Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 409 - Yemen War Mosaic 409

Yemen Press Reader 409: 2.5.2018: Kinder und Krieg–MONA Relief–Bräutigam in Luftangriff–Kochen mit Holz u. Müll–Doppelmoral in US-Außenpolitik–Westliche Medien–Britisches Personal im Saudi-Krieg

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Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

May 2, 2018: Children at war – MONA Relief: Ramadan campaign – Groom on wedding air strike – Burning firewood and rubbish for cooking – US foreign policy double standards – Western media and Yemen – British personal assisting the Saudi war in Yemen – and more

Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Klassifizierung / Classification

Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics

cp2 Allgemein / General

cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp9 USA

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade

cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner

cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

cp13d 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

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

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

Neue Artikel / New articles

(** B H K)

The violence of daily life in Yemen

This week’s Dateline film, ‘Yemen’s Children of War’ explores the violence and danger of everyday life in Yemen through the eyes of three young children.

The filmmaker Khadija Al-Salami wrote a brief reflection of her time reporting the story, and what she witnessed

Making this film was a real nightmare.

When the war started I was devastated and all I wanted to do was going back to Yemen and be with my family. I felt so hopeless in the face of a war where cluster bombs were killing civilians despite being prohibited by international law. The worst aspect is that this war is carefully hidden from the rest of the world.

It took me two years to reach Yemen as Saudi Arabia imposed a total blockade on the country by air, sea and land, which caused the worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War.

Finally, I was able to go with the UN humanitarian flight.

When I arrived I saw 11-year-old Ahmed by the window of his house trying to shoot down the bomber planes with an old rifle belong to his grandfather.

I was intrigued by the boy and I went to talk to his mother who told me that her son has been traumatised by this war. This conversation gave me the idea to make the film through the eyes of children, because they are the first victims of this unjust war and don’t understand why they are killed, and why millions of children are deprived from going to school and living their childhood in peace.

This week on Dateline, we follow three young Yemeni kids as they report on the violence and war around them.

Filming much of the footage on mobile phones, young reporters Rima, 8, Ahmed, 11 and Youssef, 9, record remarkable interviews showing the everyday reality of life for Sana’a’s residents who live under constant airstrikes.

“I don’t like to play war” explains Youssef, “If I survive this war, I want to be a dentist.”

On the outskirts of Sana’a, the young reporters meet an orphan child – just 4 years old - whose entire family has been killed. Amongst the rubble of her home, they find the belongings of her dead mother, father and brothers.

“With their weapons they killed your whole family. And now you no longer have a future,” says Ahmed, crying.

With no end to the war in sight, what does the future hold for Yemen’s children? (film)

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/article/2018/05/01/violence-daily-life-yemen

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/story/yemens-children-war

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8lRci_oVkE (promo)

and excerpt:

(** B H K)

Film: She Lost Her Whole Family By An Airstrike

In an interview carried out by children, a little girl hugging her teddy-bear, recalls being on a swing when a missile hit her home changing her life forever.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/1728182353901454/

and also

(* B H K)

Al-Anod Al-Hakmy, alone against a war

I met Al-Anod Al-Hakmy today and she told me how her family was killed at the beginning of this month, February 1, 2017 .

Al-Anod said: "I was playing around our home when Saudi warplanes came to target our home and killed my entire family "

https://www.facebook.com/notes/living-in-yemen-on-the-edge/al-anod-al-hakmy-alone-against-a-war/1275813269138367/

(* B K P)

All sides deepen the conflict in Yemen

Over the past three years, the civil war in Yemen has expanded internationally. Most recently, the Houthis have increased missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, and though Saudi air defenses have neutralized these launches, they propagate further escalation of the conflict in Yemen.

With the three-year mark on Saudi intervention in Yemen being punctuated by an increase in attempted Houthi attacks on Saudi cities, the likelihood of a quick end to the conflict is low. The Saudi coalition has only made modest gains of territory, and talks to end the fighting are not going well. The Houthis have shown that they still possess the ability to threaten Riyadh, although the Saudi Patriot missile defense system intercepts almost all of the Houthi rockets. Riyadh views these attacks as acts of war orchestrated by Iran, which further pushes the Saudis to retaliate. Their conditions for peace in Yemen are victory along with the complete disarmament of Houthi rebels, a condition that is unacceptable to the latter.

Given both sides’ refusal to alter their demands, it is unlikely that a compromise can be reached soon. This does not bode well for the humanitarian catastrophe, especially given the heavy toll Saudi tactics have on Yemeni civilians – by Myriam Maalouf

https://globalriskinsights.com/2018/04/sides-deepen-conflict-yemen/

(B K)

Poet Abbasid Salih ibn Abd al-Quddus once said:

When will the buildings reach their final stages
if you build while others destroy?
When will he who commits evil stop
if he does not feel regret?

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Siehe auch oben / Also look at above

(** A B H)

Ramadan 2018: Food & Medicine Campaign for Yemen

Providing 20.000 families with wheat, rice, sugar, cooking oil, powdered milk and medicine.

Mona Relief has been carried out over 180 projects in Yemen since the war started in 2015. This year, 2018, unfortunately, the war is still going on, but that dosen't stop us. Our goal this year will be to provide Ramadan packages to 20.000 families with wheat, rice, sugar, cooking oil, powdered milk and medicine. Mona Relief, a 100% Yemeni Organization based in Yemen took the initiative with this campaign. With as simple as 20 EURO, you are able to feed a family for a whole month.

Our aim for this Ramadan campaign in 2018

Regardless of the purpose of the project, our aim has always been the same - to serve the helpless people. This year we will focus especially on food and medicine.
During winter 2017 we carried out a lot of clothing projects for the winter, and this year we will start out by our food and medicine projects again.

Our goal for this project will be to reach 30.000 USD in 45 days.

We are planning to visit many of the Yemeni governorates, and with your donations we will carry out the projects. All our projects are documented and pictures of them can be found on our website (www.monareliefye.org) or our twitter (@monarelief).

Our Campaign will provide funds to help families during Ramadan and after it.

$30 can do more than you think

By giving a simple amount of only $30, you are helping a whole family for one month. For each $30 donated we can supply the following for a family for a month:

Don’t forget to visit our website https://www.monareliefye.orgsee our previous projects.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ramadan-2018-food-medicine-campaign-for-yemen#/

(** A H K)

‘Whole world turned red’: Groom recalls deadly Saudi airstrike on Yemeni wedding

People were torn apart and the world turned red when a Saudi-led airstrike hit a wedding in Yemen’s Hajjah province, the event’s groom told RT’s Ruptly, calling the indiscriminate attack “an act of barbaric aggression.”

Yahya Jaafar said that he was with young guests at his wedding when “the missile came and targeted the room and the rest of the house.” He recalled that he “got thrown out of the building by the power of the explosion,” while “the whole world turned red.”

The man survived the blast, saying: “Thank God, I’m alright. But I don’t hear well because of that.” But most of his guests weren’t that lucky, as “many young people got killed and many wounded,” becoming crippled for life.

“There were some victims who were torn in half,” while splinters injured many others “in belly, head, neck, hands or legs,”the groom recalled. The airstrike caused a complete destruction of the building where the wedding took place, he added.

The Saudi-led airstrike on April 22 left between 20 and 50 people killed, according to various reports, with many women and children among the victims. “My cousin has died and other relatives got injured. I can’t even count how many friends of mine are wounded,” Jaafar said, adding that there was no justification for a missile strike on a peaceful ceremony.

“This was without reason and there was no meeting of the Houthis and this was an indiscriminate bombing,” the groom said. The actions of the Saudi-led coalition were “an act of barbaric aggression,” he added.

Ruptly also visited the wounded in hospital, with one of them saying that it was a horrific site after the bombardment, as the people “were torn to pieces. There were corpses without heads or hands – or even cut in half.”

After the attack, there were some who had to gather body parts scattered around and match them to the corpses placed on blankets, he added. The man said that “the majority of the guests died of their wounds lying on the ground,” while they were waiting for medical assistance.

Saudi jets reportedly kept flying over the site of the bombing for some time to prevent ambulances from accessing those in need. A young boy, who was also affected by the blast, said that he “was looking at people dancing” when the missile hit and he was injured.

“Everything was in smoke and fire. I tried to get up several times, but I couldn’t walk. I just stayed lying until medics came and took me to an emergency car,” he recalled. Another injured guest said: “I’ve lost my foot – the same for my brother. My other brother died because of the bombing.”

He also insisted that there was no need for the coalition to target the wedding, saying: “We didn‘t have anything there. No weapons. Nothing.”

https://www.rt.com/news/425649-yemen-groom-wedding-airstrike-saudi/

and

(** B H K)

Film: Yemen: Groom recalls horrific moment 20 killed in Saudi airstrike on wedding

Yahya Jaafar, the groom of a wedding that was struck by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike, killing at least 20 people in the city of Hajjah on 22 April, sifted through the rubble at the site of the attack, on Monday, recollecting the incident.

SOT, Yahya Jaafar, groom (Arabic): "I was gathered, I and the young men for my wedding. There were so many of us, then came the missile, it hit the room and the rest of the house. Many young people were killed and many were wounded too. This happened for no reason, and there was no gathering of the Houthis, this was indiscriminate bombing."

"This bombing caused the complete destruction of buildings and people. Many people died, many were wounded, some lost their hands, some lost their legs."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYHac62syQk

(** B E H)

Yemenis resort to burning firewood and rubbish to cook food

Saudi blockade has caused a chronic shortage of propane gas, forcing Yemenis to find alternatives to prepare food.

Since November, millions of Yemenis have been affected by a chronic shortage of fuel after Saudi Arabia tightened its blockade on Houthi-controlled ports and airports.

The shortage of fuel forced factories to lay off their staff, taxi prices to increase astronomically and hospitals, which rely on diesel to power their generators, to start closing wards.

Fuel imports in March were less than one-third, 30 percent, of the national requirement, according to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Power shortages have caused a burgeoning rise in demand for diesel and gasoline on the black market, and young men and boys have begun lining major thoroughfares, selling plastic water bottles filled with bright red or deep yellow fuel - at up to five times the normal price.

Al-Amari said he could afford to pay $17 (YR4,300) to fill one cylinder of gas in rebel-held areas, the cost in government-run areas is only $3.8 (YR950).

But, in a country where more than half the population lives on less than $2 a day, he quickly realised that cooking gas, like diesel, was a luxury and an alternative was needed.

"We resorted to buying firewood because buying cooking gas became too expensive," he told Al Jazeera.

"We now head to the market and buy sticks [firewood]. That's how we've learned to cook."

Al-Amri said cooking with firewood had become the norm for several families he knew, with burning embers a frequent sight on the city's rooftops at night.

Abdu Alghaili, a firewood dealer, said the gas shortage had led to a spike in his business, but left the poorest most vulnerable.

"Customers are looking for anything as replacement for cooking gas, and firewood is their best choice.

"I used to sell a bunch of sticks for $1.2 (YR300), but they now cost $4 (YR1,000).

"I have to fetch the wood from outside Sanaa. I go to Hajjah [120km north of Sanaa] or Tehama [200km west] and spend around a week collecting the firewood before hauling it back in the truck. It's not an easy job."

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/yemenis-turn-firewood-rubbish-cook-food-180420223001821.html

(** B P)

Too Many Foreign Policy Double Standards Hurt U.S. Credibility

The hypocrisy is especially evident in Washington's approach to Saudi Arabia and other Middle East 'allies.'

American leaders like to portray the United States as an exemplar of ethical conduct in the international system. The reality is far different, and it has been for decades. t.

The gap between professed values and actual policy is especially evident in the Middle East. U.S. officials routinely excoriate Syria and Iran, not only for their external behavior, but for manifestations of domestic abuse and repression. Some of those criticisms are valid. Both Bashar al-Assad’s regime and Iran’s clerical government are guilty of serious international misconduct and human-rights violations. But the credibility of Washington’s expressions of outrage is vitiated when those same officials remain silent, or even excuse, equally serious—and in some cases, more egregious—abuses that the United States and its allies commit.

Indeed, the United States has been an outright accomplice in those atrocities, which among other tragic effects, has led to a cholera epidemic in Yemen. The U.S. military refuels Saudi coalition warplanes and provides intelligence to assist them in their attacks on Yemen—attacks that have exhibited total indifference about civilian casualties.

Washington’s double standard also is evident regarding the international conduct of another U.S. ally: Turkey.

The flagrant U.S. double standard also is apparent in the disparate assessments of the domestic conduct of Iran and such U.S. allies as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. UN Ambassador Nikki Haley verbally eviscerates Tehran at every opportunity for repressing its population.

The Saudi royal family does not tolerate even a hint of domestic opposition.

There may be plausible geo-strategic reasons for persisting in such double standards. Iran, for example, has been openly hostile to the United States and its policy objectives since the fall of the Shah. It is not illogical for Washington to be intent on countering the influence of Tehran and its Syrian ally, even if that requires making common cause with other repressive regimes in the region. But U.S. leaders need to be candid with the American people and acknowledge that their decisions are based on cold calculations of national interest, not ethical considerations. They should at least spare us their pontificating and the pretense that they care about the rights or welfare of Middle Eastern populations. Washington’s policies indicate otherwise - By TED GALEN CARPENTER

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/too-many-foreign-policy-double-standards-hurt-u-s-credibility/

(** B P)

Western Media Frames and Filters: The Worthy and the Unworthy Victims

Killing huge numbers of innocent civilians is called “mass murder”, but only when Western media choses to call it so. Four years of war in Yemen show no sign of yielding – especially as Saudi-led coalition air attacks continue on a daily basis. In the past week, these attacks have killed at least 45 people including wedding party guests, women and children.

In 2016, Saudi Arabia admitted that it used UK-manufactured cluster bombs in its war on Yemen. Prior to the revelation, Britain denied their cluster munitions were being used by the Saudi-led coalition.

In this context, Professor of American Studies at Tehran University, Dr. Zeinab Qassemi Tari told al-Ahed news that the matter reminds her of Hermana and Chomsky’s notion of worthy and unworthy victims: “the media frames and filters one victim as worthy and the other as unworthy and this becomes the basis of sustained propaganda campaigns.”

To overtly explain the notion a bit more; Worthy victims are the ones who merit lavish attention and concern, are those whose fate can be attributed to someone else, preferably an official enemy. Unworthy victims, whose fate is ignored or denied, are those for whose suffering or slaughter we are responsible. The criterion holds remarkably closely, past and present.

Dr. Qassemi Tari pointed out that “the atrocity committed against the Yemeni civilian population on a large scale which has created a catastrophic situation does not get a comparable attention to that of Syria.”

“To give but one example, based on a UNICEF report every 10 minutes at least one child out of five dies out of deprivation and nearly half of all children are chronically malnourished. Not to mention the siege and the mass starvation of the majority of the Yemeni population.”

She notes that when the war in Yemen is covered, the media blames the Houthis (often unjustly referred to as Shia Iran proxy); because such a narrative reduces the complex political situation in Yemen, which began with the reinstating of Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to an alleged Shia/Sunni strife.

According to the university professor and political analyst, “the media overlooks the other side of the story which is the Saudi’s closure of land, air and sea to cut desperately needed food, and medicine and the backing of the United States and its Arab dictatorships.”

She underscores that interestingly, the power of the “western media” (often associated with “objectivity”) as opposed to state-run media of the so-called “third world countries” is so strong that, Noam Chomsky, also calls for a US military Intervention in Syria.

There is just a series of double standards in the Western media in particular over Yemen and Syria during our time. The Syria attack reveals the hypocrisy of the West. This West relies on unverified claims to punish Syria while it fuels the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen despite documented abuses.

Western intervention in the region has only served in destabilizing it, just like Western media has created a mainstream narrative that “victimizes” some and “evilizes” others by selection.

https://www.ilfarosulmondo.it/western-media-frames-and-filters-the-worthy-and-the-unworthy-victims/

(** B K P)

The War on Yemen and Pro-Saudi Propaganda in the West

The only thing worse than the general Western neglect of the war on Yemen is the use of pro-Saudi talking points to describe it. Irina Tsukerman does just this when she misleadingly writes about “Iran’s war in Yemen”.

This passage is full of false and misleading statements. The Houthis are responsible for impeding aid deliveries in territory they control, but they have neither the means nor the inclination to blockade their own country. The accusation is self-refuting and an obvious lie. The sea and air blockade of the country was imposed by the coalition at the outset of the Saudi-led intervention. The blockade is the principal cause of the country’s humanitarian crisis, and the responsibility for it rests entirely with the Saudi-led coalition and its Western backers.

The coalition was not “forced” to do this, but chose to do it from the beginning of their war. The coalition blockade predates any missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and was not imposed because of them, so that is another lie.

It is exceptionally dishonest to label the conflict “Iran’s war” when Iranian involvement has been and remains negligible for the last three years. Tsukerman asserts that “Tehran is building a naval base in Yemen,” but that is also false. When an Iranian officer suggested the idea of such a base back in 2016, the Houthis publicly rejected it in the strongest terms.

It is the Saudis, Emiratis, and other coalition governments that intervened directly over three years ago, and it is their forces and proxies that occupy portions of Yemen to this day. Their planes are the ones that bomb Yemeni cities on daily basis with U.S. assistance, and it is their navies that strangle the country with their blockade. This is not Iranian “disinformation,” but a description of what has been happening to Yemen for over three years. These are well-documented facts attested by countless reports from news agencies, humanitarian organizations, human rights groups, and the U.N. Making excuses for Saudi coalition crimes and shouting “Iran!” as a diversion can’t change any of that – by Daniel Larison

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-war-on-yemen-and-pro-saudi-propaganda-in-the-west/

(** B K P)

New documents show the UK signed up in secret to support Saudi military action

More secrecy won’t protect Yemeni or Saudi Arabian civilians — or the British citizens at work behind the front line

Faced with inevitable legal and political criticism, the UK government insists that it isn’t responsible forand cannot even necessarily knowhow UK-supplied weapons are used after they have been shipped. Last July the High Court agreed (though activists are now applying to appeal that decision).

The reality of the UK’s relationship with the Saudi military challenges this ‘flog and forget’ theory of arms control. Under a sequence of formal agreements between the UK and Saudi governments since 1973, the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and its contractors supply not only military ‘hardware’, but also human ‘software’. Around 7000 individualsprivate employees, British civil servants and seconded Royal Air Force personnelare present in Saudi Arabia to advise, train, service and manage British-supplied combat aircraft and other military equipment.

Ministers have nonetheless assured Parliament that these support staff are strictly hands-off: “there is no British involvement in the coalition in targeting or weaponizing aircraft to undertake missions [in Yemen]”. Likewise they insist that neither UK military personnel nor contractor personnel “are involved in the loading of weapons for operational sorties, nor are they involved in the planning of operational sorties”.

Documents and testimonies we’ve gathered paint a more complicated picture. Over the past eighteen months, with the support of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Katherine Templar and I have sought to map these British and British-employed personnel in Saudi Arabia, trying to understand their work and their experiences. Though their existence is hardly a secret, their precise numbers and functions have long remained obscure. The UK-Saudi agreements that govern their work are classified ‘UK Confidential/RSAF Secret’ and are closed from public release until 2027. Even UK ministers say they “do not have full visibility of the prime contractor’s manpower footprint in Saudi Arabia, the detail of which forms part of the commercial arrangements underpinning the delivery of much of the contracted support and is therefore sensitive.”

We’ve interviewed technicians, managers and officials from every level of this UK-Saudi ‘footprint’, backed up by individuals’ written CVs and formal job descriptions. If they are no longer physically loading bombs, as ministers insist, they’re still required to do almost everything else. A mix of UK company employees and seconded RAF personnel have continued to be responsible for maintaining the weapons systems of all Saudi Tornado IDS fighter-bombers, a backbone of the Yemen air war. They also work as aircraft armourers and weapons supervisors for the UK-supplied Typhoon fighters deployed at the main operating bases for Saudi Yemen operations, and provide deeper-level maintenance for Yemen-deployed combat aircraft.

These roles are underpinned by UK military commitments to Saudi Arabia that have never been disclosed to public or parliament. Our report discloses one of them, from a UK-Saudi agreement named ‘Al Yamamah’, which details how the UK will supply and support Saudi Arabia’s Tornado fighter-bombers.

As these papers show, the agreement requires that “United Kingdom civilian and military personnel will remain available in Saudi Arabia for preparation, including arming and support, of the [Tornado fighter-bomber] aircraft during an armed conflictin which Saudi Arabia is involved, though these personnel may not “participate” in the conflict directly. The clause makes no reference to the authorisation or lawfulness of such a conflict – by Mile Lewis

https://medium.com/@mikelresearch/new-documents-show-the-uk-signed-up-in-secret-to-back-saudi-military-action-6b97ccc4d373

and a more abridged version by RT: https://www.rt.com/uk/425631-yemen-saudi-arms-deals/

referring to this report:

(*** B K P)

UK PERSONNEL SUPPORTING THE SAUDI ARMED FORCES — RISK, KNOWLEDGE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Almost no public or parliamentary scrutiny is given to the other half of the UK’s sustainment of Saudi military capabilities: its human component. Thousands of UK and non-UK employees of UK companies work in Saudi Arabia to train, install, maintain and help operate UK-supplied aircraft and other military equipment, including the Tornado IDS fighter-bombers and Typhoon fighters that constitute just under 50% of the in-service combat aircraft of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF).

Unlike the supply of hardware, the provision of most of these services requires no licensing or authorisation from the UK government. Beyond occasional details elicited through parliamentary questions, there is no public reporting of this massive human operation. Indeed, the UK government claims that it does not know precisely how many UK nationals are providing such services at any one time, nor precisely what they do - despite these individuals working under the terms of a government-to-government agreement, and despite this human ‘footprint’ including seconded UK military personnel.

This paper aims to shine a light on this human counterpart to UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia. It examines: who these individuals are; what they do, including in the current Yemen conflict; and • how their activities are regulated by their employers and the UK government.

It also seeks to highlight the experiences, working conditions, rewards and hazards faced by this substantial UK overseas workforce. Many of these individuals describe their time in Saudi Arabia as amongst the most professionally and financially rewarding experiences of their lives. Some nevertheless also describe facing legal and professional risks more akin to those faced by serving military personnel, yet without the support or protections afforded to UK military forces or civil servants, and despite working on projects contracted directly by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD).

It draws on interviews conducted over two years with former UK government officials and private employees involved with these programmes, from senior management to front-line technicians and armourers. It also draws on public and private documentation, including previously unpublished UK government documents.

New information set out in this paper includes:

A full picture of the ‘footprint’ of around 7000 employees of UK contractor companies, UK civil servants and seconded UK military personnel, currently present in Saudi Arabia to support RSAF and other Saudi security forces.

Extracts from one of the secret government-to-government agreements governing the UK’s assistance to RSAF, which was signed in 1986 but whose terms remain in force. These extracts have never been shown to the UK parliament, nor published until now. They show that the UK-Saudi agreement includes a blanket commitment for UK personnel to remain available in Saudi Arabia for “arming and support” of RSAF Tornado aircraft during active armed conflict, without reference to the conflict’s authorisation or lawfulness. Documents show that this commitment was agreed by the UK Ministry of Defence during contract negotiations against the advice of UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials.

Details of the operational tasks carried out by UK employees of UK contractors in Saudi Arabia. During the current Yemen conflict, UK employees of the biggest such contractor, BAE Systems, have continued to be responsible for maintaining the weapons systems of all the Tornado IDS aircraft in RSAF’s inventory, including both training and operational squadrons, and including those operating from the Forward Operating Bases from where Yemen sorties are launched. Other UK employees of BAE Systems and a Saudi subcontractor, work as armourers and weapons supervisors for the Typhoon aircraft deployed at Taif airbase, one of the main operating bases for the Saudi-led Coalition’s Yemen operations. Senior BAE Systems and UK MOD staff also confirm that BAE Systems personnel have continued to provide second- and third-line maintenance for the aircraft deployed in the current Yemen conflict.

Reports from technicians and aircraft armourers working with RSAF that, notwithstanding the UK’s commitments to arm and support RSAF aircraft during armed conflict, BAE Systems implemented a “pullback” of their employees from direct handling of cluster munitions after 2008; and from directly operational roles in squadrons engaged in active combat after the start of the Yemen conflict in 2009/10. However, these individuals also allege that the pull-back was incomplete, and that armourers and technicians embedded with RSAF squadrons remained physically present during ground operations for combat-engaged aircraft, and undertook maintenance and weapons management functions during night-shifts and backshifts, at least during the 2009-10 Yemen conflict.

Details of the ‘white list’ system through which some transfers of licensable military equipment to Saudi Arabia take place without case-by-case Whitehall scrutiny. Such case-by-case scrutiny is a central basis of the UK government’s parliamentary and legal defence of its risk assessment regarding possible misuse of UK-supplied arms. This ‘white list’ mechanism means that the UK government does not always have knowledge about the kinds or quantities of military equipment that UK companies are supplying Saudi Arabia, nor their precise end-users. Three BAE Systems subsidiaries shipped equipment under this system during 2015, including BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd, the company directly responsible for weapons supplies and support to RSAF.

The absence of any UK MOD guidance on the reporting of possible violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) issued either to UK MOD officials managing the project in Saudi Arabia (MODSAP), or to other UK MOD or UK military personnel stationed in Saudi Arabia, including RSAF Liaison Officers. This contrasts with UK government statements to the High Court during 2017 that the UK government’s arms export officials gauge IHL violation risk in part based on information from MODSAP personnel, Liaison Officers and BAE Systems personnel.

Harassment faced by some UK employees in Saudi Arabia seeking to whistleblow about serious alleged wrongdoing, both from Saudi authorities and their own employers. In some cases these UK employees are denied corresponding protections of UK employment and whistleblowing laws.

A SYSTEM OF NOT KNOWING

UK officials interviewed for this paper, and at least one of the government-to-government agreements governing the supply of UK weapons systems to RSAF, thus suggest that the UK MOD has detailed knowledge about the roles and activities of UK personnel both civilian and military, private and governmental, in Saudi Arabia; as well as about the use of UK-supplied aircraft and their munitions. Conversely, it appears that the UK MOD has chosen not to put in place any system for using this knowledge to assess alleged IHL violations.

By contrast, in response to the authors’ Freedom of Information requests, the UK MOD has stated that it has issued no guidance on the reporting of possible violations of IHL either to MODSAP officials, or to any other UK MOD or UK armed forces personnel stationed with MODSAP, including Liaison Officers. The UK government’s justification for this lack of reporting guidance contrasts with its statements to the High Court

CONCLUSION

The UK government has taken the view that it cannot control, or even necessarily know, how the recipients of UK weapons will use them. All it can do is assess the risk of their misuse or diversion prior to authorising or denying their supply.

The UK has, accordingly, resisted imposing legal or contractual restrictions on the eventual use or retransfer of UK-supplied weapons, other than asking recipients not to use them to produce WMD or retransfer them to embargoed destinations. Unlike other countries from the USA to the Czech Republic, the UK also makes no formal checks on what happens to UKsupplied weapons after they are exported.

The Saudi case – and others where major arms sales are accompanied by a long-term support package – challenge this “flog and forget” school of export controls. UK involvement with these weapons systems does not end at the point of shipment. Instead, UK nationals in a mix of public, private, civilian and military roles continue for many years to be intimately involved with these weapons’ deployment and use.

Saudi Arabia’s active combat in Yemen since 2009 has brought to the fore this tension between involvement with other armed forces’ weapons systems, and responsibility for their use. The UK government’s solution has been to blur the public and the private: they contract engineers, pilots, instructors, armourers and technicians on behalf of the Saudi government through privileged but ultimately private companies. These private employees are considered servants of the UK government – and indeed some are serving, seconded UK military personnel -- when it comes to their fulfilment of contracts and their value for money; but as arms-length private commercial actors, whose activities and knowledge are not the purview of the UK government, when it comes to the use of the weapons themselves, and to the legal and professional risks these employees run in Saudi Arabia in the performance of UK government contracts. They work on behalf of the British state but with Saudi masters; without the legal protections accorded to UK civil servants or military personnel; and without any guidance or protocols for reporting risks of IHL violations to the UK government, or to their employers.

As this report shows, Whitehall’s limited oversight of their activities is a deliberately constructed choice. Greater scrutiny, both from Whitehall and from Westminster, might help protect the safety and rights of this major overseas UK workforce; and also help prevent UK nationals from becoming complicit in the Middle East’s widening conflicts – by Mike Lewis and Katherine Templar

http://www.mikelewisresearch.com/RSAFfinal.pdf and if link does not work, try via https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/990979561507774466

cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics

(* A H)

Yemen: 1,093,410 cholera cases as of April 28

WHO's Cholera Response Dashboard has returned to life after a week offline, and reports 1,093,410 cases and 2,277 deaths as of April 28. That is an increase of 2,122 cases and two deaths since April 20.

http://who-powerbi.net/bi/

(* A H)

Yemen: Cholera Response Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin: W14 2018 (Apr 02 - Apr 08)

The cumulative total from 27 April 2017 to 8 April 2018 is 1,088,030 suspected cholera cases and 2,272 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 389.2 per 10,000. The five governorates with the highest cumulative attack rates per 10,000 remain Amran (904), Al Mahwit (880), Al Dhale’e (639), Sana’a (528) and Dhamar (526).

Children under 5 years old represent 28.8% of total suspected cases

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-cholera-response-weekly-epidemiological-bulletin-w14-2018-apr-02-apr-08-enar

cp2 Allgemein / General

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

(* B K P)

A Saudi-Backed “Assassination” Could Worsen Yemen’s War

On Twitter, members of the Saudi royal family celebrated Sammad’s killing and touted it as a success for the country’s crown prince and de-facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, who recently toured Washington and Los Angeles to curry support from the Trump Administration. But the effect of the strike might be to push the Houthis further from the negotiating table. Sammad’s replacement, Mahdi al-Mashat, a politician in his thirties, has demanded all-out war with Saudi Arabia. Peter Salisbury, a senior analyst at Chatham House, said that the strike would reduce the interest of the group’s over-all leader, Abdelmalik al-Houthi, in peace talks. “What it does do is take someone who thought dealmaking was a way of ending the war and replace him with someone more bellicose,” Salisbury told me. “You get into a position where all the voices that Abdulmalik hears are all the hard-liners, the people who are benefitting the most from the war.”

Shireen al-Adeimi, a Yemeni analyst and doctoral student at Harvard, said that the strike sent the wrong message. “It’s an assassination,” she said. “Any group that assassinates political leaders gives a strong message that they don’t want peace talks. Imagine if the Houthis had sent missiles to Saudi that killed Mohammed bin Salman.”

U.S. officials have told me that when the bombing began, three years ago, the Saudis claimed that it would force the Houthis to the negotiating table in six weeks. But, as the campaign has dragged on, it has had the opposite effect.

The location of Sammad’s death, Hodeidah, is also fuelling concern. The port is a lifeline to the north of Yemen, and where the majority of humanitarian aid arrives to the country – by Nicolas Niarchos

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/a-saudi-backed-assassination-could-worsen-yemens-war

and

(* B K P)

A Saudi Assassination and the War on Yemen

Nicholas Niarchos comments on the recent assassination of a top Houthi leader by a Saudi coalition airstrike.

Making their enemy more intransigent and hard-line wouldn’t make sense if the Saudis genuinely wished to bring the war on Yemen to an end soon, but they evidently have no intention of ending the war. The Saudis have just ensured that the war will drag on and intensify, and they can add this assassination to the long list of their terrible decisions regarding Yemen. Decapitation strikes frequently don’t have the effect that their proponents think they will have. Ellen Laipson explains how it can produce the opposite result.

The Saudi coalition hasn’t achieved any of its stated goals in Yemen over the last three years, and 2018 doesn’t seem any more promising for them. A negotiated compromise that allows the coalition to halt its war and cut their losses is the best option for them, but their leaders are too arrogant or blinkered to see it – by Daniel Larison

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/a-saudi-assassination-and-the-war-on-yemen/

Remark: Also look at article by Bruce Riedel in cp8, and article below:

(* B K P)

Taking Out Yemen’s Houthi Leaders Is No Path to Peace

In recent days, the war in Yemen has worsened, with Saudi-led coalition airstrikes that killed the political leader of the Houthi rebel movement, Saleh al-Sammad, on April 19, and over 50 Houthi militants, including two senior commanders, on April 27. How Yemen’s Houthis respond to the attacks will determine the course of the war in the coming months. But any hopes for movement toward a political solution appear to be dashed, despite quiet efforts by Oman to bring the parties together, and public admonitions by U.S. officials to their Saudi counterparts to focus on bringing this tragic war to an end. (subscribers only)

https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/24647/taking-out-yemen-s-houthi-leaders-is-no-path-to-peace

(* B K P)

Yemen: First Bomb the Wedding, then Bomb the Rescue Workers

As with the desecrated wedding described above, the Saudis, with US blessing and extensive tactical support, like to commit their war crimes especially against weddings and funerals (as the CIA was fond of doing in Pakistan). This is state-sponsored terrorism. The states sponsoring it include the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and their allies in Yemen. Weddings and funerals offer large gatherings of innocent people who are defenseless. It doesn’t take a smart bomb to see the value of a soft target like that. When the rescue workers and other first responders show up, a second strike kills more innocent, defenseless people. This is a standard terrorist tactic with fiendish efficiency. In terror jargon it’s called the double-tap.

This is what genocide looks like. But to blur that perception, the Saudis and the UAE have given the UN nearly $1 billion in humanitarian aid, to ameliorate the humanitarian disaster they created, even as they continue bombing without a pause. This picture has prompted Guterres to say that “peace is possible” in Yemen, but “there are still many obstacles to overcome.”

One such obstacle would be the Saudi claim on April 21 that the Yemeni rebels had seized 19 oil tankers off the coast and had held them hostage for more than 26 days. That was a lie. It was not a credible lie, coming after 25 days of silence during the alleged hostage crisis. It was a lie based on nonsense, since the Saudi naval blockade had allowed the oil tankers into the port of Hodeidah to deliver fuel to the rebel-held area. A commercial shipping traffic website soon located all the “hostage” ships and learned that they were anchored awaiting off-loading. On April 26, Public Radio International exposed the Saudi lie – by William Boardman

https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/49808-first-bomb-the-wedding-then-bomb-the-rescue-workers = https://www.globalresearch.ca/yemen-first-bomb-the-wedding-then-bomb-the-rescue-workers/5638567 = https://dissidentvoice.org/2018/05/first-bomb-the-wedding-then-bomb-the-rescue-workers/

(* B K)

Film: Yemeni Journalist: I Was Afraid US-Saudi Coalition Would Bomb My Wedding Party too

After the US-backed Saudi coalition massacred dozens of civilians at a wedding party, journalist Ahmad Algohbary says he and other Yemenis cannot live a normal life without fear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXS7DG2RTnQ&t=13s

(* B P)

Kluft der Wahrnehmungen: Furcht vor "schiitischem Halbmond"

Kurz nach Pompeos Besuch wurden bei einem womöglich israelischen Raketenangriff in Syrien mehrere Iraner getötet. Israel hat immer wieder gewarnt, dass es eine iranische Präsenz in Syrien nicht hinnehmen werde. Viele Experten fürchten aber, dass ein solches hartes Vorgehen gefährliche Folgen haben werde. Auch ergebe es wenig Sinn, dem Iran die alleinige Schuld für die Konflikte in der Region zu geben.

"Der Iran ist ein integraler Bestandteil der Region und kann nicht herausgelöst werden", warnt die International Crisis Group (ICG). Seine Nachbarn und die USA würden nicht umhinkommen, den Iran in regionalen Fragen wie der Lösung der Konflikte im Jemen, Syrien oder dem Irak einzubinden. Ohne einen stärkeren Austausch zwischen den rivalisierenden Regionalmächten drohe die Gefahr eines größeren Krieges.

Es gebe eine gefährliche "Kluft der Wahrnehmungen" zwischen dem Iran und seinen Rivalen, erklärt die ICG.

https://de.qantara.de/content/kluft-der-wahrnehmungen-furcht-vor-schiitischem-halbmond

(* B K)

Film: JEMEN: Correspondent reist naar het front bij Mokka

C orrespondent Marcel van der Steen reisde voor de NOS naar Jemen. In dit vlog neemt hij je mee achter de schermen van de reportage die hij maakte aan het front.

Er zijn vluchtelingen zoals Achmed Ali Achmed, die aan de westkust woonde. Hij had naar eigen zeggen een mooi leven en een nieuwe auto. Hij vluchtte en woont nu in een kamp waar hij geen noemenswaardige hulp krijgt. "Ik was iemand die alles had, ik ben nu iemand die niets meer heeft", zegt hij er zelf over.

Dichter bij het front, in de plaats Mokka aan diezelfde westkust, kijkt generaal Najib Saif Mohseen tevreden in de camera. Hij heeft er vertrouwen in dat de Houthi's verslagen worden en prijst Saudi-Arabië en de Emiraten voor hun genereuze hulp. Een dag later sterven twintig mensen bij een bombardement op een Houthi-bruiloft ten noorden van Mokka.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptOz8Yo90Og und https://nos.nl/artikel/2229659-verslag-van-een-vergeten-oorlog-marcel-van-der-steen-in-jemen.html

(* B K P)

Film: NATO inconsistencies on chemical weapons & US bombs killing civilians in Yemen (E602)

In this episode, award-winning author and foreign correspondent Charles Glass tells us whether it was right for Theresa May – with NATO's blessing – to fire missiles at Damascus in the past 14 days. We speak to a journalist on the ground in Yemen, who claims he has proof that American-made bombs were used in a double-tap strike on a wedding that killed or injured nearly 100 men, women and children.

https://www.rt.com/shows/going-underground/425384-damascus-us-bombs-nato/

(* B K P)

Film on cluster bombs: The destruction of Iraq and Libya were not ‘disasters’ for the British and Americans. They perfected how to destroy nations and seek to do the same to any who refuse to dance to their tune. The US and Britain’s war on Syria & Yemen is a continuation of this. #YEMEN

https://twitter.com/abcdaee198/status/990649393689772032

(A K P)

Interactive Map of Yemen

https://yemen.liveuamap.com/

(A K P)

The Yemeni JUSTICE & FREEDOM Political Party Calls on All members and leaders of honorable political parties worldwide, urging them to condemn the brutal and inhuman aggression by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its dirty alliance on #Yemen and its people by pressing on their official governments to demand from the UN Security Council to stop the aggression and war on Yemen and its people, under pretexts and false pretexts and to stop the intervention in Yemen's internal affairs.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1726710024048687/?type=3

(* A K pH)

YMU launches 3rd report on coalition's crimes against media in Yemen

Yemeni Media Union (YMU) on Sunday launched the third annual report of April 2018, about the crimes and violations of the aggression coalition against media and media men in Yemen.
In a press conference organized by the Union, the Presidential Advisor Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Tarib called on the national media to stand united during the current stage.

The crimes and violations included the deliberate killing, bombing media institutions, the continued blocking of a number of satellite channels and cloning of others, and the closure of dozens of social networking pages in addition to direct and indirect violations.
A total of 180 media men were killed and 16 wounded by the coalition airstrikes, according to the report.
The violations also included five cases of cloning channels, 22 cases of destroying facilities, 30 cases of targeting radio, television centers, seven cases of suspension of broadcast on Arabsat and Nilesat Satellites, and seven cases of blocking and confusion.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494681.htm

cp2a Saudische Blockade / Saudi blockade

Siehe / Look at cp1

(A P)

Yemen requests UN to supervise Hodeida Port to ensure timely delivery of shipments

Yemen has officially requested the UN Security Council to supervise Al Hodeida port and take it away from the hands of the Houthi militias in order to ensure timely and safe delivery of merchandise for Yemeni people who are suffering under the grip of the coup perpetrators.

This came in an official letter sent recently by the Yemeni Permanent Delegate to the United Nations, Khalid Al Yamani, who briefed the UNSC members on the malpractices of the Houthi militias, who, he said, denied 19 oil tankers loaded with 200,000 tonnes of byproducts, access to the port, keeping them in the docking area outside the terminal.

http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302686192

My comment: “Yemen” here is the Hadi government. Here, they are using a Saudi propaganda story to (once again) drive the Houthis out of Hodeidah by using the UN as their tool.

(A H P)

UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen: UNVIM Weekly Situation Report #103, 18 - 24 April 2018

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/unvim-weekly-situation-report-103-18-24-april-2018

(* A P)

Three 'detained' ships leaving Yemen

Armed guards on board Evalend and Global Gas vessels as they head from Hodeidah.

Three vessels named as among 19 being detained by Houthi rebels in Yemen have left the country. Satellite data shows that Greek owner Evalend Shipping's 20,000-dwt tanker Volante (built 2008) was (subscribe)

www.tradewindsnews.com/tankers/1481415/three-detained-ships-leaving-yemen

Comment: This is from a shipping media outlet that seems to be pouring more cold water on the ludicrous claims that the Houthis have somehow commandeered 19 ships bound for Hodeida. What a ridiculous claim and did they really expect us to believe this?

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156642305458641

Remark: For the Saudi propaganda claim of Houthis detaining ships, look at YPR 408, cp2a.

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Siehe / Look t cp1

(* B H)

Audio: The Deterioration and Disrepair of Yemen with Alexandre Faite

In this episode of Intercross the Podcast, we sit down with Alexandre Faite, the outgoing head of delegation in Yemen and guest policy host Trevor Keck. Yemen is the 4th largest ICRC operation in the world, with a budget of nearly $120 million CHF. We discuss the deteriorating situation on the ground, including food insecurity, the fuel crisis and the disrepair of the national health system. We also talk about the ICRC’s role in responding to the humanitarian situation, our global policy asks and Alexandre’s personal reflections following two years in Yemen.

https://soundcloud.com/user-940374434/alex-faite

(* B H)

Exclusive - Ep. 2: Yemen's hospitals caught in the fire

We continue our investigation by monitoring the crimes of the Houthis in the health sector, an investigation which has taken us across the country and revealed how a lack of ambulances, medication and funding for doctors has led to an urgent crises in the health sector.

After completing the necessary security procedures, we initially visited the General Hospital of the Republic and the Basheib Military Hospital in Aden. The first thing to catch the eye was the large number of people in the hospitals, all with a plethora of health complaints. Hospitals are desperately trying to meet the needs of patients, however are struggling with limited personnel and insufficient equipment. While hospitals have attempted to rebuild after substantial attacks by Houthi rebels, the shortage of medical supplies, medicines and equipment is hindering doctors at work. However, they insist on survival between the hammer of Houthis’ looting and the aid organizations that do not meet the needs of the people.

The Republic is one of the most important hospitals in Yemen, but has been looted and bombarded by Houthi rebels in 2015. After its liberation, officials tried to restore its full capacity, but there are still obstacles that need to be overcome.

“Medicine is not available”: Zaynab, a mother of three children who suffers from cancer and needs chemotherapy, told us.

We left Zaynab and the queues of patients as Dr. Nasser Al-Mardi, head of the operations department, took us around the hospital to see the operating rooms. Patients were being operated on dilapidated beds, and only in small numbers. Doctors have only simple surgical instruments with which they try to save patients' lives.
Mardi explained that there’s an urgent need for surgical necessities, including anesthesia, surgical thread, and operation tools.

Regarding medication, Jarba explained that it is partly provided by both the government and relief organisations. However, there are basic needs that are not met by relief organizations such as anesthesia and epidemiology drugs, pointing out that the Yemeni Central Relief Committee distributes a proportion to each hospital, without paying attention to differences in needs.

In response to accusations from hospitals, the head of health operations at the WHO office in Aden, Dr. Omar Zain, denied the allegation that diseases are promoted which do not exist, in order to extract money from donors. He stressed that the WHO is an international organization and not a personal one, arguing that without the intervention of the organization, cholera would have worsened in Yemen. He pointed out that there is a mechanism to control the distribution of donor funds, through an independent observer between the organization and the donor.

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/2/49112/Exclusive-Ep-2-Yemen-s-hospitals-caught-in-the-fire

My comment: Even as the Houthis had looted and damaged Aden’s hospitals during their assault in 2015, it is odd to blame the Houthis for the desparate situation of Aden’s hospitals now. Since nearly 3 years now, these hospitals are under the rule of the Hadi government which claimed to have “freed” Aden nearly 3 years ago. And what had they done to improve the situation of the hospitals in this time? – What actually had been done by the Saudis and the UAE, which boast for the humanitarian help they claim to give to Yemen? – And, what a crazy “investigation” on the Yemen health sector this should be, “monitoring the crimes of the Houthis in the health sector”, by no word mentioning the Saudi coalition air strikes, which had targeted, damaged, destroyed much more hospitals in Yemen than the Houthis ever did?

(* B H)

Yemen Humanitarian Update Covering 24 – 30 April 2018 | Issue 13

Humanitarian partners are concerned at the safety of more than 4,000 civilians near the frontlines in Al Hudaydah Governorate.

Updated casualty figures compiled by WHO from health facilities indicate that nearly 9,500 people were killed and 55,000 more were injured over the last three years.

The purchasing power of the Yemeni currency is now below half of what it used it to be.

UPDATES FROM THE HUMANITARIAN HUBS

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-update-covering-24-30-april-2018-issue-13

(* B H P)

The Problem with Humanitarian Assistance in Yemen

Guterres himself acknowledged the shortcomings of humanitarian assistance absent the “respect of international humanitarian law” and “a serious political process to lead to a political solution.”

The international community’s humanitarian policy also overlooks the inherent contradictions of donor countries militarily attacking Yemen’s infrastructure; effectively worsening the humanitarian crisis they attempt to address.

There is an innate conflict of interest in selling the weapons that perpetuate the suffering of Yemen’s civilian population while also sending humanitarian assistance and funding. And absent a political will to end the conflict, efforts by donor countries to support the people of Yemen, including humanitarian actions, are compromised.

Even if humanitarian assistance is genuinely intended to mitigate the humanitarian crisis, donor countries have showed a lack of urgency in delivering on their pledges. Across the board, humanitarian pledges are symbolic and rarely fulfilled completely: one study found almost all countries facing a humanitarian crisis had appeals for longer than three years.

The most crucial humanitarian policy is to lift all restrictions—imposed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the Houthis—and provide access for the delivery of humanitarian aid across Yemen.

According to a recent Human Rights Watch report, restrictions on humanitarian supplies and commercial imports imposed by both Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis have deepened the humanitarian catastrophe.

As crucial as it is to intervene and alleviate human suffering in the country, the question remains whether these international fundraising events for Yemen are putting the cart before the horse. Ending the conflict, starting with cutting off arms deliveries, must precede fundraising events. As long as the war drags on and food is used as a weapon of war, attempts to fundraise are futile – by Afrah Nasser

http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/the-problem-with-humanitarian-assistance-in-yemen

(* B H)

The girl with the strawberry ring

Who is she? And why does she refuse to take off her toy plastic ring?

This is Alaa.
She is six years old.
She likes playing with her older sister
and little brother.

Her prize possession is her strawberry ring – a present from her grandmother.

Alaa is in hospital and is being fed through a tube.
Her family cannot afford the food they need to stay healthy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/strawberry_ring

(A H)

EU grants Silatech E5mn for empowering Yemenis

Silatech, an international non-governmental social development organisation, has succeeded in obtaining a European Union grant of 5mn euros for its ongoing efforts to achieve stability in Yemen through the empowerment of youth and women.

Within this co-operation, Silatech, that works to connect young people to jobs and economic opportunities through employment and entrepreneurship, will establish a fund implemented by its field partner Al-Amal microfinance bank which will provide grants to more than 10,000 youth (18-35 years), in addition to providing training to 5,000 young people.

http://www.gulf-times.com/story/590954/EU-grants-Silatech-E5mn-for-empowering-Yemenis

Remark: From Qatar.

(* B H)

UNICEF: Over 500,000 Yemeni children received education

We helped over half a million Yemeni children to access education during the past year, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced today.

“UNICEF helped 552,778 Yemeni children to access education through renovating a number of schools last year,” UNICEF said on Twitter.

Yemen’s three-year war, the UN organisation added, resulted in the departure of almost 500,000 children from school.

“With the support offered by the Canadian government, UNICEF will continue to support Yemeni children,” UNICEF stressed.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180430-unicef-over-500000-yemeni-children-received-education/

cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees

(A H)

IOM Yemen Weekly Situation Report 15-21 April 2018

339,000 liters of water are provided to different water points, hospitals, and locations

A total of 14,404 IDPs and other conflict affected Yemenis and 1,229 migrants were provided healthcare assistance

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/iom-yemen-weekly-situation-report-15-21-april-2018

(B H)

UNHCR Somalia Repatriation Update, 1-31 March 2018

Since the beginning of the Voluntary Repatriation, from 8 December 2014 to 31 March 2018 a total of 81,030 Somali refugees have repatriated3 . Out of 81,030 who repatriated, 1,089 were assisted in March, namely, 759 from Kenya, 272 from Yemen, 56 from Libya and two from Gambia.

https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/unhcr-somalia-repatriation-update-1-31-march-2018

(* A H)

IOM evacuates 76 Ethiopians from Yemen

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Monday that it has evacuated 76 illegal Ethiopian immigrants from Yemen on Sunday.

“They were stranded in Aden, southern Yemen, and evacuated through the city’s port,” Sam Al-Malami, the media and communications officer at the IOM’s office in Yemen told Anadolu Agency.

“They will arrive at Djibouti, where they will be received by a team from the organization, before they are transferred to their country,” he said.

He explained that “these are the first batch of Ethiopian immigrants evacuated through the port of Aden

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180501-iom-evacuates-76-ethiopians-from-yemen/

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

(A P)

Houthi disputes escalate as leader’s affiliates are detained, eliminated

Internal disputes among the Houthi militia have escalated recently amid an atmosphere of intimidation, suppression and accusations of treason.
Yemeni sources said on Monday that some prominent commanders affiliated with Saleh al-Sammad, the president of the so-called Supreme Political Council, and who was killed in an air strike in Hodeidah in April, were arrested while others were placed under house arrest.

The purpose is to get them out of the inner circle in favor of other conflicting factions. According to sources, Houthi commander Abu Ali al-Hakem arrested prominent commander Yahyha Mohammed al-Mahdi who is affiliated with Sammad.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2018/05/01/Internal-disputes-escalate-among-Houthis-as-leader-s-affiliates-get-detained.html

My comment: As claimed by Saudi media. Anyway, this also would show that the killing of Sammad will be another obstacle to any peaceful solution of the Yemen war. Well, might-be the Saudis intended exactly this – as they obviously are interested in a victory fully defeating the Houthis.

(B P)

Film (Arabic): Yemen - An Escapee From Houthi Prisons Narrate Their Torture Methods

"Abdul Fattah Alhanak", a former Houthi member narrated the torture witnessed in the Houthi prisons after he was imprisoned and led to an unknown place to investigate the reason behind contacting his family. "Alhanak" was able to escape from the Houthi prison and he now lives in Ma'arib and works as a fighter for the Yemeni forces in fighting the Houthis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tvIWaHcFbQ

(A P)

Al Houthi Supreme Political Council President Mahdi al Mashat met with tribal dignitaries and senior officials from the districts of Sana’a governorate in Sana’a city on April 30. Al Mashat discussed the role those local leaders play in confronting adversaries of the al Houthi movement.[2]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-may-1-2018

(A P)

President: Hodaida province will be given priority in development

President of the Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat on Tuesday said the province of Hodaida will be given high priority in the development and infrastructure areas.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494849.htm

(A P)

President stresses importance of coordination between legislative, executive authorities

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494859.htm

(A P)

The #Houthis are storming #Salafi religious centers in the central province of al-Bayda, as they banned them from conducting any religious sessions and threatened to arrest and imprison those in charge of the center.

https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/990883673523343361

My comment: What does this tweeter ask for: Tolerance for Salafism?

(A P)

Houthi militiamen storm mixed-gender hotel café in Yemen’s Sanaa

Houthi militiamen raided a coffee shop in the Burj al-Salam Hotel in the Old City of Sanaa and arrested two of its employees because the cafe allows for men and women customers; a mixed-gender environment.
This is not the first time Houthis have attacked cafés in Sanaa with previous raids on coffee shops named "Bon and Qishr" and "Moon Café," attacking mixed-gender customers.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2018/04/30/Houthi-militiamen-storm-mixed-gender-hotel-caf-in-Yemen-s-Sanaa.html

My comment: From a Saudi media website. Well, exactly the same would have happened in Saudi Arabia. Thus, if Saudi media blame the Houthis for such a behavior, it’s odd. – And the Houthis seem to become Wahabists themselves while pretending to fight Wahabism.

(A P)

A Houthi court on Monday sentenced 3 Yemenis to death for alleged espionage for Saudi-led coalition.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/991158764488331265

(A P)

Film: Yemen: Thousands march for Houthi chief al-Sammad killed in airstrike

Thousands rallied in the streets of Sa'dah on Monday to protest the killing of senior Houthi official Saleh Al-Sammad in Saudi-led coalition airstrike on April 19th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb3pnrZInUU

(A P)

President Al-Mashat discusses Government's activity, plans

President of the Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat discussed on Monday with Prime Minister Abdulaziz bin Habtoor the National Salvation Government's activity and achievements during the current year and its future plans.
During the meeting, the President stressed the importance of boosting the level of economic and service performance, overcoming the challenges imposed by the aggression coalition, and supporting fronts.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494746.htm

(* B K P)

Houthis vow to step up missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities

Yemen's popular Houthi Ansarullah movement has said it would step up its strikes on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities in retaliation for the kingdom's three-year invasion of the impoverished country.

Mohammad al-Bukhaiti, a top figure in the movement's Supreme Political Council, told The Financial Times that the fighters were manufacturing their own missiles, dismissing Riyadh's accusation that Iran was delivering the projectiles to the fighters.

“The Yemenis have added new systems for manufacturing missiles, so more missiles are targeting Saudi Arabia as a part of an escalation,” the British daily quoted him as saying in an interview.

Al-Bukhaiti said the counterattack “was only the beginning of the response” to the killing of Saleh al-Samad. The head of the Supreme Political Council was assassinated by Saudi forces last week.

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/04/30/560130/Yemen-Saudi-oil-Aramco-Houthi-Ansarullah-Iran

(A P)

Yemen’s Houthi militia leader to impose mandatory donations to army

Houthi militia leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi is attempting to speed up the adoption of a controversial law to impose mandatory donations, known as “khums” by Shiite Muslims, that will force Yemenis to give money to the militia’s armed ranks.

According to information obtained by Al Arabiya, the draft law will seemingly allow the militia to apply what they describe as the “khums,” but to their own advantage – based on their interpretations of Zakat (obligatory alms-giving in Islam) and using banks that are under their control.

He called on traders and wealthy citizens to "support the material aspect of the war and its necessities," a sign that his group may intend to impose further levies on businesses.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2018/04/29/Yemen-s-Houthi-militia-leader-to-impose-mandatory-donations-to-army.html

and

(A P)

Houthis leader calls for expediting Khomos Law

The Houthis leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi has announced the need to speed up the adoption of a controversial law that imposes levying Khomos (fifth-of-the-income) tax on people living in the northern Yemen areas under the control of his militia.
In a televised speech on Saturday he also called the traders to contribute to financing "the mobilization and recruitment of new fighters to the front" and assist the families rebel fighters already killed.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-17949

Remark: By Saudi media.

(A P)

Following his appointment, the #Houthi leading figure Mahdi al-Mashat, who is the head of the so-called "Supreme Political Council" (SPC), has appointed 32 people in the Shura Council, most of them are Sheikhs are social dignitaries from areas around #Sanaa.

https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/990677838595612677

(A P)

Parliament discusses questioning of National Salvation Government

The Parliament discussed in its session on Sunday, and in presence of Head and members of the National Salvation Government, a request to question the government submitted by the parliamentarian, Abdu Beshr.
At the session, Speaker of the Parliament, Yahya al-Raei, pointed out that summoning of the government by the parliament is not to hold it accountable or to monitor its mistakes, but to help it overcome the difficulties and negativities facing its work.
Beshr said that his questioning request addressed to the government comes out of concern for the public money and how to employ it to meet the people's requirements and to eliminate corruption and imbalances.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494689.htm

(* A P)

Photo: Funeral ofYemen President Who Was Assassinated by US-Saudi Airstrike First funeral over history that took place under bombings, Deliberate bombings2prevent it!

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/990623032476684288

Remark: This photo shows howmany people attended. More reporting YPR 408, cp5.

(* B P)

Huthis im Jemen drohen: „Wir werden jeden Bahai abschlachten“

„In einer im Fernsehen übertragenen Rede, die sich an ein großes Publikum innerhalb und außerhalb des Jemens richtete, hat der Anführer der Huthi die Baha’i-Religion vehement denunziert und verteufelt und dadurch die Verfolgung der Baha’i in dem Land weiter intensiviert.

Al-Huthi warnte die Jemeniten vor der ‚satanischen‘ Baha’i-‚Bewegung‘, die ‚einen Glaubenskrieg‘ gegen den Islam führe. Die Anhänger der Religion seien Ungläubige, die den Islam und den Propheten verleugneten. Er fügte noch weitere Unwahrheiten über die Religion und deren Verhältnis zum Westen und zu Israel hinzu. Schließlich drängte er die Jemeniten, ihr Land gegen die Baha’i und Angehörige anderer religiöser Minderheiten zu verteidigen. Diese ‚zerstören den Glauben der Menschen und sind ebenso übel und gefährlich wie diejenigen, die Menschen mit Bomben töten‘.

https://www.mena-watch.com/huthis-im-jemen-drohen-wir-werden-jeden-bahai-abschlachten/

(* B P)

Why Is Bahá’i Religious Minority Persecuted In Yemen? – OpEd

A number of Baha’is remain imprisoned in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, after four years of their arrests, detentions, and continuous torture by the Houthis. Most tragically, the death sentence against Hamed Bin Haydara, one of the Bahá’í practitioners, has been issued along with an order for the confiscation of all of his assets and the dissolution of this religion’s institutions and the banning of its activities. Mr. Haydara’s death sentence remains to be repealed.

Notably, Bahá’i practitioners in Yemen, as in other parts of the world, are known for being committed to rules and regulations of the country and are working for peace and pluralism in the society. But given the Houthi leadership’s continued coercive actions, thousands of Baha’i practitioners are vulnerable to disastrous consequences in Yemen.

It is high time that the world governments in general and Muslims around the world in particular speak out to condemn this nefarious case of religious persecution in a supposedly Islamic country. S

https://www.eurasiareview.com/30042018-why-is-bahai-religious-minority-persecuted-in-yemen-oped/

cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government

(A P)

Human Rights Department of the Southern Transitional Council Launches a Training Workshop for Southern Security Personnel

http://en.smanews.org/human-rights-department-of-the-southern-transitional-council-launches-a-training-workshop-for-southern-security-personnel

(* A P)

Fake Names in the Yemeni Army in Mareb and Al-Jouf

Al-Omanaa”, a local newspaper, indicated that minister “Othman Al-Megally” who is responsible for military payments of the Yemeni Army in Mareb and Al-Jouf saved tens of billions of Yemeni Riyals as a result of fake names in salary lists. According to the newspaper, sources indicated that General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, vice president of Yemen, demanded to receive all saved money but minister Al-Megally refused to deliver the money till he gets directives from president Hady. The sources indicated that General Al-Ahmar managed to get these directives to receive the money. The same sources indicated that minister Al-Megally discovered a full brigade in Mareb with (2400) military personnel, including (1400) officers, that doesn’t even exist.

http://en.smanews.org/fake-names-in-the-yemeni-army-in-mareb-and-al-jouf

Remark: By Southern separatists’ media site, showing the high level of corruption within the Hadi government.

(A T)

Explosion in a local market in Marib

A security source said that five civilian and military personnel has been injured due to an explosion targeted a car follows Marib security in Al tweety Market Monday afternoon.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/98629

(A P)

Scandal: Fugitive Mansur Hadi appoints Saudi national as deputy governor of Yemen's Maharah

Pro-Saudi self-appointed “president of Yemen”, Abdrabbuh Mansur al-Hadi, has once again sparked outrage, this time with a decision to appoint a person who does not have Yemeni citizenship, to the position of Deputy Governor of one of Yemen’s provinces.

http://en.abna24.com/news/middle-east/scandal-fugitive-mansur-hadi-appoints-saudi-national-as-deputy-governor-of-yemens-maharah_891439.html

(A T)

IED attack kills two pro-government fighters in Yemen's Lahij

http://www.janes.com/article/79679/ied-attack-kills-two-pro-government-fighters-in-yemen-s-lahij

(A P)

Yemen forces take over official sites in Taiz

Yemeni government forces yesterday regained control of all official buildings in the city of Taiz.

A spokesman for the Yemeni army in Taiz, Colonel Abdul Basset Al-Bahr told the Anadolu Agencythat “the Yemeni police, public security forces, special security forces and presidential protection forces took over the Taiz military headquarters, the tax office, the finance office, and the post office,”

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180501-yemen-forces-take-over-official-sites-in-taiz/

and

(A P)

Government committee takes over sites evicted by Abu al-Abbas Brigades

The committee formed by the governor of Taiz province to take over Abu al-Abbas Brigades' sites in the east of the city has already taken the sites as the Brigades were persuaded to evict the sites.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-17981

My comment: On strife and fighting within the anti-Houthi forces at Taiz, YPR 408, cp6.

(A P)

BIN DAGHR INAUGURATE THE NEW EXPANSION OF SOCOTRA PORT

The prime minister inaugurate this morning (Monday) the new expansion of Socotra port which include asphalting and lightning roads leading to the port, rehabilitating of the cargo handling area and refurbishing administration and security buildings.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/98622

(A P)

PM lays foundation stone for road projects in Socotra Archipelago

Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Obaid bin-Daghr, along with the governor of Socotra Ramzi Mahrous laid today the foundation stone for paving 10 kilometers of road in the city of Haidibu, the capital of the archipelago.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-17948

Remark: Socotra has been given to the Emirates by he Hadi government for 99 years.

(A P)

Al-Beed: Postponing the Southern Cause till the End of War was Reluctantly Accepted, but Time can Never Goes Back

Hani Ali Al-Beed, a southern political activist, indicated that the southern people reluctantly accepted to postpone their cause till the end of the war, but linking the cause to regional settlements is not excluded.

http://en.smanews.org/al-beed-postponing-the-southern-cause-till-the-end-of-war-was-reluctantly-accepted-but-time-can-never-goes-back

Remark: By Southern separatists.

(A T)

Prominent Leader of Al-Qaeda Killed in Khanfar – Abian

Sami Younes Aiash (Abu Fahad), a prominent leader of Al-Qaeda was killed on Sunday dawn in a successful attack launched by the security belt forces in Abian.

http://en.smanews.org/prominent-leader-of-al-qaeda-killed-in-khanfar-abian

Remark: It’s the southern separatists’ UAE-backed militia fighting against Al Qaeda here.

(A P)

Warden of Beer Ahmed’s Corrective Facility Praises Socio-psychological Support Project and Negates Rumors about Prisoners’ Strike

Socio-psychological Support Project for prisoners of Al-Mansoura and Beer Ahmed Corrective Facilities in Adan continues its activities for the second month. The project is launched by the Civilian Democratic Coalition in cooperation with Adan Security Department and General Directorate of Corrective Facilities.

http://en.smanews.org/warden-of-beer-ahmeds-corrective-facility-praises-socio-psychological-support-project-and-negates-rumors-about-prisoners-strike

Remark: By Southern separatists’ news site. This report comes after reports on torture and a hunger strike in southern prisons managed by separatist-affiliated militia.

(A P T)

Shaia: Sacrifices of Adan Security Department Heroes Will be Written in History as A source of Pride for All of Us

General Shallal Ali Shaia, Chief of Adan Security Department, praised the great achievements of the anti-terrorism unit, SWAT teams and fourth battalion of Adan security department referring to their success in eliminating the internationally wanted terrorist “Saleh Al-Ba Kheshi” (Iron Man)

http://en.smanews.org/shaia-sacrifices-of-adan-security-department-heroes-will-be-written-in-history-as-a-source-of-pride-for-all-of-us

Remark: By Southern separatists’ news site.

(A P T)

Film: Yemen - A Military Parade On The Second Anniversary Of The Liberation Of Hadhramaut From Al-Qaeda

http://arab24.com/portal/index.php/en/stories/arab-gulf/2017-09-05-06-26-71/item/10288-yemen-a-military-parade-on-the-second-anniversary-of-the-liberation-of-hadhramaut-from-al-qaeda = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbdCc8Ca7cg

(* B P)

Yemen's Hadi surrenders control for five minutes with Salman

After his meeting with the Saudi king, Hadi and his manager were held in a room with a sofa bed, two armchairs and no blankets for 24 hours

Yemen President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi had to agree to allow Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help run his country in order to get a meeting with King Salman last April, Yemeni sources have told news site Arabi21.

Hadi's request for the meeting with Salman came after he fired two officials in Aden close to the Emiratis - Aden governor Aidarus al-Zubaidi and Hani Ali bin Braik, a minister of state and general commander of the forces of the UAE-run Security Belt.

Saudis had acted as mediators, trying to calm Hadi and arranging meetings between him, then Saudi defence minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed.

Sources now tell Arabi21 that after the airport fallout and the sackings, Hadi repeatedly asked for a meeting with King Salman and was rejected. Then a Saudi official told him he could have a meeting if he signed a paper agreeing to "the formation of a tripartite committee" chaired by Yemen, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia as members, "to participate in the management of the situation of his country".

Hadi signed the agreement and was then transferred to the king’s residence and was told that the meeting would last for only five minutes because the king was busy, according to Arabi21.

But the meeting ended up lasting around 55 minutes, after which Hadi and his office manager, Abdullah al-Alimi, were transferred to a room with a sofa bed, two armchairs and no blankets for 24 hours.

Hadi, the sources confirmed to Arabi21, is banned from returning to Aden and remains in Riyadh.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/arabic-press-review-1099945893

Comment: A very interesting perspective on the position of Hadi. Doesn't sound to me like he's in much control of anything. He might just as well have ceded power to the Houthis in March 2015. He might even have had a nicer room.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156643537328641

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

(* B P)

UN to Relaunch Yemen Peace Talks: Is There Any Hope This Time?

Top political figures in Ansarullah have already expressed the resistance movement’s openness toward peace talks. But negotiations are unlikely. The Saudi regime has ruled out any end to its indiscriminate airstrikes unless democracy is restored – read former Saudi puppet president Hadi is restored to power.

Nevertheless, the Saudis are not in a position to dictate policy or be the teacher of democracy in Yemen. They don’t support the heart of evolving humanity and they are not a leader worthy of being followed. They seek authority so that they may impose their policy without limitation. Strange enough, they now want the people of Yemen to choose their dictator.

The international community has to stop this immoral violence before it engulfs the entire region and before many more civilians die. The world community must force the Saudis to stop their criminal aggression and accept an immediate ceasefire. UN peace talks can then begin.

The major cause of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the US-backed, Saudi-led war.

But there are still opportunities for humanitarian actors in Yemen:

Last but not the least, the international civil society should condemn the Saudi-led airstrikes and military actions in Yemen and the region that target and murder civilians.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970211001113

(A P)

Griffiths will discuss possibility of holding negotiations in May

Yemeni political sources said that UN envoy Martin Griffiths will discuss with the Yemeni parties the possibility of holding an upcoming round of negotiations in May.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-17978

(A P)

The United Nations envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, is to visit Sanaa next Saturday.

The visit would continue for three days, during which he would meet with the leaders of the Houthis and the General People's Congress party.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1727115497341473/?type=3

(A P)

UAE: Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, received today Martin Griffiths, UN Special Envoy for #Yemen.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1727579173961772/?type=3

cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran

(A P)

Iran: Partnerschaft der USA mit Saudis destabilisiert die Region

Das iranische Außenministerium reagierte auf die Beschuldigungen des neuen US-Außenministers Mike Pompeo gegen Iran bei seiner Pressekonferenz zusammen mit dem saudi-arabischen Außenminister Adel al-Jubeir.

Der Sprecher des iranischen Außenministeriums Bahram Ghasemi hat am Montag gesagt, was der US-Außenminister als Partnerschaft Riads mit seinem Land bezeichnet, ist eine Partnerschaft der Destabilisierung, Kriegsführung und weiteren Stärkung militärischer und extremistischer Rivalitäten, die auf der Abenteuersuche einiger unerfahrener und kriegssüchtiger Politiker in Saudi-Arabien basiert.

http://parstoday.com/de/news/iran-i39840-iran_partnerschaft_der_usa_mit_saudis_destabilisiert_die_region

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

(* B E P)

Investors Face Moral Dilemmas With Investments In Saudi Arabia

Nonetheless, my perspective is that the establishment of a homegrown defense industry opens numerous moral questions to US investors. This moral quandary can be summed up in the heart-to-heart warning provided by Javier Bardem, the drug dealer, to Michael Fassbender, the deep in debt lawyer, before he commits to a deal in the noir movie The Counselor (2013). This scene serves as a template for moral considerations whether or not to invest in such an industry with a non-governmental cartel that is equally as ruthless as sovereign states that head one of their own.

Another factor to consider is that many publicly traded American firms may face the negative impact of shareholder sentiment of investing in a country that has a nasty reputation with respect to human rights domestically and regionally, notably Yemen. It's undoubtedly a cautionary tale all around. Decades ago, investor activists successfully got US investors to divest from South Africa. For KSA, investors may decide to impose their own financial sanctions by withholding investments in industries that specifically serve the KSA government and not the general welfare of the citizenry.

Although many non-democratic regimes such as Russia and China have defense industries and readily export their product, the KSA defense industry would be created in the heart of the most volatile region on the planet filled with violent stateless entities.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4168001-investors-face-moral-dilemmas-investments-saudi-arabia?page=4

(A P)

Saudi government to hand over 25 schools to private sector

Saudi Arabian authorities on Tuesday ordered the handover of 25 state-run schools to be run by private sector companies as part of economic reforms designed to ease pressure on the state’s finances.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-privatisation-schools/saudi-government-to-hand-over-25-schools-to-private-sector-idUSKBN1I23UE

(B P)

Photo: I grew up on Bin Ladin's street, a poor working-class neighbourhood in #Jeddah- #SaudiArabia. In #MayDay I march 4 migrant workers in the Kingdom who are shackled with modern slavery handcuffs, facing crackdown, xenophobia, discrimination and constantly harassed and humiliated.

https://twitter.com/hanaalkhamri/status/991254696831651840

(A P)

Confirmed: Sectarian #Saudi special forces just fired an RPG on a car of a Shia #Arab man for no reason. Luckly he was unhurt. #UK govt provides training to this sectarian force.

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/991057461078560771

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/991071665789521920 (film)

(A P)

Astronomy: The Outer Frontier Of MbS’ Liberalization

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s investment of $1 billion and option to pump a further $480 million into Richard Branson’s ventures in space, confirmed during the prince’s recent visit to the United States, was more than just another headline-grabbing move.

By focusing on space sciences, long a field rejected by ultra-conservative Islamic scholars, some of whom insist that the earth is flat, Prince Mohammed was setting the outer limits of his top-down redefinition of Saudi Arabia’s austere interpretation of Islam.

In doing so, Prince Mohammed was seeking to end the dampening effect Islamic scholars have had on the kingdom’s technological and scientific development for both civilian and military purposes. – By James M. Dorsey

http://www.eurasiareview.com/30042018-astronomy-the-outer-frontier-of-mbs-liberalization/

(A P)

Saudi Arabia Officially Launches First Full Service Film & TV Production Studio Nebras Films

The roll-out of Saudi Arabia’s nascent film industry continue apace. Today sees the official launch of the kingdom’s first full-service production studio Nebras Filmswhich hopes to be a home to features, TV, documentaries and advertising content. The 42,000 square-foot production facility will be offering post-production services, art workshops, 3D animation, audio, casting, crew, equipment, props and sets.

http://deadline.com/2018/04/saudi-arabia-launches-first-full-service-production-studio-nebras-film-1202379285/

(* B K P)

What Houthi revenge could mean for Saudi elites

Regardless of who actually pulled the trigger, the Houthis and their Iranian allies are promising revenge. Samad’s successor as political chief, Mahdi al Mashat, is close to the Lebanese Hezbollah leadership and has promised that the Saudis and their allies—including the United States—will pay for the attack. The top Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al Houthi, has consistently blamed the United States and Israel for the war, along with the Saudi coalition. Pro-Iran Shiite groups in Iraq have promised revenge against the Saudi royal family. The Iranian media has speculated that members of the family will be targeted for assassination.

LINE OF SUCCESSION IN QUESTION?

Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman is the obvious front-runner for retaliation. He is the face of the war and is often mocked by the Iranian media. He has a small army of bodyguards to ensure his safety.

But what if he were gone?

There is no deputy crown prince today—the number three position from which MBS became the heir-apparent. The king shows no inclination to select a deputy crown prince, and there is no requirement to have one. In the absence of someone in that position, King Salman would choose a new crown prince.

There is no obvious candidate.

For the United States, instability in the line of succession is a dangerous threat to our oldest and most important ally in the Arab world – by Bruce Riedel

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/04/30/what-houthi-revenge-could-mean-for-saudi-elites/

Comment: interesting perspective. If anything happens to the Crown Prince all likely successors have already been sacked. Except for Salman's other sons but that would cause a right royal furore.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156643544013641

(* B K P)

Saudi Crown Prince Salman Is Not a Reformer, Just Another Despot

As Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, continues what Time Magazine described earlier this month as his “charm offensive,” Saudi-led airstrikes killed more than 20 people last week at a wedding party in northern Yemen. Women, including the bride, and children made up the bulk of the casualties.

Should we pay no attention to this and other, similar incidents? After all, Prince Mohammed is, we are told, a reformer and friend of the U.S.

In the United States, he has received favorable attention from different quarters. But, when you strip away the showmanship, the hype, and the fawning adoration of much of the Western media, MBS is a man with blood on his hands.

The incident involving the Yemeni wedding party is merely the latest atrocity committed by the Saudi Arabian government during its military intervention in Yemen, which started in March, 2015.

In MBS’ home country, where he is regarded by many as a reformer, he has not done much better. In fact, Saudi Arabia, a nation notorious for its human rights violations, has, by some measures, lost ground in terms of human rights since MBS came to power.

Prince Mohammed has been celebrated here in the United States. He has rubbed elbows with Hollywood celebrities, promised to keep making arms deals with the U.S. government, and, human rights violations be damned, has continued to promote an image that casts him as a statesman.

At what point does the willingness of leading figures in the U.S. government, technology industries, entertainment, education, and beyond to court and praise Prince Mohammed discredit American values and make a mockery of our often-professed concerns for the sovereign rights of nations and the welfare of their citizens?

At what point does it become clear that Mohammed bin Salman is not a “man of the people,” but rather another power-hungry warmonger with little regard for the life he has taken or endangered? – by Will Tomer

http://www.toledoblade.com/Will-Tomer/2018/04/27/The-Saudi-Arabia-crown-prince-Mohammed-bin-Salman-is-not-a-reformer-just-another-despot.html = https://www.globalresearch.ca/saudi-crown-prince-salman-is-not-a-reformer-just-another-despot/5638163

(A P)

Saudi court starts trial of two Arabs accused of spying for Mossad

A Saudi Arabian court began the trial of two Jordanians accused of spying against the kingdom for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya said on Monday.

The charges under consideration by the Specialized Criminal Court include plotting a terrorist act during the annual Muslim haj pilgrimage four years ago and supporting Islamic State militants, Al-Arabiya wrote on its website.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-court-israel/saudi-court-starts-trial-of-two-arabs-accused-of-spying-for-mossad-idUSKBN1I10OH

(A P)

Saudi Crown Prince: Palestinians should take what the U.S. offers

The bottom line of the crown prince's criticism: Palestinian leadership needs to finally take the proposals it gets from the U.S. or stop complaining.

According to my sources, the Saudi Crown Prince told the Jewish leaders:

"In the last several decades the Palestinian leadership has missed one opportunity after the other and rejected all the peace proposals it was given. It is about time the Palestinians take the proposals and agree to come to the negotiations table or shut up and stop complaining."

https://www.axios.com/saudi-crown-prince-tells-jewish-leaders-palestinians-should-take-what-they-are-offered-or-stop-complaining-1525025098-e7f0faf8-4f3f-442c-8478-6737ddb5a553.html

Comment: Here's the supposed leader of the Arab world: In order to win American support for Saudi's war of choice with Iran, MBS offers to put a gigantic knife in the back of the Palestinians. No wonder Netanyahu loves him. MBS puts all other puppets to shame.

https://twitter.com/tparsi/status/990678346609627137

(* B P)

Saudi belligerence on Iran threatens US

King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and his son are pursuing the most virulent anti-Iran and anti-Shiite policy in modern Saudi history. This approach has deep roots in Wahhabi history. Mixed with Iran’s expansive regional meddling, the combination is dangerous and explosive. Washington needs to exercise great care and not inflame the situation. -by Bruce Riedel

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/saudi-iran-conflict-region-iraq-washington-nuclear-deal.html

(A P)

Video leichtbekleideter Wrestlerinnen in Saudiarabien gezeigt - derstandard.at/2000078885737/Video-leichtbekleideter-Wrestlerinnen-in-Saudiarabien-gezeigt

Zuschauer jubelten – Behörde entschuldigte sich für "Frauen in unanständiger Bekleidung"

https://derstandard.at/2000078885737/Video-leichtbekleideter-Wrestlerinnen-in-Saudiarabien-gezeigt

(* B K P)

Revelado: Riad planeaba transferir la guerra en Yemen a El Líbano

La filtración del contenido de un correo electrónico del embajador de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos (EAU) en Estados Unidos, Yousef al-Otaiba, ha desvelado que el príncipe heredero de Arabia Saudí, Mohamad bin Salman, busca transferir la guerra en Yemen a El Líbano.

De acuerdo con la nota filtrada, durante el encuentro, Bell señaló que Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, asesor especial del príncipe heredero de Arabia Saudí, había afirmado que era mejor transferir “la guerra subsidiaria contra Irán en Yemen a El Líbano”.

https://www.hispantv.com/noticias/arabia-saudi/375613/guerra-yemen-libano-tensiones-iran-eeuu

cp9 USA

Siehe / Look at cp1

(* A P T)

US judge: Iran must pay $6bn to victims of 9/11 attacks

Lawsuit alleges Iran trained September 11 hijackers but official investigation found no evidence of Iranian involvement.

A judge in the US has issued a default judgement requiring Iran to pay more than $6bn to victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed almost 3,000 people, court filings show.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/05/judge-iran-pay-6bn-victims-911-attacks-180501120240366.html

My comment: Absurd. Misusing 9/11 for the US war against Iran.

(* A K P)

White House ignores executive order requiring count of civilian casualties in counterterrorism strikes

The decision on the civilian casualty report is part of a broader shift in U.S. counterterrorism policy to withhold more information about U.S. drone strikes and the rules governing them, reversing Obama-era policies dating to 2013.

The Trump administration has chosen to ignore an executive order that requires the White House to issue an annual report on the number of civilians and enemy fighters killed by American counterterrorism strikes.

The mandate for the report, which was due May 1, was established by former president Barack Obama in 2016 as part of a broader effort to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding drone operations in places such as Yemen, Somalia and Libya. The White House has not formally rescinded the Obama-era executive order but has chosen not to comply with some aspects of it.

“The executive order that requires the civilian casualty report is under review” and could be “modified” or “rescinded,” a White House spokesman said. The White House declined to say who is conducting the review, how long it has been ongoing and when it is expected to be completed.

The decision on the civilian casualty report is part of a broader shift in U.S. counterterrorism policy to withhold more information about U.S. drone strikes and the rules governing them, reversing Obama-era policies dating to 2013.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/white-house-ignores-executive-order-requiring-count-of-civilian-casualties-in-counterterrorism-strikes/2018/05/01/2268fe40-4d4f-11e8-af46-b1d6dc0d9bfe_story.html

and

(* A P)

What Questions Should Congress Be Asking DoD About Civilian Casualties?

The Trump administration is due to submit today two important reports on civilian casualties—one to Congress and one to the public. In the time since President Donald Trump has been in office, his administration has secretly changed U.S. policy rules on the use of lethal force abroad, refused even to admit the new policy exists, increased the number of lethal operations in places like Yemen and Somalia, and—according to independent monitoring groups like Airwars—was responsible for a significant uptickin civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria in 2017. In this context of increased secrecy, expanded military operations, and credible allegations of civilian casualties, congressional scrutiny of the executive branch is crucial.

Key, however, will be Congress’ role in scrutinizing the NDAA report and asking the administration the right questions. To assist in this endeavor, we offer a short, annotated commentary of section 1057 of the NDAA. A DoD report including the detail we set out below would greatly enhance the perceived legitimacy of DoD civilian casualty tracking, enable a critical evaluation of strengths and gaps in civilian protection, provide an opportunity to establish more consistent and uniform practices for tracking civilian casualties across theaters and operations in the future, and, if made public, be an important step in acknowledging the harm civilians have suffered at the hands of the U.S. military. Accordingly, congress should do its best to hold DoD to the high standards to which the U.S. military rightly deserves to be held:

https://www.justsecurity.org/55545/questions-congress-dod-civilian-casualties/

Comment: To start with, the report should contain a list of all civilian casualty incidents involving the US military including Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria #Yemen.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1728541473865542

(* A P)

Pompeo, in Saudi Arabia, talks tough on Iran, Gulf dispute

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is using the Middle East leg of his first trip abroadas America's top diplomat to call for concerted international action to punish Iran for its missile programs. He's also urging Saudi Arabia and its neighbors to resolve a long-festering dispute with Qatar that U.S. officials say Iran is exploiting to boost its influence in the region, including in Yemen and Syria.

Pompeo on Sunday met with Saudi King Salman, whose country, along with Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, is embroiled in a row with Qatar that had hobbled Gulf Arab unity and frustrated the U.S. as it seeks to blunt growing Iranian assertiveness.

"I think they would all agree that it's in everyone's best interests that the Gulf states all figure out how to be together," Pompeo told reporters as he traveled to Israel. "We've got a common challenge in Iran I think they all recognize that. We're hopeful that they will in their own way figure out their dispute between them."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pompeo-in-saudi-arabia-talks-tough-on-iran-gulf-dispute/

My comment: US anti-Iranian paranoia whi ch will lead to war.

(* A B P)

Why is Pompeo Suddenly against Saudi Arabia’s War on Yemen?

According to a State Department leak to the New York Times, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, when he was in Riyadh on Saturday, pressured the Saudi government to wind up the war in Yemen.

If this report is true, it is puzzling.

When Sen. Bernie Sanders and others, including Republicans in the Senate, mounted a challenge to US participation in the Yemen War, it was beaten back by Mattis and the Pentagon. But the unhappiness of the Senate was apparently noticed by Pompeo.

The Libertarian wing of the Republican Party is particularly disgruntled with US involvement in Yemen, and Sen. Rand Paul pressed Pompeo on it during his confirmation hearing.

Further, Pompeo’s long-time backers include the libertarian billionaire Koch brothers. My analysis of them is that they tend to be against big foreign adventures like the Iraq War, since those require tax dollars and grow the US government, and moreover released more oil on the market, with the potential for reducing its price. The Koch brothers are in the oil business and want more profits, not less.

https://www.juancole.com/2018/04/suddenly-against-arabias.html

My comment: Let’s hope he is true. The motives of Pompeo’s backers as the Koch brothers are odd and moral-free, but if they help to pull the US out of the Yemen war…

(A H P)

NYC man blames Trump for death of newborn son in Yemen after wife denied entry into U.S.

Sulaiman Dihyem's first son was born — and died — an American citizen in a foreign land.

The proud dad was in Brooklyn last month when his wife delivered their doomed child in war-torn Yemen, and he blames the Trump administration for keeping his pregnant spouse and unborn son from joining him in the U.S.

http://beta.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-man-blames-trump-death-baby-killed-yemen-article-1.3962873

(* A K P)

Film: U.S. Marine Corps Commercial: A Nation's Call: 60

Marines answer the call of our Nation with the willingness to engage and the determination to defeat any obstacle. No matter the circumstance—no matter the enemy—Marines will fight and win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmatM7jegIs

Comment: New advertisement for the Marines shows US forces bombing cities from the air and firing explosive weapons at urban structures. Notably, there appear to be no civilians in this version of reality.

https://twitter.com/samueloakford/status/990729664212668417

(* A P)

Film: Trump on Syria: "We make the greatest military equipment in the world. Look at what happened in Syria -- 'Boom, boom, bing!'"

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/990390406813749248

(A P)

Neuer US-Außenminister kritisiert bei Besuch in Saudi-Arabien den Iran

Der neue US-Außenminister Mike Pompeo hat bei einem Besuch in Saudi-Arabien den Iran scharf kritisiert. Teheran unterstütze in Stellvertreterkonflikten wie im Jemen »Milizen und Terrorgruppen«, sagte er am Sonntag bei einer Pressekonferenz mit dem saudischen Außenminister Adel al-Dschubeir. Pompeo warf Teheran zudem vor, die Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen mit Waffen auszurüsten und Cyberangriffe zu starten. In Syrien unterstütze der Iran das »mörderische Assad-Regime«. Pompeo war am Samstag zum Auftakt einer dreitägigen Nahost-Reise in Saudi-Arabiens Hauptstadt Riad eingetroffen.

https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/1086839.neuer-us-aussenminister-kritisiert-bei-besuch-in-saudi-arabien-den-iran.html = https://www.news38.de/video/AFP_Videos/article214151825/US-Aussenminister-Pompeo-kritisiert-in-Saudi-Arabien-den-Iran.html und auch https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute/pompeo-fordert-international-geschlossene-haltung-gegen-iran-100.html

(A P)

Satire has lost all meaning: Ex-director of the CIA (which has for decades trained and armed far-right terrorist death squads), now US secretary of state, calls Iran "the greatest sponsor of terrorism in the world" while he meets in Saudi Arabia, which supported ISIS and al-Qaeda (see image)

https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/990805455969628161

(A P)

Film by PressTV Iran: What is Pompeo after in the Middle East? This edition of PressTV Debate discusses the issue.

https://www.facebook.com/PRESSTV/videos/2013795608662216/

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

Siehe / Look at cp1

(A B P)

No Boris, The Saudi Regime Cannot Be Trusted To Investigate Itself For War Crimes

The people of Yemen don’t need ‘the hearts’ of UK ministers, they need an end to the bombardment

“Our hearts go out to the families of those killed.” These were the words of the International Development Minister, Harriet Baldwin, last Tuesday when she updated the House of Commons on the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

She was commenting in the aftermath of a Saudi air strike last Monday morning, which had hit a wedding

Baldwin’s concerns were shared by Boris Johnson, who turned to Twitter to express his condolences, and to welcome that the same Saudi regime that had carried out the bombing was going to investigate itself for war crimes.

It is not the first time Johnson has suggested that the perpetrators of such atrocities are the best equipped to hold themselves accountable. Indeed he has consistently rejected calls for independent investigations on the basis that he believes Saudi forces to be better equipped for the task.

Johnson’s argument is clearly a moral absurdity, and puts the words of one of the world’s most brutal dictatorships above any form of natural justice for those impacted by the devastating assaults taking place. But, even if we put that to one side, the limited steps the Saudi authorities have taken expose how bad a policy this is.

This March the people of London saw how deep that establishment support runs – by Andrew Smith, CAAC

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/no-boris-the-saudi-regime-cannot-be-trusted-to-investigate_uk_5ae8508ce4b0ee6c483a0e3f

Comment: The government really is shameful in its dealings with Saudi Arabia and so is the UN. Apart from Palestine there has been no conflict where the UN has behaved so stupidly, so immorally, so inexcusably. And that goes for the British government too. This article by the excellent Andrew Smith of Campaign Against the Arms Trade says it all.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156645370548641

(* A P)

Column: Don’t just talk the talk on the crisis in Yemen

Thanks to MP Stephen Twigg a very important series of questions and answers took place in the House of Commons last week.

While there was no deviation from this tone of concern in the responses from Mrs Baldwin throughout the hour long session, every time a question related to how to improve matters the answer stopped short from a change to our foreign policy or arms sales.

the fact that since the conflict began a third of these 1,700 so called defensive actions have ended up hitting non military targets was barely responded to.

However the purpose of this sort of questioning is to hold the Government to account and each time she was asked a question about arms sales to Saudi Arabia she simply reiterated sentences she has already used and ignored the question.

However the purpose of this sort of questioning is to hold the Government to account and each time she was asked a question about arms sales to Saudi Arabia she simply reiterated sentences she has already used and ignored the question.

Both received inadequate answers. It may seem acceptable to deny our MPs decent answers, but the rest of our society and the 22 million people in Yemen deserve a proper response.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/16194567.Column__Don___t_just_talk_the_talk_on_the_crisis_in_Yemen/

(* B K P)

Priority Markets

Almost half of British arms exports go to Saudi Arabia, up fivefold since the kingdom intervened in Yemen’s civil war. British bombs are being dropped by British planes maintained by British personnel over one of the world’s poorest countries. Tens of thousands of people have died, if not from direct bombardment then from starvation or disease as a result of the Saudi-led blockade and the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure. Last week, Saudi Arabia bombed a Yemeni wedding, killing 20 people including the bride.

The British government is also bullish about approving exports of surveillance equipment and small arms to regimes that routinely detain and torture political prisoners, including Turkey, Bahrain and the Philippines.

It has a stock response to questions about arms sales: ‘The UK operates one of the most robust export control regimes in the world.’ But there is a designed subjectivity at the heart of the law: the test for denying arms sales rests on whether there is ‘a clear risk that the items might be used in internal repression [or] violations of international humanitarian law’. The government argues that there may be a risk that Saudi Arabia is violating international law, but it is not ‘clear’. – by Lloyd Russell-Moyle, MP

https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2018/04/26/lloyd-russell-moyle/priority-markets/ and also https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2018/04/29/a-labour-mp-slams-the-uk-government-as-more-bombs-land-on-yemen/

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

(* B K P)

Harboring ambitions: Gulf states scramble for Somalia

A battle for access to seaports is underway in one of the world’s unlikeliest places: Somalia, now caught up in a regional struggle between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on one side, with Qatar backed by Turkey on the other.

At stake: not just the busy waters off the Somali coast but the future stability of the country itself.

Somalia has been at war for decades and until the last few years it has struggled to attract foreign investment. But rivalries in the nearby Arabian peninsula are resulting in serious inflows into Somalia.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-gulf-analysis/harboring-ambitions-gulf-states-scramble-for-somalia-idUSKBN1I23B4

(A K P)

SOF and Airborne units from the Royal #Saudi Land & Naval Forces arrive at Izmir Air Station in Turkey to take part in exercise #EFES2018 (photos)

https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/990906477446647808

(* B K P)

Canada’s dual role in Yemen: Arms exports to Saudi coalition dwarf aid sent to war-torn country

Canada has sent $65 million in humanitarian aid to help Yemenis suffering amid a brutal war. It has also exported $284 million worth of weapons and military goods to the countries bombing Yemen.

Jaramillo calls Canada’s position “blatantly contradictory,” saying the government can’t claim to be a champion of human rights while arming the world’s worst offenders. “The problem is Canada also wants the sweet multibillion-dollar deals, so it cuts corners on human rights.”

The Canadian government is the seller in some of these transactions. In others, they broker and approve deals for Canadian companies. Government officials could not say whether weapons exported from Canada have been used in Yemen.

The true tally of Canada’s arms sales to the Middle East is possibly much higher than the export statistics suggest. Canada does not disclose any sales to its largest buyer of military goods, the U.S., which account for at least half of Canada’s weapons exports. The U.S., in turn, sells nearly half of its weapons to countries in the Middle East, primarily Saudi Arabia. So it’s impossible to know how many Canadian weapons or weapon components, if any, the U.S. has sold or donated to the Saudi coalition.

https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2018/04/30/canadas-dual-role-in-yemen-arms-exports-to-saudi-coalition-dwarfs-aid-sent-to-war-torn-country.html

(A P)

Egyptian Foreign Minister Calls for Political Solution to Yemeni Conflict

“There is no military solution to the Yemeni crisis,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said following talks with his Yemeni counterpart Abdel Malek Al-Mekhlafi, according to a statement issued by Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.

He underlined the importance of “reaching a political solution to the current crisis” in Yemen.

https://www.albawaba.com/news/egyptian-foreign-minister-calls-political-solution-yemeni-conflict-1123796

Remark: Egypt is a member of the Saudi coalition in the Yemen war.

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

(A P)

Qatar May Scrap Exit Visa Laws in Coming Weeks, Experts Say

Labor experts have expressed hope that a controversial visa system requiring workers to obtain permission of employers before leaving the state of Qatar could be abolished within a fortnight.

http://www.newnewss.net/qatar-may-scrap-exit-visa-laws-in-coming-weeks-experts-say/

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

(* B K P)

Hecho en Brasil: ¿desempeña el país algún papel en los conflictos de Oriente Medio?

La falta de transparencia acerca de los datos de las ventas de la industria armamentista de Brasil, en particular a países árabes, tiene preocupados a los activistas en favor de los derechos humanos.

Los datos proporcionados por el Ministerio de Desarrollo, Industria y Comercio Exterior de Brasil, sin embargo, apuntan a que entre 2013 y 2015 la exportación de armas brasileñas a Arabia Saudí creció un 817%.

De acuerdo con Nascimento, en 2017, la exportación de armas brasileñas a Arabia Saudí creció un 202%; a Marruecos, en un 119%; a Omán, en un 719%; y a Bahréin, en un 829%.

https://mundo.sputniknews.com/americalatina/201804251078205135-exportacion-armas-brasil-paises-arabes

(* A K P)

Saudis examining Israel’s Iron Dome for purchase: Report

Saudi Arabia is mulling buying a missile system owned and operated by the Israeli regime, a new report suggests, amid increasing hints of the normalization of relations between the kingdom and the regime.

Basler Zeitung, a Swiss paper, reported this week that military experts from Saudi Arabia had examined Iron Dome during a military weapons show in the United Arab Emirates and that a potential purchase might be possible in future.

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/04/28/559995/Saudi-Arabia-Israel-Iron-Dome

cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner

(* B K P)

Pressure mounts for Sudan to withdraw troops from Yemen

Despite the growing domestic disquiet, the Sudanese government has again confirmed it has no plans to pull its estimated 10,000 troops out of Yemen. The calls for withdrawal have made headlines in the country’s national newspapers reporting on a growing political movement and demands to bring the troops home.

Claims that the presence of Sudanese troops on foreign soil is unconstitutional without parliamentary approval have been dismissed by the government. However, in the last few days and months attempts by opposition groups, such as the Reform Now party, to table a bill demanding the immediate withdrawal has reawakened a national debate.

Sudanese political commentator, Abbas Mohammed Salih, maintains: “The presence of Sudanese troops is purely a political arrangement designed to keep favour with the Gulf states. Sudan finds itself in the middle of the continued Gulf crisis.

In truth, pulling the Sudanese generals and regular infantry out, reported to be paid up to 50,000 Sudanese pounds ($2,778) per month, is a financial benefit that regular soldiers in Khartoum hope to avoid losing when the six-month rotation of duty is assigned. The reality is the Yemen conflict provides a stable source of income for Sudan Army Forces and Rapid Support Unit fighters.

Sudan appears to have given up hope that a series of promises made by Saudi Arabia on its entry into the war might be kept. So far, none of the pledges by the Gulf states to build water dams, to give material support to upgrade of the Sudanese Armed Forces and promises to invest in agriculture and mining have materialised.

What seems clear is that any private disquiet Sudan’s government may have about its involvement in Yemen and however intense domestic pressure becomes over the issue, the unique political leverage that threats the removal of its troops gives Sudan a valuable policy worth pursuing for the time being at least until the current political problems in the region are resolved, signs of which seem to be emerging with the appointment of the US’ new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180430-pressure-mounts-for-sudan-to-withdraw-troops-from-yemen/

and

(* A K P)

Sudanese Parliament Demands Withdrawal from Anti-Yemeni Invasion Force

T he National Assembly of Sudan, or at least a coalition of members within said parliament, has issued a statement demanding full withdrawal of Sudan from the Saudi-led invasion force in Yemen.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the parliament said that “the participation of Sudan in the military operations in Yemen is contrary to the Constitution and the law [of Sudan]”, heavily criticising the position of Sudan’s long-time President Omar al-Bashir, who has been sending forces to support the Saudi invasion since 2015.

The statement added that “the Sudanese government holds all the material and moral responsibilities towards the families of the martyrs and the wounded in Yemen”, and called for a policy of non-interference, negotiation and support for a peace agreement within the Republic of Yemen.

http://www.newnewss.net/sudanese-parliament-demands-withdrawal-from-anti-yemeni-invasion-force/

and

(A P)

Sudanese Akhbar Al Youm newspaper: Sudan is on its way to withdraw its troops from #Yemen. The economic crisis, the fuel crisis, Houthis missiles and non-payment of troops salaries are the main reasons of withdraw. (image)

https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/991040065408262145

(* B K P)

Yémen: la jeunesse africaine, victime d’une escroquerie émiratie ?

Des sociétés de sécurité émiraties ont signé des contrats avec de jeunes civils de tribus arabes, originaires des zones frontalières entre le Tchad, le Niger et la Libye et les ont envoyés à la guerre au Yémen, sans qu’ils le sachent.

Selon RFI, les recruteurs des sociétés de sécurité émiraties ont promis de verser des salaires qui varient entre 900 et 3000 dollars aux jeunes Tchadiens, Nigérians et Libyens qui vont combattre au Yémen.

Les recruteurs des sociétés de sécurité émiraties parcourent certains endroits en Afrique; dont le Tchad, le Niger et le sud de la Libye pour enrôler de jeunes gens qui n’ont pas d’emploi, en leur donnant de fausses promesses selon lesquelles ils seront chargés de sécuriser La Mecque, des champs pétroliers ou encore des palais présidentiels.

« Ils sont allés chercher des jeunes partout pour aller aux Émirats Arabes Unis pour travailler comme membres de la sécurité civile, mais dès qu’ils sont arrivés aux Émirats, ils ont immédiatement été envoyés comme mercenaires pour faire la guerre contre les Yéménites », a raconté un activiste tchadien à Paris.

Une fois sur place, ils sont habillés en treillis émiratis et présentés au Yémen comme membres de cette armée après de courtes périodes d’entraînement.

En effet, ce que fait Abu Dhabi en Afrique peut être interprété comme « l’esclavagisme et le commerce de l’homme ».

https://reseauinternational.net/yemen-la-jeunesse-africaine-victime-dune-escroquerie-emiratie/

and

(* B K P)

Les jeunes Tchadiens partis combattre au Yémen victimes d’une escroquerie?

Des centaines de jeunes civils de tribus arabes ou parlant l’arabe, originaires des zones frontalières entre le Tchad, le Niger et la Libye sont enrôlés pour combattre au Yémen. Des recruteurs appartenant à des sociétés de sécurité basées aux Emirats Arabes Unis viennent à la rencontre des chefs de tribu de ces régions et promettent aux jeunes, pauvres et marginalisés, des salaires mensuels qui varient entre 900 et 3 000 dollars. Ils signent des contrats pour être agents de sécurité mais sont envoyés à la guerre à leur insu.

Le phénomène est étendu et touche même des Tchadiens résidant à Sebha, dans le sud libyen. Selon nos informations, des dizaines de jeunes Tchadiens ont été recrutés dans cette ville pour aller combattre au Yémen.

La coalition qui mène une guerre contre les Houthis au Yémen peine à trouver des soldats pour les combats terrestres. Le Soudan, seul pays à avoir envoyé des forces sur le terrain depuis 2015, est réticent à en renvoyer de nouvelles.

Des recruteurs, en accord tacite avec les autorités locales, sillonnent le Tchad, le Niger et le Sud libyen. Ils embauchent des jeunes, leur proposant des contrats civils de sécurité dans le Golfe pour sécuriser, disent-ils, la Mecque, des champs pétroliers ou encore des palais présidentiels.

https://actunet.net/les-jeunes-tchadiens-partis-combattre-au-yemen-victimes-dune-escroquerie/

(* B K P)

Yémen : le Tchad se fait-il avoir?

Des sociétés de sécurité émiraties ont signé des contrats avec de jeunes civils de tribus arabes, originaires des zones frontalières entre le Tchad, le Niger et la Libye et les ont envoyés à la guerre au Yémen, sans qu’ils le sachent.

Selon RFI, les recruteurs des sociétés de sécurité émiraties ont promis de verser des salaires qui varient entre 900 et 3000 dollars aux jeunes tchadiens, nigérians et libyens qui vont combattre au Yémen. Les recruteurs des sociétés de sécurité émiraties parcourent certains endroits en Afrique; dont le Tchad, le Niger et le sud de la Libye pour enrôler de jeunes gens qui n’ont pas d’emploi, en leur donnant de fausses promesses selon lesquelles ils seront chargés de sécuriser La Mecque, des champs pétroliers ou encore des palais présidentiels.

http://parstoday.com/fr/news/middle_east-i63132-y%C3%A9men_le_tchad_se_fait_il_avoir

(A K P

Le Tchad dément l’engagement de ses troupes au Yémen

Depuis quelques jours des ‘’informations’’ diffusées par certains médias ont fait état de l'envoi de soldats tchadiens pour combattre au Yémen, à la suite d'un accord secret qui aurait été signé entre l'Arabie Saoudite et le Tchad.

Le gouvernement tchadien a démenti ces allégations.

http://www.bbc.com/afrique/region-43945033 = https://www.pressafrik.com/Le-Tchad-dement-l-engagement-de-ses-troupes-au-Yemen_a182258.html

cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

(* B K)

Film: Video: Yemen war threatens historic town of Zabid

This @UNESCO world heritage site in Yemen could soon turn into rubble.

https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/991542802935824385

and also

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAf-MSnDMv4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSTS91A2yFM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Eknkga2DzQ

(B K P)

Saudi destroy Yemen historical landmarks during last three years

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494728.htm

Remark: This is just a short report, the devastation of cultural heritage has been well-documented.

cp13d Wirtschaft / Economy

(A E P)

Governor of Central Bank of Yemen Ends Consultative Meetings with IMF

Dr. Mohamed Mansour Zemam, governor of Central Bank of Yemen, ended a series of consultative meetings with IMF with a meeting with technical support department of the fund that is diagnosing technical abilities of the central bank including main headquarters and other branches. The diagnosis aims to introduce a project for developing infrastructure and administrative processes of the central bank to keep up with modern banking advances., especially in the technological field that affected all banking services all over the world.
It is noteworthy that USA is a major supporter for improving the abilities of the Central Bank of Yemen

http://en.smanews.org/governor-of-central-bank-of-yemen-ends-consultative-meetings-with-imf

Remark: “President” Hadi’s newly created Central Bank at Aden.

And

(A E P)

United States confirms its continued support of the Central Bank of Yemen

The United States of America confirmed its continued support to the Central Bank of Yemen to be unified and independent for all Yemenis.
The support came in a statement today by the US State Department.

http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1757781

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

(A T)

Pro-#alQaeda #Yemen group "Supporters of the Mujahidin in the Arabian Peninsula" issue short video "Generation of Resolve". Mostly old #AQAP footage. Full of nostalgia, incl for 9/11. Crude but shows intent to continue #jihad vs West & its agents. Ends with call for recruits. (photos)

https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/990905417378213888

cp15 Propaganda

Siehe / Look at cp1

(A P)

Are the wars in Sinai and Yemen necessary?

Is it “normal” for Saudi Arabia to remain silent and ignore the Houthis until the damage is done?

Have mistakes been committed? Yes. Mistakes were made, but this is the nature of work and the characteristic of activity.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2018/05/01/Is-the-war-in-Sinai-and-Yemen-necessary-.html

My comment: Oh yes, deliberate targeting of civilians is “necessary”; and if it is too horribly that even the West can ignore, it’s just a “mistake”.

(A P)

Saudi aid to Yemen worth $11bn, forum told

Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian efforts in Yemen have been highlighted at a forum at King Saud University (KSU).

The symposium, entitled “Restoration of Hope, Security, Stability and Development in Yemen,” was held under the patronage of Badran bin Abdurrahman Al-Omar, president of KSU.

Mohammed Al-Jabir, Saudi ambassador to Yemen, said the country had historic and strategic relations with the Kingdom.

“Iran-backed Houthi militias had impeded the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and had looted the country’s Central Bank,” he added.

He said militias allowed Iran to smuggle weapons and ballistic missiles in order to target Makkah, Riyadh and a number of Saudi cities.

The Kingdom’s assistance to Yemen totaled about $10.96 billion, he said.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1295086/saudi-arabia and also https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-18013

(A P)

Iran's Proxy Wars: Can Trump Help Saudi Arabia Turn the Tide?

Donald Trump backs Saudi Arabia in its efforts to counter Iran's influence and cited those conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon as added cause for canceling the 2015 Iran nuclear deal

What happens if Trump pulls out of the Iran nuclear deal?

Netanyahu's 'Iran lied' speech becomes an instant Twitter meme

U.S. officials: Israeli F-15s struck Syrian base storing Iranian anti-aircraft missiles

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/iran-s-proxy-wars-from-lebanon-to-syria-can-trump-help-the-saudis-1.6049886

(A P)

Saudi Ambassador to Yemen: Yemen reconstruction convention will be held this Year

The Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mr.Mohammed Al Jaber said that Yemen Reconstruction convention will be held this year.

The ambassador mentioned in the (Restoration of the security, stability and development) seminar at Riyadh that Houthis sacked around two billion dollars in the form of Taxes and royalties taken for admission of the Human aid.

On the military level he added, the coalition forces are now 70 kilometers away from Hodeida,since they were 200 km away in the past.

http://almasdaronline.com/article/98633

(A P)

Turkey’s influence in Yemen

Turkey may have shifted its priorities away from Yemen, but it can still play a positive role in trying to alleviate some of the human suffering which seems to have no end in sight.

Throughout the years leading up to the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, Turkey’s projection of soft-power was a key pillar of Ankara’s 21st century foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa. The ideology of the Justice and Development (AK) Party appealed to many in Arab countries who sought democratic reforms and political openings for their grassroots movements.

This “Turkish model” gained influence in Yemen, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan grew popular as he did in other Arab countries in the 2000s.

https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/turkey-s-influence-in-yemen-17126

Comment: There can be no 'development' sponsored by Turkey, the country which has always supported the Coalition, sent expired food as 'humanitarian aid' to #Yemen and airlifted terrorists to #Aden

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1728569037196119

(A P)

To contain Iran, look first to Yemen – not sanctions

In the Middle East, all eyes are fixed on Syria’s ongoing carnage and the international response to the latest chemical attack by Bashar al-Assad’s regime. But if the United States seeks stability in the region, it needs a strategy to contain Iran’s threats to its neighbors. The most effective place to start defies conventional wisdom: it is building an international coalition for a ceasefire in Yemen.

Travel to the Middle East and you will hear that Iran has surrounded the region through proxies in Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon (through Hezbollah). In neighboring states, the complaint about the Iran nuclear agreement is about imminent threats: it does not stop Iran from fueling war in Yemen, fighting Assad’s battles in Syria, controlling politics and security in Iraq, and supporting Hezbollah as a weapon of terror. Containing Iran, many argue, is the first step toward a stable Middle East.

Then why start with Yemen?

On any given day, Yemen, Syria, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, the Kurds, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, and the United States are involved in armed conflicts in the Middle East, and all could get worse. A ceasefire in Yemen is not a panacea but a starting point – the one place where virtually all actors could find a reason to call a ceasefire a victory – and where diplomacy could constrain Iran at least in one part of the region. – by Carlos Pascual

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pascual-yemen-commentary/commentary-to-contain-iran-look-first-to-yemen-not-sanctions-idUSKBN1I11JP = https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1456321/

My comment: Yes, Yemen urgently needs a ceasefire. But this is a document of US anti-Iranian paranoia.

(A P)

Iran spurs regional arms race

Tehran’s expansionist designs have paved the way for stockpiling of weapons in the Middle East

Saudi Arabia and Iran are arguably the major powers in the Middle East if you ignore Israel. And the power comes from their military prowess. Iran’s adventurism in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen has turned up the heat in the Arab world forcing Saudi Arabia to react strongly in Yemen. Iran is not averse to displaying its military power. During Iran’s Army Day there was a parade of military hardware including various defence systems, ballistic missiles, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), planes, tanks, armoured vehicles and command-and-control combat systems.

https://gulfnews.com/opinion/thinkers/iran-spurs-regional-arms-race-1.2214288

My comment: This is odd propaganda. Which country actually is spuring a weapons race? Saudi Arabia’s military expenditure in 2016: US$ 63.7 billion; Emirates: 22.7 billion; Israel 17.8 billion; Turkey 14.9 billion; Iran 12.3 billion????? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures).

(A P)

FM: Iran is the cause of the crisis in Yemen

The tragic humanitarian situation that the Yemeni people are experiencing was imposed by the Houthi insurgency," Foreign Minister Abdul-Malik al-Mekhlafi has said.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat daily, he said that "the Huthis are apathetic to the suffering of the people. They have also stolen humanitarian aid and delayed the entry of relief aid into the afflicted areas."

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-17980

(A P)

Yemeni official: Al-Houthi militias have killed 10,194 people and 3,195 women and children since its coup against legitimacy

Yemeni Undersecretary of Ministry of Human Rights Majed Fada'el has accused international organizations working in Yemen of not being neutral and honored by the leaders of Houthi coup militias in Sanaa, calling it as a contrary to United Nations regulations.
The Yemeni official stressed that the presence of the main offices of international organizations in Sana'a is a direct cause for their impartiality including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, humanitarian organizations, United Nations coordinators or special envoys.
He explained that the presence of their main offices in Sanaa makes them vulnerable to blackmail and pressure to impose on them specific policies by Iranian-backed-Houthi militias.

The Yemeni official said that Iranian-backed-Houthi militias have caused a humanitarian disaster for Yemen, where the number of dead and wounded amounted to more than 40,000 including 13,389 dead.

http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1757936

My comment: The Hadi government wants to press the international organizations to leave Sanaa and to move to Aden (which would mean that it would be much more difficult to continue their humanitarian work in the North. One means to achieve this is defamation, and by this they also can achieve demonizing the Houthis. Here, the Houthis are blamed for all the victims of the war (official figures) – also for all the victims of Saudi air raids, which are the greatest part of all.

(A P)

Prominent Dutch lawyer: Qatar giving safe haven for funders of terrorism

A prominent human rights lawyer is taking Qatar to court on behalf of victims of an al-Qaeda-linked Syrian extremist group, saying the that the Nusra Front group was financed by Doha-based networks.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2018/04/27/Prominent-Dutch-lawyer-Qatar-giving-safe-haven-for-funders-of-terrorism.html

My comment: What a joke. Yes, Qatar supported Nusra Front. And saudi Arabia also did. And the West also did, calling Nusra „moderate rebels“. „Al Nusra did a good job“, the French Foreign Minister had told in 2012.

(A P)

Prominent US expert: Doha policies threat to whole region

A senior foreign policy analyst has emphasized that the US should threaten to move its al-Udeid Air Base southwest of the Qatari capital, Doha, if Qatar does not stop supporting terrorism, working more closely with the Iranians, and supporting Hamas and its activities.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2018/04/23/Analyst-says-Washington-should-put-pressure-on-Qatar-about-moving-Udeid-Air-Base.html

(A P)

The new UN envoy’s almost impossible mission with the Houthis

Perhaps some people, including myself, denounce the idea that Houthis should have any place in Yemen’s political future and believe this group should not be engaged with at all as its ideology must only be dealt on par with that of Nazis and other fascist movements following World War II: via prohibition and prosecution.

This is a fair and rational request that takes into consideration protecting Yemen’s future on the long term. However, if we are to realistically look at the matter, disarming the group and depriving it of its military capabilities will turn it into a toothless tiger. More importantly, the group’s legitimacy, according to its followers, is linked to the permanence of war and the sanctification of divine weapons within the efforts of the “Hashemite Quranic march.”
I think the Houthis’ core remains inflexible and does not accept dialogue or else it would immediately break. Just like his predecessor, the Mauritanian Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed eventually realized, British envoy Griffiths will also come to realize that he’s chasing a Houthi smokescreen.
Any apparent Houthi flexibility seeking political talks instead of resorting to the language of weapons and to the threats of Abdulmalik al-Houthi, Abu Ali al-Hakeem or their new prime minister, the extremely dreamy Mahdi al-Mashat is a tactical flexibility that is only meant to gain time. The Houthis’ doctrine is aggressive and is based on gobbling up others and is certainly invasive – anything else is mere talk.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2018/04/29/The-new-UN-envoy-s-almost-impossible-mission-with-the-Houthis.html

My comment: Nice propaganda, showing that the Saudis do not want real negotiations and power-sharing. Tactis: demonizing the enemy. But you always make peace with your enemies, never with your friends.

(* A P)

Iran’s Brutal War in Yemen Threatens the Entire Middle East

[T]he Houthis have been waging a very successful propaganda war that plays off of international confusion over the complicated ground campaign in Yemen. They have focused the world’s attention on Saudi airstrikes while entirely omitting their own widespread war crimes, such as their use of child soldiers, their positioning of troops in hospitals and schools, their use of civilians as human shields, their abuse of religious minorities, and their merciless use of missile strikes against “adversary” civilians in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia. And while Riyadh has taken responsibility for its mistakes, . . . Houthis have issued no apologies for their ruthless tactics.

It was the Houthis, not the Saudis, who first imposed a humanitarian blockade against Yemen. They then used humanitarian-aid shipments to their own population as a disguise for smuggled weapons, which ultimately led to many deaths from starvation. The Saudis were forced to impose their own naval blockade as a defensive measure to counter ballistic-missile strikes and increased attacks on coalition [forces] on the ground—yet the Houthis have succeeded in painting the kingdom as the villain. . . . [T]he main [goal] of the widespread, tenacious, and largely successful pro-Iran propaganda campaign in the West . . . has been to get the U.S. out of Yemen. .

https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/2018/04/irans-brutal-war-in-yemen-threatens-the-security-of-the-entire-middle-east/

My comment: „Iran’s Brutal War in Yemen“ ?????The palm fort he most crazy propaganda piece of the week. A long commentary by Daniel Larison you find here: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-war-on-yemen-and-pro-saudi-propaganda-in-the-west/ (excerpts in cp1 above).

(A P)

ERC organises second group wedding for 400 in Socotra, Yemen - Updates

The Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, has organised the second group wedding of 400 brides and grooms in Socotra Governorate, as part of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to hold a series of wedding, under his patronage, to benefit 2,200 people in eight Yemeni governorates.

http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302685569

Remark: The people in Soqatra have all been offered Emirati nationality I hear, since the Emirati occupation of Soqatra.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156640954758641

and

(A P)

Saudi Coalition Offers of Help Mere Diversionary Tactics

A repeated scenario is being played out once again by the belligerent regimes of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to divert the focus of the media away from their unforgivable deeds in Yemen to the so-called "relief packages" offered by them.

A recent report published by IRNA argues how the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, already blacklisted by the United Nations for killing of women and children in Yemen, resort to divisionary tactics every time they are internationally condemned for their abominable crimes in the poorest Arab nation.

In an attempt to offer relief to the now-mourning nation, the UAE announced the upcoming organization of mass weddings for 2,200 Yemeni couples,

https://financialtribune.com/articles/national/85549/saudi-coalition-offers-of-help-mere-diversionary-tactics

Comment: You can tell from reading this that it is an Iranian source. I gather UAE is going to pay for the weddings of 2200 couples. Well what these couples need is peace.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156640951438641

(A P)

Yemeni Government: Silence of International Community on Al-Houthi Militias Violations is Unacceptable

The Yemeni government has called on the international community to stand united and take firmer and stronger position in the face of the Iranian-backed Al-Houthi Militias to stop all violations against the Yemeni people in all Yemeni regions

http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1757502

My comment: This is ridiculous looking at the fct that the West supports the Hadi government and their saudi masters and fully neglects the Saudi air raids.

(A P)

The joke of the day: this is how Al Arabiya changes the narrative and the plot.
You cannot fix natural born killers and liars (see text in image)

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515.1073741828.961126490607048/1726204227432600/?type=3

(A H P)

UAE agency organises second Yemen mass wedding

Initiative is part of UAE’s humanitarian efforts in Yemen during Year of Zayed

https://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/uae-agency-organises-second-yemen-mass-wedding-1.2214174

(A P)

and an evil series of US anti-Iranian propaganda from Feb. 2018 to be found here:

https://www.aei.org/scholar/kenneth-pollack/

and on the author:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_M._Pollack

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

Siehe / Look at cp1, Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject

(* A K pH)

Saudi coalition air raids day by day:

April 29: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1525146796./1019545791529119/?type=3

April 28: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1525146796./1019545271529171/?type=3

April 27: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1525146796./1019544858195879/?type=3

April 26: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/1019543598196005/?type=3

April 25: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/1019542918196073/?type=3

(A K pH)

Film: US-Saudi air raid targeting truck, Taiz, April 30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGLcULk_MPI

(A K pH)

Film: Targeting the aggression of the Saudi American car of a citizen in the Al Mozia department, Taiz province, April 30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9jMYo4-UHc

(A K pS)

Coalition raids target Houthi operations room in Yemen’s Al-Baydah

Arab coalition fighters launched air strikes against Iran-backed Houthi militia positions in Yemen’s central province of Al-Baydah, Saudi state-news channel Al-Ekhbariya reported.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1294491/middle-east

(A K pH)

9 Saudi airstrikes on capital Sanaa, Saada

The US-Saudi aggression warplane launched nine airstrikes on the capital Sanaa and Saada province, injuring two citizens, while Saudi artillery and missile shelling targeting number of border areas, a military official told Saba on Monday.
Two citizens were injured, one seriously injured, in an airstrike on a power tower in Beit al- Mo'ad area in al- Arouq in Bani al- Harith in Sanaa, said the official.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494713.htm

(* A K pH)

8 civilians killed in Saudi airstrikes across Yemen in past 24 hours

At least eight civilians, including women and children, have been killed in Saudi Arabia’s multiple airstrikes across war-torn Yemen during the past 24 hours.

Yemen's official Saba news agency, citing a military source, reported on Sunday that seven of the victims were women and children. The airstrikes targeted various areas across Sana’a, Hajjah and Sa’ada provinces. The report added that at least 10 other civilians sustained injuries.

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/04/29/560109/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-airstrikes

(A K pS)

Arab Coalition Raids Destroy Al-Houthi Militias' Vehicles and Weapons Storage in Taiz

Air raids of jet fighters of the Arab Coalition have destroyed a storage of Iranian-backed Al-Houthi Militias containing military vehicles and weapons West of Taiz, Yemen.
Yemeni field sources said that Arab Coalition jetfighters launched an air raid, which targeted a vehicle of Al-Houthi Militias loaded with weapons.
Yemeni Ministry of Defense said that other raids of the Arab Coalition targeted Al-Houthi Militias' weapons storage and a vehicle in the same area.
The Coalition's jetfighters also launched another raid targeting reinforcements and groups of Al-Houthi Militias in Al-Barh District.

http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1757571

Remark: As claimed by Saudi Press Agency.

(A K pH)

Aggression warplane destroys Central Bank building in Saada

The US Saudi-led coalition destroyed the Central Bank of the city of Saada, a security official told Saba on Tuesday.
The three airstrikes targeted the Central bank in the city which destroyed completely and damaged the homes of neighboring citizens,

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494831.htm

(A K pH)

Photos: Air raid targeting Central Bank building at Saada, April 30, 2018

The Saudi American air offensive, yesterday evening, targeting the Central Bank of Yemen branch of the province of Saada, Ghartin.

The bombing left a lot of damage in the building and devastated a large area of the main road in the city center.

It is noteworthy that the bank's building in Saada was subjected to raids of aggression more than once and the last official facilities in the city long hysterical bombing by the Saudi-American aggression.

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1807287772900542

(* A K pH)

More Saudi air raids reported on:

April 30:

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494821.htm Saada p.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494717.htm Hodeidah p.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494707.htm Saada p.

April 29:

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494641.htm Sanaa city

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

(A K pS)

Houthis Land mines killed a woman and her child

http://almasdaronline.com/article/98644

(A K pS)

Two children injured in Houthi shelling on Murais

http://almasdaronline.com/article/98645

(A K)

Yemen: Gov’t forces make gains in rebel stronghold

Government forces have reportedly made gains against Houthi rebels in their stronghold in the northern province of Saada, according to an official army website on Tuesday.

Army forces captured eight military sites in Saada after deadly clashes with Houthi rebels, the “September Net” website said, quoting a military source.

https://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/yemen-gov-t-forces-make-gains-in-rebel-stronghold/1132312

Remark: According to “president” Hadi’s army.

(B K pH)

Enemy media admits killing of 65 Saudi officers, soldiers

Saudi enemy soldiers and its mercenaries inflicted heavy losses by breaking the army and popular committees their infiltration attempt and targeting their positions in Jizan, Najran and Aseer over the last 24 hours and a reconnaissance plane was shot down in Saada, while the media admitted the killing of 65 Saudi officers and soldiers during April.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494807.htm

(A K pH)

Saada prov.: al- Ghawr area in Ghamr district and separate areas from Razeh district hit by Saudi artillery and missile shelling.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494713.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494821.htm

(A K pH)

Saudische Spionage-Drohne im Jemen abgeschossen

http://parstoday.com/de/news/middle_east-i39878-saudische_spionage_drohne_im_jemen_abgeschossen

(A K pH)

Yemeni air defenses drops down reconnaissance plane in Saada

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news494789.htm

(* A K)

Emirati forces arrest hundreds of Saudi-hired mercenaries after fleeing battle against Yemeni army

According to sources in the South Yemen Movement, at least 800 mercenaries from the Saudi-hired brigades of Tariq Afash, have been jailed by Emirati forces for desertion, after fleeing from battle against the Yemeni Armed Forces.
Tariq Afash is the nephew of the late Ali Abdullah Saleh, the despot who ruled as president of Yemen from 1990 until 2011, and was killed in December 2017 following his defection to the side of the Saudi and Emirati invaders.
Vowing to avenge his uncle and continue his path of defection, Afash offered his services to the UAE forces and promised to defeat the National Salvation Government in Aden “within ten days”. However, after a series of heavy defeats in Taiz province, the mercenary leader was allegadly summoned to the Emirates in order to answer for his failures.
Now, reports state that several hundreds of Tariq Afash mercenaries have been captured while running from combat against the Yemeni Armed Forces and Popular Committees. According to sources quoted by Yemen Press Agency, around 800 troops fled the battlefield around the coastal city of Mocha, and were subsequently arrested and deported to Aden

http://en.abna24.com/news/middle-east/emirati-forces-arrest-hundreds-of-saudi-hired-mercenaries-after-fleeing-battle-against-yemeni-army_891447.html

(A K pS)

Gatherings of Houthi Putschists Surrender to Yemeni Army in Al-Bayda

A Houthi leader and gatherings of Houthi Putschist militias surrendered to the Yemeni Army in the governorates of Al-Bayda and Marib.

http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1757731

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-408-yemen-war-mosaic-408

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-408 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-408:

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/

http://www.yemenwar.info/

und alle Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:

http://yemendataproject.org/data/

Dieser Beitrag gibt die Meinung des Autors wieder, nicht notwendigerweise die der Redaktion des Freitag.
Geschrieben von

Dietrich Klose

Vielfältig interessiert am aktuellen Geschehen, zur Zeit besonders: Ukraine, Russland, Jemen, Rolle der USA, Neoliberalismus, Ausbeutung der 3. Welt

Dietrich Klose

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