... Westliche Medien und Jemenkrieg – Jemenkrieg und Großbritannien – Jemen: Kein Interesse im Westen – Machtpolitik der Emirate – und mehr
June 25, 2018: Hodeidah: Fighting reaches city quarters, more refugees, no military solution, would lead to catastrophe – Judith Brown; Dan Glazebrook über Jemen – Lebensmittelversorgung – Western media and the Yemen war – Yemen war and Britain – Yemen: In the West, no interest – Emirates’ power policy – 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
cp1b1 Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah: Deutsch/ Most important: Hodeidah battle: German
cp1b2 Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah: Englisch / Most important: Hodeidah battle: English
cp2 Allgemein / General
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
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
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(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
pH = Pro-Houthi
pS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
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
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Film: Dr Judith Brown speech at the “Yemen Media Blockout” event.
Analysis British press narrative on Saudi-led war on Yemen.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/fstwc/permalink/1863605336996267/
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
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West & its Arab stooges are terrified of a genuinely independent Yemen
Today, the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah is under ferocious attack in the latest stage of the West’s aggression against the indomitable people of Yemen.
This war was initiated as a ‘proxy’ war to be fought by their Gulf underlings, but defeats and setbacks have increasingly led Western countries to have more direct involvement. Already deeply implicated from the start - not only through the arming and training of Saudi and Emirati militaries, but also by playing a leading role with Western officers embedded in the targeting rooms, not to mention the high-level “Yemen quartet” for war planning - Western forces now appear to be openly involved in the latest escalation.
Britain, meanwhile, has coordinated the diplomatic charade, helping torpedo the Swedish call for a ceasefire at the UN, and claiming instead to support the “peacemaking efforts” of the UN special envoy to Yemen, British diplomat Martin Griffiths. His ‘efforts’ have consisted of calling for the popular Ansar Allah movement to leave Hodeidah. In other words, this is the ‘Geneva conference’ for Syria all over again - a demand for unconditional surrender, dressed up as a ‘diplomatic initiative’. Griffiths’ job is nothing more than provision of a diplomatic fig leaf for the demands of the aggressors, the equivalent of a mafiosi bosses’ pinstriped lawyer. Unsurprisingly, his ‘initiative’ was met with short thrift in Sanaa.
But what makes Western powers - and their Arab proxies - so willing to contemplate such a genocidal level of killing, just to ensure a Saudi-Emirati victory over their impoverished neighbor?
Ultimately, the answer to this question lies not in “fear of Iranian influence” - which has been vastly overstated, and is little more than an attempt to demonize an authentic indigenous resistance movement - nor in the desire to “restore the legitimate government” - a hideous joke of a pretext, given that Hadi’s so-called “mandate” expired in 2014, having failed to achieve - nor even pursue - any of what he was cautiously mandated to do in 2012 (in an election in which his was the only name on the ballot). Rather, what the West and its Arab stooges are truly terrified of is a genuinely independent Yemen. And this is precisely what the Ansar Allah movement represent.
In his superb new book, Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us About the World, Professor Isa Blumi shows how the war on Ansar Allah (the Houthis) now underway is but the latest in 100 years of futile attempts to crush Yemen’s indomitable resistance.
The latest chapter of this resistance began in the year 2000, when Yemenis of the northwest region in and around Sa’adah province found their ancestral homelands under threat from two sources: the Saudis, and the IMF.
In 1934, a treaty was forced on Yemen in which the historic Yemen province of Asir was annexed by Saudi Arabia. But whilst it was agreed the new border would be marked out (with stones), it was also agreed that the peoples of the region would be able to freely move across this border. This arrangement ended when a new treaty was signed in 2000, which replaced the stone border with walls, fences and checkpoints, and prevented the free passage of locals.
At the same time, President Saleh was busily privatizing what land was left, in line with the demands of the IMF’s “structural adjustment” program. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi emerged as the spokesman of the budding resistance movement that this theft provoked, and which soon claimed 3000 armed men for its cause.
Yet ultimately, even Saleh was not considered efficient enough at turning over his country’s resources to the West. Not only had he failed to subdue the spirited resistance in Sa’adah, but he had started to push back on some of the more obscene Western demands - such as a call by corporate lobby groups in 2010 for foreign investors be exempt from tax altogether - correctly fearing that his rule might not survive such an orgy of obsequiousness.
But what really frightened the West was the growing levels of investment in Yemen by China, who had, since the early 2000s, pumped billions into developing Yemeni oil, infrastructure and fishing. The danger here, as everywhere, was that the existence of alternative sources of investment would give Yemen some leverage - and even independence - in its relations with Western corporate interests.
Enter Hadi - “empire’s man”, as Blumi puts it. Vice President under Saleh for almost two decades, Hadi was a reliable regime stooge, but without Saleh’s growing impertinence. Ordained by the priesthood of global capital, his official mandate was to embark on a process of reconciliation and prepare the country for elections. Instead, he made a deal with the Muslim Brotherhood which allowed him to sideline the country’s two main popular movements – Ansar Allah in the north, and Hirak, the separatist movement in the South, and proceeded to steamroller the country into membership of the WTO.
This process required the usual - and long discredited – “shock therapy” of unrestrained privatization. Hadi immediately privatized 11 of the 12 main sectors of the economy, with 78 of 160 “subsectors” listed for immediate “liberalization”. At the same time, he exposed Yemen’s private sector to instant “free market”competition from global multinationals, costing thousands of jobs. In other words, says Blumi, Hadi “proceeded to literally sell off Yemen to Saudi and Qatari interests...under no legal or electoral pressure, Hadi’s interim government was the ideal vehicle to plunder Yemen”. – by Dan Glazebrook
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/430676-yemen-saudi-arabia-us/
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GIEWS Country Brief: Yemen 21-June-2018
Conflict and natural hazards endanger agricultural livelihoods
the persistent conflict continues to seriously compromise agricultural livelihoods and crop production. Shortages and high prices of agricultural inputs are reported in almost all governorates. Agricultural activities, particularly those related to irrigated crops, suffer from high fuel prices, with consequent increases in the share of rainfed crops, which in turn bear lower yields. Many rural households increasingly rely on casual labour opportunities as their main source of income. By contrast, in most conflict-affected areas, hired agricultural labour tends to be replaced by family labour in order to cope with the increased costs of production. The severity of the impact varies across the country.
Below-average cereal harvest and stable import requirement
Total cereal production in 2017 is estimated at 450 000 tonnes, more than 40 percent below the previous year’s harvest and the five-year average.
On average, total domestic cereal production covers less than 20 percent of the total utilization (food, feed and other uses). The country is largely dependent on imports from the international markets to satisfy its domestic consumption requirement for wheat, the main staple. The share of domestic wheat production in total food utilization in the last ten years is between 5 to 10 percent, depending on the domestic harvest.
The import requirement for cereals to guarantee a sufficient calorie intake in the 2018 marketing year (January/December) is estimated at about 4.3 million tonnes, including 3.2 million tonnes of wheat, 700 000 tonnes of maize and 400 000 tonnes of rice.
Between January and March 2018, an estimated 720 000 tonnes of wheat grains and flour as well as 100 000 tonnes of rice were imported to the country. The available import data indicate that the proportion of food imports passing through Hodeidah and Al Salif ports has declined by 11 percent compared to JanuaryOctober 2017 period (FSTS-FSIS Market Bulletin Update, April 2018). It appears that, despite some improvements, the restrictions on offloading certain types of food commodities imposed on the two ports in November 2017 has not yet been fully lifted. Any disruption of trade flows threatens the continuity of market supplies and, consequently, the food security of large numbers of people. As of mid-June 2018, pro-Government forces were attempting to take over the Hodeidah, the most important seaport.
Almost 18 million people estimated to be food insecure
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/giews-country-brief-yemen-21-june-2018
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What US and UK media won't tell you about the war in Yemen
A look at how western media outlets cover the war in Yemen and the powers behind it.
Yemen's conflict, which has been described as the "forgotten war" by Amnesty International, receives little media coverage.
If covered, western news outlets consistently portray the conflict as a proxy war between Iranian-backed Houthi-led militias and Yemenis. But how much attention has been given to the US and the UK, whose billion-dollar weapons sales and military assistance have enabled wealthy Gulf states to wage war against the poorest country in the Middle East?
"The conflict has been cast in ways that have been very misleading to a US or UK audience," says Shireen al-Adeimi, assistant professor at Michigan State University. "People don't realise how involved our governments are in creating this catastrophe in Yemen. It's construed as something that just is happening somewhere to people who are fighting each other - casting it as a sectarian war, and more often as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran which is completely misguided."
"When you have coverage which doesn't really provide context or a proper understanding of the key actors in a conflict and also the role of our own governments, publics are left with a sense of a confused conflict where it's not clear who's right or wrong, it's not clear whether or not we're involved in it," says Piers Robinson, a professor at the University of Sheffield.
"These are big political, economic and military relationships which would cause increasing degrees of public dissent if people were fully aware of what's going on. And you've got to remember, there is a close relationship between government officials and journalists," Robinson adds.
Last year, CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes broadcast a 13-minute in-depth report on the war that openly criticised Saudi Arabia but made not a single mention of the US role in the conflict, the weapons sales or the military and logistical support.
And MSNBC, the 24-hour news channel that Americans consider to be on the liberal side of the political spectrum, dedicated less than four minutes to coverage of the war.
It's a "shocking failure of journalists to push back on the government's own narratives", says the Intercept's Alex Emmons.
"The fact that journalists are not scrutinising it more just demonstrates that in American media culture it really is ok to devalue the lives of people in the Middle East, and the people that the United States tramples on to obtain its policy goals."
and
(** B K P)
Film:An unworthy war? US/UK reporting on Yemen
As the assault on Hudaida makes news, we examine flaws in coverage of the war in Yemen. Plus, chemical attacks in Syria.
How US and UK media report the war in Yemen
A conflict described by Amnesty International as the "forgotten war", Yemen has found itself in the news this past week.
The reason was an assault by the combined forces of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on the port city of Hudaida. While it's the Saudi-led coalition that has waged this war for the past three years, many media outlets describe Yemen as a proxy war, hence the term 'Iran-backed Houthi rebels'.
But what about the US and the UK whose weapons sales and military assistance have enabled the Gulf states to carry on the war?
For British and US journalists that should make Yemen a foreign war with plenty of domestic angles. But you wouldn't know it from the kind of coverage - and the overall lack of it.
Contributors: Piers Robinson, chair in Politics, Society and Political Journalism, University of Sheffield; Alex Emmons, reporter, The Intercept; Shireen al-Adeimi, assistant professor, Michigan State University; Hashem Ahelbarra, senior correspondent, Al Jazeera
(** B K P)
The assault on al-Hudaydah: does the UK government have an off-switch?
The use of UK-supplied military aircraft and ordnance in Yemen, particuarly by the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), has been much remarked upon. Such remarks are important, but of little immediate help right now: the thing about weapons is that you can’t take them back once you’ve supplied them.
But the UK’s provision of these weapons systems is unusual, because their maintenance, deployment and use by the Saudi Air Force continues to rely on an in-country support programme of several thousand employees of UK companies — both British and non-British nationals. These companies are contracted by the UK MOD, not the Saudi government. Their in-country staff include serving, seconded UK RAF technicians. In short: these support personnel, both civilian and seconded military, are fully under UK MOD control, in both contractual and (sometimes) operational terms. And though since mid-2009 these personnel have been “pulled back” from physically fastening weapons onto aircraft for Yemen sorties, they do almost everything else. They are responsible for maintaining the weapons systems of all Saudi Tornado IDS fighter-bombers — a backbone of the Yemen air war. They 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. They “issue” weapons to the aircraft for sorties. The documents and interviews that Katherine Templar and I have gathered over the last 18 months confirms this, as do recent UK ministerial statements.
And, as Joe Lo, Nick Gilby and I recently discovered in the UK’s National Archives, the government-to-government agreement that governs this in-country support — at least for the Tornado fighter-bombers — contains a specific legal “off-switch” for precisely this kind of situation. Article 37 of the second “Al Yamamah” MOU between the UK and Saudi Arabia, which MOD officials have confirmed remains in force, allows the UK government “in the case of the outbreak of war… after consultation with the Saudi Arabian government…[to] suspend the arrangements provided for in the MOU”, removing UK re-supply and in-country support for RSAF’s Tornado fighter-bombers. It’s possible that the other, still secret MOUs governing the Typhoons and other UK-supplied weapons systems may have similar clauses. Certainly in the case of the Tornadoes, the UK government has so far chosen not to activate the clause. Evidently, then, despite their assurances, UK ministers have not done “everything we can“: indeed they’ve declined to use the one clear legal and practical tool they have in their hands that might concretely dissuade or hinder the assault on Al-Hudaydah they claim they want to stop.
Would having this in-country support programme down tools actually stop the assault on Al-Hudaydah? Maybe.
But if ministers really believe, as they’ve said in citing UN estimates, that the assault on Al-Hudaydah “could displace up to 350,000 people and leave hundreds of thousands of Yemenis without access to basic goods, water or healthcare“, and that “any long closure of Hodeidah port is likely to put over 3 million more people at risk of starvation“, then surely if there is ever the time to use the nuclear option of ‘switching off’ RSAF’s UK-supplied weapons, it’s now?
And if they don’t? What does the fact that UK officials have recourse to this clear legal provision, but don’t use it, mean for their potential legal culpability over grave IHL breaches that may be committed in the assault on Al-Hudaydah using weapons systems sustained and supported by UK personnel?
Aiding and abetting grave breaches of IHL has a mens rea test — a threshhold of “knowledge” about the act (though not necessarily intention that it be perpetrated) — that usually makes it unlikely that third-party providers of military assistance, or the government officials responsible for them, could be held individually criminally responsible in such circumstances. But I wonder whether ministers’ very public statements over the last few days about their expectations of a humanitarian catastrophe in the event of an assault on al-Hudaydah might, just might, demonstrate that mens rea test in this case – by Mike Lewis
(** B K P)
The unspeakable suffering in Yemen has barely elicited more than collective sighs on the global stage
If the coalition drives the Houthis out of their stronghold of Hodeidah (putting the lives of 250,000 civilians at risk, according to the United Nations), that moves the war to the next battleground: Sana’a. This doesn’t constitute a “turning point” in the war, as the coalition claims, but an expansion of its terrain.
But as journalists trot out the chronology and the statistics about the suffering in Yemen, the numbers are morphing into something at best boilerplate and at worst meaningless. There’s the “conservative” estimate of deaths so far: 10,000. The cholera cases: one million. The internationally and internally displaced: more than two million. The number of people who don’t know when or where their next meal will come from: almost nine million. And then there are obligatory references to the Arab world’s “poorest country,” the world’s “worst humanitarian crisis” or, for the geopolitically inclined, the “next Syria” when it comes to a looming refugee crisis or “the next Afghanistan” for that special failed-state designation.
I’ve been collecting, updating and sharing this data (and journalistic tropes) for several years now, and yet the reality of Yemen as a site of unspeakable suffering has barely changed or elicited more than collective sighs on the global stage. It’s exhausting for Yemenis outside the country and crushing for those within its borders. The media and the global community need to explore other narratives, other ways of thinking about the war in Yemen, to stop it from becoming the next anything or the worst of everything. This war tells us as much about power structures in the world today as it does about Yemen’s tribal divisions.
A good place to start recalibrating the story of Yemen is on the geopolitical level. There’s a lot more to this showdown than a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (Sunni) on one side and Iran (Shiite) on the other. In this revised narrative, the UAE plays a larger, more sinister role than the (fairly) maligned Saudi Arabia. In the course of this decade, the UAE has been trying to expand its sphere of influence over several ports in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. As it continues to reinvent its economy into a post-oil-exporting model, the UAE is using various strategies – annexation schemes, proxy governments, military operations – to control shipping routes in the southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.
Yemen’s location on the Red and Arabian seas is a gateway to the industrial north and global south. Seen this way, the UAE’s involvement plays out like the plundering of a poor neighbour’s resources to beef up the fortunes of a wealthy one – by Kamal Al-Solaylee, professor of journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto
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How the UAE Wields Power in Yemen
The Gulf nation’s ground troops have cultivated alliances in Yemen with local armed groups, but its ability to shape the civil war’s outcome is limited.
The three-and-a-half-year-long war in Yemen has taken a dangerous turn as the Saudi-led coalition seeks to wrest control of the crucial port of Hodeidah from rebel Houthis. Leading this campaign has been the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has gained influence in Yemen by committing ground forces, says Neil Partrick, a researcher on Middle East politics and the lead contributor and editor of the book Saudi Arabian Foreign Policy: Conflict & Cooperation. By committing ground troops, he says, the UAE has curried influence with local armed groups, but even so, its ability to shape the outcome of the war will be limited. Any feasible political settlement, Partrick says, must yield “a government in which the Houthis play a significant role.”
Partrick: The United States and Saudi Arabia are now on the same page with the Emiratis about Hodeidah. Some advances by Emirati-backed forces elsewhere in Yemen encouraged Washington to approve this operation. There’s a view that the Emiratis’ allies in Yemen could gain strategic advantages, as well as greater authority over what comes in and out of the port.
They’ve [the Emirates] got local allies in the south, and they seem to want to expand that Yemeni network north, with assistance from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and, to a lesser extent, Britain and France.
The de facto Emirati leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, has partly redefined UAE nationalism as military muscle flexing and seeks regional influence and enhanced deterrence against Iran around the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen also provides a chance for the UAE to combat the Islamist militancy they define as an existential threat, even as the UAE, paradoxically, has Salafi cultural traditions itself and works with Yemeni Salafi fighters for tactical advantage.
Saudi Arabia doesn’t want to commit ground troops, but it’s nervous about what the Emiratis seem to be achieving by having a ground presence. They are also worried about the Emiratis’ expanding role in naval security in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea. They are nervous about the Emiratis’ military presence on Socotra, the strategic Arabian Sea island. Many Yemenis are also nervous about the Emirati presence there and elsewhere.
At the moment, some Yemeni forces are going along with the Emiratis, seeing them as useful in terms of their own ambitions in parts of the south, for example, or as the only players likely to help them dislodge the Houthis, as in Hodeidah. But other Yemenis feel wholly differently and are working with the Houthis as the best chance to constrain such schemes and to fight Sunni militants or other Yemeni forces, whether rival tribes or political trends and personalities, who’ve historically not taken their concerns seriously.
https://www.cfr.org/interview/how-uae-wields-power-yemen
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
(A H)
Film (Arabic): The UN warns oft he risk of cholera
https://www.facebook.com/Classy.Yemeni/posts/1305972692866242
cp1b1 Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah: Deutsch/ Most important: Hodeidah battle: German
(* B H K)
Film: Hudaida: Krankenhäuser in Not
Die Kämpfe in der jemenitischen Hafenstadt Hudaida sorgen in Krankenhäusern in der Gegend zusehends für kaum haltbare Zustände. Medikamente und weitere Produkte der medizinischen Grundversorgung werden knapp.
Nach Einschätzung der Vereinten Nationen benötigen 75 Prozent der jemenitischen Bevölkerung - das sind rund 22 Millionen Menschen - humanitäre Hilfe. 16 Millionen Einwohner des Landes können nicht regelmäßig medizinisch betreut werden.
http://de.euronews.com/2018/06/23/hudaida-krankenhauser-in-not
(* A H K)
Jemen: UNO warnt vor schlimmer humanitärer Lage in Al-Hudaida
Die Nothilfe-Koordinatorin der UNO für den Jemen, Lise Grande, hat bekannt gegeben, dass Hunderttausende Zivilisten in der jemenitischen Hafenstadt Al-Hudaida der Todesgefahr ausgesetzt sind.
Lise Grande hat am Freitag in einer Erklärung ihre Besorgnisse wegen der schlimmen humanitären Lage in Al-Hudaida zum Ausdruck gebracht. Dieser Erklärung zufolge leiden 25 Prozent der jemenitischen Kinder in Hudaida an extremer Mangelernährung. Jede Schließung des Hafens werde unmittelbare und katastrophale Folgen für das Leben der Menschen, darunter die Todesgefahr für mehr als Einhunderttausend Kinder im Norden Jemens haben, betonte sie.
Al-Hudaida sei letztes Jahr ein Zentrum der Cholera-Epidemie im Jemen gewesen, sagte sie und unterstrich, dass die Helfer, solange sie dort bleiben können, versuchen eine neue Cholera-Epidemie abzuwenden.
Die Weltgesundheitsorganisation WHO hat ebenso gewarnt, dass der Angriff der arabischen Militärkoalition unter Führung Saudi-Arabiens auf Al-Hudaida das Leben von 2,6 Millionen Menschen im Jemen gefährde.
(* A K P)
Huthi-Rebellen signalisieren UN Verhandlungsbereitschaft
Der Bürgerkrieg in Jemen könnte kurz vor einem entscheidenden Wendepunkt stehen. Mit einem schnellen Waffenstillstand rechnet jedoch niemand.
Im Bürgerkrieg in Jemen zeichnet sich Diplomaten zufolge ein Durchbruch im Ringen um den wichtigen Hafen von Hudeida ab. Die Huthi-Rebellen signalisierten westlichen Regierungsvertretern zufolge, dass sie den Vereinten Nationen (UN) weitgehend die Verwaltung des Hafens überlassen könnten. Der Plan müsse aber noch von allen anderen Seiten akzeptiert werden und würde nicht unmittelbar zu einem Waffenstillstand führen, hieß es am Donnerstag.
Der UN-Gesandte Martin Griffith erklärte nach Gesprächen mit den Huthi in der Hauptstadt Sanaa, die konstruktive Einstellung der Rebellen stimme ihn zuversichtlich
Mein Kommentar: Der Optimismus ist leider nicht berechtigt, weil die Emirate den bedingungslosen Abzug der Huthis fordern und den Hafen selbst besetzen möchten.
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Nun droht die Lebensader des Landes gekappt zu werden
Aber der Hafen spielt vor allem aus einem anderen Grund eine strategisch entscheidende Rolle. Über ihn gelangen fast drei Viertel aller Hilfsgüter in das Land. Jemen gilt als ärmster Staat der arabischen Welt. Die Kämpfe bedrohen deshalb nicht nur die 600.000 Stadtbewohner, sondern alle 28 Millionen Einwohner des Landes. 22 Millionen von ihnen sind auf Hilfe angewiesen, acht Millionen gelten als direkt von einer Hungersnot bedroht.
Der Kampf um al-Hudaida droht die Lage zu verschärfen. Eine Schließung des Hafens „würde verhindern, dass lebensrettende Hilfe Zivilisten erreicht, die sich in einer verzweifelten Lage befinden“, sagt Racha Muawiah, Jemen-Verantwortliche bei Amnesty International. Millionen von Menschenleben seien in Gefahr. Hunderttausende Menschen müssen womöglich fliehen. Im Jemen sind schon über drei Millionen Menschen auf der Flucht.
Die saudische Koalition verkündet, es werde einen schnellen Sieg geben.
Mein Kommentar: „Die saudische Koalition verkündet, es werde einen schnellen Sieg geben“: das hatte sie auch im März 2015 erklärt, als sie den Krieg im Jemen begonnen hat.
(* A H K)
Tausende Zivilisten fliehen vor saudischen Angriffen
Die Angriffe der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Koalition auf die Stadt Hodeida im Jemen haben laut UN Tausende Menschen zur Flucht gezwungen. 100.000 sind vom Tod bedroht.
Die schweren Angriffe der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Koalition auf die Hafenstadt Hodeida im Jemen haben laut den UN bereits Tausende Menschen in die Flucht gezwungen. In den nächsten Tagen sei mit einem weiteren Exodus aus der von Huthi-Rebellen gehaltenen Stadt am Roten Meer zu rechnen, warnte die Internationale Organisation für Migration (IOM) am Freitag in Genf.
Die IOM rief die Konfliktparteien auf, die Kinder, Frauen und Männer in der Metropole zu schonen. Seit Beginn der Bombardements der von Saudi-Arabien geführten Militärallianz am Mittwoch vergangene Woche seien 5.800 Einwohner geflohen. Innerhalb des Bezirks Hodeida sind laut den Angaben knapp 90.000 Menschen vor der Gewalt auf der Flucht.
http://www.op-marburg.de/Mehr/Welt/Tausende-Zivilisten-fliehen-vor-saudischen-Angriffen
Mein Kommentar: Die Zahlen sind schon wieder veraltet. 25.000 betrug schon vor ein paar Tagen die damals aktuelle Zahl der Flüchtlinge.
cp1b2 Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah: Englisch / Most important: Hodeidah battle: English
(A K)
Latest map update of west Yemen battle
An advance of the Saudi-UAE coalition and its proxies appears to be not so successful as the Saudi-UAE media has been promising since the start of the operation on June 13.
The areas of Nakhila, al-Jah, Mashikhi, Majiles and al-Faza de-facto remain contested and the coalition is not able to send supplies to its proxies near al-Hudaydah.
This put the coalition in a complicated situation. If the Houthis find resources to isolate the coalition’s group near al-Hudaydah further and to elminiate it, the Saudi-UAE-backed advance on the port city will end as a total failure.
https://southfront.org/battle-for-yemens-al-hudaydah-on-june-25-2018-maps-video/
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/latest-map-update-of-west-yemen-battle/
http://iswnews.com/media/2018/06/Yemen-Western-Coast-24June18-4Tir97.jpg
Remark: According to maps, the Houthis succeeded in cutting the pro-Saudi/UAE forces in Hodeidah city from their connections to further south.
(** A H K)
Photos: Yemen residents flee fighting
https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/yemen-residents-flee-fighting-idUSRTS1TJBD/1276117862
(* B H K)
Thread, points about #UAE assault on #Hodeidah city and its port #Yemen: -35,000 civilians have fled #Hodeida. -A lot of children are already suffering from malnutrition and now things will get worse for them. -Humanitarian organizations have paused almost all operations.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1010992790904496128
(A H K)
Houthis say they've killed & wounded 1.300 government & coalition troops & destroyed a warship & 331 military vehicles in Hodeidah battles, west #Yemen. From its side, government said more than 1.000 Houthis have been killed & wounded since Hodeidah offensive began. In 3 weeks
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1011074633276231680
(** A H K)
Film: Fighting over Hudaida forces tens of thousands flee
Most are heading to Sanaa, Yemen's capital, after Saudi and Emirati-led coalition bomb its largest port bombed for 12 days.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/06/fighting-hudaida-forces-tens-thousands-flee-180624133742791.html = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuNqXbxb7C0
(A H K)
Someone asked: why are Yemeni people fleeing battles to Houthi-run regions not to coalition- and government-run regions?! Good question. Who has the answer?!
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1010998274940133381
(A H K pS)
Houthis prevents displaced families from going to Aden and force them toward Ibb
Eyewitnesses said that a Houthi checkpoint at ALraheeda stopped dozens of medium size buses with displaced families were heading toward Aden.
The sources said Dozens of displaced families from Hodeida due to war there tried to move toward Aden, but Houthis militia prevent them and retained the buses moving them for long hours at the checkpoint, then they took them to Ibb with no farther explanations.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/99782
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Red Sea Ports Foundation Proves False Allegations of US-Saudi Aggression
The Yemeni Red Sea Ports Organization confirmed the allegations of the alliance of aggression aimed at misleading world opinion and obstructing the continued operation of Hodeidah port. Hodeidah port is responsible for receiving food and medicine for more than 20 million Yemeni citizens.
The Deputy Chairman of the Foundation Engineer Yahya Sharafuddin told a press conference that the port of Hodeidah provides logistical services to all shipping companies and traders. It is committed to work within the laws and regulations. No official entity has ever filed a complaint.
For more than three years of blockade and targeting, the port has proved its ability to provide the necessary facilities for all humanitarian and relief vessels. At the time the aggression was aimed at the destruction of its containers, equipment and machinery.
Sharafuddin pointed out that the aggression that targeted even warehouses and linches continued to delay the entry of food vessels despite obtaining a permit from the United Nations Office for Protection and Inspection (UNVIM), resulting in the damage shipments of foodstuffs and medication.
He stressed that the port of Hodeidah will remain in compliance with the international system of port security and will continue to operate despite the threats of aggression.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=1305&cat_id=1
Remark: By Houthi harbor authorities.
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Video: WHO 'deeply concerned' about ongoing fighting in Yemen
The Manager of the World Health Organization said she was deeply concerned about the ongoing fighting in Yemen, especially around Hodeida port.
(A K P)
Spotlight: Yemeni gov't forces vow to free Hodeidah from Houthis despite humanitarian warnings
After liberating several Yemeni areas located along the country's western coast, the Yemeni government forces stepped up its preparations in the Red Sea coast city of Hodeidah, ready to launch a wide-scale offensive to recapture the city's strategic port controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthis.
Despite numerous warnings of serious humanitarian consequences potentially caused by the ongoing military operations, the Yemeni government, backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, decided to continue its battles to expel the Houthis out of Hodeidah.
In the southern port city of Aden, Yemen's Internationally-backed President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi chaired a meeting on Sunday with Hodeidah's governor and other government officials, reaffirming that military operations will continue to liberate Hodeidah and all other areas from the grip of the Houthi militia.
A government official told Xinhua that the government strong will to liberate Hodeidah from Houthis has largely won international agreement after "hard diplomatic efforts in recent days."
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/25/c_137279688.htm
(A K)
Film, Arabic. Sky News: Mohammed al-Qadhi reporting from the frontline
https://twitter.com/skynewsarabia/status/1010925391530414080
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Film: Yemen war: UN offers deal to manage Hudaida's port
The UN wants to manage the port and ease the delivery of aid.
The United States is urging the Saudi-Emirati coalition to stop its bombing campaign in the Yemeni port city of Hudaida.
The United Nations wants to manage the port and ease the delivery of aid.
But thousands of Yemenis are already leaving the city.
(* A K)
Yemen's Houthis deploy additional forces to Hodeida amid offensive
Yemen's Houthi rebels have deployed additional forces to the flash-point port city of Hodeida amid a wide-scale offensive by UAE-led Yemeni government forces to retake the city, Reuters reported.
Hodeida residents told the news agency on Sunday that Houthi fighters have been heavily deployed to the city, where they have set up new checkpoints.
(A K pS)
Houthis Close roads to the port in Hodeida
Local eyewitnesses in Hodeida city said Houthis militia installed cement barricades at the roads and streets lead to the port of the city.
The reporter of Almasdaronline said according to the witnesses, most of the main roads north the city is closed now to the resident of the north areas after installing cement barricades near Tehama center and Al-mukha navigation company.
Houthis preparations continue in the city for a street war in case the Gov forces supported by the Arabic coalition led by Saudi Arabia advanced from the southern area of the airport. (photos)
http://almasdaronline.com/article/99780
http://almasdaronline.com/article/99784
(A K pS)
The #Houthi militia affiliates continue to block the main routes leading to the strategic port of #Hodeidah, in such a way as to prevent the advancement of the Joint Forces (photo)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1010995786107277313
Hundreds of landmines planted by the #Houthi militia fighters in the West Coast Front while there are still several areas planted with such mines and continue to reap the souls of #civilians in #Hodeidah. (film)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1010992333674991616
The Joint Forces have thwarted infiltration attempts by the #Houthi militia fighters into the Airport of #Hodeidah, as the militia group continue to target the airport with mortar shells. This comes in conjunction with the ongoing mass displacement. (photo)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1010986072573177857
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Saudi, UAE Resorting to ‘Psychological Warfare’ to Win Battle in Hudaydah: Analyst
The founder and director of GNOSOS, a UK-based think tank focused on Syria and the Middle East, said Saudi Arabia and the UAE are seeking to achieve a “clean victory” against popular fighters in Yemen’s port city of Hudaydah through a “huge psychological warfare”.
Waqqaf: It seems that the Saudi and Emirati leaderships wish to use whatever resources they have in order to push the Yemeni popular fighters / Houthis to the negotiating table on their own terms. The rationale is that a significant victory in Hudaydah would force the Houthis to succumb to the KSA/UAE terms, as they would be deprived from the port facilities in that area, and their strongly held areas to the east and north of Hudaydah would become cut-off from the outside world.
The KSA/UAE hope that bringing the other side to the table on their terms, after victory in Hudaydah, would relieve them from a costly and unguaranteed campaign into the Yemeni hinterland, where terrain would play to the advantage of entrenched popular fighters. They also hope to conclude such a victory in Hudaydah in the fastest and least costly manner. The Houthis, on the other side, are also hoping that the battle of Hudaydah would bring the KSA/UAE to the negotiating table, but on Houthi terms, as a result of strong resistance that would render the current offensive futile and ultra-costly.
It is certainly in the interest of the attacking forces to achieve a clean victory and, therefore, a huge psychological warfare and propaganda operation is in place to force Yemeni popular fighters/ Houthis to flee. One could imagine that they have a green light to carry out this operation within a short time-frame. If the operation lasts much longer than planned, and results in huge human loss and a lot of carnage, especially to the Hudaydah port facilities, then the attacking forces would not achieve their objective. Therefore, a fierce media and psychological warfare offensive is taking place.
My comment: Exactly this is it.
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The Operation for Hodeidah Port Can End the Yemen War, or Prelude Catastrophe
And it is not just damage to the port’s infrastructure that could spark starvation. Sauer continued:
“Even if the port itself is not attacked, a siege of the city will likely force the port to close and thus sever this lifeline. Aid agencies have been clear that even a brief disruption in deliveries, or the inability to access their storage facilities in Hodeidah, will put the lives of hundreds of thousands of people at risk. Similarly, if commercial food deliveries to Hodeidah are interrupted, shortages and price spikes will ensue on the local market. In a country enduring economic collapse because of war, this would leave huge swathes of the population unable to buy food.”
Martin Griffiths leaves Yemen empty handed
But why was this seemingly neutral solution of UN administration repeatedly rejected? Jens Heibach, a Middle East Research Fellow and specialist on Yemen at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies, told Al Bawaba:
“Unfortunately, zero-sum thinking keeps on prevailing on the part of the coalition, and the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash recently reiterated that the coalition will accept nothing less than an unconditional surrender of the Houthis. Another thing that needs to be considered is that the current campaign is masterminded by the UAE. It is hard to ignore Abu Dhabi’s recent interest in vital geostrategic ports along the coasts of the Red Sea, both on the African shore and in Yemen. So why would they be interested in the United Nations administrating Hodeida?”
Moreover, Hodeidah might represent a way out for the coalition. Heibach added:
“Apart from that, it would actually be a smart move for both the Saudis and the Emiratis to use the impending victory in Hodeida for a face-saving solution to escape the Yemen quagmire. From a position of strength, they could then argue, after Hodeida has been taken, that they entered negotiations for the sake of ending the humanitarian catastrophe.”
This is the grim gamble of a fresh offensive to retake Hodeidah. The coalition are determined to take the port at whatever cost, and when it comes to showing restraint in order to prevent civilian casualties, their record has been abysmal.
My comment: Elisabeth Kendall seems to have been trapped by Saudi / UAE propaganda. Keep in mind: “If the coalition drives the Houthis out of their stronghold of Hodeidah (putting the lives of 250,000 civilians at risk, according to the United Nations), that moves the war to the next battleground: Sana’a. This doesn’t constitute a “turning point” in the war, as the coalition claims, but an expansion of its terrain.”: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-unspeakable-suffering-in-yemen-has-barely-elicited-more-than/
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Fighting moves closer to center of Yemen's main port city
Yemen’s Houthis deployed additional forces in the main port city of Hodeidah on Sunday as a Saudi-led military coalition moved closer to the city center in the largest offensive of the war, raising U.N. fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.
“There is a heavy deployment of armed Houthis in the city and new check points have been set up in neighborhoods where there are supporters of the Tehama brigades,” said one resident, referring to a Yemeni faction from the Red Sea coastal plain that is fighting with coalition forces.
Fierce clashes broke out after midnight near Hodeidah University, around 3 km (1.9 miles) west of the city center, on the coastal road linking the airport to the port, added the resident, who requested anonymity.
The fighting has wounded and displaced civilians.
Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it had received 151 injured people in recent days in Al Thawrah Hospital, the main public medical facility serving Hodeidah, and expects to receive more as the fighting moves towards the city.
“There are 86 beds in Al Thawrah and we desperately need more...We hope to set up a field hospital with 20 beds in the next two weeks,” Caroline Seguin, MSF program manager for Yemen, told Reuters by telephone from the UAE.
My comment: The Houthis are much less “Iran-aligned” than the Saudis are “US-aligned”.
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Women's International League for Peace and Freedom: Urgent Appeal: The Five Points Initiative to Protect Civilians in Hodeidah
While the Council remains inactive, Yemeni women peace activists are working to develop humanitarian plans and support existing action.
Women’s Solidarity Network Yemen has proposed a five-point response plan that urges the Council to increase engagement with women and civil societies and ensure that any action to address the humanitarian situation are gender-sensitive:
Secure safe zones within Hodeidah, especially within areas with high population and areas with available social services;
Abide and respect the rules of International Humanitarian Law and Geneva Conventions to protect civilians, including from being used as human shields, and protect civilian properties, including hospitals and schools…
Facilitate the provision of relief supplies, including the establishment of camps for internally displaced populations, provision of mobile clinics, food and water; ensure the responsiveness of the humanitarian relief to the needs of women, children and people with chronic diseases such as kidney failure and diabetes;
Opening humanitarian corridors facilitated by the United Nations or a neutral third party to secure humanitarian relief supplies and allow the safe exit of people, including those living in close proximity to the port and those seeking medical care.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/urgent-appeal-five-points-initiative-protect-civilians-hodeidah
(*A K P)
UAE ‘ready to back efforts for peaceful Yemen rebel pullout’
The United Arab Emirates, whose troops have played a major role in a Yemeni government offensive against the port city of Hodeida, said on Saturday that it was ready to support diplomatic efforts to secure a rebel withdrawal, Agence France-Presse reported.
But it said the pullout must be unconditional and from the whole city, not just its vital docks, the entry point for three-quarters of Yemen's imports.
"The coalition will achieve its goal, which is to free the city, including the port," UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, tweeted, referring to a Saudi-led coalition which intervened in support of the Yemeni government in 2015.
"In the meantime, it will support all efforts to secure a peaceful and unconditional withdrawal by the rebels," he added, according to AFP.
http://jordantimes.com/news/region/uae-ready-back-efforts-peaceful-yemen-rebel-pullout%E2%80%99
My comment: They do not want peace (they never did), but the goal ALWays was a “rebel pullout”. Achieving this by political means simply is cheaper than otherwise. – But there will be no peace anyway: “If the coalition drives the Houthis out of their stronghold of Hodeidah (putting the lives of 250,000 civilians at risk, according to the United Nations), that moves the war to the next battleground: Sana’a. This doesn’t constitute a “turning point” in the war, as the coalition claims, but an expansion of its terrain.”: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-unspeakable-suffering-in-yemen-has-barely-elicited-more-than/ The next step then could be to demanding the Iranians to leave Tehran (joke).
(A K pH)
Explosions after Destroying Weapons Tanker in West Coast
The Yemeni Army and Popular Committees destroyed a tanker loaded with weapons and ammunition for the mercenaries northern Al-Duraihimi in Hodeidah in the West Coast, led to large explosions and burning a number of vehicles.
(A K pS)
Yemeni military commander in Coast Front welcomes dissidents from Houthi militias and their joining legitimate forces
The Commander-in-Chief of the West Coast Front in Yemen, Abu Zarah Al-Mahrami, has welcomed all dissidents from the ranks of Al-Houthi coup militias and their joining legitimate Yemeni forces.
In a statement to the Yemeni Ministry of Defense, Al-Mahrami called on fighters of the militias to withdraw before it was too late and hand over Hodeidah peacefully to avoid the tyranny of those militias seeking to spread chaos and exposing them to murder and destruction.
He explained that the brigades of the Al-Amaliqa (Giants) captured dozens of elements in the ranks of the militias, who are currently under rehabilitation intellectually, providing them with all their special needs and treating the injured.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1778514
(* A P)
CTG Global, #UAE firm owned by infamous ex-SAS #UK mercenary company Hart Group, recruiting port managers to run #Yemen's Hodeidah port. (image)
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/864904824801951744
Comment: In plain english: British mercenary imperialists recruiting managers for neo-colonial outposts.
https://twitter.com/PhilGreaves01/status/1010502267970125824
and this is the job offer:
(* A P)
Vacancy
Position title: Maritime Expert (Port and Marine Service Operations)
Place of performance: Hodeidah, Yemen
Start date: 01/06/2017
Duration: up to 7 months (@26days/month)
CTG support and manage humanitarian projects in fragile and conflict-affected countries around the world. With past performance in 15 countries – from the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and Central and South America – we offer a holistic fabric of project management, implementation and support. Skilled in emergency response to crises such as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, we have the ability to act quickly (crisis response teams can be on the ground in 24 hours) and to establish structured operations in high-risk environments. CTG recruit and manage qualified, skilled teams with extensive experience operating in challenging conditions.
This job role is based on the coastal region of the Red Sea in Yemen, working out of a partially functioning harbour which requires regeneration and monitoring in order to bring it back to an efficient working capacity. This will require a high level of knowledge in port and marine service operations, and an ability to work unaided in difficult conditions. This will require assessing and evaluating the causes behind what are effecting vessels reaching Yemen and potentially causing bottlenecks, and then liaising with the client to propose ways of increasing the volume of the harbour.
https://recruitmentctg.force.com/xcdrecruit__Site_ExternalPositionDetails?id=a1124000000utKj
My comment: That’s really heavy.
(A K P)
The Houthis have an impossible choice to make re Hodeidah port & city. But whether via the UAE-led liberation/invasion or by handover/surrender to the UN, the end result is that the UK ends up with significant influence/control over Hodeidah port. Yemen’s interests come last.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/1010521984122355712
(A H)
in #Hodeidah #Hodeida now Life is getting back2normal as bfore #Saudi #UAE latest strikes&sea bombardment Less people on the street as i remember it frm last visit Some shops still close cos Eid holiday end tday If coalition continue their attempt، Ppl life could turn upside down
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/1010239631986712576
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Displaced mothers from Yemen's Hodeida find shelter in Sanaa school
Travelling by bus or taxi with children in tow, scores of mothers have fled fighting in Yemen's key port city of Hodeida in recent weeks, finding shelter at a school in the rebel-held capital Sanaa.
About 70 families, minus most of their men, have temporarily settled at the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq school, nestled amid rocky mountains on the capital's southern outskirts, converting classrooms and corridors into makeshift living quarters.
Clashes have raged in their hometown since June 13 as Yemeni government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition press an offensive to oust Huthi rebels from the Red Sea port city.
"The situation was very, very bad with bombings, air raids and rocket fire. We couldn't sleep or eat... so we fled to Sanaa with our children," said mother Dorrah Ismail.
She comes from Hodeida's southern suburbs, not far from the city's airport, which was taken Wednesday by loyalist forces backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after a week of heavy clashes.
Umm Ahmad, another mother, said Huthi rebels "bombed our houses, cut off the streets and the water around us... we had nothing to eat or drink".
"Our children were hungry and never stopped crying," she said.
Residents said rebels had blocked the city's main roads with trenches, mounds of sand and rubbish bins.
"We couldn't send someone to the market to buy food because of the clashes," said Sabah Mohammed, another Hodeida resident currently at the school in Sanaa.
"We heard explosions and we couldn't sleep... so I decided to take my daughters and leave the city," she said.
"I couldn't do anything else... the taxi cost me 32,000 riyals," she said. The $60 (50 euro) fare was equivalent to an average monthly salary in Yemen.
photos: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/24/c_137276288_2.htm
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1011090188741808128
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1011101991219748864
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Displaced families stranded in Sanaa after fleeing war in Yemen's Hodeidah
Thousands of families arrived on Saturday in the rebel-held capital Sanaa, after fleeing military confrontations between pro-government forces and armed rebels in Yemen's Hodeidah port city.
The displaced families were received by local authorities in Abu Bakr al-Sideek school, an empty school along the Hodeidah-Sanaa road in the western part of Sanaa.
Wearing in traditional black abaya and niqab, hundreds of women stand in a long line at the state-owned school to register as internally displaced people (IDPs) to receive aid and allowed along with their husbands and children into the classrooms.
Some families fled their homes in the village of al-Manzar and al-Durayhemi district, about 10 km south of Hodeidah airport, while some escaped from the center of Hodeidah city for fears of an immediate military attack.
It took three hours until authorities permitted journalists to enter the school and interview the families.
Families who arrived earlier this week, have already given classrooms, while dozens of registered families sit on the dirt in the school's courtyard awaiting for the authorities to accommodate them.
An official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the displaced families should first register their names and the places they escape from. Then they would be distributed in the school or other schools in the capital.
"No exact number of the Hodeidah IDPs has been yet available, as many families are still arriving," he said.
Anwar Mohammed Abkar, his wife and their four children managed to flee from al-Manzar village three days ago. It took them two days of walking into Hodeidah city, where they stayed for one day, and on Saturday they arrived in Sanaa.
The displaced families said the clashes are moving nearer the center of the city, recalling tragic situations suffered by the residents.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/24/c_137276288.htm
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Saudi-led raid forces 1000s out of Yemeni port of Hudaydah
The Saudi-led assault on the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah has led to mass displacement of people from the strategic area.
“Such an offensive against a city with over 600,000 inhabitants is a gross violation of international law. Yemeni officials say unless a lasting and peaceful settlement is reached, people here will fight until they die honorably,” Hudaydah’s Deputy Governor Abdul-Rahman al-Jomai told Press TV’s correspondent.
Ahmad al-Wisabi, whose family has been forced to leave, said, “The Saudi offensive against our city and possible street battles have forced me to leave my home, and move my family to [the capital] Sana’a. I do not know how I can manage there as I have already lost my source of income here. But I do not have any other choice.” (with film)
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/06/23/565807/Yemen-Hudaydah-displacements-Saudi-Arabia
(A H)
Map: Yemen: Al Hudaydah Governorate rapid response plan (As of 14 June 2018)
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-al-hudaydah-governorate-rapid-response-plan-14-june-2018
(* A H)
Film: Yemen, Hodeida: Help Arrives For Those Forced To Flee
In Hodeida, Yemen, the ongoing fighting has forced hundreds of families to flee their homes to safe areas, with no hope of return for the moment. Arriving with very little, people are in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical attention.
Yesterday (June 21 2018), the International Committee of the Red Cross started distributing food to 3,000 displaced people from Al-Mandhar village. There is very little other assistance there for people.
Comment: The ICRC depoliticizes the war to speak of it in purely humanitarian terms, so this is *why* 22.2 million Yemenis depend on humanitarian aid to survive: Because the US-UK-Saudi-UAE coalition has spent 3 years bombing, besieging, and starving their country
https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/1010565068411555841
and
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Film: Hospitals in the Yemeni port of Hodeida are struggling to cope
Ongoing clashes around Yemen's port of Hodeida are leading to shortages of supplies at hospitals and medical centres. Many are in a terrible condition and are unable to cope with the rising number of casualties.
On Thursday the Red Cross managed to deliver aid for civilians at a school currently being used as a shelter for people fleeing air strikes and fighting.
http://www.euronews.com/2018/06/23/hospitals-in-the-yemeni-port-of-hodeida-are-struggling-to-cope = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idFSu74A7K8
and
(A H K)
Film: We crossed into the frontlines today to secure essential lifesaving supplies in
https://twitter.com/EliasdDiab/status/1009898152403652611
and
(* A H)
Film: Yemen, Hodeida: Help Arrives For Those Forced To Flee
Yesterday (June 21 2018), the International Committee of the Red Cross started distributing food to 3,000 displaced people from Al-Mandhar village. There is very little other assistance there for people.
(* A K P)
Mass March in Hodeidah Rejects Occupation
Hodaydah witnessed on Friday afternoon, a mass rally for the people of Tihama in rejection the occupation and condemnation the international collusion with the invasion forces.
The demonstration statement stressed that they stand united with the Yemeni Army and Popular Committees in the face of the invasion and occupation forces and confront their invading gatherings in the West Coast, adding that even if the forces of aggression mobilize all the armies of the world that will not change the beliefs of the people of Tihama.
The statement called on the US-Saudi aggression to hold full responsibility for their crimes and the consequences of their blockade, stressing that the lack of action by the United Nations to protect civilians in Hodaydah and others.
The statement also called on the United Nations to play its role in protecting the citizens and the delivery of aid to them.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=1266&cat_id=1 and photos https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1789119151141107
(* B K P)
Capture of Hodeida Unlikely to Hasten End of Tragic Yemen War
The capture of Yemen port city Hodeida may strike a serious militarily blow against the Houthis, but it also has the potential to seriously exacerbate one of the region’s most dire humanitarian crises.
The coalition’s claim that the operation will be relatively bloodless, rapid, non-destructive and not disruptive to aid flows rings as hollow rhetoric. Years of precedent has demonstrated the coalition showing little regard for the safety of civilians within the conflict.
A partial explanation for the dispassionate and brutal mentally of planners concerns the nature of the war itself. Limited pro-Houthi activity on the part of Iran has led the Saudis and their Emirati partners to view the conflict as part of a wider existential geopolitical struggle currently being waged between Riyadh and Tehran across the wider Middle East. In this, the destitute and brutalized population of fragile Yemen matters little and is only seen as a nuisance to be surmounted in the war planning, rather than a central concern.
Despite Hodeida’s strategic importance for both sides, its capture is unlikely to significantly hasten the end of the protracted violence, which will likely continue for months, if not years if current trends persist. At the same time, humanitarian conditions inside the country are only to deteriorate – by Ben Rich
https://www.theglobepost.com/2018/06/22/yemen-hodeida-humanitarian-crisis/
(B K P)
The brutal war in Yemen may be moving toward a tipping point
The brutal war in Yemen may be moving toward a tipping point following a controversial siege of the port of Hodeida by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
A U.N. mediator and a top diplomat from the United Arab Emirates both expressed hope Thursday for a negotiated deal with Houthi rebels that could relieve pressure on the city.
Past mediation efforts have foundered on just such disagreements about terms. A truce that seemed near in Sanaa many months ago, for example, was scuttled by Saudi and UAE demands that the Houthis surrender their heavy weapons, which they refused to do. In Hodeida, the Houthis don’t have much heavy weaponry, Gargash said – by David Ignatius
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/the-brutal-war-in-yemen-may-be-moving-toward-a-tipping-point/2018/06/22/558241cc-765a-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html = https://www.newsmax.com/davidignatius/houthis-hodeida-yemen-uae/2018/06/22/id/867833/
My comment: A quite weak article by the WaPo’s most prominent and heaviest supporter of the Saudi Crown prince, here telling nothing new and mostly repeating the UAE foreign minister’s odd claims.
“If the coalition drives the Houthis out of their stronghold of Hodeidah (putting the lives of 250,000 civilians at risk, according to the United Nations), that moves the war to the next battleground: Sana’a. This doesn’t constitute a “turning point” in the war, as the coalition claims, but an expansion of its terrain.”: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-unspeakable-suffering-in-yemen-has-barely-elicited-more-than/
(** A B K P)
International Crisis Group: Yemen Conflict Alert: Last Chance to Prevent a Destructive Hodeida Battle
The battle for Hodeida is reaching the point of no return. UAE-backed Yemeni forces are poised to begin operations to take this Red Sea port and city of 600,000 from Huthi rebels. This is the final, fragile moment in which it may still be possible for UN-led negotiations to prevent a destructive fight that is likely to exacerbate dire humanitarian conditions and further delay broader negotiations to end the war.
Both the Huthi rebels who control Hodeida and the Saudi-led coalition that is backing an assault to wrest it from them say they want to avoid a battle for the port and city centre, but their negotiating positions remain far apart.
Finding a solution means bridging the sides’ competing positions. The Saudis and Emiratis accuse the rebel movement of using the port to smuggle weapons into Yemen and diverting customs revenues to their war effort. They want the Huthis out entirely. For their part, the Huthis have offered to turn over management of the port to the UN and jointly manage security, but have said they will not fully withdraw from Hodeida. The Huthis and the coalition will both have to compromise. Their respective allies should vigorously press them to accept a negotiated settlement for the port and city as the best and only tolerable option.
The stakes are about as high as they could be. Successful UN mediation toward a mutually acceptable solution that safeguards all sides’ vital interests regarding Hodeida could be the basis for a settlement not only for the port, but also for the wider conflict between the Huthis and the coalition. Conversely, failure would not only seriously undermine prospects for such talks, but also – once fighting enters the city – render a consensual deal over the Huthis’ presence in the port and the question of how it will be managed largely impossible. Hodeida can either prove to be the beginning of the end to Yemen’s war or the start of a new, likely more destructive phase.
The Emiratis believe they can win Hodeida as effectively as they did Aden in mid-2015 and Mukalla, a port in the east that had become an al-Qaeda stronghold, in April 2016. In both cases, they provided military support to forces recruited from the local population. In Hodeida, too, they are counting on what they refer to as local resistance inside the city to set up internal checkpoints and neighbourhood security when Abu Dhabi gives the signal for these groups to activate.
The coalition has been careful to communicate its plans to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access while warning that the Huthis will likely use the civilian population as human shields. The truth is that both the Huthis and the coalition have displayed a blatant disregard for the protection of civilians throughout the war.
A Possible – and Necessary – Compromise
Most military analysts following the campaign say the Huthis have little chance of holding the port and city if the UAE-backed campaign proceeds. The Huthis appear to realise this as well. While they have maintained their bellicose rhetoric, they have also indicated a new willingness to hand control of the port to the UN and discuss at least a partial withdrawal from the city – ideas they had dismissed out of hand as recently as a year ago. In a televised 20 June speech, Abdelmalek al-Huthi, the rebels’ leader, said for the first time that the Huthis were willing to cede control of the port.
This is important, but falls short of the public position of coalition leaders who, capitalising on their military momentum, are calling for a complete Huthi withdrawal and handover of the port and the city to the National Resistance Forces, while offering the Huthis safe passage to Sanaa. Yet this demand could prove to be flexible. Diplomats and coalition officials apprised of ongoing backroom negotiations claim coalition leaders have hinted they might accept a compromise in order to avoid a prolonged fight for the port and city whose humanitarian impact almost certainly would be devastating.
They would have good reason to do so: given clear warnings over the likely consequences of a military offensive, any worsening of the humanitarian situation would prompt intense international criticism and condemnation of the UAE and its allies at a time when they already are under heavy public scrutiny. As an immediate step, Griffiths should therefore publicise the fact that both protagonists have told him a deal is possible and shown newfound flexibility; this would limit the risk that either side claims the other is unwilling to compromise and uses that as an excuse to block negotiations.
The outlines of a potential compromise that would respect both sides’ core interests are clear.
https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/yemen/yemen-conflict-alert-last-chance-prevent-destructive-hodeida-battle = https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-conflict-alert-last-chance-prevent-destructive-hodeida-battle = https://lobelog.com/yemen-the-fate-of-hodeida/
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Civilians flee combat zones around Yemen's Hodeida
Clashes between Yemeni government forces and Huthi rebels around the Red Sea port city of Hodeida eased Friday as more civilians fled the combat zones for fear of a fierce showdown, a UN humanitarian agency said.
"More people are fleeing areas of conflict and seeking shelter in safer locations, including in the capital Sanaa," 150 kilometres (95 miles) to the northeast and also under rebel control, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.
It said some of the displaced had arrived in the capital but specific figures were not yet available. On Thursday, OCHA said more than 30,000 residents of Hodeida and the province of the same name had fled their homes this month.
The latest violence was "at a less severe scale, as a general decrease in clashes, bombardments and airstrikes has been reported", said OCHA.
"Humanitarian partners continue to respond to the needs of the displaced population" with the provision of food, water and health services in and around Hodeida, it said.
In the port city itself, however, "access to warehouses has become difficult due to ongoing fighting and blockage of some roads".
An AFP video journalist said a column of dozens of trucks loaded with Red Cross relief supplies from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was waiting to cross into rebel-held territory from the coastal city of Mokha to the south.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5875001/Civilians-flee-combat-zones-Yemens-Hodeida.html
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Battle for Hodeida, Yemen Puts Thousands of Civilians at Grave Risk
United Nations aid agencies are ramping up humanitarian operations in Yemen’s port city of Hodeida as fighting between government and rebel forces for control of the port heats up putting hundreds of thousands of civilian lives at risk.
Conditions have seriously deteriorated since government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition began the battle to wrest control of the rebel Houthi-held Port of Hodeida one week ago.
The United Nations considers Yemen the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. It has been trying to broker a truce between the warring parties with no success.
A spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jens Laerke says aid agencies are deeply worried about the civilians caught in the middle of this conflict. He notes even before the fighting began, conditions in Hodeida were some of the worst in the country.
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Film: Elisabeth Kendall on France 24 (21 June 2018)
What is the importance of the Hudaydah battle to the Yemen conflict?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3DdSiL1a9s
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Yemeni forces on the offensive to take Hodeidah - in pictures
Coalition and government forces in Hodeidah are preparing to enter the rebel-held city after seizing the airport on its outskirts
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Armed Conflict Location and Events Dataset: The Battle of Hodeidah Has Started
The takeover of Hodeidah, however, is all but straightforward, as this battle is the first time that coalition-backed forces have attempted to retake such a large city from the Houthis.
The coalition leadership – and in particular the UAE – believe that they can overcome this tactical challenge by outnumbering Houthi ground forces. Reports estimate that the number of coalition-backed troops varies between 21,000 and 26,500, while Houthi fighters are estimated between 2,000 and 5,000
[Overview]
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/battle-hodeidah-has-started
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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Hundreds of Thousands of Civilians in Hodeidah are at Grave Risk [EN/AR]
A week after fighting began in the port city of Hodeidah, hundreds of thousands of civilians remain at serious risk. “We are deeply worried about the situation,” said Lise Grande, Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen. “Even before the fighting began, conditions in Hodeidah were some of the worst in the country.”
Twenty-five percent of children in Hodeidah are suffering from acute malnutrition. If nutritional support from humanitarian partners is disrupted, it risks the lives of almost 100,000 children. Hodeidah was one of the epicentres of last year’s cholera outbreak, one of the worst in modern history.
The United Nations considers Yemen the worst humanitarian crisis in the world and has called on all parties to the conflict to do everything possible to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including the port of Hodeidah, which is the main entry point for humanitarian assistance into the country.
The UN and partners are requesting USD 3 billion through the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan to support 22.2 million people in need. To date, USD 1.5 billion, half of resources necessary for the year, has been received.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/hundreds-thousands-civilians-hodeidah-are-grave-risk-enar
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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Yemen: Al Hudaydah Update Situation Report No. 4, 22 June 2018
General Overview
Fighting continues in Al Hudaydah City, albeit at a less severe scale, as a general decrease in clashes, bombardments and airstrikes has been reported. Casualties are reported but actual numbers are unknown. During the last two days, large scale displacement from Al Hudaydah City has been observed, civilians are using their own vehicles or renting public transportation to move out of the city towards neighboring districts east and northwards. Humanitarian partners report that some IDPs from Al Hudaydah City have arrived in the capital, Sana’a. Total figures on displacement are not available yet as humanitarian organisations are working on verifying the IDPs.
Situation Report No. 4 Al Hudaydah Update 22 June 2018 Multiple displacement has also been witnessed within Al Hudaydah Governorate as clashes continue in the southern districts of Ad Durayhimi, At Tuhayat and Jabal Ras and Bayt Al Faqiah. Local authorities have reported the arrival of an estimated 800 households to Al Marawi’ah, Bajil, Qanawis and Al Mansuriyah districts, a number which is yet to be verified by humanitarian partners. Other IDPs have moved further to Hajjah Governorate, and some others are expected to reach Ibb Governorate.
Despite on-going hostilities, humanitarian partners continue to respond to the needs of the displaced population through the provision of life-saving assistance, comprising food, water and health services, in Al Hudaydah City as well as across the Governorate.
However, in Al Hudaydah City, access to warehouses has become difficult due to ongoing fighting and blockage of some roads. The repair of the water and sewage system in the city is a critical priority since the pipes were damaged when trenches were being dug up by warring factions.
The WASH Cluster reports that water trucking needs to be scaled up across the Al Hudaydah Governorate to cover additional IDP caseload. Access to IDPs in At Tuhayat, Ad Durayhimi and Al Garrahi districts is a challenge due to ongoing hostilities in those areas.
The Al Hudaydah and Saleef ports remain operational. As of 21 June, one commercial vessel was at berth and six in the anchorage area in Al Hudaydah port while two UNVIM-cleared vessels were en route. A WFPchartered vessel finished offloading 50,000 MT at Al Hudaydah port.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-al-hudaydah-update-situation-report-no-4-22-june-2018
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Two Saudi-led airstrikes hit Duraihemi district of Hodeidah
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499649.htm
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Save the Children: Two girls orphaned and badly injured by shrapnel following an airstrike near Hodeidah
Two young girls have been badly injured and orphaned following an airstrike near Hodeidah, Yemen, as the conflict in the port city continues.
Save the Children has begun assisting two sisters, Shadia*, 2 and Wafa*, 6, who have been orphaned and badly injured following an airstrike that hit near their parents' vehicle, close to the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah.
The attack, which took place on Tuesday, killed their parents and two of their aunts as they were travelling to the Yemeni city that has become the latest front line in the three-year war to control the Middle East’s poorest country.
The two girls suffered horrific burns and were badly wounded by shrapnel after a missile exploded near their car, setting it ablaze. Passers-by were able to pull the girls from the wreckage.
Save the Children is covering the girls’ medical bills and also providing financial support to the wider family so they can visit the children and support them in their recovery.
Following the attack, Dr. Mariam Aldogani, Save the Children’s field manager in Hodeidah said:
https://www.savethechildren.org/us/about-us/media-and-news/2018-press-releases/two-girls-orphaned-and-injured-in-yemen = https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/two-girls-orphaned-and-badly-injured-shrapnel-following-airstrike-near-hodeidah and photo https://twitter.com/SaveUKNews/status/1010138142396112896
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The Executive Director of the Disability Care and Rehabilitation Fund, Engineer Mohmmed Aldailmy visited the reception centre of Abu Bakr school now used for the internally displaced persons from #Hodeidah.
Of particular concern to the Director of the Fund, the people with disabilities having to flee their homes: "You are among our siblings, your family is here in #Sanaa, and we will share with you whatever we have' (photos9
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1788954931157529
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As Hodeidah battle grinds on, residents suffer lack of clean water, electricity
Residents unable to flee Hodeidah face constant bombardment, lack of clean water and power cuts as an Arab coalition battles to capture Yemen’s main port from Iran-aligned Houthis.
“We hear loud explosions all the time,” Assem Mohammed, a 30-year-old pharmacist, said by telephone.
“We haven’t had water for three days.”
Mohammed, with his wife and six-month-old daughter, are among a dwindling number of residents who have remained in Hawak district, a neighborhood sandwiched between the airport, captured this week by the coalition, and the sea port, the latest target of the military offensive.
Whether through lack of funds or work or personal commitments, some families like Mohammed’s cannot escape.
Drivers transporting fleeing residents out of Hodeidah have more than doubled their fares since the battle began, while the hospital where Mohammed works has threatened employees with dismissal if they are absent for long periods.
“Electricity has also been cut in most of the city since three days, and in some neighborhoods for a week,” he said. He blamed the water shortage on damage to pipes that relief workers say has been caused by the Houthis digging trenches. Houthi officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Temperatures during summer in Yemen soar to above 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) in the shade, which along with lack of clean water could help spread disease.
“The level and degree of human suffering is heart-breaking,” Lise Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen said on Thursday. “Of all the things we are worried about, cholera is top of the list.”
“It wouldn’t take much to start an unstoppable outbreak.”
Dozens of displaced families have been relocated to schools in the city, Mohammed Kassem, Hodeidah ICRC system manager, told Reuters as relief workers distributed food bags at one facility.
“We ran away only with the clothes we were wearing,” said one woman while waiting to receive her share.
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Film: More poor families are displaced by the US-Saudi-UAE aggression on the #WestCoastof Yemen! Great suffering, left homes, no food, no clothes, no medicine, no money, no humanitarian aids; the only thing available is sheer atrocity by the coalition.
https://www.facebook.com/mohamad.shami.33/videos/10155903256127217/
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Film: Yemen war: Hudaida residents escape south to Sanaa
People from Hudaida have started heading south to the capital Sanaa in an attempt to escape the fighting in the port city.
photo: https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1010208029239922691
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The government forces shoot down the second Houthi drone in Hodeida
http://almasdaronline.com/article/99732
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Arab Coalition: Yemen Operations Aimed at Pressuring Houthis on Political Solution
Spokesman for the Saudi-led Arab coalition Colonel Turki al-Maliki defended on Friday the alliance and Yemeni legitimate forces’ operations in the war-torn country, saying that the safety of the people was their top priority.
He said during a press conference in Brussels: “The alliance’s operations in Yemen are aimed at pressuring the Houthi militias to accept the political solution.”
The spokesman was in Belgium to hold talks with European officials on Yemen and aid delivery.
“The political diplomatic solution is always the best option for the Yemeni people,” he continued.
“The coalition is continuing its efforts to restore legitimacy in Yemen and the operations in Hodeidah are ongoing,” Maliki added.
My comment: repeating the same nonsense propaganda again and again. Bullshit: “The alliance’s operations in Yemen are aimed at pressuring the Houthi militias to accept the political solution.” Correct: “to accept the political solution we impose on them.”
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Fog of war clouds Hodeidah airport as media disagree about who controls site
Who has the upper hand in Operation Golden Victory? The Yemeni battle has spilled into a war of words and images with conflicting reports.
The Hodeidah offensive, known as Operation Golden Victory, is now nine days old and has left nearly 350 people dead, of whom more than half – including 156 Houthi troops and 28 coalition soldiers - were killed at the airport, military and medical sources have told AFP.
Golden Victory is being conducted by several Yemeni factions and mercenaries led by Tareq Saleh, nephew of the late former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was killed in December 2017 by the Houthis when it became clear he was about to turn on his erstwhile allies.
Saleh’s forces are backed by Emirati troops on the ground and Saudi and UAE warplanes and Apache attack helicopters. Offshore are Saudi and Emirati battleships.
The airport has not had a functioning airstrip for some time but it is nonetheless a strategic asset for either side.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday evening, a Houthi spokesperson, Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, posted a Facebook video of himself in the arrivals terminal at Hodeidah airport.
He said the date of the video was Thursday 20 June – but Thursday was actually 21 June. He also denied reports by UAE and Saudi media that the anti-Houthi coalition had seized the airport.
Baseem al-Jenani, an independent Yemeni journalist from Hodeidah, told Middle East Eye that the Houthis had used a "fabricated video", recorded before the anti-Houthi fighters entered the airport.
Similarly, Tasnim, a news agency in Houthi-backing Iran, reported on Wednesday that the airport was still under the control of rebel forces, citing Houthi spokesperson Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman.
Footage allegedly showing a quite different version of events has been aired as well.
On Tuesday, before the coalition even announced seizing the compound, UAE-based Sky News Arabia posted footage from Hodeidah airport, showing pro-Yemeni government fighters celebrating its capture.
The conflicting reports have drawn the ire of coalition officials.
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Film: I saw the comic strip of the charlatan @ malarab1 famous by # Mohammed_Alharb, who said that in the platform of performances # Hodeidah, even lying that was not good at other Arabs became a failure when he said that at the podium did not show the Arabs next to or in front of it has been cut that false report and the introduction of a snapshot of the platform of Another video completely1
https://twitter.com/B4Zaman/status/1009931341226500096
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Film: The Forces of al-Amaleqah Brigades [anti-Houthi] are touring in the #Airport of #Hodeidah as well as in Al-Aerodh (Parades) Square.
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1010210248693600256
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Film: This is how the battles with Saudi-Emirati invaders go on around the airport of Hodeida west Yemen.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1010074279512330240
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Hudaydah Airport Still under Control of Ansarullah Forces: Yemeni Commander
Yemen's army spokesman Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman dismissed reports that Saudi-backed militants and UAE forces had seized Hudaydah airport, stressing that Houthi forces are still in control of the facility in the western port city.
Hudaydah airport is fully under the control of fighters from Ansarullah movement, Luqman said late on Thursday.
He added that the Yemeni fighters have been fighting against Daesh and al-Qaeda militants in Hudaydah's al-Durayhimi district, and have surrounded all Saudi-backed forces and mercenaries in the al-Jah neighborhood.
The commander further rejected reports that the airport in Hudaydah had fallen to the hands of Saudi-backed forces.
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Maps: Yemen: Al Hudaydah Displacement Overview (as of 20 June 2018)
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-al-hudaydah-displacement-overview-20-june-2018
Yemen: Al Hudaydah Displacement Overview (as of 18 June 2018)
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-al-hudaydah-displacement-overview-18-june-2018
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A terrorist of AL-Gaeeda members was killed by Houthis troops in Hoddiadah governorate.His name is Anas Alsobaihi,he is from Lahj governorate"south yemen"..Anas is a soldier in Alamaliga battalions supported by Emirates (photo)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldwideantiwar/permalink/1774667052621629/
cp2 Allgemein / General
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Spokesman: Iran's Yemen Policies Remain Unchanged
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi condemned the Saudi-led coalition's continued aggression against the Yemeni people, stressing that Tehran's position and policy on Yemen is irrevocable.
"Iran's policy on the crisis in Yemen was clear since the very first day and we have not changed our positions on Yemen. We condemn the coalition's aggression and hope that the international community would understand the Yemeni people's hard conditions more than before and endeavor to end aggression against these people," Qassemi told reporters in a press conference in Tehran on Monday.
He added that Iran has tried to contact different states and international bodies to find a way to end the aggression and send humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970404000373
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War prisoners swap. Ansarrullah (Houthi) released today 40 war prisoners detained recently in the western coast battles. In return for releasing 74 Houthi war prisoners detained in different places in the past. This happens thanks to tribal cooperation of Yemenis. (photo)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1011148531523039233
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Film: A compromise between Saudi Arabia and Yemen Houthi is possible if: Message from Yemen. Listen.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1010928374171217920
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UNITED NATIONS - HUMAN RIGHTS IN YEMEN
Sitzung des UN-Menschenrechtsrates vom 18.06. bis 06.07.2018
Wenn in den deutschen Leitmedien über Vorkommnisse im Jemen berichtet wird, wird grundsätzlich nicht über die eigentlichen Hintergründe und Ursachen des Krieges berichtet. Es wird nicht über deren hauptsächlichen Aggressoren wie Saudi Arabien, Vereinigte Arabische Emirate, Bahrain, Kuwait, Sudan, Jordanien, Marokko und Senegal bzw. über deren Bombardements und Verbrechen im Jemen berichtet.
Auch die militärische, logistische und Informelle Unterstützung der saudischen Kriegskoalition durch zahlreiche NATO-Staaten und deren Waffendeals für viele Mrd.-Dollar, insbesondere der USA, Frankreich, Großbritannien und natürlich Deutschland, thematisieren deutsche Politiker bzw. Medien kaum.
Was stattfindet, ist eine einseitige mediale Schuldzuweisung gegen die Houthi-Rebellen und vor allem den Iran, dem immer wieder Waffenlieferungen an die Houthis vorgeworfen werden.
Lassen Sie mich ein paar Kennzahlen über die täglichen Kriegsverbrechen der saudischen Kriegskoalition gegen die jemenitische Zivilbevölkerung erwähnen und die besondere Mitschuld der westlichen Staatengemeinschaft verdeutlichen.
Die folgenden Kennzahlen wurden aufgrund der Veröffentlichungen der NGO „Legal Rights of Development“ ermittelt:
Anzahl der Bombardements nach Monaten im Jahr 2018 auf Houthi-Gebiete
Neben den täglichen Bombardements durch die saudische Kriegskoalition, leiden die Jemeniten unter den Besatzungstruppen der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate, Saudi Arabiens und Sudan. Laut internationalen Medien kam es zu Vergewaltigungen von jemenitischen Frauen durch sudanische Soldaten. Durch die Blockade zu Land, Luft und See, erreichen über den Hafen Hodeida nur selten Hilfsgüter, Nahrungsmittel und Medikamente um die humanitäre Not der Zivilbevölkerung etwas zu lindern. Mit der Schlacht um Hodeida, wo die saudische Kriegskoalition seit 12. Juni versucht, auch noch den letzten Zugang für internationale Hilfsgüter zu blockieren, riskiert Saudi Arabien im Jemen den größten Genozid der Menschheit!
Mehr als 22 Mio. Jemeniten sind auf humanitäre Hilfsgüter angewiesen, 8,4 Mio. Jemeniten stehen unmittelbar vor dem Hungertod, aller 10 Minuten stirbt bereits ein jemenitisches Kind an Hunger und Krankheiten.
An diesen Kennzahlen kann die Weltgemeinschaft erkennen, dass die saudische Kriegskoalition nicht hauptsächlich einen militärischen Gegner bekämpft, sondern tagtäglich die Vernichtung der jemenitischen Bevölkerung vorantreibt. Dieser Genozid am jemenitischen Volk wäre ohne die massive Aufrüstung von Saudi Arabien und den Ländern - die der saudischen Kriegskoalition angehören, nicht möglich.
Die UN-Veto-Mächte USA, Großbritannien, Frankreich und darüber hinaus Deutschland, beliefern die Staaten der saudischen Kriegskoalition mit modernsten Waffensystemen. S
https://www.krieg-im-jemen.de/vereinte-nationen-2018/
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Fussball-WM: Wir schlachten gerade den Jemen ab
Erbarmen ist von den Angreifern dabei wenig zu erwarten: Das Abschnüren der letzten Möglichkeit der Nahrungsversorgung für Millionen Menschen ist kein Zufall, sondern dient als Kriegswaffe. Dass sie während der WM „den Sack zumachen“ ist sicher auch nicht unbedingt ein Zufall. Man erinnere sich an den vom Westen inszenierten Putsch in der ukrainischen Hauptstadt Kiew („Maidan-Revolution“) während der Olympischen Winterspiele 2014 in Russland. Eine „Flüchtlingsproblematik“ wird es dabei wohl auch nicht geben, denn die Kriegsschiffe der USA und Saudi-Arabiens knallen erbarmungslos Flüchtlingsboote ab und behaupten, es habe sich bei den Booten sich um Kriegsschiffe des Jemen gehandelt. Nach dem Motto: „Wen keiner durchkommt, regt sich im Westen niemand auf.“
Der Jemen wird aus der Luft nicht nur von saudischen Flugzeugen bombardiert, auch die USA beispielsweise feuern Bomben auf das Land, allerdings von bewaffneten Drohnen aus (gesteuert aus Deutschland, aus Ramstein). Teilweise wird das dann wieder als „Kampf gegen IS und Al Qaida“ deklariert, obwohl diese Terrorgruppen wie in Syrien auch direkt oder indirekt auf der Seite der USA und Saudi-Arabiens kämpfen, und die Angriffe gar nicht auf diese Kämpfer erfolgen, was im Westen ohnehin niemand merkt. Oder anders ausgedrückt: Unsere Medien, propagandaverseucht, dass es einem die Sprache verschlägt, sorgen dafür, dass dies niemand so recht mitbekommt oder drehen die Tatsachen einfach um.
Deutschland ist auch bei der Unterstützung der Bodentruppen der Angreiferkoalition aktiv, allerdings als Lazarettstation. Laut Gulf News werden in Jemen verwundete Soldaten aus den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten (diese stellen hauptsächlich Bodentruppen) in deutschen Kliniken versorgt. In dem Artikel mit dem Titel „UAE troops wounded in Yemen assured full support“ vom 19. Januar 2015 heißt es zum Besuch eines VAE-Prinzen: „Chief of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court visits soldiers in hospital in Germany […] Shaikh Hamed visited wounded soldiers at Vivantes, Godeshohe and BGU Murnau hospitals in Berlin, Bonn and Munich respectively.“ Die Botschaft der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate twitterte am ersten Weihnachtsfeiertag 2015 Folgendes zu einem Besuch eines weiteren VAE-Scheichs bei den verwundeten Soldaten im verbündeten Deutschland: „S.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed besucht #VAE Soldaten, die in deutschen Krankenhäsuern behandelt werden“, samt passendem Foto.
http://blauerbote.com/2018/06/23/fussball-wm-wir-schlachten-gerade-den-jemen-ab/
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Los cuatro motivos del bloqueo informativo sobre la guerra genocida de Yemen
El apagón informativo sobre la masacre de Yemen se debe a que:
1) El suculento negocio de armas: motivo de alargar la agresión ilegal de 14 países contra una nación indefensa.
2) El bloque mediático: Desde que en octubre del 2016 varios grandes medios enviaran desde Yemen imágenes de niños esqueléticos y hogares bombardeados al mundo, la coalición empezó a denegar el permiso de entrada de los periodistas a Yemen bajo el pretexto de “no poder garantizar su seguridad”
3) La complicidad de la ONU:
4) La invisibilidad de refugiados yemeníes:
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Attack on Yemen port city puts millions at risk
The corporate media describe the troops defending the port as “rebels.” This term is misleading, as these troops are from the Ansarollah-led government that has controlled the city since soon after the prior interim president, Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi, fled Yemen for Saudi Arabia in 2014. Hadi had been elected in 2012 for a two-year term under an agreement of contending groups in Yemen. He was rejected when he broke that agreement.
Ansarollah came out ahead in the ensuing struggle for power inside Yemen. Demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people have supported the Ansarollah government, who are also called “Houthis.”
The same media call the 21,000 troops attacking the port “government troops.” These forces, however, are made up of officers from the United Arab Emirates and troops recruited from opponents of the Ansorallah made up of separatist militias, fortified by mercenaries from Sudan.
The reactionary coalition, which first attacked Yemen in March 2015, also included Egypt and Jordan, although there are no reports of troops from these countries participating in the assault on Hodeidah. The coalition’s main pretext for fighting against the Ansarollah forces — and the U.S. pretext for arming the coalition and fueling Saudi planes in the air — is the alleged role of the Iranian government in supporting Ansarollah.
https://www.workers.org/2018/06/24/attack-on-yemen-port-city-puts-millions-at-risk/
My comment: You must look into media niches to find the truth about twisted Western media’s wording.
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Yemen: Mwatana’s leaders Radhya Al-Mutawakel & Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih detained at airport
On 18 June 2018, the President of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights in Yemen, Radhya Al-Mutawakel, and Executive Director Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih were detained for a day by Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led coalition forces at Sayoun Airport in the Hadhramout region of Yemen. They were traveling abroad to participate in several human rights activities, including an event at the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue in Oslo. They were then taken to an unknown location, before being released late at night.
While welcoming their release, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) calls on all authorities in Yemen to ensure that Mwatana representatives are able to carry out their human rights activities freely.
On Facebook, Al-Mutawakel wrote: "The Saudi-led coalition imprisoned us, and you released us. Thank you all."
https://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/1887
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Film: Der Rote Platz #19: Saudische Mörder-GmbH führt Krieg mit Hunger, Cholera und deutschen Waffen – mit Wolfgang Gehrke
Doch dieser Krieg war und ist „vergessen“. Denn die Kopf-ab-Monarchie von Saudi-Arabien ist der Freund des Westens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAdv8OfJDts
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The Trump War No One Talks About
For an historical perspective, Salman ought to read the Pentagon Papers. Relentless bombing in Vietnam and Cambodia did little to bring the USA a victory in Vietnam. Saudi supporters are looking for the light at the end of the tunnel just like President Johnson did, but there may be none. During the Vietnam War, the light at the end of the tunnel ended up being the Tet offensive by the North Vietnamese Army. Within a few years, the Americans were going home after losing billions and billions of dollars and losing at least 69,000 brave and wonderful young men and women. I believe that a similar quagmire could happen to Saudis in their war on Yemen. Not so much in terms of the pointless loss of young Saudi pilots’ lives, but in terms of lost capital and political embarrassment as killers of over 10,000 poor in Yemen.
Make no mistake. This war in Yemen is truly one of the rich against the poor. The combined resources of the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are almost beyond count. Yemen, on the other hand, has virtually no wealth and a currently dismal future because the country’s small resources are all practically leveled by now with the Saudis bombing mosques, hotels and factories.
According to the United Nations, the only way to avoid the famine is to successfully move the “three amigos” of the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates into a peace agreement with the Yemeni Houthis.
Some in the U.S. Senate are interested in this peace/negotiation effort. Secretary Pompeo is not and neither is his boss. They want to show others in the region like Iran that the United States is tough – by Jack Healey
https://www.alternet.org/world/trump-war-no-one-talks-about-yemen
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Life returning to normal in Yemen's Al Khokha
Hundreds of families are coming home after district was liberated from Houthi rebels
Like Umm Abdullah's family, many displaced people have started returning to Al Khokha, where they say life is slowly but surely returning to normal after the Houthis were driven out.
So far, more than 1,800 families — who had been living in Aden, Lahj and Abyan — have returned home.
Life has returned to Al Khokha’s streets with crowded markets, new shops opening and people bustling back and forth. Residents have begun repairing their homes, and fishermen and farmers are gearing up for the new season.
“I missed it so much,” Mohammed Jubaili, 50, told The National as he ploughed a field.
“We are afraid of landmines that the Houthis planted in our farms, but that will not prevent us from working. I missed my land like I would miss my own mother.”
Residents of Al Khokha say that rebel landmines have caused more casualties than the fighting in the area.
Mahmood Maroof, relief coordinator in Al Khokha, said the ERC had launched a number of projects to improve education, health and power supply.
“They have repaired 11 schools and two hospitals,” he told The National. “They have also provided the district with five generators and are working to repair water pipes, which is 90 per cent done.
https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/life-returning-to-normal-in-yemen-s-al-khokha-1.743147
My comment: By an Emirati website, with propaganda bias demnstrating how wonderful life is becoming when the UAE has „freed“ a region. Well, life always is going tob e more normal when assault and fighting (which had been brought to Al Kokha by the UAE’s assault before) are over. Well, life at Al Kokha certainly will not be better than at „liberated“ Aden and the rest of Southern Yemen.
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Why Hudaydah is overwhelming question?
In fact, the West frequently hails the Saudis as the models of steadfastness against Terror while it is clear enough enough that the reason behind attacking the Yemenis are their hatred of religious freedom and their geopolitical interests. In the first place, the Yemenis, as far as the Saudis are concerned, are [Kafer] i.e. infidels, dissents and apostates. They are referred to as Iranians, traitors and Majoosis and therefore eligible to be murdered.
On the other hand, Yemen, and particularly its Hudaydah, the Red Sea city, which is home to 600,000 people and the entry-point for the vast aids is now under the mercy of a new assault.
The current assault on Yemen is not purely an Emirati military campaign, it is a global war, which seems no different from the one that has been waged against Syria. Several Arabs and Western countries including France and the US back the coalition, in addition to the Egyptian Navy, mercenaries from Sudan and several other African countries. Advanced warships and Apache aircrafts are intensely bombarding civilian structures. Dozens of satellite TV channels are covering the battle and various sophisticated intelligence agencies are there too.
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/135040/Why-Hudaydah-is-overwhelming-question
My comment: And quite a lot of Iranian propaganda following.
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Hodeidah to Sudan: A Yemeni refugee’s journey from destruction to safety
The last journalist left in Hodeidah documenting Houthi rebels' crimes is now in Sudan, still sharing the reality of relatives, friends left in the city
I knew they were coming after me. I left my home and hid at a friend's house, and on the same day they raided my home. The risk was getting too high, and I knew I had to get myself and my family out. I was finally able to flee with my wife and my son.
Thankfully within three days, I was able to get a visa to Oman. We went and stayed in Oman for two days, then moved on to Jordan, where we stayed for four months.
The Houthis found out who had hidden me in their home in Hodeidah; they raided his home and arrested him. He was kept and tortured for six months because he hid me.
I was the only journalist in Hodeidah that was sharing the atrocities the Houthis were committing, and I have kept exposing their crimes after leaving. They threatened my family. My brother was stabbed on his way home.
After a while, I decided I needed to leave Jordan. My salary working as a journalist was barely enough to cover our basic needs, and Jordan is expensive. I decided to go to Sudan to try and settle down and to pursue further studies in media. I studied for a diploma for a year, starting in November 2015 before being able to start a master's. Now I am in my final year of study for the masters.
I now work as a taxi driver. That's our main source of income.
My journalistic work will carry on, and it seems to be more effective for me to be out of the country, far from the pressures and threats inside. We get information from a number of sources. I've been a journalist for 10 years, and have my own news site with a good audience that wants to hear that news. I'm making an impact.
Being out of Hodeidah and out of Yemen, I can be more at ease without pressure and fear of being subjected to anything. I could not accept being oppressed, even if it was from someone close to me.
I was the only journalist left in Hodeidah sharing evidence of Houthi crimes. I do hope to return when things are back to normal, and pray for our Hodeidah to be free from all the destruction – by aseem al-Jenani
Leaving Hodeidah, my journey was a big risk ... even six months after I left, people still didn't believe I had escaped ... They raided my home, the homes of my family ... they offered a reward to anyone who could provide information on my whereabouts. They were offering about 20mn Yemeni rial ($79,900).
I had a lot of evidence of crimes that I was posting daily. I widened my network of sources. My website was blocked in Yemen, and now we use Telegram, and I do still share the facts of what is happening there.
I am very scared about what will happen in Hodeidah and the ongoing battle, particular seeing what is happening with the inhabitants and the displaced. The price of freeing Hodeidah will be very high, especially as the Houthis are widespread among civilians.
(A K P)
Interactive Map of Yemen
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Jeden Freitag kuratieren wir fünf Twitter-Accounts zu einem Thema. Diese Woche: der Krieg im Jemen.
https://magazin.zenith.me/de/follow-friday/twitter-tipps-der-krieg-im-jemen
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Jemen: VAE-Offiziere filmen sich bei Vergewaltigungen und Folter in „Geheimgefängnissen“
Hunderte von Gefangenen im Süden Jemens, die wegen Verdachts der Zugehörigkeit zu al-Qaida oder ISIS inhaftiert sind, werden in mindestens fünf von 18 von den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten kontrollierten "Geheimgefängnissen" systematisch vergewaltigt, gefoltert und gedemütigt, so sieben Zeugen, die mit AP sprachen. Die Nachrichtenagentur erhielt auch Briefe und Zeichnungen, die aus einem Gefängnis in Aden geschmuggelt worden waren.
Die Emiratis haben hunderte von jemenitischen Männern in ein Netzwerk von mindestens 18 versteckten Gefängnissen gesteckt, welche verdächtigt werden, al-Qaida-Mitglied oder militante Kämpfer des Islamischen Staates zu sein. Die Gefangenen werden ohne Anklage oder Gerichtsverfahren festgehalten.
[…]
Zeugen sagten, dass jemenitische Wachen, die unter der Leitung von emiratischen Offizieren arbeiteten, verschiedene Methoden der sexuellen Folter und Erniedrigung angewandt hatten. Sie vergewaltigten Gefangene, während andere Wachen die Angriffe filmen. Sie malträtierten die Genitalien der Gefangenen mit Elektroschockern oder hängten Steine von ihren Hoden. Sie haben andere mit Holz- und Stahlstangen sexuell verletzt.
[…]
"In einigen Fällen vergewaltigen sie den Gefangenen, filmen ihn bei der Vergewaltigung, benutzen dies, um ihn zu zwingen, für sie zu arbeiten", sagte er. Er sprach aufgrund von Sicherheitsbedenken anonym. "Sie ziehen dich nackt aus, binden dann deine Hände rechts und links an einen Stahlpfahl, so dass du vor ihnen aufgespreizt bist. Dann beginnt die Sodomie", sagte ein Vater von vier Kindern.
Aus dem Gefängnis in Aden schmuggelten Gefangene Briefe und Zeichnungen über den sexuellen Missbrauch, die an die AP weitergegeben wurden.
AP berichtet, dass "von den fünf Gefängnissen, in denen laut AP sexuelle Folter stattfindet, vier in Aden sind – und "US-Personal wurde in der Buria-Basis gesehen, wo sexueller Missbrauch stattgefunden hat. US-Personal wurde zusammen mit kolumbianischen Söldnern in der Buriqa-Basis gesehen, so zwei Gefangene und zwei Sicherheitsbeamte. Die Gefangenen konnten nicht sagen, ob die Amerikaner, von denen einige Militäruniformen tragen, Mitglieder der US-Regierungstruppen oder Söldner sind.
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Yemenis Accuse UAE Officers of Sexual Torture Inside Secret Prisons
We speak with Maggie Michael, the reporter who broke these stories. She is the Associated Press based in Cairo. Her latest exposé is headlined “Detainees held without charges decry Emiratis’ sexual abuses.” Last year, she reported on prisons in a piece headlined, “In Yemen’s secret prisons, UAE tortures and US interrogates.”
MAGGIEMICHAEL: Our investigation started in 2016, and since that time we have been speaking to witnesses, to security officials, families, and finally, in this investigation, we managed to speak to prisoners inside the prisons. They are talking about how sexual abuse is being used as a way to extract confessions, and sometimes to turn them into informants to the Emiratis who are supervising and running prisons, directly or indirectly, through their own allies of security forces they set up in southern Yemen.
Our investigation last year exposed a network of 18 prisons in cities of Aden and Mukalla.
Our investigation this year found that of these prisons, at least five, there’s a lot of sexual abuse happening to detainees. What is different this time is that we also spoke to officials who were at one point allied with the Emiratis. They were working for them, and then they defected. Their testimonies were very important to confirm what the prisoners and what the families have been saying all the time— that they are being held without charges, no trials. Even those who were granted prosecutors like orders to be released, they still kept in detention. The officials—one of them, at least—was was involved in the torture. He confirmed that they were filming detainees while being raped in order to press them, in order to turn them into informants.
The thing is, we communicated with the prisoners inside Beir Ahmed in Aden, southern Yemen, and one of them is a really good artist who in order to answer my questions about what exactly is happening, he decided to show it to me by drawing positions of torture, abuse, and then took pictures and then by phones and then sent them by WhatsApp, and this is how we got them. And lately, they have been finding it hard to use the same way, and we relied more on text messages from inside the prison.
Based on what we had last year and this year, Americans are in main base of Emiratis in Yemen. So this is including Mukalla, Balhaf in Shabwa, and there’s a place called Buriqa—these have American interrogators. They are American personnel in uniform.
There are also mercenaries, including Americans. The main mission is interrogation. What we were told also that torture does not happen in front of the Americans, but they are aware of it, either by hearing people being tortured or by seeing marks of torture on their bodies. What this official in Riyan, in Mukalla told me is that Americans are aware of what is happening, and they’re not only aware, they are actually part of it. And instead of doing the torture themselves in order to get confessions, they’re using the Emiratis to do their dirty work.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/6/21/yemenis_accuse_uae_officers_of_sexual
and
(A P)
Press Release: Euro Med Monitor
Yemen: UAE must investigate war crimes committed in its prisons
Practices of torture against Yemeni detainees in UAE-controlled prisons must be investigated by the Emirati authorities, says the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, warning that such practices may be “systematic and widespread”. There is an urgent need for investigation into violations committed by UAE-affiliated groups, possibly amounting to war crimes, adds the Geneva-based Euro-Med Monitor.
Involved perpetrators must also be held to account, states Euro-Med Monitor, noting that hundreds of detainees in Yemen have been subjected to physical and sexual torture as well as mass assault in prisons run by armed groups that belong to the United Arab Emirates, a member of the Arab Coalition.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1806/S00136/yemen-uae-must-investigate-war-crimes.htm
Comment: The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor is urging the #UAE to investigate its own war crimes in #Yemen. Independent investigation panels are so passé
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1792979980755024
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US-backed Forces Claiming to “Liberate” Yemen Rape Detainees in Secret Prisons
Two additional prison security officials said Americans were at all locations.
Witnesses say Emirati soldiers, mercenaries, and paid Blackwater mercenaries frequently raped detainees while others filmed the act.
Survivors told reporters about a mass torture event on March 10 at the Beir Ahmed prison in UAE-occupied Aden. Soldiers pulled hundreds of prisoners out of their cells, ordered them to disrobe, and searched their anal cavity looking for cell phones or contraband. One witness proclaimed, “Do you believe this! How could anyone hide a phone in there?” If anyone did not follow through with orders, soldiers threatened them with vicious dogs.
Remark: Earlier reporting in YPR 425, 426.
(A P)
Reports said Sunday President Hadi ordered Govt not to talk abt UAE practices in Yemen bcz"it is sensitive"! Mr President: UAE officers raped & tortured "Yemenis"!. Do your constitutional duties & take immediate action to earn our respect. You represent people not UAE interests.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1010992779093213184
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Saudi Arabia Is Approaching Spiritual Doom in Yemen
In the prevailing environment, the International Criminal Court should step in to counter Saudi crimes, because the prosecutor of the court has enormous discretion in going after war crimes. Saudis may evade justice but in the ICC eyes they are guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Yemenis - whose future they stole in collaboration with American-British-French allies.
Speaking of the West, the US, British and French governments cannot claim to be a champion of human rights while arming the world’s worst offenders. The problem is that they also want the sweet multibillion-dollar arms deals, so they cut corners on human rights. They broker and approve deals for their arms companies and they know their weapons have been used in Yemen - where they are directly involved in the regime-change campaign.
The West’s arms trade in the Middle East goes beyond the Saudi deal. Since the beginning of the war on Yemen, which is now in its fourth year, the US, Britain and France have also made millions selling arms to Bahrain, which has crushed political dissent at home while aiding Saudi efforts abroad, and have exported an assortment of weapons and military equipment to the United Arab Emirates, which human rights organizations have criticized for numerous abuses within its own borders and in Yemen.
What is different about Yemen is that the Saudis’ biggest supporters and the main states preventing the United Nations from taking decisive action are also the US, Britain and France, which are members of the Security Council with veto powers. They have strong economic and security relations with Riyadh. They see Saudi Arabia as a lucrative market for their goods, and also are dependent on Saudi oil. The Persian Gulf country is also a major customer of arms from the US and UK.
As is, the Saudi-led coalition has been bombing schools, markets, hospitals and other civilian targets. Its Western allies have also been accused of major violations, which the UN should also probe
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970401000760
UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Civilian Impact Monitoring Report - June 2018
Armed violence is generating high civilian impact, including casualties
During the six-month period, a total of 844 incidents of armed violence with civilian impact were recorded in the five target governorates. These generated 1,828 civilian casualties, 26% of which were women and children. Furthermore, 85% of the incidents involved psychosocial trauma implications for the people affected.
The number of injured civilians increased despite an overall fall in incidents
The impact over time has not been static, but has been gradually decreasing from each two-month period to the next. However, the decline in fatalities was almost three times the decrease in incidents, meaning that the deadliness of incidents was at the highest during December and January. The number of injured civilians did not see a corresponding drop. To the contrary, the number of injured civilians was higher in the April-May period than any of the other periods, despite the overall decline in incidents.
Women and children were frequently killed or injured in armed violence
During the period, the child and female casualties increased gradually, making up larger percentages of the civilians killed and injured during February-May than during the December-January period. Women and children are also making up the overwhelming majority of vulnerable groups impacted, by armed violence with 504 incidents impacting women and children, 60 incidents impacting only children, and 37 incidents impacting women alone. In addition, 6 incidents impacted on existing IDPs, including women and children. In total, 72% of the recorded incidents impacted on vulnerable groups. 2,308 civilian structures were damaged during the six months; civilian houses made up more than half A total of 2,308 civilian structures were damaged during the reporting period, almost triple the number of incidents, illustrating the far-reaching damage caused to civilian structures by armed violence. Houses were the most frequently impacted structures, with 856 houses damaged by armed violence during the period. In addition, 551 households comprising both houses and farms/livestock were also damaged (in some rural areas farms and houses are co-located), bringing the total number of houses damaged up to 1,407.
Infrastructure, vehicles, water facilities, education centres and healthcare facilities continue to be impacted
Civilian infrastructure was also frequently impacted (98 structures), including main roads, bridges, telecommunication infrastructure, governmental compounds, ports, and airports. Civilian vehicles were also often impacted by armed violence during movements (62 vehicles). Other structures used by civilians were also damaged, including food and water infrastructure (18), education centres(18), healthcare facilities (9), aid (5), protected sites (15), and prisons (1). Finally, 61 local businesses were damaged by armed violence and 17 markets, each involving multiple local businesses.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/civilian-impact-monitoring-report-june-2018
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Film: The Geopolitical Significance of #Yemen
Bab-el-Mandeb overlooks one of the most strategic and important global corridors for the transportation of energy and international commerce.
Preventing US and Saudi rivals from gaining a strategic foothold over the Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden is a major objective of the war on Yemen.
Closure of the Bab el-Mandeb could keep tankers from the Persian Gulf from reaching the Suez Canal or SUMED Pipeline, diverting them around the southern tip of Africa, adding to transit time and cost.
In addition, European and North African southbound oil flows could no longer take the most direct route to Asian markets via the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb.
The #US and the House of Saud see control over the Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden as strategically important in the scenario of a conflict with #Iran where Tehran closes the Strait of Hormuz to oil shipments and international shipping.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/1788312321221790/
(A K P)
Film: Saudis starving Yemenis to death to impose their will: Pundit
“They are bombing people, they are starving people, they are blocking the ports and the United States with its military, with its logistics, with its money is aiding and abetting. So the United States is very criminal in its behavior, and of course you have the UK, you have France and other Western imperialist powers that are supporting this war because they have realized that the Yemeni people are posing a tremendous threat to the entire Western world right now because they are standing up to our little dictator in the Middle East -- Saudi Arabia,” Colin Cavell, a lecturer at the University of Bahrain told Press TV in an interview on Friday.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/06/22/565741/Middle-East-Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-US-UK-France-Nazi
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
(B H)
Tamkeen encourage Women for cooperation and #SelfHelp work in Sharas district Hajjah Gov #Yemen Tamkeen formed 20 Village Cooperative Councils in Sharas in 2018 with Funding from @europeaid via @UNDPYEMEN as part of the social protection Project (photo)
https://twitter.com/TamkeenYemen/status/1010802199562280960
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Help Save Children in Yemen
As the war in Yemen enters its fourth year – children in Yemen are facing a massive crisis. The volatile civil war, taking place in the midst of growing poverty, is causing the world’s worst humanitarian emergency. As the conflict rages on, the needs of vulnerable children continue to grow. Over 22 million people – three out of every four – urgently need lifesaving assistance, including over 11 million children.
EMERGENCY ALERT
Children in Yemen now face a triple threat – hunger, disease and bombs. Reports of a new attack on the port city of Hodeida have put an estimated 300,000 children at further risk of being killed or maimed by fighting. Crucial humanitarian aid for families already in grave need could be denied should this critical port be closed.
Save the Children is on the ground, working to help the most vulnerable survive and stay safe. We’ve treated nearly 100,000 children suffering from malnutrition, and we’re operating mobile health clinics in the hardest-to-reach areas. Together, we can save Yemen’s children under threat.
film: https://twitter.com/ArminNavabi/status/1010593399303368704
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Film: MONA RELIEF Delivers Food and Bedding & Lots of Love To Families In Yemen.
Yemen Organization for Humanitarian Relief and Development (Mona), is a national Independent, non-governmental and non-profitable organization based in Yemen.The organization activities are mainly focused in the field of humanitarian relief.
With a single intent and a single goal, an idea was conceived: the idea to somehow go around the current Blockade on Yemen and help those who are displaced by war. With this idea the #20ForYemen project was started on Twitter. In as little as 10 days, Twitter responded to our initial call to action, and we raised $4200. This amount was enough to feed almost 150 families for a month. Mona Relief was on its way to bigger things
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA9H-NKNcAc
(B H)
Film: JEMEN RUFT NACH HILFE - ANSAAR INTERNATIONAL e.V.
Lieferungen quer durch die Wüste. Jemen, jeden Monat aufs neue. Dörfer erreichen die eigentlich unerreichbar sind... Anstrengung, Spenden sammeln, Reisen, Gefahr, aber dann - lächelnde Gesichter...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGRvgRw8zRI
Bemerkung: Zu dieser Organisation lese man auch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGRvgRw8zRI
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
Siehe / Look at cp1b
(* B H P)
How hundreds of Yemenis fleeing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis ended up on a resort island in South Korea
JEJU, South Korea —This is the end of the line for hundreds of Yemeni refugees fleeing war 5,000 miles away.
The setting is a new one in a world of migrants and asylum seekers on the move: a resort island off South Korea’s southern coast where tourists come to dive the reefs, golf and eat local seafood specialties.
But the wider story unfolding on Jeju Island is familiar. It is about desperate people looking for any loopholes or undiscovered pathways on the migrant trails crisscrossing the globe, seeking a place willing to take them in.
Jeju’s improbable turn began in early spring.
The hope was that Jeju would be a springboard to reach Seoul and apply for refugee protections. But that proved wrong. South Korean officials quickly blocked Yemenis from leaving the island, and on June 1, Jeju dropped Yemen from the no-visa rules to join a handful of other countries including Syria, Iran and Nigeria.
The more than 500 Yemenis who made it to Jeju before the door closed — mostly men, but some families with children — are stranded. They can’t reach the mainland, and few have the money or inclination to return to Malaysia.
(A H)
Southern Yemen: Capturing of 95 Africans wearing woman clothing in a pickup south Yemen
The security authorities in Lahj and Abyan south Yemen captured 95 Africans were wearing woman clothing and others were carried by truck.
The spokesman of the fifth brigade logistics “Khalis Alhajili” said the security belt forces at Radfan – Lahj captured 52 Africans in woman clothing.
He added the captured came on 4 small buses from Aden governorate including 3 women.
He added “ those buses went through many checkpoints between Aden and Lahj before stopping them at Habeleen checkpoint at the capital of Lahj”Hotah”.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/99786
(A H K)
Maps: Yemen: Al Hudaydah Displacement Overview (as of 20 June 2018)
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-al-hudaydah-displacement-overview-20-june-2018
Yemen: Al Hudaydah Displacement Overview (as of 18 June 2018)
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-al-hudaydah-displacement-overview-18-june-2018
(* B H)
Somalia return and displacement series: Aishawara’s Story
Aishawara’s life changed when the Yemen conflict began. She worked as a humanitarian aid assistant at the Al-Kharas refugee camp, where majority of the inhabitants were Somalis. When the war separated Aishawara from her family, she decided to take her changes with a Somali family that she had befriended in the camp, who were returning to Somalia.
After weeks on the road from Mukalla in the Yemeni region of Hadhramaut, traveling with traffickers through Boosaaso and Gaalka’yo in Puntland, the Somali family and Aishawara reached their final destination, the town of Abuduwaq in Galgaduud. This was the family’s hometown and had an established network of kinship there. But the presence of Aishawara was soon attracting questions and suspicion in a predominantly conservative Muslim environment.
Aishawara was given little choice but to marry a local man that the family had suggested. She didn’t want this marriage but she knew no one else in Abuduwaq and had nowhere else to go. She also didn’t want to upset the family that she had grown to depend on, who have already done her a favour by taking her away from the war in Yemen.
Aishawara remained married for a year during which she miscarried a baby and lived in poor conditions as her husband didn’t make much of an income. She worried about her own family, whether they survived the war, where they could possibly be. She endured regular sleepless nights and lived in an almost constant state of anxiety. She was deeply unhappy.
(* A H K)
International Organization for Migration: Migrant Returns from Yemen Postponed as Displacement Increases due to Hudaydah Offensive
Due to the ongoing offensive, IOM, the UN Migration Agency, has been forced to postpone its voluntary humanitarian return assistance to migrants stranded in Hudaydah until further notice. The same military operations have, so far, caused 5,775 Yemenis to flee their homes in the Hudaydah area since it began last Wednesday (13/06) – this figure is set to increase over the coming days.
Last Thursday (14/06), IOM cancelled a voluntary humanitarian return operation that would have helped over 200 migrants get home from the warzone via Hudaydah port. In addition, an unknown number, but estimated to be in the thousands, of migrants are stranded in or near the frontlines. Following heavy shelling and air strikes near IOM’s Migrant Response Point (MRP) in Hudaydah, 22 migrants were immediately evacuated to Sana’a, where they are currently housed with foster families. They have been traumatized by the experience and IOM counsellors are working closely with them.
"Voluntary humanitarian return is a lifeline for many migrants, who become stranded in Yemen, without it migrants are forced to spend longer in a warzone putting their lives at great risk and causing undue distress to people, who have typically already suffered enormously," said Dash.
The rising displacement caused by the offensive is in addition to the over 89,000, who were already displaced in the Governorate prior to the current military offensive. Humanitarian partners are preparing a response for 60,000 internally displaced households (approximately 420,000 individuals) through 12 Humanitarian Service Points and Transit Sites – this includes new and old displacements.
Due to the increasing displacement, IOM's Migrant Response Point (MRP) has become a centre, not only for comprehensive support to vulnerable migrants, but for humanitarian assistance to internally displaced Yemenis – the largest of its kind in the area at the moment. So far, IOM and partners have provided food, cash assistance, transport, health care and psychosocial support from the MRP to nearly a thousand individuals.
(* B H)
Film: IDPs Video Arabic Subtitles
In Yemen there are around 3 million IDPs who were forced out of their homes due to conflict. These IDps Needs food, clean water, health care and proper shelter. Peace is the only way they can go home again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpefMqauQCM
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
(A K P)
ANSARULLAH SPOKESMAN: YEMEN’S BALLISTIC MISSILES CAN REACH UNEXPECTED PLACES
The official spokesman of Ansarullah, Mohammed Abdul Salam, confirmed that the more the US-Saudi coalition on Yemen continuous, the more the capabilities of our Yemeni ballistic missile grows, so that it can strike in places not expected by the enemy.
Abdul Salam stressed in a tweet on Monday night that “this is a national action agreed by all Yemenis at home and abroad, even those in the center of Riyadh find in the rockets of their country a source of pride and glory.”
(* A P)
Sanaa University teaching body denounce the kidnapping of academics in their way to Aden by Houthis
Teaching body union in Sanaa University denounced the kidnap of many academics of the university were in their way to Aden by Houthis militia.
According to the union statement, Houthis kidnapped the academics at “Naqeel Yasleh” precinct south Sanaa while they were going to Aden to receive their salaries.
The statement said they have been interrogated, the statement also called for a direct release of all detained without justifying causes and also called all the international and local organizations to stand with the union and pressure Houthis to release the kidnapped academics.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/99759
and
(A P)
Human Rights Ministry condemns Houthi kidnapping of university teachers
The Ministry of Human Rights has condemned the Houthi kidnapping of members of teaching staff of the University of Sana'a on June 19 in Nakeel Yasleh as they were heading to the government-held temporary capital Aden.
The ministry said it holds the Houthi rebel militia responsible for the lives and safety of the university staff, calling for their speedy release.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-19547
Remark: Hadi government’s Human Rights Ministry.
(A P)
Hadi praises victories, directs payment of public salaries in Hodeidah
President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi hailed the successive victories of the Army and popular resistance forces, with backing from the Saudi-led Arab Coalition in the province of Hodeidah.
In a meeting with Hodeidah's provincial authority leaders Hadi affirmed that ending the control of the theocratic militia on Hodeidah has become imminent.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-19545
My comment: His government not even was able to manage the payment of public saleries in its “capital city” Aden.
(A P)
VP: Victory is imminent and Sana'a will retrieve its Yemeni identity
Vice President, the Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Ali Mohsen Saleh said that victory is imminent and that Sana'a will retrieve its Yemeni identity.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-19546
My comment: What a propaganda nonsense.
(A K P)
SPC appreciates great victories of Yemeni army in western coast
Supreme Political Council (SPC) on Monday appreciated the great victories achieved by the Yemeni army's naval and missile forces in the battle line fronts, especially in the western coast front, in a statement received by Saba.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499873.htm
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=1306&cat_id=1
My comment: “Great victories” while fighting is creeping forward into the city of Hodeidah???
(A K P)
President stresses on Yemeni tribes' role in confronting aggression
President of the Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat on Sunday stressed the importance of the Yemeni tribes' role in encountering the aggression coalition and foiling its schemes.
During his meeting with Head of the Tribal Cohesion Council, Sheikh Dhaifuallah Rassam, the president hailed the tribesmen's sacrifices in the combat fronts since the beginning of the aggression.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499831.htm
(A P)
[A spokesman for the Government of National Salvation of #Yemencondemns the silence of the UN against the crimes of the 'Saudi-American coalition'. "If the United Nations Organization and its dependent organizations had not kept silence, these aggressive acts would not have continued"]
Un portavoz del Gobierno de Salvación Nacional de Yemen condena el mutismo de la ONU frente a los crímenes de la ‘coalición saudí-estadounidense’.
La Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) es cómplice de los crímenes de la “agresora coalición saudí-estadounidense” por no condenar las brutales acciones de Riad y sus aliados contra el pueblo yemení, ha denunciado Abdul Salam Yaber, portavoz del Gobierno de Salvación Nacional de Yemen.
https://www.hispantv.com/noticias/yemen/380797/arabia-saudi-emiratos-hudayda-ansarola-onu
(A P)
Mohmmed Aldailmy, Director of the Disabled Care and Rehabilitation Fund, attended a protest organized by a number of organisations helping disabled people, in front of the UN Office in Sana'a to denounce the heinous criminal practices carried out by the Coalition in #Yemen (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1792246077495081
(A P)
Riyadh gives huge bribes to foreign firms to shut down Yemeni media: Ansarullah
Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement says Saudi Arabia, which has been leading a deadly war on the impoverished country for the past three years, is giving huge bribes to foreign firms in an attempt to shut down anti-Saudi Yemeni media.
Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the movement’s spokesman, made the remarks in a statement carried by Yemen's Arabic-language al-Masirah satellite television network on Sunday, saying in only one instance Riyadh had given as much as “$30 million to a foreign satellite company to block a Yemeni news channel for just 30 days.”
He added that the so-called military coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, was “sparing no effort” to muffle the true voice of Yemeni people calling out through the country’s satellite television channels and radio stations.
Abdul-Salam also said that all attempts made by the “invaders” to target Yemeni media were constantly being foiled by the media bureau of Yemen’s Operations Command through revealing their true nature and the harm and misery that they had brought to Yemen so far.
“What the enemy is doing against the anti-invasion media outlets, either Yemeni or non-Yemeni, are mere oppressive acts aimed at obscuring the facts and distorting the reality, similar to what they have done and are doing against the Palestinian cause,” he added.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/06/24/565975/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-bribe-media
Remark: This is the Houthi reply to the Saudi coalition media campaign (look at cp15). Well, he is right.
(A K P)
Southern Front: What Happens in West Coast Comes As International Ambitions
The Southern National Front to resist the invasion and occupation confirmed in a statement that what is happening today in the West Coast is an extension of international ambitions in our coasts and ports, calling on the people of the southern provinces to withdraw their sons, fighting with aggression, from the battles.
The Southern National Front added that what is happening also is a try to find a foothold for Tariq Afash, part of the system of the invasion of the south in 94, which resulted in the killing and destruction. The people of the southern provinces are not interested in this battle at all.
The only thing achieved by the forces of invasion and occupation in the occupied southern provinces is the absence of security and stability, lack of social services, disruption of all ports and the loss of employment opportunities for the southern people, it added.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=1241&cat_id=1 = https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.963391330380564.1073741829.961126490607048/1788257544560601/?type=3
My comment: A pro-Houthi Southern organization (or just a Houthi propaganda gimmick) I never before heard of.
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
Siehe / Look at cp2
(* B P)
SOUTH YEMEN SPEAKS
Although we are on the frontlines today in al-Hudaydah, the Arab media is hesitant to recognize our efforts by not mentioning the term “south.” They say the Yemeni forces indicating to us. We are not Yemeni forces, we are southern Yemen who seek independence.
Because our best allies don’t mention us, no one from the region know a lot about us.
Our story is simple, today, we control most of the south, our security forces secure the life in South Yemen for the people. Thus, no real solution will be achieved in Yemen without recognizing our rights in deciding our destiny. We have the ground, we are well armed and we’re not willing to submit for one Yemen solution. So there will be no solution for Yemen without serious engaging for us in negotiations. Otherwise, the world should wage another war against the south to recapture it from us and force it to unite with the north.
Our forces proved to be effective and reliable allies for the coalition, we were the only group that effectively fought and removed al-Qaeda from different parts of Yemen.
We were the alternative that managed the safest places in Yemen today after the vacuum that was created following the liberation of the provinces from al-Qaeda and the Houthis. We managed the south and implemented a stability through local councils to prevent the militias from regrouping in South Yemen. Not to mention also that the quality of the life in south Yemen is good comparing to the situation in other parts.
It’s not a coincidence that the cities in the south, which our forces liberated, are the only place in Yemen where the Arab Coalition leaders can trust to walk safely and shake hands with people without fear of being betrayed and stabbed in the back.
We are devoted to building an egalitarian, democratic and ethical society in the south.
We are the only group in Yemen where women have a voice – we hear them in each event held by our council. The southern women were the first to appear in the streets to protest the corruption of the government – BY ABDULSALAM MUSED
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/South-Yemen-speaks-560688
Remark: A southern separatist's voice. By the same author, and others: YPR 426, cp2, and next article:
(A P)
Press Release of Dr. Al-Naqueeb While Heading to Saudi Arabia Coming from London
“We can only consider recent developments in the region as vital steps towards eliminating the Iranian sectarian hateful project and getting rid of any coup thoughts in this country”. He asserted that restoring Al-Hodeida will deny Al-Houthis a vital life line as restoring this hijacked state by the legitimate authority and Arab Coalition will be the doorway to solve critical unsolved issues including the southern cause. He indicated that participation of southern troops in liberating the north represents the southern commitment with defeating the coup project and southern support of real northern resistance and legitimacy of president Hady.
In addition, Dr, Al-Naqueeb said: “in this occasion we require his excellency president Hady and his allies to accurately read and interpret the changes occurring since 2015 and to reach correct conclusions about the continuous victories of southern resistance that clearly indicate that they fought bravely and sacrificed thousands of martyrs, injured and captive only to restore their state and rebuild their free and modern southern state.
Dr. Al-Naqueeb asserted that the southern project does not necessarily mean hostile relations with the northern people brothers. But at the same time, instead of this failure union that brought disasters and tragedies to the north and south as well, both peoples and both countries can establish new sustainable partnerships that can be expandable to serve the interests of both peoples and grant them prosperity, development, security and stability.
Remark: A southern separatists’ viewpoint.
(A P)
President Hadi praises Arab Coalition's support to Yemen
http://almasdaronline.com/article/99760
My comment: This is one of his main tasks.
(A K P)
President Hadi convenes meeting of Hodeidah province's senior officials
http://almasdaronline.com/article/99777
(* A P)
Detainees from Saeoon Hadramawt start a hunger strike
The detainees in Saeoon central prison at Hadramawt governorate started a Hunger strike to fulfill their demands, which is mostly about being transferred to the court trails to move their cases and allow visitations and contacting their families.
A statement by the detainees said they demanded to remove the steel cuffs which they used against them since they enter the prison.
The striking prisoners are those who accused in political cases and some of have been detained for 3 years and they have been tortured and electrified in addition to detaining them in very small cells.
This prison is under the supervision of the Arabic coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/99763
(A T)
#alQaeda in #Yemen claims 2 further ops vs Shabwa Elite Force: 8 dead/injured in ambush in Wadi al-Sa'id 12 June; unspecified injured & vehicle burnt by IED in al-Musayna'a 22 June. Formal #AQAP activity is still way down: 9 ops in May/June 2018 (so far) vs 49 ops May/June 2017
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1010919259432783873
(A P)
This is a Yemeni comedian who is who originally from Taiz. He was assassinated today in the south by separatists while trying perform about unity. (photos)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1010567216327217158
(* B P)
Three Parallel Paths are Required for the South
The southern transitional council should have support of all southern persons who work with legitimacy central authority and not to work against it so that the council can represent the southern cause internally and externally.
Military path represents an integrated work between soldiers, officers and field commanders of southern resistance on one hand and military commanders responsible for military and security positions in the south.
The developmental path is carried on by southern officials who work in the government and local authorities of southern cities. This requires full support and coordination among them all to agree upon developmental solutions, away from abuse or political and party differences. Of course, the situation is not optimum for such thing but we all have to approach each other and achieve the best we can in this path.
Strength of the southern transitional council serves us all, and above all, it serves southern persons who are in power. Southern officials who may participate in establishing southern organizations will facilitate many things for the council.
Then the political path represents the pursuit of the southern transitional council to restore administrative authority in the south through depending on southern officials, including military commanders as the military aspect is vital for deterring any military pursuit to dominate the south.
http://en.smanews.org/three-parallel-paths-are-required-for-the-south
My comment: The southern separatists are steadily working for their goal.
(* A P)
Can you believe that the internationally recognized government of Yemen has not taken action yet after AP report about torturing and raping detainees in UAE-run prisons in the south? It has not even made a statement about it! I don't see, I don't hear, I don't speak!
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1010124502569766917
My comment: Yes, I can – this government is just puppets.
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(A K P)
UN’s Yemen envoy to present a peace plan to EU on Monday
UN’s Yemen envoy to present a peace plan to EU on Monday
http://almasdaronline.com/article/99776
(* B K P)
Why the West is no honest broker in the world's worst humanitarian crisis
The devastating war in Yemen hasn't been forgotten, an aid worker says, 'it's been ignored'
Critics say that's because the Western trio are major arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia and other coalition members fighting the Houthi rebels that control much of Yemen's north, so they can't pretend to be honest brokers.
"Britain has a very close security and commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia," said British Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell from his office in London.
"They are a very close ally of ours. And of course Saudi Arabia is a wealthy country surrounded by enemies in the region, and it's therefore quite difficult for Britain to act as a candid friend and to tell them they need to be a promoter of peace rather than a supporter of the conflict there."
Mitchell, a former international development minister, said one of the U.K.'s draft resolutions on Yemen was rejected at the UN "because it was so one-sided."
[and some more information on Hodeidah and peace efforts]
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/yemen-conflict-west-humanitarian-crisis-1.4714469?cmp=rss
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
(A K P)
Iran always backs talks on Yemeni crisis
Former Iranian Ambassador to Kuwait Reza Mirabian said Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported political talks on Yemeni crisis.
Former Iranian Ambassador to Kuwait Reza Mirabian made the above remark and said, “Iran always places special emphasis on the issue that solution to Yemeni crisis is political not military but Saudi Arabian government does not accept it.”
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/135009/Iran-always-backs-talks-on-Yemeni-crisis
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(* A P)
Social care homes ready for women traffic law violators
The Ministry of Labor and Social Development (MLSD) has confirmed that it is ready to receive female violators of the traffic law in its care homes for girls, Al-Madina newspaper reported.
Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on women driving in the country as of Sunday.
A source in the ministry said any women drivers caught violating traffic rules will be placed in the homes, which will serve as temporary detention centers.
“There will be special places built for violators of the traffic law. For now, there are seven observation homes in Riyadh, Makkah, the Eastern Province and Asir. The ministry is preparing five more homes in Madinah, Jazan, Tabuk, the Northern Borders and Al-Jouf,” said the source.
My comment: Detention centers for women drivers violating traffic rules?? This is how Saudi “reforms” look like.
(* A P)
Saudi-Arabiens brachialer Reformkurs: Aufhebung des Frauenfahrverbots und inhaftierte Aktivistinnen
Wenn Frauen in Saudi-Arabien ab Sonntag erstmals Autofahren dürfen, werden andererseits Aktivisten den Tag hinter Gittern verbringen. Licht und Schatten im beispiellosen Reformkurs mit der Brechstange. Der BND warnte 2015 vor der Impulsivität des Kronprinzen.
Mehr als zwei Drittel der saudischen Bevölkerung sind unter 30 Jahren alt. Der Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman gilt, mit seinen 32 Jahren, als Hoffnungsträger. Er inszeniert sich geschickt als Modernisierer, und seine Rechnung scheint aufzugehen. Das Volk bewundert die Geschwindigkeit und den Wagemut, mit denen der Kronprinz die erzkonservativen Strukturen in der Monarchie aufbricht. Ab Sonntag dem 24. Juni dürfen Frauen hinters Steuer.
Eines der größten Symbole für die Unterdrückung der Frauen - das Autofahrverbot - fällt am Sonntag. Der in Saudi-Arabien ehrfurchtsvoll "MbS" genannte Kronprinz wird deshalb nicht nur im Wüstenstaat als Retter glorifiziert. Doch seine Jugend, die ihm die Position des unverbrauchten Reformers erst eröffnete, macht ihn auch zum unerfahrenen und ungestümen Politiker, vor dessen Impulsivität der Bundesnachrichtendienst schon 2015 warnte. Als Verteidigungsminister ließ er den Krieg im Jemen eskalieren. Und die Blockade des Nachbaremirats Katar lähmt die gesamte Golfregion.
Mitte Mai, einen Monat vor der Aufhebung des Frauenfahrverbots, nahmen Sicherheitskräfte mehr als ein Dutzend Aktivisten - unter ihnen eine Reihe Frauen - fest, die teilweise seit Jahrzehnten für die Abschaffung des Fahrverbots gekämpft hatten. Ihnen wird vorgeworfen, den Staat unterwandern zu wollen. Den neu inhaftierten Aktivistinnen drohen Haftstrafen von bis zu 20 Jahren.
Die Politik erinnert dabei an die der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate: Eine teilweise Öffnung bei gleichzeitiger absoluter Kontrolle. Dabei sind Verhaftungswellen Mittel zum Zweck: Schon bei Festnahmen Hunderter mächtiger Geschäftsleute - darunter einige Prinzen - bei einer Anti-Korruptionskampagne im Herbst warfen Beobachter dem Kronprinzen vor, auch Rivalen aus dem Weg zu räumen. Kurz vorher waren Dutzende einflussreiche Geistliche festgenommen worden.
Zudem entspringen die Reformen im Königreich auch einem ökonomischen Kalkül und dienen vor allem auch dem dringend notwendigen Wirtschaftsumbau. Mit der "Vision 2030" will sich das schwerreiche Saudi-Arabien unabhängiger vom Öl machen.
Andere Instrumente der Unterdrückung von Frauen bleiben dabei vorerst erhalten. Neben strengen Bekleidungsvorschriften gehen Frauenrechtler vor allem gegen das Vormundschaftssystem auf die Barrikaden.
(* A P)
How to ensure Muhammad bin Salman’s reforms succeed
The crown prince’s boldness could transform the Arab world for the better. Failure would bring more chaos
Female drivers are the most visible aspect of a social revolution, one brought about not from the streets but the palace of Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince. Cinemas have opened; music is performed in public; the killjoy morality police are off the streets. Social liberalisation is part of the crown prince’s ambition to wean the economy away from oil. But as our special report sets out, his changes come with more authoritarianism at home, and recklessness abroad. The world must hope that the bold prince triumphs over the brutish one (see Special report).
Can’t buy me love
Saudi Arabia is uniquely disliked by Westerners of all political stripes.
To his credit, Prince Muhammad recognises that change is needed. However, he is unnecessarily adding to his task. Abroad, he has proved rash. His war against the Houthis, a Shia militia in Yemen—now centred on the battle for the port of Hodeida—has brought disease and hunger to Yemenis, a missile war over Saudi cities and embarrassment to Western allies that provide weapons and other help
At home Prince Muhammad has developed a taste for repression. The number of executions has risen.
And the crown prince’s effort to boost the private sector is strangely centralised. Even the promotion of entertainment is run by a government agency. His focus on “giga-projects”, notably plans to build NEOM, a futuristic city in the north-west with separate laws, looks mega-risky. Previous attempts to carve out copycat versions of Dubai, the business and tourism hub in the UAE, have been a disappointment. The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh stands almost empty.
Crowning success
In carrying out his transformation, Prince Muhammad is weakening the old pillars of Al Saud rule—the princes, the clerics and the businessmen. Democracy can help him build a new base of legitimacy. The crown prince could turn his popularity among the young and women into a political force.
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/06/23/how-to-ensure-muhammad-bin-salmans-reforms-succeed
My comment: The „reforms“ should strengthen and secure Prince Salman’s rule in ordert o repel the resistance of Saudi traditional forces.
Comments: Saudi Arabia is the half the reason the moderates and seculars have been almost entirely wiped out
https://twitter.com/NormsRespecter/status/1010555717022093312
The same Economist that was upset about the Singapore Summit!
https://twitter.com/v_zilber/status/1010640563157241857
Ahhh yes... wahabism the great progressive moderator of the Islamic world.
https://twitter.com/LFCKV/status/1010655318852894725
Keep pumping this new dictator in making.
https://twitter.com/amadshk/status/1010573008384282624
(* AP)
Tunisia imams: Hajj money pays for Saudi’s wars
The Union of Tunisian Imams called on the Grand Mufti of the Republic to discourage pilgrims from travelling to complete the Hajj this year because of the high costs of the trip and the fact that the money is used by Saudi Arabia to pay for its wars in other Muslim countries.
Local media reported General-Secretary of the Union of Tunisian Imams, Fadhel Ashour, saying: “It is better to spend this money to improve the conditions of the Tunisian people.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180622-tunisia-imams-hajj-money-pays-for-saudis-wars/
(A P)
Saudi women take victory lap as driving ban ends
Women in Saudi Arabia hit the roads on Sunday, ushering in the end of the world’s last ban on female drivers, long seen as an emblem of women’s repression in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom.
(A P)
Saudi women gear up for new freedom as driving ban ends
Women will hit the roads in Saudi Arabia on Sunday with the lifting of the world’s last ban on female drivers, long seen as an emblem of women’s repression in the conservative kingdom.
The lifting of the ban, which for years drew international condemnation and comparisons to the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan, has been welcomed by Western allies as proof of a new progressive trend in Saudi Arabia.
My comment: Reuters shares the propaganda hype for this matter. But – as it is admitted here – this Women driver ban just is an emblem. The reality of oppression and of war does not change at all.
Comments: An Iraqi woman receives her driver’s license in 1936. (photo)
https://twitter.com/asadabukhalil/status/1010637529110929408
1951: The first #Yemen-i sister to drive a car (picture was taken a little later)
and more of this stuff:
(A P)
Saudi Women Finally Start Their Engines as Driving Ban Ends
They hit the road at midnight in celebratory packs, whooping and ululating for joy.
Teenagers gathered on Riyadh’s main boulevard to gawk. Men cracked jokes about how lucky they were to no longer have to chauffeur their wives around.
Saudi Arabia’s infamous ban on women driving came to an end with a mixture of excitement and trepidation early Sunday, as groups of women cruised the streets of the capital. The government said that more than 120,000 women have applied for licenses, and the handful of driving schools that serve women have months-long waiting lists.
“You finally feel — I want to say, ‘equal,’” said Norah Albaiz, 21, after she drove to Starbucks behind the wheel of her father’s Toyota Land Cruiser. “We’re getting there. Nothing can stop me now.”
And
(B P)
Factbox: The road to Saudi women driving - 30 years of activism
A decades-old ban on women driving cars in Saudi Arabia is set to end on Sunday, quashing a conservative tradition seen by rights activists as an emblem of the Muslim kingdom’s repression of women.
(B P)
Mohammed Bin Salman: One year as Saudi crown prince
Saudi crown prince wrapped up eventful first year in his position by combining social reforms with crackdown on dissent.
It has been one year since the appointment of Mohammed Bin Salman as Saudi crown prince, shaking up Saudi domestic and foreign policies in an unprecedented way.
The 33-year old, described by those around him as ambitious if not rash, wasted no time in consolidating his power while simultaneously reinventing his image into a reformist and as a symbol of moderate Islam.
However, rash decisions on the regional front have done the prince no favours. His actions against neighbouring countries such as Yemen and Qatar have resulted in far-reaching geopolitical implications and caused more predicaments than a show of regional strength.
Another example is when Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his forced and bewildering resignation in Riyadh - in the hopes of dealing a blow to Hezbollah, Iran's ally in Lebanon. Needless to say, that backfired and Hariri rescinded his notice as soon as he touched down in Beirut.
Yet the challenge remains in maintaining a delicate balance between the kingdom's conservatives and the reform-minded people.
My comment: He is a dictator trying new ways to tighten his rule. Nothing more, nothing less. He’s walking through blood, his someway new-fashioned attitude does not change that.
(A P)
Saudi female accident inspectors prepare for women driving
Saudi Arabia’s first batch of women car accident inspectors are training to respond to incidents involving female drivers, who will be allowed to drive in the conservative Muslim kingdom starting on Sunday when a decades-old ban ends. Forty women hired by private insurance company Najm attended a celebration on Thursday in the capital Riyadh. All of them wore black abayas, the traditional loose-fitting robes, and most covered their faces with the conservative niqab as they lined up to receive symbolic diplomas.
Just days before women are set to hit the road, though, it was unclear when the trainees will be ready to start their new jobs and how they will navigate mixed-gender environments in a country where strict separation rules usually prevent women from interacting with unrelated men.
My comment: LOL. This shows how crazy the segregation of sexes in Saudi Arabia is. These are problems no other country has. My proposal: male drivers are allowed only to have traffic accidents with male drivers, and female drivers only with female drivers J
cp9 USA
(B K P)
Audio: Sen. Todd Young Is Critical Of U.S.' Role In The War In Yemen
Steve Inskeep talks to Republican Senator Todd Young of Indiana about why he's so troubled by America's role in the war in Yemen.
https://www.npr.org/2018/06/25/623114807/sen-todd-young-is-critical-of-u-s-role-in-the-war-in-yemen
(A H K P)
Deputy Secretary Sullivan and USAID Administrator Green's Meeting With Humanitarian Organizations on Yemen
The below is attributable to Spokesperson Heather Nauert:
Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan and USAID Administrator Mark Green met yesterday with representatives of international and non-governmental organizations to discuss the conflict in Yemen and developments in Hudaydah, and the withdrawal of Houthi forces. The representatives urged against continued Coalition operations to capture the port, and expressed concern about the humanitarian implications of prolonged conflict over control of the port. They worried about the possibility of famine in the country. They noted a decline in ships offloading supplies, as well as an uptick in the number of people displaced from the area. They raised the importance of Coalition de-confliction activities to protect humanitarian facilities and movements.
The Deputy Secretary endorsed UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths’ efforts to avoid an escalation in fighting by brokering a compromise over the management of the port. The Deputy Secretary observed that this initiative could reinvigorate a political process towards a political settlement. He underscored the U.S. commitment to a political solution. In addition, he indicated that the United States has been clear with Saudi and Emirati officials that the destruction of critical infrastructure or disruption of the delivery of vital humanitarian aid and commercial goods is unacceptable. He reinforced that Hudaydah remains the essential gateway for humanitarian relief and commercial imports. He agreed that the port is critical to efficient delivery of humanitarian assistance to the majority of Yemen’s population.
https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/06/283426.htm
Comment: Do not be fooled: there is no true, real concern
#US is at war in #Yemen and could not care less about famine, displacement, suffering, cholera, humanitarian issues in toto.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1788849471168075
My comment: What a hypocrisy; this crisis largely happened “thanks” to US intervention.
(* A P)
No More Blank Checks for War
With Trump in the White House, Congress must reassert its role in governing the use of military force.
For years, as I’ve seen lawmakers in Congress abdicate our war-making decisions to the White House, I’ve been urging my colleagues to repeal the 2001 AUMF and come up with a comprehensive peace plan and diplomatic strategy for Afghanistan and the region. Given President Trump’s erratic and unpredictable behavior in the Oval Office, we cannot wait any longer to get this blank check for war off the books.
Members of both parties agree. Last summer, in the House Appropriations Committee, my amendment to repeal the 2001 AUMF passed with near-unanimous bipartisan support. This amendment proposed sunsetting the 2001 AUMF eight months after passage of the bill, giving Congress ample time to debate and pass an updated authorization.
But then, with urging from the Trump administration, House Speaker Paul Ryan unilaterally stripped my amendment from the bill. It was a frustrating setback that made it clear how far the Republican leadership is willing to go to preserve President Trump’s unilateral powers.
Congress needs to rein in the executive branch’s unchecked war powers by repealing the 2001 AUMF, ending the war in Afghanistan, and finally holding a serious debate and vote on the costs and consequences of our forever wars—before it’s too late – by Rep. Barbara Lee
https://www.thenation.com/article/no-more-blank-checks-for-war/
(A P)
Ralph Nader Asks Former First Ladies: Why No "Heartfelt Concern for Tens of Thousands of Children Killed or Seriously Maimed" by Their Husbands' Wars?
Consumer advocate puts check on Laura Bush and Michelle Obama for selective criticism when it comes to kids harmed by brutal U.S. policies
(* B H P)
'Are you the mother?' A woman's search for baby taken by U.S. immigration
It took 85 days for Olivia Caceres to retrieve her baby boy, pulled from his father’s arms at the U.S. border, a traumatic experience many more parents face to reunite with children separated under President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Now nearly 20 months old, Mateo was returned to his family on Feb. 8 after a battle across borders, officialdom and languages. He was filthy and terrified of the dark, his mother said. Months later, the boy still screeches even as Caceres rocks him on her chest, sometimes until dawn.
and film by Reuters http://www.reuters.tv/v/ewF/2018/06/22/u-s-military-may-house-immigrant-children
(* A H P)
Hundreds of separated migrant families reunited
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hundreds-separated-migrant-families-reunited/story?id=56081072
(* A H P)
Pentagon will make room for up to 20,000 migrant children on military bases
The Defense Department will house up to 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children on military bases in coming months, a Pentagon official said Thursday, the latest twist in the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement effort.
The agreement comes after the Department of Health and Human Services made the request. Army Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, a military spokesman, said Thursday that the Pentagon will support it.
In a notification to lawmakers, the Pentagon said Wednesday night that officials at HHS asked whether beds could be provided for children at military installations “for occupancy as early as July through December 31, 2018.”
The plan seemingly will have similarities to 2014, when the Obama administration housed about 7,000 unaccompanied children on three military bases. As required under the Economy Act, the memo said, the Defense Department would be reimbursed for all costs incurred.
The sites will be run by HHS employees or contractors working with them, the memo said. They will provide care to the children, “including supervision, meals, clothing, medical services, transportation or other daily needs,” and HHS representatives will be at each location.
and film: https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1010107826117795842
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A K P)
Committee For Supporting Journalists Hold Symposium on War on Yemen : London
The Journalist Support Committee in London Saturday held a symposium at the Arab and Oriental Studies University of Sawas entitled “Media Blackout on the Press” which lost all the standards and laws that protect freedom for the press and journalists.
Dr. Judith Barwan, former director of the Sana’a Welfare Organization, spoke about the seriousness of the Yemeni situation in light of the deliberated British media blackout according to the country’s policy. Most newspapers did not criticize the sale of arms, except in the Guardian and the Observer, which demanded not to sell weapons to regimes that do not have ethics and respect for human rights.
She continued as saying, the voice of the Saudi army spokesman was heard in the newspapers as if he was in Yemen to save its people while the voice of the Yemeni people was reflected across the children as victims.
For his part, Dr. Marcus Papadopoulos criticized the British media and said that this meeting or symposium has not been held if the British media has done its mission to cover the disaster in Yemen. He added that British media made the war in Syria dim and this proves that it was in full compliance with the policy of the country.
www.newnewss.net/committee-for-supporting-journalists-hold-symposium-on-war-on-yemen-london/
(* B K P)
UK ‘hides extent of arms sales to Saudi Arabia’
Campaigners say licences for ‘less sensitive goods’ are being used for bombs that hit civilian targets in Yemen
Hundreds of millions of pounds worth of British-made missiles and bombs have been sold to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen under an opaque licensing system that makes tracking arms sales more difficult.
The disclosure has prompted accusations that the government is trying to mask the true extent of British-made arms exports to Saudi, a claim denied by the Department for International Trade.
Britain has consistently said that it keeps all arms exports under close scrutiny and that licensing is made on a case-by-case basis. But now a freedom of information request reveals that for the last five years, Britain has been selling Storm Shadow and Brimstone air-to-surface missiles and Paveway IV bombs to the Saudis under what are known as Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs), which the government says are for the export of “less sensitive goods”.
Unlike specific licences, OIELs allow an unlimited number of consignments over a fixed period, typically between three and five years. There is no obligation to publish the total value of the licence after it expires. “Open licences remove the need for the seller to obtain prior approval for each export,” said Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade, which submitted the FOI. “It’s an opaque system which has been used to shift extremely sensitive weaponry to the Saudi regime.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/23/uk-hides-arms-trade-saudi-arabia--yemen
(A K P)
Film: Powerful speech by my friend @SamWalton at Downing Street in solidarity with the Yemeni people
https://twitter.com/SAlwadaei/status/1010200648917377025
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(* B P)
Gemeinsame Sache mit arabischen Despoten
In Jemen spielt sich die größte humanitäre Katastrophe der Gegenwart ab. Die Bundesregierung scheint das nicht zu interessieren. Jörg Kronauer erklärt warum.
Man sollte meinen, dass in einem Staat, dessen Regierung und Medien sich stets theatralisch brüsten, für Menschenrechte weltweit einzutreten, dass in Deutschland also die politisch-mediale Debatte spätestens seit dem Beginn des Angriffs auf Hodeida um die Katastrophe in Jemen, um Lösungsversuche für sie kreist.
Warum ist dem nicht so? Weil Deutschland im Krieg in Jemen politisch mit dem Aggressor verbandelt ist und dessen Ziele im Wesentlichen teilt. Die Aggressoren, das sind Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate, die wichtigsten Wirtschaftspartner und bedeutende Verbündete der Bundesrepublik in Mittelost. Mit den Emiraten hat Berlin im Jahr 2004 eine »strategische Partnerschaft« geschlossen; man betrachtet es, wie der deutsche Botschafter auf der Website der Vertretung in Abu Dhabi bekräftigt, als »Privileg, diese Partnerschaft in jeglicher Hinsicht zu unterstützen«. Auch die Beziehungen zu Saudi-Arabien sind eng - so eng, dass seit Jahren mit Prinz Turki al Faisal ein Mitglied des saudischen Herrscherclans als Beiratsmitglied der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz an den strategischen Debatten in Deutschland mitwirkt. Seit den Zeiten der Ära Schröder/Fischer gehören beide Länder auch zu den größten Empfängern deutscher Waffen. Natürlich gibt es mal Knatsch, doch die gemeinsame Basis ist solide – von Jörg Kronauer
(A K P)
Die Linke: Rüstungsexporte stoppen, Töten im Jemen beenden
Zum Vorrücken der von Saudi-Arabien angeführten Kriegskoalition im Jemen und dem Rüstungsexportbericht der Bundesregierung erklärt der stellvertretende Vorsitzende und Außenexperte der Partei DIE LINKE Ali Al-Dailami:
Es ist ungeheuerlich, dass die Bundesregierung weiter deutsche Waffen an Staaten wie Saudi-Arabien und Ägypten liefern lässt, die am völkerrechtswidrigen Krieg gegen den Jemen beteiligt sind. Während mit der Schlacht um die jemenitische Hafenstadt Hodeïda die Bevölkerung des Jemen vollständig von Lebensmittellieferungen abgeschnitten zu werden droht, darf die Bundesregierung keine weiteren deutsche Waffen liefern lassen, sonst macht sie sich weiter mitschuldig an den Kriegsverbrechen gegen die Zivilbevölkerung im Jemen.
Die Bundesregierung muss sich bei ihren NATO-Verbündeten für einen sofortigen Waffenstillstand einsetzen und die UN endlich wirksam bei ihren Bemühungen Lebensmittel an die jemenitische Bevölkerung zu liefern, unterstützen. Das Selbstbestimmungsrecht und somit auch das Widerstandsrecht der Jemeniten müssen anerkannt werden und jegliche äußere Einmischung beendet werden.
https://www.die-linke.de/start/presse/detail///ruestungsexporte-stoppen-toeten-im-jemen-beenden/
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
(A P)
Pakistan calls for political settlement to revive peace in Yemen
Pakistan Saturday expressed its concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and urged all parties to return to the negotiation table as only a political settlement could ensure lasting peace in the country.
Addressing the Meeting of the Information Ministers of the Coalition Countries for the Support of Legitimacy in Yemen here, Shafqat Jalil, Additional Secretary Ministry of Information and Broadcasting who led the Pakistani delegation in the meeting, said Pakistan supported all peace efforts in Yemen and looked forward to an early cessation of hostilities in the country and its return to peace and tranquility.
My comment: Hot air at the media (propaganda) conference in Saudi Arabia.
And as Saudi media report it:
(A K P)
Houthi Militias Attacks on KSA Threaten Muslim World
Pakistan has warned of the threat being posed by the Houthi Coupist Militias in Yemen to the security of the region, describing the repeated attacks by these militias against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a threat to the Muslim world.
Pakistan expressed its concern over the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, urging all parties to return to the negotiating table.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1778558
My comment: Whay 150 Houthi missile attacks against Saudi Arabia should be “a threat to the Muslim world”, an 17.000 Saudi air raids against Yemen should not?
(A P)
Switzerland hails Iran’s role in regional stability
Swiss Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Pascale Baeriswyl highlighted Iran’s contribution to regional peace and stability, expressing hope that her country, together with Iran and other countries, could help resolve the crisis in Yemen.
In a meeting in Tehran with a special aide to Iran's Parliament speaker, the Swiss diplomat said her country acknowledges Iran’s role in regional peace, praising the part played by the Islamic Republic in termination of the Daesh terrorist group in Syria and Iraq, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Voicing concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Yemen, Baeriswyl said Switzerland hopes to find a way to end the crisis in Yemen with a negotiated solution with the help of other countries, including Iran.
http://iran-daily.com/News/217160.html
Remark: As reported by Iran.
(* B K P)
Elizabeth Minor, Michael Mair, and Alex Holder – Stealth Bombing: Europe’s Hidden Involvement in the United States’ Drone Wars
Armed drones are prized for their stealth. Silently operating above countries such as Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Mali, Nigeria, the Philippines, Syria and Yemen, armed drones enable the Western militaries who possess them to launch attacks on targets at a moment’s notice with little or no advance warning, something which maximises the damage they cause, particularly to the civilians frequently caught up in the strikes. But armed drone programmes have shown their ‘stealth bombing’ capacities in several other ways too. Under cover of state security, armed drone programmes have been allowed to silently circumvent the international legal agreements and frameworks that are meant to govern the conduct of armed conflict. In the process, they have undermined democratic accountability and eroded the oversight mechanisms European citizens could once have used to keep their militaries and their state’s use of armed force partially in check. As shocking, however, is the stealth European states have shown in extending support to the United States’ (US’s) drone wars. Freed from the demands of accountability, they have silently licenced and resourced those operations on a scale and at a cost few could imagine.
(A P)
Delegation of the coalition to support the legitimacy in Yemen concludes talks with number of officials in Brussels
The delegation of the coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen concluded talks and contacts with a number of officials in Brussels.
Spokesman of the coalition Colonel Turki al-Maliki told a press conference in Brussels, "The political diplomatic solution is always optimal for the Yemeni people, stressing that the coalition continues to work to restore Yemeni legitimacy.
He added that the coalition has many options in Hodeidah, including a lightning military operation, noting that the safety of Yemeni civilians is a top priority for the coalition and any concession or proposal of the militias Houthi coup must be through the UN envoy to Yemen.
He pointed out that the Houthis have turned civilian houses in Hodeidah into military fortifications, and they continue to turn the civilians in Hodeidah into human shields.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1778150
My comment: Why the EU is giving a stage for Saudi propaganda?
(B K P)
Seoul betont angesichts Jemen-Krise verantwortungsrolle Rolle
Südkorea will in einer humanitären Krisensituation eine verantwortungsvolle Rolle als Mittelstaat in der internationalen Gemeinschaft spielen.
Diese Position teilte ein Beamter des Außenministeriums hinsichtlich des Bürgerkriegs im Jemen mit. Hintergrund ist der jüngste Zustrom von Flüchtlingen aus dem vorderasiatischen Land auf die Insel Jeju.
http://world.kbs.co.kr/german/news/news_Po_detail.htm?No=71330
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
(A K P)
Katar gegen saudische Militärintervention im Jemen
Katars Außenminister und Vizeministerpräsident, Scheich "Mohammed bin Abdulrahman ale Thani", sagte am Donnerstag(gestern) vor dem EU-Parlament in Straßburg: Verhandlungen sind der einzige Weg, um die Krise im Jemen beizulegen. Er fügte hinzu, sein Land untersützt die Stabilität und Sicherheit im Jemen.
http://parstoday.com/de/news/world-i41836-katar_gegen_saudische_militärintervention_im_jemen
Mein Kommentar: Was soll das denn? Katar hat selbst bei der saudischen Intervention mitgemacht, katarische Kampfjets haben Luftangriffe im Jemen geflogen.
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp10
(A K P)
On Friday, Saudi Arabia got 355 missiles from Raytheon
https://twitter.com/IBP_Offices/status/625060445376892928 referring to contract from 2015: https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/612898/
Comment: US supplying the weapons, US picking the targets, US enforcing blockade, but this is a Saudi-led war, apparently...
https://twitter.com/PhilGreaves01/status/625179034515841024
cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner
(* B K P)
Jemen-Krieg: Söldner der Emirate begehen gezielt Kriegsverbrechen
Die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate (VAE) sind wichtige Verbündete der USA und setzen im Krieg gegen den Jemen vielfach auf private Söldner. Offenbar werden diese gezielt für die Durchführung von Folterungen und Hinrichtungen rekrutiert.
Die mit Saudi-Arabien verbündeten Emirate haben sich im Jahr 2011 an den bekannten Militärunternehmer Eric Prince und Ex-Blackwater-Chef gewendet, um dessen Expertise im Bereich der privaten Sicherheits- und Militärdienste (PMC für Private Military Company oder Private Military Contractors) vorgeblich zugunsten der internen Sicherheit zu nutzen. Doch die umstrittenen Söldner kommen auch im Rahmen der saudi-geführten Allianz im Jemen zu militärischen und nachrichtendienstlichen Zwecken zum Einsatz.
Im Jahr 2016 wurden Blackwater-Söldner aufgrund schwerer Verluste aus dem Jemen abgezogen. Doch im Jahr 2017 und auch in den letzten Wochen gab es mehrere Hinweise und Berichte, wonach private Söldner im Jemen von den VAE eingesetzt werden. Einem Bericht in The New Arab zufolge werden Söldner auch aus dem Sudan, Südafrika und anderen Ländern von ehemaligen Militärexperten aus Frankreich, Großbritannien und Australien in den VAE ausgebildet und dann entsandt. Auch beschuldigte der ehemalige stellvertretende Premierminister von Katar, Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, die Emirate, Söldner von der amerikanischen Firma Blackwater zu rekrutieren, um in Katar einzufallen.
Doch die Rechtslage der offenbar bestellten Kriegsverbrecher ist unklar und wird kaum konsequent durchgesetzt. Ein US-Berufungsgericht hob im vergangenen Jahr die Haftstrafen gegen Blackwater-Angestellte auf, die für den Tod von Zivilisten im Irak verantwortlich sind.
Laut der Arabischen Organisation für Menschenrechte (AOHR) in Großbritannien rekrutierten die VAE Söldner, um im Jemen gezielt Folter und Hinrichtungen durchführen zu lassen.
https://deutsch.rt.com/der-nahe-osten/71844-jemen-vae-lassen-soeldner-verbrechen/
cp13c Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
(* A K)
COALITION FORCES BLOW UP HISTORIC MAUSOLEUM IN #YEMEN'S WESTERN COAST
Coalition-backed militiamen blow up the mosque and tomb of the Religion Scientist, which is one of the most important religious monuments in the province of Hodeidah, by explosive devices and other explosive material, local sources told Yemen Press Agency on Sunday.
The mosque and mausoleum of the Religion Scientist “Ahmed al-Faz,” which dates to the seventh century AH, overlooking the Red Sea coast in the province of Hodeidah was destroyed by a number of armed militants belonging to the elements of Qaeda organization, who are fighting alongside the coalition forces of Amaliqa, giants, brigades, led by Raed al-Habahi.
The militiamen of coalition destroyed more than 15 mosques and tombs for scientists from the sons of Tihama in different parts of the provinces of Taiz
and photos: before and after https://twitter.com/alihmourad/status/1010836082383048705
and
(* A K)
The Al-Fayza Mosque was blown up and settled on the coast of Tuhama in Hodeidah.
An ancient historical and archaeological mosque founded by the great companion Moaz bin Jabal when he came to Yemen, as mentioned by many historical sources and renewed by Hussein bin Salamah, overlooking the sea directly and has three great domes covering the front. (photo)
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(A T)
#IslamicState in #Yemen announces "martyr" Hamza al-'Adani, so from Aden but fighting in al-Bayda'. Unusually #ISIS released before & after shots, probably as his corpse looks intact & serene. He's martyr no.32 so far in 2018 & 4th from Aden. Can they recruit as fast as they die?
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1010509441102438402
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Eight Hezbollah fighters killed in Yemen, Arab coalition says
More than 40 'terrorist elements' were killed in Saada's Maran, says spokesman
Eight members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah were killed in Yemen, said the Arab coalition on Monday, as it continued to advance in the districts of Saada and Hodeidah.
"The coalition killed 41 terrorist elements in Maran and destroyed their vehicles and equipment," said coalition spokesman Col Turki Al Malki in a statement. "Among the dead were eight members of Lebanese Hezbollah, including a commander."
No further details were disclosed. Maran is in Saada province, a stronghold of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
My comment: “No further details were disclosed”: As always, when it’s just a propaganda story.
(A P)
In a few moments, @KSRelief will announce the #Saudi project to clear #Yemen of mines, named ‘#Masam’.
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/1011158807920201729
(A P)
Details of three months from Yemeni president al-Mashat's term
Since assuming the post of president of the Supreme Political Council as a successor to the martyr president Saleh al-Sammad, President Mahdi al-Mashat vowed to continue the project “A hand builds and the other protects” launched by al-Sammad on the third anniversary of the steadfastness in the face of Saudi-led coalition countries’ war on Yemen.
Despite the difficult situation and the critical stage that Yemen has been going through since the end of March 2015, the President al-Mashat is working diligently to maintain the state institutions’ activity in order to achieve stability and improve their performance to serve the homeland and the people. And that what he urged the National Salvation Government a week after he entered the presidential palace.
My comment: Here a piece of Houthi propaganda.
(A P)
Human Rights Minister: Houthi militia killed, wounded 653 civilians in Hodeidah
Minister of Human Rights Mohammed Askar said that Houthis had killed 279 persons and injured 374 others all of them civilians before the government and the Arab Coalition launched a military operation in June 13 to retake Hodeidah from the rebel militia.
In a seminar the ministry held on the sidelines of the Human Rights Council's 38th session in Geneva on Friday to highlight violations in the key port city specifically, Askar said his ministry documented these facts and the rebel militia's abduction of "journalists, activists, politicians and university teachers."
He said that the militia arrested 862 persons, forced 384 others to disappearance, and tortured 58 others, 11 of them to death. The militia blew up the houses of seven oppositionists.
He said that the government and the Arab Coalition are committed to the international humanitarian law and the rules of engagement as they pursue their operations to rescue the Yemeni civilians from the radical militia.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/99764
My comment: No doubt that the Houthis violated Human Rights at Hodeidah and elsewhere. But this is propaganda if these violations are misused to justify an assault which will bring even much more horror to Hodeidah. – And the propaganda effort is seen even more clear by the self-whitewashing claims quoted iun the last paragraph.
(A P)
Military expert: Hodeidah battle turning point in the course of the war
The battle for liberating Hodeidah is a turning point in the course of the war in which the government with the support of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition is upholding the legitimacy, said Faisal Halaboub, a military and strategic expert. "It will be the last nail in the coffin of Iran's terrorist agenda," he told "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" daily.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-19548
(A P)
Yemen's fishing sector resumes activity in Hodeidah
Yemen's fishing sector has resumed its activities, restoring a major source of livelihood for its citizens, as part of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition's efforts to retake the strategic port of Hodeidah from Iranian-backed Houthi militias, and to restore stability in liberated areas of Yemen's Red Sea Coast.
Dawood Dobla, Head of the Al Khawkhah District's fish landing centre, said that during Houthi occupation, fishing operations on Yemen's Red Sea Coast were at a complete halt. "Fishermen were unable to go fishing and therefore, could not provide for their families' needs," he added.
http://wam.ae/ru/details/1395302695884
My comment: “during Houthi occupation, fishing operations on Yemen's Red Sea Coast were at a complete halt”. Why? Because of Saudi coalition air raids bombing fisherboats at sea and on the shore.
(A P)
Mohammed bin Salman and the end of a 70-year ban
The ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia could have continued for another ten years, or even 20, if it wasn’t for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who was tasked by the king with the project of development and change.
The decision to end the ban on women driving is one of many decisions pertaining to women, like allowing them to enter sports stadiums, attend concerts, and work in various different sectors.
Since the 1970s, we kept waiting for the moment when banning women would end, which was an idea that is not justified by logic or religion, merely a societal tradition. Year after year, our hopes were crushed, and the calls of local women failed.
The crown prince's bravery
I say this to clarify a truth that we learned from these century-long bans: That this was a brave step taken by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who did not have to do it.
(A P)
Will the Houthis participate in Yemen’s future?
Two options for the Houthis
The Houthis have two options. The first one is to put their weapons aside as per UN Security Council Resolution 2216, the outcome of the national dialogue and the Gulf initiative; thus ending the war and joining the political process immediately. The second option, which is more probable, is for the Houthis to continue fighting till the last minute. In this latter case, Iran will continue to direct them to use civilians as human shields and manage their fight within the residential districts in Sanaa. This is the common Iranian tactic. This is in addition to the international community’s attempts in cooperation with the corrupt and complicit Arab media, like the Qatari media and others, to picture battles of Hodeidah, Sanaa and Saada as humanitarian violations. However, if the Hodeidah Port is liberated and the pipe of Iranian support is closed, Ansar Allah militia will weaken and in this case it will lose the war.
In both scenarios, Iran will not stop directing the Houthis with a remote control.
But now, since the situation is in favor of the Yemeni national army and the prospects of the Houthis are diminishing as their presence is limited to the north, there is a better chance for a peaceful solution.
Although reaching the end is not easy, it will be the first defeat for Iran in the areas of its intrusion.
(A P)
Why the battle to free Hodeidah should be decided swiftly
The battle to free Hodeidah needs to be concluded swiftly. Ending Houthi control over the port will allow free passage of humanitarian assistance and food imports and will speed up the recovery of that important part of Yemen.
Hodeidah has suffered greatly since coming under Houthi control in 2015. Since then, the militia has used the port for two main purposes: To bring in war materials and use its considerable revenue — estimated to be $1 billion annually — for its war effort.
One of the main reasons for neglecting Hodeidah’s civilians is that the Houthis do not think of them as potential supporters. As the people of the Tihama coast do not share tribal, social, political or religious affiliations with the Houthis, they are treated with suspicion, disdain and even open racism. The Houthis consider the people of Hodeidah and all inhabitants of the Tihama coast as inferior.
In response, the people of Hodeidah have shown no genuine support for the Houthi project, but on the contrary have welcomed the return of the legitimate government and have joined it in the fight to dislodge the Houthis from their town.
While the government of Yemen and the coalition of nations supporting it have issued permits for ships carrying fuel to Hodeidah, Houthis have also systematically delayed the arrival of key imports, including fuel, though the port. Ships have been stranded for months awaiting approval by the Houthi militants controlling the port.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1327206
My comment: Odd propaganda, repeated again and gain. This article almost looks like having been created by Copy and Paste from older propaganda articles.
(A P)
Al Houthis have to make a choice soon
Rebel forces in Hodeida can either surrender, be defeated or withdraw unconditionally
Their occupation [Houthis’ occupation of Hodeidah] has also prevented the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia — and in which the UAE is playing a key role in helping and liberating our Arab brothers in Yemen — from providing humanitarian relief and medical supplies to the Yemeni people. Now, after days of feeling the combat pressures brought to bear on the rebels, Al Houthis have indicated that they might be willing to support diplomatic efforts to secure their withdrawal.
Make no mistake — these rebels are not in a position to dictate any terms of their withdrawal, and any move by Al Houthis to leave the port must also include laying down their weapons from their positions across the entire immediate area and include the city and outlying villages. Those holding rebel lines are but terrorists who are subverting the rule of the legitimate government of Yemen and are committing criminal acts against an international force that is acting on foot of a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Time is running out for the rebels, and the sooner they act, either in surrender, total defeat or through unconditional withdrawal, the end result is inevitable. The UAE and its allies will not rest until our Arab brothers are free.
https://gulfnews.com/opinion/editorials/al-houthis-have-to-make-a-choice-soon-1.2241452
(* A P)
Film: Saudis waging propaganda war to hide Yemen realities: Pundit
The Saudi regime and its allies are spending huge amounts of money to “suppress” news about the realities on the ground in Yemen as part of a broader “propaganda war” against the Arabian Peninsula state, a university lecturer says.
The Riyadh-led coalition is taking the “propaganda war” very seriously so they could keep the truth about the Yemen war “systematically under-reported,” Tim Anderson told Press TV on Monday.
“The Saudis have been paying a lot of money to try and suppress the news about what is going on particularly the attack on Hudaydah,” a strategic port city in western Yemen that constitutes the main conduit for humanitarian aid.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/06/25/566001/Saudi-Arabia-Yemen-War
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Media to be granted more access to Yemen war under new Arab Coalition strategy
Countries draw up plan to counter propaganda and misinformation by Iran-backed rebels
Journalists and academics will be allowed greater access to cover the war in Yemen under a strategy by countries of the Saudi-led coalition to counter rebel and Iranian propaganda.
The policy was announced on Saturday after a meeting in Jeddah of information ministers from the coalition countries fighting the Iran-backed rebels at the request of the Yemeni government.
“We need to curb the Houthi influence on Saudi Arabia, in Yemen, in the world because they serve only Iran without regard to the Yemeni people, and its agenda to destabilise the region,” said Saudi Minister of Information Dr Awwad Alawwad.
The information ministers' meeting discussed ways to better coordinate on news from Yemen and give media from coalition countries access to areas recaptured from the Houthis this year.
“It’s already happened, but we need to better understand how to facilitate the transfer of information, and to bring truth to light in the face of the Houthis' news outlets,” said a source at the Saudi ministry of information.
The ministers agreed to set up a policy analysis team to coordinate with national news agencies throughout the Arab world.
The ministries of information will also support local news agencies to better cover the situation in Yemen, where the rebels have targeted journalists with imprisonment and torture.
No details were given, but the Saudi ministry of information pledged to ease media access to Yemen, providing room for “journalists and social media influencers to co-ordinate efforts aligned with the coalition’s military”.
A source in the ministry said that would entail embedding media with coalition forces in Yemen and providing them access to areas under government control.
My comment: Even more propaganda bullshit and more „embedded journalism“ to come.
And
(A P)
‘UAE committed to supporting Yemeni people’
Dr Sultan Bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of the National Media Council, NMC, has emphasised that the UAE, in implementation of the directives of the wise leadership and its effective role within the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, continues to support the Yemeni people through carrying out a huge humanitarian operation to provide aid to the liberated areas.
Al Jaber made his remarks while leading the UAE delegation to a meeting being held yesterday at the Jeddah Conference Palace in Saudi Arabia for ministers responsible for media affairs in the member states of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen.
Al Jaber said that the holding of the meeting followed on from the qualitative victories achieved by the Joint Yemeni forces, with the support of the Arab Coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and the rapid developments and events in Yemen.
Al Jaber also referred to the continuation of the military and humanitarian operation in Hodeidah to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people, to alleviate their suffering. He also mentioned the need to stop Iranian interference in Yemen through preventing the smuggling of weapons through Hodeidah Port as well as securing international waterways by stopping the threat posed by the Houthi militias to the movement of navigation in the Red Sea.
Al Jaber reaffirmed that the UAE, as part of its role in the Arab Coalition, has prepared a comprehensive humanitarian aid plan to alleviate the suffering of the people of Hodeidah and the liberated areas.
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302695729 = http://gulftoday.ae/portal/6bcdfc53-474f-4b9f-9c61-148bf6be203f.aspx
My comment: “the military and humanitarian operation in Hodeidah to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people, to alleviate their suffering“: That’s reallyOrwellian, putting upside down.
and
(A P)
Ministers discuss winning media war in fight for Yemen’s legitimacy
Media ministers for member states of the coalition for supporting legitimacy in Yemen held their fourth meeting on Saturday to discuss the ways of coordinating efforts and providing media support for coalition countries.
Saudi Minister of Information Awwad Al-Awwad said: “Houthi militias are one of the tools of Iran to threaten the stability of the region, and their ambitions have not stopped at attacking Yemenis and seizing their lands, but they exceeded that to threaten the security of Saudi Arabia by launching more than 152 ballistic missiles intercepted by our air defense forces and prevented from reaching their targets.”
He added: “The coalition has managed to restore and liberate more than 85 percent of the Yemeni territory with its full commitment to the rules of engagement and the protection of civilians and support of the Yemeni people and its legitimate government in resisting the enemy.”
Al-Awwad pointed out that the coalition’s support has not been limited to military operations, but has extended to other economic, security, relief and service aspects, infrastructure development projects, paving roads, rehabilitating ports and increasing their capacity.
Al-Awwad told Arab News that the meeting highlighted the blatant interference of Iran in the region, especially in Yemen, through its support for the Houthi militias.
“Some news agencies transmit news that may not be authenticated,” he said. “We want to tell them that there are reliable sources… that can be consulted. Therefore, news agencies were told to coordinate and publication shall be consolidated.”
He continued: “You are aware of what media stations hostile to the coalition countries and the legitimate government in Yemen are doing to falsify, deceive, fabricate stories, propagate rumors, broadcast distorted information, influence minds and emotions, and downgrade Yemeni army and coalition force success in diplomatic and various fields.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1326951/saudi-arabia
My comment: That’s what the world had waited for. Saudi propaganda already has a strait grip on international media.
(A P)
Al Shamsi: UAE is convinced that political solution is best for Yemen
United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Lebanon, Hamad Saeed Al Shamsi, disclosed that "the UAE is convinced that the political solution is best for what is happening in Yemen," referring to the "pivotal role" of his country "in confronting terrorist organizations in Yemen."
"We stand with the legitimacy in Yemen based on our true support for the Yemeni people," he said in a press interview on Saturday.
Outlining his vision regarding the role of media in the Yemeni developments, Al Shamsi said, "The media plays a fundamental role in countering terrorism and contributes greatly to immunizing our youth from harmful ideas."
My comment: Worldwide, the UAE ambassadors are telling their propaganda on Yemen and Hodeidah (there had been reports from several countries so far), now inspired by the media (propaganda) conference in saudi Arabia (see below)
(A P)
Yemeni Information Minister calls for a joint media strategy to counter Iran's sectarian plans
The Yemeni Minister of Information, Muammar al-Aryani, has called for preparing a joint Arab media strategy to confront Iran's sectarian schemes in the region and empower Yemeni media organisations to combat sectarianism, terrorism and extremism.
"The Saudi-led Arab Coalition is supporting Yemen in its battle to end the Houthi coup, restore the state and rebuild the country,'' al-Aryani said while addressing the meeting of the information ministers of the member-states of the Coalition for Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen, hosted by Saudi Arabia on Saturday to discuss the ways of coordinating media efforts and providing media support for the coalition countries.
"The legitimate government aided by the Arab Coalition is working on a three-pronged strategy: liberate all Yemeni territories from the Iran-backed Houthi militia grip; bring life to normal and deliver basic services in liberated areas and combat terrorism and extremism," he said.
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302695732
(A P)
Media Ministers of Member States of Coalition for Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen hold a meeting in Jeddah
The Ministers of Media of the Member States of the Coalition for Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen held a meeting at the Conference Palace here today to discuss the ways of coordinating media efforts and providing media support for the Coalition countries.
At the outset of the meeting, Minister of Media Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad conveyed the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense to the Ministers of Media of the Member States of the Coalition for Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen participating in the meeting.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1778258
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1778149
and propaganda is repeated again:
(A P)
85% of Yemeni territories liberated from Houthis’ clutches
The Coalition for Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen has succeeded in restoring and liberating more than 85% of Yemeni territories with its commitment to the rules of engagement, protecting civilians and supporting the Yemeni people, Saudi Minister of Media Awwad Al-Awwad said here on Saturday.
He was addressing a meeting of the Ministers of Media of member states of the Coalition for Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen to discuss the ways of coordinating media efforts and providing media support for the Coalition countries.
He said the coalition has achieved remarkable victories on various fronts, notably in Saada, the main stronghold of Houthi coup militias and Nahm front, east of the capital Sanaa, where the Coalition has achieved qualitative progress.
Awwad said Houthi militias are one of the tools of Iran to threaten the stability of the region.
He said the Houthis are not only attacking Yemenis and seizing their land but have also threatened the security of Saudi Arabia by launching more than 152 ballistic missiles intercepted by Saudi air defense forces.
My comment: This propaganda is old-fashioned.
(A P)
Qatar, Iran Share Tendencies for Regional Destabilization
Doha’s actions speak louder than words, leaving it ridiculous to believe Qatari claims on seeking Gulf and Arab stability and security. Qatar’s hefty support for Iran-aligned militias in Yemen is but one of many other regional moves played by the gas-rich peninsula to undermine regional security.
Many Gulf-related policy experts and analysts concluded that time-to-time statements made by Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani on his country's keenness to support stability in Yemen give rise to suspicions on the true nature of Qatar’s role in the war-torn country.
Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa had made comments backing suspicions on logistic and material support provided by Qatar to Iran and Yemeni Houthi militia to fight against the Arab Coalition.
Removing Qatari forces from the Saudi-led Arab Coalition backing the internationally-recognized government in Yemen against a coup staged by Houthi militias sponsored by Iran gave a clear signal of the close ties joining Doha and Tehran, head of the International Institute of Iranian Studies Dr. Mohammad al-Salami told Asharq Al-Awsat.
However, the Iranian-Qatari alliance is old and not recent, he explained.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1309316/qatar-iran-share-tendencies-regional-destabilization
(A P)
Yemeni child recovers after successful treatment in UAE hospitals
Ten-year-old Yemeni, Khalil Yaseen, who was the victim of a landmine laid by the Houthi militias loyal to Iran, has recovered after receiving successful treatment in UAE hospitals.
He was receiving treatment after the incident, which led to serious injuries and intestinal damage. In a quick response to save his critical health condition and ensure the provision of psychological rehabilitation due to the terrorist act of the Houthi rebels, as part of the continuous Emirati support for the Yemeni people, the UAE paid the expenses of his medical treatment.
The provision of medical treatment for the child was also aimed at alleviating the suffering of the Yemenis in light of the dire conditions due to the continuous violations against innocent civilians by the Houthi militias.
The Emirates News Agency, WAM, was closely following the successful medical treatment of Khalil in the UAE hospitals and his return back to Al Ruwais District in Mocha Governorate on the Red Sea Coast of Yemen.
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302695702
(A P)
Yemeni FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Int’l Community Aware of Hodeidah Operation’s Importance
Yemen's foreign minister, Khalid Hussein al-Yamani, said that Arab Coalition and Yemeni government diplomatic efforts have allowed states, which had previously expressed reservations about the military operation in Hodeida, to become aware of the importance to recapture the port city from Houthi insurgents.
“During the last days, we explained to the international community about the importance of recuperating the port of Hodeidah to protect international security and water passages from Houthi militias that are using the port to smuggle arms from Iran, launch missiles on civilian ships and plant cluster bombs in areas south of the Red Sea,” the minister told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday.
Yamani further explained that the states, which had expressed reservations, now understand the measures taken by the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led Arab Coalition to liberate the port city and stop Houthi threats to international navigation and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
(A P)
Hodeidah operation could bring Yemen conflict to an end
For some, Hodeidah has somehow become synonymous with impending doom. They have argued — unconvincingly — that it could prolong the conflict and inflict further suffering on civilians. The reality, however, is that the military operation — codenamed “Golden Victory” — could in fact hasten the end of this violent conflict and improve the humanitarian situation in Hodeidah and throughout the rest of the country.
Contrary to doomsday scenarios, the military campaign could potentially hold the key to ending this conflict, which has cost Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other members of the Arab coalition dearly in both blood and treasure. Far from being an operation that could exacerbate the humanitarian situation and prolong the conflict, Hodeidah could potentially force the Houthis to come to terms with the fact that much of Yemeni society is united against them and that they have very little support domestically.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1326251
My comment: They must tell us this again and again: “Hodeidah operation could bring Yemen conflict to an end”. Otherwise, even their influential western backers no more could justify their support. But reality on the ground already is different, and: “If the coalition drives the Houthis out of their stronghold of Hodeidah (putting the lives of 250,000 civilians at risk, according to the United Nations), that moves the war to the next battleground: Sana’a. This doesn’t constitute a “turning point” in the war, as the coalition claims, but an expansion of its terrain.”: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-unspeakable-suffering-in-yemen-has-barely-elicited-more-than/
(A P)
Al-Mouallimi: We are all working to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people
Saudi Arabia is continuing its humanitarian work to help the people in Yemen, the Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Abdallah Yahya Al-Mouallimi said during a media briefing in New York on Thursday, the Saudi press agency SPA reported.
The spokesman for the KSRelief, Dr. Samer Al-Jatili, gave a presentation during the briefing which outlined the Saudi government’s efforts to help the people of the war-torn country, including Hodeidah, since the beginning of the crisis.
Dr Jatili’s presentation noted that since 2015, the campaign has consisted of combating epidemics, promoting environmental sanitation, providing drinking water and distributing food aid.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1325871/saudi-arabia
(A P)
YCMHRV: One-third of Houthi militias are children
A Yemeni child, a victim of forced recruitment by Houthi militias, has confirmed that the children of the Houthi militias were beaten, subjected to psychological pressure, death, injury, and disability, as well as being subjected to siege and suppression, forcing them to return to fight whenever they tried to escape.
This testimony came in a documentary film presented by the Yemeni Coalition to Monitor Human Rights Violations (YCMHRV), in a symposium organized at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva as part of the 38th session of the Human Rights Council on the recruitment of children in Yemen.
The Yemeni researcher in the rights and freedoms Lisa Badawi told the symposium that the proportion of children recruited in the militias is nearly one third according to a field study carried out by "Wathaq" Monitoring.
Lawyer Huda al-Sarari, a member of the Yemeni Coalition for Monitoring Human Rights Violations (YCMHRV) stated that the Houthi militias have recruited since the beginning of this year 305 Yemeni children in 14 governorates.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1778029 and also http://www.arabnews.com/node/1326296/middle-east
and
(A P)
The Yemeni Minister of Human Rights: Houthi used children to change the villages into death fields
The Yemeni Minister of Human Rights dr. Mohammed Askar revealed that the Iranian-backed Houthi militias have resorted to using children in planting mines in the areas from which they are expelled. They also deliberately planted bombs in houses, hospitals and places of worships as a threat to civilians.
He explained that the militias used different kinds of mines, especially the anti-personnel, which is one of the most dangerous illegal banned weapons planted in populated areas. They also used improvised and camouflaged mines, creating new ways and means in using anti-vehicles mines and changed its use to anti-personnel ones in order to cause the greatest extent of disability and harm to innocent civilians. Here follows the dialogue text:
Initially tell us about the methods used by Houthi militias in mines planting?
The Houthi militias have ordered children to plant mines in the areas from which they are expelled or on the Yemeni-Saudi border. These mines led to the death of many people as well as the children recruited by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias.
How are these children drawn to do these tasks?
The Iranian-backed Houthi militias have exploited the difficult economic and social conditions along with the intertwined tribal nature of Yemen to attract and recruit children.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1778052
My comment: As the article above, by Saudi Press Agency, thus with an anti-Houthi propaganda bias. Yes, the Houthis misuse children as soldiers, the other side does as well, but more than 70 % of all Yemeni child soldiers actually are recruited by the Houthis. A third of Houthi fighters are children? This sounds like propaganda bullshit. The figure of children recruited within half a year given here is 305, this does not fit together. – Just google for this YCMHRV and look at the matches, for instance: “the Yemeni Coalition to Monitor Human Rights Violations (YCMHRV), a government-funded NGO created to document Houthi-Saleh violations”, https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/253167.pdf , “ the state-affiliated Yemeni Coalition to Monitor Human Rights Violations”, http://www.refworld.org/docid/58ec89a013.html : This is a Hadi government department.
This seems to be part of a reawakening of an old propaganda campaign.
(A P)
100-truck convoy loaded with humanitarian aid arrives in Mocha, Yemen
Following the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emirati humanitarian aid convoys, containing 100 trucks loaded with tens of thousands of food and medical items, arrived on Saturday in Mocha, south of Taiz Governorate.
The assistance is presented by the UAE through the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, the top humanitarian arm of the country, to provide relief for 1.7 million Yemenis in Hodeidah and surrounding areas. It also goes in harmony with the comprehensive relief surge plan adopted by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition to help stabilise the current humanitarian situation across Hodeidah.
Comment: #UAE and #Saudi are insincere about providing aid and relief to the people of #Yemen, it is a justification to attack #Hodeidah port. -This attack could cut off the lifeline of food imports and it will push 10 million people into famine.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1010992977513275392
(A P)
KSRelief launches new phases of rehabilitation program for 2,000 child soldiers in Yemen
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre launched on Thursday the fifth and sixth phases of the rehabilitation program for children recruited by the Houthi militias and forced into the armed conflict.
The two phases aim to rehabilitate 80 child soldiers from different governorates of Yemen, Saudi press agency SPA reported.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1325896/saudi-arabia
(A H P)
More Saudi / UAE “We are benefactors” propaganda
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/2ad1430c-6b4a-42ec-907f-cb7f3fb20d1e.aspx
(A P)
How Yemenis are victims of a forgotten war
http://www.catchnews.com/international-news/how-yemenis-are-victims-of-a-forgotten-war-119255.html
My comment: Quickly ends up with Iran, Iran, Iran.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(* A K pH)
Saudi coalition air raids day by day:
(* A K)
9 killed in Saudi-led airstrike in north of Yemen's capital
Nine members of a Yemeni family were killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on Amran city in north of the Yemeni capital Sanaa early Monday, local sources said.
The victims, mostly women and children, were killed when their family house was destroyed in the strike, which also severely damaged the nearby houses, a medic, a local official and a Xinhua photographer at the scene said.
A medic official told Xinhua that 20 other residents from the adjacent houses, including women and children, were wounded in the airstrike.
Other four airstrikes hit a nearby military camp, a police station, a post office and a telecommunication center.
Local officials in Amran city, about 50 km north of the capital, did not allow journalists and photographers to take pictures of the other targeted sites, while refusing to reveal the number of the victims there.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/25/c_137280115.htm
and
(* A K pH)
24 civilians killed, injured in Saudi-led airstrikes on Amran
24 Yemeni civilians, most of them children and women, were killed and injured, including eight of one family, when the US-backed Saudi-led aggression coalition warplanes on Sunday evening launched strikes on Amran province, an official told Saba News Agency on Monday.
The warplanes launched strikes on a residential neighborhood in Amran.
The official added that the warplanes launched two raids on the General Directorate of Communications, four raids on the building of the security department of the province and launched a raid on the camp of the 9th Brigade.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499877.htm
and
(* A K pH)
Names & age #Saudi #UAE strikes wave on home s n #Amran city N #Sanaa #Yemen 11kild inc entire family of8 Saddam Aljetaim 38 Addel Aljetaim 44 Mohamed Aljetaim 10 Mustafa Aljetaim 7 Samemera Aljetaim Anood Aljetaim 3 Aliaa Aljetaim 15 Hussain Dahaan 35 Ibrahim Aljetaim 10 month
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/1011360254490181632
films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgoC0RzeitE = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpn4dDpv7ko&bpctr=1529988158 = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czG7xgUV4ec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twTzzXlrAbc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnUgfkLN18g = https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/1793405517379137/ = https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/1011159998511140864
https://www.facebook.com/StopTheWarOnYemen/videos/vb.319595141544022/896333177203546/?type=2&theate
photos: https://twitter.com/A_mtrz/status/1011250334667362305
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1011227529485672448
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1011258678836592643
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1011254570671132673
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1011302809201979392
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/06/25/566085/Saudi-Yemen-alMasirah-Amran-city-Saada
(A K pH)
2 civilians killed in 2 Saudi-led airstrikes on Hodeidah
Two civilians were killed and another was wounded on Sunday in two Saudi-led coalition aggression airstrikes on Hodeidah province, an official told Saba News Agency.
The airstrikes hit the civilians’ home in Nakhilah area of Duraihmie district.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499857.htm
(A K pH)
Child killed in Saudi-led airstrike on Saada
The airstrike targeted the child’s home in Haidan district , added the official.
Furthermore, another child was injured and dozens of sheep were killed in an airstrike on Aal-Ali area of Razih border district.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499858.htm
(* AK pH)
Fresh Saudi airstrikes leave six civilians dead in northwestern Yemen
At least six civilians have been killed when Saudi military aircraft carried out airstrikes against a residential area in Yemen’s northwestern province of Sa’ada as the Riyadh regime presses ahead with its bombardment campaign against its southern neighbor.
Saudi fighter jets conducted aerial assaults against an educational complex in the Kitaf wa al-Boqe'e district of the province on Saturday, leaving six people dead and several others injured, an unnamed local source told Yemen Press Agency.
(* A K pH)
2 children, 3 civilians killed in Saudi-led airstrike on Saada
At least two children and three civilians on Saturday were killed in four US-backed Saudi-led coalition airstrikes which targeted Saada province, a security official told Saba News Agency.
The airstrike hit a civilian’s home which led to the death of two children and two woman in Laia valley of Dhair district, while another home was destroyed and an old man, who were inside, was killed.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499665.htm
and
(* A K pH)
Yemeni Press publishes the names and pictures of martyrs of the massacre of aggression in Saada
the air force targeted four raids in two houses in the area of the Directorate of Al-Zaher, which resulted in the deaths of five citizens, including women and children as a preliminary result in addition to the destruction of the two houses completely and damaged a number of neighboring houses.
The names of the martyrs were Hussein Mohammed Al-Najahi (38), Rabab Saleh Ahmad Sabakh (24), Hamdah Saleh Ahmed Sabah (8), Yunus Hussein Ahmed Al-Jaradi (1 year old) and Ali Hussein Jaber Al-Saadi (photos)
http://www.yemenipress.net/archives/110951
https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/1010646066218323975
and
(A K pH)
Statement of condemnation of the crime of targeting coalition aircraft to two houses in the Directorate of Zaher Saada province.
We condemn and condemn in the strongest terms this heinous crime, which is in accordance with the international legal and humanitarian characterization contained in the four Geneva Conventions and the two protocols attached to them as war crimes. This description can not be interpreted or debated, since the targets are safe civilians, International humanitarian law Rules and principles aimed at providing protection primarily to persons not taking part in hostilities (ie civilians in particular). This law applies only to situations of war and armed conflict, and its rules are binding on all parties to the conflict, whether States or non-State armed groups.
Issued by Yemeni Women and Children Foundation, Republic of Yemen - Sana'a Saturday, June 23, 2018.
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1832821810347138
(A K pH)
2 civilians injured in 2 Saudi-led airstrikes on Saada
Two civilians were injured on Saturday in two Saudi-led coalition aggression airstrikes hit a car in Saada province, a security official told Saba News Agency.
A woman and a man were seriously injured in the two airstrikes which targeted the car in Ghammar area of Razih border district.
(* A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids recorded on:
June 24:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499771.htm Saada p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499856.htm Marib p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499861.htm Hodeidah p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499860.htm Saada p.
June 22:
http://en.abna24.com/news/middle-east/12-saudi-led-airstrikes-attack-yemens-saada_898714.html Saada p.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499629.htm Hodeidah p.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
(A K pS)
A Houthi sniper shot dead Sayoon Abdulhakim Hashem, 22, when she was on the rooftop of her house in al-Hawadera village in Hayfan district of Taiz on Saturday, local sources said. Sayoon died on the spot. (photo)
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-19549
(A K pH)
Saada prov.: artillery and missile shelling targeted residential areas of Razih and Shada border districts.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499771.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499860.htm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499858.htm
(* A K)
Saudische Luftabwehr fängt Rakete über Hauptstadt ab – VIDEO
Huthi-Rebellen haben am Sonntagsabend einen Marschflugkörper auf die saudische Hauptstadt Riad abgefeuert. Die einheimischen Luftverteidigungskräfte haben den Angriff erfolgreich abgewehrt. Das Portal „Al Arabiya“ teilte Details des Vorfalls mit.
Der offizielle Sprecher der Koalition Turki al-Malki erklärte gegenüber Al Arabiya, dass diese Aktion der jemenitischen Huthi-Miliz auf die Beteiligung des iranischen Regimes an der Unterstützung für die Huthi und auf Verstöße des Irans gegen Uno-Resolutionen hinweise.
https://de.sputniknews.com/politik/20180624321296659-riad-rakete-abfang-huthi/
(* A K pH)
Ballistic missiles hit Saudi capital Riyadh
The army and popular forces on Sunday fired a barrage of ballistic missiles towards Saudi aggression capital, Riyadh, a military official told Saba.
The missiles, Burkan, hit an information center of Saudi defense ministry and other vital royal targets accurately.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499853.htm
(* A K)
Saudi air defenses intercept missiles above capital, coalition says
Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had intercepted two missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia over the capital Riyadh, as a Saudi-led coalition moved to wrest control of Yemen’s main port city from the Iran-aligned group.
At least six loud blasts were heard and bright flashes were seen in the sky over the Saudi capital, a Reuters witness said. Shrapnel was spotted on a street in the diplomatic quarter where most embassies are located and many foreigners live, but there was no serious damage.
“Saudi Royal Air Defence Forces intercepted and destroyed the missiles. Some of the debris of the intercepted missiles landed on residential areas, thankfully without causing any casualties,” coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said in a statement.
There were fire trucks and a heightened security presence in southwestern Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter following Sunday’s missile attack, which was at least the sixth on the capital since December.
The rockets’ interception by Patriot missiles sent debris measuring up to several meters hurtling toward residential areas. Pieces fell near the U.S. mission and at a school in the diplomatic quarter and damaged a nearby car, Malki told Reuters during a rare tour of affected neighborhoods.
Debris sparked a fire at a construction site 10 km (6 miles) further south and fell on the roof of a private residence.
and this is from an older version of the text, later omitted (why???):
There were no reported casualties or damage immediately, but there was shrapnel on a street in the diplomatic quarter where most embassies are located and many foreigners live, a Reuters witness said.
A high security presence was spotted in the neighborhood, in addition to fire trucks, the witness added. Security personnel prevented people from entering the district.
and Saudi government statement, repeating standard propaganda formula: https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1778679
(A K)
Four explosions heard in Riyadh and now patches of smoke can be seen over the diplomatic quarter. Likely patriot interceptions of ballistic missiles from Yemen
https://twitter.com/MCervoneEU/status/1010942993258434561
(A K pS)
VIDEO: Footage sent to @AlArabiya_Eng shows moment a #Houthi ballistic missile was intercepted by #Saudi defenses over #Riyadh earlier this evening.
https://twitter.com/AlArabiya_Eng/status/1010951438086877184
(A K pH)
Film: Time when one of #Yemen ballistic missiles hit its target in #Riyadh tonight.! After it hit the target the #Patriot missile was fired.! This is the way Yemen ballistic missiles are being intercepted.!
(A K pS)
In the world's blind spot in Yemen, Houthis murder children carefreely
On Thursday, a Houthi sniper stationed in Madarat area, west of the central Yemen city, shot Layan Fayez Radman Sallam, three years old, rendering her seriously injured. The little girl succumbed to death the second day. She was playing in front of her house that day as Yemeni children celebrate the Eid Al-Fitr festivity.
The snipers of the Shia Islamic extremists have killed and injured hundreds of children as young as three and two in the city over the past three years. (photo)
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-19516
(A K pH)
Saudi border guards injures citizen in Saada
A citizen was seriously wounded on Friday when Saudi border guards shot at him in the border district of Sheda in Saada province, a security source told Saba.
The Saudi enemy army also bombed the districts of Sheda and Razih with several artillery shells and rockets
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news499635.htm
(* A K pS)
Yemen Army Marches on Al-Bayda as 40 Houthis Killed in Failed Hodeidah Incursion
The Yemeni legitimate forces continued on Friday their advance to liberate the al-Bayda province from the Houthi militias.
Twelve military and security brigades have been brought in for the mission, revealed informed Yemeni military sources to Asharq Al-Awsat.
They spoke of a comprehensive plan to liberate the strategic province. The first results of this plan emerged two days ago with the complete liberation of the Numan region and the advance on the al-Malajem directorate. Dozens of other locations have been seized as the army marched 30 kms into the area.
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(B H)
Film: Music lessons help students escape war reality in Yemen
The school is run by Abdullah El-Deb'y who wants to develop build a new generation of musicians in his war-torn country, Oubai Shahbandar reports.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff_rJZA5svs = https://twitter.com/TRTWorldNow/status/1011142139470704641
(* B E H)
Bäuerin baut lieber Gemüse statt Drogen an
Den besten "Kat", Jemens Volksdroge, baut Ahlam Al-Alaja an. Doch die Pflanze stellt für die Wirtschaft des armen Bürgerkriegslandes eine Bürde dar. Die Bäuerin erfüllt sich nun einen Traum: Statt Drogen möchte sie lieber Gemüse anbauen. Das stößt auf Widerstand.
Nirgendwo anders ist Kat so beliebt wie im Jemen. In manchen Landesteilen kauen 90 Prozent der Männer regelmäßig die grünen Blätter der Pflanze und geben sich der berauschenden Wirkung hin, wegen derer Kat anderenorts als Droge verboten ist. Im Jemen ist gemeinsames Kauen ein tief in der Gesellschaft verankertes Ritual.
Fachleute warnen aber schon seit langem vor den negativen Folgen des Kat-Konsums nicht nur für die Gesundheit, sondern auch für die Wirtschaft. Für die Bauern ist der Anbau attraktiv, denn er bedeutet im Vergleich zu anderen Pflanzen weniger Aufwand, garantiert aber stabil hohe Preise.
Schon seit Jahren sinkt der Grundwasserspiegel in dem trockenen Land. Die Wasserkrise verschärft sich mehr und mehr, auch wegen des Klimawandels. Um es aus immer größeren Tiefen holen zu können, brauchen die Bauern Pumpen, die mit Generatoren betrieben werden. Doch seit Ausbruch des Bürgerkriegs zwischen schiitischen Huthi-Rebellen und regierungstreuen Truppen sind die Benzinpreise drastisch gestiegen.
Ahlam arbeitet deswegen daran, sich einen Traum zu erfüllen, den sie hegt, seitdem sie nach dem Tod ihres Vaters mit nur sieben Jahren die Verantwortung für die Landwirtschaft der Familie übernahm: Statt Kat will sie Obst, Gemüse und Rosen anbauen.
leidet die Landwirtschaft unter dem Konflikt. Von 2014 bis 2016 halbierte sich die geerntete Menge an Getreide, wie aus einer Statistik des jemenitischen Landwirtschaftsministeriums hervorging. Der Kat-Anbau blieb hingegen weitestgehend stabil.
https://www.n-tv.de/panorama/Baeuerin-baut-lieber-Gemuese-statt-Drogen-an-article20493062.html
(A)
Haifa 'a Al-Qodami was killed by a bullet falling back from celebratory gunfire at a wedding in Jiraf, north of #Sanaa. Deadly tradition in #Yemen: celebratory gunfire. Now it adds to killers of Yemenis: coalition, Houthis, AQAP, hunger, malnutrition, lack of medicines & despair (photo)
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1010093863623536640
(A)
Photo: Desert water cooler (airconditioner) that works on solar power Designed and manufactured in #Hadhramaut
https://twitter.com/saadtalib/status/1010206185918640129
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-426-yemen-war-mosaic-426
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-426 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-426:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
und alle Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
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