March 25, 2018: Rise of the Houthis – 3. Anniversary of Yemen war – Western hypocrisy – Food crisis – Hodeida port still blocked – Refugees in Djibouti – Prostitution – Al Qaeda is flourishing – UAE militia deporting Yemenis – Saudi, UAE propaganda and influencing, media – Wars of aggression and killing – Prince Salman’s visit to the US – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / 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
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
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**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
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
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
[In German above, in English scroll down]
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Der vergessene Krieg im Jemen
Die humanitäre Lage im Jemen, gegen das Saudi-Arabien einen erbarmungslosen Krieg führt, ist katastrophal. [Kurzer Überblicksartikel]
https://www.swp.de/politik/inland/der-vergessene-krieg-im-jemen-24771468.html
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Zwischen Cholera und Hungersnot
Der humanitäre Alptraum des Jemen-Kriegs
Seit März 2015 wird der Jemen von einem brutalen Krieg beherrscht, in dem eine von Saudi-Arabien geführte Koalition einen erbarmungslosen Bombenkrieg gegen die Aufständischen der Houthi-Bewegung führt, dem bereits weit über 10.000 Menschen zum Opfer fielen, über 3 Millionen sind auf der Flucht. Der Krieg wird dominiert von brutalsten Kriegsverbrechen der Saudi-Koalition. Eine „vollständig menschengemachte“ Folge ist die größte Cholera-Epidemie in der Geschichte und die größte Hungersnot seit Jahrzehnten mit potentiell „Millionen von Opfern“ - von Jakob Reimann
http://justicenow.de/2018-03-04/zwischen-cholera-und-hungersnot/=https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/zwischen-cholera-und-hungersnot=https://diefreiheitsliebe.de/politik/zwischen-cholera-und-hungersnot/
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Die Houthis und das Haus Saud: Die Wurzeln des Jemenkriegs
Saudi-Arabien beteuert, die Houthi-Rebellen wären eine Marionette Teherans und rechtfertigt damit den erbarmungslosen Krieg im Jemen, da dieser die Expansion des Iran auf die Arabische Halbinsel verhindern würde. Die tatsächlichen Gründe sind jedoch wesentlich banaler: Riad will die Grenzen seiner 1934 annektierten Provinzen schützen und seinen jahrzehntelangen Einfluss auf die jemenitische Regierung wiederherstellen - von Jakob Reimann
http://justicenow.de/2018-03-07/die-houthis-und-das-haus-saud/=https://ffd365.de/2018/03/07/die-wurzeln-des-jemen-kriegs/=https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/die-houthis-und-das-haus-saud#1520529803902904=https://diefreiheitsliebe.de/politik/die-houthis-und-das-haus-saud/
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Die Houthi-Iran-Connection
Krieg im Jemen: Die Verbindungen Teherans zu den Houthi-Rebellen werden von den Saudis massiv übertrieben. Ein regionaler Krieg wird so zum globalen Kampf gegen den „Schurkenstaat“ Iran.
Daher malt Riad das Bild der Houthis als hörige Marionetten Teherans, der Kampf gegen sie wird so zum Kampf gegen einen feindseligen Iran. Und westliche Politiker wie Medien übernehmen dieses Narrativ größtenteils, ohne es zu hinterfragen oder gar zu überprüfen. Ist der „Schurkenstaat“ Iran das eigentliche Ziel, so ist das bittere Elend der jemenitischen Bevölkerung offensichtlich akzeptabler –Collateral Damage.
Im Jemen-Kontext wird diese Strategie der sektiererischen Aufheizung geschickt mit Macht- und Geopolitik verknüpft. Der Iran als Kernland der Schiiten wird bezichtigt, als Drahtzieher hinter den schiitischen Houthis zu stehen, die von den Saudis und ihren Verbündeten als Werkzeuge Teherans dargestellt werden, um einen Fuß auf die Arabische Halbinsel zu bekommen. AnParanoia grenzend wird von Saudi-Arabien das Schreckgespenst eines „vom Iran dominierten Jemen“ bemüht, der saudische Angriffskrieg gegen die Houthis wird so zur Selbstverteidigung gegen den Erzfeind Iran umgemünzt.
Doppelstandards und die offenkundige Heuchelei westlicher Staaten im Jemen-Kontext: Der Iran wird aufgrund einer nicht zweifelsfrei nachgewiesenen Waffenlieferung an die eine Kriegspartei verurteilt, während eben diese vier verurteilenden Staaten zusammengenommen seit dem Jahr 2000 für jeweils 86 Prozent der Waffenimporte der zwei treibenden Kräfte der anderen Kriegspartei – Saudi-Arabien, Vereinigte Arabische Emirate – verantwortlich sind.
Mit der „Iranisierung“ des Jemen-Krieges spielt Saudi-Arabien ein geschicktes PR-Spiel. Indem der iranische Teufel in Übergröße an die Wand gemalt wird, konnte die westliche Welt überzeugt werden, dass es sich keineswegs um einen lokalen Konflikt handelt, sondern um einen, der mit der indirekten Bekämpfung eines vermeintlich feindseligen Iran gar globale Kreise zieht. Wer würde schon für einen Grenzkonflikt mitten in der arabischen Wüste die faktische Vernichtung eines bettelarmen Landes tolerieren? – von Jakob Reimann
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/die-houthi-iran-connection=http://justicenow.de/2018-03-11/die-houthi-iran-connection/=https://diefreiheitsliebe.de/politik/die-houthi-iran-connection/
Mein Kommentar: Dieser Artikel zeigt sehr schön die saudische Propaganda auf, wie sie auch, mehr oder weniger deutlich, die Berichterstattung fast aller Mainstream-Medien durchsetzt hat.
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Das Achte Emirat Südjemen
Krieg im Jemen: Die Emirate wollen zur globalen Energiesupermacht aufsteigen und nutzen dafür den Krieg zur Errichtung eines Vasallenstaats am strategisch so wichtigen Golf von Aden.
Die Emirate verfolgen über die Kontrolle strategisch wichtiger Knotenpunkte auf energierelevanten Handelsrouten den Aufbauüberregionaler Strukturenim Nahen Osten und darüber hinaus, um so ihren Handel mit fossilen Rohstoffen nach Europa und Nordamerika zu konsolidieren und weiter auszubauen.
Hierzu drängt sich Abu Dhabi im Eiltempo in dieEnergie- und Sicherheitsinfrastrukturder Region hinein
Seit gut einem Jahr gewinnen die sezessionistischen Kräfte im Inland mehr und mehr an Einfluss und erhalten dabei tatkräftige Unterstützung aus dem Ausland: von den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten, die auch auf diesem Gebiet aus der Linie der Saudi-Koalition ausscheren, was mittlerweile als offener Bruch mit den Herren in Riad betrachtet werden sollte.
Die VAE verfolgen ambitioniert das Projekt eines geteilten Jemen
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/das-achte-emirat-suedjemen=http://justicenow.de/2018-03-14/das-achte-emirat-suedjemen/=https://diefreiheitsliebe.de/politik/das-achte-emirat-suedjemen/
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Der Westen als treuer Al-Qaida-Verbündeter
Krieg im Jemen: Die vom Westen unterstützte Saudi-Koalition hat engste Verbindungen zur Al-Qaida im Jemen. Vertraute des Exil-Präsidenten Hadi sind hochrangige AQAP-Funktionäre.
Im gemeinsamen Kampf gegen die Houthi-Rebellen wurden Allianzen geschlossen, die nicht nur die „War on Terror“-Logik zum Einsturz bringen, sondern auch die Restglaubwürdigkeit des US-geführten Westens hierin: Die Houthis werden neben den Truppen des pro-westlichen Exilpräsidenten Hadi ebenso erbittert auch von den radikalen Dschihadisten im Jemen bekämpft. Hierdurch entstand die absurde Situation, dass die westlichen Alliierten der Saudi-Koalition Seite an Seite mit IS- und Al-Qaida-Terroristen gegen die Houthis kämpft.
Die Associated Press bezeichnet Al-Qaida daher vollkommen zutreffend als „de-facto-Alliierten” der Hadi-Regierung und der Saudi-Koalition – was Al-Qaida im Jemen damit zum „de-facto-Alliierten“ des Westens macht.
„Wir“ kämpfen im Jemen gleichzeitig für die Vernichtung und den Aufstieg Al-Qaidas. Das permanent kolportierte „War on Terror“-Narrativ bricht vollständig in sich zusammen – von Jakob Reimann
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/des-westen-als-treuer-al-qaida-verbuendeter = http://justicenow.de/2018-03-18/des-westen-als-treuer-verbuendeter-der-al-qaida/ = https://diefreiheitsliebe.de/politik/des-westen-als-treuer-verbuendeter-der-al-qaida/
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Die Blutspur der USA: Die Gewalt des US Empire im ärmsten Land der Arabischen Welt
Krieg im Jemen: Auf sämtlichen Ebenen unterstützen die USA den Bombenkrieg der Saudis und ziehen mit Massakern und Drohnenmorden seit Jahrzehnten ihre eigene Blutspur durch das Land.
Washington steht felsenfest an Riads Seite.
Seit Beginn des Jemen-Kriegs stammt mit zwei Dritteln der Mammutanteil des nach Saudi-Arabien verschifften Kriegsgeräts aus den USA, einzig Großbritannien hat mit einem Fünftel noch einen signifikanten Anteil, die anderen Staaten bewegen sich im untersten Prozentbereich.
Obwohl Waffenlieferungen die zentralste Form sind, geht die US-Unterstützung der Saudis in ihrem Krieg gegen den Jemen weit darüber hinaus.
Halten wir fest: Ohne die USA wäre der erbarmungslose Bombenkrieg der Saudi-Koalition im Jemen undenkbar. Würde Washington die Unterstützung heute einstellen, wäre der Krieg morgen beendet.
Warum diese bedingungslose Unterstützung?
Um den umfassenden Support der Saudis durch die USA zu verstehen, muss neben allgemeingültigen Erklärungen wie der historischen Saudi-US-Allianz und die für US-Rüstungskonzerne höchst lukrativen kriegsbedingten Waffendeals ein weiterer zentraler Punkt berücksichtigt werden, um den sich für die Saudis im Nahen und Mittleren Osten letztendlich alles dreht: der Iran. Insbesondere der so wichtige Iran-Nukleardeal von 2015.
Die Saudis wollten das Zustandekommen des Iran-Deals um jeden Preis verhindern und waren am Ende wutentbrannt über das historische Abkommen. Obamas Entscheidung, den Krieg der Saudis gegen die Bevölkerung des Jemen überhaupt erst zu ermöglichen, ist als Geste der Wiedergutmachung zu verstehen, als Beschwichtigung eines wegen des Iran-Deals aufgebrachten Hauses Saud.
Die Bevölkerung des Jemen war der Bauer auf Obamas Schachbrett, der für das Zustandekommen des Iran-Deals geopfert wurde. Komplizenschaft in Kriegsverbrechen als Geste der Wiedergutmachung – so zynisch wie nur Geopolitik sie sein kann.
Donald Trump steht treu an der Seite der faschistischen Diktatur Saudi-Arabien. Die Leidtragenden dieser unheilvollen Allianz sind die geplagten Kinder, Frauen und Männer im Jemen – von Jakob Reimann
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/die-blutspur-der-usa = http://justicenow.de/2018-03-21/die-blutspur-der-usa-im-jemen/ = http://justicenow.de/2018-03-21/die-blutspur-der-usa-im-jemen/
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Amnesty: JEMEN 2018
In dem 2017 weiterhin andauernden bewaffneten Konflikt verübten alle Beteiligten Kriegsverbrechen und andere schwere Verstöße gegen das Völkerrecht; unzureichende Maßnahmen im Rahmen der Rechenschaftspflicht verhinderten, dass Opfer Gerechtigkeit und Wiedergutmachung einfordern konnten. Die von Saudi-Arabien geführte Militärallianz, welche die international anerkannte Regierung des Jemen unterstützte, bombardierte erneut zivile Einrichtungen und verübte wahllose Angriffe, bei denen Zivilpersonen getötet oder verletzt wurden. Die bewaffnete Gruppe der Huthi und ihre Verbündeten, darunter Armeeeinheiten, die dem ehemaligen Präsidenten Ali Abdullah Saleh die Treue hielten, beschossen Wohnviertel in Taiz mit Granatwerfern und feuerten Artilleriegeschosse wahllos über die Grenze nach Saudi-Arabien. Dabei gab es Tote und Verletzte unter der Zivilbevölkerung. Die jemenitische Regierung, die Huthi und mit ihnen verbündete Armeeeinheiten des ehemaligen Präsidenten Saleh sowie jemenitische Streitkräfte, die sich den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten unterstellt hatten, griffen auf rechtswidrige Haftpraktiken wie Verschwindenlassen, Folter und andere Misshandlungen zurück. Frauen und Mädchen wurden nach wie vor Opfer von Diskriminierung und anderen Menschenrechtsverstößen wie Zwangsverheiratung und häusliche Gewalt. Die Todesstrafe blieb in Kraft. Es gab jedoch keine öffentlich zugänglichen Berichte über Todesurteile und Hinrichtungen.
https://www.amnesty.de/jahresbericht/2018/jemen
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What Is Really Happening In Yemen?
A look into one of the most horrific humanitarian crises in modern history
In March-April, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Muhammad Bin Salman ordered airstrikes on Yemen that continue to be carried out today. These strikes are ruthless, hitting schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, ports, bridges, and roads. With blocked access to basic supplies, 2.9 million people were forced from their homes, 17 million people face famine, and 7 million people do not know when they will get their next meal.
Yemen is dependent on maritime imports for more than 80 percent of its annual staple food supply. According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net), “a prolonged closure of key ports an unprecedented deterioration in food security to Famine (IPC Phase 5) across large areas of the country.” FEWS Net also predicted that this would occur in three to four months if the blockade is not resolved.
Here are some brief statistics on how children are being affected by the Yemen Famine, as provided by Save the Children:
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/what-happening-yemen
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Film: For those new to #Yemen here's a 25 minute doco we made 2016 explaining how this UK & US backed war has already killed tens of thousands of civilians in airstrikes, from famine & lack of medical care
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CxiNMN5EsM
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Film: Yemen Millions of children and families are on the brink of starvation UNICEF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT9jRp2Z1K4
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Film: Yemen crisis closes in on third anniversary
More than 10,000 Yemeni civilians have died as a Saudi Arabia-led coalition – with critical support from the US and UK – wages war against the powerful Houthi rebel group. The UN has called the nearly three-year-old war the worst humanitarian crisis in the world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKp_QhRAZq4=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLSb4ayUSVc
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MORE THAN 21 MILLION YEMENIS LACK ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER
More than 21 million Yemeni citizens lack access to clean drinking water and need urgent assistance, 17.8 million of whom are unable to meet their food needs, Minister of Agriculture Othman Majali said on Thursday.
This comes during a speech at the fortieth session of the International Fund for Agricultural Development in Rome, noting thatabout 19.4 million people lack access to clean water and sanitation services, 9.8 million people can not access the water because of the war.
According to Saba news agency, about 8.4 million Yemenis are threatened by famine, an increase of 24% compared to the data of 2017.
He pointed out that about 14.1 million citizens live without adequate health care, in addition to the fact that at least 2.7 million people have fled their homes to other areas within Yemen or to other countries.
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Amnesty International: YEMEN 2017/2018
All parties to the continuing armed conflict committed war crimes and other serious violations of international law, with inadequate accountability measures in place to ensure justice and reparation to victims. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government continued to bomb civilian infrastructure and carried out indiscriminate attacks, killing and injuring civilians. The Huthi-Saleh forces indiscriminately shelled civilian residential areas in Ta’iz city and fired artillery indiscriminately across the border into Saudi Arabia, killing and injuring civilians. The Yemeni government, Huthi-Saleh forces and Yemeni forces aligned to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) engaged in illegal detention practices including enforced disappearance and torture and other ill-treatment. Women and girls continued to face entrenched discrimination and other abuses, including forced and early marriage and domestic violence. The death penalty remained in force; no information was publicly available on death sentences or executions.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/yemen/report-yemen/
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"1- The humanitarian crisis in#Yemenis the most important story in the world,but it rarely receives the coverage that such a massive crisis ought to have.
2- Ongoing blockade by#Saudiand willingness to impose collective punishment on the civilian population.
3- suffering from the largest famine the world has seen 4 decades .
4- struggling with an acute hunger crisis that has effected at least 17M ppl ,third of them considered close to famine.
5- Diseases r spreading like a wildfire,the closure of Yemeni ports will worsen the epidemics.
6- There is a gas and fuel crisis ,people are without salaries for 18 months ,the #Saudi bombardment has really scared our children .
7- Almost daily massacres by #Saudi bombs made in#UK&#US.
8- Poor sanitation,famine,malnutrition,water crisis and etc...
9- The delay to the restoration and expansion of humanitarian access will cost the life of innocent people .
10- The only way to stop the war is if people put pressures on #UK & #US governments to stop selling arms to #Saudi and to find a sustainable peace solution. "
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/967827245212602368(thread) =https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1659463720773318
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Ten things you need to know about#Yemen:
1-Yemen is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
2-The number of#UK&#USmade bombs, &missiles sold to#Saudisince the start of its bloody war on Yemen has risen by 500 %.
3-There are 1.8 million acutely malnourished children.
4-The war has decimated Yemen's economy, 2 million people are displaced, 3,000 children killed and 2000 injured, 1.5 million born into war zone.
5--No electricity, no salaries, no fuel, no gas, no access to health care, no access to clean water, no jobs, and Famine.
6- 70 % of Yemeni infrastructure have been destroyed, the number of causalities is devastating, 12k civilians killed, and 21k civilians wounded.
7-The disease can spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewage and drinking water. In Yemen, collapsing health, water & and sanitation systems have cut off 14.5 million people from regular access to clean water and sanitation, increasing the ability of diseases to spread.
8-1085 days of : Aerial bombing, merciless war, terrorizing children, and living under siege.
9-The incalculable suffering of#Yemeni's people has been a mark of shame for humanity and the failure of world's leaders.
10- Yemeni people call for peace and humanitarian access to every woman, man & child in need.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/974357308162695169(thread)
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
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On a wretched third anniversary of the international intervention in Yemen, is the rise of the Huthis irresistible? Part 1
The Yemeni people have now coped with a full-scale war for three full years! While this anniversary marks the beginning of the air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition, the war has many other features. Ground fighting between what was then the Saleh-Huthi alliance and those of the Hadi regime started a few weeks before the internationalisation of the war, and it was the threat of a complete takeover of Hadi’s interim capital, Aden, which prompted the coalition intervention.
So where are we now? What is the impact of this war on the 29 million Yemenis? What are the prospects for the coming year? This two–part article addresses first the apparently irresistible rise of the Huthi movement and its prospects. Part two will look at the humanitarian situation, people’s survival strategies, and current prospects for a solution.
The failure of Saleh’s plans
Huthi rule and its implications
Now fully and exclusively in control of Yemen’s northern highlands, the Huthi movement has come a long way from its early origins as a small Zaydi revivalist movement in the far north and the insurrection of 2004, when they were almost defeated by Saleh’s forces.
During the 6 wars which followed between 2004 and 2010, their military strength and competence increased. Some people now say that all they know about is fighting.
By 2014, among many Yemenis, the Huthis had developed a good reputation as a movement committed to social justice, opposing corruption and the neo-liberal agenda of the transitional regime. Huthi anti-corruption propaganda and opposition to President Hadi’s weak and notoriously corrupt Islah-dominated transitional regime gave them considerable popularity and enabled them to hold very large demonstrations in Sana’a in August 2014 against the IMF-inspired fuel price rises.
A brief bombing campaign?
Faced with the complete collapse of the transitional regime installed under the official patronage of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), King Salman’s new[2]Saudi regime took military action through the coalition of 9 states which launched air strikes against the Huthi/Saleh regime on 26 March 2015. While the current Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman [MbS], who was then Minister of Defence expected that a brief bombing campaign would both rapidly put an end to the Huthi problem while increasing his popularity at home, three years later it is clear that things have not gone according to plan.
When 79% of the population are living below the poverty line, the accurate word is destitution, rather than poverty. Huthi blatant corruption and exactions have ended their earlier positive reputation. To cap all this, they inspire fear by arresting, disappearing and imprisoning suspected opponents, often without any justification or evidence. Given all this, it is unsurprising that, by early 2018, they have become extremely unpopular. Their control is that of a police state, inspired by fear, not allegiance.
Ideologically the Huthis have two main characteristics which affect popular perception and contribute to defining their sources of support. First they believe that sada [people claiming descent from the Prophet] have an innate right to rule. This explains why they appoint sada to most senior positions, whether civilian or military. T
Prospects for negotiations
However distasteful, the Huthi movement is a major political force which must be addressed in any attempts to solve the Yemeni crisis. However there are difficulties: first the movement’s record of implementation agreements is unimpressive.
Despite Saudi and US claims of deep Iranian involvement, evidence only demonstrates minimal Iranian support, primarily propaganda and far more marginal material assistance. In addition some Huthis are getting very rich through the war economy. Huthi leaders are also aware of the weakness of the Hadi government and the divergent strategies of the UAE and Saudi Arabia within the coalition. In such a context, it is easy to understand their confidence and unwillingness to compromise regardless of the widespread hatred they inspire.
Clouds on the Huthi horizon
However, this situation is most likely temporary and there are definite clouds on the Huthi horizon. It is becoming clear that killing Saleh and ending their alliance with the GPC was not a wise move. Militarily, the immediate impact was limited
These developments suggest it would be wise for the Huthi movement to strive for peace now while they are strong.
Huthi leaders themselves may let their successes go to their heads and miss the opportunity. Meanwhile, millions of desperate Yemenis are longing for peace and leaders on all sides should take this seriously – by Helen Lackner
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Wretched third anniversary of international intervention in Yemen: the Saudi-led coalition and humanitarian disaster. Part 2
Trump’s recent senior appointments suggest an increasingly virulent anti-Iranian strategy which certainly coincides with that of the current Saudi regime. Things could hardly be worse.
In their meeting of 19 March, their obscene joint focus on acquiring billions of dollars from each other meant that with respect to Yemen, Trump and MBS went no further than agreeing that a political solution to the conflict is necessary.
So three years into the war, let’s set a few records straight, starting with the death toll. According to the UN ‘only’ 10,000 people have been killed, a figure which has barely changed since early 2016 despite ongoing ground fighting, air strikes and the world’s worst humanitarian situation. It would be laughable if it were not so sad!
Admittedly, this figure only refers to directly war-related deaths as recorded in the 45% of medical facilities which are still operational
One thing is clear: the blockade and economic warfare have killed many more people than direct military action. Thousands have died from disease, malnutrition and associated side-effects.
Yemen has the dubious honour of holding two world records at the moment: first that of the worst humanitarian crisis with more than 22 of its 29 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, in plain English unable to have basic acceptable living standards:
The August 2016 transfer of the Central Bank from Sana’a to Aden further worsened the situation, preventing most importers from obtaining the letters of credit needed for international trade. Finally the collapse of the riyal, connected to all these factors is just one more problem. So people are faced with less food at much higher cost while their incomes have disappeared. 18 million are food insecure, ie hungry. Why?
Water is essential for life, clean water is a basic human requirement, without it consequences are dire. Yemen’s second world record of the worst cholera epidemic is because cholera, a highly infectious water-borne disease, has spread throughout the country as people have been compelled to drink polluted water.
As is the case in many other countries, millions of Yemenis depend on government jobs. Throughout the country, most salaries have not been paid for 18 months, and only a few have received minimal portions of their dues.
In this context what is surprising is how many people are coping. Most are ‘managing’ by reducing the number of meals they eat and the quality of their food, so they gradually become weaker and more likely to succumb to illness.
Three years after the Yemen crisis became internationalised, where are we? Three UN attempts to reach a negotiated settlement have failed, the most recent as long ago as mid-August 2016, the humanitarian crisis is a nightmare, the Huthis have exclusive control of the northern highlands, the ‘liberated’ areas are a government-free zone where a wide range of local entities impose different levels of administration, Yemen is fragmented, southern separatism is on the rise, the jihadi organisations move around to avoid attacks from UAE-supported Salafi[6] security forces and US drone and air strikes; and this month has seen the US/UK agreeing billions of dollars of additional arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Trump’s recent senior appointments suggest an increasingly virulent anti-Iranian strategy which certainly coincides with that of the current Saudi regime. Things could hardly be worse – by Helen Lackner
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Mohammed Bin Salman and the Conventional Hypocrisy of the Tories
Confronting Iran means to rely more heavily on the Saudi regime. Both Trump and May are following this course
One impact of Brexit has been that the Tories have begun to fear international isolation. This has pushed them ever closer to Trump’s grisly embrace. Trump’s most significant policy shift in the Middle East has been to confront Iran, challenging the international agreement on Iran’s nuclear power programme. To confront Iran means to rely more heavily on the Saudi regime. Both Trump and May are following this course.
The abject character of such a move was well illustrated by Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, when he argued the new Saudi justification for the war, that it is to defend the Saudi border and cities from Iranian missiles fired by proxies. The inconvenient fact, that the war was begun to restore Hadi to the Presidency, has vanished. This is not simply because since 2014 Hadi has been unable to demonstrate control of a government in Yemen, or even the ability to live there (currently in Riyadh). It will also be because the Saudi-led “Coalition” that began the war is falling apart.
The UAE appears content to occupy the southern ports, and perhaps divide the country (acquiring Yemen’s limited oil resources). For the Saudis, the fate of the Crown Prince is much more important than that of former President Hadi. If the “allies” can’t agree then at least “defend Saudi borders” offers some sort of justification for continuing the war.
The Saudi regime, like other Gulf monarchies, felt completely threatened by the popular mobilisations of 2011. In Yemen, they hoped to smother the people’s struggle under a net of the old state bureaucracy and client networks. That is why Hadi was supported by war, despite the mandate expiring and his loss of credibility. The war is to impose a Saudi aligned government upon the people of Yemen.
Throughout his visit, Tory representatives insisted that the Crown Prince was a point of firm support for British policy. In reality, the adventurism of the Crown Prince is a destabilising factor in a region desperate for peace and diplomatic progress.
The Tories approach is based on the conventional hypocrisy of British foreign policy - second nature to them after so many decades of exercising this faculty. It is premised on the suggestion that it is the responsibility of the British government to raise the “concerns” of the public covering, the lack of democracy, human rights, political liberties, etc., in Saudi Arabia. However, it is also the responsibility of the British government to protect the public’s material interests by promoting trade and commerce. It is evident that the convention is to place the latter above the former.
When, inevitably, the Saudis don’t adjust their behaviour to our “concerns”, these are put aside, in order to sign new contracts. The Saudis understand this farce, and, presumably, patiently and politely sit through the “concerns” session of the negotiations. Once done, to everyone’s relief, the matter can return to what both parties are actually interested in, the trade/military/commercial agreements.
This process covers Britain’s general dealing with dictatorships, particularly in the Gulf.
Since the debacle of 1956, it has been evident that British foreign policy in the Middle East has been subordinate to the alliance with the US. Under the wing of the ally, we have supposedly promoted national interests, promoted general “western goals”, and retained the ability to influence developments in the region. This policy, whether right or wrong, had a rationality whilst the US maintained its effective dominance.
The Crown Prince has come and gone, but the questions his visit raised remain to be answered. The stance Labour took has brought us closer to playing a different, and better, role in the world – by Stephen Bell
(** B H)
World Food programme: GLOBAL REPORT ON FOOD CRISES 2018
In mid-2017, the number of people needing emergency food assistance in Yemen hit the highest levels since the conflict began. Some 17 million people were in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or Emergency (IPC Phase 4) from March to July 2017, according to the most recent IPC exercise conducted in March 2017. This corresponds to 60 percent of the population and represents a 20 percent rise since the previous IPC analysis conducted in June 2016. During the same period, a further 6.14 million people were estimated to be facing Stressed conditions (IPC Phase 2). The 2018 Humanitarian Needs Overview, released in December 2017, estimated that 17.8 million Yemenis were food insecure, based on district-level food consumption score data collected by partners from the Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC) as part of famine risk monitoring.
The food deprivation that Yemeni households face is mirrored in people’s own perception of their situation, which is measured by the household hunger score. WFP’s April 2017 Emergency Food Security and Nutrition Assessment found that half of households had had insufficient quantities of food to eat because of a lack of resources, over two fifths had gone to sleep hungry, and almost a quarter had gone one day and night without eating. This represents a dramatic deterioration since 2014.
In Yemen, the humanitarian situation is set to deteriorate, as the size of the food-insecure population continues to grow, particularly in the southern, western and northern governorates. As the country relies on maritime imports for 80 percent of its food requirements, the closure of ports to commercial trade has a major impact on food security. In a worst-case scenario, if the flow of imports through the ports of Al Hudaydah and Salif and internal trade decline, or even in the absence of additional disruptions, populations may begin to move into Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) conditions as the worst-affected households exhaust their coping capacities.
Conflict continues to wreck livelihoods, disrupt trade, displace households and limit humanitarian access. Governorates where the conflict has been most severe include Ta’izz, Sa’dah, Hajjah, Marib, Sana’a, Al Jawf and Al Bayda. Across the country there are around 1 million returnees and 2 million IDPs, who are highly vulnerable, having lost their homes and livelihoods and having exhausted their capacities to cope with the daily challenges of trying to subsist in continual conflict. This amounts to 10 percent of the Yemeni population. More than 88 percent of IDPs have been displaced for more than a year.
Domestic food production has plummeted because of shortages and the high prices of agricultural inputs. High fuel prices, for instance, have compelled many farmers with irrigated crops to revert to relying on rainfed irrigation.
http://vam.wfp.org/sites/data/GRFC_2018_Full_report_EN_Low_Res.pdf
(** B H P)
Yemen's lifeline Hodeida port stifled under 'de facto' blockade
Yemen's rebel-held port of Hodeida, a lifeline for a war-battered country dependent on food imports, remains "a wasteland" three months after a Saudi-led coalition said it lifted a blockade.
The assessment by humanitarian and port officials comes as Saudi Arabia and its regional allies push into the fourth year of their military intervention in Yemen.
The status of Hodeida, the country's largest seaport and gateway to the majority of its aid-dependent population, offers a window into the nation's dire plight.
In February, food imports were half of the monthly national requirement, according to the United Nations agency for humanitarian affairs.
The world body said those food shipments, critical to a nation on the verge of famine, were "the lowest" since the UN began inspecting cargo in May 2016.
The once-bustling port of Hodeida now receives a trickle of deliveries, with some ships entering only to remove empty containers and haul them away.
"Hodeida should be supporting more than 20 million Yemenis. It should be the source of at least 70 percent of all imports to Yemen," Suze van Meegen, a protection and advocacy adviser with the Norwegian Refugee Council, told AFP.
"Instead it's like a wasteland."
The old cranes are now obstacles to movement at the port, and the storage area where containers were once stacked four high is largely empty, she said.
Some 5,000 day labourers have been let go since the bombing of the cranes, according to port authorities.
Van Meegen said that four mobile US-purchased cranes delivered in January -- while welcomed by humanitarian groups -- do not have the same capability as the old ones.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/yemen-s-lifeline-hodeida-port-stifled-under-de-facto-blockade/article/518264 = http://www.france24.com/en/20180325-yemens-lifeline-hodeida-port-stifled-under-de-facto-blockade
(** B H)
Hyenas, wolves and disease 'welcome' Yemenis fleeing war
Yemeni refugees struggle to wait out the war in the heat of Djibouti, longing to return home.
Inshallah ("God willing"), there will be more food, he says. Inshallah, the weather will be cool. Inshallah, the war will end, he adds, supplicating as he heads to the mosque after making his wudhu (ablution) with warm and discoloured water.
Faith is what has kept Quraini and the more than 1,400 Yemenis staying at Markazi, a sweltering refugee camp just 32km from war-torn Yemen, from giving up.
But after three years of praying, Quraini admits, that faith is beginning to waver.
After evading snipers, air raids and shelling, Quraini says he was full of hope when he escaped the carnage in Yemen with his wife and eight young children in April 2015.
More than 37,000 people crossed the narrow Bab al-Mandeb Strait, known as the Gate of Tears - a name derived from the long history of people perishing while trying to traverse the area.
Carrying just a few clothes and blankets, as well as some pots and pans, Quraini expected his stay at the newly built refugee camp to be temporary. He was convinced his return home was imminent.
"I am always angry, depressed and stressed," he told Al Jazeera, the desperation in his voice palpable.
"I look at my children's faces and know they've forfeited their future because we're here.
"There are no jobs, no universities, no prospects. If I could, I would return to Yemen today. Despite all its savagery, it's better than spending one more second at this camp."
(** B H)
'After he raped me, there was no choice': Yemeni women trapped in sex work hell
Poverty is dragging growing numbers of women into prostitution, where they are coerced by gangs feeding on the war-torn country's lawlessness.
That first time was the beginning of a spiral into an underworld, with Sanaa's notorious Haddah Street at its centre, that she now cannot escape. Her reputation was threatened by exposure, and there was no other job to go back to. Her life, she says, had been turned into "hell".
"After the man raped me, there was no choice - I returned to my friend and she provides me with customers."
Kefah fell into sex work by a different route, but her humiliation was just the same.
These are but two stories of the lives of the dozens of sex workers who walk the infamous Haddah Street in Sanaa, but those told to MEE share common threads: women dragged in by grinding poverty, coercion, and family responsibilities, then exploited, trapped there by threats and shame and the need to make money.
Both say that in that time, more and more women are joining them on the streets. And where once their "customers" were careful, deals are now being struck openly on the street.
"For me," says Sara, "I go to Haddah Street early after lunch and there are dozens of women and even young girls in the street waiting to customers."
That competition and availability has also pushed down prices - Sara stated that she makes between 3,000 and 15,000 riyals a day now - $6 to $30.
Studies conducted by UNAids, the UN organisation responsible for monitoring the spread of HIV/Aids, suggests there were 54,000 sex workers in Yemen in 2016.
Gangs have moved in to control the trade, according to human rights activists.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-sanaa-prostitutes-828831885
(** B T P)
Which Way Forward for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula?
Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 16 Issue: 6
The pragmatic strategy that AQAP has followed for the last three years has allowed it to increase its influence across southern Yemen and to grow the number of rank and file that are at least nominally allied with the group. Despite financial wherewithal, martial strength and a rapid increase in the area it controlled during 2015 and 2016, AQAP’s leadership largely resisted overreach.
AQAP’s adoption of a pragmatic strategy and its focus on the long war means that the group’s organizational ethos has shifted toward the local and national. While AQAP’s leaders continue to call for “lone wolf” attacks on targets in the West, AQAP’s operatives and rank and file are focused on combating internal enemies like the Houthis rather than funding and planning attacks on external targets. [9]
The pressure being put on AQAP by the UAE-backed forces and a stepped-up U.S.-led drone campaign are unlikely to force AQAP to abandon a strategy that has—and is—paying dividends (al-Jazeera, February 5). The leadership of AQAP can easily see that IS’s maximalist strategy greatly aided its defeat, or near-defeat, while the Taliban’s unceasing focus on the long war combined with the mistakes made by the U.S. and Afghan governments have allowed it to once again become a formidable power in the country (al-Jazeera, March 7).
While AQAP may be suffering some losses due to the various offensives launched by the Emirati-backed forces, it will weather these loses by engaging in strategic retreats and by continuing to enmesh its operatives and fighters within anti-Houthi militias. AQAP’s focus on the long war means that it will bide its time until conditions are once again ripe for them to go on the offensive.
Given that southern Yemen has no effective government and that the Emirati-backed militias are riven with factions, AQAP will not have to wait long. Without a functioning government, a national army or clear chains of command, it is likely that the now well-armed local militias backed by the UAE will fail to capitalize on the gains they may have made against AQAP. Instead, many of the militias will pursue their own particular agendas motivated by securing influence, additional arms and access to the same licit and illicit trade networks as AQAP – by Michael Horton
https://jamestown.org/program/way-forward-al-qaeda-arabian-peninsula/
(** A P)
UAE-backed militia deports Yemenis from southern Yemen
'Northerners' have been driven from Aden city, videos and documents sent to Al Jazeera show.
Nearly two dozen Yemenis have said they were beaten, tortured and arbitrarily held by militias affiliated with the United Arab Emirates in southern Yemen, then dumped hundreds of kilometres away in areas rife with violence and warned to never return.
In a series of videos and documents sent to Al Jazeera, the civilians said they were rounded up and driven from the port city of Aden by the UAE-created Security Belt - a force set up in 2016 to police southern areas in the war-ravaged country - to active front lines in the provinces of Taiz and Sanaa.
One resident who was recently deported said the Security Belt harassed "northern" women and the elderly.
"We were attacked in our hotels [by the Security Belt] and they kicked us out. We couldn't find anywhere to stay," he said.
"There were a large number of us and we had a lot of money [invested in Aden], but they harassed us, and told us this is not your country.
"They forced us out and even took our medication."
(** B P)
How 2 Gulf Monarchies Sought to Influence the White House
A cooperating witness in the special counsel investigation worked for more than a year to turn a top Trump fund-raiser into an instrument of influence at the White House for the rulers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to interviews and previously undisclosed documents.
Hundreds of pages of correspondence between the two men reveal an active effort to cultivate President Trump on behalf of the two oil-rich Arab monarchies, both close American allies.
High on the agenda of the two men — George Nader, a political adviser to the de facto ruler of the U.A.E., and Elliott Broidy, the deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee — was pushing the White House to remove Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, backing confrontational approaches to Iran and Qatar and repeatedly pressing the president to meet privately outside the White House with the leader of the U.A.E.
Mr. Nader tempted the fund-raiser, Mr. Broidy, with the prospect of more than $1 billion in contracts for his private security company, Circinus, and he helped deliver deals worth more than $200 million with the United Arab Emirates. He also flattered Mr. Broidy about “how well you handle Chairman,” a reference to Mr. Trump, and repeated to his well-connected friend that he told the effective rulers of both Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. about “the Pivotal Indispensable Magical Role you are playing to help them.”
Mr. Nader’s cultivation of Mr. Broidy, laid out in documents provided to The New York Times, provides a case study in the way two Persian Gulf monarchies have sought to gain influence inside the Trump White House. – By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and MARK MAZZETTI
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/us/politics/george-nader-elliott-broidy-uae-saudi-arabia-white-house-influence.html and film by Aljazeera on this subject. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/influential-saudi-arabia-trump-180323125131195.html
(** B H K P)
Don’t Applaud the Saudi Arsonist for ‘Aiding’ Yemen
Secretary Mattis’ case for supporting the war on Yemen earlier this month was remarkably weak, and his praise for Saudi Arabia this week is obnoxious:
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is applauding Saudi Arabia for its humanitarian aid to war-torn Yemen.
Specifically, Mattis said, “Your significant amounts of humanitarian aid is critical to helping the innocent caught up in this conflict (and) we applaud you for that.”
The Saudi “aid” efforts are not what they seem, and Mattis is wrong to applaud them. Even if the Saudi-led coalition were making a sincere effort to mitigate the worst consequences of their war, the aid they have provided is a pittance compared to the enormous humanitarian crisis that their policies have created. The amounts of aid are not all that significant, and they are woefully inadequate when weighed against depriving the civilian population of essential goods by blockading the main ports in the north. The Saudis and their allies have it within their power to ameliorate Yemen’s humanitarian crisis significantly, but they have to give up their blockade to do so. Until they do that, any “aid” is being done for the sake of appearances at best and at worst it is a deliberate distraction from their cruel policy of starving Yemen.
Mattis went on to say that “we are going to end this war and that “we are going to end it on positive terms for the people of Yemen.” There was an opportunity to move towards ending the war earlier this week by cutting off U.S. military assistance to the coalition, but Mattis opposed the resolution that would do that. – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/dont-applaud-the-saudi-arsonist-for-aiding-yemen/
(** B P)
Media Gives a Pass to Crown Prince Salman and Saudi War Crimes
Isn’t it wonderful that the Saudis are going to give the United States some of their wealth, by profiting Boeing, providing jobs, so they can better bomb airports and schools in Yemen? They can do so confident that the U.S. media will ignore their war crimes.
You notice how coverage of Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria has become minimal in the mainstream press. It’s just too painful to report how the U.S. is in a quagmire in Afghanistan, unable to defeat the Taliban; how Iraq remains a horrible mess, as a result of the 2003 invasion, as Iranian influence in the country ascends; how Syria is returning to stability under its secular regime, with Russian and Iranian help, but there is a sharp nascent contradiction between Turkish and U.S. interests in Syria involving the use of Kurdish forces to undermine Assad. All this stuff is too complicated, if not embarrassing, to report. And to report it would be to underscore the fact that U.S. policy foreign has not changed in any fundamental way under Trump.
The reptilian part of the mass mind is primitive as Trump’s. The media keeps saying he has record low popularity. But for a moron to retain 40% support is scary. He has the necessary support base to continue. But CNN and MSNBC are preoccupied with bringing him down, for whatever reason, anything that works.
So we hear next to nothing of Yemen, the Saudis’ bombing of Yemen, the presence of al-Qaeda and ISIL in Yemen. Or the Israeli political crisis. Or the U.S.-Turkish standoff in Syrian Kurdistan. Or the chaos in Libya. The crown prince’s visit ends without any exposure of the nature of the regime because anchors are too busy condemning Trump’s congratulations to Putin on winning the Russian election. As though that message was more outrageous that his praise of the Saudi royals.
Yemen should first-page news. Capitalist imperialism should be at the heart of discussion. Not Trump himself, not identity politics, not “fake news” but the horrible system itself under which we live and Trump vows to make greater. By selling U.S. jet fighters built by U.S. workers to the Saudis.
Lines connect the war in Yemen with White House chaos and earlier wars and market-driven media opportunism – by Gary Leupp
https://www.mintpressnews.com/media-gives-a-pass-to-crown-prince-salman-and-saudi-war-crimes/239408/
(** B P)
Saudi Prince Mohammed’s religious moderation unlikely to change Asian realities
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may be seeking to revert his kingdom to an unspecified form of moderate Islam but erasing the impact of 40 years of global funding of ultra-conservative, intolerant strands of the faith is unlikely to be eradicated by decree.
Not only because ultra-conservatism has taken root in numerous Muslim countries and communities, but also because it has given opportunistic politicians a framework to pursue policies that appeal to bigoted and biased sentiments in bids to strengthen their grip on power. Nowhere is that more evident than in Asia, home to several of the Islamic world’s most populous countries.
Examples of the fallout abound among recipients of Saudi largess.
https://medium.com/@mideastsoccer/saudi-prince-mohammeds-religious-moderation-unlikely-to-change-asian-realities-3b43d780aa4b = https://www.academia.edu/36235972/Saudi_Prince_Mohammeds_religious_moderation_unlikely_to_change_Asian_realities
And a reminder from the time when the Saudi aerial war has begun:
(** B P)
Leading Papers Incite ‘Supreme International Crime’
After the New York Times printed John Bolton’s “To Stop Iran’s Bomb, Bomb Iran” (3/26/15; FAIR Blog, 3/26/15), following the Washington Post publishing Joshua Muravchik’s “War With Iran Is Probably Our Best Option” (3/13/15), veteran investigative reporter Robert Parry made an excellent point (Consortium News, 3/28/15):
If two major newspapers in, say, Russia published major articles openly advocating the unprovoked bombing of a country, say, Israel, the US government and news media would be aflame with denunciations about “aggression,” “criminality,” “madness” and “behavior not fitting the 21st century.”
But when the newspapers are American – the New York Times and the Washington Post – and the target country is Iran, no one in the US government and media bats an eye. These inflammatory articles – these incitements to murder and violation of international law – are considered just normal discussion in the Land of Exceptionalism.
So to advocate for war, as the Washington Post and New York Times op-ed pages have done, is to incite a crime–“the supreme international crime,” as Jackson noted. How would we react if leading papers were to run articles suggesting that genocide was the best solution to an international conflict–or that lynching is the answer to domestic problems? Calling for an unprovoked military attack against another nation is in the same category of argument.
https://fair.org/home/leading-papers-incite-supreme-international-crime/
(** B K P)
How Many Millions of People Have Been Killed in America’s Post-9/11 Wars? – Part One: Iraq
The numbers of casualties of U.S. wars since Sept. 11, 2001 have largely gone uncounted, but coming to terms with the true scale of the crimes committed remains an urgent moral, political and legal imperative.
That gives us an estimate of 2.38 million Iraqis killed since 2003, as a result of the criminal American and British invasion of Iraq.
Coming to terms with the true scale of the crimes committed remains an urgent moral, political and legal imperative for the people of Iraq, the United States, the United Kingdom, and for the whole world. The world will never hold major American and British war criminals accountable for their crimes as long as the public does not understand the full scale and horror of what they have done. And the world will not know peace as long as the most powerful aggressors can count on impunity for “the supreme international crime.” – by Nicolas J.S. Davies.
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
(* A H)
Yemen - Locations reporting suspected cholera cases between 05 February and 04 March 2018 – DG ECHO Daily Map | 23/03/2018
cp2 Allgemein / General
(A K P)
Interactive Map of Yemen
(* B P)
The South Wins, The Legitimacy Loses and Al-Houthis Restore Their Hashemite State
In the south, the soil is fully cleared from Al-Houthi aggressors after a fierce war where the southern people fought courageously, and the flag of the south was high again over our beloved lands. Now it is over.
This loser is the Reform Party, the political arm of Muslim Brotherhood, and other northern leaders the most prominent among them is Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar. They lost their influence and suspicious interests in the south after 2015 war. And now, they don’t want the south to enjoy security, stability and peace as if what they robbed from the south for 24 years was not enough for them.
In my opinion, Al-Houthis will rule the north because it is their lands and most people and tribes in the north support them and will never fight them. Neighboring countries will negotiate a settlement with Al-Houthis as a De Facto Authority and Al-Houthis will accept that settlement to restore their way of life. On the other hand, the southern people will remain in control of their lands that were restored after a long history of struggle and sacrifices.
The so-called legitimacy and Muslim Brotherhood realized that there is no military victory in the horizon over Al-Houthis and the Yemeni conflict will be resolved only by political means, especially after the southern people took control over their lands and formed the southern transitional council to claim their state back.
My comment: Interesting view from southern separatists, propagatingto divide Yemen into two states run by the Houthis and the separatists.
(B H K)
THREE YEARS OF SAUDI HEINOUS CRIMES IN YEMEN
http://www.yemenpress.org/yemen/three-years-of-saudi-heinous-crimes-in-yemen.html
(? B K P)
Film: US, Saudi-backed Atrocities in Yemen: Randi Nord of Geopolitics Alert
https://twitter.com/stranahan/status/977158275320852481
(B H K)
Film: YRW Exclusive | Yemeni Student on the Aggression Against Yemen
YRW (Yemen Resistance Watch) is a pro-resistance frontline observatory and political movement agitating for Yemen's right to fight back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=VyNt7_TbHco
(* B K)
Menschenrechtlerin: Tod ist im Jemen allgegenwärtig
"Hinter jeder Haustür gibt es eine traurige Geschichte", sagte Radhya al-Mutawakel, die für die unabhängige Menschenrechtsorganisation Mwatana in der Hauptstadt Sanaa arbeitet, dem Evangelischen Pressedienst (epd). Der Tod sei allgegenwärtig. "Die Menschen sterben im Verborgenen, weil es kein Gesundheitssystem mehr gibt, wegen Hunger - oder die Depression treibt sie in den Tod. Und sie sterben durch Folter, Bomben oder Minen."
Besonders dramatisch sei die Situation von Frauen. "Viele haben ihren Mann, ihren Ernährer, verloren und stehen in langen Schlangen an, um Wasser oder Treibstoff zu bekommen. Die Zahl der Kinderehen steigt."
89 Luftangriffe selbst dokumentiert
Ihre Organisation Mwatana habe im vergangenen Jahr 89 Luftschläge im ganzen Land dokumentiert, bei denen mehr als 300 Menschen getötet worden seien: Mehr als die Hälfte der Opfer seien Frauen und Kinder gewesen.
Al-Mutawakel sagte, Deutschland habe sich im UN-Menschenrechtsrat dafür eingesetzt, dass es eine Untersuchung von Kriegsverbrechen im Jemen geben solle
(? B K)
Audio: The American Bombs Falling on Yemen
As opposition to U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen rises, we look at the fate of one Yemeni peacemaker who was killed in an air strike in Sana’a.
https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/the-american-bombs-falling-on-yemen
(* B K P)
No way out in Yemen?
Three years of war have led to secret talks, a military standstill, and a humanitarian tragedy in Yemen
Abdullah Al-Sharqi, a professor of sociology at Sanaa University, said recent reports of talks “are most likely” because of the military standstill on all fronts. The Arab Coalition has been unable to reinstate Hadi’s government in Sanaa, or end the siege of Taiz, or enter the Hudaydah Port, or win the battle in Aden. “At the same time, it’s impossible for the Houthis to defeat Saudi Arabia despite intense military operations on the border. And the humanitarian situation cannot continue either,” Al-Sharqi said.
it appears Saudi Arabia cannot end the war in Yemen now because this would help the Houthis take control of the country and by extension help Iran, which is accused of supporting them.
The Houthis cannot stop the war either because this would mean their rivals would control the country and exact revenge on them. But the war nevertheless cannot continue as it has done, since the tragic humanitarian conditions in Yemen have now reached the extreme of famine.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/24099.aspx
(? B H K P)
Audio: What is Fuelling War in Yemen?
The UN calls Yemen 'the world's worst humanitarian crisis'. It says more than three-fourths of the population - over 22 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance. Yemenis face hunger, disease, and the terror of a war which has pitted Iran-backed Houthi rebels against a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia. This week marks the end of the third year of that Saudi campaign - with no end in sight.
Carrie Gracie and a panel of expert guests bring clarity to one of the world's most complex wars.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cswx1l
(* B K P)
Reformer or War Criminal? Saudi Crown Prince Welcomed in U.S. as Trump Touts Weapons Deals
We speak with Al Jazeera’s Mehdi Hasan and Medea Benjamin of CodePink.
MEHDIHASAN: Here is a guy who is the representative of an absolute monarchy, is going to be the next absolute monarch, is de facto ruler of that absolute monarchy, with one of the worst human rights records in the world, in the midst of an awful war in Yemen, as you just mentioned, and yet he comes to the U.S. and is treated as a reformer, a revolutionary, gets softball questions, gets a meeting with Trump in the White House, where they talk about arms sales, so more war in Yemen with more American arms. The whole thing is a travesty.
MEDEABENJAMIN: It’s just disgusting the way the Western press is eating up the propaganda of the Saudi regime. Let’s look at the basics of the Saudi regime. It is a regime where there is no freedom of speech, no freedom of press, no freedom of religion, where you could get the death penalty if you’re an atheist or a homosexual. It’s the most gender-segregated society in the world.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/22/reformer_or_war_criminal_saudi_crown
(* B K P)
Money Can't Wash Blood Off Hands of Saudi Prince
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was all smiles with President Trump, and his '60 Minutes' interview tried to put a cheerful spin on life in Saudi Arabia. But observers should not forget that Salman, the chief architect of the Saudi-led war in Yemen, is a war criminal, says Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK
Medea, what is the international legal status of Saudi Arabia‘s war in Yemen? Does it even have the right to do so? Has the U.N. authorized this war that the US is supporting? Is this all legal?
MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, it's illegal both in terms of United Nations, the basis on which the Saudis and the US say they are legally there is to support a government that was only supposed to be in power for two years. That time had past, he was no longer the legal president.
This is a mission for him to put a happy face on the Saudi regime and show himself as a young, vibrant, forward looking leader who is changing the old fashioned ways of this kingdom. But there are so many ways in which this narrative is absolutely false and it's quite incredible that his propaganda PR teams have managed to successfully sell a narrative that because he is going to allow women to drive and open up movie theaters that suddenly this is a reformist leader, and a reforming regime, when, in fact, we should be asking how could it be that women were allowed to drive?
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=21418
(* B H K)
Today’s wars on children devastate the sacred principle of protection
The last seven years shall go down in history as an unprecedented ‘war on children’.
The gradual erosion of public consciousness for our common duty to protect children seems to have made the world numb to egregious violations.
What’s worse, we seem to be blind to the fact that the world of the future will be populated with humans – 1 in 5 children who live in conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa today - who have a first-hand experience of an international system that does not protect its most vulnerable members and allows those who attack children to continue to profit from these acts.
The wars in Syria and Yemen are the acceleration of this loss of common consciousness. The lack of public outrage on a large scale today, when children are being attacked and when it is impossible to claim ignorance of what is taking place, is a bleak indicator. The lack of effective political action, even worse – By Geert Cappelaere, Regional Director - UNICEF MENA
(B H K)
Waffen aus dem Westen tragen zum Leid im Jemen bei
Der Westen trägt mit umfangreichen Waffenlieferungen an die von Saudi-Arabien geführte Koalition nach Ansicht von Menschenrechtlern zum enormen Leid in Jemens Bürgerkrieg bei.
Amnesty zählte 36 Luftangriffe des Bündnisses, die offenbar gegen internationales Recht verstoßen hätten. Dabei seien mehr als 500 Zivilisten getötet worden.
http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/amnesty-bericht-waffen-aus-dem-westen-tragen-zum-leid-im-jemen-bei/21107422.html und https://de.reuters.com/article/saudi-arabien-jemen-amnesty-idDEKBN1GZ111
(* B H K)
YEMEN: THREE YEARS ON, US AND UK ARMS SUPPLIES TO SAUDI ARABIA-LED COALITION ARE DEVASTATING CIVILIAN LIVES
Amnesty has documented 36 coalition airstrikes that appear to have violated international humanitarian law
Nearly 6,000 civilians killed, almost 10,000 wounded, while more than 20 million in need of humanitarian aid
‘There is extensive evidence that irresponsible arms flows to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition have resulted in enormous harm to Yemeni civilians’
For the past three years, Amnesty has repeatedly called on countries supplying weapons to the Saudi-led coalition - notably the US and the UK - to halt exports if there was a risk that arms exports could lead to further violations of international humanitarian law. Instead, despite some countries halting arms sales, the UK and the USA have continued to send weapons, and both countries recently agreed new weapons deals. – by Lynn Maalouf
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/yemen-three-years-uk-arms-saudi-coalition-has-contributed-enormous-harm-civilians = https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/yemen-three-years-on-us-and-uk-arms-supplies-to-saudi-arabia-led-coalition-are-devastating-civilian-lives/ and reported by Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-amnesty/amnesty-denounces-western-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia-and-allies-in-yemen-war-idUSKBN1GZ007 and others: http://www.france24.com/en/20180323-yemen-saudi-coalition-arms-amnesty-civilian-casualties and http://www.dw.com/en/amnesty-international-slams-western-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia-and-allies-in-yemen-war/a-43096284
My comment: There had been much more victims than stated here.
(* B K P)
Senate Votes to Continue Yemen Devastation
On Tuesday, the Senate voted down a resolution that would have withdrawn US support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen, choosing instead to continue to illegally assist what the UN has called “the world’s largest humanitarian crisis,” reports Dennis J. Bernstein and Shireen Al-Adeimi in this interview.
Shireen Al-Adeimi: It is very disappointing because it ensures that millions more Yemenis will continue to suffer. On average, 130 children die every day in Yemen due to malnutrition and disease caused by the Saudi-led blockade. Many more will die because of US bombs which are dropped from Saudi jets. People continue to die for no reason at all.
SAA: In January, the US Army published an article detailing their support for the Saudis, including training Saudi soldiers, advising military personnel, maintaining and upgrading vehicles and aircraft, providing courses on communication and navigation, and providing Saudi jets with mid-air refueling. This is in addition to the billions in weapon sales between the US and Saudi Arabia every year.
The bottom line is that the United States is benefiting from this relationship with the Saudis and it doesn’t seem to matter that this has caused such a humanitarian toll in the process. Estimates are that over 75% of the targets in Yemen have been civilian targets.
DB: The Saudi prince was just in D.C. He said that he really feels for the people of Yemen and that he is working on easing the blockade because he understands how devastating it has been. What is your response to that?
SAA: It is a complete fabrication. They are the ones imposing the blockade, they are the ones bombing a sovereign country. They have no business in Yemen at all. And then to claim that it is the Houthis who are preventing food and medicine from coming into the country is completely absurd. In fact, the Saudis have acknowledged that they are using starvation as a weapon.
https://consortiumnews.com/2018/03/22/senate-votes-to-continue-yemen-devastation/
(* A K P)
Saudi prince promises to work to reduce civilian casualties in Yemen
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday promised to work with the U.S. to reduce civilian casualties in the Saudi-led war with Yemen, according to the Pentagon’s chief spokeswoman.
The subject came up only briefly in the 45-minute meeting in Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ E-ring office.
“We are going to end this war, that is the bottom line,” Mattis said in response to the question about whether he would raise the subject of the high number of civilian casualties caused by Saudi airstrikes. “We are going to end it on positive terms for the people of Yemen but also security for the nations in the peninsula."
My comment: That’s just absurd.
(* B K P)
The War on Yemen Is Indefensible
Obama believed that he needed to “reassure” the Saudis and other Gulf clients of U.S. reliability, and so he backed their intervention on the mistaken assumption that it would be brief. It was the worst foreign policy decision Obama ever made.
In addition to wrecking and starving Yemen, the war has not served U.S. interests in the least. To the extent that the U.S. had any interests in the country to be threatened, the war has harmed them.
Non-intervention in Yemen’s conflict was not only an option in 2015, but it was also pretty clearly the correct one. Three years later, we can see even more clearly that the U.S. should never have had any part in this war, and it is long past time that our government ended its involvement – by Daniel Larison
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-war-on-yemen-is-indefensible/
(* B K P)
How Global Politics Made Yemen's Humanitarian Disaster
An NPR team spent weeks working to get a picture of the war, which has often taken place beyond public view. NPR traveled with the Saudi military into Yemen, interviewed people in rebel-controlled zones, and then traveled to Djibouti, in East Africa, a destination for Yemeni refugees.
What emerged were the stories of people like Ola Ali Salim.
cp2a Saudische Blockade / Saudi blockade
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* A P)
Yemen: Commodity Tracker (as of 15 March 2018)
This tracker will monitor commercial imports to Hudaydah and Saleef ports via the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) and prices of food and fuel,. The map below illustrates the final stages vessels progress through before reaching the port of destination
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-commodity-tracker-15-march-2018
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A H)
Share Aid Yemen: #Shamlan area, #Sanaa, Share Aid Yemen distributed 105 food baskets. We thank all those who contributed to alleviating the burden of war. (photos)
https://twitter.com/ShareYemen/status/977527879687966720
(B H)
Sweet water melons from Hodeidah #Yemen. But there is more, much more. The 800 farmers in Hodeidah supported by @SMEPSYEMEN have created over 9,000 short term work opportunities. (photo)
https://twitter.com/Wesamqaid/status/977599317568606210
(B H)
#SheCan Lead Community Empowerment activities @SFDYemen provides temporary jobsfor 1,000 female Uni graduates under 35Years in #VillageCooperativeCouncils #VCC formation & planing #Women represent 50% of elected VCC members, so far #Tamkeen has 35,000 VCC female members (photos)
https://twitter.com/TamkeenYemen/status/977623594070048769
(* B H)
Follow a mobile health team treating children in Yemen's remotest villages
International Rescue Committee mobile health teams in war-torn Yemen are delivering lifesaving medical services to people living in remote mountainous regions. In the village of Mosuk, about a five-hour drive from the port city of Aden, the teams treat malnourished children, many suffering from cholera, every Wednesday. Follow one of their weekly journeys.
Residents of Mosuk have seen transportation and food costs skyrocket since 2015, the beginning of their country’s civil war, and most cannot afford to hire a car to take their sick children to the nearest hospital, two hours away.
IRC mobile health clinics visit Mosuk once a week to screen children for malnutrition and treat those suffering from cholera and other health problems. (photos)
https://www.rescue.org/article/follow-mobile-health-team-treating-children-yemens-remotest-villages
(* B H K)
Jemen: Zerstörung tausender Bildungseinrichtungen - Ergebnis der 3-jährigen Angriffe
Dem Sender al-Masirah zufolge hat das jemenitische Ministerium weiter mitgeteilt, dass 293 Ausbildungszentren davon vollkommen zerstört wurden.
Das jemenitische Bildungsministerium gab bekannt, dass aufgrund der dreijährigen von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Angriffe auf das Land mehr als 2640 Schulen und Bildungseinrichtungen in verschiedenen Provinzen des Landes zerstört wurden.
(* B H K)
#YEMEN's Ministry of Education reports that #US #UK supported #Saudi Coalition airstrikes destroyed 293 schools totally & partially destroyed an additional 2348
https://twitter.com/arwa_rights/status/977498682835816448
(* B H K P)
The Arab coalition in Yemen may provide aid but it also debilitates the country
In-depth: The Arab coalition's aid to Yemenis is undeniable, but they overlook a solid truth: it is their war which has given birth to the armies of aid-dependent civilians.
Irrespective of the sea of food baskets heading to Yemen from Saudi Arabia or UAE, the situation in Yemen cannot be repaired alone by commodities such as flour, oil, sugar and dates.
On Tuesday, Emirati WAM news agency reported the first aid training course for women in a rural area in Hadramout by the Emirates Red Crescent.
At a time when dozens of women may benefit from this training course, millions of women elsewhere in Yemen are suffering from the relentless blockade and daily airstrikes by the Arab coalition – by A Yemeni journalist
Remark: By a Hadi government supporter. Also interesting from this point of view. The hadi government is not “legitimate” any more, and that the “Arab coalition” more or less blocks it is just a minor problem.
Comment: A reasonable article but the death statistics are so far below the reality that it's like a bad joke.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156522673448641
(* A H)
UN warnen vor Zuspitzung der Versorgungskrise im Jemen
Angesichts des verheerenden Bürgerkriegs im Jemen haben die Vereinten Nationen vor einer weiteren Zuspitzung der Versorgungssituation gewarnt. „Der Jemen bleibt mit Abstand die größte Nahrungsmittelkrise“, heißt es in einem Bericht, den die UN-Ernährungs- und Landwirtschaftsorganisation FAO als Teil eines Netzwerks internationaler Partner in Rom vorstellte.
„Die Situation wird sich voraussichtlich verschlechtern, vor allem wegen des eingeschränkten Zugangs (in das Land), dem Zusammenbruch der Wirtschaft und dem Ausbruch von Krankheiten.“
https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/92024/UN-warnen-vor-Zuspitzung-der-Versorgungskrise-im-Jemen
(A H)
A new Guinness world record? The longest line for cooking gas cylinders in the countryside in Yemen. A man made crisis cussed by greed and war.
https://www.facebook.com/100002347045469/videos/vb.100002347045469/1707482039340014/?type=2&theater = https://twitter.com/ammar82/status/977291428618436613
and photo https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/977499098227068930
(A H)
NFDHR is restarting the maternity and childhood hospital in Al-Bayda
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/nfdhr-restarting-maternity-and-childhood-hospital-al-bayda
(A H)
National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response: Awareness helps to solve the problem of open drainage in Al-Bayda Governorate
On February 25, the network was completed and the neighborhood was connected to the main sewage network. The beneficiaries celebrated this achievement, as the children went out to play their different games in clean places, and they were saved forever from the swamps.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/awareness-helps-solve-problem-open-drainage-al-bayda-governorate
(* B H)
Yemen Market Watch Report, Issue No. 21, February 2018
The Yemeni Riyals continued to suffer from rapid depreciation
The poor supply and scarcity of basic imported food and fuel commodities persisted in February 2018. Most of the governorates are affected by the continued shortage of essential goods in markets.
Retail prices of basic food items continued rising in February 2018 following worsened scarcity of commodities in local markets, the rapidly depreciating Yemeni Riyal, high cost of transportation due to high prices of fuel, double customs taxation, and restrictions of movements.
The average cost of the monthly minimum food basket in February increased by nearly 2% and 8% from January 2018 and December 2017, respectively, and 58% higher than in pre-crisis period.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-market-watch-report-issue-no-21-february-2018
(* B H)
Yemen Food Security Outlook Update, February to September 2018
Large populations in Yemen continue to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or Emergency (IPC Phase 4) acute food insecurity. As worstaffected households begin to exhaust their coping capacity, populations may begin to move into Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) even in the absence of additional disruptions. In a worst-case scenario, significant declines in commercial imports below requirement levels and conflict that cuts populations off from trade and humanitarian assistance for an extended period could drive food security outcomes in line with Famine (IPC Phase 5).
Yemen’s main seaports (Al Hudaydah, Salif, Aden, Al Mukalla) remain open and inflows of commercial and humanitarian imports have continued into March. However, import levels are broadly below pre-blockade levels and less than monthly food and fuel import requirements.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-food-security-outlook-update-february-september-2018
(* B H)
Why water is such a precious resource in Yemen’s remote villages
Yemen has one of the worst problems of water scarcity anywhere in the world. 16 million people lack access to clean water, either because there is no infrastructure or because they can’t afford water trucks. Oxfam water engineer, John Migele, visited one village where people reminded him of why his work is so important.
Alowbala Village (in Al-Qafla district) is situated more than three hours’ drive through a rocky and mountainous road. The homes are spread out but when visitors arrive, the residents come to share a handshake. People are friendly and hardworking.
We are here to let people know how to help prevent and control of diseases such as cholera. One older man opens up the discussion to talk about the harsh living conditions in the community and hidden struggles they cope with every day to get water and other basic needs.
https://blogs.oxfam.org/en/blogs/18-03-22-water-precious-resource-yemens-remote-villages
(A H)
One of the challenges of managing development-humanitarian aid during a conflict is monitoring progress & confirming people receiving assistance are treated with respect. Today I visited @MooreStephens #Yemen who monitor aid in Yemen. Their tracking system is impressive! (image)
https://twitter.com/Wesamqaid/status/976810583906553859
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* B H)
As the U.S. hedges, Djibouti offers hope for Yemeni refugees
Just across the Red Sea, the African country of Djibouti has become an unlikely beacon of hope for its eastern neighbor. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 38,000 Yemenis have fled to Djibouti since the civil war broke out in March 2015. Of those, only 4,000 stayed in Djibouti — most continue onward.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/u-s-hedges-djibouti-offers-hope-yemeni-refugees-090041878.html
(? B H)
Yemeni Refugees Cross Gulf Of Aden To Seek Safety In East Africa
Displaced Yemenis talk about the long and difficult escape from Yemen's civil war, which has led some to the nearby country of Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. (subscribers only)
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A P)
President: US is key sponsor of aggression on Yemen
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491208.htm
(A P)
Yemeni rebel leader lashes out at US, blames it for war
The leader of Yemen's Shiite rebels has lashed out at the United States, accusing it of fomenting the war in his country through a Saudi-led coalition and even going so far as to claim that U.S.-ally Israel is participating in attacks in Yemen.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/03/23/yemeni-rebel-leader-lashes-out-at-us-blames-it-for-war.html and also https://www.rt.com/newsline/422145-yemen-rebels-us-war/
and
(A P)
Houthi leader vows to fight with Hezbollah in future war with Israel
Abdul Malik al-Houthi claimed Israelis had participated alongside UAE officers in planning some military activities in Yemen
(A P)
Houthi gunman kills 12year-old child in Ibb
The Houthi rebel in Baadan district in Ibb opened fire on Abdul-Elah Al-Shojaa, a 12 year old boy
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16682
(A P)
A Houthi sniper shot dead Mohammed Moqbel Bahsoos a 14 year old child in Jameedah mountain in al-Qurayshiya district of the central province of Beidha
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16679
(A E P)
The #Houthi de facto authority is selling about 600,000 barrels of crude oil, which were frozen in the pipeline of #oil export - extends 470 km from the fields of Safer in #Marib - to Ras Issa tanks on the Red Sea. $70 per barrel with a total of $ 42 Mil (images)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/976758649975603201
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* B P)
UAE-backed forces accused of arbitrary arrests, torture in Yemen
Fighters backed by UAE accused of kidnapping young men, videos and documents sent to Al Jazeera show.
A Yemeni militia backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been accused of kidnapping several young "northerners" in the southern port city of Aden, with relatives alleging they have been wrongly detained, tortured and denied access to a fair trial.
In a series of videos and documents sent to Al Jazeera, the relatives said they had not heard from or seen their loved ones after they were picked up by the UAE-created Security Belt - a force set up in 2016 to police southern areas in the war-ravaged country.
(A P)
Shaia Responds to the Legitimacy Letter to UN Security Council Against Adan Security Department
General Shallal Ali Shaia, chief of Adan security Department, responded to the message delivered by the legitimacy to UN Security Council by saying:
The message included lies and false accusations to commandership and personnel of Adan security department. These cheap means are extensions to the enmity against the south from powers that use terrorism to fight the security and stability in Adan and the whole south.
My comment: A sign of the great rift between the Hadi government and the separatists and their UAE-backed militia. The complaints against these militia evidently are not baseless at all.
(A P)
Unprecedented Demonstrations Planned
Military leaders within the Southern Military Commission have called for demonstrations in Aden.
The aim is to ''demonstrate against the deteriorating situation and for the unpaid government salaries for employees and members of the army and security forces" reported a statement from the organizers.
(A)
Queen Bilqis Airways launches first flights to #AdenInternational Airport
Queen Balqis Airway Company launched flights from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum to Aden International Airport in southern Yemen on Saturday.
(A P)
Another European national arrested in #Saudi/#UAE-controlled Aden Airport while boarding a flight to depart #Yemen: Aden security refused to recognize his passport's Yemeni exit visa issued by Sanaa authorities.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/977496934687608833
(* A P)
We have a failure of function here. #UAE-controlled Aden 'security forces' arrest #Yemen Shabab TV crew & accuse them of being ISIS cameramen.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/977682902103273472
referring to
(* A P)
Security of Aden: the arrest of the team filming assassinations in the organization calling for Aden
Under the direct supervision of the Director of Security of Aden, Major General Shalal Ali Chaea Hadi and in coordination with the Arab Coalition Forces in the capital Aden , the anti-terrorism security unit of the Aden Security Department arrested today a photography team belonging to the "Daqash" organization in Aden, consisting of 3 persons, The technology includes professional cameras, special zoom lenses worth hundreds of dollars, as well as aircraft for aerial photography.
The security forces in the camp of the organization, which was raided in a district of Adenprovince, found small explosive devices placed inside boxes of gold jewelry and connected by wires to remote detonators.
Also found in the wicker that a cell is holding in Aden is a cache for storing weapons and explosives . It is based on several photographs used by the team to record the commandments of suicide bombers, including the organization's black logo, which is used as a background that has always appeared in photographs published by the organization.
Among the hazardous materials found in Walker are explosive belts ready for detonation, dynamite fingers and bags containing high-explosive S-4, as well as quantities of weapons and explosives of all kinds.
http://adengad.net/news/309635/ .
(* A P T)
Unknown gunmen stormed the office of Al-Shomou Foundation daily's paper Akhbar al-Youm in #Aden’s northern Dar Saad district.
Allegedly, gunmen have abducted a number of staff members, who were taken to an unknown location.
No group has claimed responsibility.
and
(A P)
Human Rights Ministry condemns attack on press institution in Aden
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16727
(A T)
Imam assassinations in #Yemen: Local sources report the assassination yesterday evening of Imam Mahir 'Ali Faysal in al-Dali' city by unknown gunmen as he returned home. Note that #UAE-supported security forces arrived in al-Dali' 3 days earlier.
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/977167947155288064
(* A P)
Film: Arbitrary arrests, torture: UAE legacy in Yemen
UAE-backed forces accused of arbitrary arrests, torture in #Yemen. New testimonies and evidence
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/1688059804580376/
( A H P)
An Injured of Al-Tawahy Explosion Dies Because of Medical Negligence and other Injured Call for UAE Red Crescent to Interfere
Said Samir Said Thabet, an injured victim of Al-Tawahy suicide bombs, died because of medical negligence in Al-Gomhouria Hospital – Adan. Several injured victims indicated that they suffer from negligence in Adan hospital and that Sheikh Hany Ben Brik didn’t fulfill his promises to the injured
(A P)
A Human Aids Ship from King Salman Center Heading to Socotra
http://en.smanews.org/a-human-aids-ship-from-king-salman-center-heading-to-socotra
My comment: Socotra Island is in the grip of the Emirates.
(* A P)
Abu Abbas, a Salafi commander sanctioned by the U.S. for supporting #AQAP and #ISIS-Y, wants to build a Salafi institute in #Taiz city. Abu Abbas studied at the Dar al Hadith institute in Dammaj Sa'ada (which produced some prominent extremists) and may try to recreate the school.
https://twitter.com/MaherFarrukh/status/976947562291892224
A institute akin to Dar al Hadith in #Taiz may preserve conditions that always groups like #AQAP and #ISIS to sustain a base in the city even after the #Yemen conflict is resolved.
https://twitter.com/MaherFarrukh/status/976948044112547840
My comment: Dar al Hadith institute in Dammaj Sa'ada had been financed by Saudi Arabia with billions of Dollars. From there, they tried to spread Wahabism among the Zaidis of Northern Yemen. This menace led tot he foundation oft he Houthi movement.
(* A P)
In Riyadh, Yemen leader accepts deputy PM's resignation
Al-Jabari, for his part, has vowed to continue playing a role in the defense of Yemen’s “legitimate” -- i.e., Saudi-backed -- government and in the “reconstitution of Yemen’s state institutions”.
He first announced his resignation earlier this week in an interview on state television.
https://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/in-riyadh-yemen-leader-accepts-deputy-pms-resignation/1096562
(A P)
Yemeni Official Warns of ‘Qatari Plot’ to Weaken Hadi
The resignation of a Yemeni minister prompted on Wednesday concerns over a “Qatari plot” aimed at weakening President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
Controversial Minister Salah al-Sayadi resigned from his post leading Information Ministry Undersecretary Najib Ghallab to accuse him of acting at Qatar’s orders.
My comment: Odd. There is no need to weaken Hadi any more. He is totally weak and has nearly no more power in Southern Yemen at all. The rest is conspiracy theory.
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(A P)
UN envoy visits Yemen's Sanaa to revive stalled peace talks
UN special envoy Martin Griffiths arrived in Yemen's Sanaa on Saturday in striving for resumption of stalled peace talks after three previous efforts produced no results.
Griffiths was set to meet dominant Shiite Houthi leaders and members of the party of slain ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was killed by then his Houthi ally last December.
Griffiths' visit aimed at bringing the Houthis to the negotiating table after the peace process between the battling forces has stalled since August 2016.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-03/24/c_137062929.htm and https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/new-un-envoy-visits-sanaa-in-first-official-trip-to-yemen-1.715790
(A P)
Griffiths Chooses Aden as First Stop Before Meeting Insurgents
United Nations envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths was in the country’s temporary capital, Aden, on Saturday for the first time since his appointment as successor to Mauritania's Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, informed Yemeni government sources said.
The UN envoy will meet with a number of government officials and other Yemeni leaders in Aden before heading to the capital Sana’a to hold talks with Houthi leaders and other forces loyal to the insurgents
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1215671/griffiths-chooses-aden-first-stop-meeting-insurgents
and
(A P)
Film (Arabic): Yemen – Assigning A New UN Official To Yemen Brought Optimism About Resolving The Yemeni Crisis
(A P)
UNO: Arabische Allianz für Tod der Menschen im Jemen verantwortlich
Die Stellvertreterin des Hohen Kommissars der Vereinten Nationen für Menschenrechte, Kate Gilmour, hat die unter saudischer Führung stehende Arabische Koalition für den Tod der Menschen im Jemen verantwortlich gemacht.
Allein im Dezember sei die Zahl der zivilen Opfer im Jemen auf 700 angestiegen, sagte Gilmore vor den Mitgliedern des UN-Menschenrechtsrats in Genf.
(A P)
Govt sets 3 trust building measures as conditions for dialogue with Houthis
Releasing all the detainees and forcibly disappeared, military and civilians, from jails; Lifting the blockade on Yemeni cities and provinces including, Taiz, in the country's southwest; and ending attacks against the Saudi territories.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16680
My comment: And which trust building measures they would be willing to offer? 1) Releasing all detainees: There are hundreds in South Yemeni jails; 2) End of the Saudi blockade; 3) End of Saudi air raids????
(* A K)
Human Rights Council holds general debate on technical assistance and capacity building
The Human Rights Council during its midday meeting held a general debate on technical assistance and capacity building, after hearing the presentation of reports on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti and Yemen.
As for Yemen, Ms. Gilmore reminded that as the conflict entered its fourth year. The leading causes of civilian casualties were the airstrikes conducted by the Saudi-led coalition, and they were responsible for 61 per cent of all civilian casualties, with indiscriminate shelling and sniper fire in densely populated areas by the Houthis accounting for much of the remainder.
Remark: And from the side of Yemen, there were just representatives of the Hadi government, just telling their story:
(A P)
Yemeni Human Rights Minister Reports Intensifying Houthi Violations to OHCHR
Yemeni Human Rights Minister Dr. Mohammed Askar urged the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to take on board reports prepared by his ministry documenting violations against civilians carried out by Iran-backed Houthi militias since 21 September 2014.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1214566/yemeni-human-rights-minister-reports-intensifying-houthi-violations-ohchr
(A P)
Former #PM Khaled Bahah meets with the newly-appointed #UN Special Envoy for #Yemen in Riyadh and stresses the importance of supporting the Southern Transitional Council (#STC) as an umbrella for the southern components and other issues related to the political & security aspects (photo)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/976760956050198528 and also https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-march-22-2018#_ftn4
(A P)
Negotiations between Saudis and Houthi a good basis for peace in Yemen
Meetings in Oman are a starting point for a stable and lasting ceasefire, but an agreement between the parties requires patience and saving appearances.
A solution will require “patience and good will. We must arrive at a final consensus in which no one loses face, appearances are saved, and both sides can claim a partial victory.
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
(A P)
Iran Blasts Saudi FM's Impudent, Unreal Allegations
The Iranian foreign ministry rapped Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir for his "impudent and unreal" terrorism allegations against Tehran, and blamed Riyadh for failure of all political efforts to resolve the crisis in Yemen.
"It is not the first time for Saudi officials to talk nonsense and impudently when they step into the land of bullying rulers who sell them security, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Saturday.
Of course, it is now clear to everybody and even the American rulers that which country and what kind of thought is among the major sources, if not saying the only source, of terrorism, extremism and instability in the region and the world, he added.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970104000359
Remark: Look at cp15.
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
Siehe, Look at cp1, cp9
(* B H P)
This video was filmed yesterday at Shmeisi prison in Riyadh, showing hundreds of expatriates over the past weeks in very bad conditions.
https://twitter.com/sameer_alnamri/status/977592504592752640
(B P)
#Saudi reforms: Monarchy police arrests dozens pf #African attending a mix-gender wedding party. https://twitter.com/ajelnews24/status/977560922054168576?s=21 … #MBS great progress indeed (photo)
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/976942370985037824 from https://twitter.com/ajelnews24/status/977560922054168576?s=21
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Foreign investment in Saudi Arabia lowest in a decade
The flow of foreign investment in to Saudi Arabia has dropped sharply due to concerns over political and economic reforms introduced by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. A report in the Financial Times revealed that the Kingdom had received the smallest number of investment projects in a decade as foreigners feel increasingly wary about the future of the country.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180323-foreign-investment-in-saudi-arabia-lowest-in-a-decade/
(A P)
Fed Up With ‘Fake News,’ Saudi Prince Speaks Out About Royal Detention
All in all, the interview didn’t reveal as much information about the arrest as people anticipated.
Throughout the one-hour interview, Alwaleed declined to directly answer most of the questions regarding the confinement.
http://observer.com/2018/03/saudi-prince-alwaleed-discuses-royal-detention-fake-news/
(* B P)
Khashoggi: Saudi Arabia can never be a democracy 'on MBS watch'
Self-exiled Saudi journalist says Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will never open the kingdom for democracy.
Speaking to Al Jazeera in the programme UpFront, Jamal Khashoggi - currently self-exiled in the US - said that there was no space for debate in Saudi Arabia with intellectuals and journalists jailed for questioning policies.
"As we speak today, there [are] Saudi intellectuals and journalists jailed. Now, nobody will dare to speak and criticise the reforms [initiated by the crown prince]," he said, adding that "it would be much better for him to allow a breathing space for critics, for Saudi intellectuals, Saudi writers, Saudi media to debate."
Asked whether Saudi Arabia could ever become democratic under bin Salman, popularly known in the West as MBS, Khashoggi said: "Not on his watch. I haven't heard him make even the slightest inference that he would open the country for power-sharing, for democracy."
Some of the major policies pushed by bin Salman came in for criticism from Khashoggi.
"Let's talk about something other than women driving," he said. "Neom project. This futuristic city [in Tabuk] that [bin Salman] is planning to invest half a trillion dollars in it. What if it goes wrong? It could bankrupt the country. But no one [is] allowed to write an objective piece in any newspaper [about it]."
Khashoggi said he himself had to leave his homeland to avoid being arrested after his criticism of the government.
and debate in film, Kashoggi and others: https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/upfront/2018/03/saudi-arabia-crown-prince-reformer-180323074125991.html
(B P)
Political rights needed to bring change in Saudi Arabia
In case, if Prince Salman wants to be called a progressive Arab ruler, he will have to also consider not just personal freedom, but also the political rights of Saudi people.
https://www.siasat.com/news/political-rights-needed-bring-change-saudi-arabia-1333136/
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Mohammed bin Salman's talk of reform is a smokescreen
Beginning with a splashy interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes, the crown prince is in the United States to sell the American people on the idea that a new, liberalizing Saudi Arabia is dawning.
But is it true?
While Prince Mohammed’s limited reforms are fundamentally about liberalizing the social and economic realms of Saudi Arabia, the political realm remains completely off-limits.
What this means is that the reforms on women’s rights, though significant and certainly long overdue, are incomplete. The guardianship rules – whereby a woman requires a male guardian’s approval to travel abroad, obtain a passport, or get married – are still in place, and they remain the most significant impediment to the advancement of women in the kingdom.
This half-measure on women’s rights allows Prince Mohammed to essentially co-opt the courageous movement built by female Saudi activists for women’s rights in the kingdom.
This is unsurprising, really. Saudi Arabia
How Saudi Arabia runs its own affairs is one thing. How it intervenes in the lives of others is another. And since the de facto ruler also holds the portfolio of minister of defense, Prince Mohammed can be held directly accountable for Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy, which is disastrous.
From Palestine to Qatar and beyond, the grand Saudi plan for the Middle East is failing. Nowhere is this more devastating than in Yemen.
And what Prince Mohammed is now doing in Saudi Arabia, besides following a disastrous foreign policy, is consolidating his power while hoping the spectacle of entertainment will keep his people from demanding deeply needed political change.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/22/mohammed-bin-salmans-talk-reform-smokescreen
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Over large swathes, the border between #Yemen & #Saudi Arabia is now protected almost exclusively by Saudi-paid Yemeni militias.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/976908418308104192
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Saudi Arabia's new crown prince to sit down with Wall Street
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince will rub shoulders in New York next week with top figures from Wall Street and Corporate America, part of a whistle-stop first visit to the United States since becoming King Salman’s heir apparent last year.
On a public relations blitz, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has lined up stops in Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle to cultivate investments.
The crown prince will take part in the 2018 Saudi U.S.-CEO Forum in New York next Tuesday.
Others set to attend will include:
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Saudi Arabia has options if U.S. walks from nuclear power deal: minister
Saudi Arabia has international partners it can work with if the United States walks away from a potential deal on nuclear power technology over concerns about nuclear proliferation, Khalid al-Falih, the kingdom’s energy minister, said in an interview on Thursday.
“If the U.S. is not with us, they will lose the opportunity to influence the program in a positive way,”
(* B P)
Film: Sentenced to Die in Saudi Arabia, Ali Nimr's Story
He was put on Saudi Arabia’s death row in the wake of the Arab Spring when he was just 17 years old. Ali Nimr has been awaiting execution ever since. Although Ali’s parents have been told not to talk to the media, they are now breaking their silence in an effort to save their son.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=EoPiWpW52nU
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* B K)
Film: Man on the street: Do you know what's happening in Yemen?
We went to Times Square, New York City to see what people on the street know about the crisis in Yemen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voCO2rJc_5g
Film: Man on the Street: Crisis in Yemen
How much do people know about the crisis? We took to the streets of New York and Washington DC to find out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n5e8JWzzj8
(* A P)
Can Congress push the Saudi prince toward an exit from Yemen?
Fortunately, the Saudi leader received a cooler reception that day in Congress, where the Senate voted on a bipartisan resolution calling for the end of U.S. support for Saudi forces in Yemen. The measure was tabled, but Prince Mohammed reportedly got an earful from the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. According to Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), they “strongly pushed back and demarched what is happening in Yemen and asked [Prince Mohammed] to take strong corrective action.”
That was the right message.
While Saudi forces took some steps to ease the humanitarian situation following a statement in December by Mr. Trump, aid groups say the measures were inadequate. They are calling for further easing of the blockade on the key port of Hodeida and the reopening of Sanaa to commercial aviation.
That relief, along with a serious commitment to peace negotiations, is what Congress should be pressing for.
A better approach would be to condition further American military aid on humanitarian relief measures, including the opening of the port and airport, and progress toward a negotiated settlement. If Congress can push Prince Mohammed toward an exit from Yemen, they will improve the prospects for reform inside Saudi Arabia – by Editorial Board.
My comment: Oh no, this was not “the right message”. But that’s the line of the Washington Post, which had backed US warmongering and warfare again and again in the past:
This editorial is a strange document of hypocrisy. The best possible way to stop this war and the American involvement just had failed in Senate, as the sanders/Lee bill had been rejected. The WaPost editorial board does not have any word for this. Instead, they play the old hypocritical tune of “We are concerned” and “You must do better”, as it is characterized so well here: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/news-comment/2938-mohammed-bin-salman-and-the-conventional-hypocrisy-of-the-tories . If you do more for relief and commit to peace talks, then we further can furnish the equipment so that you can continue to do what you did before (so that you can continue the war) and we can continue to make billions. That’s a “Dates for children” program: We assure that you further can kill and destroy, if you give relief instead. If you kill a Yemeni’s kids it’s ok if you give him dates instead. Well, that’s western hypocrisy, western ethics and western values in a nutshell.
Comment: This is a ridiculous question seeing that the leaked email of MBS months ago, reported in Middle East Eye, asked for US assistance in ending the war. The Saudis want to get out. The Americans and British are quite happy to see the Saudis bogged down by a dreadful war.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156522663933641
More on Prince Salman’s visit:
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Saudi Crown Prince talks Vision 2030 at KSA – USA partnership dinner
Saudi embassy hosts first annual Saudi-US partnership dinner in Washington
US Vice President holds banquet in honor of Saudi Crown Prince
Saudi crown prince, who has been wooing big tech, will visit Seattle and meet with Bill Gates
Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, is making his way from one Washington to the other during a U.S. visit, with a planned stop in Seattle and meetings with Bill Gates and Boeing Co. officials.
The Times reported that the prince already met with leaders of major U.S. defense companies, including Boeing, this week in Washington, D.C. On his trip out West, he’s expected to tour Boeing’s jet assembly plant in Everett, Wash. He’ll also head down the coast for meetings in Silicon Valley at Google and Apple.
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/saudi-crown-prince-wooing-big-tech-will-visit-seattle-meet-bill-gates/
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Saudi-Arabien: Weiter Waffen für den Gegner Irans
Es ist ein Waffengeschäft in bedeutendem Umfang mit einem Land, das in einem Krieg steckt, welcher der Zivilbevölkerung im Jemen das Leben zur Hölle macht, und das mit Iran in einem Konflikt steckt, bei dem die Zündschnüre kreuz und quer durch den ganzen Nahen Osten verlaufen: Das US-Außenministerium hat dem Verkauf von Waffen im Wert von 670 Millionen Dollar zugestimmt, berichtet die New York Times.
International wird die Nominierung John Boltons zum Nationalen Sicherheitsberater (siehe Trump ersetzt McMaster durch Bolton) als Signal dafür gewertet, dass Trump die Frontenbildung gegen Iran weiter verschärfen wird.
Bolton gilt als Verfechter eines Regime Change in Teheran, was er noch im Januar bekräftigt habe.
https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Saudi-Arabien-Weiter-Waffen-fuer-den-Gegner-Irans-4002647.html
(* A P)
Film: Peanuts" – USA verkaufen Waffen an Saudi-Arabien im Wert von Milliarden US-Dollar
Der saudische Kronprinz Bin Salman ist zu Besuch in Washington. Wie schon im vergangenen Jahr gehen die Saudis auch dieses mal auf große Einkaufstour im größten Waffenladen der Welt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbsIVZ77mls&t=18s
(A P)
Saudi-Prinz bin Salman soll mit Einfluss auf Trump-Berater Kushner geprahlt haben
Saudi Arabiens Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman soll in einem Gespräch mit dem Emir der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate geprahlt haben, er habe Donald Trumps Schwiegersohn Jared Kushner “in der Tasche”.
Das berichtet das US-Inverstigativportal “The Intercept” unter Berufung auf eine Quelle, die dem Gespräch beigewohnt haben soll.
(* B P)
Are Israel & Saudi Arabia Pressuring U.S. Toward War with Iran?
Journalist Mehdi Hasan and Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, discuss how the United States is siding with Saudi Arabia in its feud with Iran and what it means for the Middle East. Could it mean war against Iran?
MEHDIHASAN: So, just deal with each of those in turn. The Yemen point about the Houthi rebels, look, human rights groups agree that the Houthi rebels in Yemen have carried out war crimes and have exploited the aid and humanitarian situation. But they also agree that the vast majority of civilian deaths have been at the hands of the Saudi-led coalition, their bombing campaign, and that the major cause of the humanitarian catastrophe, the cholera crisis in Yemen, is the Saudi-led blockade of Yemen, the humanitarian restrictions on aid going in, the closures of ports, the bombing of refineries, etc., etc. They’ve placed the majority of blame on the Saudis. So, MBS was just lying when he said that on Sunday on 60 Minutes. That’s according to the U.N., Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, etc.
In terms of the Iran-Saudi feud, which is really what this is all about, and his visit to the U.S. is all about shoring up Saudi—shoring up American support for any kind of Saudi attempt to put Iran in its place. Let’s be clear: Iranian foreign policy has been awful in the region, especially in Syria. No one is defending Iran’s horrific role in supporting Bashar al-Assad’s war crimes in Syria. But the idea that, number one, Iran is responsible for al-Qaeda, which is what he suggested, is absurd, given Saudi Arabia is the country most identified, by experts, with al-Qaeda over the years.
They do, however, have a real problem on a sectarian level. Saudi Arabia has been promulgating anti-Shia ideology for many years. Iran is a Shia country. There’s definitely a huge sectarian element in terms of some of the political hatred between the two countries. Saudi Arabia has been fanning those flames.
MEDEABENJAMIN: It’s quite remarkable, the way the Saudis have managed to infiltrate within the United States. You talk about Russian infiltration, but the Saudis have done it spectacularly. They have about 20 different PR and lobby firms based in Washington, D.C., many of them with former senators, congresspeople, people from the Defense Department, who have direct contact with our Congress and our White House and State Department. They have incredible contacts in the think tanks. In fact, think tanks are putting on events for the Saudi prince while he is here.
And we see the results in things like these puff pieces that come out, that continue to play on this idea that the Saudis should be a U.S. ally. The Saudis should not be a U.S. ally.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/22/are_israel_saudi_arabia_pressuring_us
(? B K P)
Ambassador Defends U.S. Backing Of Saudi War In Yemen
The United States is defending its military support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen's civil war. NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Matthew Tueller (paywalled)
MATTHEW TUELLER: We - as the United States, we care deeply about the humanitarian crisis. We want to seek to mitigate that. We also have a long-standing commitment to uphold the security of Saudi Arabia. And it's important that we demonstrate that when we make commitments to friends, we abide by them.
I think we have had a very positive impact on the Saudis, and I see that growing now as more and more they're taking some of our advice with some of the actions that they've taken with a recent massive effort to meet the appeal of the U.N. for funding for the U.N. programs inside the country. We have seen from the beginning of this conflict that, from our point of view, the collateral damage and the civilian casualties caused by many of the Saudi airstrikes were simply unacceptable. We've worked very closely with the Saudis to put in place methodologies for reviewing selection of targets.
Part of any security relationship is actually building up the capacity of our partner to defend themselves. And that means that we provide them with security assistance - the ability to have access to U.S. weapon systems.
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/23/596356991/ambassador-defends-u-s-backing-of-saudi-war-in-yemen
My comment: LOL. Tueller is a fierce Saudi backer; he had played a disastrous role in Yemen; a horrible figure who has much more influence as a normal “Ambassador” would have: https://theintercept.com/2017/12/13/yemen-war-peace-talks-matthew-tueller/
(* B K P)
The Bone Spur in Chief
To see the Bone Spur in Chief salivating over the billions of dollars ($12.5 billion: “Trump touts weapons deals with Saudi Arabia as peace groups accuse US of fueling kingdom’s war on Yemen,” Independent, March 20, 2018) of lethal military hardware sales to Saudi Arabia is almost more than a reasonable man or woman can bear. And if the salivating wasn’t enough, the Incoherent in Chief couldn’t even get full sentences out of his mouth to express his admiration of the reprehensible government (in the person of Crown Prince Bin Salman) of Saudi Arabia.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/03/23/the-bone-spur-in-chief/
(* B K P)
Trump Touts $12.5B Saudi Arms Sale as US Support for Yemen War Literally Fuels Atrocities
“A lot of people are at work” thanks to Saudi Arabia’s purchase of American arms, Trump noted.
A lot of people are also dying as a direct result of US, and broader Western, support for Saudi Arabia’s war against Yemen.
Alas, there is insufficient appetite for peace among US lawmakers, most of whom receive campaign contributions and other support from the corporations that make the very expensive and very profitable weapons that are killing so many people in Yemen and around the world.
Considered within the grander context of a declining global empire seeking to maintain strategic and economic hegemony wherever it can, tens of thousands of dead Yemeni children must seem a reasonable price to pay to those most invested in perpetuating the Saudi-led war. All of those expensive new American bombs aren’t going to drop themselves.
(* A P)
What makes me most angry to read, on 15th anniversary of the war of aggression on #Iraq , is mainstream media & politicians describing it as a mistake, an error of judgement or a blunder. No! It was one of modern history’s major war crimes led by an avaricious imperialist power
https://twitter.com/SamiRamadani1/status/976074544690712579
Those who depict the genocidal war on #Iraq as a mistake argue that the wars on #Libya, #Syria & #Yemen were different & necessary. Today the same elites are fanning cold war psychosis to bolster the arms industry & engage in new wars for profit & cotrol of resources.
https://twitter.com/SamiRamadani1/status/976824386580774912
(* A E K P)
HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman met with leadership from @Boeing @Raytheon @LockheedMartin @GDMS , discussions focused on the shared interests of both nations for developing technology and growing trade and business ties.
https://twitter.com/SaudiEmbassyUSA/status/976614981293805568
Comment: Worth noting that @amnesty documented the Saudi Arabia-led coalition's use of @Raytheon & @LockheedMartin bombs in airstrikes on Yemeni homes, killing multiple civilian men, women & children. Growing trade ties must not facilitate war crimes.
https://twitter.com/WritesRights/status/976774451101683712
(* A K P)
Mattis sagt, dass die Saudis im Jemen 'Teil der Lösung' sind
Verteidigungsminister James Mattis sieht jedenfalls die Saudis als "Teil der Lösung".
Mattis soll bei einem Treffen mit dem saudischen Kronprinzen die Notwendigkeit eines Kriegsendes betont haben, drei Jahre nachdem Saudi-Arabien den Krieg begonnen hatte. Der Verteidigungsminister sprach von einer "politischen Lösung" und lobte die Saudis für die Unterstützung der "von der UNO anerkannten" Regierung des Jemen.
Mattis erklärte Reportern, dass er bei seinem Treffen mit dem Prinzen auch die Notwendigkeit erwähnen würde, die Anzahl der zivilen Opfer zu verringern. Das Pentagon räumte jedoch später ein, dass er das nicht tat.
http://antikrieg.com/aktuell/2018_03_23_mattis.htm
(* A K P)
Mattis tells Saudi leader of urgent need to find end to Yemen war
There is an urgent need to find a political solution to Yemen’s war, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday, as he voiced hope for a U.N. special envoy’s peace efforts and firmly backed Riyadh.
“We must also reinvigorate urgent efforts to seek a peaceful resolution to the civil war in Yemen and we support you in this regard,” Mattis said.
Asked by reporters at the start of his talks whether he would raise the issue of civilian casualties in Yemen, Mattis said: “We are going to end this war, that is the bottom line. And we are going to end it on positive terms for the people of Yemen but also security for the nations in the peninsula.”
Mattis praised Saudi Arabia for the “significant amounts of humanitarian aid” it had provided to civilians in Yemen.
My comment: Absurdity and hypocrisy hardly can be topped any more. There had been many articles on this Mattis-Salman meeting, just look at the headlines US, British and Gulf media:
Mattis praises Saudis, $1B arms sale to be approved
https://www.stripes.com/news/us/mattis-praises-saudis-1b-arms-sale-to-be-approved-1.518157
'We are going to end' Yemen war, Pentagon chief tells Saudi crown prince
Mattis: Saudi Arabia 'part of the solution' in Yemen civil war
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/379796-mattis-saudi-arabia-part-of-the-solution-in-yemen-civil-war
Mattis says Saudis Arabia 'part of the solution' in Yemen
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/22/mattis-praises-saudis-for-humanitarian-aid-to-yemen.html
US backs Saudi efforts to end war in Yemen, Mattis tells crown prince
Riyadh, Washington must pursue 'urgent efforts' for Yemen peace
Mattis hails "long standing relationship' with Saudi Arabia
https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2704551&Language=en
Saudi, US must pursue 'urgent efforts' for Yemen peace: Mattis
Comment: Tell me: Is 'Mad Dog' a nickname for Gen Mattis, or is it his actual medical condition?
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/976905549232132096
(* A K P)
U.S. approves proposed sale of TOW anti-tank missiles to Saudi Arabia
The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it had approved the possible sale to Saudi Arabia of TOW anti-tank missiles, part of a bigger $1 billion package that also includes helicopter maintenance and spare parts for military vehicles.
The department said it had notified the U.S. Congress on Thursday of the possible sale, which kick-starts a formal congressional review process.
Saudi Arabia requested to buy 6,600 TOW missiles and an additional 96 for training for a total of $670 million, the State Department said in a statement.
The proposed sale would improve the security of an important ally in the Middle East, it added.
In addition, the State Department said it had also approved the possible sale worth $300 million of parts for Saudi Arabia’s fleet of Abrams tanks and armored vehicles.
(* A K P)
6,700 More U.S. Missiles for Saudi Arabia to Shoot at Yemeni Kids
How much more slaughter in Yeman is the United States government willing to help with?
We found out when State Department announced on March 23 the sale of 6,700 anti-tank missiles to Saudi Arabia.
Secretary of Defense Mattis was unconcerned about civilian casualties in Yemen: "We have been working very hard with the new U.N. envoy to end the fight in Yemen. And we believe that Saudi Arabia is part of the solution. They have stood by the United Nations recognized government. And we are going to end this war. That's the bottom line."
Congress now has 30 days to block the whole or parts of the sale through a privileged resolution under the AECA.
(* B K P)
The tragedy of Yemen
Donald Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince are brothers-in-arms. Quite literally. For as the Riyadh-led war in Yemen enters its third year this week — the Republican-controlled Senate voted against ending Washington’s role in the conflict. That the defeat of the bipartisan resolution took place on the same day that Mohammed Bin Sultan was in town may or may not have been coincidental.
Be that as it may, the result is more of the same. Meaning that Trump Town can keep calm and carry on as it continues to refuel Saudi planes and provide intelligence to the Kingdom. Thereby increasing the amount of blood the unquiet American president has spilled on his countrymen’s hands
https://dailytimes.com.pk/218350/the-tragedy-of-yemen/
(* A P)
Dangerous and reckless: Meet John Bolton, Trump's new national security adviser
John Bolton has demonstrated he is a dangerous and reckless neoconservative ideologue who believes diplomacy should be replaced with ultimatum
While a great many troubling figures have traveled in and through the doorway to the Oval Office, none come as frightening and reckless as Bolton, and I include Henry Kissinger, a man responsible for the deaths of three million in Indochina, and Steve Bannon, an unashamed white nationalist.
and
(* A B P)
The Untold Story of John Bolton’s Campaign for War With Iran
Everyone knows Bolton is a hawk. Less understood is how he labored in secret to drive Washington and Tehran apart.
In my reporting on U.S.-Israeli policy, I have tracked numerous episodes in which the United States and/or Israel made moves that seemed to indicate preparations for war against Iran. Each time—in 2007, in 2008, and again in 2011—those moves, presented in corporate media as presaging attacks on Tehran, were actually bluffs aimed at putting pressure on the Iranian government.
But the strong likelihood that Donald Trump will now choose John Bolton as his next national security advisor creates a prospect of war with Iran that is very real. Bolton is no ordinary neoconservative hawk. He has been obsessed for many years with going to war against the Islamic Republic, calling repeatedly for bombing Iran in his regular appearances on Fox News, without the slightest indication that he understands the consequences of such a policy.
His is not merely a rhetorical stance: Bolton actively conspired during his tenure as the Bush administration’s policymaker on Iran from 2002 through 2004 to establish the political conditions necessary for the administration to carry out military action – By GARETH PORTER
and
(* B P)
US: Who is John Bolton?
From Israel-Palestine to North Korea, here's where the newly appointed national security adviser stands on key issues.
Here is a track record of his strong statements on key issues that the White House is currently dealing with:
Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
Bolton has praised US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the decision to move the US embassy to the city.
Iran:
Bolton has encouraged the use of force against Iran, advocating for Israel to bomb Iran to curtail its nuclear ambitions.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/john-bolton-180323080234524.html
and also http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43509695
https://fair.org/home/leading-papers-incite-supreme-international-crime/
https://twitter.com/lhfang/status/976961459253952512
https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/976956098430275584
https://twitter.com/RaniaKhalek/status/976976256758702080
https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/976971682698158080
(B K P)
If the Trump administration won't step up to stop the carnage in Yemen, Congress needs to
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-saudis-yemen-20180322-story.html = http://host.madison.com/opinion/columnists/editorial-ending-the-carnage-in-yemen/article_e6e45e62-b2e5-54f7-8cfa-7f2bdcfb6f66.html
(A P)
Mohammed bin Salman to the Washington Post: Trump's decision to move embassy to Jerusalem is a painful step
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1272516/saudi-arabia
(* A P)
Photos Of Trump Meeting With Saudi Arabia Are Missing One Very Important Factor
Missing entirely from this meeting of the leaders of two major nations was a female presence. As Emily Cochrane at The New York Times noted, there were more than 20 people at the meeting, and none of them were women. Now, this phenomenon may not be entirely surprising from the Saudi state, where women's rights are still very much limited, with women largely unable to even leave their houses without a male guardian and, when they do, are restricted to conservative abayas to cover their heads and bodies. But one would like to think that the United States of America, beacon of freedom, could find at least one woman in the White House to meet with foreign leaders.
You can see some pictures of the meeting for yourself here:
Optics: They matter. Trump has repeatedly reinforced the idea that men (and, specifically, white men) are the ones who should be leaders. That message, sadly, isn't just coming through in pictures, but in appointments, as well.
https://www.elitedaily.com/p/photos-of-trump-meeting-with-saudi-arabia-are-missing-one-very-important-factor-8574423 and also https://www.bustle.com/p/this-photo-of-trump-saudi-arabia-officials-meeting-shows-zero-women-at-the-table-twitter-noticed-8571236
(* A P)
Trump's Saudi ties may come back to haunt him
A senior member of the Saudi royal family recently told me that word around the royal palaces is that President Trump pays attention when business is in the offing.
The full impact of what he meant has only just started to sink in.
Certainly it was clear last May during Trump's inaugural overseas trip to Riyadh, where he proudly announced huge arms deals worth more than $100 billion.
The message was clear: a boon for the US economy and the President delivering on his campaign promise to bring jobs to America.
Sitting side by side with the Crown Prince in the Oval Office, Trump wielded a huge check.
"$3 billion ... $533 million ... $525 million ... that's peanuts for you," he said looking at MBS.
The Crown Prince was grinning and shaking his head. Trump continued: "$880 million ... $645 million ... $6 billion ... that's for frigates."
By the time Trump got to HIS second card, MBS was looking quite uncomfortable.
Trump continued reeling off a laundry list of arms sales, claiming that all these deals meant "over 40,000 jobs," before tantalizingly touting deals next worth $700 billion next year.
Later, a source with knowledge of the meeting told me MBS felt humiliated by Trump.
MBS, he said, wasn't expecting to have the huge cards, detailing billions of dollars of business deals dangled under his nose. It's not the publicity he came to Washington to get.
His public DC pitch is all about how he is changing Saudi Arabia, turning it into a more palatable ally, reforming Saudi society for the better, empowering women, employing the country's youth, making it an easier place to do business and weaning it off hydrocarbons.
(* A P)
Trump boasts of arms deals, backs Saudi slaughter in Yemen
The claim that Yemen’s Houthi rebels pose some kind of regional threat is preposterous and meant only as a justification for the continuation of the indispensable American support for Saudi Arabia’s savage bombing campaign against Yemen, which will enter its fourth year next week.
Bin Salman’s visit and Washington’s commitment to both continue supporting the criminal assault on Yemen and escalate the confrontation with Iran received relatively short shrift from the US corporate media.
Instead, focus was placed on the furor whipped up over Trump’s call to congratulate President Vladimir Putin on his re-election.
The same media and politicians, however, voiced no objections to Trump’s welcoming to the White House the autocratic ruler of Saudi Arabia, where there are no elections, and critics of the regime are subject to execution by beheading.
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/03/22/saud-m22.html
(* B P)
Charm offensive part of Saudis' 'pay-to-play' relationship with US
MbS wants to stop Iran from encircling the kingdom. Hence, Saudis need U.S. support to wage the war against Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, to rein in Iran in Iraq, to promote anti-Iran groups in Syria, to gain back from their political primacy in Lebanon from Hezbollah and to limit Qatar’s cozying up to Iran.
From the Saudi standpoint, no other major powers are credible to stop Iran.
MbS will continue his charm offensive with the economic and political elites of the U.S., with the ultimate goals of defeating Iranian hegemony while developing a modern Saudi economy and society. His success relies heavily on the U.S., even if it implies paying the substantial “pay-to-play” price demanded by President Trump.
(* B E P)
The Goals of the Saudi Crown Prince’s U.S. Visit Lie Outside Washington
The purpose of the trip is two-fold: to reshape the public image of Saudi Arabia and attract partners and investors to bring that image to life. Back home, Prince Mohammed is spearheading economic and social reforms.
The Saudi leadership has to act quickly, which is why Prince Mohammed is on his grand American tour. “Technology and infrastructure can help,” Ibish says, “but the key is to rapidly transform Saudi Arabia’s dependent subjects into empowered and productive citizens, which means that sustained, deep and wide U.S. public and private engagement is the real goal.”
My comment: Enthousiastic of “reforms”.
And more “mainstream” articles of the kind trying to explain Saudi “reforms”:
https://intpolicydigest.org/2018/03/23/mohammed-bin-salman-s-charm-offensive-hype-or-substance/
and somewhat more critical:
http://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/global-affairs/prince-salmans-move-towards-moderation-1552417
(* A P)
The Senate rejected a resolution seeking to end U.S. involvement in Yemen’s war (internal power struggle turnt into an aggression headed by Saudi Arabia), which has killed thousands of civilians and thrown the country into the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis”.
The US is fueling the genocide: how?
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/1687827527936937/
(B K P)
U.S. Support for Saudi Military Operations in Yemen
Q1: How is the United States currently supporting Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in their efforts in Yemen?
Q2: How would the proposed legislation have affected U.S. support for the effort in Yemen?
Q3: How could this proposed legislation impact U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia?
A3: The passage of restrictions on U.S. support to the Saudi-led coalition would almost certainly have a markedly negative impact on U.S.-Saudi relations, as well as with the UAE.
Q4: What alternate measures to those outlined in the proposed legislation can the United States take to temper the unintended effects of the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen?
https://www.csis.org/analysis/us-support-saudi-military-operations-yemen
My comment: Very US “mainstream”: Look at answer4. The old sensless rubbish again and again.
(A P)
Young Saudis urged to seize opportunities to shape economic future
At a packed conference room at Washington DC’s most iconic hotel, the Willard InterContinental, just across from the White House, a series of speakers took to the stage on Wednesday to call on the Saudi-majority audience to take up the challenge of reform.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1271896/saudi-arabia
(* A P T)
Lawsuit alleges Saudi, Iran support for 9/11 hijackers
Iran was never found to have directly supported the September 11 hijack plot, while questions about Saudi's role linger.
Saudi Arabia is adding Iran to legal proceedings in the US over its alleged involvement in the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington DC, court documents show.
Iranian involvement unclear
The newly filed suit that names Iran and its MOIS as supporters of al-Qaeda's 9/11 hijacking plot details a long history of meetings between Iranian-linked fighters.
The lawsuit alleges that Iran, Lebanese militia Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda formed a committee to oversee a joint, anti-US campaign of attacks.
(A P)
Saudi Arabia Deserves U.S. Sanctions Over War on Yemen, Not a Warm Welcome For the Saudi Crown Prince
Green Party leaders said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman deserves protest and the threat of sanctions over his country's mass murder of Yemeni civilians instead of a friendly welcome to the U.S.
And this is Saudi Embassy ( and others) propaganda on the visit, all with photos:
https://twitter.com/KSAMOFA/status/976270204392165376
https://twitter.com/SaudiEmbassyUSA/status/976242761446887424
https://twitter.com/KSAMOFA/status/976303477960753152
https://twitter.com/KSAMOFA/status/976272716725673984
https://twitter.com/CICSaudi/status/976334332821295105
https://twitter.com/SaudiEmbassyUSA/status/976264640282988544
https://twitter.com/KSAMOFA/status/976143370212044801
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* B K P)
Britain’s Policy on Saudi Arabia Has Worsened Suffering in Yemen
The British government has been one of the strongest backers of the Saudis and their Gulf-led coalition. It has provided largely uncritical support for Saudi’s role in the war, as well as selling the Saudis £4.6 billion of military equipment over this period.
So how does the British Government defend such an incoherent policy towards Yemen? Ministers insist that staying close to the Saudis and offering advice privately is the most effective way to influence Saudi actions, alongside military advice and practical support through arms sales.
But three years on, this approach has delivered precious little: neither an end to coalition abuses, nor a reduction in the terrible civilian suffering.
With no end in sight to this abusive war, the British government needs to rethink its approach to Saudi Arabia and the Yemen conflict – by David Mepham, HRW
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/03/23/britains-policy-saudi-arabia-has-worsened-suffering-yemen
(* B H K P)
MoD aware of 350 alleged breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen
Campaigners called the number ‘staggering’ and warned UK arms had played a central role in creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
and
(* B H K P)
350-14 = 336 alleged #Saudi-led coalition violations of IHL on MOD "Tracker" as of 21/03/18. An appalling figure, yet #UKGov still happy to supply arms & support to coalition and accept JIAT investigations [which of course provide cover for Saudi & allies]. (text in image)
https://twitter.com/julie_maxon/status/977131260438044672
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(A P)
Die ARD tagesthemen senden einen weiteren Werbeclip für Saudi-Arabien und verschweigen deutsche Waffenlieferungen
(A P)
ZDF: 20 Sekunden für deutsche Waffen an Saudi-Arabien – 265 Sekunden für einen Staudamm in Äthiopien
(* A K P)
Paradebeispiel für die deutsche Doppelmoral
Wir verkaufen keine Waffen in Konfliktgebiete, verspricht die Bundesregierung - um dann Saudi-Arabien Patrouillenboote zu liefern. So verspielt sie ihre moralische Glaubwürdigkeit.
In der Theorie gebärden sich die Deutschen gern als Moralos des Rüstungsgeschäftes: Die Richtlinien sind vergleichsweise streng, die Öffentlichkeit ist kritisch, jede neue Regierung bekundet daher guten Willen und verheißt mehr Transparenz. Praktisch aber steht die Bundesrepublik weltweit noch immer auf Platz vier der Waffenexporteure und wickelt Geschäfte ab, welche ebendiesen Richtlinien Hohn sprechen. Der Bootsdeal ist dafür ein Paradebeispiel.
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/bootsdeal-mit-saudi-arabien-paradebeispiel-fuer-die-deutsche-doppelmoral-1.3918434 und Kommentare: http://rivva.de/291911352
(A K P)
Der Mord durch Waffenexport gehört nach wie vor zu Deutschland!
http://www.schwaebische-post.de/1658246/
(* B K P)
Geschäfte mit dem Tod – Die Rolle Deutschlands im Jemen-Krieg
Drei Jahre dauert die Militärintervention von Saudi-Arabien und seinen Verbündeten in Jemen nun schon an. Sie hat eine humanitäre Katastrophe ausgelöst. Der Krieg treibt die Rüstungsetats der Golfstaaten in die Höhe und auch deutsche Rüstungskonzerne profi tieren maßgeblich davon.
Das vorliegende Briefing informiert über deutsche Rüstungsexporte in die Golfregion während der letzten drei Jahre. Es beleuchtet und bewertet den Beschluss der neuen Bundesregierung, künftig keine neuen Ausfuhren mehr an Länder zu genehmigen, welche direkt an diesem Krieg beteiligt sind. Außerdem zeigt es auf, welche Schlupfl öcher deutsche Rüstungsfi rmen weiter nutzen (können), um ihre Waffen in die Region zu liefern und was Politik und Konzerne tun müssen, um Rüstungsgeschäfte mit Krisenregionen zu verhindern.
Seit Jahren steht die Bundesregierung wegen ihrer Rüstungsexportpolitik, welche Lieferungen in Krisengebiete nicht effektiv unterbindet, massiv in der Kritik. Trotz des Jemen-Krieges erteilte die Bundesregierung weiterhin großzügige Exportgenehmigungen für Mitglieder der Golfallianz. Zur Top-10-Liste der Empfängerstaaten gehören seit Jahren Saudi-Arabien, die VAE und Ägypten. Allein in den drei Jahren des Krieges genehmigte der Bundessicherheitsrat Rüstungsexporte im Wert von über 4,6 Milliarden Euro an Länder der Golfallianz.9 Exportgenehmigungen wurden für U-Boote, Munition, Patrouillenboote sowie Bauteile für Kampfflugzeuge erteilt. Mit diesen Rüstungsgeschäften hat die Bundesregierung Kriegsparteien wie Saudi-Arabien, die VAE, Ägypten und Katar aufgerüstet. Teilweise kommen derartige Güter im Jemen-Krieg direkt zum Einsatz. Etwa haben saudische Patrouillenboote geholfen Seehäfen zu blockieren und bei saudischen Luftangriffen kommt auch regelmäßig deutsche Technologie von Airbus und Partnern zum Einsatz, die teilweise in Deutschland hergestellt wird.
https://urgewald.org/sites/default/files/Briefing_Jemen_WEB.pdf = https://blog.fdik.org/2018-03/Briefing_Jemen_WEB.pdf und zu dieser Analsyse auch http://www.entwicklungspolitik-online.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14549:drei-jahre-jemen-krieg-analyse-zeigt-verantwortung-deutscher-politik-und-konzerne&catid=30&Itemid=72
(* A K P)
Deutsche Patrouillenboote für Saudi-Arabien
Ungeachtet der Beteiligung Saudi-Arabiens am Jemen-Krieg hat die Bundesregierung die Lieferung von acht Patrouillenbooten an das Königreich genehmigt. Das teilte Wirtschaftsminister Peter Altmaier dem Wirtschaftsausschuss des Bundestags in einem Schreiben mit. Union und SPD hatten sich in den Koalitionsverhandlungen auf einen Exportstopp für alle Länder verständigt, die «unmittelbar» am Jemen-Krieg beteiligt sind. Es wurde aber ein Bestandsschutz für bereits erteilte Vorgenehmigungen in den Koalitionsvertrag eingebaut.
http://www.faz.net/agenturmeldungen/dpa/saudi-arabien-deutsche-patrouillenboote-trotz-jemen-krieg-15508616.html und auch http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2018-03/jemen-krieg-bundesregierung-ruestungsexporte-saudi-arabien
Noch ausführlicher: http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/groko-genehmigt-trotz-jemen-krieg-ruestungsexport-nach-saudi-arabien-a-1199467.html und https://perspektive-online.net/2018/03/waffenexport-fuer-krieg-im-jemen/
und
(A K P)
Feuerwerk der Rüstungsindustrie
Und aus Deutschland werden - trotz des im Koalitionsvertrag neu eingeführten Ausschlusskriteriums für Rüstungsexporte an die Jemen-Kriegsparteien - sechs Patrouillenboote an das Königreich Saudi-Arabien geliefert.
Die Deutsche Regierung setzt auch Interessen durch, die der deutschen Rüstungsindustrie. Die sieht im Nahen Osten eine wachstumsträchtige Region. Und brennt angesichts der Aufträge ein Freudenfeuerwerk ab.
https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/1083386.jemen-krieg-feuerwerk-der-ruestungsindustrie.html
(B H K)
Jemen: Seit drei Jahren Krieg, Hunger und Krankheit / "Aktion Deutschland Hilft" fordert Stopp von Waffenlieferungen in den Jemen
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
(A P)
Turkey to freeze assets of late Yemeni President, Houthi Leaders
The Turkish government decided to freeze the assets of late Yemeni President Ali Saleh and the leaders of the Houthi rebels for one year, local media reported on Friday.
The Anadolu news agency reported that the decision of Ankara was made on the ground of the February resolution of the UN Security Council, which prolongs the sanctions imposed on Yeme
http://thenationonlineng.net/turkey-yemeni-president-houthi/
(* A K P)
Pressure mounts on Macron over arms sales to Saudi Arabia, UAE
Two rights groups have given the French government two months to halt weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates or face legal action, adding to pressure on President Emmanuel Macron to scale back support of a Riyadh-led offensive in Yemen.
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp9
(A K P)
4 #RSAF F-15SA (12-1020, 12-1022, 12-1023, 12-1054) made a stop today at RAF Lakenheath on their way to King Khalid AFB. By: Surrey Mike (photos)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/977254865918464000
(** B K P)
Risky Business: The Role of Arms Sales in U.S. Foreign Policy
U.S. arms sales policy is out of control. Since 2002, the United States has sold more than $197 billion worth of major conventional weapons and related military support to 167 countries. In just his first year in office, President Donald Trump inked arms deals at a record pace, generating hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of potential sales.
Washington’s historical faith in arms sales is seriously misplaced. The United States should revise its arms sales policy to improve the risk assessment process, to ban sales to countries where the risk of negative consequences is too high, and to limit sales to cases in which they will directly enhance American security.
Attempts to manage the balance of power and generate influence around the world are heavily contingent on a number of factors, most of which lie outside American control. Upon closer review, most of the benefits of arms sales are less certain and less compelling than advocates claim.
So far we have argued that arms sales lack a compelling strategic justification, amplify risks, and generate a host of unintended negative consequences. These factors alone argue for significantly curtailing the arms trade. But the case for doing so is made even stronger by the fact that greatly reducing arms sales would also produce two significant benefits for the United States that cannot otherwise be enjoyed.
(A K P)
New #RSAF F-15SA batch just departed from KSTL on delivery to #SaudiArabia
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/977097546446327808
(* A K P)
Press releases by US Defense Security Cooperation Agency
Saudi Arabia – TOW 2B (BGM-71F-Series) Missiles
The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of TOW 2B (BGM-71F-Series) missiles for an estimated cost of $670 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.
The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested to buy up to six thousand six hundred (6,600) TOW 2B missiles (BGM-71F-Series) and ninety-six (96) TOW 2B (BGM-71F-Series) fly-to-buy lot validation missiles. Also included is
This proposed sale will support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by improving the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East. This potential sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key partners in the region with modern systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase stability.
The proposed sale of TOW 2B missiles and technical support will advance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to develop an integrated ground defense capability. A strong national defense and dedicated military force will assist Saudi Arabia to sustain itself in its efforts to maintain stability.
http://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/saudi-arabia-tow-2b-bgm-71f-series-missiles and for this also look at http://armyrecognition.com/march_2018_global_defense_security_army_news_industry/us_will_provide_spare_parts_for_saudi_arabia_m1a2_tanks_and_bradley_ifvs.html
Saudi Arabia – Royal Saudi Land Forces Ordnance Corps Foreign Military Sales Order (FMSO) II Case
The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of a Royal Saudi Land Forces Ordnance Corps Foreign Military Sales Order (FMSO) II Case for an estimated cost of $300 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.
The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested a possible purchase of a new Foreign Military Sales Order (FMSO) II to provide funds for blanket order requisitions under a Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Agreement (CLSSA) for common spares/repair parts to support Saudi Arabia’s fleet of M1A2 Abrams tanks
Saudi Arabia – Continuation of Maintenance Support Services (MSS)
The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of equipment and services for the continuation of the Maintenance Support Services (MSS) contract that supports the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Command’s (RSLFAC) fleet of AH-64D/E, UH-60L, Schweizer 333 and Bell 406CS helicopters for an estimated cost of $106.8 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.
http://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/saudi-arabia-continuation-maintenance-support-services-mss
United Arab Emirates (UAE) – AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Block II Missiles
The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the United Arab Emirates of three hundred (300) AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Block II missiles, forty (40) AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Captive Air Training Missiles (CATMs), thirty (30) AIM-9X-2 Block II Tactical guidance units, fifteen (15) AIM-9X-2 CATM guidance units, containers, spares, support equipment and missile support, U.S. Government and contractor technical assistance and other related logistics support, and other associated support equipment and services for an estimated cost of $270.4 million.
http://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/united-arab-emirates-uae-aim-9x-2-sidewinder-block-ii-missiles
My comment: The “arguments” in favor of these sails are stereotype, in every case, they are repeated word by word.
(A K P)
Bassin d’Arcachon : le chantier naval Couach se renforce dans la péninsule arabique
[They delivered patrol boats to the Saudis in the midst of the war on #Yemen, now The French shipyard Couach has just signed a contract with the United Arab Emirates.]
L’entreprise, basée à Gujan-Mestras, vient d’annoncer la signature d’un partenariat avec un important chantier naval aux Emirats Arabes Unis
(* B K P)
Arms Sales Table, Saudi Arabia (last updated March 2002)
Saudi Arabia is America’s top customer. Since 1990, the U.S. government, through the Pentagon‘s arms export program, has arranged for the delivery of more than $39.6 billion in foreign military sales to Saudi Arabia, and an additional $394 million worth of arms were delivered to the Saudi regime through the State Department‘s direct commercial sales program during that same period.
The United States has very close and long-running military ties to the Saudi regime dating back to 1945.
Several concerns have been raised about this close military cooperation and the related sales of sophisticated arms. These concerns are:
sophisticated arms sales to Saudi Arabia spurring regional arms races
high level military expenditures undermining stability
opposition to American military presence on Saudi soil
political repression and violations of human rights
border disputes and regional tension
concerns about proliferation of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles
support for international terrorism
https://fas.org/asmp/profiles/saudi_arabia.htm
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
(A E P)
Government condemns Houthi use of inventory oil in main pipeline
The government has condemned the Houthi militia's move to draw inventory crude oil out of a main oil pipeline that extends from Yemen's east (Safer region in Marib) to Yemen's west (the region of Ras Esa in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah."
The rebel militia wants to take the crude oil in the pipeline and the crude reserve in the floating cistern in Ras Esa to sell them. The pipeline alone holds 850,000 to 900,000 barrels of crude oil.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16725
Remark: Is there any oil production in Yemen in the moment? This story sounds strange.
(* A E P)
Yemen's central bank closes over shortage of funds
The Yemeni central bank has announced it is closing because it has run out of money.
Saudi Arabia had promised a large deposit to shore up Yemen's currency - but that money never arrived, and now the bank is closing due to lack of funds.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/yemens-central-bank-closes-fund-shortage-180322185657444.html
My comment: This is “president” Hadi’s second Central Bank at Aden.
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A T)
IS today claims it killed a Houthi by IED yesterday in Walad Rabi' in al-Bayda'.
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/977122911822798850
(* A T)
Seven suspected al-Qaeda operatives were killed in a drone strike on a house believed to be A reported U.S. airstrike killed al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants in al Radwah area, south of Ma’rib city, Ma’rib governorate, northern Yemen on March 22, according to local sources. [5]
My comment: “Suspected” in other sources… The same as always.
cp15 Propaganda
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A P)
Yemen: A war imposed on the coalition
Saudi-led coalition could simply not afford a heavily armed Iranian proxy on its borders
Three years ago, a coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia intervened militarily in Yemen. The objective was clear: to uphold the legitimacy of the internationally recognised government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, against which a militia had carried out a coup.
The militia in question, the Al Houthis, are an armed organisation backed by Iran. Their coup was rightly seen as part of Iran’s regional expansion agenda. The Gulf Arab states could simply not afford to have a heavily armed Iranian proxy calling the shots in a country that was right on their borders. This scenario would pose an unacceptable risk to their security, and the stability of the broader region.
Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Thursday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said the war in Yemen was imposed on Saudi Arabia, and was not a war of choice. He also said the kingdom has been dealing with Iranian meddling in the region since the 1979 revolution. “Iran is the problem in the region, it is the source terror and extremism.”
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/yemen-a-war-imposed-on-the-coalition-1.2193790
My comment: An odd propaganda roundup again.
(A P)
Saudi general in charge of Yemen campaign speaks to euronews
A round table discussion in Paris on Middle Eastern security has seen a speech by the commander-in-chief of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
General Ahmed Assiri insisted Saudi Arabia's only aim was to bring stability to Yemen.
"The agreement that we have with our friends in Washington is that we will continue to work together for the stability of the region against what terrorist groups, extremists or those countries who have ideologies that they export beyond their borders. We need to implement the international law, respect soverignity of countries, respect internal, domestic isssues for countries and work between countries as states," he said.
"We want to restore security and stability in the region, reinstall the legitimate gouvernment , push militias to come back to roundtable. We will not accept another Hezbollah in Yemen“
http://www.euronews.com/2018/03/24/saudi-general-in-charge-of-yemen-campaign-speaks-to-euronews and film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zwmXa0XLrk&t=14s = http://www.euronews.com/video/2018/03/24/saudi-general-in-charge-of-yemen-campaign-speaks-to-euronews
Comment: Disturbing: they claim to be working for 'stability in #Yemen' and - even worse: without Saudis' intervention there was a risk Yemen would turn into the Libyan model “where there aren’t national institutions anymore.”
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1689239187795771
(A P)
Trump's war government … Against whom? At an Iranian opposition event, John Bolton stood and told the thousands who had gathered: “We will celebrate with you in Tehran in 2019.”
For those of us in the Middle East, and despite chaos and destruction, toppling the Iranian regime in a well-ordered way is an ideal solution to end the era of chaos that was started by Khomeini in 1979. He, the extremist Islamic groups and other regional regimes collaborating with them led the region to a series of crises, wars and a state of terror that have lasted for 40 years and made the entire world live in fear.
But this US administration might clash with Tehran if the Iranian regime dares to do what it did against the former administration.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1272596
(A P)
Saudi prince denies Kushner is ‘in his pocket’
Speaking in a meeting with Washington Post editors and reporters, Mohammed denied U.S. media reports that he had claimed Kushner was “in his pocket,”
While “we work together as friends, more than partners,” Mohammed said, his relationship with Kushner was within the normal context of government-to-government contacts. He noted that he also had good relations with Vice President Pence and others in the White House.
In the 75-minute meeting at The Post on the last day of his four-day stay in Washington, Mohammed was animated and engaged, fielding questions on a range of topics, from the war in Yemen to the Middle East peace process, Iran, his domestic reform agenda, human rights and Saudi Arabia’s nuclear plans.
Although the meeting, conducted in English, was held off the record, the Saudi Embassy later agreed that specified portions could be used in an article about the session.
Even as Trump has said he is seeking increased investment and purchases of U.S. military equipment and other products from Saudi Arabia, Mohammed has made clear that his primary mission here is to win U.S. investor confidence in his country, along with technological and education assistance in his efforts to reform the ultraconservative kingdom.
At The Post, he said his primary concern was being able to enrich and use Saudi Arabia’s own uranium for use in power reactors, rather than buying it abroad.
Mohammed spoke at length about the prospects for economic growth in the Middle East, saying it could be “the next Europe” if a series of problems can be resolved.
On the Yemen war, Mohammed said that Saudi Arabia had not passed up “any opportunity” to improve the humanitarian situation.
“There are not good options and bad options. The options are between bad and worse,” he said of the Yemen conflict.
“I believe Islam is sensible, Islam is simple, and people are trying to hijack it,” he said. Lengthy discussions with clerics, he said, have been positive and are “why we have more allies in the religious establishment, day by day.”
Asked about the Saudi-funded spread of Wahhabism, the austere faith that is dominant in the kingdom and that some have accused of being a source of global terrorism, Mohammed said that investments in mosques and madrassas overseas were rooted in the Cold War, when allies asked Saudi Arabia to use its resources to prevent inroads in Muslim countries by the Soviet Union.
Successive Saudi governments lost track of the effort, he said, and now “we have to get it all back.” Funding now comes largely from Saudi-based “foundations,” he said, rather than from the government.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/saudi-prince-denies-kushner-is-in-his-pocket/2018/03/22/701a9c9e-2e22-11e8-8688-e053ba58f1e4_story.html and also at http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/mohammad-bin-salman-mideast-could-be-the-next-europe-1.2193294
(A P)
Sen. Cruz: ‘Absent U.S. Leadership, the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen Would Undoubtedly Worsen’
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued a statement following his vote regarding U.S. involvement in Yemen:
“Iran and their terror network continue to spread hate and radical ideologies across the Middle East. This deeply destabilizing force must be confronted at every opportunity either directly or through our partners and allies.
“Yemen, a country plagued with conflict, is fertile ground for exploitation by the Iranian regime to advance their political and military ambitions. The strategic implications of U.S. retreat from established agreements and obligations with our allies not only damages our counterterrorism efforts with partners, but serves to create a vacuum for other actors, such as Russia, to assert unchecked influence and provide material support, without conditions.
“Absent U.S. leadership, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen would undoubtedly worsen; oversight related to laws of armed conflict would be an afterthought; and our men and women in uniform could potentially be required to engage in a conflict far more dangerous than exists today.
My comment: That’s absolutely crazy.
(A P)
UAE expresses deep concern over deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Yemen.
The United Arab Emirates has expressed deep concern over the deteriorating human conditions in Yemen at the hands of the Houthi militias and their flagrant violations and abuses of human rights in Yemen as well as their disruption of the Arab Coalition Forces' efforts aimed at alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni people.
https://www.mofa.gov.ae/EN/MediaCenter/News/Pages/23-03-2018-UAE-Yemen.aspx
My comment: Houthis’ “disruption of the Arab Coalition Forces' efforts aimed at alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni people.” These UAE efforts mainly consist in dropping bombs since 3 years now.
And here more “We are benefactors” propaganda:
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/erc-launches-first-aid-training-women-rural-yemen
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/erc-launches-health-campaign-tarim-yemen
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/erc-launches-awareness-campaign-hadramaut
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/erc-holds-health-awareness-workshops-tarim-yemen
(A P)
British Ambassador to Yemen: The West Has Forgotten the Reason of War
The newly-appointed British Ambassador to Yemen, Michael Aron, said that the public opinion in the West has forgotten the reason that had started the war because of the worsening humanitarian crisis.
Stressing the deployment of strenuous efforts to alleviate the sufferings of the Yemeni population, Aron noted that the war started with a coup perpetrated by a small group of Yemenis, in reference to Houthi militias, adding that there was no need for an Iranian role in Yemen.
My comment: An “interesting” justification of this war. In Ukraine, the British had supported the 2014 coup, in Yemen for them this is the justification for a war destructing the country. why??
(A P)
Yemen PM Stresses Need to End Iranian Meddling
Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Dagher has called for halting Iranian meddling in his country and ending the Houthi coup against legitimacy whether through a peace deal or a military solution.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1214456/yemen-pm-stresses-need-end-iranian-meddling
My comment: Endless, the same bullshit again and again, endless.
(A P)
Yemen permanent rep to UN: Houthis reap benefit from lawlessness
Yemen's permanent representative to the United Nations Khaled al-Yemany said that Houthis reap benefits from the country's state of lawlessness and gain riches from the plight of the Yemeni people.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16681
My comment: Can be, but he is the wrong to tell that: The Hadi government is accused of corruption as well. So better shut up.
(A P)
Saudi FM: Yemeni crisis can only be solved through political process
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister reiterated on Thursday that the crisis in Yemen can only be solved through a political process.
Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Adel Al-Jubeir said the war in Yemen was imposed on Saudi Arabia and is not a war of choice, adding that Saudi Arabia has been dealing with Iranian meddling in the region since the 1979 revolution.
“Iran is the problem in the region, it is the source terror and extremism.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1271831/saudi-arabia
(A P)
Adel al-Jubier, the Saudi Foreign Minister has said relations with the US as "at an all-time high” and justified the deadly war on the Middle East’s poorest country by comparing to a Mexican threat to America.
"What would you do if militias tried to take over Mexico and started lobbing missiles at you? Sit there and take it?" Jubeir told Journalists in Washington
Comment: If the United States of America – to prop up by force a US-installed Mexican president – launches hundreds of airstrikes on Mexico which kill hundreds of civilians, then it is just, legal & perfectly lawful for Mexico to launch ballistic missiles targeting the USA
For the U.S. to complain that Mexico was provided these ballistic missiles by Che Guevera or Putin would be legally pointless. Mexico has a clear legal right under international laws of war to respond with force to the casus belli i.e. U.S. airstrikes on Mexico.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/977249681842556928
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/977254060003856384
and
(A P)
#SaudiFM @AdelAljubeir live at Brookings: "Iran flaunts international law" on ballistic missiles, seeks to extend its revolution beyond its borders. "Call a spade a spade," he says.
https://twitter.com/BrookingsFP/status/976917830363951104
Comment: Yes, let's listen to a representative of a famine-causing, hospital-bombing government talk about international law. That seems like a good use of time
https://twitter.com/DanielLarison/status/976919708011200515
(A P)
Houthis publish photoshoped image of comrade allegedly slaughtered by pro-government forces
Houthis have posted on social networking sites and online debate forums this week a fake story and photoshopped image to the effect that one of their militants was slaughtered in an ISIL-style way at the hands of pro-government tribesmen in Beidha.
Mahmoud Mohammed a Yemeni activist said "like all Iranian-backed militias, Houthis have an irrational and vehement passion to associate their Sunni rivals (the majority of the world's Muslims) with terrorism and terror groups such as ISIL."
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16683
My comment: By anti-Houthi media. The association of pro-government forces and terrorism is obviously a reality, not just a Houthi phantasy – starting with Hadi’s vice-president Mohsen himself.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(* A K PH)
Saudi coalition air raids day by day
(* A K PH)
Six citizens killed in Saudi airstrike on Hodaida
At least six citizens were killed on Saturday in airstrikes waged by US-backed, Saudi-led aggression coalition's warplanes on Bait Alfaqeeh district of Hodaida province, a security official told Saba.
Four airstrikes hit a farm in Husseinyah area of the district, killing six people, including children.
The coalition's fighter jets also waged two raids on Aljah area of the same district
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491167.htm
(A K PH)
Two citizens killed in Saudi airstrike in Hodaida
Two citizens were killed in an airstrike of Saudi-led aggression coalition warplanes in Tuhaita district of Hodaida overnight, a security official told Saba on Saturday.
A hostile airstrike hit a citizen’s car on the main road in the district, which led to killing the citizen and his son.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491124.htm
(A K)
Her name is Aisha, she is 24 years old, cluster bomb explosion killed her today in Alhamazat area #Saada #Yemen She was engaged, now she is dead.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/977251266970693633
(A K PH)
Film: The crime of targeting the American-Saudi aggression against a car in the area of Al-Mismurah, in the governorate of Sana'a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEm67JMBSLg
and earlier reporting, photos: https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/976674334545768448
(* A K PH)
Video showing The charred bodies of 17 Yemen civilians incl 15 women&children who were all killed on March 22,2018 while sleeping in a house in Ghamer area Saada north of the country
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/977032819565383680
Names of 15 Yemen women&children were killed at dawn today while sleeping in their house in Ghamer area Saada north of the country. By two US-Saudi airstrikes that completely destroyed the house. 2 more men were killed from same family of Sulaiman.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/976872655621107712
Photos of yesterday's #Saudi bombardment on a civilian house in Ghamer area #Saada #Yemen 17 people killed including children and 4 injured.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/976942370985037824
Pictures of the house of a citizen in the Directorate of Ghamr, which was targeted by two air raids led to the deaths of 10 civilians and wounding 7, mostly children and women .
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1792640117698641
and with names of victims (in Arabic): 10 killed (7 children), 7 injured (4 children)
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1792909781005008
(A K PH)
Photos: Sanaa has, once again, come under attack this morning.
Yemen TV neighbourhood
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1686672188052471 and film: https://www.facebook.com/hournews.net/videos/vb.1411148718916968/1818395128192323/?type=2&theater
(A K)
it is not an important news for the world, but an explosion of 2 cluster bombs killed a man and his son in Monabeh area #Saada #Yemen
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/977666319540727808
(* A K PH)
US-KSA Jets Killed Civilians in Yemen’s Saada : Pictures
17 civilians, including women and children, have been killed or wounded when Saudi warplanes targeted residential areas in Yemen’s northern province of Sa’ada
Local source said ten civilians including women and children killed while seven wounded in the air strike on the house of Turki Salim Jaber ,located in Wild Amer area of Ghamer district .
http://www.newnewss.net/3384-2/
(* A K PH)
More Saudi air raids recorded on:
March 24:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491134.htm Hodeidah p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491117.htm Hajjah p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491113.htm Marib p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491115.htm School, Lahj p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491153.htm Lahj p.
(* B K PH)
Destruction of Education Sector in Yemen Within Three Years of War
360,000 children in Yemen lost their educational opportunities because of the US-Saudi coalition aggression.
The number of schools that went out of use due to the shelling of the coalition are (2621),of these, 265 schools were totally destroyed by the aggression.
http://www.newnewss.net/destruction-of-education-sector-in-yemen-within-three-years-of-war/
(B H K)
Film: Saudi coalition bombed and destroyed the roads and bridges in the mountainous areas in #Yemen. Truck drivers risks their lives to deliver food shipments.
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/977507920631009280
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
(A K PS)
Houthis kills Taiz child in new sniper shooting
A rebel fighter shot dead Mohammed Hassan Mohammed a 15 year old as he was coming from the market back home in Adhabab west of the city of Taiz on Friday. (photo)
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16728
(A K PH)
Ballistic missile , Badr 1, targets the Saudi special forces camp in Jizan
The army and popular committees' missile force fired on Friday ballistic missile at the special forces military camp in Jizan, a military official told Saba on Saturday .
The missile force launched a ballistic missile Badr-1 on special forces military camp in Jizan, adding the missile force hit its target accurately.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491111.htm
(A K)
Video shows Houthi rebels in Yemen using a jury-rigged Russian fighter jet missile to take on an F-15
Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that one of its fighter aircraft was “intercepted” by a “hostile air defence missile.”
New video shows the true extent of the fighting.
Saudi Arabia said the missile used was not originally of Yemeni origin, and proves that Iran has been arming the country, and that their jet survived.
An expert told Business Insider that it’s unlikely a fighter jet could survive such a massive fireball.
(A K)
Saudi Arabia says F-15 survived SAM hit over Yemen
The Saudi-led coalition confirmed an F-15 was hit by an SAM over Yemen
The rebels are reroling air-to-air missiles as SAMs
Ansar Allah claimed it hit a coalition aircraft over Sadah with an SAM on the same day. It supported its claim by releasing video footage showing what appeared to be an R-27T air-to-air missile being fired from a ground launcher and apparently hitting an aircraft that was then seen trailing a plume, but not crashing.
The infrared guided R-27T is the standard medium-range air-to-air missile for the MiG-29, a type used by the pre-war Yemeni Air Force.
It has been known since that Ansar Allah was reroling R-27s as SAMs since at least November 2017
http://www.janes.com/article/78774/saudi-arabia-says-f-15-survived-sam-hit-over-yemen
(A K)
Saudi blames Iran for coalition jet missile attack in Yemen
Saudi officials have blamed Iran for a missile attack on one of the fighter jets operated by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
http://gulfbusiness.com/saudi-blames-iran-coalition-jet-missile-attack-yemen/
My comment: Iran???? That’s as if they would be blame Russia, as the R-27T is a Soviet product. Odd.
(A K PS)
Houthis have failed to fire a ballistic missile from Sana'a toward Saudi Arabia and the missile fell in a Sana'a neighborhood. A huge explosion was heared.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16679
Remark: Dubious; sources from Sanaa spoke of Saudi coalition air raids (YPR 395, cp16).
(* A K PH)
Army fired ballistic missile attack Saudi Aramco in Najran
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491009.htm and http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/03/22/556244/Yemen-ballistic-missile-Saudi-Aramco
(A K PH)
Yemen Unveils New Ballistic Missile
the missile division of Yemen’s Army said the new homegrown missile, dubbed Badr, runs on solid fuel and travels at a speed of Mach 4.5, Saba reported.
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/03/23/1686430/yemen-unveils-new-ballistic-missile
and
Images of the al #Houthi movement's "new locally developed" Badr-1 ballistic missile fired from #Yemen at an Aramco facility in southwestern #SaudiArabia.
https://twitter.com/MaherFarrukh/status/976974985272217601
(* A K PH)
#houthi-s and #Yemen-i missile s unit released footage of what they claimed to be the launch of a new type of short range ballistic missile called Badr1 into #Aramco oil company in #Najran south #Saudi (photos, film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF8NXWhO3eM
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/976968541801938944
and
(* A K)
Aramco says its plants, facilities operating normally after missile report
Saudi oil giant Aramco said its plants and facilities are operating normally after Yemen’s Houthi movement announced on Thursday it had fired a short-range ballistic missile towards an Aramco facility in the southern Saudi province of Najran.
(* A K)
Aircraft Attacked Over Yemen With R-27 Air-to-Air Missile Modified Into A SAM
Houthi rebels have converted missile stocks intended for the country's MiG-29s into surface-to-air missiles, possibly with the help of Iran.
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(--)
Film: Free music lessons as an outlet in war-torn Yemen
In war-torn and impoverished Yemen, music teacher Abdullah Al-Deby offers free music lessons and an outlet to his students
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6gsv7b
(-)
Abdulrahman al-Gamily, Basma Hashem, Sohila al-Bna’a, Ezaldeen Aref, Saleh al-Tawil, Mohsin Nasser, Feda’a Yahya, and Wijdan Mujahed. Among those names are some of Yemen’s most popular online personalities and YouTubers. To put it into perspective: Sohila has roughly 50,000 followers on Instagram, Abdulrahman has over 150,000 subscribers on YouTube, and Ezaldeen Aref has close to 43,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Those eight creatives came together and launched the social media campaign #BringDevBack. Bring Development Back to Yemen is a campaign that advocates for the importance of internationals creating development opportunities rather than limiting engagement to humanitarian relief (with video)
https://www.almadaniyamag.com/english/2018/3/23/video-yemens-top-youtubers-to-the-world-bring-development-back = https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/1687884334597923/
(-)
Visualising the invisible: Arab women artists reveal untold stories
Arab women artists talk to MEE about breaking stereotypes, pushing boundaries and succeeding where politicians have failed
Another artist being featured is Thana Faroq, a Yemeni documentary photographer whose work explores themes of "identity, boundaries, and conflicts”.
Faroq's The Passport project includes a series of black-and-white portraits - interpretations of people and how they are looked at whilst passing through border security crossings and customs.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/perpetual-movement-1393930831
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-395-yemen-war-mosaic-395
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-395 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-395:
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
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
und alle Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
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