Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
Zuerst: Verschleppte der Huthis / At first: Houthi detainees
cp1 Am wichtigsten: Blockade / Most important: Blockade
cp1a Seuchen / Epidemics
cp1b Houthi-Saleh-Allianz zerbricht / Houthi-Saleh alliance is breaking
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 Friedensverhandlungen / UN and peace talks
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
cp12b Libanon / Lebanon
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Söldner / Mercenaries
cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Klassifizierung / Classification
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**
*
(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
Now there are chaos and clashes at Sanaa, the Houthis are pulled out of the city: When Hisham Al-Omeisy and the other detainees will be released now?
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
(** B K P)
Infographic and figures: Which EU countries export arms to Saudi Arabia?
Top ten countries according to value of licences issued [scroll over infographic]
https://infogram.com/which-eu-countries-export-arms-to-saudi-arabia-1hnq41nxxzwk63z
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United Nations leaders call on the Saudi-led coalition to fully lift blockade of Yemeni Red Sea ports
Joint statement The partial lifting of the blockade of Yemen's Red Sea ports by the Saudi-led coalition in recent days is allowing humanitarian organizations to resume the provision of life-saving assistance to people in desperate need. Given the massive scale of Yemen's humanitarian crisis, however, all this does is slow the collapse towards a massive humanitarian tragedy costing millions of lives. It does not prevent it. Without the urgent resumption of commercial imports, especially food, fuel and medicines, millions of children, women and men risk mass hunger, disease and death.
Ongoing commercial import restrictions have led to shortages of fuel, food and other essentials, driving up prices and devastating lives and livelihoods. The price of wheat flour has risen by 30 per cent, while the price of fuel has doubled and that of trucked water has skyrocketed by 600 per cent in some locations.
Urban water networks in seven cities have run out of fuel and now depend on humanitarian organizations to fill in the gap. Other cities will shortly be in a similar situation if the blockade is not lifted, which would leave 11 million people without safe water.
In other areas, people are reducing their food consumption to dangerous levels in order to pay for the rising cost of water trucking, or are turning to contaminated water sources to meet their basic needs. This further compounds the risk of disease, especially among children.
Less than half of the health facilities are functioning, and more hospitals and health centers will close should fuel and water supplies not improve. Sewage networks in six main cities are compromised, threatening a renewed spike in the country's cholera outbreak, which has reached almost 1 million suspected cases and killed over 2,200 people.
Yemen remains on the cusp of one of the largest famines in modern times. Nearly 400,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition and face an increased risk of death. More than 8 million people could starve without urgent food assistance coming into Yemen. With 90 per cent of the country's food imported, the lack of commercial imports through Red Sea ports would alone push a further 3 million people into starvation. The threat of widespread famine in a matter of months is very real.
This imminent catastrophe is entirely avoidable, but it requires immediate action by the coalition. While three ships carrying food have been granted permission to berth at Hudaydah port in recent days, four fuel tankers and ten ships carrying food have all been waiting for permission to enter port. Together, we call on the coalition to urgently open up all Yemeni Red Sea ports fully and to facilitate the entry and free-flow of humanitarian and vital commercial goods.
The United Nations is sending a team to Riyadh to discuss any concerns the coalition and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia may have in relation to these ports. But we need the coalition to urgently grant unimpeded access for imports that are a lifeline for millions of people.
(** B H P)
How the Saudi Blockade Threatens Famine in Yemen
Averting famine will require Saudi Arabia to permit the resumption of commercial shipping of food and fuel to the besieged country.
Interview by Zachary Laub, Oxfam America’s Scott Paul, Interviewee
Essentially the blockade is still in place. Over the past three weeks, what started out as a total blockade morphed into a blockade of Houthi- and Saleh-held ports and crossings, including the port of Hodeidah. It’s the main artery for about 75 percent of Yemen’s population. Now humanitarian aid shipments may be let in, but in the big picture, little has changed.
The most important commodity is fuel, followed by food and medicine. Many parts of Yemen have already run out of fuel or will run out of fuel in the coming days. It’s needed to pump and treat water, run hospitals, and refrigerate everything from food to medicine, not to mention to enable transport of people and of aid workers. Without fuel, the predicted famine, the likes of which many of us have never lived through, will still be on track.
The post-apocalyptic nightmare is already here. Seventeen million people don’t know where they’re getting their next meal; that’s more than half the country. Seven million people are on the verge of famine.
According to Save the Children, 130 children die every day there from preventable disease, largely stemming from malnutrition. UNICEF said a year ago that a child under five dies every ten minutes from preventable disease. That’s been the reality probably dating back to late 2015. It’s escalated gradually from that point.
Broad segments of the population have been barely surviving, based on the little savings or credit that they or their neighbors have left. Interrupting the supply of fuel and food, such that food prices go up even further when no one has any income, endangers that broad swath of the population that’s just barely made it so far.
Allowing a World Food Program ship [carrying wheat] is a positive step, and the clearance of aid flights in and out of Sana’a is too, but no one should take for granted that the steps that have been announced will be fully and evenly implemented.
From the moment this blockade was announced, the key issue has been commercial shipments into Hodeidah port. Hodeidah is the only port that has proximity to Sana’a and the [northern] highlands, water depth, commercial infrastructure, dock infrastructure, and distribution networks for large quantities of food, fuel, and other commodities. Other ports just can’t make up for that. Grain and fuel companies aren’t set up to do business [elsewhere].
As a matter of course, a ship that is cleared by UNVIM then needs to request clearance from the Saudi-led coalition. UNVIM usually provides clearance in twenty-four to seventy-two hours. The coalition’s process lasts much longer and is unnecessary, because there’s no evidence that fuel tankers or bulk carriers are carrying the contraband that the coalition wants to stop.
This is not about preventing weapons shipments, because the ships that are being stopped have never even been alleged to contain weapons and are being screened by the United Nations. It has been clear for a long time that Saleef port and, in particular, Hodeidah port have been of huge strategic value to both sides. The fact that the Houthis control them has been a problem for the Saudi-led coalition and the government of Yemen.
(** B K P)
Saudi Prince Delivering Yemen Right Into Arms of Iran
The Houthi fighters are tougher than you think, and are no Persian proxies---yet.
Ironically, the brutal war is in danger of creating what Saudi Arabia fears most: a determined and capable Iranian influenced proto-state like Hezbollah on its southern border.
The war has helped solidify an unlikely and still fragile alliance between the Houthis and their former enemy, Ali Abdulla Saleh.
The Houthis are admired in Yemen for one thing: their tenacity and courage as fighters. Beyond this, their popularity in northwest Yemen is limited and will wane without the persistent threat of Saudi Arabia and its motely mix of proxy forces. This is not to say that the Houthis will not continue to be a force in Yemen. They will. The Houthis will be a part of any political solution in Yemen and some of their leaders will demand at the very least token positions within any future Yemeni government. There is nothing Saudi Arabia can do to stop this. However, by ending its war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia can prevent the Houthis from becoming another Hezbollah.
If the war continues in Yemen, the Houthis—who are currently not Iranian proxies—may well seek out closer ties with both Iran and Hezbollah.
This increasing capability is not—as Saudi Arabia would have the world believe—due to Iranian aid. There is little evidence that Iran or Hezbollah is directly aiding the Houthis.
Now the Houthis are allied with the best trained and equipped parts of the Yemeni military, namely the Republican Guard.
This cross-pollination extends beyond tactics to the development of re-engineered and modified military hardware like the missiles that the Houthis and their allies have launched toward Saudi Arabia. Before the war, Yemen possessed a considerable stockpile of short and medium range missiles that it had purchased from the former Soviet Union and North Korea. While most of these weapons systems are antiquated and many are in disrepair, the Yemeni Missile Brigades, which are the units within the army charged with maintaining and launching the missiles, possess a wealth of expertise with a wide variety of durable systems.
As with many other parts of the Yemeni Army, officers and NCOs are accustomed to improvising and re-engineering needed parts for weapons systems due to a persistent lack of funds and shortages. The engineers, NCOs, and officers within the Yemeni Missile Brigades are more than capable of re-engineering the kinds of missiles that are being used to target Saudi Arabia.
They do not require Iranian aid for this and if such aid were being rendered, it is unlikely that the missiles would be missing their targets. A recent leaked confidential UN report dismisses the claims that the missiles are the work of Iran.
While the missiles that are being launched from Yemen toward Saudi Arabia have yet to hit their targets, the fact that the Houthis and their allies are able to re-engineer and launch such missiles points to the very real threat that Saudi Arabia faces if it continues its war. The longer the war continues the stronger the alliance between the Houthis, Saleh, and a considerable part of the Yemeni military becomes.
Saudi Arabia can mitigate the threat posed by the Houthis by simply ending its war – by Michael Horton, a senior analyst for Arabian affairs at the Jamestown Foundation
(** B K P)
Misusing Intelligence to Sell Conflict with Iran
Although nobody knows exactly where Donald Trump intends to go with his campaign of seeking confrontation with Iran, his administration already has provided disconcerting parallels with the techniques an earlier U.S. administration used in selling its launching of a war against Iraq. Among these techniques is the cherry-picking of intelligence not to inform policy-making or to enlighten the public but instead to inculcate false perceptions among the public and thereby to muster support for a policy already chosen.
The parallels have become remarkably close as the Trump administration has tried to get people to believe there is some sort of cooperation and common purpose between Iran and al-Qaeda.
FDD duly did its part in the insinuation by highlighting a single document that it depicted as suggesting some sort of Iranian assistance to al-Qaeda. This was despite the fact that the thrust of the Abbottabad documents as far as Iran is concerned is that Tehran was in conflict, not cooperation, with al-Qaeda.
Now Colum Lynch and Dan De Luce at Foreign Policy report that the White House, in the latest bit of cherry-picking, “is pressing to declassify intelligence allegedly linking Iran to short-range ballistic missile attacks by Yemeni insurgents against Saudi Arabia”. Our antennae ought to be raised very high regarding the motives and reality lying behind anything that comes out of this attempt to manipulate public perceptions.
Meanwhile, some Iranian assistance reportedly has gone from Iran to the principal northern tribe, known as the Houthis. By any reasonable account, the physical impact of any such aid is minor compared to the Saudi military offensive.
The Saudi air war has devastated Yemen. Is it any surprise that those now in power in the Yemeni capital of Sana (i.e., the Houthi-led coalition) would try to get off a few shots at Saudi Arabia in response? Should we even condemn this effort to strike back, any more than the much bigger strikes in the other direction?
The Trump administration’s efforts to highlight this one facet of a much larger war serve two of its objectives. One is to continue its overall campaign to pin on Iran all blame for any mayhem in the Middle East. The other is to distract as much attention as possible from the indefensible U.S. support (which began during the previous administration) for the Saudi offensive against Yemen.
Such misuse of intelligence means foreign policy is being made on the basis of badly mistaken premises. The public sales job makes the misunderstanding all the worse, both because misperceptions are infused into a larger audience and because salesmen who are strongly committed to their cause—as was the case with the chief promoters of the Iraq War—come to believe their own propaganda – by Paul R. Pillar
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/misusing-intelligence-sell-conflict-iran-23430
(** B K P)
I wish the international community would stop begging the Saudis to allow entry of aid & trade into #Yemen, and instead demand that they withdraw from the country altogether. Why are they appealing to the supposed humanity of a country that continues to starve children to death?
https://twitter.com/shireen818/status/936338471932874752
My comment: This is the question of questions. I fear, we all know the answer.
(** B H P)
Saudi strategy:
1) Total blockade (creates uproar) 2) Allow trickle of aid thru 3) Uproar quiets - "nothing to see here" 4) Yemen starves
https://twitter.com/changermindset/status/936444846566281216
My comment: This exactly is it.
(** A B K)
Exclusive: Yemen rebel missiles fired at Saudi Arabia appear Iranian - U.N.
Remnants of four ballistic missiles fired into Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Houthi rebels this year appear to have been designed and manufactured by Riyadh’s regional rival Iran, a confidential report by United Nations sanctions monitors said, bolstering a push by the United States to punish the Tehran government.
The independent panel of U.N. monitors, in a Nov. 24 report to the Security Council seen by Reuters on Thursday, said it “as yet has no evidence as to the identity of the broker or supplier” of the missiles, which were likely shipped to the Houthis in violation of a targeted U.N. arms embargo imposed in April 2015.
The report said that monitors had visited two Saudi Arabian military bases to see remnants gathered by authorities from missile attacks on Saudi Arabia on May 19, July 22, July 26 and Nov. 4.
They also visited four “impact points” from the Nov. 4 attack where other remnants of the missiles were identified.
“Design characteristics and dimensions of the components inspected by the panel are consistent with those reported for the Iranian designed and manufactured Qiam-1 missile,” the monitors wrote.
The U.N. monitors said they gathered evidence that the missiles were transferred to Yemen in pieces and assembled there by missile engineers with the Houthis and allied forces loyal to Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
“The panel has not yet seen any evidence of external missile specialists working in Yemen in support of the Houthi-Saleh engineers,” the monitors wrote.
They visited Saudi Arabia after the monitors called on the coalition to provide evidence backing Riyadh’s claim that Iran was supplying missiles to the Houthis, warning that a failure to do so would violate a U.N. resolution.
They said the missiles most likely were smuggled into Yemen along “the land routes from Oman or Ghaydah and Nishtun in al Mahrah governorate (in Yemen) after ship-to-shore transshipment to small dhows, a route that has already seen limited seizures of anti-tank guided weapons.”
The monitors also said that while “concealment in cargo of vessels offloading in the Red Sea ports is unlikely, it cannot be excluded as an option.”
(** B P)
Yemen: National Reconciliation Without Foreign Intervention
It has become blatantly obvious that the Yemen tragedy will not end unless Riyadh decides to unilaterally cease fire and call for a peace roundtable, preferably in a neutral location such as Muscat or even Geneva. Washington could be a catalyst by prodding Saudi Arabia to put diplomacy first and becoming fully engaged in the effort. The prospects of that happening, however, are not good. It may be time for the Yemeni warring parties to take the initiative and, ignoring all regional and international chatter, launch an independent peace initiative to end the conflict once and for all. Yemeni President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi could make himself the unlikely national leader by making such a call or continue on his current path of total irrelevance.
The Yemeni players in this tragedy could—and should—take matters into their own hands. After all, this is where it all began.
The main Yemeni players in this tragedy appear equally matched..
Ansar Allah, the Houthis political party, lacks sophistication, organization, and leadership. They do, however, form an integral part of Yemen and have as much interest in a fair peace deal as anyone else. If this war has shown them anything, it is that they will have to give up on any dreams of conquest that some of their hardliners may still entertain. A fair deal would grant them autonomy within their region, fair representation in any future government, and a fair share of the economic benefits of a peaceful union.
Former president Saleh, though militarily weaker than the Houthis, still commands the loyalty of thousands of troops and millions of supporters within the largest political party in Yemen, the General People’s Congress (GPC). As the most recognizable figure in the country, he could still win any new fair and free election for president. His time, however, has come and gone.
Islah and the Joint Meeting Parties with which it is affiliated have long served as a loyal opposition to Saleh. Militarily, they played a role in resisting the Houthi takeover of southern Yemen. Their old leadership, however, has atrophied and can no longer contribute to a new path forward for the country.
The secessionist movement known as Hirak, founded in 2007, boasts the loyalty of several million southerners yearning for independence and willing to fight for it. All told, a considerable force, though fewer than 100,000 men, fight under the banner of Hirak (and/or Hadi). Split into anywhere from six to nine factions, however, Hirak cannot hope to build a separate state without significant Arab Gulf support, which would deprive them of the independence they desire.
The NDC, the United Nations, and Kuwait have pushed the contours of a peace plan for some time: a decentralized system based in Sana’a that grants local officials autonomy in cultural affairs and administration.
A handshake on a broad deal is needed upfront by the main power brokers:
By calling for national reconciliation independently from his Saudi patrons and offering to forego a future leadership role, President Hadi may yet prove himself relevant (albeit in a transitional sense). Calling for a purely Yemeni path to reconciliation would allow him to support the notion of legitimacy and provide him an avenue for a graceful exit – BY NABEEL KHOURY
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Navigating Yemen’s Wartime Food Pipeline
Yet, fundamental questions about the driving forces behind the worsening humanitarian crisis remain unanswered.
How much have quantities of staple food imports decreased – and paradoxically in some cases, increased – during the ongoing conflict compared to pre-war levels? And why, if the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism has been operational since May 2016, are vessels experiencing lengthy delays and unpredictable restrictions for travel to Yemen’s Red Sea ports? Furthermore, if there is an extended closure of the ports of Hodeidah and neighboring Saleef, which during the war have brought in the majority of all staple foods, will Yemen’s alternative ports be able to compensate?
DeepRoot’s latest publication, “Navigating the Food Pipeline in Wartime Yemen,” seeks to address these and other questions by examining the staple commodity import process. After detailing the causes and consequences of weak demand for staple commodities across Yemen, the report follows the import process from foreign market to Yemeni store shelves. Along this path, importers are facing a host of challenges purchasing food commodities from suppliers, costly delays are being experienced during the shipping process and at key ports, and transport within Yemen to local markets is hindered by the degraded road network and the proliferation of checkpoints. Based on the findings, a set of realistic, evidence-based recommendations for international and Yemeni stakeholders is provided, with the goal of increasing key commodity imports, reducing costs along the supply chain, and ultimately, providing Yemenis the means to purchase sufficient food for their families.
At the heart of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis are the Yemeni families who cannot afford to put enough food on their table. Food insecurity, a state that has befallen 17 million of the country’s approximate 28 million inhabitants, has pushed millions to the brink of famine and left many more susceptible to diseases like cholera, scabies, and meningitis. Two and a half years of full-scale war, preceded by localized conflicts that brought the post-2011 transitional process to an indefinite halt, has left the economy in ruins. The country’s overreliance on staple food imports to meet its basic needs places it in a precarious position, as port infrastructure is divided between warring parties and suppliers must navigate a complex web of financial and logistical hurdles.
Despite this, staple commodities continue to reach the shelves of local Yemeni markets. Food imports declined following the rapid expansion of the conflict in March 2015, but over the first half of 2017 imports of essential commodities like wheat grain and rice increased, paradoxically even surpassing import levels for the same period in 2014, prior to the outbreak of the civil war. However, most Yemeni households have seen their income dry up due to lost livelihoods and the collapse of the public sector and social welfare network. As a result, households struggle to purchase essential foods, which have been driven further out of range by conflict-related retail-price increases and the devaluation of the Yemeni riyal.
This paper details the impact of the conflict on the food pipeline in Yemen. From the time-consuming inspection process and lack of access to foreign currency, to the unforgiving checkpoint-riddled road network, the challenges facing importers and distributors are assessed with an eye to understanding the factors driving the higher retail costs of basic staples. The capacity of the country’s main ports and the recent import trends for staple commodities like wheat grain, rice, and wheat flour is also highlighted, accompanied by a closer look at the Hodeidah Contingency Plan. Finally, a set of recommendations are provided for Yemeni authorities and the international community to remove the barriers most detrimental to the food import process, reduce the key challenges facing importers, and improve the capacity of Yemeni households to meet their food requirements.
http://www.deeproot.consulting/single-post/2017/11/29/Navigating-Yemen%E2%80%99s-Wartime-Food-Pipeline and full report: http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/df2b40_b3b6cf1090a1441094a35f9cd8b0d0cc.pdf
(** B H K P)
Here's how you can send help to people trapped in the world's worst humanitarian crisis
Yemen produces little of its own food and fuel, so Yemenis rely on imports to survive. When Saudi Arabia entered the Yemeni civil war in March 2015, it took strict control over access to Yemen's airports, seaports and border crossings. Food thus became a tool of war.
Near famine conditions developed in many parts of the country.
Humanitarians who live and work in Yemen
MonaRelief
Fatik al-Rodaini has been called a hero by Yemenis. He collects funds, buys food from local vendors, and creates batches of food (the term of art is "baskets") for families who his group has identified as needy. These days there is no shortage of need.
Yemen Hope and Relief
Ahmad Algohbary rescues children suffering from severe malnutrition. Families request his help, and he uses donated funds to transport and house them for weeks while their children are treated at nutrition clinics in major Yemeni cities.
Organizations whose mission is to help Yemenis
Yemen Aid
This group, founded by a Yemeni American, provides assistance and resources to Yemeni people, regardless of their race, political affiliation, ancestry or religion, in order to positively change, and ultimately save, lives.
Yemen Our Home
The United Nations Development Project set up "Yemen Our Home" to help people outside Yemen, especially the Yemeni diaspora, support in-country projects.
Global NGOs that include service in Yemen
Advocacy groups that work to end the war in Yemen
Friends Committee on National Legislation
The Friends Committee on National Legislation lobbies Congress and the Trump administration to advance peace, justice, opportunity and environmental stewardship. It has campaigned tirelessly to urge the US to withdraw its support from Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.
Mwatana Organization for Human Rights
This group is headquartered in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Mwatana programs defend and protect human rights. Its researchers conduct field investigations to detect and stop human rights violations. The organization also attempts to provide support and justice for victims, to hold accountable those in violation of human rights, and to help craft legislation and policies that prevent such violations.
Yemen Peace Project
The US-based advocacy group Yemen Peace Project is dedicated to supporting Yemeni individuals and organizations working to create positive change; advancing peaceful, constructive US policies toward Yemen; defending the rights of Yemenis in the diaspora; and increasing understanding of Yemen in the wider world.
(** B K P)
Chinese drones and Russian air defense missiles: Why America’s Middle East allies are shopping elsewhere for some of their weapons
The United State’s Middle East allies are increasingly using other sources to either purchase weapons which Washington won’t sell or equipment with comparable capabilities to what Washington has to offer. This ranges from drones, which the U.S. doesn’t sell, to sophisticated air defense missiles, which the Russians have shown a much greater willingness to deliver. Shopping elsewhere for these weapons is not only an option for these states to acquire weapons Washington is hesitant to offer them, it is also a way for them to diversify their arsenals, making them less dependent on their U.S. ally for their military needs.
There are different reasons why the U.S. is reluctant to deliver certain military technology to certain states, even allies: prevention of proliferation, safeguarding its own interests and enforcing a certain political behavior are only some of them. Because Russia and China are just waiting to close these gaps the U.S., paradoxically, actually loses leverage over its Middle Eastern allies when it refuses to sell them the hardware they want. Let’s see how long it will take until the Trump administration relaxes these restraints in order to stop Russia and China from expanding their market share and, in the process, undermining U.S. alliances – by Paul Iddon
https://www.offiziere.ch/?p=31692
(** B P)
An Open Letter by Senior Middle East Scholars to the New York Times Regarding its Thomas Friedman's column, "Saudi Arabia's Arab Spring, At Last."
We understand that opinion writing allows for some degree of license in the interpretation of events and issues. But Mr. Friedman's description of the situation in Saudi Arabia is so divorced from reality as to call into question his competence as a journalist or opinion writer. The so-called "Arab Spring" was an attempt by young people and, soon thereafter, large sections of the population of several Arab countries to force their governments to democratize their political systems; to resist stifling of speech and expression; and to halt large-scale systematic torture and physical abuse of citizens by security forces. Not only has the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman not addressed any of these issues, all the evidence points to the opposite conclusion—that his growing power has been accompanied by a ramping up of censorship, arrests, imprisonments without (fair) trials and other forms of violent repression against dissent.
Even worse, Mr. Friedman has nary a word on the unmitigated disaster that is the Saudi war in Yemen
We cannot understand how any professional journalist (which Mr. Friedman describes himself as at the start of the article) could engage in a long-form interview with bin Salman and avoid interrogating the issue in any detail, essentially giving him a pass for being the mastermind of an illegal war that has devastated the lives of millions, and today borders on genocide.
In this context, Friedman's focus on the possibility of bin Salman's "reform" and rebranding of the extremist Islam long fostered by the Saudis betrays either a complete ignorance of the history, religious and political dynamics, and present geostrategic ambitions of bin Salman’s agenda; or, worse, complicity in a completely false narrative of what is really happening on the ground.
Friedman's column, particularly in the context of decades of New York Times' faithful reporting of faux-Saudi "reform," "modernization" and "anti-corruption" efforts (as documented in detail by Georgetown scholar Abdullah al-Arian here) continues a dangerous history of the Times passing off the Saudi regime's PR as if it represented at least a plausible and comprehensible take on reality. Indeed, it's hard not to wonder whether there was some sort of quid pro quo between the writer and the prince for publishing such a ridiculous piece. This is not opinion writing; it's pure propaganda.
(** B P)
Seventy Years of the New York Times Describing Saudi Royals as Reformers
In honor of Thomas Friedman's latest love letter to the ruling dynasty in Saudi Arabia, here is seventy years worth of the New York Times describing the royal family as reformers.
Remark: Already reported earlier; here still better organized. A Must to look at when you want to understand better what a scam we daily get from the media.
(** B K P)
„Beschämende Komplizenschaft“: Britisches Militär bildet saudische Truppen für Krieg gegen Jemen aus
Wie am Sonntag bekannt wurde, bildet das britische Militär saudische Infanteristen für den Einsatz im Jemen aus. Die geheime Mission kam durch einen versehentlichen Facebook-Eintrag des daran beteiligten Bataillons heraus. Von einer Komplizenschaft der Schande ist nun die Rede.
Das britische Militär bildet insgeheim saudische Truppen für den Kampf im Jemen aus. Das wurde durch einen Bericht in der Sonntagsausgabe der Daily Mail bekannt. Demnach sind an der „Operation Crossways“ bis zu 50 britische Militärberater beteiligt, die saudische Infanteristen in die „irreguläre Kriegsführung“ einweisen. Darunter werden Konflikte verstanden, in denen es sich bei den feindlichen Kräften um nicht-staatliche beziehungsweise nicht-reguläre Akteure handelt.
Auf britischer Seite nimmt das 2. Bataillon des Royal Regiment of Scotland an der Operation teil. Bekannt wurde die Geheimoperation, weil auf der Facebook-Seite des Bataillons versehentlich Fotos sowie eine Zusammenfassung eines Einsatzes veröffentlicht wurden.
und
(** B K P)
Britisches Militär koordiniert saudische Angriffe auf Jemen
Die eigentlich nicht gerade propagandakritische britische Daily Mail – die allerdings bereits im Fall des von sogenannten „moderaten Rebellen“ geköpften Jungen in Syrien als erste und zunächst einzige westliche Zeitung lange vor den anderen westlichen Medien berichtet hatte – machte den Fall am 25. und 26. November 2017 publik: „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“ lautet der Titel des entsprechenden Daily-Mail-Artikels.
Ein letztlich versehentlich auf der Facebook-Seite des britischen Armeebataillons „Royal Highland Fusiliers 2nd Battalion“ gepostetes Video zeigt unter anderem einen Soldaten der Royal Highland Fusiliers wie er saudischen Soldaten vor einer Landkarte mit jemenitischem und saudischem Gebiet einen Angriffsplan gegen Jemen erläutert. Auf dem Plan sind Vorstöße oder Angriffe mit Pfeilen eingezeichnet. Im oberen Bereich links befindet sich eine Flagge Saudi-Arabiens. Im oberen Zentrum ist ein Kartenausschnitt der arabischen Halbinsel mit dem Jemen, Süd-Saudi-Arabien und dem Oman zu sehen.
Nach Angaben der Daily Mail handelt es sich bei der Mitarbeit der Briten um eine Trainingsmission mit dem Codenamen „Operation Crossways“. Bei der „Operation am lebenden Objekt“ seien Soldaten des Royal Regiment of Scotland beteiligt. Diese würden den saudischen Offizieren vom Royal Saudi Land Forces Infantry Institute Techniken der irregulären Kriegsführung („Irregular Warfare“, IW. Vergleiche auch „hybride Kriegsführung“) beibringen. Und das im Rahmen des laufenden Kriegseinsatzes gegen Jemen
http://blauerbote.com/2017/12/01/britisches-militaer-koordiniert-saudische-angriffe-auf-jemen/
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
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Ravaged by Cholera, Yemen Faces 2nd Preventable Scourge: Diphtheria
Diphtheria, a deadly infectious disease once thought to have been largely eradicated, has now joined cholera as a public-health scourge threatening war-torn Yemen, where a blockade by Saudi Arabia has impeded emergency aid.
Officials at the World Health Organization said Friday that at least 22 people in Yemen had died of diphtheria and nearly 200 had been sickened since it was detected three months ago.
The disease, which the medical charity Doctors Without Borders said had not been seen in Yemen for 25 years, has now spread to 13 of Yemen’s 22 governorates.
Officials warned that young children were especially vulnerable to the disease, which spreads through the air and could escalate quickly into an epidemic in Yemen if health workers there lack the antitoxins and vaccine to control it. Currently they have little of either.
Earlier Friday in Geneva, Christian Lindmeier, a spokesman for the World Health Organization, said that 1.9 million doses of diphtheria vaccine for children under age 5, and 1,000 doses of diphtheria antitoxins needed to treat infected patients had arrived in Sana, the capital, in recent days.
Nonetheless, he said, “the recent border closings still have seriously impacted W.H.O.’s operations and our ability to restock,” and the organization still lacks even “one dose of diphtheria vaccine for children above 5.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/world/middleeast/yemen-blockade-diptheria-.html
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Yemen diphtheria cases soar amid dire vaccine shortage: WHO
Twenty-two people have died of suspected diphtheria in conflict-ravaged Yemen, the World Health Organization said Friday, warning that a port and airport blockade had created a dire shortage of vaccines.
The WHO said it had so far registered 197 suspected cases of diphtheria, a highly contagious and sometimes deadly infection that mostly affects the nose and throat, across Yemen.
The UN health agency warned that a crippling aid blockade imposed on Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition last month had dramatically impacted its ability to re-stock supplies of the vaccine needed to halt the outbreak.
"There is still not even one dose of Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccine in the country for children above five years and young adults," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.
He said around 8.5 million doses of the vaccine were needed to provide those at risk with the required three immunisation jabs.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-12-yemen-diphtheria-cases-soar-dire.html
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Reports of diphtheria infections in Taiz
Taiz Deputy Governor for Health Affairs Dr. Elan Abdul-Haq has said that nine cases of diphtheria infections were reported in the governorate of Taiz.
She told the state-run news agency "Saba" that the infection cases were found in Al-Makha, Maqbanah, Salah and Shamtein districts in the governorate.
The Health Ministry office in Taiz instruc
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-13321
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Cholera outbreak in Yemen: "Ali is fighting for his life"
Antonia is a nurse in our emergency team. In July this year, she was deployed to Yemen to tackle thecholera outbreak.
"I try to insert the needle into the arm of 10-year-old Ali Aahme. He has had diarrhoea and vomiting since yesterday. He is extremely dehydrated.
His eyes are black-edged and sunken, half open and twisted, hardly any response to stimulation. He has cold hands and feet despite the fact that it’s 42 degrees in the shade, his pulse is racing and is difficult to measure.
He breathes quickly. His veins have already collapsed and so this is not an easy task at all. I call my Yemeni colleagues, they have more experience in this kind of situation and set about trying to find a suitable vein for the IV fluids.
We all know that Ali is fighting for his life, and that his survival is dependent on whether or not we find a vein for the fluids.
We must be faster in supplying our patients with fluids than the cholera is at dehydrating them through acute diarrhoea and vomiting. Faster!
At the beginning of May, we opened a cholera treatment centre opposite the MSF hospital in Abs, in the west of Yemen. The building is a primary school, whose pupils are currently on vacation.
At the beginning of the epidemic, when the number of patients was still predictable, we were able to treat and isolate them in the hospital. But day by day the number increased and exhausted the capacity of the hospital.
However, the epidemic has spread so rapidly that the capacity of the 50 beds of the newly opened treatment centre is by far exhausted after the first week. For a few days, we are no longer surprised when we register more than 200 patients a day.
At the end of my deployment, more than 400 patients were treated per day. The epidemic is out of control.
More help is urgently required to fight against it.
If a patient arrives in our treatment centre at such an advanced state of dehydration that we cannot save them, and you ask why the family did not come earlier, the answer is often that there was no money for transport available.
Or a bomb has made the path impassable. Or the fear of death while you are on the road expecting another air attack, means you would rather stay with your family.
This is everyday life for the people here. Every story takes my breath away.
Due to the dehydration of the body, many pregnant women lose their children before birth. The bodies of people who have died must be specially treated so that they do not infect people during burial.
When I had to wash a seven- or nine-month stillbirth, the worst thing is not that there is a perfect, small, but lifeless body in front of me. The worst of it was that I thought secretly that it might be better for the little person, because its future would have been one of the most uncertain and difficult in the world.
My greatest respect is with my Yemeni workforce. In spite of all this, they are motivated every day to work and fight against the suffering which they themselves are exposed to."
https://www.msf.org.uk/article/cholera-outbreak-yemen
cp1b Houthi / Saleh: Allianz zerbricht / Houthi / Saleh: Alliance is breaking
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Renewed confrontations between the parties to the coup after hours of a meeting to stabilize the truce
Clashes broke out Friday evening between the two sides of the coup in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, hours after a meeting to stabilize the truce.
The details of renewed clashes in the capital between an unidentified officer and a Houthi group were quoted by the local news agency Khabar as saying.
The agency quoted eyewitnesses as saying that gunmen followed Houthi elements immediately after the officer arrived at his home in the political district near the mosque of Abu Bakr Siddiq, kidnapped his driver.
She added that Houthi gunmen sent the guard of the building inhabited by the officer and asked him to go down to them unless they go up to break into his apartment, which made the officer calls his friends to come to find him.
As soon as the officer's comrades arrived, the dispute escalated into brief clashes with Ansar Allah's militants before they called for reinforcements.
The sources pointed out that the clashes expanded after contact Houthi gunmen to request reinforcements before the truce committee to intervene and stop the clashes.
The news agency "Khobar" also quoted sources as saying that during the truce committee to resolve the first problem, the clashes in the neighborhood of Jamea Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, up to Algiers Street, and caused renewed clashes in Algiers Street.
There were brief confrontations between the two sides after the entry of a group of Huthi near the house of the Kuwaiti ambassador was said he was not aware of clashes in the region.
The clashes came hours after a meeting of leaders of the Congress Party led by ousted Saleh and militias Houthi to stabilize the truce.
http://www.yafa-news.net/archives/287678 and translated https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yafa-news.net%2Farchives%2F287678&edit-text=
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From social media:
After 3 days of political paralysis & repeated armed clashes in #Yemen capital Sanaa : Now, it's an outright war.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936763681802801152
Some are underestimating confrontation taking place in capital Sana'a, Yemen, right now. It's a very dangerous escalation, even more dangerous than the Saudi led war on Yemen.
https://twitter.com/Shuaibalmosawa/status/936730924150149125
I knew that Houthis idiocy would make them lose their only ally & expose their ugly butt. They are born to keep fighting ,just like fucken robots . Where is @omeisy ? #FreeHisham
https://twitter.com/jaguarofYemen/status/936731697013542919
Disarray : Principal Houthi media like @MasirahTV have no reports at all on increasingly violent clashes in #Yemen capital Sanaa. Have Houthi political leaders lost control of the Houthi militia called Ansar Allah?
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936724634757713921
A new chapter of darkness is unfolding for the people of Sanaa, Yemen. As if the Saudi aggression is not enough, we are now fighting each other. This is exactly what the Saudis want from us. Please GOD spear us some wisdom and unite our hearts & minds.
https://twitter.com/Abdulghani72/status/936730373123436544
Film: Remove Hutha slogans from the central security crews and re-set the factory
https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/936807476019597314
With the dawn of the morning lights .. The image of one of the thugs seized from the militia Houthi (photo)
https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/936795902399856640
Oh. If true, Houthis are trapped : Saleh south, Islah north. Islah media : #Yemen forces of Gen Ali Muhsin Al Ahmar moving into Al JIraf & Sanaa Airport areas in northern parts of capital Sanaa.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936785077253554177
Now, after dawn prayers : Large explosions & heavy gunfire start up again in #Yemen capital Sanaa.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936787281037238273
explosions and rockets are massively spread @Sanaa inhabitants living at several areas such as the old city, Sheraton, Alzubairi, Attan and 70th square in Sanaa are in contact with each other to check on each other.
https://twitter.com/RnaNoman/status/936759908137144320
Clashes in Sanaa between Houthi militia on one side, Saleh allies on other. Houthi raid house of Tariq Moh. Abd. Saleh, firefight on Algiers Street
https://twitter.com/DaySWTweet/status/936705497775910912
Film: Situation in Sana'a right now. Hope this ends immediately. Life of millions of civilians in the city under critical threat.
https://twitter.com/hafezbukari/status/936726505295577089
#Yemen capital Sanaa : Large-scale collapse of Houthi militias in most of the battle zones tonight.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936780484385816578
The Huthis were removed from many of the areas around the square.
The Houthis' tricks failed to enter the conference's control boxes by wearing the uniform of the Republican Guard; they were revealed and dealt with
https://twitter.com/Ali_Albukhaiti/status/936743774042148868
No mediation. No ceasefire. No truce. No talks. Nothing. It's violent, but this is the correct strategy now in #Yemen.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936775533190193152
We will reject any mediation bids: The battles will continue unceasingly until #Yemen capital Sanaa is entirely cleansed of the Houthis.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936735837190021121
All principal roads into #Yemen capital Sanaa city have been shut down by armed tribesmen. Heavily armed. Too late now for some to run to the mountains.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936774360622182400
All-out war in Yemeni capital Sanaa. Between Houthi supporters and Saleh supporters. Gunfire could be heard all night until now 6:00 am Saturday ( light, medium, heavy guns). This happens after failure to contain 3 days of sporadic clashes over influence & recruitments.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/936788521183977472
The Houthis are collapsing in Sanaa at lightning speed; their armed crews are being seized by citizens in the alleys; at the entrances of Sanaa; there are enormous transformations to be revealed by the morning light; # No_hosty_after_day
https://twitter.com/Ali_Albukhaiti/status/936781453718822912
With the ears of dawn, God and people will witness
We defend our homes and sanctuaries, ourselves and our families after the brutalization of the Houthis and their aggression against our homes
https://twitter.com/Yaser_Alawadi/status/936781595893100545
The Congress [GPC, Saleh party] confirms that partial solutions will not restore security to the residents of the capital, and is required to withdraw and condemn any armed presence in the public streets and around houses and civilian buildings and institutions.
So that the militants return to their official headquarters and leave the state institutions and the official security services to carry out their work.
https://www.facebook.com/alsoufinabil/posts/1874299329264856
Return of mediation committees! !
The biggest joke is the mediation committees that the Huthis take as a way to stop their collapse or to arrange their ranks and then treachery again.
It must reject any mediation unless the previous agreements are complied with and the Huthi militias are removed from Sana'a and the state weapon is handed over.
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/936787408154013697
Sheikh Yasser al-Awadhi leader of the Congress Party talking about the # savagery _ Houthis. And assault them in their homes.
https://twitter.com/monasafwan/status/936787054100299776
All tribes must respond to the Houthis in their areas, cut supplies, beat them and arrest the seducer to return to the right path.
Do not tolerate and tolerate the militias that ate the citizen's strength and acted in the blood of the people and looted the property of the state.
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/936788369023025152
We are waiting for a strong and firm position for the white tribes to respond to the Houthi actions of arrogance.
Surround all the Huthis in your areas and take their weapons and those who tried to resist and get rid of it in your own way.
There is no room to escape. ... Strike them with all strength, and I will kill the donkeys and the captives.
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/936789011347128320
Clashes & explosions continue to shake most south neighborhoods of the capital #Sanaa where all kinds of heavy, light, medium weapons used. (photo; in the morning)
According to eyewitnesses: a group of tanks leave the presidential palace to participate in the fighting between Houthi's militia and the forces of former President Saleh in #Sanaa, (photo; night)
https://twitter.com/RaidanAmeen/status/936722356243968008 = https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1573797352673289
#Sanaa, tonight:
Calls to citizens in the area of Algiers street and the house of General Tareq Saleh, to keep away from windows, move to the ground floor or basement or the most central room in the house
My children had to go through this terrifying moments for the fourth night. Tonight, the confrontation is extremely intensive, and apparently heavy artillery is being used. (with film: sound)
https://twitter.com/alasaadim/status/936717084817526784
I heard tonight that the fighting in zubairi Street is so loud that people in the new university a couple of miles away cannot sleep. Apparently Khawlan tribes are coming to Sanaa to join in the fighting. Pray for sanaa. We don't want it to turn into another Taiz situation.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156164664538641
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Film. Video of today's anti-Houthi protest. People are attacking the #Houthis’ military vehicle in #Sanaa
https://twitter.com/Ali_Albukhaiti/status/936646125297299456
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Clashes erupt in Yemen capital after failed rebel talks
Clashes erupted in Yemen's capital late Friday, witnesses said, as talks between feuding rebel allies failed to broker a truce.
It is the third consecutive night of armed violence between supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and Yemen's northern Huthi rebels, who jointly control the capital Sanaa.
Multiple witnesses said heavy gunfire could be heard in southern Sanaa late Friday night, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Fighting also erupted near the home of Brigadier Tarek Saleh, a nephew of the former president and commander in the force loyal to the Yemeni strongman.
Talks between members of the GPC and the Huthis' political council on Friday failed to reach an agreement between the two parties, a high-ranking GPC source told AFP.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5138045/Clashes-erupt-Yemen-capital-failed-rebel-talks.html = http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/12/02/clashes-erupt-yemen-capital-after-failed-rebel-talks
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Saleh’s Party Acknowledges Casualties in Clashes with Houthis
The General People’s Congress of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh acknowledged on Friday that a number of its members were killed in clashes with the Houthi insurgents.
The party said in a statement that members of the guard corps of Tarek Mohammed Abdullah Saleh were killed on Thursday in the clashes.
The General National Congress website said three members were killed and Saleh’s party put the toll at four.
The party added that six were wounded in the fighting.
The clashes had initially erupted when Houthis launched an attack on Wednesday against the houses of Congress leaderships and Saleh relatives, said the party statement.
It added that Saleh’s forces were “surprised with the attack.”
It revealed that a joint committee from both the Saleh and Houthi sides was formed to contain the unrest, but it appears that some forces do not want calm.
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Yemen's feuding rebel factions hold talks after deadly infighting
The fighting between Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh has opened up fears of a new front in the war.
Yemeni rebel factions held new talks Friday aimed at ending infighting that left at least three more people dead overnight and raised fears of a new front in the country's devastating three-year war.
The internal rift has shaken the fragile alliance between the Houthis and loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who joined ranks in 2014 to seize Sanaa.
Thursday night's violence in Sanaa came 24 hours after clashes at the Saleh mosque in the capital killed nine Houthi rebels and five Saleh supporters.
One source at the Jumhuriya hospital said late on Thursday that the death toll from the infighting had risen to as many as 18 rebels and six Saleh loyalists.
In an effort to reach a truce, Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) said a joint committee had launched talks in Sanaa to find "a solution that would restore calm".
The Houthis, tribal rebels who hail from northern Yemen, confirmed they had also sent representatives to the meeting.
The GPC accused the Houthis, also known as Ansarullah, of targeting the ex-president's nephew, who is a military commander in the forces loyal to Saleh, late on Thursday.
"We were surprised by an armed attack by Ansarullah targeting the guards of the house of Brigadier Tareq Saleh, which left three dead and wounded three others," read a statement released by the party.
"We hold Ansarullah fully responsible."
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A large tribal mediation started at about 9:30 pm and held several long meetings with the leaders of the Ansarullah group .. And with the leaders of the Conference [Saleh party], it led to end clashes between the two parties last night ...
The complete calm is now the master of the situation.
https://twitter.com/nogaghalb_Maz99/status/936460212340428801
and
Clashes ended, New check points removed, calm restored,in the Yemen capital Sanaa. Minister of interior and tribal mediators overseeing normalizing the situation, after 2 days of sporadic clashes between Houthi & Saleh supporters over influence.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/936491326450827265
and
Film: # No_hosty_after_day
This is how the masses cheered in front of the Mosque of the Righteous today; they almost broke down on the Huthis car and some of the gunmen were it not for the intervention of the leaders of the conference; we are in front of the popular revolution coming will crush the priests and the Salalists forever and will restore the Republic and fall the mandate of Fakih Maran.
https://twitter.com/Ali_Albukhaiti/status/936580506623336449
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After the last week’s clashes between #Houthis & GPC in #Sanaa, people -for the first time- shouting in today's anti-Houthi protest inside & outside Al-Saleh Mosque:“No Houthis from now on”! Will there be a real Development in #Yemen?! (photos)
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/936623547363012609
and
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Not showing up at all on English-language Twitter: reports of major clashes between Khawlan tribes--fighting on behalf of Saleh/GPC--and Houthis at points of entry to San'a. According to some sources, GPC has "declared war" on Houthis.
https://twitter.com/YemenPeaceNews/status/936654551406514177
referring to
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General People's Congress declares war on "Huthis" and Ali Saleh welcomes Khawlan tribes to secure entry of fighters (exclusive details)
According to the sources, the General People's Congress and its leadership - Saleh Saleh - have taken a decision in the last few hours in an armed confrontation against the Houthis, while Saleh welcomed the decision.
Many streets in the capital Sanaa have seen protests against the Houthis, as evidenced in many mosques after Friday prayers, while increasing public anger over Iranian-backed insurgent militias.
The atmosphere of war in the Yemeni capital Sanaa has been exacerbated by escalating disputes, culminating in an armed group known as the Houthis and their allies in the coup, the General People's Congress and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Local sources in Sanaa told Yemen Voices that armed tribal groups loyal to former President Saleh are coming to Sanaa. At a time when similar crowds loyal to the armed Houthis group.
According to the information, the tribes of Khawlan took control late last night on the Huthi point of departure to ensure the entry of fighters and conferences to the capital Sanaa.
This armed mobilization follows an emergency meeting of pro-Saleh sheikhs and the Houthi group in several provinces including Sana'a and Amran.
According to the information, the dissolved Republican Guard forces of the former president made an urgent appeal to various brigades and military units to prepare and raise the readiness of combat in preparation for the battles of the capital.
The capital, which has been under the control of the rebels for days, has witnessed an unprecedented tension between followers of Saleh and the Houthi group, which has resulted in bloody confrontations in several areas of Sanaa.
Yesterday, the intensity of the clashes intensified inside the coup camp and in the streets of the capital Sanaa, which resulted in the deaths of two people from the two parties, mostly Houthi militias, including 3 leaders, while information was reported on the deaths of the family of former President Saleh.
The sources, "Yemen Voice," that the forces loyal to the former president was able to break the advance of the Huthis towards the houses of the family of Saleh repeated and addressed to the militia of the group.
Against the background of tension in Sanaa, observers say the city is on a hot plate and that the liquidation of Saleh is the first option of the Huthis.
In a related context, Yemeni experts expected that the next few days open on several scenarios, after the storming of Huthi militias security box, and the seventeen, which is the main stronghold of Ali Abdullah Saleh and his power center in the Yemeni capital, "Sanaa" for the presence of presidential palace, which takes them In addition to the presence of a command center for the Republican Guard and some military barracks.
According to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, the most prominent scenarios discussed by army officials and media personnel included the Houthi incursion into its military operations and the encirclement of the homes of Saleh's sons in the same area that saw the militias storm into the "Mosque of the Righteous", which resulted in bloody clashes on Sunday , Between supporters of both sides of the coup, and the outbreak of a street war in which all types of weapons are used unless all the actors to calm the situation to ensure the safety of civilians in the first place.
Observers believe that the steps during the coming hours will be accelerated, especially after Ali Abdullah Saleh, his followers in the neighboring regions, the call to go to Sanaa without a known reasons for this call, which came after the raid, which demanded the presence of leaders located on the fronts on the outskirts of the capital .
Local residents told Yemen Voices that a mass exodus began in some parts of Sana'a, especially in the areas where clashes took place over the past two days, pointing out that the two sides have developed their practices in several areas. In which the Houthis besieged the houses of Saleh and the leaders of his party.
https://voice-yemen.com/news110326.html and translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fvoice-yemen.com%2Fnews110326.html&edit-text=
(A P)
Film: United, One Front.
Today, after jumaa prayer (Friday prayer) in Saleh Mosque - #Sanaa - people are chanting: Our spirit, Our Blood for you ya #Yemen'
https://www.facebook.com/sanaa.rohi/videos/vb.235255003188197/1605736296140054/?type=2&theater
My comment: Things went otherwise.
(* A P)
Continuous fighting in our neighborhood in the dipomatic zone in Sanaa.. light and medium artillery including RPGs are used. When will this end?
https://twitter.com/alasaadim/status/936307883997790209
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Oh. Major tribal meeting going on tonight to mobilize fighters against the Houthi attacks on Saleh forces in #Yemen capital Sanaa, chief among them the Hashed tribal confederation. In 2014, the same happened but to support the Houthis – it sealed the collapse of Hadi's regime.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936329174301765632
This is how Haykal Bafana sees what is happening at Sanaa now:
In #Yemen 2014, then president Hadi repeatedly refused to reply with violence against a series of violent advances by Houthi militia, preferring mediation. This failed policy was the primary cause of the Yemeni government's collapse, and Houthi control of capital Sanaa
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936311671437582337
2 days of clashes now in #Yemen capital Sanaa btw Houthi militia and military forces loyal to ex pres Saleh. Near 2 dozen dead, among them friends of mine. But despite the bloodshed, I'll say this: This is the correct response to Houthi militia violence. Negos & ceasefires? No.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936313142803685376
In 2015, Hadi & the UN envoy made a fatal strategic error against the Houthis. In 2017, I am sure that the mistake will not be repeated. For in #Yemen, violence is the major currency, and it pays. Some of us get it.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936315678327492609
Basically, the Houthi militia known as Ansar Allah have started a war in the #Yemen capital. This time, I doubt there is any turning back. p.s. BTW, the Houthi-GPC government in Sanaa has collapsed. So now what?
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936322153942831104
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Zehntausende Anhänger der Huthi-Rebellen versammeln sich in Jemens Hauptstadt
Nach blutigen Auseinandersetzungen mit ihren Verbündeten haben sich am Donnerstag zehntausende Unterstützer der Huthi-Rebellen in der jemenitischen Hauptstadt Sanaa versammelt. Bei ihrer Machtdemonstration folgten die Menschen einem Aufruf des Rebellenführers Abdul Malik al-Huthi zum Geburtstag des Propheten Mohammed. Am Vortag waren bei Auseinandersetzungen zwischen den verbündeten Rebellengruppen in Sanaa 14 Menschen getötet worden.
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Yemeni Houthi rebels move on ally's neighborhood in capital
Clashes between rebel factions in the Yemeni capital Sanaa continued for a second day on Thursday, with Houthi troops moving against forces loyal to a former president and accusing them of fomenting a coup with the help of the United Arab Emirates, security officials said.
Shiite Houthi rebels have largely taken control of a southern Sanaa neighborhood centered around a mosque named after Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president, they said.
It appeared the clashes began Wednesday evening with a dispute over use of the mosque in the Sabeen neighborhood, where the Houthis wanted to hold festivities for the Prophet Muhammad's birthday
The Houthis in Sanaa reportedly were supported by reinforcements from their northern stronghold and drove out forces loyal to Saleh with rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun fire, occupying buildings used by his political party in Thursday's clashes.
Fighting between the two groups killed some 10 fighters from both sides a day earlier, officials said, with combat spilling over to the neighborhood that includes the homes of Saleh's family. Saleh's political party, the General People's Congress, appealed for calm in a statement.
The Houthis said in a statement Thursday that the state would "enforce the law" and confront "anyone who deviates from the path of the battle of liberation, sovereignty and independence," referring to their struggle against the Saudi-led alliance.
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Yemen rebel infighting in Sanaa leaves 14 dead: medics
Clashes in Yemen’s capital between Shiite Houthi terrorists and loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh left 14 people dead Wednesday, medics and officials said.
The fighting erupted around Sanaa’s central Saleh mosque, Yemen’s largest, as Houthis tried to seize it ahead of Thursday’s celebration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, they said.
“The Houthis attempted to take control of the mosque in anticipation of a rally on Thursday in the adjacent square,” said an official from Saleh’s General People’s Congress, asking not to be named.
The mosque’s guards, who were Saleh supporters, resisted, triggering a gunfight between the two camps, the GPC official said.
The shootout then spread to nearby districts controlled by Saleh loyalists.
The official said four Saleh supporters were killed on the spot and a fifth died of his wounds later in hospital.
Nine Houthi fighters also died in the fighting, according to officials at two hospitals in the capital.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1201486/middle-east
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Deadly rebel infighting rocks Yemen capital for second night
Fighting between Yemen's Huthi rebels and loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh rocked the capital Sanaa for a second straight night, leaving at least three people dead, Saleh's party said Friday.
The violence threatens an alliance that has held the capital and much of the north of Yemen in defiance of the Saudi-backed government for more than three years.
Huthi fighters, also known as Ansarullah, surrounded the homes of two of Saleh's nephews late on Thursday, a source in Saleh's forces said.
"We were surprised by an armed attack by Ansarullah targeting the guards of the house of Brigadier Tareq Saleh, which left three dead and wounded three others," the ex-president's General People's Congress said.
"We hold Ansarullah fully responsible."
The Huthis said there were "clashes in some streets of south Sanaa," in a statement released on their Saba news agency, without giving further details of their location or any casualty toll.
(** A P)
Yemen Houthis rally in show of force after deadly clashes
Tens of thousands of Yemeni insurgent supporters rallied in Sanaa on Thursday, a day after deadly clashes between the Houthis and loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh sparked fears of
more violence.
The clashes, which erupted late Wednesday near the Saleh Mosque in the capital, killed nine Houthi rebels and five supporters of former president Saleh, according to multiple medical sources.
One source at the Jumhuriya hospital said on Thursday the death toll had risen to as many as 18 rebels and six Saleh loyalists, although the numbers could not be confirmed by other hospitals in the area.
Fearing renewed clashes, people were opting to stay at home on Thursday night, witnesses said, as armed supporters of both sides deployed in some streets.
A source in Saleh’s forces said Houthi fighters were positioned around the residences of two of the ex-president’s nephews.
http://jordantimes.com/news/region/yemen-houthis-rally-show-force-after-deadly-clashes
(** A P)
Yemen's anti-Saudi alliance members clash for second day, three killed
Three fighters from forces loyal to the former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed in a second day of clashes with their own allies from the Houthi movement in the capital Sanaa, Saleh’s party said on Thursday.
A statement from Saleh’s General People’s Congress Party said three guards were killed when Houthi forces attacked the house of Tarek Saleh, Ali Abdullah Saleh’s nephew, adding that they also besieged the residence of Ibrahim Sharaf, a party member and foreign minister of the Sanaa-based government.
“The Houthis violated the truce agreement and attacked the residence of colonel Tarek and killed three guards and wounded three others,” the statement said.
(* A P)
Clashes continue in #Sanaa
Clashes continue between Saleh's forces and Houthi trying to approach the house of Brigadier General Tariq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh.
Sources confirmed Houthis closed the square next to their headquarters, at the garden of Majid and Abu Bakri al-Siddiq Mosque.
Reinforcements are reaching Houthis to their headquarters near Tareq Saleh's house, and citizens heard occasional clashing sounds, indicating that the area was closed and civilians were not allowed.
CLASHES IN #HADDA , IRAN street, #SANAA
and
(* A P)
Film: Renewed clashes between the coup in Sanaa
Eyewitnesses in the Yemeni capital Sanaa that the clashes were renewed by militias allies of the ousted President Saleh, and the rebel group Houthi in the political district, and the sharpness of the witnesses confirmed that the Huthis attacked the day of their end of the Prophet's birth directly in the square seventy homes of Brigadier Tariq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh and his brother Mohammed Mohammed Abdullah Saleh in the political neighborhood, and attacked another group backed by five vehicles armed house Brigadier Ammar Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, the former national security agent in the district of Hadda, and the clashes continue with machine guns and missiles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Gs9yx9NQ1UQ
(* A P)
The Office of the Minister of Interior lied to the issuance of a statement in the name of his ministry .. and calls for not pouring oil on fire
A source in the Office of the Minister of Interior was surprised by the circulation of a number of media outlets, which he called a statement attributed to the Ministry regarding the unfortunate events witnessed by the capital on Wednesday, 29 November 2017.
The source said the statement, published by the political parties at dawn on Thursday before the Saba news agency was due to be released this morning, was not issued by the ministry and that it had preceded the results of investigations into the case.
The source said that Interior Minister Major General Mohammed al-Qusi heads a committee to calm the events in the capital. The fabrication of such statements represents an impediment to the efforts of the committee and an attempt to thwart them and raises many questions about its motives and the beneficiary of dragging the situation towards further escalation.
The source stressed that the coalition of aggression is the only party benefiting from shaking the status of the Ministry of the Interior and the Government of the rescue and the national partnership as a whole through such fabricated statements, and the transfer of the political crisis to the institutions of the state, and any escalation between the national components facing the aggression.
The source called for the non-involvement of state institutions and official media in the political crisis and respect the regulations governing the administrative and executive work, and not pour oil on the fire and realize the magnitude of the risks and threats of political, economic and security resulting from the continuation of aggression and siege.
https://khabaragency.net/news92632.html and translated https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fkhabaragency.net%2Fnews92632.html&edit-text=
(* A P)
Tens of thousands gather in Yemen capital after rebel clashes
Tens of thousands of Yemeni rebel supporters gathered in Sanaa on Thursday a day after deadly clashes between the Huthis and their allies sparked fears of further violence in the rebel-held capital.
The clashes, which erupted late Wednesday near the capital's Saleh mosque, killed nine Huthi rebels and five supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, according to medical sources.
The infighting threatens to unravel the fragile rebel alliance that controls the capital and has been battling the Saudi-backed government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in Yemen's war.
But on Thursday afternoon, Sanaa's Sabaeen Square was packed as Yemenis gathered to mark the Prophet Muhammed's birthday, heeding a call from rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Huthi for supporters to attend.
The rally came after late-night mediation attempts between Saleh and the rebels failed to reconcile both sides, sources in Saleh's General People's Congress political party said.
Saleh and the Iran-backed Huthis, also known as Ansar Allah, have accused each other of inciting Wednesday's unrest.
"The General People's Congress and its allies hold Ansar Allah fully responsible for every drop of blood shed among the Yemenis... and warn against all acts that, rather than serve national unity, threaten our internal unity and cohesion," the party said in a statement.
The rebels' interior ministry blamed forces loyal to Saleh for the clashes in a statement released late Wednesday.
It said its security forces had been banned from entering the Saleh mosque by armed guards "not affiliated with the ministry", referring to Saleh's forces.
"We were surprised when these armed forces inside the mosque opened fire on police without warning, which forced police to fire back," it said.
(* A P)
Pictures from Al Sabeen square in the capital Sanaa A few moments ago, Which show the masses coming to the square, they're happy and dancing folk dance called "Al-Braa" on the eve of the celebration of the Prophet Mohamed's birthday.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1571581989561492
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/935984948103827456
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/936217344342396928
https://twitter.com/hamedalbukhiti/status/936213272478527489
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1572474362805588
and
(A P)
Yemenis celebrating the birthday of the prophet Mohammed in the capital Sanaa. ( today afternoon) (photos)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/936230815448616960
and
(** A P)
Yemen war: Fighting breaks out among allied rebels
There have been deadly clashes between Yemen's allied Houthi rebels and supporters of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, as tensions between them grow.
Mr Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party said four people were killed in fighting at the main mosque in the capital, Sanaa, on Wednesday.
It accused the Houthis of undermining their partnership.
Wednesday night's clashes in Sanaa took place around the Saleh Mosque, which is Yemen's largest and is named after the country's former authoritarian leader.
The GPC said Houthi fighters had tried to occupy part of the complex ahead of a rally nearby on Thursday to celebrate the Prophet Muhammad's birthday.
The fighters "broke into the Saleh Mosque, fired RPGs and grenades inside the mosque and put its regular guards under siege", it alleged.
The rebel-run Saba news agency cited a source at the Houthi-controlled interior ministry as saying its security personnel had sought access to the mosque to ensure the safety of those attending Thursday's rally.
After they were refused entry, the security personnel came under fire from "armed elements" inside without warning, forcing them to respond, the source added.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42179313
and
(** A P)
Bloody Clashes Between Coup Parties in Sanaa
A statement released by Saleh’s General People’s Congress Party accused Houthi militias of being responsible for the clashes and said they were behind launching a “coup” and “disturbing a partnership” between the two sides.
The statement also said that on Wednesday, hundreds of Houthi members carrying all kinds of light and medium weapons have occupied part of the Saleh mosque, launched RPGs and hand grenades and besieged the guards.“Houthi fighters then besieged the nearby residents and houses of Saleh’s family and party members, an action that prompted the start of fighting, leaving several killed and injured people,” the statement added.
“Houthi fighters insisted to stay inside the mosque, but, were prevented by the guards, prompting clashes that killed and wounded several on both sides,” the sources said, without offering accurate information about the exact number of victims.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1099216/bloody-clashes-between-coup-parties-sanaa
(* A P)
Former president Ali Abdullah Saleh called on “decision makers” to stop firing ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia, if the Saudi-led coalition ends its bombing campaign and lifts its blockade on Yemen during a speech on November 28 commemorating the 50th anniversary of South Yemen’s independence. Al Houthi forces clashed with forces loyal to Saleh outside al Saleh Mosque in the political center of Sana’a city, northern Yemen on November 29 following the speech. Leader of the al Houthi movement Abdul Malik al Houthiaccused Saleh and his followers of not understanding the concepts of alliance and partnership on November 25. Saleh also urged the al Houthi movement not to believe those who are trying to fracture the al Houthi-Saleh bloc.[1]
(** A P)
Sanaa: 4 killed & 6 injured by Houthi militia attacks on Al Saleh Mosque & house of Gen Tareq Saleh.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/935951184631881728 referring to
10 martyrs and wounded by the Houthis attack on the Mosque of Saleh and the house of Tariq Saleh
A number of martyrs and wounded were killed by elements of the Ansar Allah "Huthis", the attack on the Mosque of Saleh and the house of Brigadier Tariq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, Wednesday 29 November 2017.
The official website of the General People's Congress (GPC) said that the number of martyrs (4) martyrs and fell (6) wounded from guarding the mosque and guarding the house of Brigadier Tarek Saleh.
The General People's Congress and its allies issued a statement on the incident, in which the supporters of Allah took full responsibility for every drop of blood that the Yemenis were fighting against the aggression without any right. He warned against all acts and practices that do not serve national unity. The most sacred duties in defense of Yemen land and human against the brutal aggression, killing thousands of innocent citizens children and women, young and old and destroyed all the capabilities of the city and the military and impose an unjust and comprehensive siege on the Yemeni people in order to starve him, Any party or forces to double the suffering of people and the destruction of the homeland.
https://www.khabaragency.net/news92592.html and translation https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.khabaragency.net%2Fnews92592.html&edit-text=
Comments by Haykal Bafana:
As a Hadhrami, I was brought up to love Prophet Muhammad and celebrate his day of birth as a joyous occasion. Attacking a mosque with automatic assault rifles & RPGs and killing Muslims is what terrorists like ISIS & Al Qaeda do in Yemen.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/935967734806007809
An ode to the man who stamped his foot down on this Houthi nonsense today – #Yemen Special Forces Colonel Mohammed Mohammed Abdullah Saleh. I salute him.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/935995430860705792 referring to
Salute Special Forces Brigadier General "Mohammed Mohammed Abdullah Saleh Afash"
Thanks to the quick intervention in the confrontations that took place today
A thousand greeting to this lion (photo)
https://twitter.com/AL_matry_AZ/status/935962072608903168
https://twitter.com/r7ADhzJVj8WKvlx/status/935969791927562240
(A P)
Now the arrival of two special forces patrols to secure the streets surrounding El-Sabean Square, the political district and the 60th Street #Sana'a Republican Guard troops (photo)
https://twitter.com/AlbukaitiKhalid/status/935992107604561921
(* A P)
Video shows renewed clashes between the army and elements of the # Houthi In the political district
https://twitter.com/AlbukaitiKhalid/status/935990516264718338
(A P)
Note : There are no photos from [inside] the grounds of Al Saleh Mosque in #Yemen capital Sanaa. Guards there: Ferocious. Some are friends of mine.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/935984948103827456
(A P)
[new Houthi slogan] (photo)
https://twitter.com/AlbukaitiKhalid/status/935985348534046720
(* A P)
Assassinations on the rise in Houthi-Saleh administered areas
There are increasing reports of assassinations and assassination attempts between rebel warlords affiliated to the former dictator Ali Saleh and Abdulmalik al-Houthi who have been for long allies against the government but, of late, allies with some degree of rivalry brewing amongst them.
In the past few days, local sources reported the assassination of Saleh-affiliated figure Hashem Mohammed in the Red Seaport city of Hodeida on Sunday; assassination attempt against Saleh-aligned business tycoon Ahmed Qutran that left him injured but his son and an unidentified number of bodyguards killed in Sana'a on Friday; Houthi-aligned Sefr Al-Sofi was killed with his bodyguards in Dhamar on Friday by unknown gunmen.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-13278
My comment: By an Islah Party media, to be read with caution, but no other sources available.
cp2 Allgemein / General
(* B H P)
Melissa McRae: Yemen still remains an afterthought for the international community
None of this happened by chance. It is the result of military objectives trumping concern for the lives of Yemeni civilians, alongside indifference and indecision on the part of the international community. Weeks after the Saudi-led coalition blockade, that indifference remains glaringly obvious.
The responsibility to pay the salaries of civil servants lies with those who claim to govern—that is indisputable. The responsibility to protect civilians and allow humanitarian operations lies with all parties to the conflict—that too is indisputable. But those who claim a humanitarian motive—including states, UN agencies, donors, international non-governmental organisations and all those who denounce the suffering in Yemen—also have a responsibility to act. What is being done in Yemen today to respond to the crisis falls far short of what is possible, let alone what is needed. The complexity and scale of people’s needs cannot be an excuse for further inaction.
Empty gestures and unfulfilled promises by the international community only undermine the collective credibility of humanitarian organisations, eroding trust in our abilities and making it harder for us to help those in need. The international community must respond now to the needs of Yemenis who are being denied even basic healthcare. The Saudi-led coalition must continue to grant unrestricted access into all areas of Yemen for humanitarian assistance. The absence of political will to force warring parties to meet their irrefutable obligations only helps to condemn Yemen to further destitution – by Melissa McRae, Medical Coordinator MSF, Yemen.
(* B K P)
EU parliament backs ban on Saudi weapons sales over Yemen war
[Overview]
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/eu-parliament-backs-saudi-arm-embargo-over-yemen-war-939502003
(* B H K P)
Audio: Shireen Al-Adeimi on Yemen Crisis, Erin Shields on Net Neutrality Repeal
After years of a Saudi-led war, Yemen is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis on a scale hard to comprehend: at least 10,000 dead, looming famine and now a shocking outbreak of cholera. But US citizens looking to understand the US role—in driving the disaster or in potentially easing it—get little help from accounts like that of the Washington Post, which told readers, “It’s a complicated story.” Shireen Al-Adeimi, a doctoral candidate and instructor at Harvard University, will join us to talk about what reports like that are leaving out.
http://fair.org/home/shireen-al-adeimi-on-yemen-crisis-erin-shields-on-net-neutrality-repeal/
(* B K P)
We're witnessing genocide in Burma and Yemen. And yet the West's too scared to intervene
One of the most malign legacies of Tony Blair’s calamitous premiership was the death of ‘humanitarian intervention’, by which the West would use its military might to prevent atrocities occurring in less enlightened nations.
It turned out that Mr Blair’s often repeated statement that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction was a cynical lie.
So it is little wonder the experience of Afghanistan and Iraq— as well as Britain’s role in unseating Colonel Gaddafi, sparking the anarchy that exists in Libya today — has given intervention a bad name.
Yet history shows that it is not always wrong if carried out at the right time, for honest motives, and in a sensible way.
Very few would deny that Britain was right to fight the Nazis in 1939, or that we should, in all conscience, have intervened to interrupt the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 that cost the lives of up to a million people.
Yes, it was wrong to invade Iraq. But that does not mean it is wrong to intervene in every international crisis.
In each of these cases, the global community has wrung its hands but done nothing whatever to curb the violence.
On the basis of what I have seen, I believe the moment has now come to urgently reassess the world’s new unspoken orthodoxy of non-intervention.
Should Britain also turn away from these terrible tragedies? There are several compelling reasons why we should not.
The most crucial of these is moral: the absolute Christian imperative to care for suffering fellow human beings.
In the Yemen, we are actually complicit because of our close relationship with the Saudi royal family — with whom we trade arms enthusiastically – by Peter Oborne
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5127077/PETER-OBORNE-Wests-failure-counter-genocide.html
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5127077/PETER-OBORNE-Wests-failure-counter-genocide.html#ixzz504g6sb9c
My comment: I contradict. The “right to protect” which was claimed by the West proved to be nothing more than a pretense for intervention, as humanitarian arguments so often (or mostly) just were used as mere chamouflage to justify military and political interventions which just were driven by own geopolitical, economic interests. And always, these Western interventions fueled or even caused human suffering and catastrophes. – As in the case of Yemen, Western politics and interference is one of the main reasons that this catastrophe is happening – how western intervention now could make things any better? If the west would have kept totally out (selling no arms to any of the warring parties and giving no support to any of them) things would have been much better now. The West is part of the problem and not its solution.
(B K P)
IS THE UNITED STATES SUPPORTING A RELIGIOUS GENOCIDE IN YEMEN?
The conflict, while having geopolitical reasons, can be directly linked to the division between the Shia Houthis and the Wahabist Saudia Arabian Government. Wahabist is an orthodox version of the Sunni sect of Islam that has been linked to religious fundamentalism. Some experts have argued that Wahabism creates a religious edict to eliminate the Houthis and their version of Islam.
How is the U.S. involved?
http://www.worldreligionnews.com/?p=45897
(unrated B K P)
Film: Yemen: A Country in Crisis
John Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group, discusses lessons learned from the 2008 financial crisis and the future of investment management in a period of global low-returns. SPEAKER John C. Bogle, Founder, Vanguard Group; President, Bogle Financial Markets Research Center PRESIDER Rana Foroohar, Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor, Financial Times
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRV0L7RDlqU
(unrated B K)
How Yemen became the most wretched place on earth
A report from a conflict zone the world ignores
Comment: A not bad summary of the situation with a little bit of revisionist history from the 1930s - as I understand it, the Saud tribe captured three regions that had traditionally been part of Yemen, Including Jizan and Najran, and they were given a ten year lease on that land, but it remained an area that was disputed until 2000 when in negotiations Saleh conceded it to Saudi Arabia. Not that it did him too much good. Soon after the Yemeni land was captured (with British assistance) the country of Saudi Arabia was formed in 1934, I believe the only country in the world named after a family. It remains a very new country, whereas Yemen is one of the two longest existing lands on the planet, within more or less the same borders, more or less the same people, and the same name - the other long lasting land being China.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156163953068641
(* B K)
Saudis say thousands of arms seized at Yemen border since 2016
Saudi Arabia said Friday it has seized thousands of weapons and hundreds of smugglers illegally crossing over from war-hit Yemen in the past year, as "foreign agents" looked to stage attacks in the kingdom.
Border guard data from October 2016 to September 2017 released by the interior ministry said over 3,500 weapons and stashes of ammunition were captured.
"Most arms were seized on the Saudi-Yemeni border," the statement said, adding that the "seizures come amid attempts by foreign agents to organise terrorist attacks in kingdom".
The statement said 4,656 suspects were arrested at the frontier in connection with attempted smuggling, "over half" of them from Yemen.
My comment: They are smuggling arms OUT of Yemen – that means they really have enough there!
(* B K P)
Auch Deutschland unterstützt Saudi-Arabien – Theresa May verlangt Lockerung der Jemen-Blockade
Die britische Premierministerin Theresa May hat von Saudi-Arabien eine weitere Lockerung der Blockade des Jemen verlangt. Nur durch die verstärkte Lieferung von Hilfsgütern könne im Jemen "eine humanitäre Katastrophe verhindert" werden, erklärte May. Unterdessen bildet das britische Militär jedoch heimlich saudische Truppen aus.
http://www.epochtimes.de/politik/welt/may-fordert-von-saudis-jemen-blockade-zu-lockern-waehrend-britisches-militaer-saudi-truppen-fuer-jemen-krieg-ausbildet-a2281642.html und auch http://www.epochtimes.de/politik/welt/warum-die-stabilitaet-des-jemen-fuer-europa-wichtig-ist-a2281642.html
Bemerkung: Überblicke auf Deutsch.
(* B K P)
Der Jemen geht uns alle an
In diesen Krieg sind wir verwickelt. Durch falsche Entscheidungen, durch Schweigen und Wegsehen. Durch direkte Unterstützung der von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Koalition, die den Jemen in die Steinzeit bombt.
Es lohnt sich ebenfalls, darüber nachzudenken, warum der UN-Sicherheitsrat mit konstanter Beharrlichkeit in den vergangenen Jahren falsche Entscheidungen getroffen hat, siehe Libyen, siehe Syrien, siehe Jemen.
Die EU-Staats- und Regierungschefs haben auf ihrem Treffen im Dezember 2016 dem sogenannten „Bürgermeister von Aleppo“ eine Bühne geboten, Medien einen monatelangen Trommelwirbel veranstalteten um „Aleppo“ (wo es in Wahrheit um den Osten der Stadt ging). Aber was ist mit den 27 Millionen Menschen im Jemen?
https://www.euractiv.de/section/eu-aussenpolitik/opinion/der-jemen-geht-uns-alle-an/
(* B K P)
Film: The U.S. Role In Yemen's Humanitarian Crisis
The Crisis in Yemen and what the U.S. has done to cause it
'Thanks to our blind support of Saudi Arabia, the U.S. has helped create the world's largest humanitarian crisis in Yemen.'
https://twitter.com/abcdaee198/status/936213750616592384
(* B P)
Film: Public Opinion in a Conflicted Middle East
The Middle East Institute (MEI) and the Arab American Institute (AAI) hosted James Zogby (AAI and Zogby Research Services) for the presentation of fresh polling results from across Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, and Turkey. The report examines opinions from over 7,800 respondents about the U.S. and other states’ roles in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. It also looks at Trump Administration policy, political Islam, prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace, the Iran nuclear deal, and the region’s refugee crisis.
Joining Dr. Zogby to discuss the poll findings were Yousef Munayyer (MEI & U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights), Barbara Slavin (Atlantic Council; Al-Monitor), and Gönül Tol (MEI). MEI senior vice president Paul Salem moderated the event.
http://www.mei.edu/events/public-opinion-conflicted-middle-east and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00vBjgVaqeE
(A P)
Twenty-five Yemeni journalists meet to reflect on reporting humanitarian issues
With people in Yemen experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, 25 Yemeni journalists and NGO representatives met on 28, 29 and 30 November 2017 to reflect on the challenges faced when reporting on humanitarian issues.
Those involved currently hail from all of the country's regions and towns: Sanaa, Aden, Hodeida, Taez, etc. The meeting was organised by CFI in collaboration with the Yemeni centre for ethical journalism and the ARIJ (Arab Reporters For Investigative Journalism) organisation, together with UNESCO's Yemen office.
Over the course of the three days, participants reflected on potential means and solutions to be put in place to promote the dissemination of information about the population's daily life in the areas of health, food, access to water, etc. The aim is to encourage collaboration and synergy between Yemeni journalists – often highly polarised where political issues are concerned – as well as humanitarian NGOs and international organisations.
http://www.cfi.fr/en/news/twenty-five-yemeni-journalists-meet-reflect-reporting-humanitarian-issues
(* B P)
The Forgotten War in Yemen —Interview with Yemeni Abdulhak Raja
Make no mistake that the weapons dropped on Yemen civilians are American made and Saudi approved. Willingly preventing and impeding relief and supply to a starving nation is a violation of international humanitarian law.
The United Nations window dressers like to pretend they serve the humanitarian crisis with pure intentions to protect the Yemeni people, when in reality the United Nations upholds the sanctions that squeeze the life force from the Yemen people by the issuing of Resolution 2216. This sanction enforced upon Yemen is in response to the propaganda being spun that portrays the Houthi (Ansar Allah political party faction) as “rebel fighters”.
The MSM has done the job of keeping the illegal war on Yemen quite unknown to the American public. The Yemen war has been coined the “Forgotten war” because previously hardly anyone was reporting on Yemen with accurate details. When and if the corporate news stations report on Yemen, they sell the tale that Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) is reason enough to sanction the entire nation resulting in famine and disease. When we cannot trust the mainstream media or the motivations of the United States true role of the war in Yemen, we must begin to ask the questions directly towards the people affected in Yemen themselves.
In light of learning not so long ago that the MSM is allowed to lie to us freely without apology, I made the effort to ask my questions directly to a person living in Yemen. His name is Abdulhak Raja.
Interview with Abdulhak Raja of Yemen
Abdulhak: Yemen’s main problem for almost a century was always Saudi Arabia, who was behind the instability in Yemen and the region. With oil revenues and with the help of the U.S. and western countries, they want to dominate the region. For sure their is something wrong with their mentality. Instead of spending revenues on the prosperity of their people, they spend it in the destruction and manslaughter of countries and the people of the region.
Abdulhak: The sanction on the 5 persons mentioned on the UN Security Council Resolution 2216 were not limited to them but applied on the entire population of Yemen. I will quote what here what Gareth Porter in an interview says: “
Abdulhak: Alhouthi are a faction and a political group which had representatives in Elected Yemeni Parliament since 1997. They converted into a political party under the name of Ansar Allah. For the MSM to describe them as rebels is improper, wrong, and unfair in my opinion. Ansar Allah abide to the law and to the constitution and will be committed with it’s ally the General People’s Congress to any fair and just settlement as a way out from the awful confrontations and war to peace and partnership with all other Yemeni political parties. They accepted Kerry’s proposals submitted in December 2016, for peace in Yemen!!!
My comment: This is very pro-Houthi.
(* B H P)
Syria and Yemen: A tale of two conflicts
Over the past six years, the world has looked on in horror as a modern-day humanitarian crisis has unfolded in Syria.
Emotive images of young children lying dead and injured from air strikes regularly fill our television screens, and there is no shortage of news reports detailing the ‘human rights abuses’ of the ‘Assad regime’ and its allies in Russia and Iran.
This disparity in media coverage is no mistake, and to understand why, one must look at the geopolitical, military and financial factors driving both wars.
Key to this media whitewashing is the lucrative arms trade between the US and Saudi Arabia.
However unlike the Syrian conflict, which the mainstream media has framed as ‘rebels’ trying to depose a ‘brutal dictator’ backed up by his Russian and Iranian allies, no such narrative can be constructed for the war in Yemen, hence the media silence on what is now amounting to a genocide.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syria-yemen-tale-two-conflicts/
(* B H K P)
How—and why—to end the war in Yemen
Perhaps the worst of it is that much of the world seems unperturbed (see Briefing), calloused by the years of bloodshed in Syria and other parts of the Middle East, and despairing of its ability to effect change. To be cynical, Yemen is farther away from Europe than Syria is; its wretched people do not, on the whole, wash up in the West seeking asylum.
Yet the world ignores Yemen at its peril. Set aside for a moment the obligation to relieve suffering and protect civilians. Hard security interests are also at stake. The world can ill afford another failed state—a new Afghanistan or Somalia—that becomes a breeding-ground for global terrorism.
The longer the war goes on, the more Saudi Arabia’s Western allies are complicit in its actions. President Donald Trump has given Saudi Arabia carte blanche to act recklessly (see article). He may think it is all part of confronting Iran; or he may want to support the liberalising reforms of the Saudi crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman; or he may hope to profit by selling the Saudis “lots of beautiful military equipment”. Whatever the case, he is damaging America’s interests.
Remark: Overview.
Comment: The Economist follows the narrative of Iran/Saudi Arabia divide.
Quite a disappointing article.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1572181272834897
(* B H K P)
Yemen’s dangerous war
Saudi meddling in regional politics and its intervention in Yemen is destabilising the Middle East, and pushing the country into sickness and starvation.
The laissez-faire attitude of the major powers shows a deep contempt for Yemenis and a refusal to understand the underlying motives of a conflict with consequences far beyond the country’s borders. The world’s lack of interest in this conflict suggests that it is regarded as just another low-intensity backwater conflict, yet Yemen is at the heart of critical issues that it would be foolish to ignore.
Yemen has been gradually marginalised by conflicts, the cold war, expulsions of Yemeni workers (in 1990, 800,000 were expelled from Saudi Arabia because Yemen was seen as supporting Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the Gulf war) and endemic poverty due to a lack of natural resources and corruption among its leaders.
The coalition’s inability to overcome the Houthi rebellion and the difficulties over the political future of Hadi, who has only limited popular support, underline the errors in Saudi strategy.
The war has also become a trap for Saudi leaders; Saudi authorities waver between propaganda that claims military operations are going well and a catastrophist approach that claims victimhood.
The collapse of Yemen’s state institutions because of the war has benefited armed Islamist groups.
These challenges may soon be trifling compared with the medium-term outlook. The exhaustion of underground aquifers, especially around Sanaa, could lead to massive population movements over the next decade. The consequences and cost of moving three million inhabitants out of a capital built at 2,300m altitude (hard to supply with desalinated water) would be huge. Taiz is in a similar position.
Without a long-term vision, Yemen will collapse, with serious consequences for the world – by Laurent Bonnefoy
https://mondediplo.com/2017/12/02yemen
(* B P)
Yemen: Today’s Guernica
On the market day of April 26, 1937, at the bequest of General Francisco Franco, a bombing of the Basque town of Guernica took place. It was carried out by Spain’s nationalistic government allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe’s Condor Legion and the Fascist Italian Aviazione Legionaria. The attack, under the code name Operation Rügen, in which hundreds of people died, became a rallying cry against the brutal killing of innocent civilians. 80 years later, however, an even more criminal action is carried out against Yemeni civilians mainly by Saudi Arabia, with the complicity of the United States.
[Overview]
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/11/30/yemen-todays-guernica/
(A P)
I am in #Jordan #Amman to participate in @CFImedias forum to discuss the humanitarian crisis in my country #Yemen We have discussed a lot of humanitarian issues and some challenges that we face as journalists (photos)
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/936005980634189824
(* B)
Film: At this moment, 1 child dies EVERY 10 minutes in Yemen. Here is the poignant message of Ahmed Jahaf, artist who wants to "break the silence" around his country ...The message is dubbed in French.
https://twitter.com/Qofficiel/status/935938058645655552?s=09
(* B)
Film: While many were busy discussing Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's engagement, here are 3 stories you may have missed.
https://twitter.com/ajenglish/status/935619431606116353
(B)
#Yemen: where you see schoolteachers turn into khat sellers & college professors into workers at bakeries & other small businesses amid a deepening liquidity crisis. Do you know that Houthi militants have become so rich with large properties & investments inside & outside Yemen?
https://twitter.com/fuadrajeh/status/935589893853638662
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
(* A H P)
Jemen droht weiterhin eine Hungerkatastrophe
Vor einer Woche öffnete ein von Saudi-Arabien geführtes Bündnis wichtige Häfen im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen für humanitäre Güter. Hilfsorganisationen halten diesen Schritt für völlig unzureichend.
Internationale Helfer erklärten am Donnerstag, es komme noch immer zu wenig humanitäre Hilfe an. „Wir betonen, dass der Fortschritt der vergangenen Woche äußerst gering ist“, teilte die Organisation Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) mit. Die teilweise Öffnung von Häfen werde nicht verhindern, dass sieben Millionen Jemeniten in eine Hungersnot rutschten.
Die Sprecherin des Internationalen Komitees vom Roten Kreuz (IKRK), Iolanda Jaquemet, sagte der Deutschen Presse-Agentur: „Wir sind sehr froh, dass die humanitäre Hilfe wieder läuft, aber das ist nur ein sehr positiver erster Schritt.“ Das Welternährungsprogramm WFP berichtete von einem dramatischen Anstieg der Preise für Treibstoff und Lebensmittel
http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/trotz-lockerung-der-blockade-jemen-droht-weiterhin-eine-hungerkatastrophe/20652950.html und auch https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/83766/Trotz-Lockerung-der-Blockade-Jemen-droht-weiter-Hungerkatastrophe
(* A H P)
Yemen blockade needs to be fully wound down: U.N. aid chief
The Saudi-led military coalition must fully lift its blockade on Yemen, where seven or eight million are “right on the brink of famine”, U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said on Friday, but he declined to say if maintaining such a blockade was legal.
“That blockade has been partially wound down but not fully wound down. It needs to be fully wound down if we are to avoid an atrocious humanitarian tragedy involving the loss of millions of lives, the like of which the world has not seen for many decades,” he said.
and
(A H P)
UN aid chief declines to say if Yemen blockade is illegal
U.N. humanitarian aid chief Mark Lowcock declined to say on Friday if the Saudi-led blockade on Yemen was a breach of international law, but said there were laws of war and they needed to be respected.
“From the (U.N.) secretary-general down we’ve consistently called on all parties to uphold their obligations and we condemned flagrant breaches whenever they occur,” Lowcock said.
Pressed on the legality of the blockade, he said: “It is absolutely essential that people uphold their international obligations. Wars have rules and they need to be complied with.” (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Alison Williams)
My comment: So what? Such a blockade according to international law definitely is. The UN is half-hearted.
(* B H P)
Film: An important first step: humanitarian aid has begun entering #Yemen. But without commercial imports, millions of lives are in jeopardy. https://twitter.com/ICRC/status/935881536724963329
(* B H P)
Saudi Arabia lifted its blockade of Yemen. It’s not nearly enough to prevent a famine.
Last week, after an international outcry, Saudi Arabia relaxed that blockade. Aid deliveries were allowed to two rebel-held sea and air ports. Since then, the BBC reports, only a handful of flights and ships have arrived. Some carried thousands of pounds of flour. Another brought aid workers and vaccines.
It's better than nothing. But aid groups say it's not nearly enough. They warn that unless Saudi Arabia permits commercial shipments of fuel and food immediately, millions of people will starve.
“To feed the 7 million people suffering severe famine, we need this kind of access on a regular basis, as we had before November 5,” Abeer Etefa, a senior coordinator for the U.N. World Food Program, told CNN. “We are hoping that commercial ships carrying food will also be allowed access to Yemen's ports soon, as the country imports 90 percent of its food and this is the only way to end the famine.”
(* A H P)
Yemen war: ICRC buys fuel to pump water in stricken cities
The International Committee of the Red Cross is buying 750,000 litres of diesel fuel to help provide clean water for a million people living in Yemen.
Nine cities ran out of clean water this month because a blockade by a Saudi-led coalition prevented imports of fuel needed for pumping and sanitation.
The ICRC's fuel purchase will allow the water systems in two cities, Hudaydah and Taiz, to operate for a month.
And film: The BBC's Clive Myrie reports from one hospital on the brink of running out of fuel
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42170809
(* A H P)
Seven cities in #Yemen have run out fuel to work the water network and the cost of trucked water in some locations has risen to 595% - all while 4 fuel tankers wait off the coast of Hudaydah #YemenBlockade
https://twitter.com/rimas_se/status/936114083274936320
(* B H P)
Yemenis fear starving to death as Saudi siege bites
Prices of essential goods have soared and remain out of reach for many in Hodeidah, even despite the partial lifting of Saudi Arabia's blockade
Saudi Arabia may now be allowing some humanitarian aid into Yemen, but the blockade on all commercial goods remains firmly in place, and it is ordinary civilians who are paying the price.
In the streets of Hodeidah, on the eastern coast of Yemen, Ahmed Showei walks the streets, peddling toys.
Even before the blockade on Yemen was introduced, on 6 November, Showei, who is 43 and a father of six children, was struggling to make a living.
But as prices have soared, he says his suffering has "doubled" and he can no longer earn enough to support his family with even meagre rations.
But while the blockade has lifted on select humanitarian deliveries, Yemeni traders still cannot import fuel or other goods via Hodeidah's port, meaning prices of fuel and basic commodities have not decreased from the heights they soared to when the siege was first enacted.
Showei earns around YR500 ($2) a day, but this was only just enough to provide for his family even before the siege came into being.
"The ingredient for bread - wheat, flour and oil - are a priority for me as bread is our main meal. I only buy fruits and meat once a month, and sometimes not at all," he says.
But now, since the blockade, prices have risen to such an extent that Showei cannot now provide his family with even the basic commodities.
An estimated 17 million people – 60 percent of the total population - are food insecure while a further seven million people do not know where their next meal is coming from and are at risk of famine, the UN said.
"Traders are also Yemenis and they are also victims of the blockade as they cannot import goods easily, so we should not blame them," said Najeeb Akram, formerly a fisherman, and now a vegetable seller.
"We blame the Saudi-led coalition that closed the port under the pretext of smuggling weapons," Akram told MEE.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemenis-fear-starving-death-siege-only-partially-lifted-495742678
My comment: A good description of the situation.
(* A H P)
Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General (29 November 2017)
In Yemen itself, the cost of diesel as doubled, while the price of petrol has risen by more than 70 percent and cooking gas by 18 per cent. It is critical that fuel reaches all Yemeni ports immediately — fuel is essential to operate generators for hospitals and water pumps, as well as to deliver drinking water and food.
(* A H P)
Quint countries fail to open up Yemen's ports
In response to the Foreign Ministers of the Quint countries (Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States) failing to make progress on opening up Yemen's ports, Oxfam said the suffering of millions of Yemenis would continue:
Shane Stevenson, Oxfam Yemen Country Director, said:"The failure to agree to break the blockade of Yemen will ensure more misery is heaped onto millions of people who are running out of food, fuel, medicines and even clean water. A population who have suffered nearly three years of war are at breaking point.
"Nothing short of fully opening of the country's major ports to allow in both humanitarian and commercial goods will offer relief. Nothing short of an immediate cease-fire will give people hope. Nothing short of a revitalised path to peace will give them a future."
https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/reactions/quint-countries-fail-open-yemens-ports
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp1a, cp2a
(A H)
Blankets and winter clothing were distributing today by @monarelief's ground crew in Sanaa. Our project was funded by an anonymous Kuwaiti donor. Thank you so much for your support guys (photos)
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/936245780536586241
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/936242816640012289
https://twitter.com/khuloodalhadda1/status/936260472000696320
(B H)
Film: Children bear the brunt of suffering in Yemen
[not visible in Germany]
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2017/11/children-bear-the-brunt-of-suffering-in-yemen.html
(B H)
Worst electricity supply, 2017. (out of 137 countries) 1. Yemen
https://twitter.com/spectatorindex/status/935711948259201024
(B H)
Restoring hope of Coffee Farmers amidst Crisis in Yemen
Mohammed Mansour Yahiya, a coffee farmer in his 30s from Al-Dharif village, Burra District of Hodeida Governorate, did not lose hope despite facing unbearable hardships in such tough times.
Mohammed used to receive a monthly salary from his job in addition to the money he makes from coffee plantation. However, Mohammed's financial situation has worsened with the suspension of salaries due to the conflict which erupted in Yemen in 2015.
"With the cessation of the monthly salary, I lost my main source of income and became unable to provide food for my children. It's painful to feel unable to provide a decent living for your family," said Mohammed.
Amid this hard situation, Mohammed was one of many coffee farmers in Burra who found hope with the Small and Micro Enterprise Promotion Service (SMEPS) intervention, a business resilience project funded by USAID and implemented by UNDP in partnership with Social Fund for Development (SFD) to expand their production through improving their value chain by using modern technologies and better farming methods.
My comment: There is no real reason for praising USAID – the US support for Saudi Arabia just has created the most of what has happened to Yemen.
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
(* B H)
Path of insecurity for migrants leaving the Horn
Discrimination, unemployment and conflict set migrants on a perilous journey through war-torn Yemen to the Gulf
Despite conflict and humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, the country remains a destination for some Somali and Ethiopian migrants who risk kidnapping, torture and deportation trying to reach labour markets in the Gulf. Tens of thousands of migrants use a vast network of smugglers to move across harsh terrain, endure a perilous sea voyage, and then travel through war-torn Yemen and across one of the world’s most heavily-monitored borders.
New research by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) indicates that some of these migrants may be recruited into armed groups, hired as mercenaries, or conscripted into forced labour during their journey. Many are kidnapped upon arrival in Yemen.
Many more migrants travel from the Horn of Africa to Yemen and Saudi Arabia than to Europe. A record 117,107 arrivals were documented in Yemen in 2016, 83% of them Ethiopian and 17% Somali.
On arrival in Yemen, smugglers facilitate movement across the militarised Saudi border.
Migrant smuggling is big business. Research carried out in 2016 by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime for the ISS indicated that migrants paid $200-500 to journey illegally to Yemen via Djibouti. The migrant smuggling industry in the Horn of Africa was conservatively estimated to be worth around $15-million per annum in 2016.
This transnational connectivity between multiple groups of smugglers suggests co-ordination between criminal opportunists along many different routes.Once they reach Yemen, migrants must make new financial arrangements with local smugglers and may find themselves detained by armed groups who connect them with smugglers in exchange for ransom payments. Migrants have told of being thrown off the boats and made to swim ashore to avoid detection.
A security official in the smuggling hub of Hodeida in Yemen reported a chain of smuggling networks including military officials, local sheikhs, members of parliament, public prosecutors, law enforcement, and customs officials.
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/path-of-insecurity-for-migrants-leaving-the-horn = https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-12-01-iss-today-path-of-insecurity-for-migrants-leaving-the-horn/#.WiFaN0riaUk
(B H)
Yemen: Shelter/NFI/CCCM Cluster Dashboard for October 2017
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-shelternficccm-cluster-dashboard-october-2017
Map: Yemen: IDPs Hosting Sites (as of November 2017)
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-idps-hosting-sites-november-2017
Map. Yemen: Shelter/NFI/CCCM Cluster 3Ws for activities implemented in October 2017
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-shelternficccm-cluster-3ws-activities-implemented-october-2017
Yemen: In-Country Stocks and Pipelines (as of November 2017)
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-country-stocks-and-pipelines-november-2017
Map: Yemen: Shelter/NFI/CCCM Cluster Sub-National Structure (as of November 2017)
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-shelternficccm-cluster-sub-national-structure-november-2017
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
Look at / Siehe cp1, cp1b
(* A K P)
Rebellengruppen im Jemen liefern sich heftige Gefechte
Im Jemen ist es erneut zu heftigen Gefechten zwischen verbündeten Rebellengruppen gekommen. In der Hauptstadt Sanaa lieferten sich Kämpfer der schiitischen Houthi-Rebellen und Anhänger des gestürzten Staatschefs Ali Abdullah Saleh am Freitag den dritten Tag in Folge bewaffnete Auseinandersetzungen. Im Süden der Hauptstadt war nach Angaben von Augenzeugen am Abend heftiges Gewehrfeuer zu hören.
Auch am Haus des Rebellenkommandanten Tarek Saleh, einem Neffen des gestürzten Präsidenten, kam es erneut zu Gefechten. Am Donnerstagabend waren dort bei Kämpfen drei Menschen getötet worden, wie die frühere Regierungspartei GPC mitteilte. Gespräche über eine Waffenruhe zwischen der politischen Führung der Houthi-Rebellen und den Saleh-Anhängern gingen demnach am Freitag ohne Einigung zu Ende.
http://www.vol.at/rebellengruppen-im-jemen-liefern-sich-heftige-gefechte/5575541
Mein Kommentar: Wesentlich mehr, aktueller, besser auf Englisch im Folgenden:
(** A P)
At least 80 killed and 150 wounded in fierce clashes in Yemen's Sanaa between Houthis and Saleh's party forces
https://yemen.liveuamap.com/en/2017/2-december-at-least-80-killed-and-150-wounded-in-fierce-clashes
(** A P)
At least 40 killed in Yemen in fighting between rebel factions in Sanaa
At least 40 people died, including civilians, and dozens were wounded in the last few hours in Sanaa in the fighting between Houthi rebels and their allies, the forces loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, according to sources from both camps and eyewitnesses.
Fighting started overnight when the Houthis tried to access the houses of several commanders of the Republican Guard, which is loyal to Saleh, and leaders of the General People's Congress party, run by the former president.
(* A P)
Pro-Saleh forces control checkpoints in the southern city of Dhamar
https://yemen.liveuamap.com/en/2017/2-december-prosaleh-forces-control-checkpoints-in-the-southern
(** A P)
Newest from social media:
Facts from Yemeni capital Sanaa: 6 million people live in there. (3 million + 3 million displaced from all over the country to be safe) Wars from street to street in this city, from today,between Houthi & Saleh would make a new catastrophe. Saudi Arabia & UAE r so happy!
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/936890943361359873
In #Sanaa: Saleh forces claim control of TV Station, Airport, Ministry of Defense, Central Bank, 48th military compound, National Security
News of 'Dhamar, Ibb, AlMahweet and Raimah governorate free from the Houthis control
Film: Scenes from the clashes in Sana'a (South part of the capital).
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/1574193062633718/
Film: Scenes of clashes taking place in Sanaa.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/1574169509302740/
Film: Clashes between #Houthis and GPC’s Forces in #Sanaa
https://twitter.com/san3aToday/status/936875282857844736
Photo: Happening now!
Bait Baws area, south of the capital Sana'a.
Citizens of the capital Sana'a line up at home cooking gas and fuel stations.
Yemen's Ex-president Saleh party (GPC) calls in a statement to all military and security members not to follow orders from Houthi and stay neutral.
Statement calls also all tribesmen all over Yemen to protect the republic.
Film: Sons of Hajjah province celebrate the control of government buildings and remove the slogans of the Houthi gangs
https://twitter.com/RepublicanYemen/status/936890341256445953
Photos. The Huthis surrender themselves and their weapons to the men of the Republican Guard in Sana'a and vacate their positions.
https://twitter.com/JosephJo1221/status/936891352394055682
Film: Huthis run away carrying their right
https://twitter.com/khaledSfO3/status/936876209350230018
Photo: removing Houthi slogans
https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/936866692629643264
Film: In #Sanaa, #Houthis’ slogans and stickers are being removed from vehicles and the streets’ walls.
https://twitter.com/san3aToday/status/936806294287138816
Film: Video: clashes with #Houthis, and citizens are beating Houthis militants in #Sanaa..
https://twitter.com/san3aToday/status/936817846738235393
Media: GPC’s Forces arrest the #Houthis’ Military Intelligence Chief in #Sanaa.
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/936888862579687425
Film: Video of the men and they are leaving large groups of militias Huthi fled and hid in the basement of the hospital tuberculosis ... This one payment of three pushed out of the basement
https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/936884546464706560
and
Film: The second batch ... of the Houthi militias that were hiding in the basement of the hospital ...
https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/936887245184712704
Photos: So far more than 150 prisoners of the Houthis ... and a large number of dead ... photos of some of their families.
https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/936856886468419584
Photo: A collapse of the Houthis in Sanaa and heavy losses in their ranks
http://al-ayyam.net/news/77SM5B73-0KU0KF
GPC’s forces advance in the capital #Sanaa and control the Television building, the presidential palace, the defense ministry, the national security apparatus and other military sites..
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/936886291408371712
GPC’s Forces claim its control over the Central Bank in #Sanaa!
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/936885311174352896
GPC’s Forces claim its control over the 48 military camp, #Sanaa entrances and other institutions!
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/936884299533451264
GPC’s Forces declare its control over #Sanaa International Airport.
https://twitter.com/yemen_updates/status/936843515585224704
(** A P)
Yemen allies fight on in Sanaa as mediation efforts collapse
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s supporters battled Iran-aligned Houthis for a fourth day on Saturday in the capital Sanaa, residents said, in a widening rift that could affect the course of a more than 2-1/2 year civil war.
Residents described heavy fighting on the streets of Hadda, a residential district in southern Sanaa where many of Saleh’s relatives, including his nephew Tareq, live.
They said explosions and gunfire were being heard all over the area. The streets were deserted except from fighters from both sides.
There was no immediate word on casualties.
The fighting resumed after a lull of several hours brought about by mediation efforts that sought to resolve the dispute.
Saleh’s General People’s Congress (GPC) party, accused the Houthis of failing to honor the truce and said in a statement on its website that the Houthis bear responsibility for dragging the country into a civil war.
It also called on supporters, including tribal fighters, to “defend themselves, their country, their revolution and their republic...”
The GPC appealed to the army and security forces to remain neutral in the conflict.
The Houthis’ Ansarullah group, in a statement issued on its Twitter account, described the clashes as “regrettable” and said “It is happening in coordination with it,” referring to the Saudi-led coalition.
(* A P)
Clashes continue between rival factions in Yemen's capital
Clashes between rival factions in Yemen's rebel-held capital have continued for the fourth day as forces loyal to the former president and Shiite rebels known as Houthis face off in the streets of Sanaa.
Local residents say it's been like a "street war" as tensions peak between the two sides. They say ambulances have been ferrying the wounded to hospitals. There has been no official word on casualties.
The residents say loud explosions were heard overnight across the city and into Saturday morning. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals.
(* A K P)
Former Yemeni President Reveals Iran Rejected Entering the Coalition against Saudi War on Yemen, Urges Egypt to Leave Saudi-Led Coalition
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said the equation has changed in the region, urging Egypt to instantly leave the Saudi-led coalition.
Sources reported that Saleh made on the anniversary of the country’s Independence Day, saying “I want Cairo to leave this coalition,” calling on the Arab member states of the Saudi-led coalition, particularly Egypt, to immediately withdraw from the coalition.
He further pointed out that there is no conflict between Yemenis and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. “We will hold talks with our brothers in Saudi Arabia about the Yemen war and will end the conflict.”
Nevertheless, he added that the problem is the Yemeni officials who escape from Sana’a to Aden and from Aden to Saudi Arabia.
“They will finally escape Saudi Arabia because it is impossible that they would return to their homeland,” he explained, apparently alluding to fugitive ex-president of Yemen Mansour Hadi.
Moreover, Saleh dismissed media reports about Iran’s military presence in Yemen and its role in development of Yemeni missiles.
“A missile fired from Sana’a hit Riyadh and the enemy claimed that the missile was Iranian while Iran is not present in Yemen,” Saleh was quoted as saying.
Once again, he called on Iran to join a coalition with Yemen to confront the Saudi-led coalition which has waged the devastating and bloody war against Yemen.
https://ahtribune.com/world/north-africa-south-west-asia/war-on-yemen/2030-saleh-iran-saudi-egypt.html and also https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171130-saleh-saudi-warned-the-us-of-egypts-dangerous-role-in-yemen/
(* B P)
The Houthis: Revolutionaries Pegged as Religious Extremists
The Houthis enjoy wide support from the Yemeni people, and the movement itself can be more accurately described as a national liberation movement.
Ever since the Houthi Ansarullah-led takeover of Yemen back in 2014, the western world has deliberately tried to paint the movement as either ”Iranian-backed” or a “rebel militia group”. Both claims false and lack basis in fact. Western media outlets claim that Iran regularly smuggles weapons and rockets into Yemeni territory, and that the Houthis are dictated by Iran on all its actions. They also liken the Houthi Ansarullah movement to a terrorist organization.
The Houthi Ansarullah movement was, at its core, never violent nor was it armed. It started as a grassroots movement, dealing with everything from corruption to lack of women’s rights. It privately funded initiatives that would raise the quality of healthcare, schools, and infrastructure in the regions under their control, and people loved them for it. They were in every sense of the word - a popular movement.
But this was years ago. Sayyed Hussain was brutally murdered in a cave by Saleh-loyalist forces, and his brother, Sayyed Abdel Malek, would soon take over the role of leadership from his elderly brother.
One of the primary goals of the movement from that point was to make an initiative that would effectively eradicate religious extremism. The Zaydi community had long felt marginalized and threatened by the expanding threat of extremism – a problem the Saudi-backed government had no interest in addressing. Yemen has long dealt with extremism in its country, mainly originating from Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis were one of the main organizers that protested against former President Saleh back in 2011, and they were also skeptical of the one-candidate election that would instate Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi as president which the western media, including most notably famed columnist Thomas L. Friedman, called ‘democratic’.
So what happened that year? Why did they take Sana’a so quickly, and nearly without confrontation? The problem lies in a common worry that all Yemenis shared. Not only was Mansour Hadi better favored by Saudi authorities than Saleh, his government also enabled the Islah Party to gain way more influence in the government and the parliament. Something many, if not most, Yemenis feared would happen. This led to greater dissatisfaction with the new government, sparking even bigger protests than before. And the Houthis were yet again at the forefront in a position of massive popular support – by Rune Agerhus, a Danish student, media activist, and director for the Ansarullah Information Center.
My comment: This article of course is baised very pro-Houthi.
(A K P)
Yemen rebel chief threatens to hit back over Saudi blockade
Rebel chief Abdulmalik al-Huthi warned against "prolonging the blockade" imposed on Yemen following a November 4 Huthi missile attack that was intercepted near Riyadh international airport.
"Should the blockade continue, we know what (targets) would cause great pain and how to reach them," he said in a speech broadcast on the rebels' Al-Masirah television, in an implicit warning of fresh missile attacks
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
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Yemen's Al Ghaydah Airport Now Operating
The Coalition Forces Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen announced on Friday that Al Ghaydah airport located in Al-Mahra province is now operating to receive aircraft carrying relief and humanitarian assistance.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1100306/yemens-al-ghaydah-airport-now-operating
My comment: In SE Yemen. Saudi support is given according to own political interests.
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Film: Yemen - Thousands Celebrate The 50th Anniversary Of The National Independence Day
In the presence of the Presidency and members of the Presidium of the Southern Transitional Council, led by the President of the Council Aidroos Qasim Al-Zubaidi and his deputy Hani Ben Brik, the Southern Transitional Council organized a public festival on Thursday to celebrate the golden jubilee of the 50th anniversary of the National Independence Day (November 30) in the Martyr Khaled al-Junaidi Square in the city of Kreiter in the temporary capital of Aden with a broad participation of the people of the south from various regions and governorates
My comment: There are just the southern separatists who are celebrating – nobody from the Hadi government is to be seen.
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Film: Aden calls for independence as Yemen's war rages on
Fifty years since the insurgence in Aden in Yemen came to its violent end, thousands have gathered in the port city to mark independence day.
Yet as war rages in the Middle Eastern country, the day was only partly a celebration, it was also a demonstration.
Rather than flying Yemen's flag, it was the separatist flag that flew over the massed demonstrators as they called for the south of the country to break away from the north.
A third side is now emerging in the war, with extremists taking advantage of the situation (photos9
http://www.itv.com/news/2017-12-01/aden-calls-for-independence-as-yemens-war-rages-on/
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Emirati-backed Transitional Political Council of the South (STC) President Aydarus al Zubaydi highlighted the STC’s desire for political negotiations with international institutions and stressed that any political solution disregarding the south will not establish peace in Yemen [4]
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Convoys of Southern Governorates Mobilize to Adan to Participate in the Golden Jubilee of Independence
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Southern Resistance Forces Ben Doghr to Cancel a Military Marsh in Salah El-Din
Southern resistance troops forced Ben Doghr’s government to cancel a military marsh assumed to occur in Salah El-Din with presence of Prime Minister Ahmed Ben Doghr under the Yemeni Flag
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5 Yemeni recruits killed in suspected al-Qaida ambush
Militants suspected of belonging to the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch on Thursday killed five security members during an ambush in the southeastern province of Shabwa, a police officer told Xinhua.
The local police source said an unknown number of al-Qaida suspects ambushed newly-recruited security members who were on patrol at the entrance of Ataq city, the provincial capital of Shabwa.
"During the ambush, five security members of the newly-trained troops were killed, and one injured. Their vehicle was burnt by the militants during the surprise attack," said the officer who declined to be named.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-12/01/c_136791411.htm
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A southern resistance militia led by Abu Hammam al Yafei attacked Hadi government Presidential Protection forces with small and medium arms near Salah al Din camp, al Buraiqeh district, Aden city, southern Yemen on November 30. Presidential Protection forces reportedly appealed for reinforcements from Emirati forces at a Saudi-led coalition camp but received no response. Supporters of the Emirati-backed Transitional Political Council of the South (STC) celebrated Independence Day in Crater district, Aden city.[1]
https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-november-30-2017#_ftn4
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Film: #Watch the clashes #now between the #Southern_Resistance and the presidential guard forces of Prime Minister #BenDagher in #Aden city
https://twitter.com/NajTV/status/936219578039971840
My comment: The same in Sanaa and Aden…
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Five Shabwani Elite soldiers were killed in a suspected #AQAP attack today near #Ataq city #Shabwa. #Yemen
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Taiz demands merge of resistance forces into army
The political parties of Taiz have demanded President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to merge all the popular resistance forces into the army which these paramilitary volunteers once helped drive out the Houthi-Saleh rebel militias' from the city's center.
The call followed brief clashes on Monday between two rival forces that lasted hours and sent panic waves in downtown the city but left no casualties.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-13277
Remark: For these clashes, YPR 361 cp6.
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Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (ORGANIZATIONAQAPAL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA (AQAP) FORMED IN JANUARY 2...AQAP) militants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) targeting Emirati-backed al Hizam Security Forces in Zinjibar city, Abyan governorate, southern Yemen on November 28. [3]
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Aden: lawlessness is deepening. Reports are talking abut an explosion at residence of a businessman in which 2 persons were killed. #South_Yemen: complete failure & duplicity of Saudi-led coalition. One more thing: UAE support to Salafists must be considered an act of terror
https://twitter.com/fuadrajeh/status/935295312285065216
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
Siehe / Look at cp1
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
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Saudi Arabia committing suicide
The crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), as the chief decision-maker, has been pursuing dangerously erroneous policies in his short political life: he has ordered invasion of Yemen, blockaded the tiny state of Qatar, started open hostility with Iran, and recently pressing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to resign with the aim of unsettling Lebanon.
In his newest remarks, even the crown prince surprisingly blamed the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran for the Saudi-inspired violent ideology in the form of Wahhabism and Takfirism.
That how the revolution in Iran, which by itself was a great step toward democratization and republicanism, pushed Saudi Arabia toward religious extremism is a question that only bin Salman can invent an answer to.
MBS does not want to admit that Saudi Arabians are being ruled by a family which its examples can only be found in the dustbin of history and its regime’s intolerance of religious diversity in the Middle Ages.
http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/418919/Saudi-Arabia-committing-suicide
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
Siehe / Look at cp1
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This is exactly @nytopinion @tomfriedman called Arab Spring. #Saudi center inaugurated by @realDonaldTrump to combat extremism tweets "apostates should be killed"
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/936788969043345409
referring to
There is a great deal of jurisprudential debate about the punishment of the apostate, which is one of the many issues of circulation and expansion of false interpretations in a number of theses of the terrorists. Here, the center of intellectual war presents the dialectic of some of the opinions "
https://twitter.com/fekerksa/status/936683478116175872
1 - The hadeeth: "Whoever substitutes for his religion, kill him" is explained by a hadeeth: "The blood of a Muslim should not be defiled. He testifies that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah except in one of three. To get out of it really) does not certify the two testimonies, how to kill when he witnesses them ?.
https://twitter.com/fekerksa/status/936683478116175872
2 - Some felt that the meaning of: "who replaced his religion" any character, which is a major crime in the right of divine legislation ... And that there are legitimate texts were not taken at first sight, for other considerations and legitimate purposes, including the scholars.
https://twitter.com/fekerksa/status/936683883059347456
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Saudi prince freed from detention
Before his arrest the 64-year-old son of the late king Abdullah was sacked as the head of the National Guard, an internal security force that has always been seen as a locus of tribal power.
The allegations against them include money laundering, bribery, extorting officials, but the accusations could not be independently verified and family members of those detained could not be reached.
In a similar post with the picture of a smiling prince, Princess Abeer bint Khaled bin Abdullah tweeted: 'May god grant you a long life, give you health and keep you safe for us'.
The 65-year-old son of the late King Abdullah was detained under the orders of a newly formed anti-corruption committee headed by his 32-year-old cousin, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,
http://expressnewsline.com/2017/12/01/saudi-prince-freed-from-detention.html
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Is Saudi Arabia Also Among the Terrorists?
I am fascinated by Saudi Arabia. It does not care what others say or think. It simply pursues its own goals and policies, submitting to no other than its master, the United States of America. To it, women are legally inferior to men, and no amount of human or women rights campaigns will change that. Despite this, it is the most modernising country in the world when it comes to women issues. Amazingly, it will allow women to start driving cars from June, 2018. It is a complete revolution because it means women drivers may not wear the veil while driving.
The country is also taking the amazing step of allowing women to go to the sports stadium from 2018. For this, three stadia in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah are being configured for this rarity.
Nobody is talking about crimes against humanity because the Saudis have powerful friends in the United Nations and the “international community’. Many want a slice of the huge Saudi arms budget. When American President Donald Trump visited Riyadh this May, he smiled home with a $350 billion arms contract for his country. With this, it was not difficult to get America endorse Saudi Arabia’s illegal blockade and sanctions against tiny Qatar who was told to either accept a 13-Point Saudi Demand, including the closure of Al Jazeera, or face annihilation.
Perhaps only the Basir al-Assad government in Syria has been able to checkmate Saudi Arabia, which with its allies had established, trained and funded terrorist forces like the Islamic State (ISIS) and the al-Nusra Front to seize Syria. Show me your friends, and I will tell you who you are – by Owei Lakemfa, former Secretary General of African Workers, Human Rights activist, journalist and author.
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U.S. firms push Washington to restart nuclear pact talks with Riyadh: sources
U.S. firms attracted by Saudi Arabia’s plans to build nuclear reactors are pushing Washington to restart talks with Riyadh on an agreement to help the kingdom develop atomic energy, three industry sources said.
Saudi Arabia has welcomed the lobbying, they said, though it is likely to worry regional rival Iran at a time when tensions are already high in the Middle East.
One of the sources also said Riyadh had told Washington it does not want to forfeit the possibility of one day enriching uranium - a process that can have military uses - though this is a standard condition of U.S. civil nuclear cooperation pacts.
“They want to secure enrichment if down the line they want to do it,” the source, who is in contact with Saudi and U.S. officials, said before U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry holds talks in Riyadh early next week.
My comment: This is crazy looking at the US lamenting on the Iranian nuclear program.
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Egyptian billionaire denounces Saudi corruption crackdown
Egyptian billionaire businessman Naguib Sawiris condemned on Friday a crackdown on graft in Saudi Arabia, saying the purge had undermined the rule of law in the Kingdom and would deter investment.
In unusually outspoken comments, Sawiris, a well-known business figure in North Africa and the Middle East, also accused Qatar of destabilizing the region, and said there were only a handful of Arab nations that were safe to invest in.
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Film: Wahhabi preacher Abdulaziz Fawzan refers to celebrating the birth of Prophet Mohammed as 'an abomination.' This was the pretext #ISIS used to mow down 300+ Muslims at a #Sinai mosque last week.
https://www.facebook.com/NotoWahabism/videos/1394213477373897/
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SKEPTICAL OF THE SAUDIS
Over recent months, we’ve been bombarded with tantalizing tales of Arabia reborn; of Riyadh’s “Arab spring”; of a newly-energized Saudi leadership that is on a (welcome) warpath against Iran; and of a new strategic regional alliance for Israel with the House of Saud.
But Israel should be cautious because the whole Saudi reform effort is iffy. Moreover, a too-publicly close alliance with Riyadh – even with the impressive MBS – could backfire on Israel.
For all its legendary wealth, Saudi Arabia is a failed state with tribal divisions, zealously-rigid religious leaders and byzantine family oligarchic enmities – all of which may coalesce to thwart the reforms that MBS is almost single-handedly seeking to implement.
Furthermore, Saudi past behavior encourages deep skepticism about its true determination or ability to confront Iran. The Saudis have never been adept at turning their gazillions of petrodollars into power on the ground.
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Skeptical-of-the-Saudis-515741
Remark: An opinion from Israel.
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Saudi women scholars call out prince’s reform agenda
Leading female scholars from Saudi Arabia have described moves to ease restrictions on women as government spin aimed at an international audience to bolster support for efforts to liberalise its ailing economy.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is seeking to appeal to western governments as a reformist while cracking down on the very women inside the country who have been campaigning for an end to systematic discrimination, they say.
Rights groups welcomed a decision to end a ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, but have called for more comprehensive changes to the kingdom’s “guardianship” system”, which Human Rights Watch describes as the main obstacle to realising women’s rights.
Hala Aldosari, a prominent Saudi woman academic in the United States, told Al Jazeera: “The government is trying to portray itself as reformist by tackling certain things that are visible to their outside patrons.
“They need international businesses to recognise the leadership of Saudi Arabia as a reformer in order to show that they are not discriminating against women and are reforming their competitiveness.
“But they are trying to pick and choose those kinds of reforms that they know will make a high impact on the international media and their allies, while at the same time silencing anyone within Saudi Arabia for demanding those reforms.”
https://www.siasat.com/news/saudi-women-scholars-call-princes-reform-agenda-1270723/
My comment: The ladies simply hit the spot.
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A Middle East of Saudi Arabia's Making
Saudi Arabia's new crown prince will champion a fresh attempt to challenge Iran's influence and reassert his kingdom's leadership over the region.
Though tied to Riyadh's long-standing need to shape the Middle East in its favor, the effort will be more overt than any that came before it.
Saudi Arabia will have difficulty competing with Iran, militarily and politically, in places where both countries have strategic interests.
Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince is seeking to rewrite the rules of society within his kingdom. But one thing is sure to remain unchanged: the country's intent to challenge Iran for influence across the region. Driven by the fear of losing ground to Tehran and by rhetorical support from Washington, Riyadh will keep trying to carve out a greater presence in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Despite the Gulf giant's formidable power, however, its political and military options on these battlefields are far more limited than Iran's — a harsh reality that will continue to prevent Saudi Arabia from achieving its age-old ambition of Middle Eastern dominance.
None of the challenges facing Saudi Arabia's newfound interventionism will prevent the kingdom from aggressively pursuing its interests all the same. They do mean, however, that Riyadh will have trouble designing its neighborhood as it sees fit. Because when all is said and done, the Middle East is too varied, and Iran is too strong a rival, to allow the region to become one of Saudi Arabia's making.
https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/middle-east-saudi-arabias-making
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Sale of the century? $300-billion Saudi state sell-off moves slowly
Saudi Arabia’s $300-billion privatization program was billed as the sale of the century when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled his plan to great fanfare. Nineteen months later, it is moving at a snail’s pace, bankers, investors and analysts familiar with the process say.
The main problems they cite are heavy bureaucracy, an inadequate legal framework, frequent changes of priority in government departments and fatigue among investors.
Some also blame a wait-and-sea approach among many investors due to uncertainty about the fallout from an anti-corruption campaign in which dozens of royal family members, ministers and senior officials were rounded up in early November.
and
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Factbox: Saudi Arabia's privatization plans
Saudi Arabia has said it aims to raise around $200 billion in the next several years through privatization programs in 16 sectors ranging from oil to healthcare, education, airports and grain milling. It separately wants to raise another $100 billion through the sale of a five percent stake in Saudi Aramco.
Following is a list of major privatization plans underway
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FIVE-STAR JIHAD: AL-QAEDA AND TALIBAN FIGHTERS RECEIVE LUXURY TREATMENT IN SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia is housing returning jihadis with links to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in a reform center that has a swimming pool and plush gym facilities.
Mohammed bin Nayef Counseling and Care Center is located on the outskirts of the Saudi capital Riyadh. It specializes in rehabilitating jihadis by making them feel like they are part of society and can return to normal life in the Gulf Kingdom.
The center was set up by Nayef in 2007 after a series of Al-Qaeda bombings and kidnappings in the years prior when he was assistant interior minister for security affairs. The complex aims to re-educate the jihadis through religious teachings.
Those caught by Saudi security forces spend up to six months at the center, where they can swim, work out, play football, eat gourmet food and even enjoy saunas, according to a report by the AFP news agency. It is a luxury life in detention, but one that Saudi authorities feels has more benefit than imprisonment.
“Our focus is on correcting their thoughts, their misconceptions, their deviation from Islam,” Yahya Abu Maghayed, a director at the center, told AFP.
“We make the 'beneficiaries' feel they are normal people and still have a chance—a chance to return to society,” he added.
Remark: This already had been reported before.
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Mideast funds positive on Saudi Arabia after corruption crackdown: Reuters poll
Middle East fund managers have become more positive toward Saudi Arabian equities after authorities launched a sweeping crackdown on corruption, a monthly Reuters poll showed on Thursday.
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France's Macron to give Saudi Arabia extremist list
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he would draw up a list of extremist organizations to convey to Saudi Arabia after its crown prince pledged to cut their funding.
Saudi Arabia finances groups overseen by the Mecca-based Muslim World League, which for decades was charged with spreading the strict Wahhabi school of Islam around the world. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is seeking to modernize the kingdom and cleave to a more open and tolerant interpretation of Islam.
“He never did it publicly, but when I went to Riyadh (this month), he made a commitment, such that we could give him a list and he would cut the financing,” Macron said during an interview with France 24 television.
“I believe him, but I will follow up. Trust is built on results,” Macron added.
My comment: I don’t believe thank anything will change.
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Endgame Iran? Saudi-led ‘Arab NATO’ paves way for regional showdown
However, with ISIS largely neutralized in Syria, and Saudi intervention in Yemen creating a humanitarian nightmare, it probably came as little surprise that one of the first duties of the ‘Muslim Alliance’ was to hire the services of Burson-Marsteller, a New York-based public relations firm, to polish the image before putting out the awning. To briefly sum up the work of this international PR firm, Rachel Maddow described it best when she quipped, “When evil needs public relations, evil has Burson-Marsteller on speed dial.”
Today, the group, which now goes by the high-sounding name of ‘Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC),' has announced a new set of directives that resemble a blood-stained page torn from the George W. Bush playbook.
“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,” MbS told defense ministers who gathered in Saudi Arabia for the military bloc’s summit. “In past years, terrorism has been functioning in all of our countries... this ends today, with this alliance.”
It doesn't take long to see some severe shortcomings with this organization.
Now Riyadh, obviously insecure despite Tehran’s relatively insignificant incursions in the region, is clearly overreacting, threatening to throw the entire region into turmoil.
Finally, it is interesting and not a little worrisome that this Saudi-inspired military bloc is being dubbed the “Arab NATO.” Aside from NATO being guilty of its own series of serious misdeeds, which run the gamut from Serbia to Iraq, and many places in between, it appears MbS’s recent moves are not without some heavy American influence.
Is the goal of Saudi Arabia to use this military bloc to really fight against the scourge of terrorism, or does it have far more dangerous objectives in mind?
The answer is of consequence for every person on the planet – by
Robert Bridge
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/411108-endgame-iran-saudi-arab-nato/
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1
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Trump’s War on Yemen
Obama began it. Trump escalated it, both US leaders complicit with Saudi Arabia – supplying its military with weapons and munitions, supporting its terror-bombing and genocidal blockade, US warships involved.
Washington’s global war on terror is a colossal hoax
Washington’s war on terror is endless war OF terror on humanity – also called the Long War or Forever War that won’t end in our lifetime, a boon for weapons and munitions makers, hell for victims of US aggression and most Americans – by Stephen Lendman
https://www.thesleuthjournal.com/trumps-war-yemen/
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Film by Donald Trump: Today, it was my great honor to meet with the Crown Prince of Bahrain at the @WhiteHouse. Bahrain and the United States are important partners. During the Crown Prince’s visit, he is advancing $9 BILLION in commercial deals, including finalizing the purchase of F-16’s...
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/936339260218724353
Comment: For Trump, it seems always to be a "great honor" to meet officials from a government that is crushing human rights: #Bahrain.
https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/936347839399112705
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The US will keep older cluster munitions
The last known use of cluster munitions by the United States military was a December 2009 strike in #Yemen, when Navy warships fired multiple Tomahawk cruise missiles carrying bomblets. The target was “a confirmed A.Q.A.P. terrorist training camp,” according to a former senior American military officer familiar with the decision to launch that attack, using a term for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The military believed there were no civilians in the area, said the former officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the sensitive operation.
The American military’s account has been publicly challenged. Amnesty International reported that the 2009 attack killed 41 people, including 14 women and 21 children. The group also reported finding dud submunitions at the site.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/us/cluster-munitions-pentagon-south-korea.html
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The Trump administration cancels a plan to curtail the use of cluster bombs
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has decided to cancel a plan to end the U.S. military’s use of most cluster munitions after 2018. The change paves the way for the Pentagon to resume purchasing cluster bombs and ensures the weapons will remain part of U.S. arsenals and planning for years to come.
The policy change, which reverses a 2008 decision by the George W. Bush administration, is sure to provoke opposition from lawmakers and arms-control organizations, who say the weapons indiscriminately kill civilians caught in war zones and who argue that the United States is out of step with the rest of the world on the issue.
“The Department of Defense has determined that cluster munitions remain a vital military capability in the tougher warfighting environment ahead of us, while still a relatively safe one,” Pentagon spokesman Tom Crosson told me. “This was a hard choice, not one the department made lightly,”
The Pentagon’s senior leadership determined that ending the use of cluster munitions currently in U.S. stocks would create a capability gap for U.S. forces, adding risk in a conflict and weakening deterrence, Crosson said. But he added that the new policy includes a commitment to acquiring safer and more reliable cluster munitions, which was one goal of the Bush administration policy.
My comment: Abhorrent, criminal.
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Audio: Episode 17: Whitewashing America's Role in Yemen
By and large, the media has almost entirely ignored the decimation of Yemen and its civilian population. When it is touched upon, America's central role in the conflict is often omitted, as is––even more inexplicably––Saudi Arabia's. The violence is routinely referred to as a regional "proxy war" between Gulf monarchies and Iran or Sunnis and Shias, rather than a U.S.-backed massacre.
On this episode, Adam and Nima, joined by Dr. Sheila Carapico and Dr. Greg Shupak, look back at the media’s coverage of this tragedy, why it let Obama off the hook for it, how the typical “cycle of violence” framing is used to obscure U.S. responsibility, and what can be done to lay blame where it belongs moving forward. With guests Dr. Sheila Carapico and Dr. Greg Shupak.
https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/episode-17-whitewashing-americas-role-in-yemen
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Rumor has it that Lenardo Da Vinci painting Selvator Mundi sold for $450 million was bought by #Saudi Monarchy CP #MBS. Graft is great.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/936388254089252866
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The Limits of the Global Network University: An Open Letter
The American Association of University Professors, the Middle Eastern Studies Association, and NYU Sanctuary have all issued statements calling on NYU to publicly and forcefully defend its academic workers.
In recent weeks, it has come to light that two NYU professors scheduled to teach at the NYU Abu Dhabi campus this academic year, Arang Keshavarzian and Mohamad Bazzi, were denied visas to the United Arab Emirates.
This is not the first time that members of the NYU community have been prevented from moving across the “global network university” (GNU).
Specifically, we call on NYU faculty and students to refrain from teaching, working, or studying at NYU Abu Dhabi until such time that the University:
https://www.thenation.com/article/the-limits-of-the-global-network-university-an-open-letter/
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Aligning with Saudi Arabia’s designs
The United States faces a question that it seems to want to ignore: What kind of nation are we? The question looms up in the face of America’s complicity in an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. We are helping Saudi Arabia starve the people of Yemen — men, women, and children — into submission to the Saudi will.
It is in part a geopolitical question: Why should America align itself with Saudi Arabia’s designs in the Middle East? The kingdom wants to thwart any greater power accumulation in the region on the part of Iran, which the Saudis say is meddling in the Yemeni civil war.
This is an exaggeration, as Iranian involvement in Yemen is limited, as Asher Orkady makes clear in the current issue of Foreign Affairs. He argues that the Yemen crisis is less an iteration of the sectarian war between Sunni and Shia stretching back to the first stirrings of Islam in the 7th century than it is a result of internal struggles for power and a better life.
But for America this is also a moral question. America besmirches itself with its participation in a man-made humanitarian disaster that doesn’t further U.S. national interests by any degree whatever — and which couldn’t continue but for U.S. support.
Why is it doing this? It began with President Obama, who somehow viewed the Houthis as a threat to America. But the Houthis aren’t motivated by any jihadist zealotry against Americans — or at least they weren’t before America began assisting in their slaughter. This is an internal matter, a civil war stemming from local factors and passions.
The country needs to debate this matter. The U.S. Yemen policy needs to be forced out into the sunlight of national discourse so Americans can determine how they feel about what their government is doing to the poor folks of northern Yemen. – by Robert W. Merry, editor of The American Conservative
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/nov/30/why-the-us-yemen-policy-must-be-forced-out-into-th/
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Saudi Arabia tried to ‘trap’ the US into bombing Iran, claims former Secretary of State
SAUDI Arabia and other countries tried to “trap” the US into bombing Iran while it was pursuing its nuclear programme, former presidential candidate and Secretary of State John Kerry revealed.
According to Mr Kerry nations including Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Middle East powers had called for the United States to launch strikes against Iran before the nuclear accord was signed.
Mr Kerry said: “Each of them said to me, ‘you have to bomb Iran, it’s the only thing they are going to understand’.”
Mr Kerry said: “It was a trap in a lot of ways. But more importantly, Prime Minister Netanyahu was genuinely agitating towards action.”
Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah also called for an attack against its longterm rival.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/886140/Iran-Saudi-Arabia-bomb-US-nuclear-deal-John-Kerry-Israel
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White House May Share Nuclear Power Technology With Saudi Arabia
The overture follows an intense and secretive lobbying push involving Michael Flynn, Tom Barrack, Rick Gates and even Iran-Contra figure Robert McFarlane.
The Trump administration is holding talks on providing nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia — a move that critics say could upend decades of U.S. policy and lead to an arms race in the Middle East.
The Saudi government wants nuclear power to free up more oil for export, but current and former American officials suspect the country’s leaders also want to keep up with the enrichment capabilities of their rival, Iran.
Saudi Arabia needs approval from the U.S. in order to receive sensitive American technology. Past negotiations broke down because the Saudi government wouldn’t commit to certain safeguards against eventually using the technology for weapons.
https://www.propublica.org/article/white-house-may-share-nuclear-power-technology-with-saudi-arabia = https://www.globalresearch.ca/white-house-may-share-nuclear-power-technology-with-saudi-arabia/5621193 = http://www.businessinsider.de/us-sharing-nuclear-technology-with-saudi-arabia-arms-race-middle-east-2017-12?r=US&IR=T
My comment: This is absolutely crazy, especially when looking at the Trump administration’s behavior against Iran and the nuclear deal with Iran.
(* B K P)
INTERCEPTED PODCAST: THE DISTRACTION IN CHIEF
AS THE TRUMP/RUSSIA reality show continues to consume endless hours of media coverage, the U.S. is backing the genocidal, scorched-earth bombing of Yemen. Trump has granted the CIA and military sweeping authorities to conduct lethal operations, all while laughing it up with the murderous despot, Rodrigo Duterte.
This week on Intercepted, Rami Khouri breaks down Saudi Arabia’s agenda in the Middle East, its destruction of Yemen, and the bizarre case of the exiled Lebanese prime minister. Despite what you may have heard, the CIA and U.S. military are quite content with the Trump presidency.
JS: It’s an unspeakable scandal that what the U.S., and Britain, and Saudi Arabia are doing to the people of Yemen is not on every single newscast every single day. The world is witnessing a genocidal war that is made possible by the United States government.
It’s one big deadly lie. And this bombing could end tomorrow with one phone call from Donald Trump. But instead of stopping a genocide, Trump is fueling it, as Obama did before him, albeit with a little bit of feigned concern about the humanitarian conditions in Yemen. This policy is shameful. Utterly shameful.
Late on Monday night this week, the House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the civilian deaths and the spread of disease in Yemen. But by the time it was actually voted on, it was so watered down as to be completely meaningless as though it’s a mystery who’s doing most of the killing in Yemen. It doesn’t even mention the Saudis! That resolution will have no actual consequences. It doesn’t stop the U.S. from selling arms to the Saudis, it doesn’t stop the U.S. from refueling Saudi warplanes or providing the Saudis with intelligence to wage its bloody air war.
In fact, Congress remains totally unwilling to stop this genocide. There are a few who seem to get it, among them Senator Chris Murphy.
https://theintercept.com/2017/11/15/intercepted-podcast-the-distraction-in-chief/
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Yemen Strike Raises Questions About Whether the US Follows Its Own Drone Rules
For years, the U.S. government has told the American public and the international community that it only uses lethal force outside areas of active hostilities where conditions laid out in the Presidential Policy Guidance (PPG) (2013) are fulfilled. The PPG was announced to much fanfare in May 2013 by President Barack Obama, and it has been heralded by supporters as setting out strict rules for when lethal force can be used. Indeed, a major national security speech by Obama, and the publication of a summary of the rules in 2013, led to reduced criticism of U.S. lethal force operations in the following months.
The PPG emphasized a preference for capturing, rather than killing, suspects. The first page of the PPG included this key statement:
The rules have been key to U.S. government efforts to legitimize their lethal force: U.S. officials have often relied on these rules in responding to critiques about U.S. counterterrorism actions and allegations of civilian casualties and counterproductive operations.
Two developments under the Trump administration have cast doubt on where and how the PPG now applies to U.S. operations.
Earlier this month, we spent several hours meeting with Mareb Governor Sultan Bin Ali Al-Aradah. We discussed at length his views about counterterrorism and armed conflict in Yemen. As a local tribal leader and governor of the provincial stronghold of Hadi-led Yemeni government forces, Al-Aradah is a powerful and influential politician—and one of the most powerful Yemeni government officials in the country. A critical partner of the Saudi-led coalition and fierce opponent of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), he is also an important local U.S. ally.
The governor told us that the Nov. 2 drone strike took place in an area that his security forces could access. More generally, the governor lamented the United States’ failure to inform local officials, or to provide information that could lead or facilitate the capture of suspected members and leaders of AQAP. “As long as we’re able to do the job ourselves, inform us….if we can, we want to arrest,” he stated – by Farea Al-Muslimi
http://almuslimi.net/2017/11/15/yemen-strike-raises-questions-whether-us-follows-drone-rules/
Comment: This is really useful new information based totally on quality And credible Yemeni sources - which says something about the American government and the rise of Al Qaeda in Yemen, most thoughtful yemeni researchers believe the two are interlinked
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156164119638641
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
Siehe cp1 (in German)
(A P)
May verlangt von Saudi-Arabien weitere Lockerung der Blockade des Jemen
Die britische Premierministerin Theresa May hat von Saudi-Arabien eine weitere Lockerung der Blockade des Jemen verlangt. Nur durch die verstärkte Lieferung von Hilfsgütern könne im Jemen 'eine humanitäre Katastrophe verhindert' werden, erklärte May.
http://umwelt-panorama.de/news.php?newsid=469681
Mein Kommentar: Mehr und besser auf Englisch.
(A P)
TAKING PUBLIC ACTION TO LIFT THE YEMEN BLOCKADE
This week we held a public action for Yemen outside the Houses of Parliament to coincide with a meeting between Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and high-level representatives from the US, UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia in London, and called on the UK Government to do more to help children in Yemen affected by the conflict (with film)
https://blogs.savethechildren.org.uk/2017/12/taking-public-action-to-lift-the-yemen-blockade/
(A K P)
Two #Saudi Tornados (ZE114/703 & ZE119/760) and IPA5 Typhoon at BAE Warton. By: Columbia107 (photo)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/936529819197693952
(A P)
UK PM Theresa May rightly tells Saudi Arabia to lift its deadly blockade of Yemen. If it doesn't, stop the UK arms sales.
https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/936328465502146560
Comment: 'If it doesn't'?
We expect Human Rights Watch to never support arms deals, with or without blockades
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European Parliament renews call for arms embargo on Saudi Arabia the day after Theresa May visits the country
The Prime Minister on Thursday defended her friendly visit to Saudi Arabia, telling reporters who accompanied her on her visit that she was “very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen” but that “building our relationship with [Saudi Arabia] enables us to get that greater knowledge and understanding which enables us to address issues which are of concern to us”. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/saudi-arabia-arms-yemen-houthi-rebels-control-european-parliament-votes-a8086766.html and also https://www.thecanary.co/global/2017/12/01/theresa-mays-comments-yemen-outstanding-hypocrisy/
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U.K. GOVERNMENT PRESSURED OVER SECRET BASE’S ROLE IN TRUMP’S DRONE STRIKES
THE U.K. GOVERNMENT is facing fresh calls to clarify its role in U.S. drone strikes after acknowledging that there are potentially hundreds of British spy agency personnel working inside a U.S.-controlled surveillance base that has played a key role in so-called targeted killings.
Earlier this month, British Minister of State for the Armed Forces Mark Lancaster disclosed to the U.K. Parliament that employees of eavesdropping agency Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ, are stationed at a remote base in the north of England called Menwith Hill. An unknown number of GCHQ employees are among 578 British civilians, military, and contractors at the site, Lancaster confirmed in a previously unreported written statement, alongside 627 Americans.
Questioned in 2013 about GCHQ’s presence at the base, the British government had insisted that it “would not comment on whether there are personnel working in intelligence” there – a position that appears to have changed with Lancaster’s admission, possibly unintentionally
https://theintercept.com/2017/11/30/drone-strikes-gchq-trump-menwith-hill-uk/
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Film: Emergency Debate: Yemen
"There is deep concern that an almighty catastrophe of biblical proportions is unfolding in Yemen before our eyes, and a considerable fear that Britain is dangerously complicit in it."
https://www.facebook.com/ParliamentTodayUK/videos/368800596900298/
and
(A P)
UK #Parliament is currently in an emergency debate on #Yemen. Turnout is disgraceful. This is how the House Chamber looks right now. British voters do care about famine, cholera, blockade, sale of UK weapons that *may* kill civilians, atrocities on all sides. Why don't our MPs? (look at photo)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/936234715530579969
and
(A P)
MPs Andrew Mitchell & Keith Vaz are doing a great job of breaking down the Saudi narrative for the war. Mentions 26 ships cleared by UNVIM are currently being refused permission to dock by coalition.
https://twitter.com/YemenPeaceNews/status/936223511730966528
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Theresa May Goes to Saudi to Encourage, Not to Crticise
The government’s attempts at justification for its conduct in the Middle East are becoming more and more desperate
The media are suggesting that on her visit to the Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Theresa May will be talking tough about human rights and the conduct of the war in Yemen, as if Britain is an innocent bystander that has just stumbled across wrong doing.
But the idea that May is in a position to lambast the Crown Prince for the situation in Yemen is to misunderstand the relations between Britain and Saudi Arabia, and its connection to the war on Yemen.
Britain has long been a close ally with Saudi, a country which it courts partly because of its massive oil wealth and its almost unquenchable thirst for weapons, but partly too because of the political role it has played over the years in countering Arab nationalism and resistance to Western imperialism across the region.
This level of involvement without being party to the conflict is unprecedented and is a result of the ‘privileged’ relationship the UK has with Saudi Arabia and its armed forces.’
Britain’s support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, in other words, is driven by more than the desire for arms sales, important though those are for the British state.
No wonder then that Frank Gardiner admits that Bin Salman is unlikely to take much notice of any mild criticisms that Theresa May makes of the conduct of the war in Yemen. He know that they are weasel words because Britain is on board with the campaign and has been from the start. May seems to think that the pseudo liberalisation and the economic opening up signalled by bin Salman will make the Saudi regime more palatable to Western opinion.
The government’s attempts at justification for its conduct in the Middle East are becoming more and more desperate
(A P)
Prime Minister Theresa May held talks with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, discussing Iran, Yemen and "Vision 2030".
A Downing Street spokesperson said:
They discussed Iran, where the Prime Minister noted that we shared Saudi Arabia’s concerns about Iran’s destabilising regional behaviour, and where they agreed that more work needed to be done to bring the international community together to counter it.
They discussed Yemen, where the Prime Minister made clear that the flow of commercial supplies on which the country depends must be resumed if we are to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. They agreed that steps needed to be taken as a matter of urgency to address this and that they would take forward more detailed discussions on how this could be achieved.
They agreed the relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia was strong and would endure. They discussed “Vision 2030”
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-visit-to-saudi-arabia-29-november-2017
(A P)
British PM presses Saudi to avert Yemen 'catastrophe'
British Prime Minister Theresa May has implored Saudi leaders to ease a blockade on Yemen to "avert a humanitarian catastrophe", her office said on Thursday, echoing urgent appeals from the United Nations.
May met both King Salman and powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a brief visit to Riyadh late on Wednesday, with a worsening crisis in Yemen topping her agenda.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5131841/British-PM-presses-Saudi-avert-Yemen-catastrophe.html and also http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-theresa-may-lands-saudi-arabia-meet-king-salman-yemen-740446504 and https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/11/30/britains-may-tours-mideast-amid-islam-row-with-trump and film http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/30/watch-theresa-may-meets-saudi-king-salman-talks-yemen/
My comment: That’s the propaganda for the public. The only goal is: More deals, to sell more arms.
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Boris says it’s the ‘world’s worst humanitarian crisis’. Still Theresa won’t act
Then Theresa May touched down in Riyadh yesterday morning, she did so with a combination of the usual kind words about her hosts and a specific promise to raise the issue of the devastating blockade that the Saudi regime has inflicted on Yemen.
It is a measure of how terrible things have become that even the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, has called it “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”. However, despite their concerns, it is a crisis in which May, Johnson and their cabinet colleagues have been utterly complicit.
These certainly aren’t the actions of a government that is doing all it can to help people in Yemen. They also imply that even as Yemeni people are starving, there is little doubt that arms sales will be on the agenda.
Of course, the issue is bigger than the individual choices of Theresa May.
There is no doubt where public opinion stands. Poll after poll has shown an overwhelming majority of Britons oppose these arms sales.
(* B P)
Theresa May, help end Yemen’s agony – stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia
If even Boris Johnson can see this is the ‘world’s worst humanitarian crisis’, why is his government enabling it?
When Theresa May touched down in Riyadh yesterday morning, she did so with a combination of the usual kind words about her hosts and a specific promise to raise the issue of the devastating blockade that the Saudi regime has inflicted on Yemen.
It is a measure of how terrible things have become that even the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, has called it “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”. However, despite their concerns, it is a crisis in which May, Johnson and their cabinet colleagues have been utterly complicit.
After almost 1,000 days of bombardment and pain, a peaceful solution is needed more than ever for Yemen. Will Theresa May show the leadership required to break with the past and end the arms sales? If not, then what more would it take?
and by Jeremy Corbyn:
(* A P)
May's silence during her visit to Saudi Arabia about the Yemen blockade & UK role in the war underlines her complicity in the Yemeni people's suffering. There must be an end to the blockade and UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia suspended while an independent investigation takes place
https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/936307232353988608
(A P)
#RSAF A330 MRTT yesterday at East Midlands Airport, #England. By: Peter Foster (photo)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/935953934862241792
(A P)
Theresa May lands in Saudi Arabia to meet with King Salman on Yemen
May's visit to Middle East is being billed as an opportunity for UK to increase its influence in region ahead of Brexit
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-theresa-may-lands-saudi-arabia-meet-king-salman-yemen-740446504
My comment: “opportunity for UK to increase its influence in region”: LOL.
And
(A P)
Film: May to deliver a "strong message" to Saudi Arabia over Yemen
UK Prime Minister Theresa May says she will deliver a "strong message" to Saudi Arabia over Yemen
Comment: What sort of strong message can she deliver when she is desperate for Saudi to buy our typhoons???
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156157801273641
Comment: Concern. It is not a crisis: it is an aggression, a war waged against #Yemen which has produced an apocalypse
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1571520642900960
(A P)
Johnson: International community should 'work together' on Yemen
Boris Johnson urged international community to "work together" to avert humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen and called for a start of the political dialogue.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/wires/video-1581506/Johnson-International-community-work-Yemen.html #My Comment: What a hypocrisy when looking at British arms exports to Saudi Arabia.
(A P)
SELLING BOMBS TO REGIMES THEY CONDEMN - I LOVE THE SMELL OF SNP HYPOCRISY IN THE MORNING... (image)
Remark: Referring to the debate in the Commons yesterday: YPR 361, cp10.
(* B P)
Film: Interview: Sam Walton describes taking action to disarm Saudi warplanes
Sam Walton and Rev Daniel Woodhouse were recently found not guilty of criminal damage by a judge in the UK. The pair entered BAE Warton, a factory in the UK that builds war planes - they were attempting to disarm jets bound for Saudi Arabia to be used in the ongoing war in Yemen. In this video, Sam describes the action, the impact of the war in Yemen, and what it feels like to have been found not guilty.
https://www.wri-irg.org/en/story/2017/interview-sam-walton-describes-taking-action-disarm-saudi-warplanes and short part https://twitter.com/warresistersint/status/935862355828903937
Once again:
(* A P)
Tories claim there'll be 'significant job losses' if Britain stops selling weapons to Saudi Arabia
Theresa May's deputy, Damian Green, sounded the warning as he refused to calls to stop sales that have reportedly netted the UK £4.6billion
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tories-claim-therell-significant-job-11608243
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(A H P)
Deutschland stellt zusätzlich 40 Millionen Euro Hilfe für Jemen bereit
Deutschland wird seine humanitäre Hilfe für die Menschen im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen um 40 Millionen Euro aufstocken. Mit dem Geld sollen vor allem Nahrungsmittel und Medikamente in die Krisenregion gebracht werden, erklärte ein Sprecher des Auswärtigen Amtes am Freitag in Berlin. 2017 werde Deutschland insgesamt 165 Millionen Euro für humanitäre Hilfsprojekte in Jemen zur Verfügung stellen.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
(* B P)
The Cover-Up Of Australian Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia
it is worth cataloguing the government’s lies about why it won’t disclose military exports to Saudi Arabia.
The government approved four military exports to Saudi Arabia last year, and five more permits were approved since June this year. In response to public questioning, it has refused to disclose anything about those exports.
In Senate Estimates, Former Greens Senator Scott Ludlam asked the Minister for Defence, Marise Payne to tell us about our military exports to Saudi Arabia. Payne refused.
Other officials similarly stonewalled.
The government claimed “public interest immunity” from this motion. This is “on the basis of commercial confidentiality, Australia’s relations with foreign governments and national security”.
Senator Payne set out the three rationales in a letter to the Senate. In terms of “commercial confidentiality”, she explained that this could have a “detrimental effect”, by letting competitors know of a market opportunity (to sell such defence materiel to Saudi Arabia), and could “reduce buyers’ confidence in doing business with Australian companies”.
Australian military exports to Saudi Arabia are politically embarrassing – especially given the crisis in Yemen, blockaded by the invading Saudi-led coalition – so the government is simply telling a series of lies to avoid admitting our contributions to the threat of famine.
https://newmatilda.com/2017/12/01/the-cover-up-of-australian-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia/
(A P)
Pakistan expresses concerns over second ballistic missile attack on Saudi Arabia
Pakistan expressed on Friday grave concern on reports of a second ballistic missile attack on Saudi Arabia.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the attack and commends the timely action by Saudi forces to destroy the missile preventing any loss of lives,” read a statement from the Foreign Office. “The country reiterates its full support and solidarity with the government and brotherly people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
My comment: What a hyprocrisy: They do not “express concerns” or “strongly condemn” all the Saudi air raids which are not intercepted but really kill and destroy.
(B P)
Turkey’s Love Affair with Saudi Arabia On the Rocks
A deal signed by Turkish and Iranian ministers Sunday to enhance efforts to break Saudi Arabian trade sanctions against Qatar, is only the latest move by Ankara against Riyadh. The two once close allies are increasingly finding themselves on opposing sides in the region.
“There is this fear [by Turkey] an axis is developing between Saudi Arabia, [the United States], and Israel in the region definitely,” said Haldun Solmazturk, head of 21st Century Turkey Institute, an Ankara based research organization.
Saudi Arabia's increasingly tough stance against Iran has been matched by Turkey's increasing cooperation with Iran.
https://www.voanews.com/a/turkey-love-affair-with-saudi-arabia-on-the-rocks/4141746.html
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Yemen: Members of the European Parliament today renewed their call for a EU arms embargo against Saudi Arabia
- Need to de-escalate the conflict and start new peace talks
- MEPs call again for an EU arms embargo against Saudi Arabia
- Demand for immediate and full humanitarian aid access
(text, for now, in French, in images)
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1572636122789412
(* A K P)
Which EU countries sell arms to Saudi Arabia?
Members of the European Parliament yesterday renewed their call for a European Union arms embargo against Saudi Arabia, following allegations that the country is breaching international humanitarian law in Yemen.
It is the latest attempt in a string of actions compelling EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to impose an embargo against the Middle-Eastern country, including a letter signed by MEPs from several parties.
"All new (arms) sales should not be allowed to Saudi Arabia at the moment," Bodil Valero, am MEP from Sweden, told Euronews.
Rapporteur for a European Parliament report on EU arms exports, Valero said: "European weapons are contributing to human rights abuses and forced migration, which are completely at odds with the EU's common values."
Two successful European Parliament resolutions on the issue have previously been passed, but its champions think that some member states, particularly those whose trade links with the country are deep-seated, may be less likely to cooperate.
http://www.euronews.com/2017/11/30/which-eu-countries-sell-arms-to-saudi-arabia-
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European Parliament renews call for arms embargo on Saudi Arabia the day after Theresa May visits the country
The European Parliament has renewed its call for an EU-wide arms embargo against Saudi Arabia the day after Theresa Mayvisited the country with a pledge to build a close relationship with its regime.
MPs voted by 368 to 221 to back an embargo against the autocratic petrostate, whose intervention in Yemen has been blamed for causing thousands of civilian deaths and exacerbating a severe shortage of food
Speaking in a debate ahead of the vote, Christos Stylianides, the European Commissioner for humanitarian aid, told the Parliament that Saudi Arabia was preventing aid from getting through despite a looming famine.
Victor Boștinaru, a Socialist group MEP, said:
(* A K P)
European Parliament Calls for an Arms Embargo Against Saudi
The European Parliament on Thursday called for an EU arms embargo against Saudi Arabia amid the "world’s largest famine" in Yemen.
In a non-binding voting, a resolution urging EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to impose an arms embargo against the kingdom was adopted by 539 votes to 13, with 81 abstentions.
"Mogherini should urgently propose an integrated EU strategy for Yemen and push again for a Yemeni peace initiative," the resolution read.
The resolution also called on "all actors to act to de-escalate the conflict and to engage in a new round of U.N.-led peace negotiations".
The MEPs said there were "serious allegations of Saudi Arabia breaching international humanitarian law in Yemen".
http://aa.com.tr/en/europe/eu-lawmakers-call-for-arms-embargo-against-saudi-arabia/986319 = https://www.albawaba.com/news/european-parliament-calls-arms-embargo-against-saudi-1055232
and what Saudi coalition propaganda tells about it:
(A K P)
EP calls on Iran to stop supporting Houthis in Yemen
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2662808&Language=en
(A K P)
EU must impose an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia
The Greens/EFA group is calling on the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, to launch an initiative in the Foreign Affairs Council to impose an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia. The European Parliament will hold a debate this afternoon on the situation in Yemen, with a vote on a motion for a resolution tomorrow.
Bodil Valero was rapporteur for the European Parliament’s report on Arms Exports, which previously called on High Representative Mogherini to launch an embargo (1). She comments:
"It is a scandal that EU member states continue to provide arms and expertise to Saudi Arabia in the war against Yemen. High Representative Mogherini should urgently launch an initiative to impose an EU arms embargo against Saudi Arabia. As chairwomen of the Foreign Affairs Council, we urge Mogherini to formally put the item of an embargo on the agenda of their next meeting. EU countries cannot continue to be party to the horrible suffering being caused in Yemen.
"Saudi Arabia should immediately stop the sea, land and air blockade of Yemen and allow full access for humanitarian aid to all parts of Yemen."
https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2017/11/30/eu-must-impose-an-arms-embargo-on-saudi-arabia/
(* B P)
India’s Secret Involvement in the War Against Yemen
[In 2015], Prime Minister Modi paid the first visit of an Indian leader to the UAE in 34 years.
Ever since then, India’s influence has been on the ascent in the Gulf, and especially with the UAE, so much so that the US’ new military-strategic partner for the 21st century is now functioning as a gigantic hospital ward for Abu Dhabi. It’s this recently acquired responsibility that makes India a secret party to the War on Yemen and deserves to be explained a bit more in depth because much of the global audience missed the latest news about this event in the past week since it was announced.
They were flown to India aboard an Emirati military aircraft in an official state-to-state capacity of cooperation between Abu Dhabi and New Delhi, supposedly funded by the Emirates Red Crescent.
The whole operation is very curious because India isn’t officially part of the War on Yemen, yet it’s working in a very close and sensitive capacity with one of the conflict’s main aggressors in order to provide partisan medical support to one of its warring parties. Instead of helping some of the millions of Yemenis suffering under the joint Saudi-Emirati blockade and at dire risk of starvation and disease, India is treating a select group of individuals that were purportedly targeted by the Houthi National Liberation Movement.
While it’s impossible at this time to verify exactly who these injured Yemenis are, it’s very plausible that they were either members of UAE-backed militias or occupation collaborators because it’s highly unlikely that Abu Dhabi would go to such dramatic lengths to help “ordinary” civilians
Considering this crucial context of India’s paradigm-changing geostrategic realignment, the tacit disclosure that it’s now playing a clandestine role in supporting the Saudi-Emirati War on Yemen makes perfect sense and almost seems inevitable in hindsight.
http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/11/29/indias-secret-involvement-war-yemen/
Comment: Indeed India has been moving further and further to the right with its Hindu nationalist government in power. The article only supposes rather than give any real answers why Yemenis are being treated in Indian hospitals.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156157944018641
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
(A P)
Breaking: in a blow to #Saudi & UAE, Emir of #Kuwait invites #Qatar to the December GCC summit. Will we see fireworks?
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/936207051939819520
cp12b Libanon / Lebanon
Kommt in einigen Tagen / Will come a few days later!
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* A K P)
#LockheedMartin Rotary and Mission Systems is being awarded $7.4M for additional software modifications required to establish a software baseline for the MH-60R aircraft in support of the Royal #Saudi Navy.
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/936330655440437249
(* A K P)
#Bahrain signs a deal worth over $2.3 billion to purchase 16 new F-16 fighter jets for the #RBAF
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/936325587039412225
My comment: More bombs on Yemen.
(* A K P)
Greek Gov’t Under Pressure as MEPs Vote for Saudi Arms Embargo
The European Parliament on Thursday called for an EU arms embargo against Saudi Arabia amid the “world’s largest famine” in neighbouring Yemen.
The vote puts additional pressure on the Greek government; which is under attack by the opposition and international watch-groups, to abolish a controversial arms deal with Saudi Arabia, that was approved last summer.
Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos stated yesterday that the government will abide by any decision taken by EU officials. Whether this non-binding EU parliament vote will offer an excuse to the PM to cancel the deal and avoid further political controversy, is still unknown.
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2017/11/30/greek-govt-under-pressure-as-meps-vote-for-saudi-arms-embargo/ and also https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/30/pressure-on-greece-to-scrap-arms-deal-with-saudi-arabia
cp13b Söldner / Mercenaries
(* B K P)
B asir Ahang, journalist and former Counterterrorism Advisor:
''Based on BBC World’s news of 20 Jan 2016 Saudi Arabia has been recruiting thousands of Afghans from Jalalabad #Afghanistan for its proxy war in #Yemen.Our sources have found that these Afghan Foreign Fighters are now thousands''
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1572451026141255 referring to http://www.bbc.com/persian/afghanistan/2016/01/160120_t01_yemenafghan
(A K P)
Former Yemeni president calls on al-Bashir to withdraw Sudanese troops
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh allied to Iran-backed Houthi rebels has advised Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir to withdraw troops from Yemen, saying they do not threaten the Islamic Holy Mosques.
The call comes among growing rumours about a silent crisis between the Sudanese President al-Bashir and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman over Khartoum’s neutrality from the ongoing conflict with Qatar.
It was purported that the Saudi Crown Prince blocks a financial assistance to Sudan pledged by King Salman, demanding that al-Bashir severe diplomatic ties with Doha, a request that the latter rejects.
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article64140
cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
(* A P)
Urgent message to UNESCO: Saudi aggression targets and steals the Yemeni archeology "details".
Saudi Arabia and some of the countries of the brutal alliance have destroyed the Yemeni heritage by deliberate shelling and also encouraged its militias and followers of extremist tendencies to destroy their planes. The destruction of the human heritage from the indiscriminate destruction and smuggling of the most important Yemeni monuments and selling them on the black market is a crime.
The attempts to obliterate the history of the State of Yemen, wipe out its culture and eradicate its identity deep in human history since the civilizations of Sheba and Hamir are also carried out by spreading hatred and new sectarian practices on the one Yemeni society.
What Saudi Arabia and those who support it do beyond reasonable means after the destruction and random exploration, smuggling of antiquities became a profitable trade for the enemies of Yemen and its history and heritage.
It seems that Saudi Arabia is determined to rid itself of the targeting of archeological sites and historical cities in Yemen and will not find better brokers than Ahmed Sayyad and Yassin. Riyad Yassin has always served as a justification for Saudi Arabia after every crime committed against the Yemeni people. A mop of blood shed by Saudi Arabia in our country.
Here we ask UNESCO to protect the sites being searched for antiquities and to stop the excavation of antiquities in the face of aggression and siege.
And stop the smuggling of Yemeni antiquities, including: the oldest version of the Koran written on the skin of Gazelle as well as the oldest version of the Torah and other rare monuments.
We also ask UNESCO to expedite the registration, inventory, numbering and registration of the Yemeni monuments to the Organization to preserve what remains of them for fear of selling them on the black market.
http://www.sahafah24.net/show1213294.html and translation: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ar&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sahafah24.net%2Fshow1213294.html&edit-text=
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
For US drone strikes also look at: cp9.
(* A T)
Civilians, terrorists killed in Yemen drone strikes
Some raids targeted civilian areas known to have nothing to do with terrorist groups, local sources say
Seven civilians and three Daesh terrorists were killed Thursday evening in drone strikes in central Yemen’s Al-Bayda province, a Yemeni government source said Friday.
The source, who spoke anonymously to Anadolu Agency due to security concerns, added that the drones -- which were likely American -- had carried out four raids in the Sarar al-Jashm area in northwestern Al-Bayda.
Three of the raids targeted civilian areas “which are known to have nothing to do with terrorist organizations,” the same source said.
He added that the fourth raid had targeted a Daesh vehicle, which continued to burn for hours after the strike.
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/civilians-terrorists-killed-in-yemen-drone-strikes/986984
(A P T)
UAE’s Share of the Task Fighting al Qaeda in Yemen
The U.S. and its Gulf allies have clawed back Yemeni territory from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has exploited the Yemeni conflict to expand, Gulf military officials tell The Cipher Brief. Troops from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have paired with U.S. advisors and Yemeni forces to drive the militants out of several key cities. But the Yemeni government has not been able to fill the vacuum in the civil-war-shattered country, leaving it vulnerable for al Qaeda to resurge as it has done before.
The UAE has worked as part of a coalition to train 40,000 local forces in southern and eastern Yemen, of which approximately 75 percent are directly or indirectly involved in the fight against AQAP.
The UAE and the U.S. have participated in joint counterterrorism raids in Yemen, including a special operations raid in Yemen’s central Al Bayda Province last January that killed 14 AQAP militants but tragically resulted in the death of U.S. Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens.
Operations spearheaded by the UAE have pushed AQAP out of critical territory that it used as safe havens, costing the group important sources of revenue and recruits. Gulf military officials told The Cipher Brief that al Qaeda is at its weakest point in Yemen since 2012 – by Norman Roule, former National Intelligence Manager for Iran, ODNI
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/middle-east/uaes-share-task-fighting-al-qaeda-yemen
Comment: UAE PR machine in action:
- not a word on the civilian casualties (25+) of Trump's Jan. Yakla raid operation which 'claimed the life of US Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens
- AQAP is always 'pushed' and never captured
-'AQAP still maintains a presence in Ataq, Shabwah, al Bayda and Hadramat, with its leadership based in the urban areas of Ma’arib': we suggest you take a look at the map of Yemen.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1573062692746755
My comment to comment: I think it is the US propaganda machine, look at the author. For instance, read https://www.npr.org/2017/10/20/559113168/former-intelligence-official-on-iran-nuclear-deal . It’s US mainstream.
(A T)
#AlQaeda #Yemen releases new video of #AQAP leader Qasim al-Raymi giving 10min lecture on al-Harthami's medieval war treatise (photo)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/936269744818348033
(A T)
AQAP claimed it raided an al Houthi-Saleh position between Jabal Jamida and Jabal al Thaleb in northwestern al Baydagovernorate, central Yemen on November 29. AQAP also claimed to shell al Houthi-Saleh positions in al Zub area, al Qurayshiya district, al Bayda governorate on November 30.[4]
(A T)
US drone carried out 4 to 6 strikes targeting ISIS militants in Sirar Al-Jushm area of #Qayfa region in #Bayda on Thu Nov 30 (photos)
https://twitter.com/demolinari/status/936373523961995264
(A T)
#IslamicState in #Yemen apparently still active in al-Bayda'. Today it claims it blew up a Houthi BMP military carrier with SPG-9 projectiles on al-Zahra front in Qayfa (photos)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/936251090118508545
(* B T)
Film: Elisabeth Kendall on Finnish News (28 Nov 2017)
What helped al-Qa'ida to entrench in east Yemen until last year?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G43_1ioXU0U
(* A T)
Report: a US drone strike killed 5 kids in Yakla area, Bayda city #Yemen Sunday. Report quoted an official as saying it was indiscriminate targeting civilians & there was no site or camp of terrorists in the area. It was 3rd drone strike killing civilians in Yemen in past 10 days
https://twitter.com/fuadrajeh/status/935140976024276992
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
The Axis of Moderation vs. the Axis of Resistance in the Middle East
Saudi Arabia's complaints against Iran's interference and spreading extremism cannot sound credible if extremism is being practiced inside Saudi Arabia.
There urgently needs to be a unified American position to confront the Axis of Resistance. Iran continues to be the world's leading sponsor of terrorism, empowering these armed militias and extremist groups -- the basis of terrorism both in the region and across the world. It makes death threats, cooperates with a nuclearized North Korea, and all the while races toward nuclear weapons capability itself.
The dispute between the Arab states, often known as the Axis of Moderation, and the officially designated terrorist regime in Iran often known as the Axis of Resistance, is no longer just a political disagreement but a threat to the national security of Arab countries.
While the Arab states seem pro-statehood and work with other states, Iran and the Axis of resistance seems not to. Even though Iran calls itself Republic, it has a militia mentality and rarely deals with states. In general, rather than dealing with governments, it instead establishes militias, as it has in Lebanon and Yemen. Even in Iraq, where the government is considered its ally, Iran has established more than 15 militias. Qatar, by supporting Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as Syria under the Assad regime, seem to have the same mentality as Iran. If you trace the Axis of Resistance, all of them appear to have adopted the concept of supporting militias and extremist groups under the slogan of "resistance." by Najat AlSaied
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11471/axis-moderation-resistance
My comment: This articleis closely related to US mainstream paranoia propaganda. For the author: https://english.alarabiya.net/authors/N/Na/Najat-AlSaied.html
(A P)
KSRelief: 75% of Hodeidah Imports are Construction Materials, Cars
Saudi Arabia will continue to support and send humanitarian aid to Yemen through all its outlets, according to a Saudi official who confirmed that eight of Yemen’s ports are receiving humanitarian supplies normally.
The official denied all allegations that 80 percent of Hodeidah port’s imports are supplies, echoing UN’s report which stated that 75 percent of goods arriving at the port are construction materials and cars.
Spokesman of King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSRelief) Samer al-Jatili announced that Aden port receives about 54 percent of the humanitarian aid and imports arriving at Yemen.
Speaking at a press conference at the Center's headquarters in Riyadh, Jatili said that all Yemeni outlets are open. He added: "They [Houthis] say Hodeidah is the only port receiving humanitarian aid and goods, but in reality, there are eight ports and sea outlets operating inside of Yemen."
The spokesman indicated that UN Inspection Committee stated that 75 percent of cargo arriving at Hodeidah are construction materials and cars.
"They [Houthis] continuously speak of the sufferings of Hodeidah, but sadly, port is not being equipped to receive humanitarian aid," Jatili confirmed.
My comment: That contradicts to all what all humanirarian organisations tell again and again.
Comment: There is so much to reply to the statements of Saudi propaganda.
One for all: "They [Houthis] continuously speak of the sufferings of Hodeidah, but sadly, port is not being equipped to receive humanitarian aid".
Sadly? 'Sadly' the port has been bombed over and over again and cranes are waiting in Dubai to be brought to Hodeida but no one seems, on purpose, to care.
You cannot put a country under siege, bomb it and pretend to care.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1572094866176871
(* A P)
Tom Friedman Is Still Optimistic
The longtime New York Times op-ed writer on his controversial Saudi Arabia column, how he views his job, and cab drivers.
I spoke by phone with Friedman.
During the course of our conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, we discussed whether he was too nice to the Saudi regime, how Trump is warping our view of world affairs, and how he sees his role at the Times.
Thomas Friedman: What happened, Isaac, basically, was that Islam took an incredible right turn after 1979.
Then why such optimism today?
At two levels. At the ground level, when you talk to young Saudis, as I did there, what you see ... Toby Keith performed there. You have music again. Basically, fun was outlawed in Saudi Arabia in 1979. Now suddenly you have concerts. You have music. Women can go to sporting events. People are mixing—young men and women.
You only alluded to it in only one line in your column, but your own newspaper wrote that Saudi Arabia was trying to “starve the people of Yemen into submission.” Did you talk to MBS about that?
I put what’s going on in Saudi Arabia in three buckets: what’s going on domestically, what’s going on on the Islam issue, and what’s going on in foreign policy. If you want to talk about Yemen, Yemen is a really complicated story, because Yemen had a democratically elected government that was ousted by the Houthis, supported by Iran, then the Saudis came in and basically put a blockade on the place. I find the whole thing appalling. [Editor’s note: Calling the government “democratically elected” is a stretch. The president of Yemen had stepped aside in 2011 amid protests, and a transitional, Gulf state–backed president was installed. The 2012 presidential election included only one candidate.]
I’m sure that what the Saudis are doing there has caused enormous pain, but they are hardly the only people involved in bringing that situation about. Five percent of the population, the Houthis, took over the whole country and ousted a democratically elected government. I could have talked about Yemen until the cows come home, but nothing is new in Yemen for me. I have nothing to add to that story. Yemen is a tragedy that is brought to you by Saudi Arabia, by the Houthis, by the Iranians, by [former Yemini President] Ali Abdullah Saleh. You can apportion the blame wherever you want.
From the article’s comments:
Thomas Friedman is an idiot who has a simplistic view of the Middle East and has been consistently wrong and ignorant about every conflict he's inserted himself into ever since the unfortunate people of Lebanon received his wisdom in the 70s and 80s. If he is optimistic about MbS, we should probably be pessimistic.
Why does anyone take this idiotic mouthpiece for status quo banality seriously?
That clown was for the Iraq invasion and admired Bush for "playing Texas Hold um" or whatever it was called. Just a useless idiot
Another neo-con blowhard, getting softballs lobbed his way. The Saudis are corrupt, war criminals, playing kissy-face with Zionist war criminals, ginning up for the big one with Iran. With our blessing. America First, indeed.
So he tells us how the Muslim world blew up in 1979 and won’t comment on his idiotic support for the Iraq invasion? If he’s so up on the Sunni/Shi’a split he’d never have supported the war because he should’ve known what would happen with Saddam gone. He’s a gasbag tool.
If you've read any of his columns, you'd expect the mangled syntax and simplistic rambling. The guy's a horrible writer. Friedman being America's most influential columnist is a bit like Donald Trump being president.
My comment: Referring to the MBS interview (YPR 360, cp1c). And again, Friedman got a stage here.
Comment by Daniel Larison: Friedman claims Hadi's government was "democratically elected." Sure, if having one candidate agreed upon ahead of time is democratic
https://twitter.com/DanielLarison/status/936064307732926464
Friedman claims to find what's happening in Yemen appalling. Ok. So why suck up so effusively to the person most responsible for it?
https://twitter.com/DanielLarison/status/936064486322135040
And this is making a joke of Friedman, referring to a former article on Yemen:
Uganda is Iraq
http://thomasfriedmanopedgenerator.com/Uganda+is+Iraq+632080 and more of this kind!
(A P)
UN heart does not beat for Yemeni civilians
The Arab Coalition's brief blockade on the rebels-controlled Sana'a Airport and Hodeida Seaport revealed that the heart of the United Nations beats and worries, but not for the civilians as it claims.
The blockade, which of course has now been lifted, triggered a big uproar from the UN and international media under the pretext that it is fatal to the civilians in terms of cutting food and medicines supply, etcetera. When the
First and foremost, Yemen's biggest humanitarian misery arising from blockade exists in Taiz, where the Houthi-Saleh militias are cutting at least hundreds of thousands of people off desperately needed relief supply and off connection with most of the country.
This blockade along with the continual killing and atrocities against the people there has been going for three years and neither the UN nor the hypocrite international media said a single word about it.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-13280
My comment: This is really odd and it’s putting upside down.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(* A K PH)
Saudi coalition air raids at Yemen, Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, 2017
https://twitter.com/LCRDye/status/936652294459936769 /Arabic)
https://twitter.com/LCRDye/status/936655721642504193 (Arabic)
https://twitter.com/LCRDye/status/936695017204342785 (Arabic: Map, air raids and artillery shelling)
(* A K PH)
30 November 2017
#AlFuhaiq_Family_Massacre
#Saudi_led_coalition warplanes launched 8 airstrikes targeting #Sua area in #AlTohita district # AlHodeidah, one of the raids targeted the house of "Yahya Fheiq" that led to kill his wife and their youngest son, while the head of the family and his other son were seriously wounded and taken to the hospital in critical conditions Also the airstrikes destroyed many houses a mosque, killed cattle’s and burned their farms. (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1749824651980188 and https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1749759971986656 and film https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/936695119855734784
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* A K)
Saudiarabien fängt erneut Rakete aus Jemen ab – Iran unter Verdacht
Während Hilfswerke eine weitere Lockerung der Jemen-Blockade fordern, starten die Huthi-Rebellen die nächste Provokation. Erneut schossen sie eine ballistische Rakete auf ein Ziel in Saudiarabien ab. Laut einem Uno-Bericht scheinen die Raketen iranischen Ursprungs zu sein.
Zum zweiten Mal in diesem Monat hat die saudische Flugabwehr eine aus Jemen abgefeuerte ballistische Rakete abgefangen. Das Geschoss habe ein Ziel in der südwestlichen Stadt Khamis Mushait anvisiert, erklärte der Sprecher der saudisch geführten Koalition zur Bekämpfung der Huthi-Rebellen im Nachbarland Jemen, Turki al-Maliki.
Ein neuer Bericht an den Uno-Sicherheitsrat, der von der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters eingesehen werden konnte, belastet nun aber offenbar Iran. Demnach haben Uno-Beobachter in Saudiarabien die Überreste von vier Raketen untersucht, die von Mai bis November aus Jemen abgefeuert worden waren.
https://www.nzz.ch/international/saudiarabiens-luftwaffe-schiesst-erneut-rakete-aus-jemen-ab-ld.1334552 und auch https://www.welt.de/newsticker/news1/article171147363/Staatsmedien-Saudi-Arabien-faengt-Rakete-aus-dem-Jemen-ab.html
Meion Kommentar: Saudische Luftangriffe auf Jemen scheinen für westliche Medien kaum je „Provokationen“ zu sein, obwohl sie sich täglich auf Dutzende summieren.
(* A K)
Saudi Arabia intercepts Yemeni missile, second in a month
A ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s armed Houthi group at Saudi Arabia was shot down on Thursday near the south-western city of Khamis Mushait, the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya channel reported.
It was the second ballistic missile fired from Yemen this month, after an earlier rocket was brought down near King Khaled Airport on the northern outskirts of the capital Riyadh.
“Air defense intercepted a ballistic missile, fired by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait,” Arabiya said on its Twitter account, without giving details.
SABA, quoting a military source, added the “successful test was a new start of locally made missile launches”
(*A K)
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Ballistic Missile Fired From Yemen, State Media Say
Saudi state media report that Saudi Arabia has intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen toward the kingdom.
“The missile was heading towards the city of Khamis Mushait and was intercepted and destroyed without any casualties,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted a spokesman for a Saudi-led coalition fighting against Shi’ite Yemeni rebels as saying late on November 30.
The spokesman, Turki al-Maliki, also said that the control of ballistic weapons by Huthi rebels in Yemen represents a threat to regional and international security.
https://www.rferl.org/a/saudi-arabia-intercepts-missile-fired-from-yemen/28889143.html
My comment: The whole war – which was enlarged from a local civil war to a great war by the Saudi intervention “represents a threat to regional and international security”. And just the Houthi missiles do not threat international security at all.
And what happens when they even do not llok but are just caught in their own propaganda:
(A K PS)
Iran just fired another ballistic missile at Saudi Arabia
by Tom Rogan
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(-)
Film: War will never have the last word.
A walk through the Old City of #Sanaa as a reminder of how beautiful our #Yemen is
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/1572119326174425/
(* C)
The Secret War in South Yemen, 1972-75
Throughout the Cold War Britain had used covert action as a means of bolstering its influence in the Middle East.
From November 1972 to at least January 1975, the UK and Omani governments trained and directed tribesmen from the Mahra clan in exile in Dhofar to launch paramilitary raids into South Yemen, which was dubbed Operation Dhib in British official papers. Sultan Qaboos bin Said was the apparent instigator for Dhib, being riled by the PDRY’s support for his internal enemies. The then-British Prime Minister Edward Heath gave authorisation for soldiers from 22SAS to train the Mahra for guerrilla operations, although both 10 Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) stipulated that no British personnel were to accompany the Mahra guerrillas across the border. Operation Dhib was subjected to ministerial review on a six-monthly basis, and continued even after the Labour government took office in March 1974. In all respects it was an adjunct to the training and direction of the Dhofari firqat forces (pro-government tribal militias) by 22SAS during this very same period.
https://defenceindepth.co/2015/04/15/the-secret-war-in-south-yemen-1972-75/
(C)
Before Islam: When Saudi Arabia Was a Jewish Kingdom
The discovery of the oldest-known pre-Islamic Arabic writing in Saudi Arabia, from ca. 470 CE, evidently caused some consternation, given its Christian and Jewish context.
In 2014, researchers from a French-Saudi expedition studying rock inscriptions in southern Saudi Arabia announced they had discovered what could be the oldest texts written in the Arabic alphabet. But they did so very quietly, perhaps because the context of the texts is something of an embarrassment to some.
Conveniently, at least two of the early Arabic petroglyphs that were discovered cited dates in an ancient calendar, and expert epigraphists quickly calculated that the oldest one corresponded to the year 469 or 470 CE.
Yet the announcement of the discovery was subdued. A few outlets in the French and Arab media tersely summarized the news, hailing the text as the “missing link” between Arabic and the earlier alphabets used previously in the region, such as Nabatean.
According to the report, the Arabic text, scrawled on a large rectangular stone, is simply of a name, “Thawban (son of) Malik,” followed by the date.
Underwhelming? Well, there is the matter of the large, unmistakably Christian cross that decorates the head of this inscription.
https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/1.709010
(A D)
Young Yemeni wins top UN Environmental prize
Omer Badokhon wins Young Champion of the Earth prize for biogas project that will help to fight climate change, deadly indoor air pollution and the spread of cholera
Omer is one of six inaugural winners from around the world to be announced throughout November
Winners receive US15,000 seed funding, intensive training, and tailored mentorship to help them bring their big environmental ideas to life
(-)
Jorge Tutor
1996 Yemen photo gallery
http://www.jorgetutor.com/yemen/yemen.htm
(-)
Photo. Shibam Hadramout, Yemen, from different angles. Also known as the Manhattan of the desert for its high house which can reach up to 10 stories in height, made entirely of clay in the middle of the valley of Hadramout, it has a wall surrounding it with only one entrance into the historical city.
https://www.facebook.com/jamil.alabiad.9/posts/2006591799586840
(* C)
Photos: Aden Under British Occupation
British soldiers in action against Yemenis during the United Kingdom's occupation of Aden.
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-361-yemen-war-mosaic-361
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-361 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-361:
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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