield in Yemen casts serious doubt on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s perception of triumph so far in the Saudi-led war on its impoverished neighbor.
But an analysis of the conflict zone shows that although the area under the Houthis’ control is smaller in size than the one held by pro-Hadi forces, Yemen’s strategic locations remain in the hands of the Houthi fighters.
This is a short abstract:
Thomas Friedman: What can I bring up? Mohammad Bin Salman: How progressive I am. Thomas Friedman: Exporting Wahhabi ideology? Mohammad Bin Salman: Nope Thomas Friedman: Carpet-bombing Yemen? Mohammad Bin Salman: Nope. Thomas Friedman: Funding terror oh never mind.
https://twitter.com/MaxAbrahms/status/934316594355982338
This is the clearest comment:
1) stop bombing & blockading Yemen 2) stop agitating for a war with Iran 3) stop exporting an ideology that’s helped justify terror attacks around the world 4) stop rounding up & detaining Saudi dissidents 5) free Raif Badawi 6) hold some free & fair elections
https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/934137695437193217 and read this by Amnesty: Five ways for Saudi Arabia to deliver true human rights reform: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/10/five-ways-for-saudi-arabia-to-deliver-true-human-rights-reform/ . What Saudi Arabia got instead: Saudi Arabia: New Counterterrorism Law Enables Abuse: https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/23/saudi-arabia-new-counterterrorism-law-enables-abuse
And look how Saudi propaganda tells what salman told in this interview:
(* B P)
Lest we forget, Thomas Friedman wrote that Yemen’s Arab Spring was a smashing success in 2013, better than even Tunisia. I was in Yemen at the time and many of us were wondering what amazing Charlie & The Chocolate Family press tour he was on
https://twitter.com/Abihabib/status/934181535011483650 referring to 2013 NYT article
And finally take an even greater look:
(* C P)
In honor of Thomas Friedman’s latest love letter to Saudi here is 70 years of the NY Times describing #Saudi royals in the language of #reform: This piece from 1953 describes King Saud as “more progressive and international-minded than his autocratic father” (photo)
https://twitter.com/anhistorian/status/934081391448469504
(C P)
Well, it won't be the first "Ooops!" moment in the @nytimes. Some learn from their mistakes, others don't. They continue believing that their opinions are based on facts instead of delusional ideology. Friedman is one of them. (photo)
https://twitter.com/ynkutner/status/934342624814739456
(** A P)
Friedman’s Love Letter to a War Criminal
Sometimes newspapers publish credulous fluff pieces about their subjects, but Tom Friedman leaves them all in the dust with his encomium to Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)
It would be more accurate to say that only a fool would be so quick to take all of this at face value. I don’t see the news value in having a prominent columnist working as a foreign leader’s publicist, but it is extremely useful for the crown prince to be given a major platform to deliver his spin to someone who will uncritically endorse it. There is practically nothing in the long profile that might displease its subject, whose assurances are taken as proof that he is the zealous “reformer” that his cheerleaders say that he is.
I would like to dismiss this piece as the latest example of Friedman’s terrible, superficial analysis of the rest of the world, but unfortunately his eager acceptance of MBS’s self-serving claims is all too typical of Western reactions to the crown prince. Western pundits are always on the lookout for foreign leaders that say the right things about tolerance and reform, and when they find someone mouthing the words they tend to cast aside their skepticism and start “rooting” for that leader.
The Saudis have been spreading one of the most virulent, destructive forms of Islam around the world for decades, and they have been doing quite a lot to stoke sectarian hatred against Shia Muslims even more in the last decade. Even if Islam in Saudi Arabia before 1979 was “more open and modern” than it is now, I don’t buy for a second that that the same person who has been busy destabilizing the rest of the region in the name of hostility to Iran has a genuine interest in creating a “more open and modern” Islam. This is the sort of thing one says to get credulous Westerners to overlook the enormous crimes being perpetrated right now by the Saudis and their allies in Yemen.
Friedman does mention Yemen once, but it mostly amounts to reciting what MBS told him
There is a reference to the “humanitarian nightmare” in the country, but Friedman has nothing to say about who is primarily responsible for creating that nightmare.
MBS is only too happy to use prominent Western media outlets to launder his image, and the outlets that oblige him in whitewashing his government’s war crimes do tremendous harm to their credibility – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/friedmans-love-letter-to-a-war-criminal/
(** B P)
If the Tom Friedman ‘interview’ with MBS bothered you, do watch my interview with Friedman on US policy in the Middle East, in front of an audience at Oxford, for @AJHeadtoHead in 2013. It’s a little, ahem, tougher and livelier :-)
https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/934124449011585025
referring to
Is the US a force for good in the world? - Head to Head
Mehdi Hasan goes head to head with Thomas Friedman on the morality of America's global role. Is the US a force for good in the world?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3z6GmtrMCQ
cp1d Am wichtigsten: Mehr / Most important: More
(** B H K)
‘Before I had everything to eat. Now it’s one bite’: Yemenis’ struggle for survival
Saudi Arabia and Iran are using Yemen’s conflict as a proxy in their struggle to dominate the region
“Before the war you could eat whatever you wanted – chicken, chocolate bars, anything,” says Ahmed, sitting cross-legged in a terraced maize field. “Now it’s a bit of tea and just a handful of food, one bite only.”
Pity the poor civilians in Yemen’s vicious, deadlocked civil war, where the warring sides have been reduced to trying to grind each other into submission through blockades and sieges intended to make everyday life as difficult as possible.
Ahmed’s village was cut off by the fighting for five months during the first year of the war, when mortar rounds and missiles landed in the terraced fields surrounding his home. Although remote rural areas are able to grow corn and other basic crops during the rainy season, climate change has had an impact on their ability to survive during conflict. In the past, villages would store enough food to last for three or four months in times of emergency. In recent years less rainfall, resulting in reduced harvests, means little if any food is stored for periods of crisis. The wider restrictions on imports imposed by the Saudi coalition have driven up food prices, along with the rapid deprecation of the Yemeni currency since its flotation in August.
“The price of wheat has gone from 4,000 rial [£11] to 7,300 rial,” said Ahmed as he trudged down the mountain towards the tarmac road. “The bag of sugar was 7,000, now it is 14,000, and the rice was 6,000, now it is 9,000,” he said. “My life has been changed, the Houthis and the food …”, he trails off as if daydreaming about all the things he longs to eat. “Before, I had everything to eat, everything. I was happy, at ease. Now you can’t even have one cake.”
School is more or less permanently out. With teachers’ salaries going unpaid, Ahmed’s school in Taiz has been closed since May. “When they get salaries, they teach,” he said.
Combined with the lack of government wages – unpaid since August 2015 – it means that families are living on little more than bread and oil. As a result, 70% of the population is in need of humanitarian aid.
Inevitably, as the conflict grinds on, the depth of suffering in rural areas is deepening, with more civilians fleeing the cities. At least 66% of the population was estimated by the World Bank to live in rural areas in the year before the war escalated in 2015. The proportion is now much larger. “All the men returned to the village when they lost their jobs and there was fighting in the city. We also have displaced people living here from other areas,” said the sheikh of A’unqba, Ali Hussein – by Iona Craig
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/26/yemen-daily-struggle-for-survival-behind-divided-lines
My comment: There is no reason for exaggerating the role of Iran. The Iranians still have little opportunities for a larger support for the Houthis.
(** B H K P)
Yemen: Atrocities in the 21st century
Yemen’s tragedy: Is the world’s conscience completely dead?
Standing in complicity with the Saudis are the United States and Britain, determined to aid its genocidal accomplice and puppet in the Middle East. Sadly, these forces seem to get away with the idiot logic of their argument with even the United Nations legitimising this blockade.
In fact, as one reads the reports, even the anger seems jaded and repetitive. Body counts seem as empty as dull weather reports
It is almost as if our appetite for Guinness records lets us watch the world’s biggest famine develop glibly along with the fastest growing epidemic for cholera. We cite statistics and then pretend it is happening on another planet. Whether it be the world’s largest famine or the biggest bowl of khichdi, it does not matter. It is sheer spectacle.
What strikes you first is not the poetics of the tragedy, but the dry bureaucratese, the arid social science language that enfolds the narrative. The storyteller is always the bureaucrat, a UN official, announcing in statistics the birth of a tragedy. It is declared almost like a natural process, a deficit, a lack of such enormity that one feels in awe of it. A famine caught only in numbers is felt to be inadequate today.
The language of humanitarianism and development seems inadequate. They feel like acts of plumbing or, of social engineering. They lack the sense of caring, of ethical repair where the victim regains his health, his way of life, his dignity by serving as witness to a tragedy. The silence of each victim strikes deep as the photographs seem to be a of a million mutes. Despair and malnutrition have driven them to silence. Yet, one senses the inadequacy of language.
The question is — does one read reports on Yemen with the morning coffee, make a few acerbic comments and move on? Does the scale of the disaster have no response? I
These starving people have rights which go beyond the language of nation states. Mere indifference makes us quiet accomplices to what is going on.
The question of the refugee, that helpless creature without entitlements, is the problem of the 21st century – byShiv Visvanathan
(** B H K P)
Film: Jeremy Scahill on the U.S.-Backed Atrocities in Yemen
It’s an unspeakable scandal that what the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are doing to the people of Yemen is not on every single newscast every single day.
https://www.facebook.com/theinterceptflm/videos/1499167320132316/?type=2&theater = https://twitter.com/theintercept/status/934093054264467456
(** B H K)
Info minister says children face threat of Houthi landmines in future.
Records say that the landmines which the Houthi-Saleh rebel militias planted in Yemen amount to quarter a million. Nearly 179 children have already been killed and 241 others have sustained loss of limbs and/or disfiguring injuries in landmine incidents.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-13091
My comment: This a a very sad relict of this war – and here the Hadi government is right.
cp1e Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
(** B H)
Film: Jemen – Der größte Cholera Ausbruch der Welt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wM92yOj3G4
(* A H)
Yemen – Cholera outbreak - DG ECHO Daily Map | 23/11/2017
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-cholera-outbreak-dg-echo-daily-map-23112017
(** A H)
Film: It was thought that rabies disease is only spreading in Hodeidah province but it is wrong.
Due to the lack of vaccines and medicins #Yemen, there are almost 14k patients affected by the disease. This girl came to the hospital in Sanaa to be heald but the hospital has no medicine to help her
https://www.facebook.com/StopTheWarOnYemen/videos/vb.319595141544022/769523996551132/?type=2
The rabies disease is spreading everywhere in #Yemen. Governmental Hospitals have no vaccines or medicine as the medicine is not available in local pharmacies.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/933747583528460288
I'm being told now by a doctor at al-Jumhori Hospital in Sana'a that another child in #Yemen has just died after being affacted by the rabies disease as the girl in the video was in her last stage and can't be healed. In brief, she almost gone.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/933746776842129408
Bites from infected animals, And Rabies Inhalation of aerosolized rabies virus are (also a potential non-bite route of exposure) are the 2 causes to get infected .. Lack of medicines both for people and animals are letting Rabies spread in #yemen ..
https://twitter.com/2flamesburning1/status/933649634559496192
(** A H)
Film: The War in Yemen: Diphtheria spreads in conflict-hit Yemen
Cholera isn't the only health scare in Yemen, doctors are also alarmed by delays in the arrival of immunisation doses, after the spread of diphtheria. TRT World has obtained exclusive footage of the dire situation patients are facing. Kim Vinell reports.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iouFmm2mQcE
(** A H)
Film: Three dead as diphtheria spreads in Yemen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZfZX2XDM_I
(** A H)
Film: Nach Cholera ist nun auch noch Diphterie im Jemen ausgebrochen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZFi-lUlaeU
and English version:
(** A H)
Film: Yemen: Three children die of Diphtheria in Sana'a
Footage filmed at Sanaa's Al-Sabeen hospital on Friday showed children being treated for Diphtheria, of which three died following the report.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYpawAxjYhA
(** A H)
Death of the third case of diphtheria in Hodeidah
The third Yemeni child case of diphtheria died less than 24 hours after it reached Al-Thawrah Hospital in Hodeidah province.
Dr. Khaled Suhail told YemenExtra that the girl Rihan Abdullah Ayoub Jarwan, two years and two months old, arrived yesterday to the hospital in a poor state of health (photo)
http://www.yemenextra.net/2017/11/25/death-of-the-third-case-of-diphtheria-in-hodeidah/
(** A H)
Film: Diphtheria in Yemen: More than 100 infected, 14 deaths
Yemen is suffering the world's worst cholera epidemic - and now doctors are warning of an outbreak of the potentially fatal diphtheria virus.
The WHO says the disease is spreading quickly, and doctors in Yemen are warning that the blockade is preventing essential medical supplies from entering the country.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/diphtheria-yemen-100-infected-14-deaths-171123063031103.html and https://twitter.com/Ruptly/status/934029343726108672 (part only; English subs)
(* A H)
Three dead as diphtheria spreads in Yemen
Three people have died of suspected diphtheria in conflict-hit Yemen, doctors said Wednesday, as the World Health Organisation and International Committee of the Red Cross warned the disease was spreading.
"Currently, there is an increase in diphtheria cases, due to the poor vaccination coverage for children under five years of age," an ICRC spokeswoman told AFP.
http://www.france24.com/en/20171122-three-dead-diphtheria-spreads-yemen
cp2 Allgemein / General
(* B K P)
Yemen’s looming famine is on 20th-century scale
Saudi allies risk complicity in the use of starvation as a weapon of war
Before he was forced to resign last month over allegations of sexual harassment, Sir Michael Fallon, then the UK’s defence secretary, begged MPs to cease all criticism of the kingdom. This risked jeopardising BAE Systems’ £4bn deal to sell the kingdom fighter jets, he said. He is gone. But sadly, his posture reflected that of a government which in its dealings with Saudi Arabia treats human rights as little more than a commercial inconvenience. Donald Trump’s administration has been more craven still in encouraging Saudi Arabian over-reach. Washington’s silence over the tragedy unfolding in Yemen is as deafening as it is strategically misguided. There is also little doubt that without a change of heart in Riyadh, Yemenis will starve on a scale the 21st century has yet to see. In such circumstances, the US and Britain would be found guilty of complicity in crimes committed in the name of Saudi hubris.
https://www.ft.com/content/19dee61a-d12e-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc
My comment: “Saudi allies risk complicity”: They risk? It already had happened since long, they already ARE accomplices in war crimes in Yemen – since 2015.
(* B K P)
White House Support for Aggression and Blockade of Yemen. Unprecedented Humanitarian Crisis. The International Community Remains Silent
White House expressing support for ending “this devastating conflict…through political negotiations” flies in the face of escalated war Trump initiated – along with Saudi terror-bombing and joint US/Riyadh blockade – by Stephen Lendman
Remark: Overview.
(* B P)
Middle East In Perpetual Crisis: The Way Forward – OpEd
More recently, an investigation report by BBC titled “Raqqa’s Dirty Secret” exposes the tacit support of the US and UK-led coalition forces to the militant Islamic State group. The report reveals that some 250 IS fighters with 3,500 family members were covertly evacuated from Raqqa under a secret deal by the coalition that purports to fight the same terrorists. This underscores the dirty game being played by global powers against each other on the geopolitical chess board of Middle East. Thus, it is clear that major actors involved in the Middle East crisis tacitly support terrorists when it serves their skewed sense of national interest.
It is worth mentioning here that the current crisis in the Middle East has its roots in the flawed and misguided approach adopted by states in the wake of the Arab uprising. Unfortunately the same selfish and zero sum game mindset can be seen at function when we observe how major powers deal with the crisis in the Middle East.
To recapitulate, since the 2011 Arab uprising one country after another in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has witnessed destabilization and destruction. The initial euphoria that this indigenous uprising against dictatorial and authoritarian regimes would usher in an era of greater emancipation from the clutches of authoritarian regimes was however short lived. Hopes of democracy taking roots in the region was shattered due to ill intent and flawed policies of foreign powers which mishandled and exploited the situation to maximize selfish geopolitical objectives to the chagrin of common people.
The consequent hopeless situation provided fertile ground for extremist elements like Islamic State (IS)
http://www.eurasiareview.com/26112017-middle-east-in-perpetual-crisis-the-way-forward-oped/
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The Yemen whitewash hat trick: 1 false parity: "civil war is starving" not Saudi Arabia or US. It's an abstract "war" 2 Rebels being bombed are just as responsible: "all of those involved". 3 No mention of US responsibility at all.
https://twitter.com/adamjohnsonNYC/status/932282747028205568 referring to https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/how-yemens-civil-war-is-starving-its-children/
(B H K)
“Under the rubble, look for the girl who lost her hand. When you find her Kindly tell her: The nail polish is still as good, And that [her] henna design wasn’t distorted by the shell” Powerful poetry highlighting the impact of war on #YemenChildren by Qais Abdulmoghni.
https://twitter.com/alasaadim/status/934466793447591937
(* B K P)
An Open Letter to the World on Yemen
The deaths of Yemenis is due to a simple reason. Saudi who apparently is able to buy people's morals and compassion has bought the world with her oil and convinced the United States and international bodies that she has the ability to lay siege to a country. No food or medicine or, well anything can go in. And nothing and no one can go out. For a country that used to import 90% of its food, the constant bombing isn't needed- the blockade is already a death sentence.
But where is the humanity when we let this happen without speaking out? People often ask me why I'm so passionate about Yemen. I have been asked that question every day for the last two months. Even from confused Yemenis themselves.
My answer to them is: how can I not?
I have been asked numerous times as to why I speak so negatively of International Law and so harshly of the United States and United Nations. I suppose when you truly believe in the power of something to do good, it really hurts when they use their power for evil. And yes they do evil if they turn a blind eye to the massacre of innocents because they are being bought off.
So let us watch them closely. Let us direct the eyes of the world to this disgusting atrocity happening in our era – by Suzy Hanna
https://www.facebook.com/suzy.hanna.9/posts/10155503800839442
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Top Commander Dismisses Reports about Iran’s Assistance to Yemen
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri rejected media reports claiming that the Islamic Republic is providing Yemen with military and missile assistance.
“Reports about the Islamic Republic of Iran’s military and missile assistance to Yemen are false,” General Jazayeri said on Saturday.
He added that the legitimate government of Yemen and the Arab county’s fighters are capable of meeting their defense needs without the help of others.
The Iranian general further stressed that Tehran delivers only humanitarian aid to the impoverished Arab country.
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2017/11/25/1584126/top-commander-dismisses-reports-about-iran-s-assistance-to-yemen and also http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960904001604
Remark: In this Iranian source, the “legitimate government” is the Sanaa Houthi/Saleh government.
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Film: O World, Enough - Long Version
[Yemenis singing for humanity]
n Zusammenarbeit mit jemenitischen Popstars hat nun UNICEF einen Song produziert, um auf das Leid in Jemen aufmerksam zu machen und eine Botschaft des Friedens zu senden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-AdDP9aOG4
(* B H K)
Film / Song: Save Yemeni Children! Do You Know? Yesterday I was in Yemen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FP_rhZZG8I
(* A P)
Iran Providing Yemen with Advisory Assistance: IRGC Commander
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said the Iranian military advisers are providing assistance for Yemen’s Houthi Ansarallah movement at the request of the Arabian Peninsula country.
“Our assistance to the Resistance Front (countries) has been provided at the request of their people and their governments, and Yemen is one of the examples (of such assistance),” Major General Jafari told reporters in Tehran on Thursday.
“Today, Yemen is ruled by the Ansarullah (Houthi Resistance Movement), and Iran’s assistance is confined to advisory missions and spiritual support, which Yemen needs most,” he noted.
(B P)
Supporting Saudi attack against a divided country makes stronger Iranian involvement more likely.
Insofar as the intervention by the Saudi-led coalition amounted to a limitation of the Houthi-Saleh expansionism, it made sense to support that intervention. This objective was accomplished with the successful defense of Aden in 2015, and preventing the Houthi-Saleh alliance from seizing the large southern city of Taiz and its environs has also fallen within that framework.
Yet there is little sense of what the end-game looks like beyond those goals. Once an observer begins to delve into more granular details, an immediate problem that emerges is a divergence in the approaches on the ground adopted by different members of the coalition of Arab states intervening in Yemen.
Is it really in the U.S. interest to try to restore the Hadi government by force to Sanaa in the hopes it can rule over a strong central Yemeni state?
https://spectator.org/yemen-and-u-s-policy-serious-rethinking-is-imperative/ = http://www.meforum.org/7038/us-must-rethink-yemen-policy
My comment: How you can justify the beginning of Saudi aerial slaughter, even when later getting things more right…
(* B P)
Yemen's fate was sealed six years ago
Six years ago today, a transition agreement was signed in Riyadh, making way for Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh to step down from his 33-year reign. Those who brokered the agreement declared it would ensure a peaceful transition to democracy in Yemen.
They were so wrong.
Soon after assuming the presidency in February 2012, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Saleh's vice president for 16 years, led the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) talks, which aimed to reconcile Yemenis from across the country and establish a power-sharing deal. Regional and international actors, including the US, hailed the NDC process as a success that achieved consensus.
This claim is a fallacy. The NDC process was not as inclusive as it purported to be and it retained components of the various GCC and UN agreements that should have been renegotiated, or removed altogether.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/yemen-fate-sealed-years-171123110813931.html
Comment: Umm, hello...... there was no war in Yemen in 2011. Indeed, in the Yemen of 2011, food, jobs, money were in abundance. And in 2011 Yemen, there were no Saudi/UAE airstrikes on weddings, funerals or hospitals
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/933972927695020033
(* B)
#TALKABOUTYEMEN
To raise awareness about the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, we've prepared the following FAQ for people who are unfamiliar with the situation there. We hope this will spark further discussion about Yemen, especially among Americans. We encourage you to share this information with your family and friends as you gather for the holidays.
https://www.yemenpeaceproject.org/talk
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Yemen’s War Is a Tragedy. Is It Also a Crime?
The calls for accountability have been heightened since a Saudi-led coalition tightened a blockade of sea, air and land ports earlier this month after a missile fired by Houthi rebels was intercepted near the Saudi capital. The blockade has since been loosened, but it is still cutting civilians off from desperately needed humanitarian aid and food.
Which aspects of the war could amount to crimes against humanity? And what, if anything, can be done to hold the perpetrators accountable?
“It is an international crime to intentionally block access to food, food aid, and to destroy production of food,” the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, told journalists in October, speaking generally on the topic. “Such acts are crimes against humanity, or war crimes.”
The International Criminal Court considers “inhumane acts” that are “intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health” to be crimes against humanity.
Even if the violence playing out in Yemen and the humanitarian disaster it has set off are determined to amount to crimes against humanity for any of the parties involved, the process of holding anyone accountable could be a long and winding one – by Megan Specia
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/world/middleeast/yemen-crimes-against-humanity.html
My comment: Does this article clearly answer the question of the headline? – Yemen war obviously is a crime – and again it stays vague that it’s the US ruling class which also has to be held accountable.
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
Mehr / More cp1a
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Saudi forces keep preventing commercial ships from unloading food&fuel in Hodeida port. Blocked ships were laden with 63,000 tones of diesel&petrol 5,000 tones of gas 30,000 tones of wheat. UN relief is not allowed too. The port,only life line,is still blocked Sunday
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/934722831484628992
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Vaccine shipment to Yemen can’t be a one-off, UNICEF says
The U.N. child agency said Sunday that it has flown 1.9 million doses of vaccines to war-torn Yemen, its first aid delivery since a Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite rebels tightened a sea and air blockade earlier this month.
Regional UNICEF director Geert Cappelaere described Saturday's shipment as a "very small step" at a time of immense need and warned that it must not be a one-off.
However, two UNICEF vessels carrying food, water purification tables and medicines heading to Hodeida have not yet received clearance to dock, Cappelaere said.
(A H P)
Am told today that clearance has now been given for aid ships. Not clear if they've proceeded to ports, however.
https://twitter.com/samueloakford/status/934518448247443456
(A H P)
Civil Aviation: All flights must be allowed to reach Sana’a Airport
The source said the flights that arrived at Sana’a airport are not enough and demanded that all flights, including Yemen Airways, should be permitted in order to save the lives of patients and return stranded people abroad.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480392.htm
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Unicef bringt wieder Impfmittel in das Bürgerkriegsland
Das UNO-Kinderhilfswerk Unicef hat nach einer wochenlangen Blockade durch Saudi-Arabien wieder Impfmittel in den Jemen geflogen.
1,9 Millionen Dosen seien angekommen, um im dem Bürgerkriegsland etwa 600.000 Kinder unter anderem gegen Diphtherie, Hirnhautentzündung und Keuchhusten zu impfen, sagte Unicef-Regionaldirektor Cappelaere. Angesichts des riesigen Bedarfs sei das aber nur ein kleiner Schritt.
Cappelaere sagte, zwei Unicef-Schiffe mit Nahrung und Medizin lägen vor Hodeida, dürften aber nicht anlegen.
http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/jemen-unicef-bringt-wieder-impfmittel-in-das.1939.de.html?drn:news_id=820184 und http://www.lvz.de/Nachrichten/Politik/Unicef-bringt-Impfmittel-in-den-Jemen
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Erste UN-Helfer kehren in den Jemen zurück
Im Jemen hungern durch den Krieg Millionen Menschen, viele Kinder sind von Diphtherie bedroht. Nun durften in Sanaa vier Flugzeuge mit Helfern und Impfstoffen landen.
Zwei der Maschinen gehören zum UN-Flüchtlingshilfswerk UNHCR. Ein weiteres Flugzeug ist vom Internationalen Komitee des Roten Kreuzes, das vierte vom UN-Kinderhilfswerk Unicef.
Eine der Maschinen hat nach Angaben des UN-Kinderhilfswerks Unicef mehr als 15 Tonnen Impfstoffe gegen Diphtherie, Tetanus und andere Krankheiten für das von Seuchen und Hunger geplagte Bürgerkriegsland an Bord. Damit könnten etwa 600.000 Kinder geimpft werden.
http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2017-11/jemen-sanaa-krieg-hunger-impfen und Filme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU4mf4bo3nI und https://www.suedtirolnews.it/video/erste-un-helfer-kehren-in-den-jemen-zurueck
(* A H P)
First aid flights touch down in Yemen capital after three-week blockade
A UN plane carrying desperately needed vaccines landed in the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday after a three-week Saudi-led aid blockade that had sparked warnings thousands could die.
Three other aircraft -- two carrying UN aid workers and one carrying International Committee of the Red Cross staff -- also landed at the airport, which was repaired earlier this week after a Saudi-led air strike knocked out its controls, an AFP correspondent reported.
The UN humanitarian affairs office had said on Friday that it had been given clearance by the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the rebels since 2015 to resume flights into Sanaa.
But it added that desperately needed shipments of food and medicines to the rebel-held Red Sea port of Hodeida remained blocked.
http://www.france24.com/en/20171125-yemen-first-aid-flights-touch-down-sanaa-after-three-week-blockade-saudi and also https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un/medical-supplies-u-n-aid-workers-reach-yemen-after-blockade-eased-idUSKBN1DP07V and http://us.cnn.com/2017/11/25/health/yemen-aid/index.html and film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhGKHlLcmuQ
Comment. Let's hope this is not a one off but without fuel the cold chain to protect vaccines will break down and there has not been any moves relating to the freeing of commercial cargo.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156144268918641
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First aid flights finally touch down in Yemen, but it’s too little, too late for millions
The Saudi blockade cut off food and medical supplies, pushing 21 million people into acute hunger and illness.
A slight easing of the Saudi Arabian-imposed blockade of Yemen on Saturday allowed for aid flights to land in the capital of Sanaa on Saturday, but aid shipments have yet to arrive via sea.
The blockade has further devastated a population who, according to a World Health Organization statement, is already in an extremely fragile state.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman went so far as to call Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “Hitler.” The U.S., meanwhile, backs the Saudi narrative of Iran as the aggressor not only in Yemen, but in the region in general.
“They desperately want to change the conversation away from starving children to Iranian bad guys,” said retired CIA officer Bruce Riedel to Foreign Policy.
https://thinkprogress.org/first-aid-yemen-humanitarian-crisis-9c72597583e7/
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.@UNICEF’s chartered flight just brought in over 15 tonnes of the most needed lifesaving Penta, BCG and PCV vaccines to protect about 600k children from diphtheria, tetanus, etc. The needs are huge and there is much more to do for #YemenChildren. (photos)
https://twitter.com/UNICEF_Yemen/status/934357020769210373
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U.N. aid workers return to Yemen on flights to Sanaa: U.N.
Humanitarian aid workers arrived in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday, after a nearly three week blockade by the Saudi-led military coalition, an official at the U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) said.
“First plane landed in Sanaa this morning with humanitarian aid workers,” WFP’s regional spokeswoman Abeer Etefa told Reuters in an email on Saturday.
Officials at Sanaa airport said two other U.N. flights had arrived on Saturday.
(* B H P)
Film: Dramatische humanitäre Situation im Jemen
(* B H P)
Film: Saudi-Arabien blockiert alle Verbindungen: Im Jemen spielt sich gerade ein Drama ab
Die Situation der Menschen in dem Kriegsland hat sich durch die Blockade der Versorgungswege extrem verschlechtert. Immer wieder sterben Zivilisten bei Luftschlägen. In den Krankenhäusern kann bei weitem nicht mehr allen geholfen werden
(* A H P)
Film: Humanitärer Notstand im Jemen: Viele Krankenhäuser kurz vor dem Kollaps
Die Situation der Menschen in dem Kriegsland hat sich durch die Blockade der Versorgungswege extrem verschlechtert. Die Gesundheitsversorgung und die Wasserversorgung wird immer schlechter. Viele Krankenhäuser in der Hauptstadt Sanaa stünden kurz vor dem Kollaps.
(* A H P)
The Saudis’ Crime Against Humanity
Preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people enduring the world’s worst humanitarian crisis is a monstrous crime, but even if the coalition were to allow in some aid it would be woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the population by itself. Oxfam’s Scott Paul commented on this earlier in the week:
Yemen needs commercial imports of food and fuel in sufficient quantities to stave off famine and a crippling fuel shortage that is already affecting everything from pumping clean drinking water to powering medical facilities.
As long as the coalition blockade is in place, famine and disease will still claim countless lives. The coalition is still trying to starve Yemen into surrender with the blockade, and Yemen’s humanitarian catastrophe won’t stop getting worse until the blockade is lifted entirely – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-saudis-crime-against-humanity/
referring to
(* A H P)
Anyone in US, UK or UN who calls this a diplomatic achievement just wants to change the subject, not really interested in preventing millions of deaths in #Yemen
https://twitter.com/ScottTPaul/status/933361457558970368
(* A H P)
US-Saudi coalition still blocking ALL Yemeni Sea Ports while sending minimal humanitarian flights through Sanaa airport, which allows them to lie about opening access to Yemen!
https://www.facebook.com/mohamad.shami.33/videos/vb.687587216/10155343198617217/?type=2&theater
(* A H P)
Yemen fuel companies say they will no longer be able to supply consumers
The largest fuel importing companies in Yemen have indicated they will no longer be able to supply the consumer market at the end of this week, the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said in a report dated Nov. 23 and published on Thursday.
Supplies of petrol and diesel are expected to run out in the coming week, it said.
and
(A H P)
The price of 20 liters of benzene in the amount of 8300 riyals is a lethal dose for the Yemeni citizen who is beaten on his order (photo9
(A H P)
Fuel is now available in #Sanaa but at almost a double price.
https://twitter.com/alasaadim/status/934457658341560320 and film of queu: https://twitter.com/suzevanmeegen/status/934035572640927745
(* A H P)
Saudi-Arabien verweigert 2,5 Millionen Menschen im Jemen sauberes Wasser
Durch die Blockade ist der Betrieb von fast allen Flug- und Seehäfen und der Grenzverkehr seit dem 6. November zum Erliegen gekommen. Da der Jemen zu 90 Prozent von Lebensmittelimporten abhängig ist, droht eine unvorstellbare Hungersnot.
http://www.wsws.org/de/articles/2017/11/24/saud-n24.html
Bemerkung: Überblick.
(* A H P)
Hodeida city without water. All water wells & sanitation system are out of service bcz of lack of diesel & power, a news website quoted a local official. UN: 15M ppl lack access to clean water, adequate healthcare & sanitation in #Yemen thanks to West-backed Saudi war & blockade
https://twitter.com/fuadrajeh/status/934090925281828865
(* A H P)
UNO-Entwicklungshelfer dürfen in den Jemen zurückkehren
Die Vereinten Nationen dürfen ihre Hilfe für die von einer Hungersnot bedrohte Bevölkerung des Jemen zum Teil wieder aufnehmen. Die von Saudi-Arabien geführte Allianz sunnitischer Staaten habe grünes Licht für Flüge mit Entwicklungshelfern in die von den Houthi-Rebellen kontrollierten Gebiete gegeben, teilte die UNO am Freitag mit. Sie dürften ab Samstag zurückkehren.
Die seit zwei Wochen geltende Blockade der Häfen bleibt aber weiter in Kraft. Damit können weiter keine Schiffe mit Weizen und Medikamenten anlegen.
http://www.salzburg24.at/uno-entwicklungshelfer-duerfen-in-den-jemen-zurueckkehren/apa-1439340644
(* A H P)
Aid workers to return to Yemen at weekend but no aid yet: U.N.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen has given the United Nations permission to resume flights of aid workers to the Houthi-controlled capital on Saturday, but not to dock ships loaded with wheat and medical supplies, a U.N. spokesman said.
The coalition has given clearance for U.N. flights in and out of Sanaa from Amman on Saturday, involving the regular rotation of aid workers, said Jens Laerke, spokesman of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“We’re of course encouraged by the clearance of this flight which may be followed soon by clearances of flights from Djibouti to Sanaa,” Laerke told a news briefing on Friday.
But no green light have been received for U.N. requests to bring humanitarian supply ships to Hodeidah and Salif ports, he said.
“We are particularly talking about one ship which is offshore Hodeidah with wheat from WFP (the U.N. World Food Programme) and another boat which is waiting in Djibouti with cholera supplies and that is also destined for Hodeidah,” he said.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-yemen-un/aid-workers-to-return-to-yemen-at-weekend-but-no-aid-yet-u-n-idUSKBN1DO13K and also http://www.dw.com/en/yemen-saudi-arabia-authorizes-flights-to-sanaa/a-41523072
(* A H P)
U.S. backs Saudi 'first step' in addressing Yemen crisis
The United States on Friday welcomed a “first step” by Saudi Arabia to allow humanitarian aid to reach Yemen and called for negotiations on the country’s conflict.
A U.N. spokesman said the Saudi-led coalition had given the United Nations permission to resume flights of aid workers to the Houthi-controlled capital on Saturday, but not to dock ships loaded with wheat and medical supplies.
and this is the statement of the White House:
(* A P)
Statement from the Press Secretary on the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen
The United States welcomes the announcement from Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-led coalition that it is reopening Hudaydah port and Sanaa International Airport to allow the urgent flow of humanitarian aid to the people of Yemen. Full and immediate implementation of the announced measures is a first step in ensuring that food, medicine, and fuel reach the Yemeni people and that the aid organizations on the frontlines of mitigating this humanitarian crisis are able to do their essential work. We look forward to additional steps that will facilitate the unfettered flow of humanitarian and commercial goods from all ports of entry to the points of need. The magnitude of suffering in Yemen requires all parties to this conflict to focus on assistance to those in need. All sides must support a political process with facilitating humanitarian relief as the top priority.
We remain committed to supporting Saudi Arabia and all our Gulf partners against the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aggression and blatant violations of international law. Backed by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Houthi rebels have used destabilizing missile systems to target Saudi Arabia—systems that were not present in Yemen before the conflict. The international community must take the necessary steps to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its repeated violations of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2216 and 2231 as the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps exploits the grave humanitarian crisis in Yemen to advance its regional ambitions. Millions of Yemenis are currently enduring severe deprivation; the United States continues to believe that this devastating conflict, and the suffering it causes, must be brought to an end through political negotiations.
Comment by Judith Brown: A sickening report from the White House which puts more blame on Iran for this state of desperation in Yemen than it does for the actual perpetrators Saudi Arabia and its western allies.
Well there's lies and lies and more damned lies but really when Trump talks about false news - well this really is it. Disgusting.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156139613143641
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156139631668641
Comment: PR stunts like this new WH statement are meant to buy time for Saudi Arabia to impose a starvation policy on Yemen. Americans know this.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/934134920871636999
My comment: It’s crazy how the US are using this Saudi-made Yemen holocaust to push their own anti-Iranian agenda, while Iran actually has little to do with all of this. While blaming Iran, the WH stresses that they stay close allies to those who commit this holocaust. – An at the time of the White House statement, access for aid actually still was blocked, there was little more than the Saudi claim to reopen Hodeida and Sanaa for humanitarian aid, just words without any proof up to this time: The access for humanitarian help was still blocked. – And there is a total blackout on the US complicity to all of what is happening in Yemen, this holocaust included. Read:
(* A H P)
White House Statement on Yemen Crisis Fails to Address US Complicity
While aid groups remain cut off from the war-torn country despite promise from Saudi Arabia to lift blockade, Trump administration praises Saudi-led coalition
As aid groups remain cut off from Yemen—despite an intensifying humanitarian crisis and a promise from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to lift the blockade—in a statement released Friday, the Trump White House ignored the United States' complicity in the Saudi-led coalition's blockade while reiterating U.S. support for the coalition in the ongoing war.
The statement praised Saudi Arabia and the coalition for "reopening Hudaydah port and Sanaa International Airport to allow the urgent flow of humanitarian aid to the people of Yemen"—even though, as the Guardian reported Friday, "aid agencies said Saudi Arabia has not fulfilled its promise to reopen humanitarian aid corridors into northern Yemen, leaving the main aid lifeline closed for tens of thousands of starving people."
Although the White House statement declared "the magnitude of suffering in Yemen requires all parties to this conflict to focus on assistance to those in need," it also said, "We remain committed to supporting Saudi Arabia and all of our Gulf partners against the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' aggression."
The White House statement on Friday comes as media critics charge that mainstream U.S. news outlets are highlighting the humanitarian concerns in Yemen while also ignoring U.S. complicity in the conflict.
and here some more reports of various media about the WH statement:
https://thepavlovictoday.com/the-white-house/white-house-demands-end-conflict-yemen/
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/nov/24/white-house-welcomes-lift-blockade-yemen/
and the Iranian reaction:
(* A H P)
US attempts to divert attention from Saudi crimes show its complicity in war against Yemen
Iran has said that the US’ complicity in Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen is proven by its attempts to divert attention away from Riyadh’s atrocities in the country.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi made the remarks early on Sunday while also rejecting the US’ allegations that Tehran was in violation of a UNSC resolution.
He made the remarks in reaction to a statement released by Washington which hailed Saudi Arabia’s reopening of Yemen’s Sana’a airport and the port city of Hudaydah.
“Without a doubt the White House’s statement shows and proves the US’s responsibly in Saudi Arabia’s crimes against Yemen,” Qassemi said.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/26/543498/iran-yemen-saudi-arabia-us
My comment: That’s obviously true. The Yemen war and crisis just offers the Iranian a throughball. They just must abide by the truth and the obvious.
(A P)
Status Update on the Reopening Of Hudaydah Port and Sanaa Airport
NEWS PROVIDED BY Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Information Office
As a follow-up to the statement issued on Wednesday, November 22 by the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen in regards to the reopening of the Hudaydah Port and Sanaa Airport; the Coalition's spokesperson, Col. Turki Al Maliki made a statement today detailing the reasons of the temporary closure of ports in Yemen and the extent of aid facilitated since their reopening. Col. Al Maliki also renewed the call for the implementation of the United Nations plan to take control of the Port of Hudaydah-- according to the UN's proposal, which was accepted by the Coalition and rejected by the Iranian-backed Houthi Militia.
Col. Turki Al Maliki highlighted the following:
My comment: The whole matter is further used for Saudi propaganda.
(A H P)
Arab Coalition: 42 permits granted for ships and relief planes to Yemen
The Arab Coalition in Yemen announced on Friday that 42 permits were issued for ships and relief aircrafts.
The Arab Coalition renewed its call for the United Nations to take over the port of Hodeidah, which is under the control of the coup militia.
The spokesperson of the coalition, Turki al-Maliki said on Friday, that the missile launched towards the city of Riyadh entered through the port of Hodeidah.
Remark: By Saudi media. Even Nov. 26, in the evening, there still no ship was given the clearance to dock, and even at Aden the UAE forces prevented a Chinese ship from unloading.
(* A H P)
Yemen: Impact of the closure of seaports and airports on the humanitarian situation - Situation Update 3 | 23 November 2017
Impact on fuel availability
- Based on preliminary information from the Yemen Petroleum Company, WFP estimates that supplies of petrol and diesel could run out in the coming week. Exact predictions on when different areas will run out of fuel are difficult as they depend on how traders will ration supply and how stockpiles built by noncommercial actors could re-enter the market.
As prices spike, households are under pressure to spend cash grants provided for food to buy water, further increasing the risk of widespread food insecurity and ultimately famine. If households are unable to purchase water, they are likely resort to accessing unsafe water sources such as unprotected wells, rainwater tanks or rivers, which could increase the spread of water-borne diseases such as cholera.
Impact on health/nutrition
Impact on shipping/flights
- The Logistics Cluster reports that approximately 145 MT of cholera response supplies for WHO, WFP and IMC are on hold at Djibouti port. Some 29 vessels with approximately 500,000 MT of commercially imported food and fuel supplies have failed to access Yemen’s ports due to the blockade.
Impact on humanitarian procurements
(B H P)
'Shocking silence' surrounds situation in Yemen, IRC tells euronews
“The silence around what’s going on in Yemen right now is quite frankly shocking”, Paolo Cernuschi told euronews.
The Country Director for the International Rescue Committee in Yemen added that humanitarian aid alone cannot resolve the crisis in the country.
(* B H P)
Editorial: Are the Saudis getting the message: Stop starving civilians.
Yet the Saudi blockade has done little more than isolate starving Yemeni civilians, millions of whom are children.
Not surprisingly, a Trump administration that has cozied up to the Saudi regime has reacted to the Yemeni crisis with barely a yip. Saudi Arabia has been a U.S. ally for decades, but President Donald Trump has further embraced the Saudi government in his pursuit of other goals in the Middle East.
Trump hasn’t seemed fazed by recent examples of Saudi recklessness
Tightening the blockade had been Riyadh’s latest aggressive tack. While Saudi regime appeared to be easing its restrictions on aid to Yemenis, the Trump administration can do a lot more to rein in Saudi aggression. Trump’s closeness with the Saudi regime has given him a good deal of clout with Riyadh. He should use it to get the Saudis to begin working toward a day when Yemeni citizens are free from the gears of conflict. Alliances, regardless of their importance or usefulness, should never require turning a blind eye to outright cruelty.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-saudi-yemen-trump-20171121-story.html
(* A H P)
Today: @ICRC_ye and others unable to find fuel needed to keep water flowing in #Yemen cities. Blockade keeping all fuel from reaching. Letting aid in is only a part of the solution. Commercial imports are desperately needed (photo).
https://twitter.com/JohannesBruwer1/status/933963431048368129
(* A H P)
Saudis clear passenger flights to rebel-held Yemen airport: UN
The United Nations said Friday that it has been cleared by a Saudi-led coalition to resume passenger flights to Yemen's rebel-held Sanaa airport, but desperately needed aid deliveries remain blocked.
But a spokesman for the UN's humanitarian affairs office told reporters in Geneva Friday that Riyadh has not yet granted permission to resume aid deliveries.
"The UN has been notified through our usual contacts in Riyadh that the regular passenger flight operated by the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service can fly to Sanaa from Amman starting tomorrow," Jens Laerke said.
"However, there has been no substantial change since yesterday regarding the requests for clearance to go by boat to Hodeida and Saleef seaports with humanitarian supplies," he added.
A boat stocked with wheat and another with equipment to treat Yemen's cholera epidemic are ready to head to Hodeida once the UN gets the go-ahead, Laerke said.
http://www.france24.com/en/20171124-saudis-clear-passenger-flights-rebel-held-yemen-airport-un = http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5114115/Saudis-clear-passenger-flights-rebel-held-Yemen-airport-UN.html and also https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-yemen-un/aid-workers-to-return-to-yemen-at-weekend-but-no-aid-yet-u-n-idUSKBN1DO13K
(* A H P)
Saudi Arabia continues to block humanitarian aid to Yemen
Saudi-led coalition has failed to lift blockade on Yemen’s ports, leaving tens of thousands without food and medicine
Aid agencies said Saudi Arabia had not fulfilled its promise to reopen humanitarian aid corridors into northern Yemen on Thursday, leaving the main aid lifeline closed for tens of thousands of starving people.
A UN source in Yemen said: “We have submitted the request to bring in aid, as we have every day, but there has been nothing. At this stage, we do not know the reason for the delay.”
(* A H P)
Yemen still under blockade despite Saudi coalition's pledge to open main port for aid
Despite pledges from the Saudi led coalition that they would reopen access to Yemen and allow desperately needed aid in, no flights or ships were allowed to arrive in the country yesterday, continuing an 18-day total blockade of opposition held areas.
But the leading United Nations aid official for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, has told the ABC that no UN flights had been allowed to land in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Thursday and no aid ships permitted to dock at Hodeidah port.
One of the planes reportedly due to fly into Sanaa today is a UNICEF flight carrying medical solutions, medicine, and polio vaccines.
(* A H P)
The General #Yemen Authority of Civil Aviation US/Saudi Coalition today refused to grant permits for UN flights, humanitarian Doctors Without Borders, the World Food Program/UNICEF flight carrying polio vaccines news about lifting part of the blockade (image)
https://twitter.com/Maddllock2/status/933786062727667714
Comment: You believe US/Saudi coalition you believe anything Total liars (image)
https://twitter.com/Maddllock2/status/933815779891531776
(* A H P)
Saudi Lead-Headed Coalition announced reopening of Sana'a International Airport&Hodeida Seaport but only for "humanitarian assistance". That means no fuel or commercial cargo to come through Hodeida Airport. Most foods come through Hodeida Port. We told you world it's genocide.
https://twitter.com/commonsense575/status/933766481556406274
(* B H P)
Saudi desperation as Yemen campaign stagnates
Before considering the reasons for the blockade, we must first recognise the extent to which the Saudi led war effort has faltered.
In many areas, the fighting has taken on a purely sectarian nature. This is a phenomenon relatively new to Yemen and one which provides ripe grounds for extremist groups to flourish. Indeed, despite significant efforts to flush them out, al-Qaeda’s presence remains strong in a number of governorates. Islamic State, although comparatively less influential, is consolidating its presence.
With anti-Houthi resistance waning among its local allies, the coalition has had to resort heavily to the use of foreign soldiers.
Despite the conflict’s essential stalemate, costs remain high.
The ongoing blockade should not be viewed as a tactic of war, but rather within the context of internal Saudi developments spearheaded by the current Crown Prince, Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS). The blockade is part of an effort to refocus international attention on Iran and away from Saudi’s political restructuring. This, along with the forced resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, marks an attempt to ratchet up sectarian and national fervour, to consolidate MBS’s domestic position in the wake of his drastic internal purge against royal and business rivals.
The Saudi led coalition’s intervention in Yemen has, by most metrics, been a complete failure. The recent missile strike on Riyadh is a blatant indication that its intervention in Yemen has only served to weaken security on its southern border. Perhaps Yemen’s blockade may improve MBS’s position during a period of unprecedented domestic turmoil, but at the direct expense of millions of Yemenis.
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/saudi-desperation-yemen-campaign-stagnates
(* A H P)
Helfer fordern vollständiges Ende der Blockade von Häfen im Jemen
Hilfsorganisationen haben die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Militärkoalition aufgerufen, die Blockade von Flug- und Seehäfen im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen vollständig aufzuheben. Die angekündigte Öffnung des Flughafens in der Hauptstadt Sanaa und des Seehafens Hudaida an der Westküste für Hilfslieferungen reiche bei weitem nicht aus, um eine mögliche Hungersnot zu verhindern, teilte Save the Children mit.
https://amerikawoche.com/amw_news/helfer-fordern-vollstandiges-ende-der-blockade-von-hafen-im-jemen/
(A H P)
Hello World If you don't know about fuel crisis in #Yemen JUST WATCH ME IN THIS VIDEO
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/933868448102395904
(* A H P)
- #Saudi imposes complete #Yemen blockade, threatening mass famine. 2. Saudi "eases" blockade, seeks praise. 3. But. Key Saudi restrictions remain that still threaten mass hunger. 4. #US claim helped w this "progress." 5. US decides to sell Saudi Arabia 7 billion in arms.
https://twitter.com/K_Beckerle/status/933748326293475328
My comment: Hitting the spot.
And
When terrorists expect to be praised.(text in image)
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/933794552103817222
and on this arms sale:
I reckon this was a bribe to try to get Saudi Arabia to change tack. Don't kill them by starvation because the people of the world are starting to rise up,in protest. Have some of these disgusting weapons and you can kill those pesky Yemeni babies silently - we won't tell the world if you don't.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156136593263641
(* A H P)
Aid agencies say Yemen blockade remains, Egeland calls it 'collective punishment'
The Saudi-led coalition’s blockade of Yemen, which has cut off food imports to a population where 7 million people are on the brink of famine, is “illegal collective punishment” of civilians, a prominent aid official said on Thursday.
Major agencies said aid was still blocked a day after the Saudi-led military coalition said it would let humanitarian supplies in.
“We have not yet had any movement as of now,” said Jens Laerke, spokesman of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance.
Jan Egeland, a former U.N. aid chief who now heads the Norwegian Refugee Council, said of the blockade: “In my view this is illegal collective punishment.”
and
(* A H P)
Yemen denied Saudi reports about reopening Sanaa airport and Hodieda sea port for relief. Top officials from the two ports confirmed that both remain closed today Thursday. Relief agencies flights, ships not allowed. WFP & Doctors without Borders, not allowed today.
https://twitter.com/BenNewbonY/status/933702857106378752
Yemen Genocide Update: #Hodeida Port and #Sanaa International Airport remain blocked to all aid despite Saudi promise to reopen them at noon Sana'a local time today.
https://twitter.com/teddy_cat1/status/933720821050368001
One of the UN planes reportedly due to fly into #Sanaa today was @UNICEF flight carrying medical solutions, medicine & polio vaccines. But no flights landed #Yemen
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/933722766402113536
Port authorities in #Hodeida told @AP new aid shipments expected on Thursday are also yet to arrive. Ships are waiting off the coast. UN staff & flights ready. But nearly 24 hours after this announcement no change reported yet
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/933716290635816960
@UN @WHO @WFP are you going to be silent again . Like yesterday when a WFP aid truck has been bombarded by Saudi Coalition? They lied yesterday to let #Media not focusing on it they promise to open Hodeida and Sanaa they didn't! @UN your silence is complicit of Genocide !
https://twitter.com/2flamesburning1/status/933717662835924993
and
(A H P)
Film: Yemen: Saudi-led blockade remains in Hudaida despite removal assurances
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvYfwHeG8wI
(* A H P)
Yemen war: Aid agencies await Saudi clearance to reach rebel ports
UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator Jamie McGoldrick told the BBC that he hoped to receive clearance within hours.
"There is a system where we notify [the coalition] and ask for space or time slots to bring our planes in, and we negotiate in terms of getting space on the port as well," Mr McGoldrick told the BBC.
"We've actually gone through the normal procedures and we're just waiting to find out how that goes," he added. "Around 19:00 this evening we expect to hear something one way or another."
On Wednesday, the UN said it had 145 tonnes of humanitarian cargo waiting at a port in Djibouti, and 18 tonnes of relief items ready to be airlifted..
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was also not expecting any flights on Thursday.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42094244
(* B H P)
British risk complicity in Yemen 'famine crime', says Alex de Waal
Africa analyst believes UN inaction makes security council members accessories to crisis in Arab nation gripped by cholera, hunger and violence
Britain is in danger of becoming complicit in the use of starvation as a weapon of war in Yemen, academic and author Alex de Waal has said.
“The UK and the US, and others on the security council risk becoming accessories to the worst famine crime of this decade,” said De Waal.
Twenty years after publishing his influential Famine Crimes, De Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation, has returned to the subject with Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine, published on Friday.
Listen to the podcast: ‘Famine as mass atrocity’
(* A H P)
Statement on the reopening of Sana'a Airport and Hodeidah Port
While CARE welcomes today’s announcement that Sana’a Airport and the Hodeidah Port will be reopened for humanitarian assistance following a two-week blockade by the Saudi-led Coalition, this is just a first step. CARE remains deeply concerned that, unless all ports are open to commercial goods, famine and further disease outbreaks will not be averted. Not only is the commercial import of food and medical supplies necessary for survival, without fuel Yemen’s water and sanitation networks will not function in a country already battling cholera. Humanitarian assistance alone is not enough to supply the basic needs and protections critical for Yemen’s population.
https://www.careinternational.org.uk/statement-reopening-sanaa-airport-and-hodeidah-port
(* A H P)
Yemen: Partial Lifting of Blockade Half Measure at Best
In response to today’s announcement by the Official Saudi Press Agency that the Saudi-led Coalition will reopen the Hodeidah port and the Sanaa airport to humanitarians on Thursday, November 23, Paolo Cernuschi, Yemen country director at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), said:
"We cannot celebrate this partial easing of access restrictions. Even though tomorrow'sreopening of ports to humanitarian traffic will ease the flow of aid, it will still leave the population of Yemen in a worse situation than they were two weeks ago before the blockade started. Humanitarian aid alone cannot meet the needs of Yemenis who are unjustly bearing the brunt of this war. Access by commercial shipments of food and fuel must be resumed immediately, otherwise this action will do little to turn Yemen back from the brink of famine and crisis."
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/11/22/yemen-partial-lifting-blockade-half-measure-best and also film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH9rzfa62Xo
(* B H P)
In 2.5 weeks, this is the strongest statement of opposition/concern that @StateDept, @WhiteHouse, or @USUN has been able to muster regarding what the US predicts to be the worst famine and mass atrocity in a generation
https://twitter.com/ScottTPaul/status/933101503077744640 referring to
State Dept Spox on Yemen: "We are working very closely with the government of Saudi Arabia to try to encourage better humanitarian assistance." Try harder.
https://twitter.com/joshrogin/status/933068987734347776
(* A H P)
Saudis reopen Yemen's main port for aid, but NGOs warn it may not be enough to avert famine
The reopening of Yemen's main port by Saudi Arabia will not be enough to avert famine in the country unless all restrictions are lifted and commercial goods allowed in, aid agencies say
Caroline Anning from Save the Children said if the move does not include commercial supplies then there is still the strong potential of famine in Yemen.
"If its just a small, short-term announcement of humanitarian aid being allowed in, that certainly will not be enough to avert famine," she said.
Oxfam described said the move was an "empty gesture while millions of Yemenis see their lives threatened by the two-week blockade on the country".
"Reopening the ports to aid but not to commercial imports is pitiful bartering with people's lives," Shane Stevenson, Oxfam's director in Yemen, said.
"We're facing the worst famine seen in decades, and that won't change unless commercial shipments of food and fuel are allowed in.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-23/saudis-reopen-yemen-main-port-for-aid-but-fears-remain/9182874
(* A H P)
Saudis to ease Yemen siege but millions to still suffer
Saudi Arabia's decision to ease its blockade on Yemen does not go far enough, say aid and human rights groups pointing to the spectre of famine that looms over the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.
Save the Children's Caroline Anning says any opening for humanitarian agencies was welcome but it "wouldn't be enough to avert a potential famine".
"We're still waiting to see exactly what this announcement means," she told Al Jazeera.
Saudi Arabia has not specified when or if it would ease a blockade on commercial access.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/saudi-ease-yemen-siege-millions-suffer-171122173712350.html
(* A H P)
U.S. pressed Saudis to ease Yemen blockade: sources
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asked Saudi Arabia to ease its blockade of Yemen, two sources said, just days before the Saudi-led military coalition announced on Wednesday it would let aid flow through the Yemeni port of Hodeidah and allow U.N. flights to the capital.
t was not clear if pressure from Washington was the direct cause of the Saudi change of heart but the request from Tillerson to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was one of several U.S. attempts this month to have Riyadh soften its hawkish foreign policy.
Tillerson asked for a loosening of the blockade on Yemen during a roughly 45-minute phone call at the beginning of this week, according to a source familiar with the matter
Comment: Shall we remind who is arming the Saudis to the teeth?
Who refuels warplanes? Who provides intelligence?
We are not impressed.
(and it is not a civil war)
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1564218173631207
(* A H P)
Hafen der Hoffnung
Saudi-Arabien lockert die Blockade des Jemen, wo Millionen hungern - nach Druck aus den USA und nach einem neuen Waffengeschäft.
Dennoch dürfte die von der Militärkoalition am Mittwochabend verkündete Lockerung der Blockade ein wenig Hoffnung gebracht haben: Neben dem Flughafen von Sanaa wollte das Bündnis am Donnerstag auch den Seehafen von Hodeida wieder öffnen, der für die Versorgung der Einwohner des Bürgerkriegslandes mit Hilfsmitteln eine zentrale Rolle spielt. 80 Prozent der Importe wurden über den Hafen an der Westküste abgewickelt.
Vielleicht wollte Tillerson nun in der Thanksgiving-Woche einfach nur ein humanitäres Zeichen setzen, vielleicht war das Einlenken Mohammad bin Salmans aber auch politisch nötig, um ein Geschäft nicht zu gefährden: Nur einen Tag nach der Ankündigung Riads, mehr Hilfe zuzulassen, wurde bekannt, dass Saudi-Arabien Präzisions-Lenkwaffen im Wert von sieben Milliarden Dollar in den USA erwerben darf. Möglicher Einsatzort: Jemen.
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/jemen-hafen-der-hoffnung-1.3762886
mein Kommentar: Ja, beides sollte man durchaus in Zusammenhang sehen. Und bisher blieb es bei der reinen Hoffnung. Die Sperrung blieb auch am Donnerstag´.
(* A H P)
Zugang zu Flug- und Seehafen: Saudi-Arabien will Jemen-Blockade lockern
Die Blockade von Hilfslieferungen in den Westjemen könnte bald enden. Die von Saudi-Arabien geführte Koalition sagte zu, dass der Flughafen der Hauptstadt Sanaa wieder angeflogen werden darf. Für viele Menschen dürfte dies überlebenswichtig sein.
Demnach sollen von Donnerstag an wieder Hilfstransporte auf dem Flughafen der Hauptstadt Sanaa und im Seehafen Hudaida im Westen des Landes ankommen dürfen. Beide sind für den Transport humanitärer Güter entscheiden
https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Saudi-Arabien-will-Jemen-Blockade-lockern-article20146630.html
(* A H P)
Saudi-Arabien sagt weitere Lockerung der Jemen-Blockade zu
Die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Militärkoalition im Jemen hat eine weitere Lockerung der Blockade des Bürgerkriegslands zusagt. Der Hafen Hodeida am Roten Meer und der Flughafen der Hauptstadt Sanaa sollen am Donnerstagmittag (10.00 Uhr MEZ) wieder für Hilfslieferungen geöffnet werden, wie die Militärkoalition am Mittwoch in Riad erklärte. Schiffe mit "dringend humanitären Hilfslieferungen" dürfen den Hafen Hodeida dann wieder anlaufen, in Sanaa dürfen UN-Flugzeuge landen.
http://www.zeit.de/news/2017-11/22/jemen-saudi-arabien-sagt-weitere-lockerung-der-jemen-blockade-zu-22171802 = https://www.nzz.ch/international/alk-saudiarabien-will-blockade-in-jemen-aufheben-sollte-ld.1331396
Mein Kommentar: Da Jemen 90 % seiner Lebensmittel einführen muss und die Wasserversorgung am Diesel für die Pumpen hängt, ändert sich auch durch die Öffnung für Hilfsgüter kaum etwas an der Hunger- und Seuchenblockade.
(* A H P)
Saudi-led coalition to reopen Yemen's Hodeidah port, Sanaa airport for aid
“We’re monitoring these developments,” U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters in New York. “If that were to happen that would be a very welcome and critically important development.”
“We made clear the tremendous amount of needs on the ground,” Haq said.
Aid groups said there also needed to be commercial access to Yemen for food and fuel shipments.
“Humanitarian aid alone cannot meet the needs of Yemenis who are unjustly bearing the brunt of this war,” Paolo Cernuschi, Yemen country director at the International Rescue Committee, said in a statement.
(* A H P)
UN welcomes Saudi move to lift Yemen blockade
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/11/22/latest-un-welcomes-saudi-move-to-lift-yemen-blockade.html
(* A H P)
Saudi-led coalition to reopen Hodeidah port, Sanaa airport for aid: statement
The Saudi-led military coalition fighting against the Houthi movement in Yemen said on Wednesday it would allow aid access through the port of Hodeidah and United Nations flights to Sanaa airport.
“The port of Hodeidah will be reopened to receive food aid and humanitarian relief, and Sanaa airport will be open for UN flights with humanitarian relief,” a statement from carried by the Saudi state news agency SPA said.
It added the decision would take effect from Nov. 23.
(* A H P)
Saudi Arabia agrees to ease Yemen blockade after warnings that thousands will starve
Saudi Arabia has said it will ease a military blockade on Yemen after weeks of warnings from the UN and humanitarian groups that the embargo could lead to mass starvation in the war-wracked country.
The Saudi government said on Wednesday that it would re-open both Hodeida port and Sanaa airport at noon on Thursday.
"Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen announced on Wednesday to reopen the Port of Hodeida to receive urgent humanitarian and relief materials, and reopen Sanaa airport to UN aircraft," the coalition said.
The military coalition also said it planned to “soon announce a comprehensive humanitarian operations plan that aims to provide assistance and relief to the Yemeni people”.
(* A H P)
Yemen port, airport to reopen to aid: Saudi-led coalition
The United Nations said Wednesday it had been notified by the Saudi authorities of the reopening on Thursday of the Yemeni ports of Hodeida and Saleef, as well as Sanaa airport.
"We are monitoring these developments and we are trying to see whether that actually takes place on the ground," UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.
"Of course, if that were to happen that would be a very welcome and critically important development."
Aid group Save the Children welcomed the coalition's announcement but said opening the port and airport would be "nowhere near enough to avert a potential famine in Yemen".
(* A H P)
Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Issues Statement
As a result of this review, the Coalition decided to take the following steps:
1- The reopening of the Port of Hudaydah to receive urgent humanitarian and relief materials.
2- The reopening of Sanaa airport to UN aircraft, designated for humanitarian and relief efforts.
These steps will be implemented in accordance with the procedures approved by the Evacuation and Humanitarian Operation Cell (EHOC)
starting at (1200) on Thursday November 23, 2017
Further, in continuation of the Coalition's commitment to stand with the people of Yemen, and to alleviate the humanitarian suffering caused
by the Houthi militias, the Coalition will soon announce a comprehensive humanitarian operations plan that aims to provide assistance and relief to the Yemeni people, and to facilitate the delivery of food to all the governorates of Yemen.
http://alriyadhdaily.com/article/13f09925174f477986e6613eca474609
Comments: Hard to feel really uplifted by this at all. 7 million were already on brink of famine before total blockade 17 days ago. #Saudi coalition has kept #Yemen on a drip feed for years now. How many more babies died in the past 2 weeks? No indication needs will be met
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/933371869700481024
When evaluating Saudi's announcement that ports will be reopened, remember the fact that from summer 2015 through October 2017, the coalition & US said there was no blockade at all. There was.
https://twitter.com/YemenPeaceNews/status/933361842155671552
There still is. This looks like a return to situation before the November missile: opening of Sanaa to approved flights, Hodeida approved shipments, land border points not to change really. Any relaxing of the blockade is welcome, but this is Not Enough!
https://twitter.com/khoury_nabeel/status/933481459788197888
(* A H P)
Yemen war: Saudi coalition 'to let aid reach rebel-held port'
[with overview on blockade, and film from hospital]
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42086735
(* A H P)
Aid flights resume into Yemen’s rebel-held capital
After two-week suspension imposed by Saudi-led coalition, humanitarian flights are allowed back into war-weary Sanaa
One plane carrying personnel from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and a second plane from Russia -- carrying diplomats en route to Moscow’s embassy in Sanaa -- had both touched down at the airport on Wednesday.
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/aid-flights-resume-into-yemen-s-rebel-held-capital/974426
(* A H P)
Hilfsorganisationen fordern sofortige Aufhebung der Blockade im Jemen
Eine Gruppe deutscher Hilfsorganisationen fordert angesichts der massiven humanitären Krise im Jemen die umgehende, komplette Öffnung der See-, Luft- und Landwege in den Jemen. Wenn die Blockade aufrechterhalten werde, könnten Millionen von Menschen in Folge einer Hungersnot sterben, warnen unter anderem die Adventistische Entwicklungs- und Katastrophenhilfe ADRA, Aktion gegen den Hunger, Ärzte der Welt, CARE, Handicap International, Oxfam und World Relief Deutschland.
Die Hilfsorganisationen äußerten sich sehr besorgt über den erneuten Ausbruch von Cholera und anderer Krankheiten, die durch verunreinigtes Wasser übertragen werden. Das UN-Kinderhilfswerk warne, dass nur noch wenige Impfstoffe gegen Diphterie vorrätig seien.
(* A H P)
Humanitarian assistance struggling to reach affected population in Yemen as blockade continues
Approximately 145 mt of humanitarian cargo for the cholera response of WHO, WFP and IMC are on hold at the port of Djibouti, while an additional 18 mt of relief items of WHO and IOM are waiting to be airlifted to Sana’a.
A WFP-chartered vessel containing 1,313 mt of cargo on behalf of UNICEF and WHO did not receive clearance from the Evacuation and Humanitarian Operations Committee (EHOC) to sail to Hodeidah, therefore in agreement with both organisations the Logistics Clusters redirected the shipment to Aden.
In addition to the cargo transport facilitated by the Logistics Cluster, UNVIM reports that, as of 15 November, 29 vessels with approximately 500,000 mt of food and fuel could not access the population of Yemen.
(A H P)
Atrocity Alert No. 81, 22 November 2017: Illegal Blockade of Starving Civilians in Yemen
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/atrocity-alert-no-81-22-november-2017-illegal-blockade-starving-civilians-yemen and https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-populations-risk-current-crisis-15-november-2017
My comment: Whitewashing saudi and US role in Yemen by telling “All parties to the conflict have perpetrated indiscriminate attacks and targeted civilian infrastructure, amounting to possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.” etc. and not naming those accountable.
(* A H P)
The siege of Yemen is at the behest of Saudi Arabia with Arab and international collusion
There are no humanitarian or international laws protecting Yemenis from the unjust siege imposed by Saudi Arabia, the leader of the Arab coalition fighting in their country. The coalition has been violating such laws since the start of its military intervention in Yemen almost three years ago. This siege has taken Yemenis back to the early days of the war, with their brutality and horror, as if three years of killing, siege and abuse were not enough. However, those in power do not pay attention to the impact of such punishment on people who have been attacked. Instead, the punitive measures are justified and accommodated by the balance of regional conflicts and the interests of others.
(* A H P)
Saudi Arabia’s new blockade is starving Yemen
Saudi Arabia’s new blockade of Yemen is threatening to exacerbate what the United Nations has deemed the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world.”
Saudi Arabia knows its international reputation is taking a hit from the brutal way it’s conducting this war. But it also knows it has the quiet endorsement of the most powerful country in the world.
For more on Saudi Arabia and foreign affairs, listen to Worldly, Vox’s foreign policy podcast and guide to the biggest stories in the world.
https://www.vox.com/world/2017/11/22/16680392/saudi-arabia-yemen-blockade-famine-casualties
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UN says 32 flights to Yemen have been canceled since Saudi tightened blockade
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, has said that a total of 32 flights to Yemen have been canceled since the regime in Riyadh ordered a tightening of the blockade of the impoverished country.
Ahmed Ben Lassoued, a media official at the UN office, said Wednesday that 220 staffers were waiting to enter Yemen from Djibouti and Amman and another 330 were ready to depart from Sana’a and other duty stations in northern Yemen.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/22/543120/Saudi-blockade-Yemen-flights
(* A H P)
''WASH Cluster in #Yemen: Most water pumps in Yemen require diesel to pump water. If diesel is not allowed in the country millions of people will not be able to access safe water and maintain safe hygiene practices,
putting them at risk of diseases such as cholera.''
Meritxell Relano, UNICEF Resident Representative in Yemen
(* A H P)
Jemen: Der tödliche Preis der Blockade
Die Entscheidung der von Saudiarabien angeführten Koalition, die Grenzen des Jemen für humanitäre Hilfe dichtzumachen, hat eine Zuspitzung der ohnehin unerträglichen Situation im Land zur Folge.
Während die Zivilbevölkerung weiter unter den Folgen des Krieges leidet, nimmt diese Maßnahme die wenigen verbliebenen Hilfsorganisationen in einen Würgegriff.
Seit die Grenzen geschlossen wurden, kämpft Ärzte ohne Grenzen darum, weiter lebensrettende Hilfe im Jemen zu leisten
https://diepresse.com/home/meinung/gastkommentar/5326410/Jemen_Der-toedliche-Preis-der-Blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1, 1e, 2a
(* A H)
Short film: Saada, north #Yemen, suffering the worst destruction of the war (7.2)
In Saada city, no building is left untouched. The airstrikes for 2 years now by the Saudi-led US+UK-backed Coalition has bombed Yemen back to the middle ages.
https://twitter.com/nogaghalb_Maz99/status/934785817322672128 and a longer film from 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoZsjagnKPs
(A H)
Film: Failing water & sanitation services in the last years have contributed to one of the world’s worst cholera outbreaks in modern history. Kholoud dreams to become a water specialist to ensure the water we drink is clean & no one gets sick
https://twitter.com/UNICEF_Yemen/status/934777325589278720
(* B H)
Unicef: Mehr als elf Millionen Kinder im Jemen benötigen dringend Hilfe
Mehr als elf Millionen Kinder im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen benötigen nach Angaben des Kinderhilfswerks Unicef dringend Hilfe. "Heute kann man mit Recht behaupten, dass der Jemen für Kinder eines der schlimmsten Länder auf der Welt ist", sagte Geert Cappelaere, Unicef-Regionaldirektor für den Nahen Osten und Nordafrika.
Zwei Millionen Kinder im Jemen leiden unter starker Unterernährung, und fast alle kleinen jemenitischen Jungen und Mädchen" benötigten dringend humanitäre Hilfe, sagte Cappelaere. Nach Schätzungen von Unicef sterbe im Jemen alle zehn Minuten ein Kind an einer Krankheit, die zu vermeiden gewesen wäre, fügte der UN-Vertreter hinzu.
Der Krieg im Jemen sei "leider ein Krieg gegen die Kinder".
(* A H)
UNICEF press conference: Geert Cappalaere, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, on the humanitarian situation of children in Yemen
Today’s briefing has been triggered by our successful delivery yesterday of 1.9 million doses of vaccines to Sana’a airport.
It was our first delivery of humanitarian supplies to Sana’a airport since the 6th of November. If you allow me, I will give you a little bit of a brief and then I will definitely take time for questions. Today, it is fair to say that Yemen is one of the worst places on earth to be a child.
More than 11 million Yemeni children are today in acute need of humanitarian assistance. That’s almost every single Yemeni boy and girl.
The reason behind this is very straightforward: decades of conflict, decades also of chronic underdevelopment.
Yemen is the country with the most depleted water sources across the globe; Yemen today is also the country with almost the highest level of malnutrition. What has happened in the last two and a half years, throughout Yemen has of course only exacerbated what was already a very sad reality. Today we estimate that every ten minutes a child in Yemen is dying from preventable diseases. The massive and unprecedented outbreak of acute watery diarrhea and cholera this year is no surprise. As you know, close to one million Yemenis have been affected by acute watery diarrhea and cholera.
It’s not a surprise, because of the almost entirely devastated water and sanitation system throughout the country. Not a surprise, because in Yemen the health system is on its knees.
(A H)
2 days ago , I distributed food baskets to a number of displaced families and the poorest in #Sanaa and #Dhamar city #Yemen If you want to help more families , please donate to http://yemenhopeandrelief.org/donate/ Photos by me
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/934510614738882560
(A H)
There is no easy way of sharing this post from your.abilities.org NGO.
''Mohammed and Yousef are two brothers who aren't lucky: they are born in war-torn Yemen which is facing the largest humanitarian crisis that world.
Mohammed and Yousef are suffering of acute malnutrition, high blood platelets. Yousef's has a congenital malformation from his birth and both are now bedridden at a hospital in Sanaa.
None of them deserves to live such a life, and they need an urgent medical treatment, so our hearts are with them both and we are trying to collect funds for giving them medical treatment.
For helping Mohammed & Yousef case please contact us by details below:
info@yourabilities.org +967776 026 717'' (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/your.abilities.or/posts/395359010882442
(A H)
#Yemen media : Female Yemeni surgeon in capital Sanaa has successfully removed a tumour weighing a whopping 21.37kg from a 64 year old female patient. (photo)
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/934401198987337729
(* A H)
Yemen Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 29 | 20 November 2017
The blockade of critical airports and seaports is impacting humanitarian and commercial supply pipelines affecting millions.
- Suspected cholera cases have declined across Yemen but the threat of cholera remains.
- Humanitarian assistance has reached 2.3 million people in areas covered by Aden hub.
- The YPF 2nd allocation has provided US$70 million to fund 49 projects in 15 governorates.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-bulletin-issue-29-20-november-2017
(A H)
Children in #Yemen learn coding with @goTynker in an attempt 2 overcome the miserable conditions of war & hoping 4 a bright future. Thank you Manarat Sanaa International School (photos)
https://twitter.com/ArwaAlAnesi/status/933226001135386624
(A H)
Funded by @Khalsa_Aid and carried out by @monarelief Jewish monirity members receiving food aid packages today in Sanaa for the fifth time. (photos)
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/934065994414346240
(* B H)
A day in the life of an aid worker under the blockade in Yemen
What is it like for humanitarian organisations such as CARE on the ground in the war-ravaged country?
the difficulties the blockade has already caused, which is described in the account below from the NGO's Yemen country director.
9:00 PM: While I am watching the news, I fall asleep. After ten minutes our safety officer calls up to say that there are airstrikes in various places in Hajja and Sana’a. Maybe also in other places but we don’t know yet. I decide to stay awake for a bit longer just to make sure that the airstrikes don’t happen in our neighbourhood. We have a basement which we use when the airstrikes get too close. I check our emergency food supplies which would allow us to survive for about 15 days. I need to talk to our safety staff because we need to discuss a second exit from the basement in case our neighborhood is hit.
https://www.newstatesman.com/world/middle-east/2017/11/day-life-aid-worker-under-blockade-yemen
Comment: A very illuminating article from an aid worker under the bombardment in Yemen. Note he says Hodeida is now a military zone which means any building in that city is considered a military target by Saudi Arabia. How crazy are the decisions coming out of the mouth of MBS. Note that means that humanitarian aid won't get into Hodeida despite the fact that children there are 40% suffering from acute severe malnutrition
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156138445703641
(A H)
Today I delivered a big food basket ,blankets and cash to the widow and her family ,thank you for helping this displaced family ,they came from #Taiz city (photos)
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/933801925358874624
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/932713984045797379
(B H)
Enhanced Rural Resilience in Yemen (ERRY) - Joint Programme Brief September 2017
Since the Programme implementation in March 2016, the Programme prioritized its implementation on strengthening community resilience planning, livelihoods improvement, community productive assets rehabilitation, and access to solar energy.
Targeted Governorates: Abyan, Hajjah, Hudaydah and Lahj.
(* B H P)
Republic of Yemen, Social Fund for Development - Annual Report 2016
Over 2016, SFD developed 156 projects worth approximately $37.5 million, with direct beneficiaries estimated at 0.3 million people and created employment of 1.5 million workdays (53% female). Disbursements during 2016 amounted to nearly $53.9 million. Disbursements during SFD Phase IV (2011–16) reached about $838.6 and they cumulatively (1997–2016) reached $1,755 million approximately. All interventions have aimed to alleviate the ongoing war impact on the beneficiaries' living.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/republic-yemen-social-fund-development-annual-report-2016
(A H)
In #Taiz & Ibb 890,000 people in have been provided with clean water & better sanitation through repair and maintenance of public networks destroyed by the conflict since January
https://twitter.com/RelanoMeritxell/status/933222117595680769
(* B H)
Doctors in #Sanaa: the deaths of newborn and premature, exacerbated by the lack of incubators in hospitals, and also financial support to pay health sector salaries!
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/933401444639789057 referring to https://twitter.com/YeMonitor/status/933213404679958529
(A H)
Good news The @ICRC gave 100 dialytic drugs yesterday to renal dialysis center in Al-Thawra General Hospital in #Ibb, through Yemeni Red Crescent Association (photos)
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/933380275588956162
(* A H)
UNICEF Yemen Humanitarian Situation Report (October 2017)
- The first national polio campaign started this month, and implementation took place across 19 governorates. More than 4.1 million children were vaccinated against polio, and the campaign was coordinated with a malnutrition screening of 2.9 million children, which identified over 271,000 acute malnutrition cases which were referred to appropriate services.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/unicef-yemen-humanitarian-situation-report-october-2017
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
(* A H P)
Najeba, is a mother of 8 blind people fled from Nehim to Sana'a due to ongoing conflict in Marib governorate in eastern #Yemen in an attempt to rescue her 8 blind. She was able to save her family after being moved from mountain to another until reaching Sana'a. Pix by @monarelief
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/934538918900436993
A mother of 8-blind in Sanaa received today huge aid from @monareliefye funded by our online fundraising campaign.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/934528566565523458
(* A H P)
Film: Border closures in #Yemen are impacting vital aid deliveries
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/933463836174245890
(A H)
Yemen UNHCR Weekly Update, 10 - 16 November 2017
20.7 million people in need
2,014,026 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
89 per cent of IDPs displaced for more than a year
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-unhcr-weekly-update-10-16-november-2017
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
(A T)
Gunmen kill three people, wound another in Sana'a
Unidentified gunmen attacked on Friday evening a mobile phone shop in al Qiyada street in the capital Sana'a, killing three people, including a child, and wounding another, eyewitnesses said.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/95744
(A P)
Yemen’s Houthi leader warns Saudi planning to escalate war on Yemen
Leader of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement Abdul Malik Badreddin al-Houthi has warned that Saudi Arabia and allies are seeking to escalate their deadly campaign against Yemen to compensate for the losses they have suffered in other regional conflicts.
Houthi said in a televised speech on Saturday that Saudi Arabia was planning to expand the scope of its military aggression against Yemen.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Ansarullah leader hinted at recent Saudi efforts to normalize ties with the Israeli regime, saying Riyadh had become part of a club of regional and Western powers that seek to undermine Islam and destabilize the Muslim world.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/25/543486/Houthi-Saudi-Yemen-war
(A P)
Yemenis Responding Saudi Threats by Intensifying War against Aggressors: Official
A member of the political bureau of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarallah movement shrugged off recent remarks made by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and said Yemen is responding his threats by intensifying the war against the aggressors
(A P)
Al-Merkashy to Northern Wise Men: Lift Injustices Off the Oppressed Shoulders
In an urgent message from inside Sanaa Central Prison, dean of southern captives, Ahmed Omar Al-Abady Al-Merkashy appealed for wise men of the north to lift unjust oppression off the shoulders of captives. SAMA News is publishing the message:
http://en.smanews.org/al-merkashy-to-northern-wise-men-lift-injustices-off-the-oppressed-shoulders
(A P)
Yemeni scholars slam plans by certain Arab states to normalize Israel ties
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/23/543199/Yemeni-scholars-Israel-Arab-states-Saudi-Arabia
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
(* B)
Zu Besuch in Jemens temporärer Hauptstadt, in der sich Zehntausende rivalisierende Bewaffnete tummeln
In Aden sitzt vorübergehend die Regierung des Bürgerkriegslandes Jemen - zumindest theoretisch: der Präsident und der Gouverneur sind weiter im Exil. Die Unsicherheit in der Stadt scheint mit den Händen greifbar.
Wir fahren an zerbombten Hotels vorbei, an leeren Reklametafeln, die wie Skelette in den Himmel ragen, und an einem halb ausgebrannten Quartier der Sicherheitskräfte, das mit Sandsäcken und Betonblöcken verbarrikadiert und weiter in Betrieb ist. Der Krieg in Aden sei vorbei, sagen die Leute, und in Gesprächen scheint es bisweilen, als ob sich die Kämpfe im Rest des Landes auf einem anderen Planeten abspielten. Doch in Aden wirkt die Ruhe angespannt, und die Frontlinie ist nur wenige Stunden entfernt von hier.
Auf den Strassen, Plätzen und an Checkpoints prangt die Flagge Südjemens, welche für die Unabhängigkeit vom Norden steht.
Nicht alle wollen eine Sezession, aber Bewohner werden im Gespräch schnell nostalgisch und erinnern sich an die Zeit der Unabhängigkeit, in der in Aden alles besser gewesen sei.
Der «Hirak», wie die Bewegung für ein unabhängiges Südjemen heisst, ist im Krieg weiter erstarkt. Es waren vor allem separatistische Milizionäre, nicht Regierungstruppen, welche 2015 die Huthi aus Aden vertrieben.
Doch nicht nur der Zwist der Regierung mit den Separatisten spaltet Aden. Der Kampf gegen die Huthi-Rebellen hatte einen bunten Haufen von Muslimbrüdern, Salafisten, Separatisten, Anhängern der Regierung und selbst die Kaida vereint – doch seit die Huthi aus Aden vertrieben wurden und der gemeinsame Feind fehlt, fällt die Einheit auseinander. Und: Seit dem Krieg sind die einzelnen Gruppen bewaffnet.
Dabei sehnen sich die Bewohner nach Normalität.
Menschenrechtler klagen derweil, dass immer mehr Menschen verschwänden. Es gebe geheime Gefängnisse, zu welchen selbst die Regierung keinen Zugang habe, bemerkt eine Aktivistin.
An der Oberfläche wirkt Aden – diese viel zu heisse Stadt, die einst auf einem Vulkankrater erbaut wurde und von dem erloschenen Vulkan Jebel Shamsan überragt wird – ruhig. Doch die Spannung scheint förmlich greifbar – von Monika Bolliger
https://www.nzz.ch/international/aden-sehnt-sich-nach-normalitaet-doch-rivalisierende-gruppen-machen-jemens-temporaere-hauptstadt-unsicher-ld.1325406 und Film: https://www.nzz.ch/international/zwei-jahre-krieg-im-jemen-eindruecke-der-nzz-nahostkorrespondentin-ld.1325311
(* B )
Statement on Current Situation on Soqotra Friends of Soqotra Committee
What we have all been reading about Soqotra in the news and on social media over the last few months is confusing, often contradictory and sometimes disturbing. The Friends of Soqotra was established with two principal aims: supporting the islanders in their conservation of the rich marine and terrestrial biodiversity on which they will ultimately depend for their long-term survival, and lending any support we can to their efforts to sustain and develop their equally unique cultural heritage. The constitution of the Friends of Soqotra focusses on these areas of concern, and takes no political position. However, we hope that the ability of Soqotrans to sustain themselves in the years to come, for example through fishing, stock breeding or ecotourism, is being adequately protected in all current projects or activities. It is the wish of us all that the Soqotrans will be able to discuss and peacefully determine their future and that of their islands with minimal interference or pressure from any outside agency.
http://www.djg-ev.de/cms/upload/dokumente/Tayf_14_English_Colour.pdf
(* A P)
Local sourses say UAE smuggled dozends of indiginous & endangered species out of Socotra island, including Civet wild cats and Egyptian vulture (photos)
https://twitter.com/Ndawsari/status/934023367962832896
(A T)
A senior criminal investigation officer killed by unidentified gunmen in Aden city
The source told Almasdaronline that the gunmen who were on a motorcycle opened fire at the Colonel in the criminal investigation Mohammed Abdo in Sheikh Othman neighborhood, killing him immediately.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/95735
and
(A T)
3 photos of today's assassination of Col Hamud Muhammad al-Humaydi in #Aden #Yemen have been posted with the logo of #IslamicState Aden-Abyan.
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/934484214824816643
(A P)
Renovation and Raising the Southern Flag Over Several Schools in Adan
In Al-Mansoura, Iman Musa, Principal of Khadija Secondary School for girls, and Hanan Omar, chairman of the southern teachers and educators’ union of Al-Mansoura and vice chairman of the central southern teachers and educators’ union, witnessed the process of raising the southern flag and singing the national southern anthem during the morning assembly of the school in the middle of rejoicing atmosphere from students, teachers and other educational personnel.
http://en.smanews.org/renovation-and-raising-the-southern-flag-over-several-schools-in-adan
My comment: The Hadi government more and more loses the support of Southern people who more and more simply slip away.
(A P)
Supreme Committee of Southern Public Escalation Threats Ben Doghr’s Government with Daring Steps
Abdullah Al-Diany, head of media department in the supreme southern public escalation committee, said: “Public escalation was not a choice, but an urgent necessity to save our people from certain mass death practiced and enforced by this corrupt government. There is no other alternative than public escalation all over the south to dismiss this corrupt government and achieve the goals of our revolution and resistance”
(A K T)
Film: Yemeni Security Forces Retake Mahfad Directorate
The Yemeni security forces were able to retake Mahfad Directorate in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan from Al-Qaeda in the framework of the military campaign launched in mid-September, which aims to expel the armed organizations from the provinces of southern Yemen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzEM7idKzYA
(* B P)
Not Division … but … Restoration of a State and Homeland…!
A dear friend from a neighboring Arab country asked me about the persistence of southern people to restore thier state, wondering that this is part of US-Israeli plan for dividing all Arab countries into smaller states. So, I responded by saying:
We gave up our capital. We gave presidency for establishing the union. But, with whom? This union was killed in its cradle by Ali Abdullah Saleh, regimen and his associates of the Yemeni Union for Reform Party, the political arm of Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen. From the very beginning, they betrayed us and assassinated our figures in a cruel way while their crimes are assigned to “unknown killer”!! Hundreds of southern prominent figures were killed like that between 1990 and 1994.
We were very patient to them from 1994 to 2007 when the Arab South erupted against them in a peaceful public movement against occupation. From 2007 to 2015, we were under horrific suppression.
I continued: in the south, we have a different identity from the north. We have a different culture and different values. We are asking only for our right according to the international law
http://en.smanews.org/not-division-but-restoration-of-a-state-and-homeland
Remark: A pilitical viewpoint of a Southern separatist.
(A P)
The Southern Transitional Council Celebrates 30th November Memory at Al-Shaheed Al-Gunaidy Square in Adan
(A P)
Visiting Several Arab And European Capitals, President of the Southern Transitional Council Leaves Adan
(A P T)
UAE-backed forces bribe Yemen tribes for Al-Qaeda intel
UAE-backed forces, the Shabwani Elite Forces, have put forward bribes to Shabwa Governorate tribes to provide intelligence on Al-Qaeda personnel in Yemen, Aden Tomorrow reported.
The Shabwani Elite Forces distributed leaflets early this week calling on the residents of Al-Hutha not to provide sanctuary for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) personnel. The leaflet encourages tribes to provide information and location intel in return for financial rewards.
In a stark warning, Muhammad Salem Al-Bukahir Al-Qamishi, commander of the Shabwa Elite Forces, warned that if intelligence is not acquired within “72 hours”, anyone who sponsors AQAP, shelters or cooperates with them will be held responsible.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171124-uae-backed-forces-bribe-yemen-tribes-for-al-qaeda-intel/
(A P)
Jemen: Christlicher Friedhof geschändet
In Aden ist ein christlicher Friedhof geschändet worden. Davon betroffen seien auch die Gräber von vier Schwestern Mutter Teresas, bestätigte im Gespräch mit Radio Vatikan der Apostolische Vikar für Südarabien, Bischof Paul Hinder. Die Schwestern wurden im März 2016 in ihrem Haus ermordet, in dem sie pflegebedürftige Menschen betreuten
http://de.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/11/23/jemen_christlicher_friedhof_geschändet/1350696
(* B P)
A government in chaos is destroying Yemen's Aden
A medley of conflicting agendas - both personal and political - is hampering decision-making in Aden, leaving Yemenis without access to basic provisions
Yemen's Aden, known as the temporary capital of the internationally recognised government, remains caught in a continuous cycle of political instability. The resignation this week of Aden's governor, Abdulaziz al-Muflehi, is a clear reminder of the multiple challenges this key province is facing.
The governor assumed the post six months ago, but last week he angrily stepped down, complaining that government corruption was undermining his efforts.
This straight talking language points to the contradictory priorities and agendas of the legitimate government. The governor has a plan, and the prime minister has a different one. In addition, other political actors have their own programmes and agendas. The final result is, inevitably, chaos, and this is what the city has been witnessing.
On the ground, the strategic city of Aden has fallen victim to these conflicting agendas.
Aden is not only afflicted by the diverging visions of the government, but also the continuous conflict between the government and secessionist leaders.
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2017/11/22/a-government-in-chaos-is-destroying-yemens-aden
(A H)
Talented girls in east #Yemen's Mahra region proudly win 'most creative class' in their school's peace-building programme competition (photos)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/933370723158167553
(A T)
Militants assassinated Omar Saleh Lardhi outside the government complex in #Qatn town Wadi #Hadramout this morning.
https://twitter.com/demolinari/status/933294385088757760
(A T)
Gunmen assassinated Abdullah Amer Ali bin Abdat Al-Kathiri in Buhayra area of #Shibam district Wadi #Hadramout tonight.
https://twitter.com/demolinari/status/933438469547876353
(A T)
Fuel shortages continue in #Aden despite oil company claims of sufficient supplies and the repeated promises of #Yemen PM Ahmed bin Daghr. (photos)
https://twitter.com/demolinari/status/933474992083189760
(A P)
Land of a secondary girls school in #Socotra being seized by the corrupt.
https://twitter.com/demolinari/status/933490729963290624
(A T)
Criminal court in #Aden began its first trial of terrorism suspects (photos)
https://twitter.com/demolinari/status/933481686460809216
(A T)
Emirati-backed security forces offer reward for information about AQAP militants in Shabwah governorate, eastern Yemen [4]
(A K P)
Coalition deployment in Mahra meant to stop arms smuggling
The Arab Coalition's recent deployment of forces in Yemen's southeastern province of al-Mahra is part of a plan meant to stop the smuggling of Iranian arms to the Houthi-Saleh militias and for fighting terrorism
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-13128
My comment: This arms smuggle from Oman is a propaganda plot. It’s about control. Oman kept it’s border to Yemen open; now the Saudi coalition just wanted to control this border as well. It’ not about arms.
(A K P)
Arab military reinforcements arrive in al-Mahra
to improve security and guard against the smuggling of weapons to the Houthi-Saleh rebel militias.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-13089
My comment: The last claim is odd as there certainly is no arms smuggle from Oman.
(A T)
''High alert just announced in #Mahra east #Yemen. Suspected major bomb plot to blow up 4 booby-trapped trailers & 40 vehicles simultaneously. Urgent communique sent to Mahra’s top security officials: All vehicles/drivers entering Mahra must be logged & thoroughly searched (image)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/933752068963209216
Comment: Stringent Saudi/UAE-controlled Oman-Yemen border checks now in place. This was the aim all along. Now, there is a full Saudi blockade of Yemen.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/933763584668073984
and
(* A K P)
Saudi/UAE forces now patrolling Oman-Yemen border & coastline of Yemeni Al Mahra province. Good to recall Riyadh has bluntly & repeatedly accused Oman of smuggling Iranian weapons to Houthis.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/933788123661774848
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(* B K P)
Saudi Arabia has devastated Yemen — but a lesson from 1965 can help fix the mess
Saudi Arabia, more than any other country, is seen as responsible for the dire situation in Yemen. My country’s reputation has been badly damaged and our credibility weakened. Images of starving children should overwhelm even the most stalwart defender of the Saudi security interests that led us to destroy the poorest, most illiterate country in the Arab world.
In the current conflict, Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) should see the past as precedent and similarly inspire peace by offering a grand gesture — it must curb funding and other support for the war.
MBS would then achieve the upper hand by exposing Iran and the Houthis if they refuse to negotiate a comprehensive end to this horrific war. MBS would gain the credibility needed to negotiate a cease-fire and then the terms of peace. By facilitating a peace agreement and leading the reinvestment and reconstruction in Yemen, Saudi Arabia can turn around a failed state, and bolster its standing as a global and regional leader.
However, to do any of this, as King Faisal did in 1965, MBS must end his campaign against political Islam and his clear intolerance for core democratic principles such as freedom of expression — both at home and in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia should feel safe with a representative government in Yemen that includes its allies and rivals. This was exactly what Saudi Arabia achieved in 1965, and it is capable of doing it again – by Jamal Kashoggi
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2017/11/22/saudi-arabia-has-devastated-yemen-but-a-lesson-from-1965-can-help-fix-the-mess/?utm_term=.ec61ccedda71 = http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/only-saudi-arabia-can-lift-yemen-out-of-the-mess-again
My comment: Very worth a read. A very serious Saudi voice – might be it’s no wonder that he had been silenced in his own country and for reasons of his own safety prefers to stay abroad. – And I think this is wishful thinking: Price Salman, whose aggressive policy has caused this war as a Saudi war, certainly is the wrong person to take an upright position and to promote peace. For doing this (and it seems King Faisal could in 1965) you need wisdom – and this is what 32 year old Prince Salman definitely lacks.
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
(* A P)
Saudi-Prinz nennt Chamenei "neuen Hitler"
Das Säbelrasseln zwischen Saudi-Arabien und dem Iran wird lauter: Nun wettert der saudische Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman gegen das religiöse Oberhaupt des Feindstaates - und vergleicht Chamenei mit Adolf Hitler. Die Retourkutsche aus Teheran folgt prompt.
Die gegenseitigen verbalen Anfeindungen zwischen den Erzrivalen Saudi-Arabien und Iran haben einen neuen Höhepunkt erreicht: Saudi-Arabiens Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman verglich Irans geistliches Oberhaupt Ajatollah Ali Chamenei in einem Zeitungsinterview jetzt mit Adolf Hitler. "Wir haben von Europa gelernt, dass Appeasement-Politik nicht funktioniert", sagte er der "New York Times" mit Blick auf Irans Streben nach mehr Einfluss in Nahost. "Wir wollen nicht, dass der neue Hitler im Iran das wiederholt, was in Europa und im Nahen Osten passiert ist."
Als Reaktion auf die Attacke warf Irans Führung Salman ein "unreifes und schwachsinniges Benehmen" vor, das ihn international diskreditiere. "Jetzt, da er sich entschieden hat, dem Pfad berühmter regionaler Diktatoren zu folgen, ... sollte er auch über deren Schicksal nachdenken"
https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Saudi-Prinz-nennt-Chamenei-neuen-Hitler-article20150870.html
(* A P)
Iran says Saudi Crown Prince's behavior 'immature, weak-minded': state TV
Iran said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince was discredited internationally by his “immature” behavior, state television reported, after Mohammed bin Salman called Iran’s Supreme Leader “the new Hitler of the Middle East”.
“No one in the world and in the international arena gives credit to him because of his immature and weak-minded behavior and remarks,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying.
Remark: The full Salman interview article in cp1.
(A P)
Saudi Crown Prince calls Iran leader 'new Hitler': NYT
Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince called the Supreme Leader of Iran “the new Hitler of the Middle East” in an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday, sharply escalating the war of words between the arch-rivals.
Mohammed bin Salman, who is also Saudi defense minister in the U.S.-allied oil giant kingdom, suggested the Islamic Republic’s alleged expansion under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei needed to be confronted.
“But we learned from Europe that appeasement doesn’t work. We don’t want the new Hitler in Iran to repeat what happened in Europe in the Middle East,” the paper quoted him as saying.
My comment: Nobody really must like a man like Khamenei. But this claim is odd propaganda – by a man who accomplishes a hunger holocaust in Yemen and who tried to treat the Lebanon PM as Hitler did to the Czech leaders in March 1939.
Comment: And who exactly is making Yemeni civilians look like the survivors of a concentration camp???
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156138427423641
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
Siehe / Look at cp1b, 1c
(B P)
Saudi Arabia ‘doesn’t care’ about the Palestinians as long as it can make a deal with Israel against Iran, says former Netanyahu advisor
Yaacov Nagel, who stepped down as the Israeli prime minister’s national security advisor earlier this year, said Riyadh was so keen to begin open cooperation with Israel against Iran that it “doesn’t care” what kind of deal is reached with the Palestinians.
(* A P T)
#Iraqi forces have found tons of food & weapons in #Isis storage from #Saudi #Arabia ??? (photos)
https://twitter.com/Saudi_Bodyguard/status/934790608715001857
(* A P T)
Saudi crown prince leads Islamic military alliance meeting
Saudi Arabia’s assertive crown prince on Sunday opened the first high-level meeting of a kingdom-led alliance of Muslim nations against terrorism, vowing that extremists will no longer “tarnish our beautiful religion.”
Saudi Arabia announced the alliance in December 2015, when the crown prince was still only the kingdom’s defense minister.
“The biggest danger of this terrorism and extremism is the tarnishing of the reputation of our beloved religion. ... We will not allow this to happen,” he said. “Today we start the pursuit of terrorism and we see its defeat in many facets around, the world especially in Muslim countries. ... We will continue to fight it until we see its defeat.”
https://apnews.com/fcd63e490148447390a22bb29eb107c4 and photo. https://twitter.com/SaudiEfforts/status/934758886543851521
My comment: The real reason for this meeting just now after almost two years of keeping it asleep certainly is the great loss of international reputation by the Saudi failure in the Lebanon affair and the total blockade on Yemen.
Comment: 1. It’s been almost two years since Bin Salman announced this “military” alliance and...a whole lot of nothing. (thread)
https://twitter.com/ImaraWaTijara/status/934443664914477057
(A E P)
How the Saudi purge will affect detained billionaires’ assets in Africa
(* B P)
Riyadh become an irrational actor in ME
Saudi Arabia has become much more aggressive in the Middle East as the United States has pulled back from its traditional role in the region, according to Philippe Dauba-Pantanacce, global geopolitical strategist at Standard Chartered bank.
"We're seeing a series of miscalculations ... We tend to think that Saudi Arabia has become an irrational actor in the Middle East," Dauba-Pantanacce said.
His comments come as the Wahhabi kingdom's foreign policy actions are increasingly forcing instability upon smaller nations, where analysts believe Saudi Arabia is seeking to amplify sectarian divisions. These moves have unfolded against the backdrop of escalating competition between Saudi Arabia and its Shia arch-rival Iran.
"I say this because every single foreign venture they (Saudi Arabia) try has reached the opposite result that they wanted. In Yemen, in Qatar, and now in Lebanon," he said.
Dauba-Pantanacce attributed the kingdom's intensifying foreign aggression to Saudi Arabia's new leadership, headed up by the young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/23/saudi-arabia-has-become-an-irrational-actor-in-the-middle-east-says-analyst.html = https://me-confidential.com/17739-saudi-arabias-miscalculations-start-to-backfire.html
(* B P)
How a mutual enemy is changing Israel, Saudi relations
Now, the dynamics of a changing Middle East have revealed an association built on mutual interests, namely countering Iran's growing influence in the region. For Israel and Saudi Arabia today, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Speaking to Israel Army Radio on Sunday, Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz admitted what many had long suspected. "We have partially clandestine ties with many Muslim and Arab countries. It's the other side who is interested in hiding it," Steinitz said. "Our ties with the moderate Arab world assists us in blocking Iran."
With official diplomatic relations static, opposition to Iran and its proxies has become the mutual interest for ties to develop privately.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/25/middleeast/israel-saudi-relations/index.html
(A P)
Selfies banned at Islam's two holiest sites in Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Arabian government has banned pilgrims from taking photos and videos using any devices for any purpose at Islam's two holiest mosques.
According to reports, the ban imposed in Mecca's Masjid al-Haram, known as the Great Mosque of Mecca, and Medina's Masjid an-Nabawi, or 'The Prophet's Mosque,' was taken by the Saudi foreign ministry on Nov 12, Turkey's The Daily Sabah newspaper reported.
Comment: Riyadh does not want any more embarrassing pictures of a smiling Israeli Jew wearing Muslim pilgrim attire in Makkah or Madina'a mosques, see.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/934474170821435393
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia: New Counterterrorism Law Enables Abuse
Criminalizes Criticisms of King and Crown Prince as Terrorism Offense
Saudi Arabia’s new counterterrorism law includes vague and overly broad definitions of acts of terrorism, in some cases punishable by death, Human Rights Watch said today.
The law replaces a widely criticized counterterrorism law promulgated in 2014, adding definitions of specific acts of terrorism and their corresponding sentencing guidelines. It includes criminal penalties of 5 to 10 years in prison for portraying the king or crown prince, directly or indirectly, “in a manner that brings religion or justice into disrepute,” and criminalizes a wide range of peaceful acts that bear no relation to terrorism.
“Saudi authorities are already methodically silencing and locking away peaceful critics on spurious charges,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of improving abusive legislation, Saudi authorities are doubling down with the ludicrous proposition that criticism of the crown prince is an act of terrorism.”
https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/23/saudi-arabia-new-counterterrorism-law-enables-abuse
(* A P)
Saudi elite start handing over funds in corruption crackdown
Princes and businessmen begin transferring funds and assets to pay for freedom
Please use the sharing tools found via the email icon at the top of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here.
https://www.ft.com/content/b798f29e-d113-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc
Saudi princes and businessmen rounded up in a corruption crackdown have begun handing over funds and assets to pay for their freedom, two people briefed on the process say. Several billions of dollars had already been handed over to the government, one of them said, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman seeks to recover at least $100bn through the crackdown.
https://www.ft.com/content/b798f29e-d113-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc
and by Saudi media:
(*A P)
Mohammad bin Salman: 95 percent of suspected billionaires agreed to settlement
What’s happening at the Ritz? And was this his power play to eliminate his family and private sector rivals before his ailing father, King Salman, turns the keys of the kingdom over to him?
It’s “ludicrous,” Mohammed bin Salman said, to suggest that this anticorruption campaign was a power grab. He pointed out that many prominent members of the Ritz crowd had already publicly pledged allegiance to him and his reforms, and that “a majority of the royal family” is already behind him.
When all the data was ready, the public prosecutor, Saud al-Mojib, took action, Mohammed bin Salman said, explaining that each suspected billionaire or prince was arrested and given two choices: “We show them all the files that we have and as soon as they see those about 95 percent agree to a settlement,” which means signing over cash or shares of their business to the Saudi state treasury.
My comment: Paying for freedom. What else should they do to stay unharmed? – This is how Saudi propaganda tells it.
(* A P)
Film: EXCLUSIVE: Inside Saudi Arabia's gilded prison at Riyadh Ritz-Carlton - BBC News
Dozens of prominent Saudi figures are being held at Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton hotel. Many names are still secret, but the list is said to comprise at least 11 princes. It is part of an anti-corruption drive by the young Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=9rCNMTR-5_g
(* A P)
Alwaleed Bin Talal Reportedly Hung Upside Down And Beaten By US Mercenaries
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must be worried that some of the royals rounded up during his “corruption crackdown” cash grab are holding out on him. Because the Saudi prince has reportedly hired a crew of American mercenaries who haven’t hesitated to employ an array of “enhanced interrogation” techniques.
As the Daily Mail reports, mercenaries purportedly employed by Academi, a successor to infamous US security contractor Blackwater, have been stringing up some of MBS’s “guests” at the Riyadh Ritz Carlton by their feet and savagely beating them during interrogations. The claims have spread rapidly on Arabic-language social media, and even Lebanon’s president Michel Aoun has accused MbS of using mercenaries. Still, the Daily Mail isn't the most reputable news organization, so these reports should be taken with a grain of salt.
(* B P)
Saudi Arabia has become an 'irrational actor in the Middle East,’ says analyst
Saudi Arabia's "miscalculations" have caused much of its foreign policy to backfire, says analyst
The increasing aggression is partly attributed to a receding US role in the region
The kingdom's recent actions have brought Lebanon together in a rare show of unity
Saudi Arabia has become much more aggressive in the Middle East as the United States has pulled back from its traditional role in the region, according to Philippe Dauba-Pantanacce, global geopolitical strategist at Standard Chartered bank.
"We're seeing a series of miscalculations … We tend to think that Saudi Arabia has become an irrational actor in the Middle East," Dauba-Pantanacce told CNBC Thursday.
His comments come as the Sunni Islamic kingdom's foreign policy actions are increasingly forcing instability upon smaller nations, where analysts believe Saudi Arabia is seeking to amplify sectarian divisions.
(unrated B P)
Saudi Trade-Off: More Social Freedom, No Political Dissent
In asserting himself over Saudi Arabia, 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is imposing a trade-off that appeals to many fellow young Saudis.
The prince, in essence, is broadening social liberties in exchange for closing off the limited political freedoms that existed in the Saudi kingdom. (subscribers only)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-trade-off-more-social-freedom-no-political-dissent-1511433000
(* B P T)
WHY DOESN'T SAUDI ARABIA JOIN NORTH KOREA ON U.S. STATE TERRORISM LIST AFTER 9/11?
President Donald Trump has designated nuclear-armed North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, a label that currently defines Iran, Sudan and Syria—three other traditional foes of U.S. foreign policy, but not the country that Trump himself once called the worst offender: Saudi Arabia.
Besides its enthusiastic devotion to Salafi-Wahhabism, a particularly austere strain of Sunni Islam that has fueled a number of militant organizations across the Middle East and beyond, Saudi Arabia's murky relationship with Al-Qaeda and the 9/11 attacks in 2001 have raised concerns as to what extent the monarchy aided and abetted the world's deadliest act of terrorism.
"I don't think anyone's ever seriously considered Saudi Arabia a state sponsor of terrorism. Nothing has ever been established along those lines," Gerald Feierstein, director for Gulf affairs and government relations at the Middle East Institute, told Newsweek.
http://www.newsweek.com/why-saudi-arabia-join-north-korea-us-state-terrorism-list-911-717640
(* A P)
Saudi receives first payments from detained businessmen, royals
The kingdom has reportedly demanded cash in exchange for the dropping of corruption charges
Businessman, officials and royals held as part of Saudi Arabia’s corruption probe are already starting to make payments to settle cases, according to reports.
Bloomberg cited sources as confirming some of the accused are already signing documents and transferring funds from their personal accounts to government-controlled ones.
http://gulfbusiness.com/saudi-begins-receiving-first-payments-detained-businessman-royals/
My comment: LOL. MbS making more money.
(A P)
The Sheikh of Ethiopia: How Saudi purge could disrupt an African country
Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi, one of Ethiopia's biggest investors, among those arrested in Saudi anti-corruption campaign
It remains unclear why Saudi authorities arrested Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi, an Ethiopian-born dual citizen who is reportedly the second richest Saudi, behind Prince al-Waleed bin Talal.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-ethiopia-amoudi-1767220934
(A P)
Saudi Arabia will issue its first tourist visas in 2018
is trying hard to change that.
The kingdom already welcomes millions of Muslims pilgrims who come to visit Mecca each year, and it is now gearing up to attract conventional tourists.
"The targets are people who want to literally experience this country and the grandness of this country," Prince Sultan bin Salman, head of the Saudi tourism and national heritage commission, told CNNMoney's Richard Quest.
Saudi Arabia plans to issue its first tourist visas in 2018, the prince said. Visas were previously restricted to people traveling to the country for work or to visit its holy sites.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/22/news/economy/saudi-arabia-tourist-visa/index.html
My comment: That’s really what everybody has waited for.
(* B P)
Saudi Arabia: Bold moves or brinksmanship?
Mohammad bin Salman is engaged in a risky bid to remake Saudi Arabia at the same time as rebalancing power regionally.
All eyes are on Saudi Arabia’s 32 year old Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, who is poised to claim the throne. He has emerged as the central player in recent developments, demonstrating a willingness to raise the stakes domestically and in the stand-off with Iran. This is a risky approach: there are limits to what Saudi Arabia can do to roll back Iranian influence without placing the region at risk. If it backfires, it could make Salman look more feckless than fearless.
The latest rhetorical salvo in the counter-Iran campaign came in an emergency Arab League session last weekend.
The Saudi tendency to view the Yemen conflict in counter-Iran terms heightens their determination to defeat and dislodge the Houthis, an objective that still looks distant two-and a-half years into their intervention. Mohammad bin Salman shows no sign of changing course.
Can this young, soon-to-be ruler succeed in remaking Saudi Arabia even as he tries to rebalance power regionally? History is full of examples of leaders using dramatic foreign gambits to distract from domestic challenges.
http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_saudi_arabia_bold_moves_or_brinksmanship
My comment: Still the image of “reformer”.
Comment: Lebanon. And Syria. And Yemen. And Qatar. And Libya. And Egypt. And Israel. It sorta hints that these alleged Saudi 'bold moves' were in actual fact manifestations of in-bred idiocy.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/933449154365358085
(* A P)
Today is the 2000th day that Raif Badawi has spent in prison in Saudi Arabia, for crimes that include:insulting Islam through electronic channels and apostasy. His sentence was ten years in prison, a thousand lashes, and a fine.
Essentially, he was arrested for his criticisms of Islam and the Saudi Government's reign. In his writings, which you can view here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/14/-sp-saudi-blogger-extracts-raif-badawi
https://www.facebook.com/jack.hawkins.5209/posts/10155176995797914?pnref=story
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1b
(* B K P)
The bizarre alliance between the US and Saudi Arabia is finally fraying
As the conflict in Yemen rages, there are plenty of signs that times are changing.
No US president since FDR has deviated even slightly from these terms – not even Barack Obama
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. That’s been the shameless position of Western governments when it comes to the Gulf kingdom. Successive US administrations, Democrat and Republican, have even stayed silent on the supposedly all-important issue of terrorism. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi citizens? No problem. “Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide,” according to a leaked State Department memo? Don’t worry about it. Islamic State is printing copies of Saudi textbooks to use in their schools? Ssshhhh.
Yet the conventional wisdom may be wrong. There are plenty of signs that times are changing – by Mehdi Hasan
But can a PR offensive save the House of Saud, which has beheaded far more people than Islamic State?
https://www.newstatesman.com/print/node/311408
(* B K P)
Film: Why is US Complicity in Yemen's Crisis Ignored?
After a lengthy "60 Minutes" report fails to even mention the vital US support for the devastating Saudi-led war on Yemen, Shireen Al-Adeimi says Americans are largely hidden from their government's complicity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=85&v=QRjX8SfZuVg
(* B K P)
Will Congress OK Saudi Orders For Boeing, Raytheon Weapons?
Saudi Arabia reportedly agreed to buy precision munitions from Boeing ( BA ) and Raytheon ( RTN ), but the $7 billion deal could get held up in Congress as lawmakers are concerned about civilian causalities in Riyadh's bombing campaigns in Yemen.
Lockheed Martin 's ( LMT ) has said Saudi Arabia wants to buy more than $28 billion in "integrated air and missile defense, combat ship, tactical aircraft and rotary wing technologies and programs."
In addition to precision weapons, Boeing's haul from the Saudis include Chinook helicopters and the P-8 reconnaissance plane.
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/will-congress-ok-saudi-orders-for-boeing-raytheon-weapons-cm881961
(* B K P)
Why Is Trump Backing Saudi’s Murderous Attacks on Yemen?
The United States is helping one of the most vicious authoritarian regimes in the world bomb and blockade one of the poorest and most defenseless countries in the world.
Painful as it may be for Americans to hear, war crimes are being committed with America’s support.
Let’s be clear: there is no credible strategic justification for US complicity in this abominable cruelty. The Saudis claim the war is necessary to crush the Houthi militants in Yemen, a group that has received backing from Iran.
Incidentally, Iranian support for the Houthis was negligible until well into the Saudi air campaign, with Iran boosting support largely in response to Riyadh’s offensive. In any case, the war itself has done more to bolster the position of Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen than to effectively push back against Iranian influence.
But even if that weren’t the case, nothing can justify this kind of brutal collective punishment and excruciating human suffering inflicted on millions of innocent people.
Shamefully, the issue doesn’t elicit nearly the level of outrage as President Trump’s Twitter feuds and rhetorical attacks on professional athletes. The public indifference is rather shocking.
And empowering some of the most violent and extreme elements within Yemen is likely to increase threats to U.S. national security down the road.
(* B P T)
Trump Resumes Abuse of ‘Terror List’
The U.S. government has long abused its “terrorism list” by including disfavored nations while leaving off “allies” implicated in 9/11 and other terror attacks, a practice President Trump has resumed, notes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
President Trump’s placement of North Korea on the official U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism continues a manipulation, by several administrations, of this list for reasons other than terrorism.
Other countries besides North Korea have been the subject of misuse of the state sponsor list.
Misusing the list of state sponsors of terrorism sends the message that the United States does not care all that much about terrorism itself. It undermines the credibility of efforts that really are focused on countering terrorism.
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/11/22/trump-resumes-abuse-of-terror-list/
(* A P)
With Saudi Blockade Threatening Famine in Yemen, U.S. Points Finger at Iran
White House pushes to release intel blaming Iran for attacks on Saudi Arabia
The White House is pressing to declassify intelligence allegedly linking Iran to short-range ballistic missile attacks by Yemeni insurgents against Saudi Arabia, part of a public relations blitz aimed at persuading America’s U.N. counterparts that Tehran is helping to fuel the country’s conflict.
The effort to cast blame on Iran comes at a time when the U.S.-backed Saudi military coalition in Yemen is facing mounting international condemnation for enforcing a blockade on vital ports that threatens to plunge the country into a massive famine.
The declassification push is part of a broader U.S. bid to isolate Tehran in the U.N. Security Council, and potentially to provide a justification for enforcing sanctions or imposing new penalties against Tehran.
My comment: Foreign policy US-style: absurd and inflating crisis.
(* B P)
TOP SAMANTHA POWER AIDE IS NOW LOBBYING TO UNDERMINE OPPONENTS OF YEMEN WAR
A public relations consultant and former U.S. diplomat enlisted by the UAE has worked to discredit U.S.-based groups raising awareness of atrocities in Yemen.
Hagar Chemali previously served as a top spokesperson for Samantha Power, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Now, she is paid six figures to shape the debate about the war at the U.N., including by discrediting NGOs that advance evidence of human rights violations in Yemen, according to public disclosures and emails obtained by The Intercept.
Shortly after leaving the U.N. in early 2016, Chemali set up a one-person consulting firm called Greenwich Media Strategies. In September of that year, she registered to work for the UAE Embassy as a “foreign agent” – a legal designation under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. That means she is paid to represent a foreign government.
In her current role, Chemali has reached out to journalists who cover the U.N. to undermine messaging from human rights groups critical of the war in Yemen.
https://theintercept.com/2017/11/22/uae-yemen-war-hagar-chemali-united-nations-samantha-power/
(* B P)
Biased Reporting on a Bad Guy: Mohammed bin Salman
Based upon some cursory research, all that I have time for at the moment, I suggest that the dominant media in America are biased in their reporting about this political potentate.
The preceding articles mainly sell bin Salman as progressive, modern, bold, daring, and innovative. They paint him as a great guy with youthful energy. His age is almost always mentioned.
You would not know that he started a war against Yemen unless you searched on “saudi aggression on yemen 2016”.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/biased-reporting-bad-guy-mohammed-bin-salman/
(* B P)
Freedom Rider: Obama's Crimes are Revealed Under Trump
The Saudi genocidal war against Yemen also got the silent treatment. The war crime began in 2015, with a stamp of approval and military assistance from the Obama administration. Saudi Arabia was also the number one partner in crime in the assaults on Libya and Syria.
Democrats in Congress went along in support of the mass killing.
Barack Obama's untouchability continues even as his human rights violations are revealed. His name is rarely connected to the catastrophes he unleashed. His friends still cover for him and leave his name off the perpetrators list despite the fact that he was at the top of the criminal gang.
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
Siehe / Look at cp1b
(A P)
Tory MPs accused of 'perks for questions' over Saudi Arabia visit
Conservative MPs have accepted nearly £100,000 ($133,300) in luxury hotel stays, business class flights and hospitality from Saudi Arabia this year, prompting a complaint to Parliament’s standards watchdog for a potential breach of the rules on declaring financial interests, Middle East Eye can reveal.
The latest figures from the Register of Members' Interests show that 13 Conservative MPs, including the influential former chair of Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC) Leo Docherty, have accepted a total of £87,467 ($116,600) in hospitality from the Saudi government this year, prompting concerns that MPs are being used to launder the reputation of the government in Riyadh.
(A P)
'Call the Saudi Crown Prince as a matter of urgency'
''I urge the Prime Minister to call the Saudi Crown Prince as a matter of urgency and demand the full lifting of the blockade. The longer the blockade stays in place the greater the risk that even more of Yemen's people will face lose their lives''
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1566308163422208
(A P)
Boris Johnson speaks to Saudi crown prince about Yemen
British foreign secretary spoke to Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz about situation in the war-afflicted state
Mr Johnson tweeted on Thursday night that he had “spoke[n] to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on urgency of humanitarian situation in Yemen. Stressed need for immediate humanitarian access into Hodeidah port & opening Sana’a airport to UN flights. But famine won’t be averted without commercial imports into all of Yemen”.
My comment: Most certainly no more war, no famine, no epidemics in Yemen without US, UK support of the Saudi war in Yemen.
(A P)
Britain Must Act To Prevent A Humanitarian Disaster In Yemen
Whatever the British Government’s good intentions towards Saudi Arabia, the crisis keeps getting worse
Saudi Arabia is punishing innocent people in Yemen, with no concrete evidence of missile smuggling into the country – by Fabian Hamilton MP
(* A P)
Update on Stop Arming Saudi Arabia
Dear Supporter,
What an amazing 15 days it has been!
We are now halfway through our 30 day Crowdfunding campaign and - thanks to people like you chipping in - we have already raised a fantastic £23,362! Thank you so much for getting behind the campaign!
Every donation we receive helps us to push ahead with our legal challenge against arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Will you take a minute today to help us reach our ambitious £30,000 target?
If everyone who has donated so far sends an email to 5 friends asking them to donate we could be close to our target in no time!
http://r.mail.crowdjustice.co.uk/10amnxtmcfale3f.html
Comment: https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(A P)
#German activists illuminate #Saudi embassy with pic of Mohammad Bin Salman in the form of #Hitler (photo)
(A P)
Bundesregierung muss Waffenlieferungen auf die arabische Halbinsel sofort stoppen
„Die Antworten der Bundesregierung (PDF)auf meine Schriftlichen Anfragen machen mich fassungslos. Im Jemen verhungern die Menschen wegen der saudischen Seeblockade. Und die Regierung aus CDU/CSU und SPD genehmigt die Lieferung der Instrumente dafür an die saudische Diktatur und ihren Alliierten aus den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten. Das muss sofort ein Ende haben“, erklärt Stefan Liebich. Der Außenpolitiker der Fraktion DIE LINKE weiter:
(* A E P)
Die saudische Siemensstadt
Der Siemens-Konzern bemüht sich um einen strategisch bedeutenden Großauftrag in Saudi Arabien. Dabei handelt es sich um den Auftrag zur Ausstattung der geplanten Megacity Neom mit Infrastruktur aller Art; das Milliardengeschäft brächte nicht nur hohe Gewinne, sondern verschaffte dem Münchner Unternehmen eine führende Rolle beim Aufbau einer hochmodernen, auf „Zukunftstechnologien“ ausgerichteten saudischen Industriemetropole.
https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/7455/
(* A P)
Blutiger Krieg im Jemen für deutsche Bundesregierung lediglich „innerstaatlicher bewaffneter Konflikt“
Die deutsche Bundesregierung will in den Kampfhandlungen jedoch keinen „Krieg“ erkennen können.
Alleine im Jahr 2016 wurden Rüstungsexporte im Wert von rund 530 Millionen Euro an die autoritär herrschenden Scheichs des Golfstaates genehmigt.
Vor diesem Hintergrund scheint es erklärlich, dass man von deutscher Regierungsseite nicht von einem Krieg sprechen will. Man will ja weder einen guten Kunden, noch in der Auseinandersetzung involvierte Nato-Partner verärgern.
Folglich wich Regierungssprecher Steffen Seibert anlässlich der letzten Bundespressekonferenz der Frage von RT Deutsch-Redakteur Kani Tuyala aus, ob die Kampfhandlungen für die Bundesregierung tatsächlich nur ein „innerstaatlicher Konflikt“ seien.
Auf die insistierende Frage des Journalisten Hans Jessen, ob die Bundesregierung denn nun davon ausgehe, dass im Jemen kein Krieg stattfinde, sprach die stellvertretende Sprecherin des auswärtigen Amtes, Maria Adebahr, letztlich unter Verweis auf das Völkerrecht, von einem „innerstaatlichen bewaffneten Konflikt“.
Blutiger Krieg im Jemen für deutsche Bundesregierung lediglich „innerstaatlicher bewaffneter Konflikt“
Die deutsche Bundesregierung will in den Kampfhandlungen jedoch keinen „Krieg“ erkennen können. Alleine im Jahr 2016 wurden Rüstungsexporte im Wert von rund 530 Millionen Euro an die autoritär herrschenden Scheichs des Golfstaates genehmigt. Vor diesem Hintergrund scheint es erklärlich, dass man von deutscher Regierungsseite nicht von einem Krieg sprechen will. Man will ja weder einen guten Kunden, noch in der Auseinandersetzung involvierte Nato-Partner verärgern.
Folglich wich Regierungssprecher Steffen Seibert anlässlich der letzten Bundespressekonferenz der Frage von RT Deutsch-Redakteur Kani Tuyala aus, ob die Kampfhandlungen für die Bundesregierung tatsächlich nur ein „innerstaatlicher Konflikt“ seien.
Auf die insistierende Frage des Journalisten Hans Jessen, ob die Bundesregierung denn nun davon ausgehe, dass im Jemen kein Krieg stattfinde, sprach die stellvertretende Sprecherin des auswärtigen Amtes, Maria Adebahr, letztlich unter Verweis auf das Völkerrecht, von einem „innerstaatlichen bewaffneten Konflikt“.
(* B K P)
''Saudi Arabia's crime in Yemen - supported by Washington, London and Berlin
A comment by Ernst Wolff.
To distract himself from all these problems, Bin Salman has now decided to drastically tighten the war against the Houthi rebels.
These numbers should make it clear to every human being what a monumental crime it is to completely shut off Yemen from the outside world under present conditions. But what are the governments of the world doing about it? Anyone who answers this question with "nothing" is wrong, at least in the case of the US, Britain and Germany. Their governments are not only guilty of failure to provide assistance, they are directly involved in the crime in Yemen and thus accomplices in a planned mass murder.
The Federal Republic of Germany, the world's third largest arms exporter in 2016, has been one of Saudi Arabia's most important arms suppliers for years, along with the United States and the United Kingdom.
he fact that the Federal Government is trying to silently ignore this gigantic Saudi Arabian crime against humanity and its own complicity shows once again who holds the political power in our country: a morally profoundly elite who exploits the profits of the armaments industry The financial industry behind her is so important that she is prepared to accept the willful killing of millions of people.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1566125226773835 linking also to the German original
(B P)
Hang zum Affront
Plötzlich fremdelt Außenminister Sigmar Gabriel mit der Politik Saudi-Arabiens im Nahen Osten und nennt dessen Vorgehen „Abenteurertum“
Noch nie hat ein deutscher Außenminister Saudi-Arabien so entschieden kritisiert wie Sigmar Gabriel während des Blitzbesuchs seines Amtskollegen aus Beirut. Er sei wie sein Gast beunruhigt über die – angeblich wegen eines Mordplans der Hisbollah – plötzliche Reise Saad al-Hariris nach Riad, ebenso über die befremdliche Art und Weise, in der Libanons Premier dort seinen Rücktritt erklärt habe. Obwohl Gabriel Saudi-Arabien nicht explizit genannt hat, stand außer Frage, auf wen die Bemerkung über „Abenteurertum“ gemünzt war, das sich im Nahen Osten „breitgemacht“ habe. Dies galt zweifelsfrei dem Vernichtungskrieg, den das saudische Königshaus gegen den Jemen führt, wie dem Versuch, einem Emirat wie Katar durch erpresserische Sanktionen Vasallentreue abzuringen.
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/sabine-kebir/hang-zum-affront
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
Israel: cp1b
(A P)
Canada deeply concerned by ongoing conflict in Yemen
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, made the following statement regarding the worsening conditions for people in Yemen:
“Canada is deeply concerned by the ongoing conflict in Yemen and its humanitarian impact on civilians, particularly women and children, who continue to bear the brunt of the fighting.
“Allowing full and unhindered access to lifesaving food, fuel and medicines for civilians in need is imperative. All ports of entry must also allow immediate shipments of humanitarian and commercial supplies to reduce the risk of famine and the spread of disease.
“We further urge all parties to the conflict to promptly resume peace talks. The people of Yemen need action and an end to the violence.’’
My comment: “deeply concerned”: What a document of hypocrisy! Canada had sold armed vehicles worth CDN $ 15 billion to Saudi Arabia, and the government had insisted in this sale. And exactly the same is coming from Australia:
(* A P)
Revolting Humanitarian Fraud On Yemen: The Cases Of Julie Bishop And Lisa Singh
Australia is partly responsible for the growing crisis in Yemen, writes Michael Brull. The Turnbull Government’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia are bad, but Labor’s feigned concern is in some ways worse.
Last year, Australia issued four export permits to Saudi Arabia. Since early June, Australia issued five more export permits to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi closures were announced about a week after Minister for Defence Industry, Christopher Pyne visited Saudi Arabia to promote an expansion of our military exports to the Saudi government.
Aside from military support for the war, Australia has supported it diplomatically, through a public statement by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
This support is also possible because of the cowardice of the Australian Labor Party, such as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, who released a vacuous expression of concern and hope that all sides will come together.
Other than isolated statements before and after the war started, Bishop has mostly been able to avoid commenting on the war on Yemen.
Amidst all the horrors in Yemen, there are some displays of humanitarianism from the ALP and Bishop.
This kind of humanitarian pretence is nothing short of disgusting. It almost seems like a taunt, to add insult to injury.
(* A P)
Stratfor looks at the strange Saudi – Israel alliance
Summary: Here Stratfor looks at the long-rumored tacit alliance between Saudi Arabia and Israel — against Iran. It has slowly grown for years, and has already had great force on the region. Combined with its third member, the United States, they can reshape the Middle East. Or at least try to do so.
Highlights.
The Iranian threat is pulling the once-clandestine relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia into the public eye.
But there are other factors encouraging the two countries to work more closely with each other, including their legitimacy at home and abroad.
As Israel and Saudi Arabia move into uncharted territory, both risk exposing themselves to pushback and new dangers.
https://fabiusmaximus.com/2017/11/25/stratfor-sees-the-strange-israel-saudi-alliance/
(* A P)
Lebanon's Jumblatt calls for Saudi-Iranian discussions
Top Lebanese Druze politician Walid Jumblatt on Saturday called on Saudi Arabia to enter dialogue with Iran and said that the Kingdom’s modernization plans could not work while Riyadh was engaged in a war in Yemen.
“Enough of the destruction and siege in Yemen and enough of the human and material drain on the Kingdom’s people and resources,” Jumblatt said. “Let the Yemeni people choose who it wants and you, Your Excellency the Prince, be the judge, the reformer, and the big brother as your ancestors were.”
Jumblatt also said it is very difficult to stop the war unless issues are
(A E P)
#UAE froze hundreds of bank accounts of ##Saudis upon Riyadh's request proving once again it is not a safe zone for investors
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/933761081914417152
(* B P)
Saudi Arabia: Israel's Dream State
Israel is happy to let Riyadh lead the anti-Iranian alliance, but not so happy to pay the political price of real cooperation.
Saudi Arabia is the dream of the Jewish state. Its behavior toward Iran makes mincemeat out of the axiom behind Israel’s security strategy, namely that all Arab states seek to destroy it, but in return Saudi Arabia reinforces Iran’s status as the ultimate enemy.
One might expect that such an alliance with an Arab power that sees eye-to-eye with Israel regarding its greatest enemy would demand some serious consideration of Saudi interests in the Israeli-Palestinian arena.
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.822797
(A P)
Film: Why Wont Australia Condemn Saudi Blockade of #Yemen? Senator Whish-Wilson:
https://www.facebook.com/NotoWahabism/videos/1386810934780818/
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
(A P)
Head of General Security for the #Emirate of Dubai: The #Saudi-led coalition should bomb #Qatar's al-Jazeera channel.
#US-ally UAE can't tolerate anyone exposing their warcrimes in #Yemen (image)
(A P)
#Saudi govt set to publish "confessions" & details of jailed Salafi activists arrested in September linking them to #Qatar & alleged terror plot. Looks like a pretext to military action on #Qatar.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/934199255727788033
Comment. All of them were under drugs and torture and the government will make them confess under force and torture .
https://twitter.com/exsaudimuslim/status/934200668075757568
(* A P)
Saudi policies destabilising Middle East, says Qatar foreign minister
Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani's comments come at counter-terrorism event, where experts said war against IS far from over
Saudi Arabia’s policies in Yemen and Lebanon, driven by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are fracturing the Middle East where authoritarian rule threatens to create an environment perfect for terrorism, Qatar’s foreign minister said at a conference in London on Thursday.
The policies have created a “humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, divided the Gulf states by attacking Qatar without an exit strategy and tried to pressurise the prime minister of Lebanon to resign will just leave a power vacuum,” Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told journalists.
“It has all been counterproductive to the stability of the region.”
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-policies-fracturing-middle-east-breeding-terrorism-says-qatari-fm-1631181928 and also https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/23/autocracies-breed-terror-middle-east-qatar-foreign-minister
cp12b Libanon / Lebanon
Siehe / Look at https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/libanon-mosaik-lebanon-mosaic-5
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
(* B K P)
La France complice d’un crime de masse au Yémen
Les armes utilisées pour massacrer le peuple yéménite, la coalition ne les a pas trouvées au pied d’un sapin de Noël. Ce sont des armes occidentales. Les bombes larguées sur les enfants yéménites sont d’une précision remarquable. Félicitations ! Le système de guidage électronique est français. Grâce à leur rayon d’action, les F-35 saoudiens peuvent frapper où ils veulent. Encore bravo, les avions-ravitailleurs sont français. Le blocus maritime qui affame la population yéménite est d’une redoutable efficacité. Cocorico, la marine française y participe. L’histoire retiendra que Hollande et Macron ont fait crever les enfants yéménites.
Que vaut la vie de ces pauvres gosses, en regard de notre merveilleuse industrie de la mort ? La monarchie saoudienne est le premier client de la France. Elle lui a acheté 9 milliards d’armes entre 2010 et 2016, soit 15 à 20 % des exportations françaises. Sans états d’âme, la République arme le bras de l’assassin.
Curieusement, le chœur des pleureuses est aux abonnés absents. Il est vrai qu’on n’est pas en Syrie. Ni “Casques blancs” experts en maquillage, ni parlementaires écolos en vadrouille, ni droits-de-l’hommistes pour signer des pétitions. Le Yémen n’intéresse personne à Saint-Germain-des-Prés
http://arretsurinfo.ch/la-france-complice-dun-crime-de-masse-au-yemen/
(* B K P)
Another SYRIZA official says Saudi weapons deal not a good idea
Interior Minister Panos Skourletis says that the decision to sell missiles and bombs to Saudi Arabia was not a good idea as they may be used in Yemen, echoing sentiments expressed by other lawmakers of the ruling party.
Speaking on state-run ERT TV on Thursday night, Skourletis, said that “obviously, every country has the right to make use of its surplus weaponry, but we should have been much more cautious about such moves as a country with the size of Greece cannot be selling weaponry and be indifferent to how it will be used," he said.
His comments followed the call by former Education Minister Nikos Filis on Thursday for the deal to be scrapped.
My comment: Oh my God, also Greece had sold arms to Saudi Arabia. Who didn’t? Vatican, San Marino, Tonga, Samoa??
(* B P)
Shadow World Exposes Greed, Profit and the Business of War
A new PBS documentary looks deep into the shadowy world of the global arms trade, profit-making from war, and the politicians who sell the interests of their constituents to the highest bidder
In his first year in office, President Donald Trump has earnestly played the role of salesman-in-chief for United States arms manufacturers.
The U.S. accounts “for more than half the world’s annual arms deals.” Trump may make it much easier for the government to sell weapons by enlisting the Pentagon and State Department to more aggressively peddle the products of U.S. arms manufacturers.
Trump’s actions reinforce all the most profoundly disturbing aspects of “Shadow World,” a documentary based on Andrew Feinstein’s book on the global arms trade that premiered on PBS at 9:30 pm ET.
The film manages to cover quite a bit of history from President Ronald Reagan to President Barack Obama. Many of the key arguments in the film come from journalist Vijay Prashad, who condemns policymaking on the “assumption of greed” and how it has ruined the world.
“A society that decides that the bulk of its budget is going to go to arms manufacturing, building up military, etc.—they have made a moral decision that militarism is more important than the creation of well being for the population,” Prashad declares.
This policymaking, which capitalist Milton Friedman champions in the film, opened the flood gates for a world economy that incorporates and flourishes on permanent war.
http://www.mintpressnews.com/shadow-world-exposes-greed-profit-and-the-business-of-war/234748/ and trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuwQlsTXYw8
and this is the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCM9bqcdzqs
(* A K P)
Saudi Arabia agrees to buy $7 billion in precision munitions from U.S. firms: sources
Saudi Arabia has agreed to buy about $7 billion worth of precision guided munitions from U.S. defense contractors, sources familiar with the matter said, a deal that some lawmakers may object to over American weapons having contributed to civilian deaths in the Saudi campaign in Yemen.
Raytheon Co (RTN.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N) are the companies selected, the sources said, in a deal that was part of a $110 billion weapons agreement that coincided with President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May.
My comment: Odd, criminal, walking in lakes of blood.
Comment: There has obviously been a deal - the provision of precision weapons in return for opening the port - if we can't exterminate Yemenis by starvation then can we do it by bombing them to death?
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156135007878641
and
(* A H)
Film: ICYMI #Saudi agrees to buy $7 billion in precision munitions from U.S. firms - It's estimated 10k+ civilians have died in #Yemen since war began, majority in Saudi coalition airstrikes. I will never forget meeting 8 yr-old Faris in #Sanaa last August
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/933595942472880128
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
(* A E P)
After Discovering Involvement in Smuggling Money on Board of Chinese Ships, Ben Doghr’s Government Admits the Scandal.
The Government of Ahmed Ben Doghr admitted distributing Yemeni currency printed abroad, without monetary coverage, in local markets and this caused unprecedent severe degeneration of the national currency. In its statement, issued on Saturday evening and published by SABA Yemeni News Agency, the government indicated that it brought 36 billion Yemeni Riyals printed abroad into Yemen via a Chinese ship – “Devon Trader” – and this raised wide fuss in Adan and other southern governorates. The statement came after discovering a scandal of smuggling the mentioned sum of money on board the Chinese ship, but the government delayed in explaining the situation.
and
(* A H P)
UAE forces stormed Aden seaport & prevented a Chinese ship from unloading cargo Wednesday. https://twitter.com/fuadrajeh/status/933639794810347520
(* B E H)
The Air Strikes Continue, But A Yemeni Entrepreneur Brings Jobs To His People
This is what it’s like to be an entrepreneur in Yemen, where there is a war. On the day I interviewed 27-year-old Saeed Alfagieh, he had just received word that one of his company’s regular contractors had died in a nearby city, which is under airstrikes. Many companies, big grocery stores and electronic chains, have packed up and left the capital, which is in a period of relative calm now. More than a year ago, Alfaghieh was in the streets when there was a particularly big air strike, He saw houses destroyed, girls running, and bodies on the streets.
The war hasn’t stopped his company, an on- and off-line jobs platform called AnaMehani , from growing. His 12 employees go out on the streets to sign up workers for their jobs platform despite the risk of strikes, he said, and they find laborers waiting for them. Companies still have some jobs to fill. Mothers need nannies. Everyone needs to work.
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(A T)
Yesterday's #MosqueAttack in #Egypt appears to have horrified even some #alQaeda jihadists (or, cynically, given AQ an opportunity to pose as the good guy versus #ISIS) - some pro-#AQAP #Yemen wires are re-circulating Batarfi's Sept 2015 address outlawing the targeting of mosques (photo)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/934444863793303552
(A T)
#IslamicState claims today’s gun assassination of a criminal investigations officer in #Aden #Yemen. Interesting to note that this #ISIS claim appears less well informed than local news wires reporting the incident.
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/934428066356621312
(A T)
#AlQaeda #Yemen appears to be struggling with comms. It's still catching up with claiming ops while its wire was down 6-21 Nov. Further to my previous tweet #AQAP has now added 4 more ops vs Houthis:
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/934384015976615937
(A T)
#AlQaeda #Yemen claims it killed & injured Houthis in a bomb at 11am yesterday in al-Sabra region of Ibb. This is the 1st #AQAP activity claimed in Ibb for 3.5 weeks.
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/933997235351773184
(A T)
#AlQaeda #Yemen's official wire went down between 6 & 21 November. It has just caught up & #AQAP now claims 10 #jihad ops during that period: 7 in Abyan, all bombs vs Security Belt forces 2 in al-Bayda', pushing back vs Houthis 1 in Hadramawt, assassination of Elite Force officer
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/933775742999068672
(* A T)
Drone strike kills seven al-Qaeda suspects in Yemen
The strike killed seven people travelling in three vehicles on a road from the southern province of Shabwa to the central province of Bayda.
A drone strike has killed seven suspected members of Al-Qaeda in southern Yemen, a security official said on Sunday.
The United States is the only force known to operate armed drones over Yemen.
"A drone likely to be American" killed all seven overnight as they were aboard three vehicles on the road from the southern province of Shabwa to the central province of Bayda, the official said.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/11/26/drone-strike-kills-seven-al-qaeda-suspects-yemen
and
(* A T)
#Yemen press is reporting suspected #alQaeda militants killed late y'day by US #drone strike against vehicle(s) traveling through Markha al-'Ulya district of Shabwa. Reports vary between 1&3 vehicles & 3&7 jihadists struck. #AQAP has not yet reported any "martyrs".
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/934792873178009600
(* A T)
Two civilians killed in US drone strikes in Beidha
The sources said that the airstrikes killed Ahmed Salem Mabkhoot and Mohammed Mosid Obad, two farmers who were returning home from their farms by motorbike.
The sources said: "The two killed have no links to any armed groups, they were after farming only."
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-13164
My comment: Who’s the “terrorist”?
(* A T)
US intensifies drone strikes in Yemen’s Baydha
Several Al Qaida and Daesh militants have been killed according to local activists in the province
US drones have carried out a string of strikes in Yemen’s central province of Baydha, killing several Al Qaida and Daesh militants as well as at least five civilians, residents and local media outlets said.
On Thursday morning, residents said that US drones and fighter jets from the Saudi-led coalition launched heavy airstrikes on rugged mountains in Gayfa region in Baydha, apparently targeting Daesh and Al Qaida military camps or fugitive militants hiding there.
Residents said that the US drones hovered over Gayfa for hours on Wednesday evening and intermittently fired missiles at the mountains.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/us-intensifies-drone-strikes-in-yemen-s-baydha-1.2129393
and
(A T)
Yesterday a drone strike killed two civilians in Al Bayda.
It never reached headlines.
Reports claim a child was one of the victims.
Militant?
(* B T)
How US Tries to Link Iran to Al Qaeda
Translated Doc Debunks Narrative of Al Qaeda-Iran ‘Alliance’
Exclusive: Media fell into neoconservative trap, again.
In early November, however, the mainstream media claimed to have its “smoking gun”—a CIA document written by an unidentified Al Qaeda official and released in conjunction with 47,000 never-before-seen documents seized from Osama bin Laden’s house in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
But none of those media reports were based on any careful reading of the document’s contents. The 19-page Arabic-language document, which was translated in full for TAC, doesn’t support the media narrative of new evidence of Iran-Al Qaeda cooperation, either before or after 9/11, at all. It provides no evidence whatsoever of tangible Iranian assistance to Al Qaeda. On the contrary, it confirms previous evidence that Iranian authorities quickly rounded up those Al Qaeda operatives living in the country when they were able to track them down, and held them in isolation to prevent any further contact with Al Qaeda units outside Iran.
Since then, Iran has clearly regarded it as an extreme sectarian terrorist organization and its sworn enemy. What has not changed is the determination of the U.S. national security state and the supporters of Israel to maintain the myth of an enduring Iranian support for Al Qaeda – by Gareth Porter
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/translated-doc-debunks-narrative-of-al-qaeda-iran-alliance/ = https://consortiumnews.com/2017/11/23/how-us-ties-to-link-iran-to-al-qaeda/
(A T)
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula militants broke al Houthi-Saleh offensives on multiple sites in al Bayda governorate on November 20, according to a pro-AQAP channel. [2]
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
KSRelief chief says organization implemented 161 projects in Yemen through 86 local and global partners
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1199251/saudi-arabia
32 Relief trucks provided by KSRelief arrive in Marib governorate, Yemen
http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1691648
KSRelief launches anti-mosquito campaign in Yemen
https://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/813263
My comment: More of Saudi off humanitarian propaganda, while the greatest part of the Yemenis is victim of Saudi bombing and blockade.
(A P)
Saudi Royal Court Adviser Decries Houthi Militias Obtaining Far-Reaching Ballistic Missiles
Adviser at the Saudi Royal Court and Supervisor of King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabia'ah, currently on a visit to Norway, condemned terrorist organizations such as Houthi militias, which recently launched a missile with a range of more than 1500 km, targeting King Khalid International Airport.
Speaking at a high-level meeting of the Partnership for Permanent Peace, in Yemen, held on Thursday, he condemned international silence in face of the attacks by Houthi militias, and constant firing of ballistic missiles on the Saudi border cities with Yemen.
He explained that the silence continued until these militias had the audacity to launch these missiles against a civilian airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
My comment: LOL. International silence? That’s the event in the Yemen war which got most international attention in the last time. – “audacity to launch these missiles against a civilian airport”?? The Saudis have the “audacity” to bomb civilian targets in Yemen since 975 days now – day by day.
(A P)
Arab Coalition: Ballistic Missile Targeting Riyadh Airport Arrived Via Hodeidah Port
The Arab Coalition backing the Yemeni internationally-recognized government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi announced on Friday that the ballistic missile which targeted Riyadh's civilian airport earlier his month was trafficked through the Red Sea port of Hodiedah.
Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki released a statement saying that the missile launched towards the city of Riyadh on Nov 4 had entered through Yemen's port of Hodeidah.
My comment: This is how such odd propaganda works. At first, claim that the missile had been supplied by Iran. Proof: None; a commission of UN experts rejects this claim. Nevertheless, keep it running and use it to totally block Yemen and to pummel Lebanon. Secondly, extend the false first claim to a second one: That the missile arrived via Hodeida. Any evidence? No. Then use this new claim to again claim that for this “reason” the Houthis must be driven out of Hodeida. Next step: Either again pummel the UN to fix that by political means, or threaten everyone by the idea of a military assault. – And, the joke: The missile really might have arrived via Hodeida; was it in might-be in 1984, 1993 or 2001?
(A P)
Houthi-Saleh militias expose children to acute violence
The militias implicated children in the conflict as witnesses, direct victims and largely as forced participants. Human rights organizations say children constitute 50% of the radical militias' fighters in all warfronts in the country.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-13130
My comment: Looking at Saudi bombings and the effects of Saudi hunger holocaust on children, this just is odd propaganda. And if you would look through all these Houthi videos from the battlefield you will wonder where all these assumed 50 % children fighters would be.
(A P)
Yemen’s Justice Minister Says Coup Militias Looted, Destroyed Courthouses
Yemen’s Justice Minister Jamal Mohammed Omar said Houthi militias and forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh destroyed and looted all courts and prosecution offices they invaded and turned them into military headquarters.
Speaking at the opening session of Arab justice ministers’ meeting in Cairo, Omar said members of the judiciary have not received their wages in more than a year, adding that many of them were arrested or excluded by militias thus halting the judiciary’s work in most districts they control.
My comment: Nice; but it’s the Hadi government’s fault that state employes did not get their salaries for one year now. – And what did happen to the lawsuit at Sanaa against president Hadi?
Comment: Ye Gods what is the worst sin - exterminating a population by starvation and disease or looting a courthouse - if that actually has happened. The trouble with Saudi is that it tells do many lies and distorts so many facts that you can't believe anything from a Saudi source.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156138455993641
(A P)
America Reveals How Iran Funds Instability in Yemen
The Saudi government’s attempts to resolve the crisis through mediation were met with Iranian intransigence, including public gloating from senior Iranian officials that “three Arab capitals [Beirut, Damascus, and Baghdad] have already fallen into Iran’s hands and belong to the Iranian Islamic Revolution”, and Sanaa was now the fourth. This brazen sectarian intrusion into Yemen helped catalyse a counter-reaction, emboldening the Islamic State’s branch in the country, which conducted hideous atrocities against Zaydi Shi’is. The Huthis and Iran pressed on. On 21 March 2015, the Huthis, by now linked-up with forces loyal to fallen president Saleh, began marching on Aden, where the remnants of Hadi’s government had gathered.
There have been serious inadequacies in the targeting of the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes and while Iran’s belligerence has contributed mightily to the ongoing threat of famine, that is not a political-media dispute the Saudis can win.
The Saudi interest and goal in Yemen is stability, a grindingly difficult mission. By contrast, Iran works best in chaotic environments where sectarian passions are inflamed – by Kyle Orton
http://henryjacksonsociety.org/2017/11/23/america-reveals-how-iran-funds-instability-in-yemen/
My comment: This really is odd propaganda; for the society read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Jackson_Society and you know more.
(A P)
Yemen Insurgents Accused of Raising Gas Cylinder's Prices
The price of a gas cylinder in Tihama and Azal districts in Yemen, under Houthi control, has reached about 8,000 Yemeni Riyal, given that its price and distribution cost in liberated areas within the legitimate government's control is around 950 Yemeni Riyal, according to a Yemeni legitimate government official.
My comment: That’s relay odd: Blaming the Houthis for the consequences of the Saudi blockade and panicking markets.
(A P)
Situation of Yemeni children signals approach of disaster, says Minister
She cited as such signals the increased recruitment of child soldiers and child dropout and truancy from schools turned to military posts by the radical rebel militias of the former dictator Ali Saleh and his extremist Shiit allies of Houthis.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-13088
My comment: Yes, it is a disaster. The worst role in this drama is played by Saudi Arabia, however.
(A H P)
KSRelief General Supervisor, Norway Deputy FM Discuss Humanitarian Aid in Yemen
(A H P)
KSRelief launches $262m child development program in Yemen
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) will set up 116 projects totaling $262 million in education, protection and early recovery for children in war-ravaged Yemen.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1197626/saudi-arabia
My comment: “war-ravaged”!! Mostly by Saudi Arabia.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(* A K PH)
The Violation and Crimes that are committed by #Saudi_Arabia and its alliance in #Yemen 22-24 Nov 2017
https://twitter.com/LCRDye/status/933680907399155712 (Arabic only)
https://twitter.com/LCRDye/status/933780430658121729 (Arabic only)
(A K PH)
US-Saudi aggression attacks several provinces
The US-backed Saudi aggression fighter jets and battleships waged on Friday several attacks on cities and villages in a number of Yemenis provinces, Jizan and Najran over the past hours.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480343.htm
(A K PH)
Film: Alliance of aggression targets car of citizens in the road Link between the two directorates Munabih and Ghmar in # Saada prov. 23-11-2017
Citizen Ahmed Khalfan and his wife are new victims of the brutal forces of aggression.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeKwHRceWtg = https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/933810501066330114
(A K PS)
Coalition aircrafts target Houthi's warehouse, sites in al Baydah
The Saudi-led Arab coalition aircraft launched several air raids on the Houthi-Saleh forces sites in al Aleab mountain located between Khabza area and al Manaseh area of Qaift Rada'a district in al Bayda province, central Yemen, resulting in the explosion of ammunition warehouse and the destruction of a machine gun 14.5
http://almasdaronline.com/article/95714
(A K PS)
Arab Coalition raids kill more than 80 Houthis in Taiz, Sana'a, Saada provinces
The Saudi-led Arab coalition aircraft launched two air raids on the Houthis-Saleh forces sites in Hijat al Jin area of Hayfan district southern Taiz province, southwestern Yemen, killing 12, wounding others and destroying military vehicles. Government forces said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led Arab coalition aircraft launched on last Monday five air raids on the Houthis training camp in Anjer area of Hamadan district northern the capitan Sana'a, killing 52 and wounding dozens. A local source told Almasderonline on Thursday.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/95713
My comment: As claimed.
(* A K)
Yemen Today daily news alert: a @WHOYemen truck loaded with aid was struck by a Saudi led airstrike in Selw area of Taiz province, Yemen.
https://twitter.com/shuaibalmosawa/status/933330303598415873
(A K PH)
Film: See the crimes of the Saudi American aggression against the citizens in Al - Jawf Governorate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhagBTxPmKs = https://almasirah.net/gallery/preview.php?file_id=9999 = https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/933454560718356481
(A K PH)
Citizen killed in Saudi bomb in Jawf
A citizen was killed on Thursday when a Saudi bomb exploded in al-Maton district of Jawf province, an official told Saba.
The Saudi warplanes were the bomb on the district earlier, the official added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480265.htm
(A K PS)
VIDEO: #Kuwaiti Air Force KC-130J refuels #RSAF Typhoons in support of Operation #RestoreHope
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/933440664343326721
More air raids recorded on:
Nov. 26:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480445.htm Taiz prov.
Nov. 25:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480436.htm Saada prov., Asir (KSA)
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480359.htm Taiz prov.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480358.htm Saada prov.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480357.htm Saada prov., Najran (KSA)
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480356.htm Nehm
Nov. 23:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480227.htm Hajjah prov.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480220.htm Nehm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480210.htm Al Baida prov.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480209.htm Saada prov.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480242.htm Hodeida prov.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news480207.htm Hodeida prov.
(B K)
#UAE CH-47F Chinook flying over Ma'rib in central #Yemen (photo
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/933796592783626240
(* B K)
Innocent children in #Saada #Yemen suffer chemical burns: results of Saudi bombs #HappyThanksgiving (photo9
https://twitter.com/m_audin/status/933782444611964928
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
(A K PS)
Houthi snipers kill 7 year old boy and adult woman in Taiz
A sniper stationed in al-Salal hilltop military site shot the boy Mohammed Qays dead near his house in Wadi Salah on Thursday killing him immediately. The bullet hit his heart.
Another Houthi sniper shot dead a pedestrian adult woman in front of her rented residence in another location, Wadi al-Aman in western Taiz, in the same day. (photo)
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-13163
(A K PS)
#Saudi-led Coalition forward operating base in #Yemen supporting the ongoing Yemeni Army ops to restore the country's legitimacy from the Iranian-backed militias (photos)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/933807576927625216
(A K PH)
Saudi Lead-Headed Coalition battleships shell Al-Amri schools in Dhubab Ta'ez.
https://twitter.com/commonsense575/status/933858400559095809
(* A K PS)
Al-Houthi Militias Target Civilians in Al-Subaiha with Several Casualties Among Women and Children
Al-Houthi militias targeted a bus carrying women and children refugees who were trying to escape from Al-Gawazea – Al-Kubaita, on Wednesday noon. Local sources indicated that refugees were heading to Adan to escape fierce clashes in the area. The same sources asserted that tens of casualties, most of them were women and children, fell because of these attacks as the most serious injury was of a child called Ibrahim Shafia who was transferred to Médecins sans frontiers (MSF) hospital.
(A K)
PMN-1 anti-personnel mines left behind by Houthi/Saleh forces after their advance was defeated by 19th Infantry Brigade in Usaylan #Shabwa. #SouthYemen (photos)
https://twitter.com/demolinari/status/933057517092868096
(A K)
Mortars used by #UAE-supported 3rd Amaliqa Brigade active on the #Mokha front. (film)
https://twitter.com/demolinari/status/933093513230561280
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-359-yemen-war-mosaic-359
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-359 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-359:
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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