March 31, 2018: What Yemenis are saying – Yemeni artists on the war – Displaced in Taiz province – Iranian missiles and devices again – US refueling Saudi fighter jets – Inside the US war against Yemen – Yemen after 3 years of war – Crown Prince Salman in the US, Saudi PR and propaganda – Saudi Wahabism
Dieses Jemenkrieg-Mosaik nur Englisch, deutschsprachige Links hier:
This Yemen War Mosaic in English only, links in German here:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-398-yemen-war-mosaic-398
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
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
cp12b Libanon / Lebanon
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(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
Einführende Artikel u. Überblicke für alle, die mit den Ereignissen im Jemen noch nicht vertraut sind, hier:
Yemen War: Introductory articles, overviews, for those who are still unfamiliar with the Yemen war here:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-einfuehrende-artikel-u-ueberblicke
Und neue Artikel / And new articles:
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Key facts about the war in Yemen
The ongoing war in Yemen, which has displaced millions of people, is far more complex than a Sunni-Shia conflict.
Civilian casualties in Yemen are high.
Millions of Yemenis have been displaced.
Many foreign countries are involved in Yemen's war.
Events in Yemen are viewed as part of Saudi Arabia's 'cold war' with Iran.
Yemen's war is far more complex than a Saudi-Iranian, Sunni-Shia conflict.
Al-Qaeda and ISIL have spread as a result of the chaos.
Providing aid to civilians in Yemen is very difficult.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/key-facts-war-yemen-160607112342462.html
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What kind of a war is the Yemen war?
This short note poses three questions central to understanding the nature and meaning of the Yemen war. These concern the strategy of the Coalition war itself, the structure of legal reference, and the forms of information concerning the war. The three fields intersect.
Strategy
The Yemen war is about to enter a fourth year; thus the strategy of the Coalition, which controls Yemen’s airspace and sea-space (alongside the Combined Maritime Forces and from May 2016 the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism), has moved through several stages. [1]
The war began in late March 2015 with considerable aerial bombardment, deploying implosion and high kinetic weapons around Sanaa in what appeared an experiment in shock-and-awe. Many strikes focused on the Yemeni armed forces loyal to the government in Sanaa and civil heartlands of the Houthi movement. The bombing likewise hit road networks, gas and petrol stations, electricity generation plants, camps of internally displaced persons, and buildings said to belong to Houthi leaders, in a manner reminiscent of attacks by Israel on Lebanon in 1996 and 2006. It may be that the strategists planned for a quick war; they seem to have told other agencies that Yemeni resistance should be swiftly broken and to plan for reconstruction. USAID and the UN prepared damage assessment maps of Saadah, Sanaa and Taizz and night light countrywide survey maps after a few months of the war [2]. A first round of peace negotiations was then to lead nowhere, thanks to the terms enshrined in UNSCR 2216 that the forces of the Yemeni army loyal to ex-President ʿAli ʿAbdullah Saleh and the Ansarallah (Houthis) surrender as precondition for political settlement. From mid-August through October the Coalition again intensified aerial bombardment, in particular in Sanaa and Saadah Governorates. Civilian and economic targets, not least the port of al-Hudayda, formed a more important proportion of the targets. Over the following year, although the intensity of bombardment fluctuated, many government and educational buildings having already been damaged, the same broad patterns of targeting continued. Civilian and economic targets included food production/processing, and storage and distribution facilities, notably, across the country the major food importer and distributor, the Yemen Economic Cooperation (YEC). This pattern continued through late summer of 2016. But no surrender followed.
From the autumn of 2016 the kinetic assault having failed to produce Yemen’s “collapse”, [3] in reverse order to that of the long war on Iraq, economic war came to the fore: move of the central bank to Aden, quasi-exclusion from the international banking system, refusal of ships’ passage and attacks on fishing boats, detachment of oil-producing regions under governors affiliated to the Coalition powers, and attacks on all elements of life in the northern border regions (houses, farms, transport, markets, public institutions, medical facilities). All the tactics and more that have been deployed in Gaza time and again were put into effect in a much larger-scale experiment of punishment of a people in the name of internationally recognized political legitimacy.
Law
There are two aspects of legal reference especially prominent in the Yemen war.
The first aspect is the post-facto legitimation of war by the world’s highest legal institution through a technique that Joy Gordon has termed deliberate ambiguity. [4] The UNSCR 2216, which placed sanctions on five individuals and called for the restoration of a president (ʿAbd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi) whose term had already expired, has been taken to permit the attack and blockade of Yemen. The permanent members of the UNSC wield enormous powers of collective action and its delegation to their allies. Constructive ambiguity is constantly fine-tuned so as to devolve legal responsibility from those who delegate to the agents they empower.
Information
With the destruction of airports, repeated suspension of flights, and vetting of travellers by Saudi Arabia, it became difficult for non-Yemeni journalists to enter the country. The work of Yemeni ministries assessing damage to infrastructure and health and of Yemeni journalists logging the targets of aerial bombardment was not regarded as reliable information. [10] Thus, for most of the first two years of the war, while the occasional voice from inside Yemen might be raised and heard above the official press briefings of the Coalition military spokesman al-Asiri and the able hasbara ofthe Saudi foreign minister al-Jubayr, Western media coverage was for long periods absent. [11] But from late 2016, as the health and diet of the Yemeni masses became critically impaired, international agencies were allowed to return to Yemen so long as their purpose was humanitarian. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator began to issue strong appeals for aid and an end to the blockade.
When this information regime is challenged as it has been by the UK Campaign against the Arms Trade (CAAT), the government response, translated through senior judges, was to argue that as the government knows what others do not (and cannot), there is no case to be answered. [14] Parallel arguments are advanced against attempts in the US Senate to challenge that government’s role in the war.
The governments are not mistaken in their claim to absolutely finer knowledge. Given the enormous data bank of the military, and the exceptionally clear skies and hence clarity of satellite imagery of Yemen, their knowledge of the war and its effects is detailed, formidable and subject to continuous study. [15]Analyses drawing on sources from inside Yemen by contrast produce artisanal results if set against the machine power of imperial government knowledge – by Martha Mundy
http://www.merip.org/mero/mero032718
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Film by ABC News: Inside Yemen's civil war where 8 million people are on the brink of starvation
"Nightline" gets an exclusive ground report from war-torn Yemen, which has left nearly three million homeless and 22 million in need of humanitarian aid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axzUyM6pl6o = https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/1693661554020201/
and a 2 minutes cutting: https://twitter.com/DMiliband/status/979371326120001536
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Film: Three years of hell: Inside Yemen's civil war
Three years this week since a Saudi-led coalition stepped into Yemen's civil war and what have we got? The Arab World's poorest nation on the brink of the world's worst famine. Contrast the reality inside Yemen with the abstract game of geopolitical chess unfolding abroad with the Saudi crown prince drumming up support in the US, France blaming Iran for arming rival Houthi militias, Iran blaming the UK for arming the Saudi-led bombing campaign and no headway in UN peace efforts.
http://newsvideo.su/video/8541986 = https://www.msn.com/en-gb/video/other/three-years-of-hell-inside-yemens-civil-war/vi-AAvg6Gj
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Eleven facts about the Yemen Crisis
- The humanitarian situation in Yemen is still the worst in the worldNow in its fourth year of conflict, more than 22 million people—or three-quarters of the population—need humanitarian aid and protection, making Yemen the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
- Some 8.4 million people in Yemen don’t know where they’ll get their next meal.Last year, humanitarians scaled up dramatically to provide emergency food assistance to more than 7 million people per month. But this year we need to do even more. Ensuring families have the food they need to survive is the top priority for humanitarians.
- Every ten minutes, a child under five in Yemen dies of preventable causes.
- Civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence.
- Women and children are subject to widespread protection violations
- Some 3 million people have been displaced.
- Ending the conflict is the only way to resolve the humanitarian crisis.
- Half of all health facilities are damaged or unable to function.
- Millions of Yemenis do not have access to safe drinking water and cholera could resurge.
- Humanitarian response faces a nearly $2 billion funding gap.
- Keeping the ports and other access channels open is crucial to deliver aid. (photos)
https://unocha.exposure.co/eleven-facts-about-the-yemen-crisis
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What the Saudis Have Wrought
The US claims to have no direct involvement in the coalition. Yet in addition to selling billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and ammunition, it supplies operations-room targeting and other advisory services to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Most importantly and crucially, the US provides in-flight refueling to coalition aircrafts, a technical exercise that, if ended, would put a stop to the air strikes in short order.
Over the course of the war, an anti-Iranian discourse has overtaken the initial justification for the intervention. The Saudis and the US loudly claim that Huthi missiles are of Iranian origin, and use this as a reason to intensify their anti-Iranian rhetoric. There is indeed limited evidence that some missile components are of Iranian origin, but other components are of US manufacture. More than anything, these accusations are part of a mounting propaganda campaign, designed to rationalize hawkish decisions like Trump’s likely withdrawal from the Iran deal.
Focus on the proxy war also allows the international community to ignore the Yemeni roots and nature of the original conflict (as well as its disastrous impact and exacerbation as a result of international intervention).
Full-scale war erupted in Yemen in 2015. Following the 2011 popular uprisings — longer and more widespread than anywhere else in the Arab world — the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, alongside the US, UK, and other Western powers, had assisted in the formation of a transitional regime. Given two years to bring about a “new” Yemen, it was to make some concessions to the demands of the popular uprising for a “national” equitable economy, providing employment for millions of women and youth and remaking the political system so it would generate something other than mass inequality.
But the transitional regime turned out to be little different from its predecessor, effectively replacing Ali Abdullah Saleh’s kleptocratic elite with a similar one dominated by the Islah Party
That isn’t to say these areas are under the Hadi regime’s rule. In what was formerly the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen — otherwise known as South Yemen — UAE-trained, -equipped, and -paid security forces, composed mainly of local Salafi elements, provide “security,” supposedly fighting al-Qaeda and Daesh while in practice prioritizing arrests and attacks on Islahi elements. In the past year the southern separatist movement has been on the rise.
The machinations of various actors, foreign and domestic, have produced a hellscape for the average Yemenis.
while Oman, the UN, and the EU and some member states are actively striving to bring the war to a close, the Saudi-led coalition seems to be increasing its anti-Iranian rhetoric and its attacks on Yemen – by Helen Lackner
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/03/yemen-war-saudi-arabia-trump-bin-salman
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
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Listen to What Yemenis Are Saying About the War on Yemen
Abdulrasheed al-Faqih, executive director of the Yemeni human rights organization Mwatana, recently wrote a letter to the editor at The New York Times about Yemen’s plight and the U.S. role in creating it:
Americans rarely get to hear from Yemenis about what is being done to their country with our government’s support. There are many Yemeni journalists and activists that report on the deteriorating conditions and the crimes of all parties to the conflict for the last three years, but their views are almost never cited in Western media coverage and receive even less attention in our policy debates. That inevitably causes our coverage to be distorted and guarantees that most of our leaders don’t take the destructive effects of our policies fully into account.
While the Saudi-led coalition may have made it very difficult for people outside Yemen to go there and see for themselves what is happening, that doesn’t excuse the inattention to world’s worst humanitarian crisis and the almost complete ignorance of Yemeni perspectives in this conflict. It is their country that our government has helped the Saudis and their allies destroy, and so we have an obligation to listen to what they say and we need to take them seriously when they hold us responsible for the disaster that has engulfed Yemen.
Yemen’s recognized government doesn’t speak for its people, and it has been reduced to irrelevance throughout most of the country. That means that Yemen’s civilian population has no reliable, credible advocate to speak on their behalf at the state level, and so it necessarily falls to civil society and organizations such as Mwatana to do this. Instead of credulous reporting about Saudi benevolence and puff pieces about Mohammed bin Salman, our media outlets should make the effort to learn more about them and make sure to include Yemeni perspectives in their coverage of the war on Yemen – by Daniel Larison
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Yemeni artists show the world why they need peace now
These artists use their cameras and paintbrushes to depict the toll war has taken on the Yemeni people, and make the case for peace.
For three years, the US has supported Saudi Arabia's military offensive in Yemen, which has resulted in at least 5,558 civilian deaths, injured thousands more, pushed 8.4 million people to the brink of starvation, and created the largest cholera crisis on record.
But these are just statistics. Numbers—and even words alone—cannot express how the war has uprooted the lives of Yemeni people, and especially women and children.
To illustrate the very human impact of these three years, Oxfam invited Yemeni artists from all over the country to submit pieces demonstrating how the war has affected women and girls.
The artwork in this gallery demonstrates that in times of war, despite a lack of stability and materials, the creative spirit continues to flourish. And overwhelmingly, the submissions Oxfam received not only portray why peace is necessary now, but point to women as harbingers of the way forward. (images)
https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/yemen-art-gallery/
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Displacement in Taizz and Al Hudaydah Thematic report – 29 March 2018
Increased fighting in Taizz and Al Hudaydah governorates has led to the displacement of more than 80,000 people between December 2017 and mid-March 2018. The Saudi-led coalition launched the offensive following the death on 4 December of former president Saleh, with the aim of advancing north along the Red Sea coastline and capturing new territories from the Houthis including Al Hudaydah port. After some advancement, frontlines have remained stalled since January, with conflict parties largely consolidating their positions. Spikes in violence have driven further displacement. Many of the recently displaced are seeking safety away from the active frontlines in Al Hudaydah and Taizz. They are residing with their relatives, in rental accommodations, or in spontaneous settlements, while others are moving towards Aden and southern governorates. Fighting continues against the backdrop of a country strained by disrupted markets and limited food availability, a collapsing health system, and severely damaged WASH infrastructure. As Yemen enters its fourth year of war, both IDPs and host communities are exhausting their coping capacity. Taizz and Al Hudaydah are among the governorates at high risk of famine in Yemen.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/displacement-taizz-and-al-hudaydah-thematic-report-29-march-2018 and full https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/20180329_acaps_thematic_report_yemen_displacement_final%20%282%29.pdf
(** B K P)
Is Iran really supplying the missiles that threaten Saudi Arabia?
The United States is looking for an excuse for taking further action against Iran, but the facts don’t support the case
"We must speak with one voice in exposing the regime for what it is — a threat to the peace and security of the whole world," said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley last December, trying to drum up support for stronger international sanctions against Iran, and maybe even an actual attack on the country. Here we go again.
Those old enough to remember the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq will recall the deluge of doctored American 'intelligence' reports about alleged Iraqi "weapons of mass destruction" that were used to justify the attack. 'Everybody' was in danger, presumably including Bolivia, Switzerland and Nepal, so everybody must support the invasion.
In the end, the United States got its war — and found no evidence whatever of an active Iraqi program to build weapons of mass destruction. But no lessons have been learned. Ms. Haley at the UN was laying a foundation of lies for a comparable Trump adventure in the Middle East. Same Story Different Day.
The story-line goes as follows. Iran is an aggressive and expansionist power that threatens everybody everywhere. The proof is that it is helping the bad guys in Yemen, known as the Houthis, to launch missile attacks on innocent Saudi citizens. In fact, it is actually giving the evil Houthis the missiles.
The anti-Iran propaganda machine went into high gear. "This aggressive and hostile action by the Iran-backed Houthi group proves that the Iranian regime continues to support the (Houthi) armed group with military capabilities," said coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki. And the inimitable Nikki Haley said that the missile "might as well have had 'Made in Iran' stickers" on it.
This is the nub of the matter: is Iran actually supplying missiles to the Houthis that are being fired at Saudi Arabia? If so, then the United States, Saudi Arabia's main ally, has an excuse to attack Iran.
No nonsense about "made in Iran" stickers. The Yemenis aren't stupid, and they did it themselves. But the other story suits the Trump administration's purposes better – by Gwynne Dyer
https://www.wellandtribune.ca/opinion-story/8356770-is-iran-really-supplying-the-missiles-that-threaten-saudi-arabia-/ = http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/212680-2/ = https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1437395/ = http://www.thetelegram.com/opinion/gwynne-dyer-missiles-in-yemen--a-familiar-storyline-197951/
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Arms Research "Watchdog Group" Lobbies For War On Yemen And Iran
This Associated Press story has quite a slant.
Looking into the AP report we find that the "watchdog group" is actually a for-profit company with an anti-Iran agenda and paid by the United Arab Emirates. The UAE, together with Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Britain, is waging war on Yemen and sees Iran as an enemy.
Conflict Armament Research is not an "independent watchdog group" but a dully established British for-profit company registered at the British government's Companies House under company number 07762809. The sole owner is James Bevan, a British national born in 1977.
The CAR researcher Tim Michetti, quoted by AP, is also a co-author of the "Pushback - Exposing and countering Iran" report by the Atlantic Council. The United Arab Emirates is at the top of the Atlantic Council's Honor Roll of Contributors with more than $1,000,000 in yearly donations.
The UAE is at war in Yemen and is regularly accusing Iran of supporting the Houthi resistance against the invaders. Yemen is under blockade and there is little evidence that any Iranian help reaches the Houthis.
The actual CAR report is titled Radio controlled, Passive Infrared-inititiated IEDs - Iran’s latest technological contributions to the war in Yemen (pdf)
Garage door openers and light-barrier triggers are obviously sophisticated high-tech that no Yemeni could use for bomb building without intensive Iranian help. (Not!)
The easiest way to learn how to build improvised explosive devices with EFPs and various arming and triggering devices is to read declassified CIA manuals. I recommend to start with "Explosives For Sabotage" available at archive.org.
To find the inspiration for hiding stuff in 'rocks' made out of fiberglass and foam one can read British newspapers:
The CAR report shows some similarities between the trigger of an IEDs found in Yemen and another one allegedly found in Bahrain. But how does that lead back to Iran?Why not reasonably assume that various groups simply work from the same set of ideas and use the same manuals?
The report never investigates that thesis. Instead we get this claptrap:
WOER is one of the bigger global producers of heatshrink wire coverings. According to its website it has 3,000 dealers and 40 official sales offices including in:
Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Palestine, Qatar
Some WOER products are available on Amazon. This brand is well known and so widely available in the Middle East that it is outright laughable to attribute WOER material to Iran
To then point the fingers to Iran with little evidence and slanted reports, as the UAE paid CAR and other lobby shops do, has only one purpose: to widen the war and to prepare the peoples' minds for illegal aggression against yet another nation.
and
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Interestingly, the Lebanese border area w/ Israel has been for years filled with these fake rock devices, usually concealing IDF spying devices: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12012452 . We're told they're now also in the Golan but with bombs inside - and Israeli media claiming its "Hezbollah" lol
https://twitter.com/snarwani/status/978263482423480320
Bloody hell..... Hey @conflictarm, this is HUGE news: Iran is helping Israel against Lebanon's Hezbollah too.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/979329601657884682
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U.S. Refueling of Saudi Coalition Planes Leads to More Civilian Casualties
U.S. refueling of coalition planes has not made them more careful or reluctant to drop bombs on the wrong targets. The coalition illegally treats all of Saada and its vicinity as a military target, so there is not even a pretense of trying to avoid civilian casualties in attacks in that part of the country. The coalition bombing campaign overall hits civilian targets with remarkable frequency that makes a mockery of the idea that they are trying to limit the harm done to noncombatants.
The frequency of strikes on civilian targets is not the result of haste. It is the result of a blatant disregard for civilian life. We can see this because we know that the coalition is engaged in systematic, deliberate attacks on Yemeni food production and distribution and the country’s infrastructure.
The coalition hasn’t bombed over 400 farms because they were worried about running out of fuel. They haven’t destroyed water treatment facilities and electric plants because they were in a rush. They did it because they wanted to destroy as much of Yemen’s infrastructure and food production as possible as part of their larger effort to starve the country into submission. U.S. refueling not only makes the U.S. a party to the conflict and proves that U.S. forces have been introduced into hostilities without authorization, but it makes the coalition bombing campaign possible and it makes it more destructive than it would otherwise be.
U.S. refueling just gives coalition planes more time in the air to carry out more attacks. When at least 30% of those attacks are on civilian targets, it guarantees that more civilians will die. The evidence shows that U.S. support isn’t making the coalition war effort safer for civilians, and it can’t so long as the coalition is deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and food production. By enabling that war effort and allowing their planes to remain in the air longer, the U.S. is helping the Saudis and their allies kill more innocent Yemenis than they possibly could on their own. Mattis’ justification for U.S. support for the coalition war effort makes no sense. It is wrong to continue providing support that we know will cause more civilian casualties, and that is one reason why the Senate should have voted to end U.S. involvement in the war last week – by Daniel Larison
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Inside the US War in Yemen
Back in 2015, Saudi leaders proudly proclaimed they would win the war in three weeks. “They underestimated their enemy,” Shireen Al-Adeimi told me in an interview.
Saudi leaders argue they are fighting Iranian proxies in Yemen, and Iran seeks to destroy their country. For them, it’s an existential battle. The Pentagon argues that the United States only plays an advisory role and provides “non-combat assistance” and thus isn’t violating the War Powers Act.
In reality, “the war has US fingerprints all over it,” said Al-Adeimi.
Washington could shut down the Yemen War overnight. It’s not widely known, but US contractors are the only technicians loading bombs and maintaining Saudi war planes. They operate under control of the U.S. government.
“If the US doesn’t give permission,” to the contractors, a former US diplomat told me, “it would shut down the Saudi Air Force.”
Progressives like Bernie Sanders and some liberal Democrats wanted to end the undeclared war. Five Republicans also voted for the bill. The Republican senators were particularly concerned with the constitutional issue, according to Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, executive editor of The American Conservative magazine.
“They are fed up with successive presidential administrations that say they can wage war without Congressional approval,” Vlahos told me in an interview.
Libertarians and principled Republicans have long opposed US military intervention in the Middle East. Vlahos doesn’t buy the Pentagon argument that US troops are purely advisory. “Refueling jets is more than advising soldiers how to use their guns.”
Ansar Allah receives political and financial support from Iran, and several UN reports indicate Iran provides weapons as well. Iranian officials I have interviewed deny that Tehran provides military support to the Houthis and, in fact, considers Yemen a very low priority compared to their activities in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. In reality, the Houthis are an independent political and military movement not under Iran’s control.
Saudi vilification of the Houthis serves as the excuse for a massive Saudi bombing campaign. It also deflects from Saudi cooperation with the local Al Qaeda affiliate.
So the war in Yemen does not pit endangered Saudi Arabia against expansionist Iran, as portrayed in Washington. The Trump administration backs Saudi Arabia as part of its geopolitical battle for hegemony in the region. In addition Saudi Arabia has some of the world’s largest oil reserves, and the region remains an important source of US oil company profits.
The United States is now at war in six countries in the broader Middle East – by Reese Erlich
https://original.antiwar.com/reese_erlich/2018/03/28/inside-the-us-war-in-yemen/
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Where is Yemen heading after three years of war?
The Houthis' missile capabilities will continue to grow and threaten Saudi Arabia as the kingdom gets more bogged down in its Yemen war quagmire.
Following three years of unrelenting war on the Houthis in Yemen, the Saudi-led Arab coalition has not brought the militant group to heel. It has so far failed to achieve its major objective: fending off the Houthi threat to Saudi national security.
Politically, Yemen has been in deadlock since 2015, and the military option has not paid off thus far. Peace efforts have misfired repeatedly, and the coalition's military campaign appears indefinite. While the Houthis are blamed for the political deadlock due to their inflexibility, the Arab coalition shoulders the blame of the unfulfilled military victory over the Houthis.
Abaad Studies and Research Center, a Yemeni think tank, has this month published a detailed study on the military intervention of the Saudi-led coalition and the potential scenarios after three years of violence and bloodshed.
According to the study, the Arab coalition has not been prioritising a rapid end to the war in Yemen. Instead, the coalition believes that a fragmented Yemen is easier to be controlled and tamed.
State restoration scenario:
When the Saudi-led Arab coalition began its campaign in Yemen three years ago, it declared its intent to reinstate the legitimate Yemeni government.
According to the study of the think tank, the state restoration scenario will prevail if the coalition overthrows the Houthis and compels them to implement UN resolutions which stipulate the Houthis should hand over weapons and territories to the state.
"This scenario remains to be difficult, but it is safe and it supports the national security of Yemen and the Gulf," said the study.
The difficulty is the divergent agendas of the Arab coalition members - including the UAE, which favours the partition of Yemen's south from its north.
Division scenario:
This scenario pivots on splitting the country into two, the north dominated by the Houthis and the south controlled by the secessionists.
This scenario will spark long-term and dangerous consequences.
Chaos scenario:
This scenario is the most likely. It means the continuation of war and the fragmentation of the Arab coalition as well as the Houthis' alliances, leading to the emergence of new militant and political players.
"This will change the war into a long-standing chaos to exhaust the Yemeni people. Iran and its regional allies support this scenario as they believe that war against the Houthis in Yemen is the black hole for sucking the power of Saudi Arabia and UAE," the study says.
Obviously, this scenario would be the most destructive - not only for Yemen but also for Saudi Arabia
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2018/3/28/where-is-yemen-heading-after-three-years-of-war
My comment: The Saudi “major objective: fending off the Houthi threat to Saudi national security”??? That’s odd. Without starting the air raids Saudi Arabia would not have any threat at the border. And, do not forget, the only pretense and justification for the war when it started was to reinstall a “legitimate” government in Yemen.
and the study is here:
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Do the Gulf states want to win over Iran or have ambitions in Yemen?
Building militias out of the state control:
The United Arab Emirates has built "paramilitary" formations, mostly from the "Salafis" (30,000) since the beginning of 2016 and it continues to train and equip them. (22) This force is called the "security belt" in Aden, Lahj, Abyan, Hadramout, Shabwa, Mahara and Socotra.
These paramilitary formations operate outside the Yemeni General Staff and are the main source of undermining the powers of the legitimate government. (23) They are also highly trained and equipped with very modern weapons. Its members were selected from tribes that have close relations with the UAE. In addition, that force is regional, not only in the south, but even deeper. For example, the Shabwani elite force was formed from members of specific tribes from the same Shabwa governorate, and that would make other tribes alienate and dissuade that military force and create tribal differences. This move by UAE will also establish for separate states, not on the basis of one national army for the country as a whole. (24)
The UAE believes that these militias can take control of the southern provinces, and it started to use them for reprisal actions such as the burning of headquarters of political parties and newspapers, the pursuit of activists, kidnapping and assassinations against resistance leaders and parties who refuse to subject to authorities that they believe are "illegitimate."
Security failure:
The government faces difficulties in imposing its authority in the liberated governorates of Aden, Hadramout, Mahrah, Lahj, Shabwa and Abyan, as well as Al-Dalea governorate, except the districts of Demt, Juban, Husha and parts of Murais that are still under the control of Houthis.
The variety of loyalties of the security and military forces, most of which are loyal to the UAE, the Yemeni government lost the power to impose its influence. Thus security breaches increased and the phenomenon of political assassinations has expanded in a frightening manner since the UAE and its “security belts” took the responsibility for security in those provinces.
Administrative failure:
The legitimate Yemeni government has failed to manage liberated governorates. Since the dismissal of Khaled Bahah, the pro-Emir of UAE, in April 2016, from his positions as Vice President and Prime Minister, and the appointment of Ali Mohsen Saleh Al-Ahmar as Vice President and Ahmed Obaid Bin Dagher as Prime Minister, the government faced many administrative problems amid an increasing dispute between Abu Dhabi and President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
http://abaadstudies.org/en/blog/do-gulf-states-want-win-over-iran-or-have-ambitions-yemen
My comment: Interesting in many aspects, but you have to take into account bulks of propaganda bullshit here. – Starting with the headline, which simply is nonsense. Who ever would “want to win over Iran” is wrong in Yemen. Iran lies north.
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Mohammad bin Salman US visit: Leaked itinerary shows Saudi crown prince to meet Oprah, politicians and media bosses
America’s great and good from the worlds of politics, business, oil, entertainment and tech are queueing up to meet the immensely powerful 32-year-old Mohammad bin Salman, or MBS as he is known, according to a 36-page document seen by The Independent.
But the prince’s trip appears to be aimed at forging a relationship with the American public too, as an upcoming meeting with media mogul Oprah Winfrey in Los Angeles suggests.
Nader Hashemi: “When you meet with Oprah, even if you’re not going to be interviewed, you’re seeking the approval of an opinion maker. You’re going into people’s homes and reaching deep into American culture.”
His itinerary is packed with America’s best, brightest and most influential.
On Tuesday alone in New York City, the prince is believed to have met with former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, ex-president Bill and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, New York state senator Chuck Schumer, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres and businessman and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Other notable media meetings include dinner with The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, Rupert Murdoch, the head of The Atlantic’s editorial board Jeffrey Goldberg, meetings with the editorial boards of The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle, as well as interviews with Time and Vanity Fair.
Current government officials on MBS’s schedule include CIA director (and nominee for new US secretary of state) Mike Pompeo, vice president Mike Pence, senior advisor and unofficial Middle East envoy Jared Kushner, national security adviser HR McMaster and defence secretary James Mattis.
He is also meeting past luminaries such as Barack Obama, John Kerry, Gen David Petraeus and Condoleezza Rice, as well as paying a visit to George W Bush’s Texas ranch.
Other notable meets outside of politics include Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Tim Cook of Apple and the CEOs of Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, Uber, the Walt Disney Company and Lockheed Martin.
Comment: How many propaga nda we are to expect for the next time? Read also:
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Media Boosts Obvious Saudi Front Group as Neutral ‘Think Tank’
The Arabia Foundation appeared in spring 2016, seemingly out of nowhere, as a Saudi-focused think tank with “ties to Riyadh,” but vaguely independent of the regime. Or at least independent enough so that media wouldn’t represent it as an extension of the kingdom. But the past few weeks have clearly shown it to be little more than a PR outlet for de facto Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman and his sprawling, opaque business interests.
After multiple requests by FAIR for its donors, the Arabia Foundation refused to give any, other than its founder, Saudi investment banker Ali Shihabi. It insists it doesn’t take money from “the Saudi government,” but instead is backed by unnamed private Saudi citizens.
The distinction between private citizens and the “government” in the hereditary monarchy of Saudi Arabia is notoriously blurry, but one connection is worth noting: T
The New York Times (11/30/18) has described the group as “close to the Saudi government,” while the Washington Post’s Ishaan Tharoor (11/6/17) noted it had “close ties to the kingdom.” That doesn’t stop the Post opinion section from running multiple op-eds from Arabia Foundation figures.
https://fair.org/home/media-boosts-obvious-saudi-front-group-as-neutral-think-tank = https://lobelog.com/media-boosts-obvious-saudi-front-group-as-neutral-think-tank/
Comment: The same U.S. networks that decry Russian propaganda influence on Americans give free reign to Saudi PR machine as a neutral ‘Think Tank’ and promote war-mongering prince as benevolent reformer.
https://twitter.com/dantherriault/status/979050690504003584
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MBS feted in the US despite war atrocities in Yemen
The US tour of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a triumph of multi-million-dollar post-truth public relations
The current US tour of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, is a triumph of multi-million-dollar post-truth public relations.
The fact that MBS also happens to be destroying Yemen is just a minor glitch. Smooth PR is always able to secure the maxim that not all dictators, Arab or otherwise, are equal; after all “our” bastards can get away with everything.
Until they can’t – as in Saddam Hussein or Hosni Mubarak.
MBS’s PR orb sucks up everything, from a softball 60 Minutes interview to schmoozing with a galaxy of high-profile figures such as Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence, Henry Kissinger, Hillary Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, Rupert Murdoch, close pal Jared Kushner, James Mattis, Barack Obama, John Kerry, David Petraeus, Condoleezza Rice, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Tim Cook, and the CEOs of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Amazon, Uber and the Walt Disney Company.
MBS might as well be enshrined as the geopolitical Bono – and he doesn’t even need to sing “One Love.”
MBS was welcomed by both Harvard and MIT. He was lauded for his unprecedented – at least in Arabia – wisdom to build the world’s biggest solar power plant, a project expected to create up to 100,000 jobs and save billions of dollars.
He was reverentially allowed a free pass on virtually any subject – from refusing to admit the global march of Wahhabism as a key source of terrorism to his alleged promotion of “religious tolerance.” Of course, Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei, is, by comparison, in the Crown Prince’s own words, “a Hitler.”
He said the House of Saud had “lost track” of what happened – as if the jihad in Afghanistan and the Kalashnikov culture that enveloped Pakistan were paranormal phenomena. Now, “we have to get it all back.”
Nonsense. The House of Saud’s only policy towards Salafi jihadism – all forms of which are a direct offspring of the Wahhabi matrix – has always been that it’s better to have clusters of jihadis roaming abroad than having to fight them inside Saudi borders.
MBS also said that jihadist funding now comes largely from Saudi-based “foundations” rather than Riyadh. As if the self-elevated Crown Prince – who reached his position via a decree laboriously extorted from his mentally ill father – could not get rid of these “foundations” in a flash.
Moreover, Wahhabi Saudi Arabia remains a model of religious intolerance –
Killing Yemen
And then there’s MBS as the Butcher of Yemen.
The fact that MBS is the current darling of the West speaks volumes about the West’s “moral values”, not to mention the wonders of purely cosmetic “reforms” sold by a torrent of spin – by Pepe Escobar
http://www.atimes.com/article/mbs-us-war-yemen/
(** B P)
Saudi Arabia's superficial reforms won't mask ugliness of Wahhabism
As Saudi Arabia's crown prince tours the United States on what has been dubbed a "charm offensive," the US media has gone into propaganda overdrive, whitewashing Mohammad Bin Salman as a "reformer" who is modernizing the kingdom.
As he meets with a roster of high-level politicians and A-list celebrities like Oprah, front and center of his celebrated reforms has been his decision to allow women to drive, and opening movie theaters in Saudi Arabia, which were banned until now.
This positive press is no coincidence. Saudi Arabia has spent millionson a vast lobbying apparatus that includes a network of think tanks and public relations firms to push for a war on Iran, while combating negative press related to Riyadh's autocratic government and its US-backed war on Yemen, which has led to famine and a cholera outbreak of epic proportions that kills a Yemeni child every 10 minutes.
Most of the spin has focused on presenting bin Salman as heroic reformer, particularly when it comes to women's rights.
Putting lipstick on Wahhabism
Yes, soon women in Saudi Arabia will have the right to drive – something they were banned from doing under the strict religious edicts of Wahhabism. While it's certainly a good thing that Saudi Arabia has chosen to enter the 21st century (sort of), the repeal of the driving ban is largely superficial as it does nothing to address Saudi Arabia's discriminatory male guardianship system, which treats women as children. Under this system, women must seek permission from a male relative to travel, apply for a passport, study abroad, get married, and so on.
Even if Saudi Arabia were to give equal rights to women tomorrow, it wouldn't change the destructive impact the Saudis have had in the Middle East, the most important being the intentional spreading of Wahhabism – a toxic and hateful religion practiced in Saudi Arabia.
Wahhabism is a puritanical and ultra-conservative form of Sunni Islam that emerged in the 1700s and has been a major source of inspiration for Salafi jihadist groups like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, or ISIS.
It is difficult to explain why ISIS uses Saudi textbooks to indoctrinate children, why 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi, and why Saudi nationals make up the largest number of foreigners in ISIS, without an understanding of Wahhabi theology.
Spreading hate
The Middle East wasn't always plagued by regressive fundamentalism. Salafi jihadist groups like Al-Qaeda were not popular in the region and they still aren't. They have been violently imposed on people thanks in large part to the actions of Saudi Arabia in partnership with the US, which has a longstanding pattern of backing religious fundamentalists to further its geopolitical ambitions.
As far back as the 1950s, the CIA teamed up with the Muslim Brotherhood, which was then backed by Saudi Arabia, to weaken secular Arab nationalism and communism.
With US backing, Saudi Arabia has spent tens of billions of dollars spreading Wahhabism throughout Sunni Muslim communities around the world. By building Wahhabi-influenced mosques, schools and Islamic centers, Saudi Arabia seeks to remake Sunni Islam in its image. Areas of the world where this tactic has paid off – Kosovo, Albania, and South Asia – have provided fertile recruiting pools for Salafi jihadist fighters.
The most significant chapter in the US-Islamist love affair came in the 1980s, when the US armed the Mujahedeen to bleed the Soviet Union in Afghanistan – by Rania Khalek
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/422784-saudi-arabia-salman-us/
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Saudi Crown Prince: America Asked Us to Spread Ideology of ISIS
Allies asked Saudi Arabia to use its resources — specifically, investments in mosques and madrassas overseas —to prevent countries from forming alliances with the former Soviet Union?
Of course, it was already known that Saudi Arabia was doing just that for decades, but this is the first time the blame has been openly shifted to Western allies in an interview with a major newspaper.
As the Week explained in 2015, Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars “investing heavily in building mosques, madrasas, schools, and Sunni cultural centers across the Muslim world. Indian intelligence says that in India alone, from 2011 to 2013, some 25,000 Saudi clerics arrived bearing more than $250 million to build mosques and universities and hold seminars.”
The effects of this policy have been far-reaching.
While this is the first time a prominent figurehead like MBS has admitted not only that Saudi Arabia spreads its Wahhabist strain of Islam across the world but also that it was done at the request of its western allies, there is proof that MBS’ claim is a well-kept secret of former and current American administrations.
As former U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad wrote in September 2016, a Saudi official quietly admitted this little-known fact almost two years ago
http://theantimedia.com/saudi-crown-prince-america-isis-ideology/
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
(* A H)
Outbreak update – cholera in Yemen, 30 March 2018
The Ministry of Public Health and Population of Yemen has recorded 2082 suspected cases of cholera, and zero deaths in the country during week 12 (19 – 25 March) in 2018. The cumulative total of suspected cholera cases stands at 1 084 191 including 2267 associated deaths (case-fatality rate 0.21%) since April 2017.
The trend of new cases has been on the decline since early September 2017
(* A H)
Yemen: Cholera Response Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin: W12 2018 (Mar 19 - Mar 25)
The cumulative total from 27 April 2017 to 25 Mar 2018 is 1,084,191 suspected cholera cases and 2,267 associated deaths, (CFR 0.21%), 1113 have been confirmed by culture.
The total proportion of severe cases among the suspected cases is 15.4%
The national attack rate is 388.1 per 10,000. The five governorates with the highest cumulative attack rates per 10,000 remain Amran (902), Al Mahwit (877), Al Dhale’e (639), Sana’a (527) and Dhamar (523).
Children under 5 years old represent 28.8% of total suspected cases.
cp2 Allgemein / General
(A K P)
Interactive map of Yemen
(* B H K)
Video: Fighting for survival in war-torn Yemen
Since 2015, Yemen has been locked in a civil war in which Saudi Arabia – a supporter of Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi-- has led a Sunni coalition against Houthi rebels. Almost 10,000 civilians have died while those on the sidelines of the war face regular terror attacks, cholera contamination and the threat of famine. Our reporters travelled to Yemen to meet a population fighting for its survival.
Comment: France2 entered #Yemen in #Aden embed with the 'internationally recognised government'.
Sudanese mercenaries, new recruits with no shoes, poverty, propaganda, foreign flags, famine, internally displaced: haunting.
Yemenis deserved better
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1695317830521240
(* B K P)
Saudis Using Petrodollars to Mute UN Criticism of Conduct in Yemen: Int’l Lawyer
A senior Canadian human rights attorney described the situation of the Yemeni people as the “worst man-made humanitarian disaster on the planet” and said the Saudi regime is using its petrodollars to mute the United Nations’ criticism of its conduct in the war in Yemen.
“Saudi Arabia also has used its financial influence to prevent serious criticism of its conduct in the War in Yemen (and its’ role in the Syrian crisis) and used that clout to blackmail the United Nations to mute its criticism of the Saudis,” Edward Corrigan from Ontario said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency.
“The current situation is a military stalemate. Neither side can defeat the other. A bombing campaign is not going to work in a mountainous country like Yemen. Innocent civilians, largely women and children, bear the brunt of the suffering,” the human rights lawyer added.
Following is the full text of the interview:
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Saudi and Iran unlikely to directly clash as Yemen crisis escalates
Analysts said that in the short term, the Saudi leadership is unlikely to respond aggressively amid increased international scrutiny of the three-year-old Yemen conflict, which has given rise to the world's most urgent humanitarian crisis.
"Prince Mohammed would like to be viewed as a more restrained and composed leader" while touring his closest Western ally, the United States, according to Ehsan Khoman, Head of Research and Strategist for MENA at MUFG.
"(He) may leverage the recent Houthi missile attacks to strengthen his narrative that Iran's encroachment is undermining regional stability and that a more concerted international effort is needed to contain Iran."
Yemen's war fits into a broader decades-long struggle for supremacy between Middle East powerhouses Iran and Saudi Arabia, which fund and train proxy forces in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and accuse each other of backing terrorism.
Military escalation in response to the latest rocket salvo could mean more coalition air strikes
Diplomats and analysts say that the coalition has few other options short of direct action against an Iranian target, something that remains unlikely unless a Houthi rocket takes out a valuable Saudi asset.
Consultancy Eurasia Group said that a successful Houthi strike on a prized Saudi target would probably prompt a firm military response from Riyadh to try to deter Iran.
Analysts said that while a direct Saudi-Iranian showdown is unlikely, miscalculation remains a risk.
(* A P)
The White House: Statement by The Press Secretary on The Efforts by Yemen’s Houthis to Destabilize The Arabian Peninsula
Yemen’s Houthis have responded to efforts by the United Nations to reinvigorate a political process in Yemen by threatening to conduct more reckless missile attacks, like those they conducted on Sunday. These actions call into question the Houthis’ commitment to a peace process. These attacks again demonstrate that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is continuing to disrupt a nascent political process, escalate hostilities, and destabilize the region by proliferating weapons to the Houthis and others. The United States will remain steadfast in helping our partners defend themselves, providing desperately needed humanitarian assistance, and supporting an inclusive United Nations process to help resolve the conflict and bring peace and security to the region.
My comment: There is no difference to Saudi propaganda any more. And: it’ remarkable that there never has been a similar statement about any Saudi coalition air raid.
(* B K P)
New Satellite Imagery Shows Shocking Yemen Devastation As Saudi Crown Prince Tours US
However, yet more hard empirical proof has emerged demonstrating that MBS and his allies in the West are decimating entire cities and civilian infrastructure in already deeply impoverished Yemen in their fight against Houthi rebels.
France 24 recently produced a graphic, based on satellite imagery captured through the opening two years of the war, showing just how devastating the Saudi coalition aerial campaign has been in Yemen's capital city of Sanaa - which had a population approaching 2 million people before the war, and is the country's largest city.
According to France 24:
Satellite radar data from the European Space Agency shows the extent of Sanaa's destruction. The capital of Yemen, part of which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in the grip of the war that has ravaged the country for three years.
The France 24 report continues:
SAR satellite data from the European Space Agency (ESA), compiled and analyzed by Masae Analytics, a privately held company specializing in data collection and analysis, measures the extent of destruction in the capital between February-March 2015 and May 2017...
"The extent of the destruction in Sanaa is quite considerable, since the whole city is affected, said Emmanuel de Dinechin, associate director of Masae Analytics, interviewed by France 24. There are visible areas on the map that were targeted from the beginnin, and which were pounded fairly frequently during the period of analysis."
referring to:
(* B K)
Yémen : une carte révèle l'ampleur des destructions à Sanaa
Les données radar satellitaires de l'Agence spatiale européenne montrent l’ampleur des destructions de Sanaa. La capitale du Yémen, dont une partie est inscrite au patrimoine de l'Unesco, est en proie à la guerre qui ravage le pays depuis trois ans.
Des changements, qualifiés d’incohérences qui peuvent être explicables (la végétation, les points d’eau, les routes, les parkings sont par nature des sources d’incohérence), soit inexplicables. "En général, lorsque c’est inexplicable, il s’agit de bâtiments qui ont pu être endommagés par des destructions volontaires ou involontaires, notamment dans le cadre d’un conflit", poursuit Emmanuel de Dinechin. (with active map)
http://www.france24.com/fr/20180221-yemen-carte-destruction-capitale-yemenite-sanaa-sar-images-radar-satellite-ase and also as photos https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/979765183257210881
Remark: You do not need to read French.
Open the link and see the satellite radar data from the European Space Agency showing the extent of #Sanaa's destruction caused by US, UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE and partners.
Shocking evidence
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1694888770564146
(A K P)
Saudi Captive Urges Riyadh to End Yemen War
A Saudi soldier held captive by Yemen revolutionary forces has urged his government to end war on Yemen.
In a video released by Yemen’s War Media Center, the Saudi captive Fayez Bin Nasser Khalif Al-Mutairi, who holds the military code 6 and the national code 1126172350, reassured his family that he was fine.
https://www.english.almanar.com.lb/474164
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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Deconfliction Mechanism of Humanitarian Organisations Operating in Yemen: Mission Movements and Static Locations
The deconfliction mechanism informs the Saudi-Led Coalition (SLC) of humanitarian movements and static locations in Yemen. It aims at ensuring the safety and security of humanitarian premises, personnel, equipment and activities in areas of active military operations (airstrikes, shelling, conflict, etc.). The deconfliction mechanism was established in April 2015 upon the request of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) in Sana’a to ensure a safe delivery of humanitarian assistance in Yemen.
UNOCHA serves as the conduit between humanitarian organisations that wish to share their data (locations and/or movements information), and the focal point(s) assigned by the Saudi-led Coalition (SLC); Evacuation and Humanitarian Operations Committee (EHOC).
Using the deconfliction mechanism does not constitute a legally binding agreement between any of the involved parties, and does not guarantee the safety of personnel, facilities, or sites.
The process of notification is intended to help promote the safety and security of humanitarian locations, activities and personnel but is without prejudice to the responsibility for upholding IHL that lies solely with the warring parties.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/deconfliction-mechanism-humanitarian-organisations-operating-yemen-mission-movements and in full https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/deconfliction_sops_v4.3.pdf
(* B K)
The Saudi-led coalition’s claims about Sana’a Airport’s closure
The General Manager of Civil Aviation and Meteorology denied what the Saudi-led coalition’s spokesman said about using the international airport for military purposes.
According to Sabba, Yemen’s official media agency, a source in Sana’a International Airport showed beyond doubt that all what came in the coalition’s spokesman statement is totaly slur .
The source explained that the coalition’s allegationis unrealistic and couldn’t have occured specially in the time that he mentioned, which it coincides with the presence of high-level international figures as well as staff of international organizations at Sanaa International airport, it confirmed.
It’s worthly mentioned that about 17,000 patients have lost their lives due to the closure of the airport and ports in Yemen over the past three years.
http://www.yemenextra.net/2018/03/28/the-saudi-led-coalitions-claims-about-sanaa-airports-closure/
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Why did the Houthis attack Riyadh?
Rebel group tells Al Jazeera it is open to peace talks but only if the Saudi-led coalition halts all air strikes.
A decision by Yemen's Houthi rebels to fire seven missiles into Saudi Arabia was ostensibly a response to its northern neighbour's three years of air strikes, the armed group told Al Jazeera.
Using Soviet-era technology, the Houthis managed to fire three modified scud missiles at Riyadh before they were reportedly intercepted by the kingdom's air defence system.
Muhammad al-Bukhaiti, a spokesman for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera the attack was justified and was in "response to the bombing of Yemeni cities, and the siege of the Yemeni people".
Bukhaiti called the attacks against Saudi "completely rational", considering the devastating toll air strikes were taking on Yemen's densely packed civilian neighbourhoods.
Hussain Albukhaiti, a prominent Houthi activist, echoed this view, telling Al Jazeera the attacks were justified "since there was no ceasefire agreement between the two warring parties".
"If the Saudis want peace, we have told them to stop their air strikes," he said.
"If they do that, we will stop our missiles. But if they continue, we have every right to defend ourselves."
According to several sources Al Jazeera spoke to, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam has been in direct communication with Saudi officials in Oman on a comprehensive solution to end the conflict.
However, the Houthis have demanded that the Saudis cease all bombing, open Sanaa airport and its airspace, and pay civil servants their salaries that have been withheld for months.
Martin Reardon, a senior vice president with The Soufan Group, a strategic security and intelligence consultancy, said it was unlikely the missile attacks could derail future peace talks.
"Talks to end the fighting are ongoing but they're not going particularly well," he said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/houthis-attack-saudi-arabia-riyadh-180329111527303.html
(A K P)
Zarif: US complicity in world's biggest humanitarian disaster unfathomable
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has slammed the US for its unbridled support for Saudi Arabia in its war of aggression against Yemen, saying Washington is complicit in the world's biggest humanitarian disaster.
In a post on his official Twitter account on Thursday, Zarif said the role that the United States has so far played in fanning the flames of the Yemen war, including through supplying Saudi Arabia with bombs and refueling its warplanes, is apparently not enough for American rulers.
By acknowledging involvement in managing brutal Saudi airstrikes, the US is complicit in the world’s biggest humanitarian disaster, he added.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/03/29/556834/Iran-Saudi-Yemen-James-Mattis
(* B K P)
Other countries have pulled back from the war in Yemen; why hasn’t Britain?
Describing a conflict as a “proxy war” is often a form of shorthand that glosses over multiple, often more compelling, local reasons why wars erupt and continue. In this case, the war is ongoing thanks to foreign involvement, as in Syria and eastern Ukraine.
Regardless of whether Tehran’s security services are closely involved in the fight, though, or its commandos are smuggling in weapons, there is no doubt that Iran would be pleased if the Houthis win. There is equally no doubt that Britain and the US would be happier if they don’t.
Houthi advocates argue that the movement’s leaders are not seeking to install a clerical system of government, as in Iran. This is what Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are warning might happen if the Houthis control Sana’a.
In an interview with the Yemen Times, Houthi activist Hussein Al-Bukhaiti said in October 2014 that the demographics of Shia and Sunni within Yemen make such religious rule impossible. He is right; around two-thirds of all Yemenis are Sunni Muslims.
Saudi Arabia’s arms build-up pre-dates the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.
Saudi Arabia now spends nearly as much as Russia on defence. Most of the hardware is coming from the United States and Britain.
The fundamental moral paradox remains; why keep these people alive if you are also the government arming the people trying to kill them? It’s a grim prospect that Britain must reckon with — as other countries have done already — and come up with a logical and morally correct answer – by Alastair Sloan
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180329-other-countries-have-pulled-back-from-the-war-in-yemeni-why-hasnt-britain/ = https://www.juancole.com/2018/03/herring-ruinous-yemen.html
(* B K)
Human Rights Watch: Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Saudi Arabia
Yemen Airstrikes and Blockade
Recommendations
Abide by the laws of war, including the prohibitions on attacks that target civilians and civilian objects, that do not discriminate between civilians and military objectives, and that cause civilian loss disproportionate to the expected military benefit.
Take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilian objects, including making advance effective warnings of attacks when possible.
Conduct transparent and impartial investigations into credible allegations of laws-of-war violations. Make public information on the intended military targets of airstrikes that resulted in civilian casualties and make public all military actors involved in such strikes.
Provide prompt and appropriate compensation to civilians and their families for deaths, injuries, and property damage resulting from wrongful strikes. Consider providing “condolence” payments to civilians suffering harm from airstrikes without regard to wrongdoing.
Immediately halt blocking aid and commercial goods from reaching civilians in Yemen, including to Houthi-controlled territories.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/03/29/submission-universal-periodic-review-saudi-arabia
My comment: Ok, but that simply is half-way. What about stopping the war??? – HRW should have questioned the war itself, which by no means is legitimate at all.
(A K P)
Houthis turn up the heat on Saudi coalition
The decision by the Houthis to fire volleys of missiles towards targets in Saudi Arabia is further proof that an end to Yemen's conflict is nowhere in sight. Far from being cowed by three years of intense aerial bombardment by Saudi Arabia and its allies, the Houthis are hoping to pressure the coalition into calling off its campaign.
There's no chance that the Saudis will respond in the way the Houthis want. Ending the bombing would be tantamount to handing victory to the Houthis—and by extension to Iran, which is accused by the kingdom of providing missiles and other weapons to the rebels in Yemen.
My comment: That’s odd logic – to continue killing and destroying because stopping it “would be tantamount to handing victory” to the enemy.
(A K P)
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect: Three years of atrocities and humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen
Security Council members should support the work of the newly appointed Special Envoy on Yemen, Martin Griffiths, through the adoption of a resolution calling upon all parties to urgently reengage with formal political negotiations, without preconditions. Any Security Council resolution must also reaffirm that those responsible for potential mass atrocity crimes in Yemen must be brought to justice.
In addition to supporting existing sanctions directed at members of the Houthi forces, all UN member states should immediately halt the sale of weapons to parties to the conflict who violate IHL, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/atrocity-alert-no-98-28-march-2018-yemen-south-sudan-and-iraq
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Riyadh and talking peace with Yemen
In fact, the attack on the Saudi capital could not have come at a better time for the Kingdom. For it plays into Washington and Riyadh’s hardline rhetoric of aggressive Iranian regional ambitions. And with President Trump appointing two hawks to his administration — the likelihood of Washington tearing up the Iran nuclear pact is all but a slam dunk.
That being said, such posturing can only go on so long. For Yemen is, after all, MBS’ war.
The Houthis have said, in the aftermath of Sunday night’s attack, that the halting of airstrikes is a precondition to peace; given that GCC bombs have hit civilians and hospitals and decimated infrastructure. Presently, Yemen is home to the world’s worst cholera epidemic in 50 years. Thus the Americans should nudge Riyadh towards this end.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/220979/riyadh-and-talking-peace-with-yemen/
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Yemen Situation Report
The prospects for a political settlement to Yemen’s civil war remain dim on the three-year anniversary of the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen. The al Houthi movement’s advancing asymmetrical weapons capabilities, facilitated by Iran, have lessened the impact of the Saudi-led coalition’s gains on the ground. The al Houthis remain unlikely to accept the preconditions for negotiations demanded by the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
Iranian-sourced weapons and technology provide the al Houthi movement with the capability to threaten Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh, and to challenge Saudi-led coalition ground forces in Yemen.
The new UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths faces an uphill battle to bring belligerent parties to the negotiating table.The internationally recognized Yemeni government’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Malik al Mikhlafi accused the al Houthis of blocking peace efforts after their March 25 missile attack on Saudi Arabia. Al Houthi leader Abdul Malik al Houthi’s tone remained combative in a March 23 interview, saying he sees no indication of a “serious approach” toward arriving at a political solution and dismissed the terms of UNSCR 2216as a “totally irrational demand.”
A series of resignations from Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s cabinet cited the Saudi-led coalition’s perceived control over the Yemeni government as cause.
Counterterrorism operations sustain pressure on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
My comment: Iran, Iran, Iran. Look at cp1.
(* B K P)
A peek inside Houthi Rebel’s recent missile strikes in Saudi Arabia
Pro-Houthi media outlets like Yemen News Agency (SABA) reported that at least three types of projectiles were fired into Saudi Arabia. They included the Burkan-2H, the Qaher-2M, and the Badr-1. Both the Burkan and the Qaher have been used multiple times in the Yemeni theater, while the Badr was only unveiled last week. While there is no exact tally of each type of missile launched, video footage does exist.
According to SABA, as well as the Arabic-language captions in a video of the purported launches, each projectile had a different target. The pro-Houthi outlet noted that the longest-range missile in the Houthi arsenal, the Burkan-2H, was fired at King Khalid airport in Riyadh, while the Qaher-2M was used against Abha airport in ‘Asir province, and the Badr was fired at neighboring Jizan.
Burkan-2H
The Burkan-2H is the Houthi name given to the Qiam-1, an Iranian surface-to-surface missile (SSM) that was illicitly transferred to the rebels.
Qaher-2M
Conversely, the Qaher-2M is not originally an SSM. It is based off a surface-to-air missile (SAM) that has been reconfigured as an SSM. Specifically, the Qaher modifies the Soviet SA-2 (S-75) SAM system, which contains a two-stage missile.
Badr-1
Lastly, there is the newly developed Badr-1. Late last week, the Badr was allegedly fired at a Saudi ARAMCO facility in Najran. To date, there are no range or payload specifications publicly available in Arabic or Persian on the Badr – by Behnam Ben Taleblu, Research Fellow focusing on Iran at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
My comment: The Iran story again. It’s worth to read the Wikipedia article on this Foundation for Defense of Democracies, one more of these ominous “Think Tanks”.
(* B P)
Has the Yemeni state ceased to exist?
Had the Yemeni state really ceased to exist, why then are both factions inflicting violence on one another and on innocent Yemenis in the very name of protecting the state? Does that not seem to indicate that the spirit of a dead state has been incarnated in its perpetual signification of the public enemy and wreaking of violence on Yemenis?
Yemen as a state, with effective legal and constitutional norms, may well have ceased to exist. But its specter continues to haunt the lives and bodies of innocent Yemenis and subjects them to death, loss, pain, and suffering. The so-called international community is complicit in perpetuating this suffering on the Yemenis, and complicit otherwise in this state of affairs in Yemen.
Yemenis have been denied even the right to recognize the brutality brought upon them on a daily basis. It is not the state that has ceased to exist. What has really ceased to exist, and perhaps even left behind no trace that would remind humanity that it once existed, is the ethical responsibility of the so-called international community, international law and the international institutions whose responsibility it is to prevent suffering and death. With such a state of indifference to their suffering and pain, Yemenis have been given the brutal gift of a spectral state that thrives and survives through violence, while they have been dispossessed from the hope that a peaceful existence will one day arrive – by Kamilia Al-Eriani
(* B H K)
Film: Yémen, le chaos et le silence
Plus de 10 000 morts, quelque 53 000 blessés, au moins 2 millions de déplacés, une famine qui gagne du terrain, des épidémies de choléra et de diphtérie... Après trois années de guerre, le Yémen connaît la plus grave crise humanitaire survenue depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Ce documentaire propose une traversée inédite de ce pays dévasté.
Plus de 10 000 morts, plus de 2 millions de déplacés, une famine qui gagne du terrain, des épidémies de choléra et de diphtérie qui se répandent… : après trois années de guerre au Yémen, les Nations unies estiment que ce pays situé à la pointe de la péninsule arabique connaît aujourd’hui la plus grave crise humanitaire survenue depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Pourtant, on ne sait quasiment rien de ce conflit qui, muselé par ses protagonistes, se joue à huis clos.
Désagrégation
François-Xavier Trégan accomplit un voyage inédit et terrifiant dans un pays exsangue, dévasté par les bombardements et les combats, en proie à une crise sanitaire et alimentaire dramatique. En fil rouge de cette traversée, le film suit Peter Maurer, le président du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge, une des rares personnalités à avoir pu sillonner le pays afin d'alerter la communauté internationale. D'Aden, dans le sud, à Sanaa, dans le nord, en passant par Taez, la ligne de front, ce road-movie émaillé de rencontres traverse un territoire rongé par les divisions politiques et religieuses, et dévasté par le conflit. Des témoignages cruciaux pour mieux comprendre ce pays au destin tragique, jouet fragile d'un affrontement dont la population civile paie de plus en plus lourdement le tribut.
https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/069931-000-A/yemen-le-chaos-et-le-silence/ and German version: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/069931-000-A/jemen-die-welt-schaut-weg/
(* B K P)
The war in Yemen: A modern-day Vietnam for the Saudi-led coalition
Three years after the start of Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen, the Saudi dream of reviving the greatness of the kingdom has turned into a nightmare.
The intervention did not go according to plan, however. Indeed, though certain Saudi authorities claimed the whole thing would be over in a matter of weeks, the track record today - three years later – tells a very different story.
In the first place, militarily, because the Houthi militia – dragged through the mud because of its ties with Iran – has not been defeated. And even worse, the armed movement regularly takes the liberty of aiming ballistic missiles at the Saudi kingdom, casting terror in the very heart of the Saudi capital.
The humiliation of Riyadh was again made clear during the night of 25 March, when a number of Houthi missiles caused widespread panic in parts of the kingdom.
For Riyadh it is a terrible loss of face - not only are the Houthis anything but broken, the kingdom is now incapable of even ensuring its own safety. Though hundreds of billions of dollars have been injected into ultra-sophisticated military technology, more than a few Saudi citizens must be questioning the credibility of a power which declared victory from the start but that seems incapable of stamping out the rebellion- despite the total blockade imposed on Yemen, which is increasingly making a laughing stock of the oil monarchy in the eyes of the world.
In terms of human cost and the kingdom's image, the reputation of al-Saud dynasty has also taken a heavy toll.
But the worst may well lie ahead, since Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who in all likelihood will be the short-term sovereign of the world's leading oil power, doesn't seem to realise that the route of military might is a dead end. His war has turned into Saudi Arabia's Vietnam.
In Yemen, and elsewhere, his compulsive nature combined with the disproportionate dreams of grandeur of his mentor, Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, risk plunging the Arabian Peninsula - and the entire Middle East - into a period of instability and great uncertainty.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/war-yemen-modern-day-vietnam-saudi-led-coalition-1829110718
(* A K P)
Saudis likely to show restraint as Yemen crisis escalates
A missile attack this week on Riyadh has raised the risk of an escalation in the Yemen war in a region riven with interwoven conflicts, but a direct confrontation between arch-foes Saudi Arabia and Iran still appears unlikely.
Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, now touring the United States, must balance animosity towards Iran with the need for stability as he pitches the kingdom’s economic transformation plan to foreign investors and drums up support for containing Iran’s regional influence.
However, Iranian authorities - facing the prospect of a more hawkish U.S. administration with Donald Trump’s appointments last week of John Bolton and Mike Pompeo as national security adviser and secretary of state - might crank up pressure in the Yemen war as a form of deterrence, diplomats and analysts say.
Saudi Arabia sharpened its rhetoric against Tehran after Saudi forces shot down a flurry of missiles launched by the Iran-aligned Houthis on Saudi cities late on Sunday.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-security/saudis-likely-to-show-restraint-as-yemen-crisis-escalates-idUSKBN1H419M and film https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/03/30/saudis-likely-to-show-restraint-as-yemen?rpc=401&videoId=413309952&feedType=VideoRSS&feedName=LatestVideosUK&rpc=401&videoChannel=117759
My comment: Let us hope so. – The allegation that Iran “might crank up pressure in the Yemen war“ simply is propaganda – as Iran has nothing on the ground and little influence in Yemen.
(* A B K P)
Missile Games
As with previous launches, the missiles were Burkan missiles with a 1000km range and a separating warhead. These missiles are based on Qaim Iranian Scuds but are not the crude Scud short-range missiles of earlier years. Those missiles were effectively countered by the PAC-2 Patriot missile system that the United States used to great fanfare in the 1991 Gulf war, and which Saudi Arabia has subsequently purchased. These 1990’s era PAC-2 systems rely on fragmentation to destroy incoming missiles and struggle to intercept relatively more advanced missiles. Video showed two PAC-2 missiles malfunctioning before intercepting their targets. The newer PAC-3, which Riyadh has also purchased more recently, is designed to intercept missiles such as the Burkan.
The technical specifications matter because it is leading to an arms race between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with the war in Yemen caught in the crosshairs. The focus is now on how to counter what is a credible missile threat to Saudi cities from inside Yemen. Three years of intensive air strikes have done little to reduce the threat of mobile missile launches but not for lack of trying; air strikes have killed thousands of Yemeni civilians, leading to international condemnation but continued arms sales. Both the U.S. and U.K. support the Saudi campaign, agreeing that it is needed to counter what they view as increasing Iranian aggression and influence.
http://www.soufangroup.com/intelbrief-missile-games/
(A K P)
Nine Houthi Fighters Freed in Prisoner Swap
Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on Wednesday announced the release of nine of their fighters captured earlier by pro-government forces in a prisoner exchange.
Yemen’s Houthi-run SABA news agency reported that the nine captured fighters had been freed in a prisoner swap carried out in the eastern Maarib province.
“The exchange was conducted with armed groups in Maarib,” SABA reported,
https://www.albawaba.com/news/nine-houthi-fighters-freed-prisoner-swap-1109626
cp2a Saudische Blockade / Saudi blockade
(* B H P)
Film: Saudi blockade of Yemeni ports enters fourth year
The Saudi blockade on Yemeni ports continues to take its toll on civilians in the Arab country. The three-year Saudi war has also caused a dire humanitarian situation in Yemen, leaving millions of people in dire need of food and basic supplies. Aid agencies have warned the situation could get worse unless they are given free access to Yemen.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/03/29/556778/Saudi-blockade-of-Yemeni-ports-enters-fourth-year
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
(A H)
Photos: : Hodeidah: According to local sources, a fire developed in three warehouses of the World Food Program next to the Red Sea Mills
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1695691663817190
(* B H)
Film: "We need humanitarian community 2 invest heavily in the #education sector in #Yemen. Otherwise, this is going 2 be the next crisis. A whole generation will be affected", says @UNICEF_Yemen representative @RelanoMeritxell
https://twitter.com/UNICEF_Yemen/status/979686396498718721
(B H)
Photo: “Because we are not getting salaries anymore, I work as a builder after teaching in school,” Ahmed Al-Abdali, of Hajja #Yemen.
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/979318305679925248
(* B H)
Yemen: Trapped in a Many-Layered Crisis
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) head of mission Djoen Besselink recently returned from Yemen, where he witnessed how the country’s pervasive conflict has affected nearly every aspect of Yemeni life. Here he describes the situation.
Even before the war, Yemen was one of the poorest countries in the Middle East. Now the war is everywhere, affecting every aspect of people’s lives. Cities and villages have been destroyed. Many people haven’t been paid for the last year and a half. We see a lot of malnutrition and food insecurity because it’s not just about the availability of food, it’s about the money. There are goods to buy in the markets, but people can’t afford them. It’s a disastrous situation.
You can’t speak of a normal life in Yemen. People don’t have time to recover from one crisis before the next ones hit them. It’s crisis on top of crisis. You have the armed conflict; the economic situation, where health workers haven’t been paid; you have outbreaks of cholera and diphtheria; and you have the blockade preventing vital supplies from entering the country. Everything is related and comes on top of the previous problems, but nothing is ever solved. And this has horrible consequences for the people. Yemenis are trapped in this many-layered crisis.
The impact on the population is the side of the story that is missing from most media coverage. They talk about organizations leaving the country and the conflict, but everything has an impact on Yemenis, and they don’t explain that. They don’t explain that when people are not paid, they can’t get medicines or vaccines. The blockade of Yemen’s ports has increased prices and that has caused a lack of both food and water, which affects hygiene conditions. Everything seems to be about politics. But what does it all mean for normal people?
People survive because they have no other choice. They can’t leave. They are forced to live in these conditions. People just try to get to work or to the market to get food, and not get hurt along the way.
People are selling their cars, their jewelry to get the money they need to survive . . . But you can only sell it once, right? There is an informal social safety net, where people help each other. But living a good quality life is very difficult.
The same is true for MSF’s Yemeni staff.
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/article/yemen-trapped-many-layered-crisis = https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-trapped-many-layered-crisis with film, also here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=4mM5TX-5SzE and https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/1694197490633274/
(A H)
Two Yemenis die on a Yemeni plane before landing at Cairo airport
According to media sources, the passengers on board of the Yemeni Airlines flight Aden-Cairo died after suffering a health problem before landing.
Due to the embargo (also on medicines) and lack of functioning hospitals, Yemenis are seeking medical treatment abroad with exhausting visa procedures, long waiting lists and high travelling costs.
(* B H)
Enhancing Women’s Role in Water Management in Yemen
This brief addresses the relationship between gender and natural resources in conflict-affected Yemen. It describes the impact of the war on women’s access to water resources and sanitation facilities and analyzes the role of women in decision-making and water-distribution processes. It finds that the involvement of women at all levels of water management and governance is of utmost importance if the access to water as a basic human right is to be guaranteed.
Among the most pertinent recommendations in this brief are thus the promotion and integration of gender mainstreaming into the existing water law; the development of a national strategy for sanitation in public and private institutions, with emphasis on safe and separate well-maintained facilities for girls/women and boys/men; the investment in the development of a genderresponsive recruitment policy and natural resources management policy, including gender-sensitive budgeting; the opening of water service centers for women to enhance their access to water, such as truck water, and involving women in the planning and distribution process on the local level; and ensuring women’s ownership rights of water resources.
http://carpo-bonn.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/09_carpo_brief_final.pdf
(B H)
Yemen: Emergency Dashboard, March 2018
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-emergency-dashboard-march-2018
(* B H)
World Health Organization: Yemen, Annual Report 2017
The World Health Organization (WHO) is leading the health response, ensuring access to life-saving health services. This report covers the WHO and health partners’ response to this humanitarian crisis from January to December 2017, and spans five crucial parts: the Health Cluster, the Minimum Service Package (MSP), the cholera and diphtheria outbreaks, managing the treatment of endemic and noncommunicable diseases and financial priority needs and gaps.
Part 1: WHO supports health authorities and the Health Cluster
Nearly 16.4 million people lack access to basic healthcare. To respond to this massive need, WHO, Health Cluster partners and other health sector actors are delivering health services to the people of Yemen despite the critical security situation, logistical difficulties and the collapsing health system
Part 2: The Minimum Service Package (MSP): Lifeline for a rapidly collapsing health system
Far from the spotlight, thousands of people are dying as infectious and noncommunicable diseases continue to spread. More women are dying in childbirth. Those injured cannot receive appropriate surgical care due to lack of skilled surgeons in district hospitals. People with chronic diseases cannot access the treatment they need to stay alive. The Minimum Service Package (MSP), ensures access to basic health services, and covers priority services across the 8 health care components
Part 3: Outbreak alert and response: Cholera and Diphtheria and other communicable diseases
WHO and partners’ scaled up the overall operational response to infectious disease outbreaks. This section illustrates the immediate upsurge in outbreak response activities. At the peak of the cholera outbreak, there were 229 Diarrhoea Treatment Centres (DTCs) with in-patient capacities, and 1 095 Oral Rehydration Corners (ORCs) for early detection, treatment and referral of severe cholera cases.
Part 4: Managing the treatment of endemic and noncommunicable diseases
There are 30 000 new expected cancer patients per year out of which 10 000 patients received some form of cancer treatment in 2017.
Part 5: Financial overview, priority needs and gaps
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/world-health-organization-yemen-annual-report-2017 and in full https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/FINAL%20WHO%20ANNUAL%20REPORT%2C%2027%20March%202018...pdf
(B H)
Yemen Concept of Operations, March 2018
The scale of the needs and the scope of the emergency response have required a large, multi-agency and multisector response to be undertaken. However, the humanitarian community continues to face a number of critical logistics challenges; therefore, additional logistical support has been required to ensure humanitarian organisations responding to the crisis can deliver efficient and effective assistance to affected people.
In 2018, the Logistics Cluster will continue to ensure coordination and information management services in Sana’a, Aden, Hodeidah and Djibouti to maximize the use of available resources in country, and avoid duplication of efforts.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-concept-operations-march-2018 and map https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-concept-operations-map-march-2018
(* B H)
Map: Yemen: Humanitarian Access Severity Overview (February 2018)
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-access-severity-overview-february-2018
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
Siehe / Look at cpa
(B H)
Map: Yemen: Contingency In-Country Stocks and Pipelines (as of February 2018)
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-contingency-country-stocks-and-pipelines-february-2018
Map: Yemen: Contingency In-Country Stocks and Pipelines (as of March 2018)
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-contingency-country-stocks-and-pipelines-march-2018
(* B H)
Yemen: Humanitarian Fund helps displaced families survive the harsh winter
As the brutal conflict in Yemen enters its fourth year, more than 3 million people (10 per cent of the total population) have experienced the shock of displacement. Two million people remain internally displaced across the country.
Thousands of Yemeni families have been forced to flee their homes and leave everything behind. Many are in desperate need of shelter, food, water, sanitation and access to health services. They are also more likely to be exposed to protection risks, including human rights abuses and gender-based violence.
But this situation can become life-threatening for people who are ill but cannot afford to buy basic medicines and supplies. In a context such as Yemen, where the impact of prolonged conflict has taken an enormous toll on millions of people, tools such as the OCHA-managed humanitarian funds can kick-start life-saving activities, filling the most compelling gaps through funding that is channeled to national and international partners.
An estimated 80 per cent of Yemenis are in debt, and more than half of all households have had to buy food on credit.
http://www.unocha.org/story/yemen-humanitarian-fund-helps-displaced-families-survive-harsh-winter
(* B H)
Mixed Migration in the Horn of Africa and in the Arab Peninsula: IOM Regional Office for the East and Horn of Africa (June - December 2017)
- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is active in a number of Migrants’ Assistance projects and Human Mobility data collection activities in the Horn of Africa and in the Arab Peninsula and this report aims at providing an overview of the trends observed in the second half of 2017 on the Western route across Yemen, Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia.
- Yemen: Over 22.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 11.3 million are in acute need of assistance in Yemen. During 2017, migrant arrivals in Yemen reached 99,516 (IOM and UNHCR data), of which 11% were children (9% boys and 2% girls), and 89% were adults (77% males and 13% females). Of the 1,118 vulnerabilities identified, 93% were cases of unaccompanied children. The intended destination of migrants was the KSA for 99.9% of the migrants tracked at flow monitoring points. Most migrants in Yemen reportedly used either land vehicles (41%) or boat (33.5%). According the data collected at MRPs, 96% of contacts were Ethiopians and their intention was to remain in Yemen (42%), move onwards to KSA (31%) or return to Ethiopia (23%). 26% of the contacts were children and 74% were adults. 99% of contacts assisted at MRPs had no documents. Between June and December 2017, 1,483 third country national were evacuated by IOM from Yemen to Somalia and Ethiopia (via Djibouti). Men and boys represented 56% of the population while women and girls 44%. Through a flow monitoring point in Manfed Al Wadeaa at the border with the KSA, IOM recorded a total of 9,563 irregular migrants who were returned, all Yemeni nationals.
- Djibouti: Of the 21,248 migrants tracked through flow monitoring, 14% were children (9.7% the total population were unaccompanied children). Over 97% of the migrants tracked were Ethiopian, or travelling from Ethiopia, and 30% expressed the intention of going to KSA, while 66% expressed their intentions of travelling to Yemen.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/mixed-migration-horn-africa-and-arab-peninsula-iom-regional-office-east-and-horn-africa and full report https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Regional%20Report%20for%20the%20period%20June-December%202017%283%29.pdf
(B H)
Infographic: East, Horn of Africa and Yemen - Displacement of Somalis: Refugees, asylum-seekers and IDPs, showing host countries with more than 1,000 Somalis | as of 31 January 2018
[255,894 Somalis in Yemen]
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
(* A K)
Yemen: Houthi Tank Rams 12 Citizens in Baidaa
Houthi insurgents have committed a new crime in Yemen’s Baydaa province where a BMP tank ran over a vehicle carrying 12 people, killing seven passengers.
"The vehicle of Saif Mohammed Ali al-Arabji was run over on Thursday by the Houthi militias’ BMP tank at Ahram point in Radaa,” the media center of resistance in Baydaa said in a brief statement.
The center also reported the injury of "five other citizens who remain in critical condition."
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1222776/yemen-houthi-tank-rams-12-citizens-baidaa
(A K P)
Photos: Graduation of new security forces in the middle of Yemeni capital. Not in a secret place like most of the previous graduations and maneuvers. (Sanaa, March 29, 2018, graduation new batches of Central Security)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/979376096075505670
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/979391460876472323
(A H P)
Informed local sources said the #Houthis are holding 15 trucks full of relief goods at the Ibb customs, which was recently established by the militia on the Maitam route, forcing them to pay illegal customs though they are aid for the displaced, the poor and the needy
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/979144620209778688
Remark: As claimed by anti-Houthi Twitter user.
(A P)
The #Houthis are Instilling the culture of #war, #aggression & #hate in schools. These are the activities of #school #children in #Houthi controled areas. Students build scaled models of graveyards & battlefields in addition to beaded cloth with Houthi slogan. (photos)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/979051474083774464
(A P)
Film: Female #students of Halima #School in the capital of #Sanaa have reject the #Houthi slogans and chanted with one voice: "With the Soul & Blood, we all sacrifice for #Yemen" during an event organized by the school administration loyal to the Houthi group
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/979041734972923904
Remark: As claimed here.
(A P)
During their rally Yesterday, the #Houthis closed al-Thawra public hospital in the capital #Sanaa as they forced the medical staff not to receive any patients unless Houthi-permitted otherwise.
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/978925740421992448
Remark: As claimed by an anti-Houthi Twitter user.
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
(A T)
2mosque leaders were assassinated after Friday sermons in Taiz city central Yemen
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/979761284236365825
My comment: Both killed? One is shown in a hospital bed under medical care.
(A T)
Imam assassinations in #Yemen: Reports of attempted assassination today of Imam & preacher of al-'Isa'i mosque in Ta'iz by "unknown gunmen". A companion leaving the mosque with him was killed. Some sources claim this is the 27th op targeting imams since 2015. Most occur in Aden
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/979694741058195457
Imam assassinations in #Yemen: Various local sources concur that "unknown gunmen" attempted to assassinate Salafi Imam Yasir al-'Izzi in #Aden's Mansura district yesterday evening. Reports conflict as to whether or not he later died of his wounds.
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/979402948458504193
(A T)
Emirati-backed al Hizam Security Forces raided a suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) safehouse in northern Lahij governorate, southern Yemen on March 28. The al Hizam forces seized improvised explosive devices (IEDs), mortars, and mines.[4]
(A T)
Unknown gunmen kidnapped Sheikh Nedhal Ba Hwairth, leading figure of #Islah party,in the southern city of #Aden while Yasser Azi, Imam of Sahat al-Rowishan Mosque,was wounded after surviving an assassination attempt by unknown gunmen,using silencer in #Aden as well
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/979044495760257029
(* A T)
Al Qaeda ambush kills 12 Yemeni soldiers and leaves them decapitated
This marks the first attack on the forces since they launched their campaign to purge Hadramawt province from Al Qaeda
An Al Qaeda ambush killed 12 Yemeni elite forces in what has been the deadliest single attack on the military this year.
The soldiers were ambushed while deployed in Al Safra outpost located in the Hadramawt province, a strategic Al Qaeda stronghold that shares a 600-kilometre border with Saudi Arabia.
The attack began on Wednesday with two Al Qaeda militants on a motorcycle gunning soldiers posted in Al Aqeek intersection.
The soldiers chased down the bikers only to find themselves caught in a crossfire down the road.
"Unexpectedly the soldiers found themselves in an ambush by dozens of Al Qaeda militants, who began firing on them until the soldiers ran out of ammunition. So many of them were killed,” a soldier posted in Hadramawt told The National.
Soldiers arrived after the battle to find “corpses with their heads cut off” in a scene they described as a slaughter.
The forces deployed in the outpost said they noticed militants on top of the hills surrounding the stronghold days before but chose to ignore the perceived threats.
and
(A T)
A couple of pro-#AQAP wires have reported Wed's gruesome decapitation of #UAE-supported soldiers in Hadramawt #Yemen but claims are informal & not widespread. This one says the op was designed to show that claims of victory over AQAP in Wadi al-Masini & Wadi Hajar are delusional
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/979713419992592384
and another AQAP attack:
(* A T)
Nine soldiers, five militants killed in attack on elite Yemeni force
Suspected al Qaeda militants attacked a military checkpoint in southeastern Yemen, killing at least nine soldiers from a local force backed by a member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in the country, an official said on Thursday.
The official said that five suspected militants also died during the gun attack late on Wednesday outside al-Mukala, the Hadramout provincial capital, against a unit of the Hadrami Elite Forces.
The unit was set up and trained by the United Arab Emirates, as part of a strategy to combat al Qaeda.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security/nine-soldiers-five-militants-killed-in-attack-on-elite-yemeni-force-idUSKBN1H51E4 and also http://jordantimes.com/news/region/10-uae-backed-troops-killed-yemen-extremist-attack (10 killed)= https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/297928-10-uae-backed-troops-killed-in-yemen and http://almasdaronline.com/article/97912 (claiming they were killed by a roadside bomb)
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(A P)
Guterres To Travel to Geneva for High-level Forum on Yemen OVER
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will travel to Geneva next week to participate in the high-level forum on the crisis in Yemen, said his spokesperson''s office.
Guterres will give a speech in the opening ceremony of the forum and is also expected to hold various bilateral meetings, says a press release.
According to its organizers, the high-level meeting, which will begin on April 3rd, seeks to support the humanitarian aid in Yemen and ease the needs of the population.
(* A P)
UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths met with al Houthi movement leader Abdul Malik al Houthi to advance the Yemeni peace process in Sana’a on March 28. Supreme Revolutionary Council President Mohammed al Houthi reported that Abdul Malik al Houthi discussed lifting the Saudi-led coalition’s partial blockade and ceasing Saudi-led coalition airstrikes. Griffiths also met with al Houthi Human Rights Minister Alia Faisal Abdullatif on March 28. Griffiths arrived in Sana’a on March 24 and has met with multiple al Houthi officials and Sana’a based powerbrokers.[2]
and
(* A P)
UN envoy Meeting with the President of Yemen Republic
President Saleh Al-Samad expressed his hope in that will be a political transition in the presence of the new UN envoy in the capital Sanaa to resolve the situation towards stopping the aggression, lifting the siege and achieving a just peace in Yemen.
“We are with a just and honorable peace because we feel the suffering of Yemeni people because we are among them and not in Riyadh hotels,” he said during a meeting with UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffith and his accompanying delegation.
During the meeting, they discussed the humanitarian situation in Yemen and the greatest human tragedy caused by aggression and siege.
http://www.newnewss.net/3576-2/
Remark: With the president of the Sanaa government.
And
(* A P)
The president of al Houthi’s Supreme Revolutionary Council Mohammed al Houthi implored UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths to move Griffiths’ permanent office from Amman, Jordan to Yemen during a meeting in Sana’a on March 29. Al Houthi promised Griffiths security and support for the peace process. Griffiths stated he would return to Yemen in mid-April to continue discussions with all Yemeni actors. Griffiths met with al Houthi movement leader Abdul Malik al Houthi on March 28. Griffiths also met with Mujahid al Quhali, head of a Sana’a-based political organization, and al Houthi Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein al Azzi on March 29.[2]
https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-march-30-2018 and also https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1694267827292907/?type=3 and photos https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/979371571897872385 and film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_MvsA-ipgQ
(* B P)
New envoy in Yemen
A new UN special envoy has arrived in Yemen, paving the way for greater US intervention in the conflict in the country
Khaled Alyan, a Yemeni political analyst who spoke with the Weekly from Riyadh, said Griffiths “will work according to a plan, probably a pre-prepared one. However, it will require some time.”
“The new recipe is basically cooked in the US kitchen” and “it will pave the way for the new US secretary of state playing a part in the coming phase. We only have to note the meetings the US ambassador is having with Hadi, his Vice President Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, and Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr to see this. All this is a sign of the US recipe that is on its way.” – by Ahmed Eleiba
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/24181.aspx
(* A P)
UN Security Council condemns Houthi missile attack on Riyadh
International body also expresses concern at reports of violations of arms embargo on Houthi leaders
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday condemned a barrage of missile attacks against Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Houthi group and expressed grave concern at reports of violations of a UN arms embargo on Houthi leaders.
"The members of the Security Council expressed their grave concern at the continued deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Yemen and the devastating humanitarian impact of the conflict on civilians," the statement said.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/un-security-council-condemns-houthi-missile-attack-riyadh-1678522325 and https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-missiles-un/u-n-security-council-condemns-houthi-missile-attacks-on-saudi-arabia-idUSKBN1H437R
and
(* A P)
Security Council Press Statement on Yemen
The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest possible terms the multiple Houthi missile attacks, including the use of ballistic missiles, targeting several cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including its capital Riyadh, on 25 March 2018, which threatened civilian areas and resulted in at least one fatality. The members of the Security Council underlined that such attacks pose a serious national security threat to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as a wider threat to regional security. The members of the Council also expressed alarm at the stated intention of the Houthis to continue these attacks against Saudi Arabia, as well as to launch additional attacks against other States in the region.
The members of the Security Council called on all Member States to fully implement all aspects of the arms embargo as required by the relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2216 (2015), and in that regard expressed their grave concern at the reports of continuing violations of the arms embargo.
https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13270.doc.htm = https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/security-council-press-statement-yemen-7
My comment: How often did they condemn Saudi coalition air strikes on Yemen? The bias of this body is breath-taking. Where is the Security Council’s condemnation of the newest Saudi coalition air raid at Saada, killing 9, injuring 13 (i. e. 9 times more victims than the Houthi missile raid)?? Nothing. Biased.
Comment by Ben Norton: Absurd hypocrisy. The UN Security Council — including the US, UK, France, Russia, and China — condemned Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, but did not say a word about the tens of thousands of Saudi airstrikes that have massacred Yemeni civilians.
https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/979381075171594245
(A P)
Mohamed Ali Al-Houthi: The Leader of the Revolution Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi met with the UN Envoy to #Yemen on Wed 28/3/2018. The meeting came within the framework of enhancing opportunities to advance the peace process & stop the aggression & lift the unjust siege on our country
https://twitter.com/YemenEdge/status/979129425143975938
(B P)
Swedish Activist: Britain Blocking Iran’s Peace Plan for Yemen at UN
A senior human rights activist from Sweden praised a four-point peace plan for Yemen that Iran proposed to the United Nations in 2015 and deplored the UK government, which is the main backer of the Saudi regime, for blocking the plan.
“The main backer of the Saudis and the war is the UK whose power is also rapidly shrinking, losing their wars and with a desperately shaky economy based on speculation,” Ulf Sandmark said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency.
“The four-point plan of Iran is appropriate and respecting the sovereignty of Yemen,” he said, adding, “It is blocked in the UN as the British are holding the pen for all the UN actions for Yemen.”
(A P)
Film: UN unwilling to stop Saudi war on Yemen: Analyst
An analyst says the United Nations lacks the will to stop Saudi Arabia’s military aggression against Yemen, adding that the world body fears that the United States and Britain would veto any resolution to end the war.
“Of course the United Nations can do something. If there is a will there is a way. If the United Nations is serious about stopping the war, it can issue a resolution, it can say that this war is illegal, that it has gone too far, it must stop, it can call for a ceasefire. I do not think that the secretary general of the United Nations wants to stop the war,” Saeed Shahabi told Press TV in an interview on Wednesday.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/03/28/556732/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-UN-war-resolution-ceasefire
(A P)
The Crown Prince attends signing an agreement for Joint Executive Program between Kingdom and UN to support and fund UN Humanitarian Response Plan in Yemen for 2018 in the amount of one billion dollars
http://alriyadhdaily.com/article/5db9e393eeb54ee49ad93cee88c66d8e
Remark: This is the Saudi version. Look at YPR 397, cp7.
(? B H P)
Joy Gordon UNSC Economic Sanctions The political construction of knowledge normative interpretation
Joy Gordon, The United Nations Security Council and Economic Sanctions: The political construction of knowledge and normative interpretation. Loyola University Chicago, United States. Conference presentation "Measures and categories in the production of knowledge about rural transformation in the Arab World", at the American University of Beirut, September 18, 2016 . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-sjyogAOtk and http://www.athimar.org/Article-93
Comment by Judith Brown: A MUST LISTEN! Wow this woman is amazing! It's all great on the way that the UNSC is set up to be deliberately vague so that people can do as they want. But the last 10 minutes should be listened to by all Yemenis and all people who are interested in Yemen - the way that the embargo on Yemen is being implemented.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156548175113641
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
(A P)
Saudi accusations, threats contrary to UN Charter
Iran’s UN ambassador in a letter to Antonio Guterres dismissed as “baseless” and a distraction tactic Saudi Arabia’s accusations of Iran’s involvement in Yemen’s Ansar Allah missile strikes on Riyadh.
In a letter addressed to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday, Iranian envoy Gholamali Khoshroo protested against the accusations and threats raised by the spokesperson of the Saudi military coalition, stressing that such threats and allegations are contrary to the UN Charter which forbids all members from using threat or force in their international relations.
“The aim of the accusations raised by Saudi officials is to deviate the public opinion from their own crimes in Yemen,” Khoshroo added.
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/133054/Saudi-accusations-threats-contrary-to-UN-Charter and also http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/03/30/556877/Iran-Khoshroo-Saudi-Yemen-missile-UN-Guterres-Oosterom
Comment: Well I guess Iran is helping more as the war grinds on, but as I understand it the missiles that are fired by the Houthis contain both Iranian and American technology. There may well be some technical input from Iran that has allowed the Houthis to develop their missile technology but in the main I think Iran is doing what it has always done - looked after its own interests first and made a lot of rhetoric to goad Saudi Arabia into continuing the war of Yemen. Neither country cares about Yemen.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156547903178641
(A P)
Saudi Arabia must stop warmongering: Iran UN envoy
Saudi rulers have turned their secret support for extremism into warmongering adventurism, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) said here on Wednesday while cautioning Riyadh against such moves
http://www.irna.ir/en/News/82872947
and
(A P)
Saudi aggression bolstered terrorism in Yemen
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said Tue. that Saudi Arabia’s measures instead of promoting peace have expedited the growth of al-Qaeda and ISIL terrorist groups in Yemen.
Speaking to Iranian media in New York, Gholamali Khoshroo made the remarks in reaction to a recent letter penned by the Saudi government to the United Nations, in which Riyadh has alleged that the fired missiles from Yemen were manufactured by Iran.
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/133034/Saudi-aggression-bolstered-terrorism-in-Yemen
(* A P)
Saudi crown prince warns of risk of future war with Iran
International community must maintain pressure on the regime to avoid military conflict in 10 to 15 years, Prince Mohammed bin Salman tells Wall Street Journal
Failure to contain Iran through international action could lead to a war in 10 to 15 years, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has warned.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal while on his US trip this week, Prince Mohammed called for imposing sanctions "to create more pressure" on the Iranian regime.
My comment: Warmongering – and nobody cares? There are always at least two in a war. Everybody who is not insane should conclude that to avoid it pressure on BOTH sides would be necessary.
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
Siehe / Look at cp1
(B P)
Saudi projects put Kingdom on international tourist map
The large developments at the Red Sea, Al-Gidya and NEOM will help to put Saudi Arabia on the world tourist map, project executives said on Thursday.
The statements by executives of the Saudi projects followed the meeting of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in New York on Thursday with more than 40 leaders from world conglomerates.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1276016/saudi-arabia
and
(A P)
#Saudi Monarchy arrests 13 Turkish citizens for "national security" related matters. Saudi #Turkish relations have deteriorated in past weeks after Saudi strongman #MBD called #Turkey a part of axis of evil
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/979915141478342657
My comment: As non-Saudi, better pass your vacation at other destinations!
(* B P)
Amnesty International: Saudi Arabia should invest in human rights, not PR campaigns.
In recent months, surprising headlines have appeared in international media including ‘Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive’, ‘Saudi anti-corruption drive’ and ‘Saudi Arabia, on the path to reform’. Meanwhile, when the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud visited the United Kingdom recently, he was welcomed with large full-page advertisements in newspapers and commercially sponsored billboards displayed in the streets of London saying ‘He is bringing change to Saudi Arabia’. The visit concluded with a £10 billion aircraft deal between BAE systems and Saudi Arabia. In the first days of the Crown Prince’s visit to the USA, another arms deal worth over 12.5 billion dollars is reported to have been finalized between the USA and Saudi Arabia.
If you didn’t know better, you would think Saudi Arabia is on a path to major reform. However, in the months since the Crown Prince’s appointment, we have seen little reason to believe that his overtures are anything more than a slick PR exercise. In fact, Saudi Arabia retains an atrocious human rights record and the situation has only deteriorated since the Crown Prince was appointed as official heir to the throne in June 2017.
Instead of spending millions of dollars on slick PR campaigns announcing steps that barely scratch the surface of the reform needed within the country, here is what Saudi Arabia should do:
Want progress? Look to Saudi civil society.
Saudi Arabia’s leaders have announced progress as their number one goal. But many of the best catalysts for progress are in exile, in prison or living in silent fear among the general public.
Human rights activists, academics, journalists and concerned citizens and residents are not the enemy; they are dynamic agents of positive reform. Their protests, writing and advocacy for social and political reforms are all in the interest of progress in Saudi Arabia.
Vision 2030, the economic reform programme that the Saudi Arabian government initiated in 2016, refers to the importance of a “vibrant society” in achieving the objectives of the Vision. For a vibrant society to emerge in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian authorities must end their repression of civil society and human rights defenders and allow them to do their work.
Saudi Arabia now needs to take criticism of its human rights record on board and prove that it is willing to take bold steps for change.
and film: https://twitter.com/AmnestyNow/status/979433108129935361
(* A P)
Spoof ad campaign mocks Saudi crown prince 'reform' claims
Amnesty International takes issue with Saudi claims to have introduced genuine reforms in kingdom
Amnesty International has launched a spoof advertising and marketing campaign mocking Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reform and modernisation programme.
The campaign by the rights group, which includes a mock job advert placed in The Economist magazine, publicity notices and an online video, is part of a move to counter Saudi Arabia’s claims it is in the midst of the most far-reaching reform programme in the kingdom's history.
The campaign includes a mock job advert for “high flying PR talent with fierce ambition” to provide public relations expertise to “distract the world’s attention from the merciless persecution of human rights activists, the torture in prisons, the corporal punishment, and the killing of civilians in Yemen by Saudi Arabia”.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/spoof-ad-campaign-mocks-saudi-crown-prince-reform-claims-2013851824 and photo https://twitter.com/amnestygulf/status/979791452724256769
(A K P)
Saudi Crown Prince Says U.S. Troops Should Stay In Syria
“We believe American troops should stay for at least the mid-term, if not the long-term,” he told TIME Thursday in a wide-ranging interview.
http://time.com/5222746/saudi-crown-prince-donald-trump-syria/
(* B P)
Mohammed Bin Salman is buying America's silence with a fake veneer of cultural openness
Riyadh has delivered a small dose of cultural and economic openness in order to avoid demands for political liberalism.
A number of Gulf countries are heading towards greater cultural and economic "liberalism", but not on the level of politics or governance.
In fact, these states are resorting to some form of social and economic openness precisely to avoid demands to inject a dose of political liberalism into their totally closed political systems.
Perhaps the most visible face of this paradox today is Saudi Arabia, along with the UAE and Bahrain. A group of Saudi "liberals" has recently taken centre stage in Saudi Arabia, replacing the Wahhabi sheikhs whose merchandise no longer appears desirable.
After a decades-long policy of religious conservatism, Saudi Arabia is seeking to shed its heavy Wahhabi heritage and move towards some form of cultural and economic pseudo-liberalism. It has thus imposed a sharp and rapid shift on its religious apparatus, which has long acted as an instrument for imposing discipline at home and promoting the Wahhabi ideology abroad.
However, what would be even greater is to have these abrupt shifts accompanied by even a basic level of political openness, rather than the very opposite.
We would do well to remember, amid the loud cheers and eager applause, that it was Saudi Arabia itself, with its draconian religious ideology, that created the very problems it is bending over backwards and forwards trying to deal with today. To claim that this extremism is foreign to it is a historical distortion. It is the birthplace and fount of an extremist, distorted version of Islam.
Today, Saudi Arabia has orchestrated a coup d'etat against its own former stance at lightning speed, wiping its hands of a heavy legacy of Wahhabi militancy that it created and propagated over several decades.
What we have in Saudi Arabia is the appearance of cultural "liberalism", reduced to a few concerts and shows here and there, coupled with some economic liberalisation, manifested in the trend towards privatising major state institutions such as Aramco - but the complete absence of the most minimal level of political liberalism when it comes to governance.
The sincerity of the Saudi elite's approach to liberalisation should be measured by the extent of its ability to liberalise the political field first and foremost.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/how-saudi-arabia-cloaks-authoritarianism-liberalism-1941126257
(A P)
Jailed Saudi blogger hailed by Los Angeles journalists as crown prince tours US
Imprisoned Saudi blogger given the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism as he enters his sixth year in Saudi prison
Imprisoned Saudi writer and blogger Raif Badawi was awarded the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism on Monday, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman entered the second week of his visit to the US.
The Los Angeles Press Club’s Daniel Pearl award will be received by Badawi’s wife, Ensaf Haidar, and children at the 24 June awards gala in Los Angeles. Haider and her three children now live in Quebec and have been granted permanent residency in Canada.
(A E P)
Bin Salman in New York: All eyes on Aramco
New York investors eye Saudi oil company's IPO, but regulations demanding transparency may be a hurdle
On a recent visit to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), financiers told Middle East Eye that the planned initial public offering (IPO) of oil firm Saudi Aramco should occur on Wall Street – the only venue Riyadh will net the cash it needs to fund an ambitious reform agenda, they said.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/bin-salman-new-york-all-eyes-aramco-1457336618
(* B P)
Saudi Arabia: No amount of flattering PR can hide human rights crackdown under ‘reformer’ Crown Prince
Saudi Arabia’s aggressive publicity drive to rebrand its image, tarnished by a ruthless crackdown on freedom of expression and a bombing offensive in Yemen, is fooling nobody, Amnesty International said today, as it launched a satirical ad campaign telling the authorities not to mistake public relations for human rights.
The campaign by the global human rights organization, calls into question the PR blitz by Saudi Arabia that has accompanied Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s official visits to the UK and USA.
Amnesty International’s ad campaign is being launched as the Crown Prince continues to woo politicians, top defence industry officials, Hollywood executives and Silicon Valley leaders during a three-week coast-to-coast tour of the USA, where he has been fêted by President Donald Trump.
“The best PR machine in the world cannot gloss over Saudi Arabia’s dismal human rights record. The Crown Prince has been cast as a reformer but the crackdown against dissenting voices in his country has only intensified since his appointment last June,” said Samah Hadid, Director of Campaigns for Amnesty International in the Middle East.
“If Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is truly intent on being a ‘reformer’, he must end the systematic repression of women, minorities and human rights defenders, order the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience and end the use of the death penalty.”
(* B P)
Human Rights Watch: Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia continues to commit widespread violations of basic human rights. The most pervasive violations affect persons in the criminal justice system, women and girls, migrant workers, and religious minorities. Persecution of peaceful dissidents and independent human rights advocates is widespread.
Criminal Justice System
Saudi Arabia’s criminal justice system violates the most basic international human rights standards, and detainees routinely face systematic violations of due process and fair trial rights. Since its last UPR in 2013, Saudi authorities have detained scores of men and women for expressing their peaceful political and religious opinions under vague and politicized charges.
Death Penalty
Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty to some offenses that do not constitute the “most serious crimes,” including drug offenses and “sorcery.” During its UPR in 2013, Saudi Arabia rejected recommendations to abolish or declare a moratorium on the death penalty.
Freedoms of Assembly, Expression, and Belief
In 2015, Saudi Arabia followed through on recommendations made during its previous UPR in 2013 to promulgate an NGO or associations law. The Law on Associations and Foundations, which went into effect in March 2016, establishes a legislative framework for establishment of NGOs, but the law also includes vaguely worded provisions that effectively limit NGO registration and activities for violations to Islamic Sharia, contradicting to public morals, and breaching national unity.
Women’s Rights
Following its previous UPR in 2013, Saudi Arabia agreed to several recommendations to end the male guardianship system over women but rejected a recommendation to end the guardianship system “by royal decree.” While Saudi Arabia has made some progress on implementing these commitments, critical aspects of the male guardianship system remain in place.
Migrant Workers
The restrictive kafala (sponsorship) system, which ties migrant workers’ employment visas to their employers, fuels exploitation and abuse. Under this system, migrant workers’ residency permits are tied to ‘sponsoring’ employers, whose written consent is required for workers to change employers or exit the country.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/03/29/submission-universal-periodic-review-saudi-arabia
(A P)
#Saudi Monarchy arrests 32 men after razing their homes, their family owened for centuries.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/979089231615115265 referring to
(A P)
32 Saudis arrested for protest at Taif governorate office
A total of 32 Saudi citizens were arrested on Monday for illegally assembling in front of Taif governorate premises to protest against the act of a municipality committee to prevent land encroachments to dismantle rest houses they had constructed on governmental land.
(* A B P)
Spread of Wahhabism was done at request of West during Cold War – Saudi crown prince
The Saudi-funded spread of Wahhabism began as a result of Western countries asking Riyadh to help counter the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the Washington Post.
Speaking to the paper, bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia's Western allies urged the country to invest in mosques and madrassas overseas during the Cold War, in an effort to prevent encroachment in Muslim countries by the Soviet Union.
He added that successive Saudi governments had lost track of that effort, saying "we have to get it all back." Bin Salman also said that funding now comes mostly from Saudi-based "foundations," rather than from the government.
https://www.rt.com/news/422563-saudi-wahhabism-western-countries/
My comment: This even could be largely true. But it does not make things any better.
Comment: Saudi used religion for political purposes and ready to play any role to please the West.
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/979120256038981632
(* B P)
MBS talks to Americans about reform in Saudi Arabia more than he talks to Saudis about reform in Saudi Arabia and that's already telling you a lot.
https://twitter.com/iyad_elbaghdadi/status/979148450666242048
For the most part, American media - journalists, celebrities, and talk shows - still doesn't understand its role in normalizing repression outside the US.
https://twitter.com/iyad_elbaghdadi/status/979145304367755269
(A E P)
SoftBank Vision Fund, Saudi Arabia to create world's biggest solar power firm
SoftBank Group Corp’s (9984.T) Vision Fund will invest in creating the world’s biggest solar power project in Saudi Arabia.
but
SMA Solar not involved in SoftBank solar project in Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* A K P)
Crown Prince Patronizes Deal on Localization of Military Manufacturing
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has patronized a signing ceremony for the establishment of a joint project aimed at localizing more than 55 percent of Saudi Arabia’s fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter maintenance, repairs and rehabilitation.
The agreement, which was signed in Seattle on Friday, also includes maintenance to weapon technologies and spare parts for the purpose of achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which states that 50 percent of Saudi Arabia’s military spending will be localized.
The Crown Prince was also briefed on the activities of Boeing Aircraft Industries.
(A P)
Crown Prince Salman Will Face Planned Protests In Los Angeles, Starting In Front Of WME
And read how propaganda in Emirati media is describing Salman’s PR charm offensive in New York:
(* A P)
Saudi crown prince breaks new ground in New York visit
Prince Mohammed goes beyond past diplomatic norms and reshapes kingdom's image, expert says
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman leaves New York on Friday after week-long visit that took Riyadh “out of its comfort zone” with corporate, bipartisan and inter-religious meetings, and saw the signing of ambitious stock and energy agreements.
In New York, Prince Mohammed met former secretaries of state John Kerry and Henry Kissinger, and the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. He also reportedly met former president Bill Clinton and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. On Thursday he held talks with representatives of the UN Security Council's five permanent members and Germany, all parties to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
On the corporate and financial side, the Saudi crown prince held talks with more than 50 executives and investors, as well as media mogul Rupert Murdoch and former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Centre for American Progress, said the meetings with key Democrats was a “sign that the Saudi leadership realises that they are perceived to have been too close to Donald Trump and [his son-in-law] Jared Kushner and they need to maintain open dialogue with the full political spectrum in US”.
Prince Mohammed is showing a “pragmatic understanding that the US is an open democracy” and is attempting “to address Saudi’s own political vulnerabilities with Democrats on issues related to the war in Yemen and the nuclear deal with Iran”, Mr Katulis told The National.
On the perception of Saudi Arabia, Mr Katulis said the crown prince's meetings “in their own small way are making a difference”, especially on the association of the kingdom with conservative Islam.
and more on this PR campaihn:
(* A P)
'The New Kingdom': Saudis push to address image issues
A 97-page magazine sold on US news stands is promoting bin Salman, but Saudi embassy denies involvement in its publication
shoppers at the nearby Walmart recently may have seen just that: a 97-page, ad-free magazine titled "The New Kingdom," devoted to promoting Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, priced at $13.99.
“Our Closest Middle East Ally Destroying Terrorism” boasts one headline on the cover. “Improving Lives Of His People & Hopes For Peace” declares another. A banner at the top proclaims: “The most influential Arab leader transforming the world at 32.”
As MBS tours the US, efforts to promote him have been more subtle, but seemingly more widespread as the kingdom hopes to woo a sceptical American public amid a strengthening of ties with the Trump administration.
The magazine obtained by Middle East Eye in rural New Hampshire is available at 100,000 outlets nationwide, according to its publisher, American Media Inc (AMI), which also publishes the National Enquirer.
As the magazine’s cover might suggest, the content inside is far from impartial, reading more like a promotional advertorial than journalism.
The language used is fawning and constantly praises MBS.
There is no mention of the Saudi-led war in Yemen, nor of how MBS stands accused of detaining Lebanon’s prime minister Saad Hariri in November and forcing him to resign.
The arrests of royals and businessmen as part of MBS’s purge is looked at as an efficient anti-corruption measure, despite the allegations of torture and use of the crackdown as a means to consolidate power.
In his trips to the UK and the US - his first since consolidating power as Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader - MBS has sought to change perceptions of his country and push the line that he is a liberal, modernising force.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/new-kingdom-magazine-saudi-pushes-address-image-issues-572706926
and
(* A P)
Trump’s Publisher Pal Puts Saudi Propaganda Magazine in U.S. Supermarkets
The owners of the National Enquirer have a slick, ad-free magazine on U.S. newsstands praising crown prince Mohammed bin Salman—and insist they had no outside help for it.
A nearly 100-page magazine published by Donald Trump’s allies at American Media Inc. is providing a different kind of celebrity gossip than the American supermarket shopper is used to seeing. It’s selling America on a fellow Trump ally, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Greeting Americans on newsstands is a high-quality glossy advertisement for MBS, The New Kingdom. It retails for $13.99, has no ads and its 200,000 copies can be found in venues ranging from U.S. airports to WalMart, Safeway and Kroger’s—raising questions about the magazine’s financing and its origins. The Saudis say they don’t know how it came to be. AMI, which publishes The National Enquirer, insists it had no outside editorial or financial assistance, from the Trump administration or otherwise.
The New Kingdom doesn’t feature any salacious gossip about MBS, but its coverage is just as breathless.
The centerpiece is a lengthy advertorial for MBS’ “Saudi Vision 2030” initiative — a huge part of which appears to be rebranding the kingdom under MBS. Not since the establishment of Saudi Arabia has the kingdom gone “through such a radical transformation,” whose economic “diversification isn’t just about protecting the rich elite,” the magazine assures.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-publisher-pal-puts-saudi-propaganda-magazine-in-us-supermarkets
(* B P)
Trump’s Silence On A Saudi Nuclear Bomb
With the prince’s two week trip to the United States coming to a close, Trump remained stone silent after the heir apparent to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced his nuclear plans on American television.
For that matter, the rolling shocks of the Trump presidency seem to have dulled the response mechanisms of most of America’s national security establishment. Very few have objected to the prince’s statement that he would break his treaty commitments and go nuclear if his neighbor did. Just so you know: this is not normal.
There is no excuse for any nation under any circumstances getting a nuclear weapon. There is no exception allowed in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Saudi Arabia has signed. There is no Get A Bomb Free Card in international law. U.S. policy for over 72 years has been to oppose any nation from getting the bomb. Period.
Saudi Arabia lacks the industrial and technological ability to build a bomb. But it has an expansive Saudi nuclear energy program now underway that could provide the basis for a future bomb program. If there were any doubt as to the intent of that program, Mohammed bin Salman’s naked boast should dispel them.
But what if the United States didn’t care? What if the president actually encouraged such a sale, or endorsed a Saudi atomic program? Would international treaties or opprobrium stop the Saudis? Not likely.
If Trump breaks with seven decades of U.S. policy, it is all the more important for independent experts and elected officials to reaffirm core American beliefs and sound security policies. A Saudi billionaire should not be allowed to go home with the mistaken impression that America approves of his spreading more nuclear weapons in the Middle East.
https://lobelog.com/trumps-silence-on-a-saudi-nuclear-bomb/
(* B P)
Bin Salman’s Visit Is a Ruse
Bin Salman began a public relations effort to clean up his image by casting himself as reformer inside his country. Does allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia cancel out his war crimes? Of course not. He cannot be his own judge of his crimes and provide his own measure of redemption. His role in killing Yemenis is not balanced by reforms within Saudi Arabia or by plans for economic growth. That role is also not negated by the existence of a coalition that entered the war under their own pretexts.
This public relations effort is a facade, a fake, because it ignores bin Salman’s crimes in Yemen. His trip and meetings afford him a stage to build up his image, build up business connections and solidify his military alliance with the U.S., which is aimed at Iran.
An America on a right path would never have supported the Prince in his aggression against Yemen.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/bin-salmans-visit-ruse/
(A P)
Rupert Murdoch Dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Is Hollywood’s Hottest Ticket
Hollywood is rolling out the red carpet for Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
Rupert Murdoch will host a dinner for the Saudi leader on Monday night at his Bel Air estate, according to knowledgeable insiders. The guest list is filled with moguls and A-listers. Disney chief Bob Iger, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Jeff Shell, NBCUniversal vice chairman Ron Meyer, and 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice. Other investors and media barons are expected to attend, but the dinner is being masked in secrecy.
http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/rupert-murdoch-saudi-arabia-crown-prince-dinner-1202740611/
(* A B P)
Elite universities are selling themselves – and look who’s buying
Mohammed bin Salman’s affair with MIT and Harvard is no fluke: Saudi Arabia is a skilful player of the PR game
But what is the nature of the relationship between Bin Salman and these elite universities – and why might administrators wish to keep it quiet?
It is as part of this PR campaign that Bin Salman’s visit should be viewed. In exchange for cash, elite universities offer the veneer of a progressive agenda. For instance, Bin Salman’s foundation, MiSK, was accepted as a “member company” to MIT’s Media Lab in 2017, which requires a minimum annual contribution of $250,000 (with a three-year commitment) to the lab. In return, MiSK receives access to the lab’s personnel, technology, and intellectual property. But most important, the lab normalises MiSK – which seeks to extend Bin Salman’s reach over educational affairs in Saudi Arabia – by lending it credibility and a veneer of tech “innovation”. By similar means, Bin Salman used this visit to cement partnerships with other groups at MIT, Harvard and the Harvard Medical School-affiliated Brigham and Women’s hospital.
Bin Salman’s affair with academia isn’t a fluke – it’s a result of the neoliberal logic by which universities increasingly operate.
Here, the Saudi government is only playing by the rules of a game designed by western elites. This is the same logic that has been used to allow corporations, nonprofits and the military to steadily buy out chunks of academia to the point where it makes little sense to presume clear boundaries exist between these entities.
(A P)
It Looks Like Bill Gates’ Devotion to Child Welfare Doesn’t Extend to Children in Yemen
The billionaire philanthropist is rolling out the red carpet for Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, who is overseeing the mass starvation and death of children in Yemen.
http://inthesetimes.com/article/21025/Bill-Gates-Melinda-Founation-Saudi-Prince-Mohammad-bin-Salman-Yemen/ and photos https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/979721881766039552
(* A P)
An Open Secret: War Criminal Salman Rubs Elbows with Israeli-AIPAC Leaders
Away from public relations blitz, Saudi Arabia and Israel are best friends in the Middle East. The two regimes retain an atrocious human rights record and see Iran as their common enemy, and the situation has only deteriorated since their twin wars against Syria and Yemen.
The meaning of all this is as simple as possible: the young lad is there to make Americans richer and the world a more unsafe place. Full Stop.
And just when we thought he would then pack up and leave, the Saudi Crown Prince did the once unconceivable thing: He met with the leaders of a number of US Jewish organizations. Salman visited officials from AIPAC, Stand for Israel, the American Jewish Committee, ADL, the Jewish Federation of North America, and others. The visits were revealed in a leaked copy of his itinerary, and were not meant to be publicized by the media.
It’s not just that these groups are Jewish and broadly pro-Israel. Much of the controversy is seen as many of the groups are both involved in the Israeli settlement venture and war crimes against palestinains, illegal under International Law and widely criticized in the Middle East, and are anti-BDS groups. Meaning, the pro-Israel meetings were done broadly for the benefit of the usurper regime of Israel, and how together with the Israelis and the Americans, the Saudis can shape up the Middle East to their liking.
Such diplomatic coordination and tightened military alliance is dangerous, given that the American-Israeli-Saudi alliance has the potential to trigger a new war in the region. Then again, even more dangerous is the fact that this marriage of convenience will surely create a massive backlash among ordinary Saudis as well. Just like many other Muslims, the ordinary Saudis see Israel as their eternal enemy.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970110000931
Remark: From Iran.
(B P)
Wooing Saudi Business, Tabloid Mogul Had a Powerful Friend: Trump
The tabloid publisher took along a special guest, Kacy Grine, a French businessman who advises one of Saudi Arabia’s richest men and sometimes acts as an intermediary between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Western businesses.
The two men and other Pecker associates chatted with the president in the Oval Office and briefly met with Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East envoy, Jared Kushner. Before moving on to dinner with the group, the president had a photographer snap pictures of the guests standing with him behind his desk.
Mr. Pecker has long used his media empire to protect Mr. Trump’s image.
(A P)
House Democrats call for FBI to probe into Kushner's ties to Saudi crown prince
Six House Democrats are calling on FBI Director Christopher Wray to investigate whether President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior White House aide Jared Kushner leaked classified information to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, according to a letter obtained by CNN.
The call comes after The Intercept, citing three sources, reported that the Saudi prince -- known casually by his initials, MBS -- told confidantes after their meeting last year that Kushner had discussed Saudi leaders who are disloyal to the crown prince.
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/29/politics/house-democrats-kushner-saudi-prince/index.html
(* A K P)
US Admits ‘Doing the Planning’ for Saudi Strikes in Yemen
In a new meeting with reporters, Defense Secretary James Mattis has offered new details about US involvement in the Saudi invasion of Yemen, providing specifics about what the US is doing that contradict long-standing claims of a very limited, non-combat involvement.
Mattis now admits the US is “doing the planning” in Yemen strikes, and has shown the Saudis how the concept of a no-strike zone is supposed to work, and engaged in a maturing process of “battlefield management” intended to see Saudi strikes killing fewer civilians.
Mattis also tried to spin the already established US involvement in mid-air refueling as beneficial for civilians being bombed. He warned Saudi bombers would make “rash or hasty decisions” if they had to worry about running out of fuel before bombing a place, and might take less time to avoid hitting civilian targets.
Obviously all of these US efforts to avoid hitting civilian targets in Yemen aren’t working, as Saudi airstrikes are still killing a shocking number of innocent bystanders. The comments are more noteworthy than just another half-hearted attempted to spin US involvement in the war as innocuous, however.
That’s because the Senate just debated measure on the Yemen War, with Mattis and other top Pentagon officials defending their involvement as limited – by Jason Ditz
http://theantimedia.com/us-planning-saudi-strikes-yemen/amp/ and also https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201803291063043547-pentagon-chief-us-complicity-saudi-yemen/
and
(* A K P)
US involved in ‘battlefield management’ of Saudi war against Yemen: Mattis
US Defense Secretary James Mattis has acknowledged that Washington has been involved in managing Saudi Arabia’s brutal airstrikes in Yemen.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Mattis said the US military is “doing the planning” of Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against Yemen.
“So this is a very dynamic sort of battlefield management,” he said.
Mattis also admitted that the US has been involved in mid-air refueling of Saudi warplanes, claiming that the operation could help minimize civilian casualties in the war-torn country.
The Pentagon chief’s comments contradict long-standing claims of a very limited, non-combat engagement in the Saudi war on Yemen. The US has previously said that it provides intelligence and logistical support.
The White House also claims that its involvement has nothing to do with the civilian death toll in the Arab country.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/03/29/556820/US-Defense-Secretary-James-Mattis-Saudi-Yemen-war
and this is the full press release:
(* A K P)
Media Availability with Secretary Mattis at the Pentagon
When we're doing the planning, we have shown them how you have what we call no-strike zones. These are places where, because there are schools or hospitals -- but it's not as easy as just saying, "Okay, there's a school or hospital; now, draw a circle around it on a map." Now it's got to go up into the airplane. Now the people who are calling for strikes have got to be aware. Sometimes you add to them; you found a new place where you didn't have it on the map before.
My comment: Keep in mind: “When we're doing the planning”.
And
(* A K P)
The World According to Mad Dog: US Support for Saudi War in Yemen Reduces Civilian Casualties
Mad Dog” Mattis claimed on Tuesday that US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen is helping to reduce civilian casualties in a conflict in which tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children have perished over the past three years.
Perhaps the Saudis are slow learners.
Or perhaps the Americans are bad teachers. To borrow a phrase from President Donald Trump, the US has, after all, been been “bombing the shit out of” civilians in half a dozen predominantly Muslim countries, including Yemen, over the course of its 16-year so-called war on terror. More than a million men, women and children are have died.
Mattis, who earned the “Mad Dog” moniker while commanding the atrocity-laden battle for Fallujah, Iraq in 2004, surely increased civilian death and suffering when he announced last year that the US was shifting to a policy of “annihilation” in the war against Islamic State, and warned that “civilian casualties are a fact of life in this sort of situation.” Civilian deaths soared as US air strikes pounded Mosul, Raqqa and other cities, towns and villages then controlled by IS militants. They’re still pulling bodies from the ruins of Mosul and Raqqa six months after IS was driven out.
“We’re not the perfect guys, but we’re the good guys,” Mattis asserted last year, and again at Tuesday’s press conference.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/03/30/the-world-according-to-mad-dog-us-support-for-saudi-war-in-yemen-reduces-civilian-casualties/
(* A B K P)
Congress, Not Trump, Has the Authority Over War
America's representatives can, and should, end the country's participation in the horrific onslaught on Yemen.
On March 20, by a vote of 55-44, the U.S. Senate tabled a resolution that I introduced along with two of my colleagues.
We offered this resolution for two reasons. First, the Saudi-led war in Yemen has led to one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history. Second, the time is long overdue for Congress to reassert its constitutional authority in matters of war. Article I of the U.S. Constitution states clearly that the people’s representatives in Congress, not a single person residing in the White House, shall have the power to declare war.
I am more convinced than ever of the need to go forward aggressively on this matter. We must never forget that the two most significant foreign-policy disasters in the modern history of the United States, the war in Iraq and the war in Vietnam, occurred when Congress sat back and allowed two administrations, one Republican and one Democrat, to lie to the American people as they led us into conflicts with horrific consequences. We must never allow that to happen again – by Bernie Sanders
http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/29/congress-not-trump-has-the-authority-over-war/
(A P)
U.S. officials met with Saudi and Emirati national security advisors at the White house on March 26 to discuss countering the spread of Iranian influence. Officials from the U.S. Department of State, Defense, Treasury, and the intelligence community attended the meeting. The U.S., Saudi Arabia, and UAE agreed to continue regular trilateral meetings to address threats to regional security in the Middle East.[1]
(* B P)
Only in Washington is a debate about war in Yemen controversial
Sen. Lee wrote in a letter with Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) this month. “Regardless of what one thinks of our involvement in Yemen, as we enter a fourth year of helping the Saudis prosecute this war it is important that Congress either provides express authorization for our involvement in the conflict or calls on the president to cease operations.”
This proposal is not be controversial outside of the beltway: Americans want a more realistic foreign policy that serves the United States’ interests, not those of Saudi Arabia or other countries. President Trumpand the DoD ought to support the Senate’s assertion of its constitutional war powers and stop trying to quash this overdue debate. There’s nothing “America first” about silencing Congress to make a foreign dictator happy.
(* A P)
Saudi Crown Prince—'Socially Acceptable War Criminal'—Enjoys US Tour Hosted by America's Elite
Despite public relations blitz, Saudi monarchy "retains an atrocious human rights record and the situation has only deteriorated since the crown prince was appointed."
While America's so-called A-listers have seemingly lined up to rub elbows with MbS, critics of the prince—and the war his nation is waging against one of the world's poorest countries, causing a horrific humanitarian crisis—were less receptive to his supposed charm.
"If you didn't know better, you would think Saudi Arabia is on a path to major reform," warned Amnesty International on Thursday. "However, in the months since the crown prince's appointment, we have seen little reason to believe that his overtures are anything more than a slick PR exercise. In fact, Saudi Arabia retains an atrocious human rights record and the situation has only deteriorated since the crown prince was appointed as official heir to the throne in June 2017."
During MbS's tour of America, the public is being subjected to a full-blown public relations campaign
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/03/29/saudi-crown-prince-socially-acceptable-war-criminal-enjoys-us-tour-hosted-americas = https://www.alternet.org/human-rights/saudi-crown-prince-socially-acceptable-war-criminal-enjoys-us-tour-hosted-americas
(A P)
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince meets with US religious leaders, urges tolerance
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with several US religious leaders at his residence in New York on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the crown prince stressed the importance of respect between followers of religions and the need to promote the positive values of coexistence and tolerance.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1275406/saudi-arabia
and
(A P)
#Saudi Monarchy press news agency omits mention of #MBS with #Jewish religious leaders. Instead it says religious leaders showing again Saudi using meeting is a PR stunt
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/979117417354940416 referring to http://www.spa.gov.sa/1745560
My comment: Build churches in Saudi Arabia for your Christian foreign workers or simply shut up.
(* B P T)
Saudi Arabia must face U.S. lawsuits over Sept. 11 attacks
A U.S. judge on Wednesday rejected Saudi Arabia’s bid to dismiss lawsuits claiming that it helped plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and should pay billions of dollars in damages to victims.
U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan said the plaintiffs’ allegations “narrowly articulate a reasonable basis” for him to assert jurisdiction over Saudi Arabia under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), a 2016 federal law.
and
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia’s Bid To Terminate 9/11 Lawsuits Squashed By US Judge
United States judge Wednesday rejected Saudi Arabia’s attempt to terminate lawsuits that alleged the kingdom helped plan the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
District Judge George Daniels said Wednesday, while dismissing the motion, the plaintiff’s claims met the necessary conditions for the court to affirm jurisdiction over Saudi Arabia under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), 2016.
“Neither the 9/11 Commission Report, nor any other governmental report, adequately and specifically refutes plaintiffs’ allegations,” Daniels mentioned in the ruling.
http://www.ibtimes.com/saudi-arabias-bid-terminate-911-lawsuits-squashed-us-judge-2667226
(B H P)
Getting married amid airstrikes in Yemen
New York-based activist Summer Nasser has coaxed bodega owners into sending aid to Yemen. She’s helped organize rallies against US immigration policies, even flown to Geneva to testify before the UN Human Rights Council about Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
It’s hard to believe she’s just 23 and still a student.
Yemen, the country where her parents were born and where she spent most of her school vacations, is in turmoil. But when Summer returned there in February 2015 for her wedding, she never could have imagined the nation’s political crisis escalating into a deadly regional war, practically overnight.
Three years later, with the war still raging, I ask her about the spring of 2015 when the fighting overtook Yemen, just as she was to be married.
“To be together, it was truly a blessing after all of that. To be honest now, thinking about it, I'm like, ‘Wow, this is really what we went through?”
Summer and Muntaser escaped the war. But they haven't left it behind.
Yemen Aid is a non-profit charity founded in 2016 by Summer and a group of Yemeni American professionals determined to inform the public about the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and to do something about it. Summer is its executive director. Muntaser is its chief operating officer. They run a speaker’s bureau. They do fundraising and find ways to relieve some of the widespread suffering in Yemen.
When we spoke at the end of February, their group had just sent a 40-foot shipping container filled with medical equipment and supplies to hospitals in Yemen. A second container is in transit. Summer and Muntaser expect it to arrive in Aden on April 10, near the anniverary of their wedding.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-03-27/getting-married-amid-airstrikes-yemen
(* A P)
The Senate Can’t Hide From Debating U.S. Assistance to the Saudi War in Yemen
If Sen. Corker follows through on his promise, committee members will have the opportunity to debate and decide whether continued assistance by the U.S. makes sense. They can, and should, do so without getting ensnared in what is a separate issue about the applicability of the WPR to this situation.The opponents of such assistance can draft a straightforward prohibition on U.S. assistance without reference to the WPR.
Going forward, separating the debate about continued U.S. assistance to Saudi Arabia from a debate about the applicability of the WPR will help ensure that Congress meets its responsibility to decide the assistance issue, without affording supporters of such assistance a war powers argument that distracts rather than clarifies the merits of the assistance question.
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
(B K P)
Confirmation [again] that #UK trains #Saudi pilots and provides engineering support for #UK-supplied planes - thus enabling the war on #Yemen. (text in image)
https://twitter.com/YemenSource/status/979675417715109888
(* B K P)
ANALYSIS: UK trading 'soft power' for hard cash in post-Brexit arms deals with Gulf
With a year to Brexit, opposition leaders and campaigners say the UK is rushing to 'frankly disgusting' trade and defence deals in Middle East
British influence in the Middle East will decline dramatically after Brexit as the UK trades its substantial "soft power" for hard cash from defence deals and arms sales with "authoritarian regimes", according to analysts, campaigners and opposition politicians.
With only a year left until the UK's official moment of departure from the European Union, a string of academics, policy experts and opposition politicians have told Middle East Eye that Theresa May's approach to Brexit is likely to weaken the UK's diplomatic standing.
In a series of interviews, they said that the UK government's "flippant" approach to trade and security discussions is leading to a "desperate" rush to sell arms and financial services to Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and UAE.
Critics say, the rush to Brexit is leading the government to make "compromising" deals with authoritarian states in the region.
(* B K P)
ORG Explains #2: The UK Military in the Arabian Peninsula
This primer explains what presence, relations and obligations the UK military has in the Arabian Peninsula, including the six monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Yemen
Context:
Fifteen years on from the invasion of Iraq and three years after regional intervention in Yemen began, the UK maintains a significant military presence in all the Gulf States. Control of the trade and oil supply routes around the Persian Gulf and Red Sea is also hugely important in British maritime strategy, justifying a permanent naval presence there. In the current decade, the air war against Islamic State and a desire to boost arms sales, contain Iran and to support the future operation of British aircraft carriers has led to a significant enlargement of the British military footprint in the Arabian Peninsula and Arabian Sea. Given concerns about regional human rights violations and the use of British weapons and British military training and assistance in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, this presence has become increasingly controversial.
Key points:
The UK has informal defence commitments to at least five regional states but no binding defence obligations to them.
The Gulf region has the largest concentration of British military forces outside of the UK, including about 20% of the operational Royal Navy and over 300 personnel embedded with local militaries.
The British military presence is dynamic and has expanded since 2013 to include new naval bases in Bahrain and Oman, use of air bases in Dubai and Kuwait, a desert warfare training centre in Oman, and a planned joint fighter squadron in Qatar.
Exports to the region are critical to UK military aerospace business models and likely to constitute over half of all British arms exports in coming years. Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar are the key markets.
Saudi Arabia’s conflicts with Iran, Yemen and Qatar have been major business opportunities for UK arms suppliers but pose risks of escalation and costly military interventions.
There is obvious tension between what the National Security Capability Review calls the fundamental values of Global Britain - respect for human dignity, human rights, freedom, democracy and equality – and the UK’s growing military presence in the Gulf States and involvement in the Yemen war.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
(A P)
Late former president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s Press Secretary Ahmed al Sufi met with Russian Ambassador to Yemen Vladimir Dedushkin to discuss the unification efforts of the General People’s Congress (GPC) party in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 29. [1]
(* A K P)
UAE stops work on Bab al-Mandab island base
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) appears to have stopped building a runway on Yemen’s Mayyun (Perim/Barim) island in the Bab al-Mandab strait, but is pushing forward with a base near Berbera in Somaliland.
Using satellite imagery and ship-tracking data, Jane’s revealed in February 2017 that the UAE had begun constructing a 3.2 km-long runway on the volcanic island in late 2016, probably to support its military operations in southern Yemen and/or help secure the strategically important maritime chokepoint.
However, DigitalGlobe satellite imagery shows construction stopped less than a year after it begun.
The UAE’s plan to build a military base in Berbera was revealed in February 2017, when it was approved by the parliament of the separatist region of Somaliland, although few details were announced.
http://www.janes.com/article/78929/uae-stops-work-on-bab-al-mandab-island-base
(A P)
France accuses Iran of arming Yemen's Huthi rebels
France on Thursday accused Iran of supplying weapons to Huthi rebels waging a three-year fight against a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and rejected Tehran's denial.
"There is a problem in Yemen: it is that the political process has not begun, that Saudi Arabia feels regularly attacked by the Huthis, who are themselves supplied with arms by Iran," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL radio.
Le Drian's comments come just days before an official visit to France by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
My comment: “Saudi Arabia feels regularly attacked by the Huthis” is nonsense as Saudi Arabia started the anti-Yemen air raids 10 weeks BEFORE the Houthis starting attacks on Saudi territory, which thus are retaliatory; Saudi Arabia itself created this threat, and by ending the war also can stop it again.
Comment: So said France, while arming the Saudis and training UAE pilots.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1694190563967300
and
(A P)
Yémen: Jean-Yves Le Drian assume les ventes d'armes françaises et accuse l'Iran
Jean-Yves Le Drian était interrogé ce jeudi 29 mars sur la radio RTL sur la situation au Yémen et notamment les ventes d'armes françaises à l'Arabie saoudite qui intervient militairement dans le pays. Le ministre des Affaires étrangères a défendu la position de la France dans ce conflit et pointé la responsabilité de l'Iran dans l'armement des rebelles houthis.
« Nous appliquons les règles internationales pour toutes les ventes d'armes. Nous avons un dispositif très rigoureux d'exportation des armes et nous le respecterons avec beaucoup de vigilance », a répondu Jean-Yves Le Drian interrogé ce jeudi 29 mars sur RTL.
http://www.rfi.fr/moyen-orient/20180329-yemen-drian-assume-ventes-armes-france-accuse-iran
And
(A P)
FM spox refutes France anti-Iran allegations
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman rejected France's anti-Iran allegations about shippling weapons to Yemen.
Such a claim is false, and its repetition by some regional and transnational states will make no change in the determination of the Islamic Republic of Iran to enlighten the world's public opinion about one of the most horrific human calamities, the war crimes of contemporary history and the oppression of the defenseless Yemeni people, Bahram Qasemi said.
http://www.irna.ir/en/News/82874096
(* B K P)
Entraînement aux missions opérationnelles de nuit pour les équipages Rafale de la base aérienne des forces françaises stationnées aux Emirats arabes unis
[Despite #Yemen, France continues to train fighter pilots from the United Arab Emirates.]
Ces dernières semaines ont été l’occasion pour les équipages des Rafale de l’escadron de chasse 1/7 Provence des forces françaises stationnées aux Émirats arabes unis (FFEAU) d’approfondir leur coopération opérationnelle avec plusieurs partenaires stratégiques.
Au départ de la base aérienne 104, vingt-huit sorties ont été réalisées en quatre jours au-dessus du golfe arabo-persique, dont la moitié en manœuvre conjointe avec les forces aériennes émiriennes et marocaines. Ces sorties aériennes ont chacune impliqué entre quatre et six appareils français, et ont été exclusivement réalisées de nuit.
Ces activités intenses de préparation aux missions de nuit ont ainsi permis aux équipages de renforcer leur capacité d’entrée en premier sur un théâtre, une de leurs missions principales au titre de leur prépositionnement aux Emirats Arabes Unis.
My comment: You would not believe it – but this is from the French government!!
(A K P)
CANADIAN MP STANDS WITH YEMEN – CALLS FOR A WEAPON BAN ON SAUDI ARABIA
Canadian-based NGO CD4HR (Canadian Defenders for Human Rights) and the Yemeni Community in Canada (@YemeniCanada) hosted MP Helene Laverdiere at their protest in Ottawa calling for an end to all weapon sales to Saudi Arabia on the basis that Riyadh has proven to have violated Canada’s laws and regulations on the uses of such weapons on civilians.
http://en.shafaqna.com/canadian-mp-stands-yemen-calls-weapon-ban-saudi-arabia/
(* A K P)
Swedish Flight Services Reportedly Busted Directing UAE Warplanes to Yemen
Although the cooperation between the Swedish flight services and the United Arab Emirates is civilian-only on paper, Swedish air traffic controllers have testified to UAE aircraft carrying military equipment on their way to and from Yemen, raising suspicions that Sweden's involvement in the conflict isn't passive.
Contrary to assurances by Sweden's Civil Aviation Administration (LFV) of the strictly civilian nature of its cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, several Swedish professionals working in the UAE revealed that the LFV staff has been handling military flights on a daily basis, involving both fighter jets and transport aircraft, headed for Yemen, among other places, Swedish Radio reported.
Air traffic controller Jan Källström, who worked at Abu Dhabi International Airport between 2015 and 2017, admitted seeing military equipment being loaded on board a military freight plane at the airport.
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201803281062974490-sweden-uae-yemen-flights/
(* B P)
Sweden’s ethical foreign policy runs into Saudi sands
Margot Wallström discovers the drawbacks of having too frank a tongue
Sweden is in an even more uncomfortable position. Its coalition government was almost torn apart over the Saudi deal with the smaller Green party opposing it and the Social Democrats of Ms Wallström largely in favour. The Nordic country may also hold the world record for peace due to not being actively involved in a war since 1814, but it is also one of the world’s biggest arms producers. Swedish business people say they are worried competitors are using the spat with Saudi Arabia to tell customers that Swedes can no longer be trusted. Business leaders argue that it is fine to raise human rights in meetings with countries but they privately urge Ms Wallström to stop being so blunt in public, arguing that her words will have more weight if accompanied by a strong trade relationship.
Jacob Wallenberg, Sweden’s leading industrialist, says of the Saudi affair: “The consequences could be felt for a long time to come, and that includes jobs in the Swedish export sector, our prosperity, and opportunities to have influence through dialogue.”
https://www.ft.com/content/837e6704-d16c-11e4-98a4-00144feab7de
My comment: LOL. The arguing of the “business leaders” is how it normally works. Speak a little bit and softly of human rights stuff, then make your business.
(* A P)
Report finds French arms sales to Saudi and UAE could breach international law
A report commissioned by Amnesty International and French human rights group ACAT has found that French arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE could breach international law if these weapons are being used in the ongoing war in Yemen.
As a signatory to the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) of 2014, which was ratified by France and 88 other states in a bid to regulate international trade in conventional weapons, France is legally obligated to prevent arms sales in any situation in which its weapons will be used to violate international humanitarian law.
The report’s authors, Joseph Breham and Laurence Greig of the French law firm Ancile Avocats, stated that the study “shows a legally high risk that France’s arms transfers are contrary to its international commitments”.
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
(* B K P)
Conflict In Yemen And EU’s Arms Export Controls: Highlighting Flaws In Current Regime – Analysis
Under the 1998 EU Code of Conduct on Arms Export, which was replaced in 2008 by the EU Common Positionon Arms Exports, member states of the European Union have committed themselves to achieving ‘high common standards’ and ‘convergence’ in their arms export controls. The standards are outlined in eight criteria that require member states to abide by certain standards when assessing licences for arms exports. This includes denying licences when there is a ‘clear risk’ that the arms ‘might’ be used to commit violations of human rights or international humanitarian law (IHL) and ‘[taking] into account’ the risk that they will be diverted to an unauthorized end-user or end-use. Meanwhile, convergence in member states’ controls is promoted through systems of information sharing and—in cases where one state wishes to issue a licence for an arms export that another state has previously denied—a commitment to consult one another. However, decision-making in arms export licensing falls under states’ national competence and there is no formal mechanism at the EU level to sanction non-compliance with the Common Position. As such, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), parliamentarians and academics have often questioned whether EU member states are applying the criteria of the Common Position correctly and consistently.
Questions about the implementation of the Common Position have been particularly highlighted by the contrasting policies of EU member states on the export of arms to states in the Saudi-led military coalition engaged in the conflict in Yemen since 2015.[1] There have been multiple reports by United Nations agencies and NGOs alleging that the coalition has violated IHL standards, including through widespread and systematic attacks on civilian targets and a failure to appropriately distinguish between civilian and military objects.[2] These reports will be the subject of a ‘comprehensive examination’ conducted by a group of experts appointed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. They have also led some EU member states to restrict or halt arms exports that are likely to be used in Yemen to certain members of the coalition, and the European Parliament has called for the EU to impose an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia. However, other member states have implemented no such constraints, and others have allowed exports to the coalition to increase – By Mark Bromley and Giovanna Maletta
(* B P)
America Needs to Rethink Who It Sells Arms To
A just-released Cato paper by my colleagues Trevor Thrall and Caroline Dorminey suggests that we revisit foreign arms sales. Per the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), all such sales are supposed to be subject to vigorous review and risk assessment. However, the fact that the United States sells to many countries—including obviously fragile, tyrannical, and dangerous ones—suggests “that the risk assessment process is rigged not to find risk.”
Thrall and Dorminey set out to fix that. Applying an elegant but simple risk assessment based on five key metrics
They find that “there are a large number of risky customers in the world, and the United States sells weapons to most of them.”
They suggest a different approach.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/america-needs-rethink-who-it-sells-arms-24933?page=2
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
(* A E)
FIRST FLAME
The first foreign oil company in Yemen launched its first flame in the province of Shabwa on Thursday after more than three years of suspension.
Residents of the Oqla area of the province said that the company "OMV" began today to ignite the first torch to produce oil
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1694287293957627/?type=3 and also https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/979498873189171205
(A E)
One US dollar = 487 Yemeni rials.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/979411647621189632
(A E P)
Houthi Militias Accused of Looting 500,000 Oil Barrels
The Yemeni legitimate government accused Houti militias of starting Friday to implement a plot aiming to loot around 500,000 oil barrels from oilfields in Marib - Safir and Port of Ras Isa, although the government warned that this operation would ruin the pipeline.
Meanwhile, Houthi militias warned in regions under their control merchants and citizens from dealing with the new monetary print of the local currency, knowing that this print was issued by the legit government in Aden.
Minister of Information Moammar al-Eryani warned Houthi militia from extracting crude oil. He said, in a statement on Friday, that this act falls under the organized looting policies of the public money.
The Yemeni minister renewed previous warnings of the legit government and Safir Company, which is responsible for producing oil in Marib, from emptying the pipeline since this would ruin it and lead to the state’s failure in exporting crude oil.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1222796/houthi-militias-accused-looting-500000-oil-barrels
(A E P)
Yemeni Government Warns of Risk of Sale of Crude Oil by Houthi Militia
The Yemeni Government has warned of the danger of the Iranian-backed Houthi militias holding an agreement to sell light crude oil stored in a pipeline to transfer points from production fields in the Safer region of Marib to the general export port of Ras in the Red Sea in western Yemen.
http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1746197
My comment: Hadi government, by Saudi Press Agency.
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
Siehe / Look at cp6
(A T)
#IslamicState #Yemen presumably still active on fronts against Houthis in al-Bayda' given it announced another Bayda' martyr today, 4th this month: Abu Muhammad al-Sumali. There's a large Somali community in Yemen so hard to know if this guy came with #ISIL or was already in situ (photo)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/980031430125334533
(*A T)
Four al Qaeda militants killed in U.S. strike in Yemen: Pentagon
was carried out near al-Bayda.
“No civilians were present and therefore none were injured or killed as a result of the strike,” the statement said.
Comment: Setting the records straight: they were 'suspects', not 'militants'.
With drone strikes there are no certainties. Never
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1694271757292514
and
(* A T)
A drone strike kill 3 civilians in al Bayda province
A local source in al Bayda province, central of Yemen, said that 3 civilians were killed by an air strike launched by a US drone in al Sawma'a district.
The source told Almasdaronline that the raid targeted a civilian car western the district, killing three civilians instantly and injuring two others (photo)
http://almasdaronline.com/article/97930 and also https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/979704169480310784
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Arab Coalition Spokesman: hard evidence shows Iran providing supply of missiles to Houthis
Answering a question on how these missiles are being smuggled into Yemen, Col. Turki Al-Malki stressed that the smuggling of missiles did not start from Iran, but from the southern suburb of Beirut, where they were transported via Syria to Iran and then dispatched by sea by the so-called mother boat or ship to Yemen, explaining that the port of Al-Hudaidah became the main point of smuggling ballistic missiles and other weapons to Yemen.
Col. Al-Malki also cited that the US, Australian and French Navy forces have already intercepted a number of ships loaded with weapons while heading to Yemen.
Col. Al-Malki also stressed that the Coalition being led by the Kingdom is not looking for a strategy to get out of Yemen and that this war was not an option as the military intervention came as a response to the request of President Abdu Rabbo Mansur Hadi, reiterating that the goal of military operations is clear, to restore the Yemeni legitimate government recognized by the international community.
He also stressed that the Coalition has a clear strategy to achieve its strategic goal, but it is important to take into consideration that the war in Yemen is not against an official army but a terrorist militia and that the restore of the legitimate government in Yemen is not only the responsibility of the Kingdom but also the responsibility of the international community.
http://alriyadhdaily.com/article/1b4142b7de244e84a6c7daef78a7f23b
My comment: Hezbollah is supplying missiles to Iran for shipping them further to Yemen? While Saudi propaganda always claims Hezbollah is supported and armed by Iran?? Bullshit. – Maliki admits that “the Kingdom is not looking for a strategy to get out of Yemen”, well, good to know. Saudi Arabia will continue the war and wants to keep Yemen as a puppet state. – The Yemen war of Saudi Arabia should be the “responsibility of the international community.”??? The only responsibility is to stop it, the earlier, the better.
Comment: Israeli’s always shout out loud that Iranian missiles are being transferred to #Lebanon via #Iraq & #Syria, #Saudi coalition says that #Houthi missiles are being transferred from #Beirut to #Yemen via Syria, Iraq & Iran .. That’s what can be called “Ballistic Tourism”!
https://twitter.com/alihmourad/status/980372236359086080
(A P)
The fatwa is not new, but the climate is
In his interviews to the press, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that Islam is being hijacked by a faction that wants to attain power, the faction of Islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood, the Khomeini regime (the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) or the Sururist Movement, a wretched branch of the Muslim Brotherhood; but Islam is not the private property of these elements. Marking a departure from the culture of these groups regarding women, he has stated that the general Muslim conscience supports the ideals of decency and good manners without discrimination of color and strictures of the Abaya or the dress worn by Muslim women.
My comment: That’s the new propaganda story. Well, it’s propaganda, look at the Wahabism report in cp1.
(A P)
Iran’s use of Hezbollah Unit 3800 to create a new Hezbollah in Yemen
But it wasn’t until mid-2014, when a group of Hezbollah operatives were arrested in Yemen, held on charges of training Houthi rebels, the full extent of Iran’s involvement in Yemen became fully apparent.
The men arrested were connected to Hezbollah’s Unit 3800, a militia modelled on the Iranian Quds Force, whose operatives are highly educated, with most able to speak in the native tongue of those they are training, and just like their Quds Force counterparts, are sworn to uphold the Iranian regime’s quest to spread its revolution to foreign lands.
With Hezbollah being an Iranian proxy that receives a vast amount of financial support from Tehran, it is not only financed, armed and trained by the Iranian regime, but it also shares the same ideology espoused by the Iranian regime’s founder Ruhollah Khomeini, and since his death, has sworn full allegiance to Iran’s present Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
So, with Hezbollah intrinsically linked to Iran’s quest for regional domination, it comes as no surprise that the Lebanese militia is now giving extensive support to the Yemeni Shiite opposition terror group the Houthis, in their pursuit to bring down Yemen’s anti-Iranian President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, in a bid to install a regime loyal to Iran.
Also, if Iran was to have some form of full-scale military presence in Yemen, in the form of a Yemeni Hezbollah loyal to Tehran, backed up by a contingent of its own Qods Force personnel, Iran would be able to control the supply of goods and weapons to the area.
Because with any shipping travelling from the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea, having to navigate the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, which is located along the coastline of Eritrea and Djibouti on one side and Yemen on the other, all vessels have to pass through the Strait, making them vulnerable to Houthi attack – by Tony Duheaume
(A P)
An Iranian hand and Qatari scream behind the Houthi missile attack
It is no surprise that this terrorist organization launched these missiles with the aim of causing panic. This is what terror organizations such as Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, ISIS, al-Nusra Front and the Houthi Movement have in common. These groups’ main aim is to target the modern features of city life and take the world back to the dark ages.
After these missiles were intercepted, a close neighbor celebrated this criminal event against Saudi Arabia via its media outlets. The Qatari regime employed all its media platforms to celebrate and rejoice the missile attack. Some media outlets even stated that Riyadh was struck by an earthquake following the explosion, and that its streets wore a deserted look. What’s more important than the firing of the weak missiles is analyzing the incident from a political and security angle. The missiles were made by Iran, and countries must investigate how Houthis attained them.
It is important to confront Iran through political means and to enhance the presence of Iranian opposition groups regionally and internationally while economically isolating the regime.
Such a response would send shockwaves within Iran.
We also must take into account the Qatari regime and its political and media practices by preparing real, effective sanctions that would affect the regime’s core.
My comment: Just for the first paragraph quoted here: The author never has heard anything of Saudi air raids against Yemen? The Saudi air force and government would fit there much better than the Houthis.
(A P)
Saudi’s Grand Mufti slams Houthis as ‘corrupt tyrants’
The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia condemned the Houthi militia’s aggression toward the Kingdom on Thursday, describing it as a failed attempt by a corrupt tyrant who was “not of Islam.”
Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, who is the head of the Supreme Council of Scholars, praised the courage of the Saudi forces who had defended the country from the attacks.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1275516/saudi-arabia
Comment: Here we go: #Saudi Arabia's chief cleric reveals his true takfiri self. Just like Al Qaeda & ISIS. #Yemen Houthi tyrants are not Muslim, says #KSA Grand Mufti
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/979360675813298176
(A P)
'Life is back to normal…I forgive and forget at the same time also'
Alwaleed Bin Talal exclusively to Bloomberg Television
a lot of false articles were written in certain newspapers, like Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. And unfortunately, they were reported by CNBC.
And they were all false, wrong and they were based on innuendo, rumors and heresy. And that’s why I wanted to verify my position and also the position of Saudi Arabia. Although I don’t represent Saudi Arabia, but I’m Saudi citizen and I will not accept anything -- not even one iota of having Saudi Arabia being touched with such false rumors, innuendo and heresy.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/530912/SAUDI%20ARABIA
My comment: What else should he say when he wants not to be harmed again??
(A P)
Why Did Yemen's Iran-Backed Houthis Fire Missiles Into Saudi Arabia?
This goes alongside the necessity for senior Iranian regime officials to save face in times of increasing domestic unrest parallel to elevating international isolation.
As a result, the circumstances are ripe to increase pressure on Tehran with actions such as sanctioning the mullahs’ Central Bank and crippling the Revolutionary Guards.
My comment: Forbes linking the missile attacks to Iran.
(A P)
Spotlight on Iran’s media apparatus
There is, however, another highly dangerous reality, spreading from Tehran throughout the region and beyond, in the shape of the regime’s growing media empire.
The powerful threat posed by this network is must be understood. It is high time to put a spotlight on this growing phenomenon by focusing on containing and ultimately ending it.
The use of media and publications is a very important element of the regime’s ‘export of revolution,’ together with actual military operations, the establishment of religious footholds by founding centers and institutions and, as seen in Lebanon, appealing to the people by building free clinics, distributing food and other such charitable measures.
The United States has recently threatened to issue sanctions against Iran’s state TV and radio broadcasting empire, but, undeterred, Iran has announced its intentions to launch new French and Russian language networks, as well as targeting West Africa.
In a recent interview with Voice of America Farsi TV, Mr. Hassan Dai, a researcher into Iran’s international affairs, sheds light on Tehran’s vast media/publications grid.
(* A P)
In spite of leftist propaganda, we shall continue to buy weapons
Arab leftists and those influenced by their defeated culture have been criticizing Saudi Arabia for strengthening its military to develop it into a powerful deterrent force against any threats to its security and stability, such as the ones posed by the theocratic state of Iran. They concoct devious insinuations that imply military purchases are imposed on us by Western countries, especially the US.
It is for all these factors that Saudi Arabia is being targeted, whether directly as the Persian clerics aspire or indirectly by other international powers aspiring to have a foothold in our country. Our deterrent military power is thus a top priority. The purchase of weapons will undoubtedly contribute to deterring the avaricious countries.
Saudi Arabia has had the political acumen of betting on the right horse, since the time of Abdulaziz till the reign of Salman bin Abdulaziz, which is the West that is now headed by the US. Meanwhile leftist Arabs have historically sided with the eastern camp, specifically with the defeated Soviet Union. In the end, all those who placed their hopes on the eastern camp failed.
In the end I wish to tell those influenced by the vanquished leftist ideology that we will deal with the West, and we will benefit from its superior civilization and its accomplishments — both its military feats and its other cultural achievements.
Comment: This absurd article says everything about politics today. You can't make satirical headlines as ridiculous as this
https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/979755721716850691
My comment: LOL.
(A P)
Why Iranian people welcome Bolton’s new position
John Bolton has come to the attention of Iranian people only because of his support for the organized resistance.
Indeed, the nuclear deal is no longer the main issue for people in Iran. The prime concern is how to bring about necessary democratic change to their country and as such they welcome a firm policy against their oppressors.
Now, the Iranian society and oppressed people of Iran have a friend in White House, whose believe converge with their legitimate demands for change.
(A P)
Iran’s missiles shell Saudi Arabia
The Houthi-Iranian missiles which were fired towards Riyadh and other Saudi cities reveal why fighting the Houthis in Yemen is an existential matter and an inevitable choice, contrary to those demanding to halt the war or doubting its usefulness.
We are before a terrorist group that takes orders from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and that does not even aim to serve the interests of the Houthi Movement itself. Just like its masters in Tehran, this terror group frankly states that it wants death and destruction for Saudi Arabia and the Saudi people.
It’s important to clarify this for the thousand time and note that this is not only Saudi Arabia’s war but the war of an Islamic Arab coalition that has international legitimate support. The summary of the argument of Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesman of the Arab coalition, is that it’s Iran which actually shelled some Saudi cities while the Houthis are just a nickname, like when one uses a fake name on online interactive platforms!
Comment: It's not rocket science. The surest paths to peace & security for any country in the world: DO NOT bomb your neighbor. DO NOT finance your neighbour's armed conflict. DO NOT join in your neighbor's civil war.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/979287745846829056
But if instead you choose to ignore my perfectly sage advice on how to maintain peace, for God's sake, DO NOT COMPLAIN on the world stage when your angry neighbours bomb you back. That is by definition what happens when you launch a war – people shoot back at you.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/979294733980839937
(A P)
Yemeni politician and writer Ali al-Bukhaiti stresses that the #Imamate embodied in the #Houthis represents the arch enemy of all #Yemenis as well as the most dangerous obstacle to the projects of building a modern state. He Added, "their power must be overthrown by any means."
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/979142758010179585
(A P)
The National Commission to Investigate into Allegations of Human Rights Abuse said in a newly issued report it has collected 5,432 allegations of abuse across Yemen from 1 July 2017 to 31 January 2018.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16878
My comment: Looks like Hadi government figure play.
(* A P)
[Assets of Pentagon to Senate]
Does the aerial re-fueling mission of KSA and UAE planes constitute involvement in hostilities?
No. As DoD’s Acting General Counsel outlined in his February 27 letter to Senator McConnell, the Executive Branch’s longstanding view is that “hostilities” refers to “a situation in which units of U.S. armed forces are actively engaged in exchanges of fire with opposing units of hostile forces.” U.S. personnel providing support to the Saudi-led coalition are not engaged in any such exchanges of fire. The letter to Senator McConnell provides a more detailed response.
What types of missions do KSA/UAE aircraft participate in after receiving fuel from US aerial refueling tankers?
U.S. military aircraft refuel Saudi-led Coalition aircraft that undertake a variety of missions, including reconnaissance, surveillance, close air support, and strike missions against Houthi and counterterrorism targets. The DoD does not differentiate which aircraft are involved in particular missions. It is solely the responsibility of the Saudi-led coalition to direct the operations of Coalition aircraft that are refueled by the DoD. Coalition aircraft could accomplish a combination of several missions and respond to emerging threats/requirements while airborne.
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4414935/RFIs-to-Senate-Staff-20180313.pdf
My comment: Help to kill and declare this is humanity.
(A P)
How MBS went in to bat for the Arab world
What Crown Prince Mohammed is doing is not a game, obviously. He’s about bettering the future of the Arab world and building a relationship with the West based on facts, not the usual ugly fiction. He showed that someone in the Arab world finally understands how to speak effectively to Americans to reinforce the best interests of the Arab world using strategic communications, not confrontation or disagreement.
The first question Arabs face involves the Sep. 11, 2001, attacks and the fact that 15 of the 19 terrorists were Saudis. Rather than being indignant at the question, as others often are, Crown Prince Mohammed took it head-on, explaining that the 15 hijackers were as much a threat to Saudi Arabia as to America and the West. The second question Arab leaders face regards the perception that Arab women are more oppressed in the Arab world than they are in the West. Americans conveniently forget that American women are oppressed, too. It took the US 64 years for all 50 states to grant women the right to vote.
The third question is always about “oppression” and human rights, this time with reference to the recent measures to address “corruption.” The West has a questionable record on human rights, and civil rights as well, yet Saudi Arabia and the Arab world are always held to a higher standard.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1275111
My comment: Saudi propaganda exaggerates so much that even for dummies it turns to the ridiculous. – And be aware how the Crown prince is propagated as a batman not just for Saudi Arabia, but for the Arabs in general, including those he bombs to lumps of flesh and blood. Saudi Arabia again claims to be the Arabian overlord.
(A P)
Houthi militants, Iran aiming to impoverish Yemeni people: Saudi Ambassador
Houthi militia in Yemen are bent on “starving” the Yemeni people, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen Mohamed Al-Jaber said.
The Saudi official said in a media interview that “Houthi militants are pursuing Iranian policies aimed at impoverishing and starving civilians in Yemen.”
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1275296/middle-east
My comment: Odd propaganda, objecting to the Houthis (and Iran, of course) exactly that what the Saudis are doing in Yemen.
(* A P)
"Iran has interest in keeping Yemen as a failed state."
Major General Ahmad Hassan Mohammad Asiri was the spokesperson for the Arab coalition fighting in Yemen until July last year. He agreed to speak with Euronews’ Annelise Borges in Paris to talk about Riyadh’s military strategy in Yemen, as well as its vision for the future of the wider region.
Euronews: “Do you feel responsible for the deaths of thousands and the displacement of millions of people? Is Saudi Arabia responsible for the world’s worst humanitarian crisis?”
General Asiri: “To answer this kind of questions we need to see the picture in large angle. What happened in Yemen?
Euronews: “Surely the air campaign and the blockade have contributed to what Yemen has become now. The country has been brought to its knees.. you don’t feel like Saudi Arabia has had a role to play in that crisis?”
General Asiri: “If you allow me.. I will give you the total history. We cannot see Yemen as a segment. Despite the numbers that you mentioned there are different numbers, different evaluations of the situation… different angles to see the situation.
There is no doubt there are problems in Yemen. There is a humanitarian crisis, but what the Kingdom and the coalition are doing – we treat the cause and the consequences. Most of those people who comment on the crisis in Yemen, unfortunately remotely, just focus on the consequence and forget the cause. The cause is that there is a country that will go and be under control of the militias.
Euronews: Why has nothing been done to protect civilians in this war?
Intentionally killing civilians and destroying civilian property amount to war crimes?”
General Asiri: “Well, I think it’s not true. There is an investigation team.”
Euronews: “It’s not true that the Arab coalition targeted homes and shops?”
General Asiri: “No because it’s not the intention. Our intention is to save the population not to destroy. Go back to the reference of the intervention: it is related to the request of the government of Yemen, it is a legal process.
http://www.euronews.com/2018/03/28/iran-has-interest-in-keeping-yemen-as-a-failed-state
My comment: And so on. The most absurd propaganda again. We still know him from 2015 to 2017. Disgrace.
(A P)
Yemen Calls on UNESCO to Save Architectural Treasures from Houthis
The Yemeni government responded Tuesday to the calls of the people and activists in the capital Sanaa and made an official appeal to UNESCO to intervene and save the Yemeni architectural treasures and cultural heritage from Houthi militias.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Culture denounced the "deliberate and systematic distortion and destruction campaigns" that have been carried out by Houthi militias against Yemen's historical monuments for more than three years, most recently was in Sanaa, where they destructed historic buildings.
Members of the Houthi group have recently carried out a systematic campaign to paint the facades of historical buildings in the old city registered in UNESCO's heritage cities, in the colors of the group’s sectarian slogans and distort its unique architectural style.
My comment: The Houthis paint the buildings, the Hadi government cries “destruction”; the Saudis bomb them into rubble, the Hadi government cries “Thank you!”
(A H P)
Emirati humanitarian support propaganda
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/erc-concludes-relief-campaign-citizens-silw-yemen
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/erc-launches-general-cleaning-campaign-mocha-yemen
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/erc-launches-project-supply-schools-hadramaut-furniture-computers
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/erc-delivers-immediate-aid-newly-liberated-kirsh-district-yemen
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/erc-launches-water-network-hadramaut-yemen
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/erc-rehabilitates-training-hall-shabwa-education-office
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(* A K PH)
Saudi coalition air raids day by day:
March 28:
March 27:
(* A K PS)
Photo: King Fahad AFB has become the home of Arab F-16 Fighting Falcons.
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/979782235485298689
My comment: Note the different flags on the jets: Saudi coalition flying air raids against Yemen. And all the planes shown here sold by US.
(* A K PH)
13 citizens killed, wounded in Saudi-led airstrikes on Saada, Hodaida
At least six citizens were killed and seven others wounded in airstrikes waged by Saudi-led aggression warplanes on Saada and Hodaida provinces overnight, a military official told Saba on Saturday.
In Saada, a woman was killed in an airstrike hit Almaqash area near Saada city, while another citizen was killed due to an air raid on Tallan area of Hidan district.
Three people, including a woman and a child, were killed when the hostile fighter jets bombed their home in Ghafera area of Dhaher district, while six other citizens were injured in six airstrikes struck Baqem district.
A child was seriously injured and a house was damaged due to an airstrike on Sewar al-Asfal in Bani Maeen area of Razih district, while another air raid targeted Al-Qad area of the same district.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491710.htm
(* A K PH)
Saudi air strike kills 4 civilians in northern Yemen
According to Yemeni TV Channel ‘Almasirah’, Saudi jet fighters targeted a house in Az Zahir district and killed 2 women and a kid.
In another attack on a house in Almgash a woman was killed.
http://www.irna.ir/en/News/82874683
(A K)
#Saudi air strike targeted a farm in Baqem area #Saada and injured 7 farmers (photos)
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/979822771466317824
(A K PH)
Martyrdom of Woman in US-Saudi Aggression Raids in Saadah
A woman was killed Thursday midnight in a raid by US-Saudi Aerial Aggression targeted a house in Al-Maqash area of Sa'adah governorate
http://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=94&cat_id=1#.Wr49KbtncWM.facebook
(A K PH)
# Sa'ada: A crime committed by the Air Force on the area of Ghafra Directorate of Al-Zaher resulted in the martyrdom of a woman and her child and the injury of a citizen (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1795200577442595 and https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/979821410586591232
and
(A K PH)
A child was seriously injured and damaged the house today after a raid by the Saudi coalition aircraft on the lower bracelet in the area of Bani Moin Directorate Razih in the province of Saada
To this day, coalition aircraft launched a raid on a lower bracelet in the Bani Mu'in area of the Razih border department in Saada province (photo)
Remark: It’s the same child, the reports are contradictory. Also look at the Saba report above.
(* A K PH)
The rise of the crime of aggression on the city of Saada to 9 martyrs, including 4 women
The names of the victims of the crime committed by the Air Force in the area of Al-Maqash, which killed seven martyrs, including five women, a man and an unidentified body and thirteen wounded, including 10 women, two children and a man
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1795201677442485
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1795266564102663
(* A K PH)
The rise of the crime of Saudi aggression in the province of Saada to 8 martyrs, including 4 women + photos
The toll of the Saudi Arabian air aggression, which targeted Thursday night in Saada city, rose to 8 martyrs, including at least four women.
Local sources confirmed the death of 4 women and one man and injuring others after an air raid on a car targeted a citizen in the city of Saada.
The Saudi-American airliner also launched 14 raids on various areas of the city during the past hours.
These are pictures of the crime committed by the Air Force to target citizens' cars, which led to the death of 8 citizens, including 4 women and injuring 13 others, as a result of the final in the province of Saada. (photos)
http://www.almshhadalyemeni.net/75057/
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1794816780814308
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/979579415851126784
and
Fresh US-KSA Air Strikes Leave 13 Civilians Dead ,Injured in Yemen’s Saada
Eight Yemeni civilians lost their lives including four women as well injured 13 others when the fighter jets of the US-KSA aggression launched several air strikes ,some targeted citizens’ cars (photos)
http://www.newnewss.net/3562-2/
(* A K PH)
More Saudi coalition air raids reported on:
March 31:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491699.htm Hajjah p.
March 30:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491695.htm Hajjah p.
March 28:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491498.htm farms, Hodeidah p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491496.htm Bayda p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491495.htm Hajjah p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491492.htm Lahj p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491491.htm Hamdan, Sanaa p.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
(* A K PH)
Ballistic missile hits Saudi National Guards’ camp in Najran
The missile force of the army and popular forces on Saturday fired a ballistic missile of Badr-1 type on Saudi National Guard’s camp in Najran region
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news491712.htm
and
(* A K)
Saudi forces say Houthi missile intercepted over Saudi city: state media
Saudi air defense forces intercepted a missile fired by Houthi fighters in neighboring Yemen at the southern Saudi city of Najran on Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition said.
In a statement carried by state news agency SPA the coalition said that according to initial findings an Indian resident was injured by falling debris after the missile was intercepted.
The Houthi-run Saba news agency earlier said a missile was fired at a Saudi National Guard base in Najran, and that it had led to “losses in the ranks of the enemy and its military equipment”.
(*A K PS)
Five #civilian people from a single family were killed in landmine planted by the #Houthi militia in the district of Bart al-Enan of al-Jawf province, according to an official source.
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/979760047721996288
(A K)
Film: Reporting on continued battles, northern Lahj (in Arabic)
https://twitter.com/skynewsarabia/status/979382839446827008
(A K PH)
Yemen’s army says it has full control over Nihim; an area considered the eastern gate of the capital Sana'a.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/03/30/556930/Yemen-
Remark: From Iran. Here: The (greater) part of the Yemeni army allied to the Houthis.
(* A K PH)
Ballistic Missile Targeted Aramco
The Yemeni Rocketry Force fired the second ballistic missile targeting a Saudi oil company" Aramco" in Jizan on Thursday evening.
The Yemeni Rocketry Force launched on 22 of this month a ballistic missile of the same type on Saudi Aramco in Najran, express the locally ballistae in the front line against aggression.
http://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=89&cat_id=1#.Wr1Xs2RF9c8.facebook
and
(* A K PS)
Saudi Air Defense Force shoot down Houthi missile
The Royal Saudi Air Defense Force (RSADF) intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Yemeni Houthi rebels towards the southern city of Jazan, southwest Saudi Arabia, on Thursday evening.
The RSADF traced back the missile and found that it was launched by the from Sa'da governorate, northwest Yemen, Spokesman of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen Col. Staff Turki Al-Malki said in a press release.
"The missile attack deliberately targeted heavily populated areas but it was timely destroyed in midair before reaching its destination," Col.-Staff Al-Malki said, noting that no casualties resulted from the attack.
"Such attacks against populated areas in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pose a threat to not only the security of the Kingdom but that of the region and the world at large; they are also a flagrant violation of the international humanitarian law," Col.-Staff Al-Malki added.
https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2705774&Language=en and also http://www.china.org.cn/world/2018-03/30/content_50774691.htm
and film https://twitter.com/joshdcaplan/status/979436846580142080
My comment: The Saudi statement is ridiculous. If “Such attacks against populated areas […] pose a threat to not only the security [the country which is targeted] but that of the region and the world at large; they are also a flagrant violation of the international humanitarian law," then in the first pace the more than 16,000 Saudi air raids against civilian targets must be condemned. Up to now, the Houthis had fired 104 ballistic missiles against Saudi Arabia. That’s less than 0.7 %.
(A K PS)
Houthi shelling forces Beidha villag force residents to leave
Houthis have heavily shelled Al-Zowb village in the central Yemen province of Beidha, displacing the residents out their villages
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16879
(* A K)
The Houthi missiles, reportedly fired from different locations, were clearly intended to convey a reminder of the Houthis’ missile power, one of their strongest ripostes to Saudi Arabia. The missile fire occurred while Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman was on a visit to the US, and the US State Department issued a statement on Monday condemning the Houthi missile fire and affirming Washington’s support of its Saudi allies.
Commenting on the display of Houthi missile fire, Egyptian military expert Mohamed Qashqoush observed that had the missiles reached their targets simultaneously it would have meant they were fired from seven different platforms, an indication of the Houthi Movement’s growing expertise.
The ability of the Saudi air defences to intercept the missiles lay in securing the targets rather than the deployment of defences along the border with Yemen, which would be difficult given its length. Because of the intensity of the missile fire there may have been problems in intercepting all the missiles, he said – by Ahmed Eleiba
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/24181.aspx
(* A K PS)
How to Analyze the Missile Attacks on Saudi Arabia
First reports in wartime are almost always wrong. It’s very hard to know what is going on when looking at missiles at altitude in darkness from cellphone videos. Scoring anti-missile hits usually requires analysis of radar, video, and debris to discern hits from misses.
Metal on dirt doesn’t mean Patriot failed. The Patriot PAC-2 missile launched at what appeared to be an Iranian Qiam missile (the same type of missile found to have been fired by the Houthis into Saudi Arabia in 2017, and which analysis of photos suggests was painted and designated by the Houthis as Burkan 2) uses a proximity fused warhead that explodes when it comes alongside the target. Patriot prevents the warhead from reaching its ground target, but it doesn’t vaporize the missile entirely.
Where is the crater? There are videos and pictures of various missile components on the ground in Riyadh. Some of this may be stages of the missile separated from the warhead. In any event, if the missile made it to the target, there should be a crater and significant damage from the warhead’s detonation.
http://www.agsiw.org/analyze-missile-attacks-saudi-arabia/
My comment: One video is evident: The Patriot was fired into the sky, turned, crashed down.
And
(B K P)
Patriot Missiles Are Made in America and Fail Everywhere
The evidence is in: the missile defense system that the United States and its allies rely on is a lemon.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/28/patriot-missiles-are-made-in-america-and-fail-everywhere/
and
(B K P)
This is the Patriot missile defense system that just 'failed catastrophically' in Saudi Arabia
http://www.businessinsider.de/patriot-missile-system-photos-tour-2018-3?r=UK&IR=T
and also https://www.newsy.com/stories/is-saudi-arabia-shooting-down-missiles-experts-skeptical/
(A K P)
Belgium condemns Houthi missile attacks against Saudi Arabia
https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2705720&Language=en
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(* B H)
Observing sensitivity in slums in Yemen: the veiled challenge
This study represents the first video observation of parenting practices conducted in Yemen, where filming women is a taboo, and women are generally fully veiled, showing only their eyes, in the presence of strangers. A total of 62 mothers and children (aged 2–6 years) were filmed in their homes for 15 min during free interaction. The mothers’ veils were not experienced as hampering the coding of sensitivity. Consistent with the socioeconomically deprived context, average sensitivity levels were low, but over 25% of mothers were rated as (very) sensitive. About half of the mothers elected to have their child do household chores, which in turn was related to lower levels of sensitivity. Observations revealed frequent looking at the camera. Almost half of the mothers verbally expressed insecurity about the videotaping, and a third expressed awareness of being filmed. Interestingly however, these behaviors were unrelated to Ainsworth ratings of maternal sensitivity.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616734.2018.1454058
(-)
"Yemen is a threading yards"
by Ahmed AL-Jabri 2017/12/16 - Yemeni !!
A Digital painting illustrates the complex political and humanitarian situation in my country Yemen.
You can see the red, white and black which are the colors of Yemen's flag threaded in between chaos, local and international war, the victim is the Yemeni inside and outside Yemen !!
https://www.behance.net/gallery/59940011/Yemen-is-a-threading-yards-A-Painting-by-me
( A K)
Film: Yemen: The Tragedy Of Besieged Taiz On Stage
Under the slogan "Taiz is a culture besieged by war", the Culture Office in the theater of the University of Taiz, south-western Yemen, organized a play that embodies the tragedy of the city, which has been under siege and fierce battles for nearly three years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRYJRAwJEO4
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-398-yemen-war-mosaic-398
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-398 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-398:
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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