Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 442 - Yemen War Mosaic 442

Yemen Press Reader 442: 8. August 2018: Hodeidah: Luftangriff oder Artilleriebeschuss? – Jemen im Juli, Überblick – Sterbende Babys, keine Ärzte –Friedensplan der Huthis ...

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.... Afrikanische Kindersoldaten der Emirate – Al Kaida, die saudische Koalition und die USA – und mehr

August 8, 2018: Hodeidah: Air raid or mortar shelling? – Yemen in July, Overview – Dying babies, no doctors – Houthis‘ ideas for peace – Emirates‘ child soldiers from Africa -Al Qaeda, the Saudi coalition and the US – and more

Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Klassifizierung / Classification

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

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics

cp1b1 Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah: Deutsch/ Most important: Hodeidah battle: German

cp1b2 Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah: Englisch / Most important: Hodeidah battle: English

cp1c Am wichtigsten: Hodeidah: 55 Tote bei saudischem Luftangriff (?) / Most important: Hodeidah: 55 killed by Saudi air raid (?)

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

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp8a Saudisch-kanadischer Streit / Saudi Canadian feud

cp9 USA

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade

cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner

cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp15 Propaganda

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

Klassifizierung / Classification

***

**

*

(Kein Stern / No star)

? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating

A = Aktuell / Current news

B = Hintergrund / Background

C = Chronik / Chronicle

D = Details

E = Wirtschaft / Economy

H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions

K = Krieg / War

P = Politik / Politics

pH = Pro-Houthi

pS = Pro-Saudi

T = Terrorismus / Terrorism

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

Einführende Artikel u. Überblicke für alle, die mit den Ereignissen im Jemen noch nicht vertraut sind, hier:

Yemen War: Introductory articles, overviews, for those who are still unfamiliar with the Yemen war here:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-einfuehrende-artikel-u-ueberblicke

Neue Artikel / New articles

(* B K P)

Map of Control and Conflict in #Yemen prepared by the Sanaa Center For Strategic Studies.

https://www.facebook.com/sanaacenter/photos/a.447358515414332.1073741828.405510732932444/1109898359160341/?type=3&theater

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

(** B H K P)

Yemen at the UN – July 2018 Review

Executive Summary:

At the end of July the Yemen conflict seemed poised to take on much broader regional and global dimensions, as Saudi Arabia halted oil shipments through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Iran declared the sea “no longer secure,” and Israel threatened military intervention if Houthi forces attempted to close the strait to shipping (see ‘Riyadh Halts Bab Al-Mandeb Oil Shipments After Houthi Attacks’).

Earlier in July, the Saudi-led military coalition and associated ground forces had temporarily halted their campaign to dislodge Houthi fighters from Hudaydah city and capture Yemen’s busiest port. The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths spent the rest of the month shuttling between the various stakeholders in the conflict in a flurry of diplomatic efforts to stop the campaign from resuming. European diplomats also stepped up their efforts to intervene in the Yemen conflict through July (see ‘European Diplomats Expand Outreach to Houthi Leaders’).

By the end of the month, the positions of the warring sides appeared to be irreconcilable: Houthi leaders continued to insist that their forces would remain in the Red Sea city, though they had agreed to hand control of the port to the UN; the coalition and the internationally recognized Yemeni government, however, maintained their demand that Houthi forces unconditionally withdraw from Hudaydah city and governorate. In early August, Griffiths then told the UN Security Council (UNSC) that the situation in Hudaydah could only be addressed through a broader, comprehensive peace deal and announced plans for UN-led consultations between the main warring parties to begin on September 6 in Geneva, Switzerland (see ‘UN Special Envoy’s Shuttle Diplomacy’).

The Hudaydah campaign’s wider ramifications became evident last month (see ‘Offensive Displaces More Than 300,000, Red Sea Imports Drop’ and ‘Attacks Against Civilians and Civilian Infrastructure’), while relief agencies readied themselves for the campaign against the city to restart (see ‘UN Prepares for Imminent Siege, Boosts Medical Supplies’). Meanwhile, international opposition to the coalition’s actions continued to build (see ‘US Democrats Pressure Coalition on Hudaydah’, ‘Congress Debates Bill Placing Conditionality on US Refueling of Coalition Aircraft’ and ‘French Parliamentarians, Civil Society Raise Pressure Over Arms Sales’).

Elsewhere in Hudaydah governorate military actions continued in July, among them the coalition’s advance on the Houthi-held town of Zabid, a UN World Heritage Site (see ‘Fighting Continues in Hudaydah Governorate’). Houthi forces in turn claim to have deployed hitherto unseen military drone capacities against Yemeni government forces and the coalition (see ‘Houthi Forces Deploy New UAVs’).

In southern Yemen, there was a wave of assassinations against high-level security officials in Aden, the Yemeni government faced continued opposition to its political and military authority – particularly from the secessionist Southern Transitional Council – and there were protests over the coalition’s presence in al-Mahra governorate. Also in Aden, scores of detainees were released from detention facilities run by Emirati-backed local forces.

In economic developments, the Aden-based Central Bank of Yemen approved an official exchange rate with which to support the import of basic commodities, the Yemeni rial experienced steep depreciation, and oil exports from Shabwah governorate restarted.

Also last month, the UNSC discussed the UN Secretary-General’s annual Children and Armed Conflict report. As with last year, every major belligerent party to the Yemen conflict was cited for grievous violations against the rights of children. And for a second last year, the document included an annex for those parties that had taken step to try and address their violations against children. The Saudi-led military coalition and the Yemeni Armed Forces were listed in this special annex.

The Hudaydah Campaign

International Diplomatic Developments

Developments in Yemen

http://sanaacenter.org/publications/yemen-at-the-un/6341

Remark: Very detailed overview: Yemen in July (not just related to Yemen and UN).

(** B H)

Dying babies and no doctors: A look inside a Yemeni hospital

[Aden] When Kenan was born four months premature, there were no doctors at al-Sadaqa Hospital to care for him. So his grandmothers tried to save him.

They placed the infant in an incubator, but it was broken. They tried a second one. It wouldn’t heat up.

It had been 24 hours since a doctor had last visited the hospital. A day earlier, a physician was beaten up during an argument with the militiamen who were supposed to guard the hospital, and the doctors walked out in protest.

Kenan’s grandmothers scrambled to find a working incubator.

“We brought him to the third one,” said Umm Salah Hussein, one of his grandmothers, “and that’s where he died.”

“There was no oxygen and there was no help,” chimed in Umm Mohammed Zaid, his other grandmother, staring at the baby’s corpse, wrapped in a red cloth, still inside the incubator.

The baby’s twin brother had died a day earlier. Now, Kenan’s mother, who had been asleep recuperating, awoke to learn her remaining son was gone.

Yemen’s civil war had already crippled the hospital, the largest civilian public hospital in southern Yemen. Now it was completely paralyzed, illustrating the fragility of a health system broken by war and utterly incapable of caring for the victims of what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Hospitals and clinics have been bombed and mortared. Shortages of essential drugs, vaccines and medical equipment are widespread. In most government health facilities, staff haven’t been paid in a year.

One of the better-funded public hospitals, al-Sadaqa attracted the poorest and most desperate patients. On any day, the hospital received 500 to 800 patients.

But it labored under almost unimaginable difficulties. For the past three years, it was the fiefdom of the local militia that guarded it, one of the many armed groups seeking influence in Aden. The militiamen routinely harassed doctors and nurses, and allegedly looted equipment. The hospital was forced to pay salaries of $15 a month per militiaman and could never fire any of them. “We either had to pay or someone would be killed,” said Gamal Abdul Hamid, the hospital administrator.

Finally, the staff grew tired of the abuse. Now, with most of its 70-plus doctors and medical trainees on strike, the facility had stopped accepting new arrivals. That potentially jeopardized the lives of thousands of patients who could not afford a private hospital.

Postscript

The doctors ended their walkout after an armed force linked to the Saudi- and UAE-led coalition took over the hospital’s security.

Ayesha’s parents brought her back to al-Sadaqa after the protest ended and her health started to improve.

Taif took a turn for the worse and died even as she received the blood transfusion she had so long needed.

Alin was transferred to other hospitals for treatment.

Mundhir died on the day the strike ended - By Sudarsan Raghavan

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/dying-babies-and-no-doctors-a-look-inside-a-yemeni-hospital/2018/08/05/8bcf87d4-8f7e-11e8-b769-e3fff17f0689_story.html

My comment: This is president“ Hadi’s capital city in his „lbrated“ part of Yemen. Saudis and UAE on a daily basis are boasting for their humanitarian aid.

(** A P)

Houthis explain 'Death to America' slogan, reveal what will bring them to peace talks

The rebel group is holding firm, and blaming the UN for sending the peace process “backwards.”

“We can say right now the political process is suspended,” Mohamed Abdel Salam, the spokesman for the Houthi group, known officially as Ansar Allah -- “Helpers of God ” -- told Fox News in an exclusive interview in Muscat, Oman -- a country considered to be a neutral player in foreign policy affairs.

Salam says that Martin Griffiths, the British diplomat who took over as the UN envoy to Yemen in March after his two predecessors quit in frustration, has quickly fallen onto a failing path that needs to be redirected.

“He has a plan which he called ‘the principles.’ But it is a weak plan. He talked about partial solutions like Hodeidah port and others on the humanitarian level; he didn’t do anything. He didn’t release any prisoners, he didn’t break the surrounding Sana’a and Aden [conflict], he didn’t open the airport, he couldn’t arrange for any transfer of patients and injuries,” Salam lamented. “On an economic level he couldn’t push the other party to pay salaries so we can say that there is nothing tangible regarding any political process.”

Yet Salam insists that it is willing to lay down arms -- but with clear caveats. “The solution” from the Houthi point of view must be “comprehensive,” rather than a fragmented agenda that looks at single issues, Salam insisted.

“What we mean by a comprehensive solution plan is that there should be a new presidency and there should be a transitional presidency at least. The transitional government should have specific tasks to accomplish with a specific period,” he said. “The president should be someone who is accepted by all parties and he shouldn’t be a party of the crisis itself. Hadi is considered part of the problem party.”

“The presidency should be a committee. There should be a head plus four individuals and they should represent all sectors of society and it should be a unity government that combines all parties,” Salam explained. “This government should not look down on or go against any party in Yemen. They should be part of it, part of that government. This authority should be accepted by all parties.”

And even though peace talks have made no progress in recent weeks, Salam said the Houthis are ready for some sort of temporary ceasefire or cessation of hostilities.

“This can be accomplished if there is a will. There should be ceasefire committees for all parties, including the UN. They should supervise all fronts,” Salam noted. “Martin [Griffiths] should announce the time and the date for the troops and everyone should accept it and they should have agreement backed by everyone.”

Waleed Alhariri, director of the New York office, Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies: “That said, Griffiths’ proposal is the only platform currently on offer to bring the warring parties together, which is needed to head off Yemen’s precipitous economic collapse and the continued proliferation of new, autonomous armed groups and militias.” – by Hollie McKay

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/08/06/houthis-explain-death-to-america-slogan-reveal-what-will-bring-them-to-peace-talks.html

My comment: All this look quite sound. This would be a peace treating equal the different parties. This would not be just a „Fake peace“ plan trying to subdue all parties to the Hadi government, although this government is no more accepted by the great majority oft he Yemenis.

(** B H K)

International Campaign: Abu Dhabi uses African children to fight in Yemen

The International Campaign to Boycott the UAE (ICBU) said on Sunday that the UAE’s attempts to appear as if it were fighting and combating human trafficking crimes through holding conferences are attempts to deflect attention from own crimes. In reality, Abu Dhabi has become the undisputed capital of human trafficking, the ICBU said.

The ICBU explained that many African children have brought to fight in Yemen alongside the UAE army or the mercenary militias of the UAE. Such children are frequently brought through African ports, many of which are partly owned by the UAE and then exploited and forced to carry arms and fight in Yemen. Hundreds of them were killed and buried in the battlefield.

It added that the UAE army uses Yemeni citizens, including children, men and women in the fighting in Yemen, taking advantage of their living and economic conditions.

The International Campaign reported that the UAE issued the Anti-Human Trafficking Act in 2006 and 2015. Under the law, human trafficking includes all forms of sexual exploitation, involving others in prostitution, servitude, forced labour, trafficking in human organs, forced service, begging and practices similar to slavery.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180807-international-campaign-abu-dhabi-uses-african-children-to-fight-in-yemen/

My comment: Houthis‘ child soldiers are a permanent subject of Saudi coalition’s anti-Houthi propaganda. – For this organisation, there is not much information available: https://de.scribd.com/article/374501906/Calls-For-Investigation-Into-Emirates-Airline-After-Hostess-Falls-To-Her-Death

(** B P T)

USA & Saudi-Arabien rekrutieren und finanzieren al-Qaida im Jemen

Die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Arabische Koalition, unterstützt und mitfinanziert durch die verschiedenen westlichen Verbündete, soll seit ihrer Intervention im Jemen-Konflikt 2015 immer wieder geheime Verhandlungen mit dem jemenitischen Ableger von al-Qaida („Al-Qaida auf der Arabischen Halbinsel“) geführt haben, um gemeinsame Angriffe gegen die verfeindeten Houthi-Rebellen zu koordinieren oder Hunderte Mitglieder in die eigenen Reihen aufzunehmen um später gegen die Houthis kämpfen zu können. Diese neue Offenbarung wirft ein fragwürdiges Licht auf die angeblichen Erfolge die Koalition, al-Qaida immer wieder im Osten Jemens angegriffen und besiegt zu haben, stattdessen wurde ihnen Geld und freies Geleit aus ihren Territorien gegeben, insofern sie weiterhin den gemeinsamen Feind der Houthi-Rebellen bekämpfen würden. Die USA hat diese Vorhaben aktiv unterstützt.

Immer wieder hat die Arabische Koalition unter der Führung Saudi-Arabiens und den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten behauptet, wichtige Siege gegen al-Qaida errungen zu haben. In der Wirklichkeit aber veranlassten Unterhändler die friedliche Evakuierung von „umkämpften“ Regionen und Städten, AQ-Anhänger wurden sogar für den Abzug bezahlt und/oder konnten mitsamt ihrem schweren Kriegsgerät und von lokalen Unternehmen oder der Bevölkerung erbeutetem Geld fliehen. Unter der Maxime „Der Feind meines Feindes ist mein Freund“ haben also gerade die Golfstaaten mit demjenigen Ableger von al-Qaida gute Beziehungen gepflegt, welcher für Terroranschläge von 9/11 verantwortlich war.

Der Stellvertreterkrieg gegen die Houthi-Rebellen hat sich also zur wichtigeren Operation für die verschiedenen Nationen herausgestellt, als die ernsthafte Terrorbekämpfung von Einem der stärksten Flügel von al-Qaida. Besonders aus der Sicht der Golfstaaten ist die Bekämpfung des iranischen Einflusses eine vordergründige Motivation und auch der Anlass, wieso man überhaupt im Jemen interveniert hatte.

Auch wenn zumindest die USA nicht aktiv an den Verhandlungen beteiligt ist, so sind sie vollkommen im Bilde von derartigen Vorhaben. Zudem unterstützen sie die Einbehaltung der Abkommen und attackieren beispielsweise keine zurückziehenden Truppen von al-Qaida.

Der Nachrichtenagentur AP zufolge sollen einige AQ-Kommandanten, die auf der Terrorismus-Fahndungsliste der USA stehen, von den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten finanziert werden, um ihre eigenen Milizen (wahrscheinlich im Zusammenhang zu den südjemenitischen „al-Hirak-Streitkräften“) aufrecht erhalten zu können. Dabei spricht man von Geldsummen von bis zu zwölf Millionen Dollar. Bei einem anderen Vorfall soll es sogar ein Abschiedsessen zwischen den beiden Seiten gegeben haben, um die erfolgreiche Vereinbarung gebührend zu feiern.

Beispiele derartiger Deals stellen der Distrikt al-Saif oder die Belagerung von al-Mukallah im Jahre 2016 dar.

https://flutterbareer.wordpress.com/2018/08/07/usa-saudi-arabien-rekrutieren-und-finanzieren-al-qaida-im-jemen/

und

(** B P T)

Großmachtkonflikt schlägt „Krieg gegen den Terror“: Washington verbündet sich mit IS

Seit über einem Jahrzehnt hatte die amerikanische Regierung keine Verteidigungsstrategie veröffentlicht. Das Dokument zeigt deutlich, dass Washington sich mit Hochdruck auf einen dritten Weltkrieg vorbereitet.

Ein besonders übles und kriminelles Ergebnis dieses Politikwechsels zeigt sich an drei Schauplätzen, wo US-Streitkräfte aktive Kampfeinsätze durchführen. Berichte aus dem Jemen, Syrien und Afghanistan belegen eindeutig, dass sich die USA und ihre lokalen Vertreter mit Teilen von IS und Al-Qaida verbünden und diese zur Durchsetzung der größeren strategischen Interessen Washingtons benutzen.

Al-Qaida der Arabischen Halbinsel (AQAP) wird zwar von der US-Regierung als „gefährlichster“ Teil des losen internationalen Al-Qaida-Netzwerks bezeichnet. Gleichzeitig werden im Jemen Hunderte, wenn nicht Tausende von AQAP-Kämpfern rekrutiert von Washingtons engsten Verbündeten in der arabischen Welt, Saudi-Arabien und den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten. Sie kämpfen als Fußtruppen im mörderischen Krieg gegen das verarmte Land Jemen, den die Ölmonarchien am Persischen Golf seit 2015 führen und der von den USA unterstützt wird.

Nach einem Investigativbericht, der am Montag von Associated Press veröffentlicht wurde, traf die von den Saudis geführte Koalition „geheime Abkommen mit Al-Qaida-Kämpfern. Sie zahlte einige dafür, dass sie Schlüsselstädte verließen, und ließen andere mit Waffen, Ausrüstung und Bündeln geplünderten Bargelds entkommen. Hunderte weitere wurden rekrutiert, um der Koalition direkt beizutreten.“

Weiter heißt es im Bericht, dass „wichtige Vertreter der Koalition sagen, die USA seien sich dieses Arrangements bewusst und verzichteten hier auf Drohnenangriffe“.

„Teile des US-Militärs sind sich klar bewusst, dass viel von dem, was die USA im Jemen tun, AQAP hilft, und es gibt eine große Sorge deswegen“, sagte Michael Horton, ein leitender Analyst bei der Jamestown Foundation, einem mit der CIA verbundenen Washingtoner Think Tank, der AP.

„Die US-Unterstützung für die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate und das Königreich Saudi-Arabien gegen das, was die USA als iranischen Expansionismus betrachten, hat jedoch Vorrang vor dem Kampf gegen AQAP und sogar vor der Stabilisierung des Jemen“, fügte Horton hinzu.

Das ist eine grobe Untertreibung. Washington leistet unverzichtbare militärische Unterstützung für einen Krieg, der Millionen von Jemeniten an den Rand des Hungertods gebracht hat.

http://www.wsws.org/de/articles/2018/08/08/pers-j01.html

und

(** B P T)

Jemen-Krieg: USA sollen mit Al-Kaida kooperiert haben

Seit über drei Jahren führt eine von Saudi-Arabien geführte Militärallianz in enger Zusammenarbeit mit den USA und Großbritannien Luftangriffe in einem der ärmsten Länder der Welt aus. Nun behauptet AP, Washington habe im Jemen mit Al-Kaida zusammengearbeitet.

Laut einer Recherche von AP soll nicht nur Saudi-Arabien mit der Terrororganisation ein Stück des Weges gemeinsam gegangen sein, sondern auch die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika. Obwohl der Bericht selbst keine Details nennt und Hinweise auf eine mögliche Verantwortung der USA mit gewissen Fragezeichen versieht, erscheint es als durchaus bedeutsam, dass dieser von einem "etablierten" Mainstream-Medium stammt. Der wichtigste Teil des Berichts, in welchem eine mögliche Zusammenarbeit der USA mit Al-Kaida im Jemen angedeutet wird, lautet wie folgt:

Immer und immer wieder hat in den vergangenen zwei Jahren eine Militärkoalition, angeführt von Saudi-Arabien und unterstützt durch die Vereinigten Staaten, behauptet, sie habe entscheidende Siege errungen, mit welchen die Al-Kaida-Kämpfer aus ihren Hochburgen im gesamten Jemen vertrieben und somit deren Möglichkeiten für einen Angriff auf den Westen zerschlagen worden seien. Und hier kommt, was die Sieger nicht erwähnt haben: Viele ihrer Eroberungen kamen, ohne einen einzigen Schuss abgefeuert zu haben. Das kommt daher, weil die Koalition geheime Deals mit Al-Kaida-Kämpfern geschlossen hat, einige von ihnen dafür bezahlt hat, Schlüsselstädte zu verlassen und anderen wiederum erlaubt wurde, sich mit Waffen, Ausrüstung und einem Haufen von gestohlenem Geld zurückzuziehen, wie eine Untersuchung von The Associated Press zum Ergebnis gehabt hat. Hunderte von ihnen wurden rekrutiert, um sich der Koalition selbst anzuschließen.

Diese Darstellung ist für Beobachter des Krieges im Jemen nichts Neues oder Außergewöhnliches. Es gehörte seit mindestens 1979 jahrelang zum Standardrepertoire der Allianz zwischen Washington und Riad, wahhabitische Extremisten in verschiedensten Teilen der Welt für eigene Zwecke zu benutzen. Auch im Zusammenhang mit dem Jemen-Krieg hatte es bereits in einem sehr frühen Stadium solche Andeutungen in den Medien gegeben. Was könnte also der Grund sein, dass AP ausgerechnet jetzt diese Vereinbarungen mit Al-Kaida thematisiert?

https://deutsch.rt.com/international/74137-jemen-krieg-usa-sollen-mit-al-kaida-kooperiert/

Remark: The AP article in English is here: https://apimagesblog.com/blog/2018/8/7/ap-investigation-us-allies-al-qaida-battle-rebels-in-yemen = https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemen-us-allies-defeat-al-qaida-pay-57051248

cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics

(* A H)

UN targets half a million Yemenis in battle-scarred Hudaydah with cholera vaccine - UNICEF

Over a year after cholera broke out in Yemen, killing more than 2,000 people, the disease is back and spreading fast in the Houthi-held port city of Hudaydah; a target of continued air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition to regain control of the city.

To mitigate the risks, on Saturday, the Ministry of Health and the UN launched a week-long cholera oral vaccination campaign, targeting the most vulnerable 500,000 women, children and men in and around the city. Other mitigating measures implemented by humanitarian organisations include the continued provision of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. As of Monday, about 88,000 thousand people had been reached with the cholera vaccine. This is the second of three phases of the campaign led by the World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): the first one was administered in Aden and the final round of vaccines will be administered in other identified hotspot areas.

Grant Philip Leaity, UNICEF’s Deputy Director for Emergency Programmes, told UN News about the progress made so far and the challenges teams face on the ground.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/08/1016442

film: https://twitter.com/UN_News_Centre/status/1026586471845847041?

(* A H)

Yemen: Cholera Suspected Cases (From 27 April - 18 to 22 July 2018)

https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-cholera-suspected-cases-27-april-18-22-july-2018

Yemen: Cholera Attack Rate (%) Population (From 27 April - 18 to 22 July 2018)

https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-cholera-attack-rate-population-27-april-18-22-july-2018

(* A H K)

New cholera outbreak spreading fast in Yemen’s Hudaydah: UNICEF

The United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, has warned that a fresh cholera outbreak is spreading quickly in Yemen’s vital seaport of Hudaydah, amid ongoing attacks by the Saudi-led coalition against the besieged provincial capital.

“Over a year after cholera broke out in Yemen, killing more than 2,000 people, the disease is back and spreading fast in … Hudaydah,” said the UN agency in a report on Monday, adding that port city has been “a target of continued airstrikes” by the so-called coalition in an attempt “to regain control of the city.”

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/08/07/570495/yemen-unicef-cholera-

Comment: Well this is to be expected. Hodeida has suffered the worst food shortages and now the coalition are bombing water plant and sanitation as outlined in a UNICEF report last week. This is genocide. https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156904004083641

(* A H)

Film: Suspected cholera cases on the rise.

https://www.facebook.com/StopTheWarOnYemen/videos/943533992483464/

cp1b2 Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah: Englisch / Most important: Hodeidah battle: English

(* A K)

Photos: 4 hours ago: The US-UK-UAE-Saudi-led coalition battleships targeted #Hodeidah city western #Yemen (Aug. 7, evening)

https://twitter.com/A7medJa7af/status/1026895564011720705

(A K pH)

Aggression’s Daily Update for Tuesday, August 7th, 2018

In Hodiedah: a child was killed and a civilian was injured by an artillery shell launched on a farm in Al-Duraihemi district. Aggressions' battleships destroyed one of the buildings under construction on the coastal strip in Al-Hawk district.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2093&cat_id=1

(* B H K)

Film (Arabic): The suffering of the citizens due to the bombing of the air force on the West Coast areas increased recently 07-08-2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChPPcme7D2g

(* B H K)

Film: Offensive against Yemen port city threatens lifeline

The UN World Food Programme and other aid organizations are trying to help some 20 million people caught in the crossfire between a Saudi-led military alliance and Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Meanwhile, the population is on the brink of famine.

https://www.dw.com/en/offensive-against-yemen-port-city-threatens-lifeline/av-44983764

(** B H K)

Checkpoints, air strikes and fear: What life is like inside the besieged city of Hodeidah

The battle between Houthi rebels and Saudi-led forces for the Yemeni port city has ground to a halt, but local residents still suffer

The air of suspicion that hangs over Hodeidah is palpable as soon as you reach the outskirts of the besieged Yemeni city.

Armed Houthi fighters, dressed not in military uniform but in everyday clothes, patrol checkpoints near the entrance to the port city. They chew qat leaves, the country’s favourite narcotic, or listen to Houthi songs. Some look not much older than children.

Every car on the road from Sanaa is flagged down and its driver and passengers questioned. And not just once: a vehicle can easily be stopped 10 times on its journey into the city.

Faces are examined. ID cards are checked. "Who are you? Why have you come here? What do you do for a living?" Anyone who admits to being a journalist is arrested for further investigation - only reporters sympathetic to the Houthi rebels, who control Hodeidah, can enter.

Houthi military vehicles stream out of the city alongside cars full of families desperate to escape. There are also trucks, carrying supplies towards Sanaa and other provinces, but in fewer numbers than a year ago.

The bustling streets fall quiet

The atmosphere of suspicion so evident at checkpoints is also conspicuous on the streets of the city.

During the past few months, fighters from other parts of Yemen have come to Hodeidah, most of whom support the Houthis. Residents assume new arrivals are there to fight unless they can prove otherwise.

This atmosphere of mistrust is unusual in what was a friendly city until the war began in March 2015.

But that night-time bustle is now absent. Instead the streets are almost empty of pedestrians when it becomes dark and are outnumbered by the few passing Houthi vehicles.

Hothaifah Nouri, 38, a resident, said: "We buy our commodities during the day. After 8pm we do not leave our homes and stop our children from leaving."

Anyone who ventures out at night is liable to be arrested and questioned by the Houthis; those with a valid reason, such as a medical emergency, are free to go.

The only noises during darkness, aside from air strikes, are the Houthis, whose shouts echo through the empty streets amid the continual rumble of their military vehicles.

"We live amid war," Nouri said. "No one dares to go on to the streets at night in case he becomes a suspect and puts himself in danger."

Fear amid the raids

The residents of Hodeidah have adapted to the rival sides in the conflict fighting on the ground.

Battles are usually too far away to be heard: if they come close to a neighbourhood then there is usually sufficient time for civilians to take shelter.

Instead it is the air strikes, with the scream of fighter jets and shockwaves from explosions, which leave people living in fear.

Othman Mizgagi is a fisherman who lost his job last year. Now he scouts around al-Mahwa, the fish market, clutching the hand of his six-year-old son and looking for work.

Slim and pale, he speaks with anger about the air raids. "If the clashes come to our neighbourhood,” Mizgagi said, “then we can hide in the basement. But we cannot hide from air strikes as they destroy the whole building.”

Residents listen nervously at their windows to try to determine the locations of the explosions.

Some parts of Hodeidah have been less affected by the raids than others.

Returning to the war zone

For many residents of Hodeidah that disaster has already happened.

The UN said that as of 29 July it had registered 48,574 households from Hodeidah province as displaced and distributed 40,393 rapid response mechanism kits, which contain essential supplies including food and sanitation supplies.

But others are choosing to return after their hopes for a better life away from the fighting have failed to materialise.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-hodeidah-checkpoint-air-strike-fear-what-life-is-like-saudi-houthi-uae-coalition-2118688289

(A K pH)

Saudi warplanes launches 8 raids on Hodeidah

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news504304.htm

Saudi-led aggression warplanes hit Hodeidah

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news504289.htm

(A K)

Photos: UAE army convoy in Hodeidah #Yemen, including #French made #VBLVéhicule Blindé Léger light armoured vehicles.

https://www.facebook.com/muzoo3/posts/447595009076493

cp1c Am wichtigsten: Hodeidah: 55 Tote bei saudischem Luftangriff (?) / Most important: Hodeidah: 55 killed by Saudi air raid (?)

Frühere Berichte / Earlier recording: YPR 440, 441, cp1c

(A K P)

A Yemeni human rights organisation has called for a “fair and impartial” investigation after a bombing in the port city of Hodeida last week killed 55 civilians and injured hundreds.

Geneva-based Rights Radar said all of the fatal bombs on Thursday which targeted a fish market and the gate of the port city’s Thawra hospital were civilians - some of whom were fishermen, fish sellers, and shoppers.

The human rights group slammed the deadly massacre, saying it constitutes a war crime.

This massacre is one of a series of massacres committed either by the Houthi militia or by the Saudi-led coalition forces during the last three years of the war in Yemen, the two parties usually exchanging the accusations of committing it, while the truth is lost in the absence of impartial investigation that should reveal the actual perpetrators of these grave violations of human rights,” Rights Radar said. https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2018/8/7/yemeni-rights-group-calls-for-investigation-on-hodeida-massacre

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Luftschläge auf Hodeidah: "Friedensgespräche im Jemen akut in Gefahr"

"Wir hatten gehofft, dass die jüngsten Feuerpausen rund um die Hafenstadt Hodeidah eine Chance für Friedensgespräche sein könnten. Die jüngsten Luftangriffe machen diese Hoffnung zunichte, wieder sind es die Ärmsten und Verwundbarsten, besonders Frauen und Kinder, die darunter leiden", beklagt Karl-Otto Zentel, Generalsekretär von CARE Deutschland, der selbst im vorigen Jahr im Jemen war.

https://www.aktion-deutschland-hilft.de/de/hilfseinsaetze/hungerkatastrophe-jemen/luftschlaege-auf-hodeidah-friedensgespraeche-im-jemen-akut-in-gefahr/

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Entsetzen über Luftangriffe auf Krankenhaus und Markt im Jemen

Der Leiter einer Delegation des Internationalen Komitees vom Roten Kreuz, Johannes Bruwer, im Jemen sprach in einer Erklärung von einer „verwerflichen“ Missachtung menschlichen Lebens. Zugleich hieß es darin, die „genauen Umstände“ der Explosions­serie seien ungeklärt. Diese hatten Hodeida am vergangenen Donnerstag erschüttert und laut der Organisation unter anderem dicht bewohnte Gebiete in der Nähe des al-Thawra-Krankenhauses und einen lokalen Fischmarkt getroffen.

Nach vorherigen Angaben von Ärzten und Augenzeugen hatte es zwei Luftangriffe auf den Eingang des al-Thawra-Krankenhauses und den Fischmarkt gegeben, wobei mindestens 20 Menschen starben. Laut UNO ist die Klinik die größte im gesamten Jemen. An ihr hängt demnach die medizinische Versorgung von mehreren Hunderttausend Menschen.

https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/96925/Entsetzen-ueber-Luftangriffe-auf-Krankenhaus-und-Markt-im-Jemen

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MENACONSPIRACY THEORIESENTERTAINMENT

WHEN FAKE NEWS IS A WAR CRIME: MSM DENIES SAUDI ATTACK ON HOSPITAL

It’s remarkable that this is even being written: Saudi Arabia is denying that it bombed Al-Thawra Hospital in besieged Hudaydah and is actually saying the warplanes of its coalition weren’t even in the area.

This is despite the fact that in a separate press conference, another lackey of Riyadh said jets were in fact in the area, conducting bombing raids on Wednesday and Thursday but were about a mile out from the site of the newest massacre. Cool story, ain’t it? Well. It gets even cooler. Because the Wahhabi-Takfiri tyrants are blaming Ansarullah for it and have officially declared it was some kind of an IED that went off!

And MSM – NYT, BBC, Reuters, AP, Telegraph and more – just seems to be rolling with this absurdity UNCRITICALLY. That any “news” organization would give the Saudi-Emirati coalition, which is responsible for 600,000 Yemeni civilian deaths and injuries, the least bit of air/print time in the first place is an obscenity on its own. These are war criminals, full-stop, and they should be treated solely as war criminals. But to let this gang of Shi’a-hating psychopaths use such a platform as a shield for its atrocities and a means of fallaciously shifting blame onto the forces defending civilians against those very atrocities? Takes obscenity, elevates it, then puts it on PCP.

Outrage aside though, what matters of course is the evidence. And there are literally dozens ON TOP OF DOZENS of eyewitnesses who described a “double-tap” AERIAL attack. Al-Masirah, Saba, Al-Mayadeen, Al-Alam and Al-Manar all had reporters speaking to SURVIVORS of the massacre who SAW warplanes drop bombs on the hospital as well as the nearby fish market and then double back around to carry out another hit, bombing an ambulance at the medical center’s gate – by Jonathan Azaziah

https://www.fort-russ.com/2018/08/when-fake-news-is-a-war-crime-msm-denies-saudi-attack-on-hospital/

(* A KP)

Who hit Hodeidah? Question marks surround culprit of deadly Yemen attack

Saudi-led coalition initially thought to be behind attack, but evidence suggests mortar bombs may have killed 60 at port, market and hospital

Five days after an attack in Hodeidah in Yemen that left scores dead and was immediately blamed on Saudi-led coalition air strikes, the identity of the warring party responsible for the attack is still unknown.

As new evidence has been unearthed, question marks loom over whether the attack was carried out by warplanes.

Witness Alaa Thabet told Middle East Eye he was convinced the attack was carried out by coalition warplanes.

"While I was coming back to my house, I heard a warplane hover," he said.

"Then I heard an air strike target the fish market and the buzzing of the warplane was clearer after the attack."

Photographs of what appear to be mortar bomb shells found at the blast sites have emerged, however, adding to speculation that the coalition’s air force was not behind the attack.

Images released by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV channel and circulated by pro-government activists also seemed to show destruction more consistent with a mortar attack than an air strike.

"Pro-Hadi media cannot work in Hodeidah and we got the evidence from videos were taken by al-Masirah TV channel,” Jamal al-Zuraiqi, a pro-government social activist in the southwestern city of Taiz, told MEE.

"The videos did not show any craters in the ground and the [al-Masirah] reporter said there was more than one explosion. All of us know that air strikes leave craters in the ground, so this cannot be an air strike."

Accusations and counter-accusations

The coalition itself was quick to deny it was behind the attack

Coalition denials of responsibility for deadly air strikes have in the past been proven to be falseA source in Hodeidah’s health office insisted coalition air strikes were behind the deaths at the hospital’s entrance.

He said there was “only one big explosion that killed dozens of people”, adding that a single mortar bomb could not leave more than 100 people dead or wounded.

Houthi sympathisers often accuse the coalition of deflecting blame for killing civilians by accusing the rebels instead.

“Usually they absorb the anger of Yemenis by denying killing civilians. We demand an international investigation [into] the aggressors’ [coalition] targeting of civilians in Hodeidah," Mohammed al-Dailami, a pro-Houthi political analyst, told MEE.

"The aggressors and their mercenaries do not shy away from denying something that all people are sure about, but if there is an independent investigation, that will expose them."

Why the Houthis would attack civilians in a city they are defending is not clear.

One reason posited by supporters of the government is the rebels may be trying to discredit the coalition by staging an attack while warplanes are in close proximity.

"The Houthis exploit the hovering of Saudi-led warplanes to target civilians, to trick the world into thinking the coalition targets civilians," Ali al-Makosh, a pro-government fighter in Marib province, told MEE.

The pro-government Amaliqa militia has mortars located five kilometres from the blast sites, but analysts and fighters believe the militia prefers to rely on air strikes.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/who-hit-hodeidah-question-marks-surround-culprit-deadly-yemen-attack-232112180

The evidence the „mortar theory“ relies on is this:

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Yemen Observer: It looks like fish market and Al-Thawra hospital were hit by mortars. Nearest Amaliqa positions are located 5 km from the market and 4.5 from the hospital, while Houthi are inside the city. (photos)

https://twitter.com/YemeniObserv/status/1025515008527147008

Fatima Alasrar: 1. The attack on the Hospital and Fishmarket yesterday, which initially was attributed to an airstrike, was denied by Coalition & revealed to be a result of a series of mortar shelling conducted by members of the #Iran-backed #Houthi militia. Residents in #Hodeidah CONFIRMED. (Film)

https://twitter.com/YemeniFatima/status/1025491644680953857

2. Although we were all skeptical when the coalition denied the airstrikes, all visual images revealed a consistent pattern of mortar shelling. Residents immediately noted that there was no crater or airstrike damage, instead, they uncovered mortar shells (photos)

https://twitter.com/YemeniFatima/status/1025491650447986688

3. I spoke to journalists, residents, and several US military experts who have confirmed to me that this is NOT the type of damage caused by an airstrike. Yemeni military experts noted the same. Below is a picture from #Houthi TV channel inadvertently indicting themselves. (photo)

https://twitter.com/YemeniFatima/status/1025491654592090112

My comment: This evidence is hardly convincing. 1) There are many contradicting eyewitnesses speaking of air raids. 2) How many mortars actually have been found? The film and the photos refr just to one piece. You can see that all show one place and the same person who takes and holds it. 3) You can see what a tiny „crater“ this mortar had caused in the street. The effect of one of these mortars will be quite limited. There should have been found at least dozens at the fishmarket and at Al-Thawra hospital, which is not the case. 4) The evidence (photos; film) is from Houthi sources, which claim there had been an air raid; is this „mortar theory“ just a matter of interpretation by anti-Houthi activists? 5) For the alleged eyewitnesses of a mortar attack: Are there any further details of these interviews? Alasrar claims „I spoke to residents“. How? She hardly was at the place. 6) Even if the „mortar theory“ would be true, the fact that there was mortar shellig would tell absolutely nothing about who had fired these mortars. 7) But those who push this theory exactly are claiming this, without any evidence why this mortar fire would point to the Houthis. 8) It is quite unlikely that the Houthi side would shell its own territory. Unless there would not exist a clear proof that the Houthi side had committed this shelling proability tells us that only the anti-Houthi side could have done this shelling. Brian Whitaker in his article assumed UAE-backed anti-Houthi Yemeni militia which are standing in the south of the city, which would be the most probable possibility. 9) It is quite striking in what a way this baseless claim is used by anti-Houthi activists and by offcial anti-Houthi propaganda (Saudi coalition, Hadi government) to blame the Houtis for the Hodeidah massacre. 10) It’s strange that Alsrar seems more interested in the political consequences she demands than in the evidence itself: „The #Houthi militia has no business shelling#Yemenis with mortars and
attacking neighbors with ballistic missiles. Disarmament of the militia and an
accountable
#yemeni government is what Yemenis needs“ (https://twitter.com/YemeniFatima/status/1025504896232116224) 11) All this even makes more probable that this whole „mortar theory“ is nothing more than a propaganda scam which is executed just for whitewashing the Saudi coalition and for blaming the Houthis. 12) The most stupid argument (missing any evidence, which must be repeated again) ist hat the Houthis willinly committed this massacre for reasons of propaganda, for blaming the Saudi coalition. Alsarar: „It's utterly shocking to grapple with the reality that #Iran-backed #Houthis caused this attack
to use it as a propaganda opportunity. This may sound unbelievable, yet a
majority of
#Yemenis I spoke to
understand how desperate the militia can go to remain in control“ (https://twitter.com/YemeniFatima/status/1025491661865005057).
This is not the first time such a claim had been made. And, already in eastern
Ukraine in 2014 the Ukrainian army and Ukrainian militia quite often raised
this claim against the separatists, baseless in all cases.

(* A K P)

Dozens of Dead Civilians, and Fingers Pointing in Both Directions

Yet like so much of Yemen’s civil war, many elements of the multiple attacks on Thursday remain hazy: who was responsible, and who or what was the intended target. The main combatants in the battle for Al Hudaydah, a city of 600,000 people, have blamed each other for explosions in a residential neighborhood, at the city’s fish market, and outside the main hospital. The Houthi rebels controlling Al Hudaydah, the country’s vital lifeline for food and medicine, and medics treating the wounded say the Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes against civilian targets. The Saudis blamed the Houthis, pointing to evidence compiled over the weekend suggesting that mortars, which are launched from the ground, were used rather than missiles from planes.

So far, neither international aid groups nor the United Nations has attributed blame.

Through lunchtime on Thursday, numerous bombs fell on a neighborhood next to a Houthi military compound. A resident whose house was damaged said that there were no casualties, and that other neighbors had said the security compound was mostly abandoned at the time of the attack.

Around 4 p.m., three bombs hit the city’s main fish market in quick succession. About 30 minutes later, two more detonated nearby, at the entrance to the central hospital, and a third struck the roof of the hospital records room, witnesses said.

Initial reports by medics and aid organizations indicated that fighter jets belonging to the Saudi-led coalition carried out the attack. The Saudis and Emiratis vigorously contested those allegations, telling reporters that their planned air operations for that day were targeting areas outside the city.

Fragments of munitions gathered at the attack sites as well as interviews with six residents and witnesses suggested that the weapons used on Thursday were mortars, not missiles, indicating that the attacks were launched from the ground.

The provenance of the mortars is unclear. Fragments recovered at the scene did not show manufacturers’ information or serial numbers that might indicate which arsenal the weapons came from - By Mohammed Ali Kalfood and Margaret Coker

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/world/middleeast/yemen-port-attack.html

My comment: Look at comment above.

(A K P)

Yemeni Govt Accuses EU of Bias Towards Houthis

The Yemeni government expressed shock towards international accusations made against the Saudi-led Arab Coalition on purported involvement in two terror attacks targeting Hodeida's Al-Thawra Hospital and the fish market.
The August 2 attack killed and wounded dozens of civilians. Accusations were made despite the coalition proving it did not carry out any operations in the port city.
Technical evidence was submitted to the UN Security Council and made public. It showed that strikes on the two targets resulted from mortars fired from Houthi-held posts.
“The Yemeni Government considers such accusations, most recently issued by the European Union's statement, to confirm that many people pay little attention to objective facts and are driven by their own predispositions to acquit Houthi militias which have carried out attacks against maritime navigation lanes south-east the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandeb Strait,” the Yemeni Foreign Ministry said in a statement published by the Yemeni News Agency (Saba).

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1354711/yemeni-govt-accuses-eu-bias-towards-houthis

My comment: Look at comment above. The anti-Houthi propaganda misuses this massacre to blame the Houthis and whitewash the Saudi coalition. The EU statement is not „shocking“ at all in the meaning the Hadi government wants to tell us.

(* A K P)

Joint NGO statement on attack in Hodeidah on 2 August

We, the undersigned humanitarian and human rights organisations, strongly condemn the major attacks that hit a fish market and the entrance to Yemen's largest hospital, Al Thawra, in Hodeidah on 2 August, which reportedly killed over 40 civilians, including children. Hospitals are protected under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and parties to the conflict are obliged to do everything possible to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, as the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, emphasised in her condemnation of the attack.

We urge world leaders including the UN Security Council to condemn the attack in the strongest possible terms, and call for an urgent investigation to ensure that those responsible for any violations against international humanitarian law, especially attacks against civilian targets and medical infrastructure, are held accountable. We call upon all those with influence with parties to the conflict to demand that they immediately cease these reckless attacks that risk innocent lives, and instead engage meaningfully and constructively with the UN Special Envoy to work towards an immediate ceasefire and political solution.

We particularly remind the UK, US and France that, as key supporters and arms suppliers to the Saudi/Emirati-led coalition, as well as permanent members of the Security Council, that they bear a special moral and legal responsibility to ensure that the coalition fully complies with the rules of IHL. In light of the ongoing violations against civilians by all parties to the conflict, we reiterate our call to all states to cease the supply of all arms at risk of being used in Yemen.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/joint-ngo-statement-attack-hodeidah-2-august

https://www.careinternational.org.uk/joint-statement-care-joins-other-ngos-strongly-condemn-attack-hodeidah-2-august#.W2hYjJHaWDY.facebook

(A P)

Yemen – Bombing in Hudaydah (2 August 2018)

France condemns the bombing which, among other things, caused damage in the vicinity of the city of Hudaydah’s main hospital on 2 August, killing many people, including civilians. It calls for full light to be shed on these events. France recalls that all parties are obliged to adhere to international humanitarian law, particularly when it comes to protecting civilians and humanitarian and medical personnel.

https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/yemen/events/article/yemen-bombing-in-hudaydah-02-08-18?xtor=RSS-1

cp2 Allgemein / General

(* A K P)

Interactive Map of Yemen War

https://yemen.liveuamap.com/

(* B K P)

In Yemen, UAE tries to manage optics as well as its military offensive

CNN was invited to join one of the UAE's airdrops over Yemen -- it went to an area recently captured by coalition-backed forces in southern Hodeidah.

Coalition aid is on the uptick as the ground offensive on Hodeidah has stalled. It's the latest sign that the coalition is seeking to bolster the optics of its offensive amid ongoing UN-sponsored mediation efforts.

The Hodeidah offensive was expected to exacerbate Yemen's dire humanitarian situation. The plan to wrest control of Hodeidah from the rebels has since shifted to something close to a siege, although al-Yamani is careful not to use the word. The coalition-backed forces are slowly taking over villages surrounding the port city -- the Houthis' main gateway to the Red Sea -- to isolate the rebels and pressure them to leave, he explains.

The optics of war

More than just parties to the conflict, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are also interlocutors that could make or break the UN-led peace process.

For this reason, the coalition pays close attention to the way that they project their power in the international arena. The Riyadh-based coalition spokesman made a habit of publicizing the flow of ships to the port facilitated by the coalition, and blames the Houthis for any obstruction or delay of aid.

There is no immediate need for the expensive air deliveries such as the ones that the UAE have conducted -- aid and commercial ships still go through Hodeidah's port and many communities in coalition-controlled areas are still accessible by road. But more than ever, the UAE feels it must manage the optics of its more muscular approach to regional politics.

Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash describes the UAE's role as taking on "the burden" of security in the neighborhood. The campaign in Yemen has allowed the UAE to secure a presence in strategic Yemeni ports such as Aden and Socotra.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/07/middleeast/uae-yemen-offensive-intl/index.html

(* B K P)

There Is No Case for U.S. Support for the War on Yemen

The U.S.-backed war on Yemen doesn’t have a lot of public defenders, so it is worth responding when someone does make an explicitly pro-war argument. Fatima Alasrar makes the unpersuasive case for continuing U.S. support for the Saudi coalition.

All of this is false or misleading. Prior to the Saudi intervention, the Houthis mouthed anti-American slogans but posed no threat to the United States, and they were hostile to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). If the Houthis are now a sworn enemy of the United States, it is because the U.S. has been aiding and abetting the war effort against them and the people of Yemen. There are no vital U.S. interests at stake in the conflict, and that has made the initial decision to back the coalition’s intervention impossible to justify. The Houthis are not Iranian proxies and do not act on Tehran’s orders. They are not Iran’s “tool” and have their own agenda focused on Yemen. The threat to shipping is wildly exaggerated and certainly not sufficient to justify enabling coalition war crimes.

Alasrar goes on to assert that backing the coalition has something to do with combating AQAP

The Associated Press reporting on this issue makes it very clear that the coalition hasn’t been fighting AQAP at all, but has instead been buying them off and recruiting their membersWhatever efforts the U.S. military has made to protect Yemeni civilians, they have not been successful. Civilian targets are still routinely hit by coalition airstrikes, and many are obviously targeted on purpose. Targeting advice doesn’t make anything better if it just makes the coalition pilots more accurate when they are blowing up markets and weddings. The conceit that halting U.S. support would lead to more civilian casualties ignores that U.S. assistance is critical to keeping the bombing campaign going.

U.S. support for the war on Yemen is indefensible, so it is not surprising that the case for U.S. policy is so weak and riddled with errors- by Daniel Larison

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/there-is-no-case-for-u-s-support-for-the-war-on-yemen/

and this is the article larison is referring to (I had linked it at “propaganda” earlier): https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/yemen-bad-it-would-be-worse-without-us-involvement-26801

(* B P)

The War on Qatar That Almost Happened

Alex Emmons reports that the Saudis and their allies intended to invade and take over Qatar last year, but pressure from Tillerson prevented this from happening.

If this report is correct, it confirms that the Saudis and Emiratis are even more reckless than we already knew them to be. They are an even greater menace to regional stability and peace than they appeared to be. It is also another reminder that Trump’s embrace of Mohammed bin Salman and his father over the last year and a half is dangerous and irresponsible, and it has encouraged them in their destructive and destabilizing behavior. The story shows that the U.S. can successfully rein in its reckless clients when it wants to.

If the Trump administration wanted to use its influence to halt the disastrous, atrocious Saudi coalition war on Yemen, they could do so. It might be more difficult than preventing an attack on Qatar, but it could still be done. The Trump administration doesn’t rein in the Saudi coalition in Yemen because it has no wish to do so – by Daniel Larison

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-war-on-qatar-that-almost-happened/

(A K P)

IRGC Ret. Gen. Dismisses Propaganda Introducing Iran As Mastermind of Yemeni Attack on Saudi Vessels

A retired general of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) blasted western media efforts to portray Iran as the mastermind of the last week attack by Yemen's Ansarullah movement on two Saudi warships in Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but his remarks prompted media hype after they were released with misquotes.

Addressing a ceremony in the Northeastern city of Mashhad this morning, Brigadier General Nasser Sha'bani, a former commander of the IRGC, said Iran has bonds with nations in the region, "but some western and hostile officials and media outlets induced an image as if we had asked the Yemenis to strike two Saudi warships and they did that, but the spiritual children of the revolution in the region have grown their capabilities to the levels that they can plan such operations" (independently).

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970516001216

(* A E K)

Vorläufige Entwarnung

Saudi-Arabien lässt Öltanker wieder durch Meerenge fahren

Die kurze Krise um die saudiarabischen Öltransporte durch das Rote Meer ist beendet. Sie dauerte insgesamt nur acht bis neun Tage. Am Sonnabend teilte das saudische Energieministerium mit, dass Tanker, die für die staatliche Erdölgesellschaft Aramco fahren, wieder die Meerenge Bab Al-Mandab passieren dürfen, die das Rote Meer mit dem Golf von Aden verbindet.

Die Krise war angeblich durch einen Angriff der schiitischen Organisation Ansarollah, die einen erheblichen Teil des Jemen einschließlich der Hauptstadt Sanaa beherrscht, auf zwei saudische Tanker ausgelöst worden. Das Energieministerium des Königreichs hatte daraufhin am 25. Juli die sofortige Einstellung aller Öltransporte durch die nur 27 bis 29 Kilometer breite Meeresstraße des Bab Al-Mandab angeordnet. Das sollte solange gelten, »bis die Situation klarer wird und der Seeweg wieder sicher ist«. Einige westliche Medien meldeten damals, die Saudis hätten die Meerenge gesperrt. Das wäre eine Kriegshandlung gewesen, die alle Verbündeten Riads getroffen hätte. In Wirklichkeit bezog sich die Anweisung jedoch nur auf saudische Transporte. Kurzzeitig hieß es, die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate würden sich diesem Schritt anschließen. Das geschah offenbar nicht.

https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/337485.jemen-krieg-vorläufige-entwarnung.html

(A E K)

Saudi oil shipments moving near Yemen again

Saudi Aramco announced its tankers were moving through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait after a July attack.

https://www.upi.com/Energy-News/2018/08/06/4821533549726/?sl=1

(* A K P)

Warship Or Oil Tanker – What Did The Houthis Hit?

Late last month, reports emerged from Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies that the Yemen Houthi rebels had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the strait of Bab el-Mandeb, one of which sustained moderate damage. The Houthis, meanwhile, reported they had in fact attacked a Saudi warship, the Al-Damman frigate.

Taking anything reported by either the Houthis or the Saudis at face value is risky business, but defense and security expert Stephen Bryen has written an article for Asia Times on the possibility of each of these narratives being true.

The Houthis are aware, Bryen says, that an attack on a Saudi oil tanker would be perceived as a provocation, and this provocation would be a blow to Iran, which sponsors the rebels. The Houthis claim therefore that the Saudi reports of such an attack are a provocation—and a deliberate one.

This is a possibility: there are those who believe that Saudi Arabia, by claiming that the Houthis tried to sink an oil tanker, might be trying to pull the United States into the Yemen war. The suspension of oil shipments via Bab el-Mandeb, which immediately pushed prices higher, would certainly give the U.S. incentive to intervene. It is important to note, however, that such suggestions are pure speculation at the moment.

According to Bryen, whatever the motivation behind Saudi Arabia’s reports, it is much more likely that the Houthis hit a frigate, based on previous attacks on other Saudi warships and the weapons—suicide boats, missile launchers, and drones—that the Yemeni rebel group has at its disposal. What’s more, a Houthi military official told Chinese Xinhua that the Saudi ship was in the war zone in the Red Sea.

https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/Warship-Or-Oil-Tanker-What-Did-The-Houthis-Hit.html

(* A K P)

Did the Houthis sink a warship or hit an oil tanker?

Mystery surrounds alleged rebel attack on Saudi ship in critical Bab el-Mandeb Strait

The Houthis say that the Saudi claim that oil tankers were attacked is a deliberate provocation and while they did launch an attack it was against Saudi warships off the coast of Hodeida. Houthi leaders claim their forces sank a Saudi warship, identified as a French-built Lafayette-class frigate called Al-Damman.

The Houthis are sensitive that any attack on an oil tanker would be a provocation that would undermine Iran as much as Saudi Arabia, and Iran is their principal sponsor, providing most of their military arms. The conflict between Yemen and the Saudi-led coalition (which basically means Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) in its essence is a fight over whether Yemen will be controlled by Sunni or Shiite forces.

Lafayette-class frigates operate with different naval forces including those of France, Singapore and Taiwan.

Whether a single drone, or for that matter a single missile, would be able to destroy the Damman is an open question.

The bigger question is who should be believed? If a Saudi oil tanker was hit by a missile then it could be seriously damaged. If it was hit by a drone, less so but it still could cause serious damage. If the oil-tanker story is bogus and the Saudis either had an important warship damaged or sunk, the consequences would be much more serious. Without independent confirmation the answer remains unknown.

http://www.atimes.com/article/did-the-houthis-sink-a-warship-or-hit-an-oil-tanker/amp/

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

(* B H)

World Bank: Water Supply in a War Zone : A Preliminary Analysis of Two Urban Water Tanker Supply Systems in the Republic of Yemen

This discussion paper summarizes the results and implications of a study commissioned by the World Bank to conduct a rapid assessment of the state of private water tanker supply systems in two Yemeni cities, Sana’a and Aden. The study emanated from the World Bank’s Water, Sanitation, and Health (WASH) Poverty Diagnostic for the Republic of Yemen, which identified serious gaps in access to basic water and sanitation services (World Bank 2017).

A combination of poverty, water scarcity, armed conflict, and warfare has produced serious challenges for both water supply and sanitation in Yemen. Despite this urgency, little recent data is available on the state of the country’s water supply and sanitation systems, in large part because key parts of the country remain inaccessible due to active conflict. The study described in this discussion paper accordingly presents one of the only detailed, survey-based assessments of water supply and sanitation in an active war zone. While it is based on a partial rather than a systematic survey, it highlights a number of key aspects of Yemen’s urban water supply and sanitation situation.

First, as a result of pre-existing challenges exacerbated by recent conflict, there is a considerable gap in the urban water supply sector. Second, this gap is being filled largely by private tanker trucks, on which urban Yemenis are increasingly dependent. Third, while the tanker truck system plays a critical role in filling this gap in the formal water supply system, it raises serious questions with respect to affordability, health, environment, and water resources management. Overall, the study suggests the need for urgent interventions to improve water supply and sanitation in Yemen’s two largest cities.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/water-supply-war-zone-preliminary-analysis-two-urban-water-tanker-supply-systems and https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30107 and full report https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/128907-WP-P165727-Water-Supply-in-a-War-Zone-PUBLIC.pdf

(* B H)

Cordaid starts emergency aid in Yemen

4 million people in Yemen are at risk of starvation, making it the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in the eyes of the UN’s Secretary General. Despite severe difficulties in accessing the conflict-torn country, Cordaid is now offering emergency assistance to war victims in cooperation with a local partner organization.

"Currently we mainly concentrate on saving lives. But as soon as the situation improves, we’d like to assist people to pick up their lives again." Neal Deles, Cordaid emergency aid coordinatorDespite many challenges, Cordaid has succeeded in finding a local aid organization to work with and to provide assistance to 770 families who are among the hardest hit populations.

This week the Yamaan Foundation will start distributing food vouchers, money for shelter and hygiene kits. Deles: “We work with food vouchers because it is proven to be effective. Not only for the people we help but for the entire community. Purchasing, storing and distributing food ourselves, is a very expensive logistical operation. By giving vouchers people can spend on the market or in stores, we stimulate the local economy. Everyone benefits.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/cordaid-starts-emergency-aid-yemen

(B H)

World Food Programme, Logistics ClusterYemen - Humanitarian Imports Overview, July 2018

The chart represents WFP food imports for its programmes in Yemen, and it includes food commodities imported through commercial vessels as well as chartered vessels for humanitarian cargo.

The Logistics Cluster facilitates the cargo transport via sea on board the WFP-chartered vessels VOS Apollo and VOS Theia.

The Logistics Cluster facilitates combined chartered airlifts from Djibouti to Sana’a, on a frequency contingent on needs and funding.

Average delays in entering ports in July 2018

The operational status of ports as shown on the map is based on information provided by Wilhelmsen Ship Services AS.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-imports-overview-july-2018

(* B H)

Jemen: Interview mit Programmkoordinatorin Franziska Kellerhaus

Als Regionale Programmkoordinatorin MENA (Jemen, Palästina und Nordafrika) im libanesischen Beirut koordiniert Franziska Kellerhaus die DRK-Hilfe vor Ort. Im Interview gibt sie Einblick in ihre Arbeit. Neben Herausforderungen und Erfolgen verrät sie Dinge, die sie bewegen und motivieren.

FK: Wir arbeiten seit zehn Jahren im Land und beteiligen uns derzeit zum Beispiel mit Nahrungsmitteln, Trinkwasser, Medikamenten und anderen Hilfsgütern an der Nothilfe für die Bevölkerung. Darüber hinaus fördern wir medizinische Einrichtungen, in denen insbesondere werdende Mütter und Kinder Hilfe erhalten. Die Situation im Jemen ist katastrophal und hat sich seit Beginn des Konflikts 2015 stetig verschlechtert. Wir sprechen mittlerweile von der schlimmsten humanitären Katastrophe weltweit.

Besonders stark betroffen ist der Gesundheitsbereich. Weniger als die Hälfte aller Gesundheitseinrichtungen ist überhaupt noch betriebsbereit, viele davon müssen mit einem absoluten Minimum an Medikamenten, Geräten, medizinischen Verbrauchsmaterialien und Personal auskommen. Selbst einfache Verletzungen und Krankheiten bleiben oft unbehandelt und führen viel zu oft zum Tod.

Die öffentliche Infrastruktur ist fast vollständig zusammengebrochen, die Versorgung mit Trinkwasser ist kaum noch zu gewährleisten, Elektrizität und Müllentsorgung sind praktisch nicht mehr vorhanden.

Es gibt viele Dinge, die mich bewegt und beeindruckt haben. Es sind aber vor allem die Menschen, die mir in Erinnerung bleiben. Die Dankbarkeit und Freude, die uns entgegengebracht wurde, als wir 2017 selbst vor Ort waren, war überwältigend.

Die Menschen im Jemen brauchen vor allem politische Bemühungen und Lösungen für ein Ende des Konflikts. Leider scheinen diese nicht in Sicht zu sein.

https://www.drk.de/en/hilfe-weltweit/wie-wir-arbeiten/jemen-interview-mit-programmkoordinatorin/

(A H K P)

Kuwait Provides Significant Support to WFP's Fight Against Famine in Yemen

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a new donation of US$50 million from the State of Kuwait for emergency food assistance in Yemen. The funds will be used to reach more than 2.5 million people over two months with wheat flour and oil through both direct distributions and WFP food assistance cards at retail outlets.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/kuwait-provides-significant-support-wfps-fight-against-famine-yemen

My comment: This is blood money. Kuwait helps bombing Yemen.

cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees

(* B H)

‘Immense’ needs of migrants making perilous journey between Yemen and Horn of Africa prompts $45 million UN migration agency appeal

As conflicts and natural disasters have sharply deteriorated living conditions in the Horn of Africa and Yemen, more and more people have been crossing the Gulf of Aden in both directions, leading the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to appeal for $45 million to provide critical aid to 81,000 people over three years.

The agency’s Regional Migrant Response Plan (RMRP), launched on Monday, is meant to cover movements in both directions between Yemen and Horn of Africa nations, Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia.

“The humanitarian needs in the region remain immense, which leave migrants and host communities in a vulnerable situation,” said Jeffrey Labovitz, IOM Regional Director for the region, including East Africa.

In 2018 alone, IOM anticipates 100,000 arrivals into Yemen — despite the ongoing conflict there — and approximately 200,000 returns from Yemen and Saudi Arabia to the Horn of Africa countries. Of these, the UN migration agency and its partners, including the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), will target the most at-risk.

They number around 81,000, including vulnerable women; unaccompanied children and the elderly; members of ethnic and religious minorities; and victims of violence, as well as persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and victims of human trafficking.

Irregular migration by those mostly looking for work from the Horn of Africa to Gulf countries has been steadily increasing over the past few years, with approximately 100,000 people entering Yemen in 2017 alone. Often, migrants and refugees cross the Gulf of Aden from Djibouti or Somalia, arriving in Yemen with the support of smugglers.

The countries on this route are beset with humanitarian challenges.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/08/1016512

(* A B H)

UN High Commissioner for RefugeesUNHCR aids return of over 2,000 Somali refugees from Yemen

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Yesterday (Monday, 6 August), a boat carrying 116 Somali refugees arrived in the port of Berbera in Somalia after sailing from Aden in Yemen on Sunday. This is the latest assisted spontaneous return facilitated by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in cooperation with IOM and the authorities in Yemen and Somalia. With this group, the number of refugees to have returned to Somalia since the programme started in 2017 has surpassed 2,000. So far this year 1,321 Somalis (including the 116 who left on Sunday) have returned to their places of origin in Somalia.

For the past two months, weather conditions had prevented the boat from sailing. Among the refugees were female heads of households looking forward to joining their extended families, several students who are hoping to resume their educations, and a critically ill patient who travelled with his son, family members and a medic.

The Assisted Spontaneous Returns (ASR) programme was initiated in 2017 in response to demand from refugees for UNHCR help in returning home. Yemen currently hosts over 270,000 refugees, the vast majority of whom (256,363) are Somali. Some 45 per cent are hosted in the south of the country, in Kharaz refugee camp – Yemen’s only refugee camp – and in the Basateen urban settlement in Aden. Others are in various locations in the north of the country.

https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/unhcr-aids-return-over-2000-somali-refugees-yemen

(* A H)

International Organization for MigrationIOM Helps Ethiopian Migrants, Somali Refugees Return Home from War-torn Yemen

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, continues to help migrants, including refugees, stranded in Yemen return home, with its latest voluntary humanitarian return support taking place this week (04-05/08). One movement left from Hudaydah with 132 Ethiopian migrants and the second from Aden with 116 Somali refugees. IOM transported the 132 Ethiopian migrants – 96 men, 19 women and 17 unaccompanied children, of which 10 were boys and seven girls – by bus from Sana’a to Hudaydah city, where they spent the night in a secure location. The next day (04/08), IOM brought the migrants to the port from which they left to voluntarily return home to Ethiopia via Djibouti.

Nearly 100,000 Yemenis have been displaced by the ongoing instability in Hudaydah. To support the displaced community, IOM is providing food to 500 people a day and medical assistance to 200 people a day.

“Despite the difficult environment in Hudaydah, IOM has been assisting migrants and the internally displaced population,” said Sarat Dash, IOM Chief of Mission in Yemen.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/iom-helps-ethiopian-migrants-somali-refugees-return-home-war-torn-yemen

(* B H)

International Organization for Migration: Regional Migrant Response Plan for the Horn of Africa and Yemen; 2018 - 2020

IOM: USD 45 Million Needed for 2018-2020 Migrant Response in Horn of Africa, Yemen

Nairobi – IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and its partners launched, on 6 August, a Regional Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) for the Horn of Africa and Yemen through which they are appealing to the international community for USD 45 million. The plan details support to migrants on the move in the Horn of Africa and Yemen from 2018 to 2020.

The response plan, developed in coordination with regional and country level non-governmental and intergovernmental partners, is a migrant-focused humanitarian and development strategy for vulnerable migrants from the Horn of Africa, specifically those from Somalia, Djibouti and Ethiopia, moving to and from Yemen. The plan targets some 81,000 people.

Irregular migration from the Horn of Africa to the Gulf countries has been steadily increasing over the past few years, with approximately 100,000 people entering Yemen, a major transit point on this route, in 2017. Often, migrants and refugees cross the Gulf of Aden from Djibouti or Somalia, arriving in Yemen with the support of smugglers.

The countries on this route are beset with humanitarian challenges. In Yemen, partners estimate that more than 20 million people need humanitarian assistance, while Somalia and Ethiopia are also in the grip of complex emergencies because of conflict and recurrent disasters.

The plan estimates that, like in 2017, up to 100,000 new arrivals from the Horn of Africa will reach Yemen in 2018, while 200,000 migrants and refugees will return from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Yemen to the Horn of Africa countries in the same period. Of these, 150,000 and 50,000 will return to Ethiopia and Somalia, respectively.

“This Regional Migrant Response Plan will guide IOM and its partners in addressing the growing needs of irregular migrants moving between the Horn of Africa and Yemen,” said Jeffrey Labovitz, IOM Regional Director for the East and Horn of Africa. “The humanitarian needs in the region remain immense, which leave migrants and host communities in a vulnerable situation,” he added.

The three-year plan includes urgent humanitarian interventions. It also details longer term actions to address the drivers of migration, build local migration management capacity and provide sustainable socioeconomic infrastructure to support communities of origin, transit and destination. The objectives of the plan are in keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals, connecting humanitarian and development field work.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/regional-migrant-response-plan-horn-africa-and-yemen-2018-2020 and in full: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Regional%20Migrant%20Response%20Plan%20for%20the%20H.A%20%26%20Yemen.pdf

(* A H K)

Yemen: Emergency Tracking Tool Report #11 - Displacement from Al Hudaydah (1 June - 29 July 2018)

From 23 to 29 July, IOM identified an increase of 5,151 displaced households.

The largest increases being within Amanat Al Asimah, Al Hudaydah and Hajjah Governorate, with:

727 HH (estimated 4,362 individuals) in Amanat Al Asimah

610 HH (estimated 3,660 individuals) in Al Hudaydah

437 HH (estimated 2,622 individuals) in Hajjah

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-emergency-tracking-tool-report-11-displacement-al-hudaydah-1-june-29-july-2018

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

(A P)

Yemen’s Houthi Leader Urges Canada to Open Embassy in Sana’a

The chairman of Yemen’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee called on Ottawa to open its embassy in Sana’a after Saudi Arabia expelled the Canadian ambassador and recalled its envoy over claims of interference in its internal affairs.

“We call on the Canadian government to open its embassy in Sana’a,” Mohammed Ali al-Houthi said on his Twitter account on Monday.

Sana’a welcomes the inauguration of the embassy, he wrote, adding that Yemen would be a replacement for a country (Saudi Arabia) that adopts “an offensive stance” against Canada.

https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/08/06/1795264/yemen-s-houthi-leader-urges-canada-to-open-embassy-in-sana-a

(A P)

13 tons of expired goods confiscated Sanaa

An office of Industry and Trade in the capital Sanaa destroyed on Monday 13 tons of expired goods.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news504271.htm

(AK P)

Tribesmen in Dhamar declares mass mobilization against Saudi aggression crimes

Tribesmen and sheikhs of Dhamar province on Monday held a tribal meeting to confront the Saudi-led aggression coalition.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news504267.htm

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

(* A P)

Presidency of the Southern Transitional Council Issues A Statement Concerning Crisis in Aden and Southern Governorates

In its regular meeting, presidency of the council discussed the economic, political and social crises suffocating Aden and other liberated southern governorates in addition to unprecedent security loose. We consider these acts as systematic and deliberately run for political intentions of subjugating the southern people, overwhelming his will and denying his legitimate rights of restoring his state on the borders of 1990 in addition to maintaining security, stability, dignified living and social comfort as all other peoples loving peace and security.
According to extensive discussions, the presidency thinks that these devastating fabricated crises in the south result from the corrupt government’s failure as this government lacks integrity and efficiency and never considers the principles of wise ruling. This is manifested in the following:
1. Inefficiency of coordination with the Arab Coalition to solve political and economic issues in spite of generous and unlimited support provided by the Arab Coalition in all fields.
2. Complete failure in providing citizens with necessary services of dignified living in addition to deliberate impoverishment of the society through allowing deterioration of national currency in site of financial cover provided by Arab Coalition, especially Saudi Arabia.
3. Ineffective use of generous grants provided by Saudi Arabia, UAE and other friend countries to improve living conditions and services. Instead, this ineffective use led to deterioration of services and living conditions as this unwise government deliberately spent monetary grants on disrupting economic and social security and buying loyalties.
4. This severe deterioration of all political, economic, social and security aspects of public life results from irresponsiveness of decision makers and their unaccepted arrogance against public demands expressed peacefully in January 2018 demonstrations

https://en.smanews.org/presidency-of-the-southern-transitional-council-issues-a-statement-concerning-crisis-in-aden-and-southern-governorates

(A P)

Public Uprising in Al-Sheikh Othman Against the Corrupt Government

Angry protesters demonstrated against Ben Daghar’s corrupt government on Sunday August 5th, 2018 in al-Sheikh Othman. Protesters blocked the roads in expression of their anger against poor life conditions, madly high prices and extreme poverty caused by this corrupt government.

https://en.smanews.org/public-uprising-in-al-sheikh-othman-against-the-corrupt-government

(A P)

Demonstrations against Corruption and Deterioration of Daily Life Conditions in Al-Mualla – Aden

Several citizens of Al-Mualla – Aden demonstrated on Saturday August 4th, 2018 afternoon to express their resentment of deteriorated daily life conditions in Aden

https://en.smanews.org/demonstrations-against-corruption-and-deterioration-of-daily-life-conditions-in-al-mualla-aden

(A P)

Film: While #Yemen is on brink of biggest famine man-made since WWII & yet there are wealth men & political leaders from #Yemen, spending their money on non necessary parties, Hameed AlAhmar is a leader in Islah party, he spent millions of $ on his son wedding in #Saudi Arabia, Shame

https://www.facebook.com/StopTheWarOnYemen/videos/vb.319595141544022/942224782614385/?type=2&theater

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

(B P)

UN special envoy, Martin Griffiths, will not do anything to achieve peace in #Yemen if he can't talk to White House and Downing Street and their proxies, Saudis and Emiratis. Let me tell you what our premier says "decision of war and peace is in the hands of Saudi-led coalition.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1027008193032073216

The US, not the UN, can end the war in Yemen.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1027018409207373826

(* B P)

UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths has been shuttling between Sanaa, Aden, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in search of a political solution for Yemen. The bone of contention remains Hodeidah, which the coalition demands that the Houthis hand over as a precondition for talks.

"If the Houthis don't withdraw from Hodeidah, they will be buried there," al-Yamani, the Yemeni foreign minister, said. His talk of a possible siege of the city is what aid agencies fear could worsen the humanitarian crisis.

The Houthis argue that the demands over Hodeidah are meant to "ensure that the peace deal fails."

"Houthis are a big faction of Yemeni society, so you cannot tell millions of Yemenis to evacuate Hodeidah province and hand it over to occupiers," Zaid, the Houthi youth minister, told CNN.

The Houthis say they are willing to hand over financial and administrative supervision of the port to the UN and are demanding an end to the military offensive.

UN envoy Griffiths was tight-lipped about the progress of the talks. In a statement to CNN, he said he was encouraged by the "expression of willingness from both sides to listen to the other side."

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/07/middleeast/uae-yemen-offensive-intl/index.html

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

(*B K P)

Israel Aiding Saudi Arabia In Developing Nuclear Weapons

Saudi interest in developing nuclear weapons dates back to the 1970s, when the kingdom learned of major steps taken by both Israel and India in the development of nuclear armaments.

The Israeli government has begun selling the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia information on how to develop nuclear weapons, according to a senior official at the Israeli military organization iHLS (Israel’s Homeland Security). Ami Dor-on, a senior nuclear commentator at the organization — which is partially funded by U.S. weapons-giant Raytheon – came forward because of his concern over the emerging nuclear arms race in the region. The cooperation between the two countries in helping the Saudis to develop a nuclear weapons program is just the latest sign of their warming relationship, with Israel recently calling the Saudi crown prince “a partner of Israel.”

While Dor-On, speaking to news outlet Arabi21, did not elaborate on the details of the information being exchanged, he stated that the sharing of this information was likely to be just the beginning of Israeli involvement in a future Saudi nuclear weapons program, which would likely see Israel “take the initiative to develop Saudi Arabia’s effort to acquire nuclear weapons” as a result of “the growing Saudi-Israeli relations.”

Dor-On additionally expressed his concern over the Saudis’ acquiring of nuclear weapons and a wider nuclear arms race in the region, stating that “this information should shock us as we see the world is changing for the worse, following the race for the possession of nuclear weapons that pass right over our heads in the Middle East.”

https://www.mintpressnews.com/israel-saudi-arabia-nuclear-weapons/243256/

cp8a Saudisch-kanadischer Streit / Saudi-Canadian feud

Frühere Berichte / Earlier reporting: YPR 441, cp8

(* A P)

Film: Saudi Arabia vs Canada

Saudi Arabia just expelled its Canadian ambassador after Canada called for the release of Saudi women and civil rights activists

https://www.facebook.com/MiddleEastEye/videos/1846700625395317/

(* A P)

Die Wüstentrolle
Saudi-Arabien fährt eine Kampagne gegen Kanada – politisch, wirtschaftlich, diplomatisch. Auch in den Medien versucht das Königshaus, die Nordamerikaner zu diskreditieren. Das geht nach hinten los.
(…) Nachdem die kanadische Außenministerin Chrystia Freeland die Freilassung der in Saudi-Arabien inhaftierten Frauenrechtlerin Samar Badawi gefordert hatte, wies das Königreich zunächst Ottawas Botschafter aus. Außerdem froren die Saudis ein vor Kurzem geschlossenes Handelsabkommen mit Kanada sowie alle neuen Investitionen ein.
Am Montagabend verkündete die staatliche Fluglinie Saudia dann, sie stelle ab kommender Woche alle Flüge nach Toronto ein. Außerdem will das Bildungsministerium in Kürze alle 7000 saudi-arabischen Studenten aus Kanada abziehen.
Das Regime flankiert seine Kampagne mit einer Medienoffensive gegen Kanada – einerseits über saudi-arabische Fernsehsender, andererseits über Twitter. Der Nachrichtensender Al Arabiya, der einer Gruppe saudi-arabischer Geschäftsmänner mit besten Verbindungen ins Königshaus gehört, strahlte am Montagabend eine kurze Doku über angebliche Menschenrechtsverletzungen in kanadischen Gefängnissen aus. Unter anderem behauptete Al Arabiya, dass zwischen 2015 und 2017 75 Prozent der Gefangenen in Haft gestorben seien, bevor ihnen überhaupt der Prozess gemacht wurde.
Dann stellte Al Arabiya “politische Gefangene” in kanadischer Haft vor, darunter den deutschen Holocaustleugner Ernst Zündel. Zündel hatte von 2003 bis 2005 in kanadischer Haft gesessen, weil seine Aufenthaltsberechtigung abgelaufen war. 2005 wurde er nach Deutschland ausgeliefert, wo er bis 2010 im Gefängnis saß. Im vergangenen Jahr verstarb Zündel.

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/saudi-arabiens-propaganda-gegen-kanada-die-wuestentrolle-a-1222010.html

(* A P)

Ein Kronprinz schlägt um sich

Der diplomatische Streit zwischen Saudiarabien und Kanada um einen kritischen Tweet ist mehr als eine Posse. Er zeigt, wie dünnhäutig und unberechenbar der saudische Thronfolger ist.

Gibt es eine Gebrauchsanweisung im Umgang mit dem saudischen Königshaus? Wer auf gute Geschäfte mit den Prinzen hofft, der hofiere sie. Kritische Themen wie der Krieg in Jemen, die Unterstützung radikaler Gruppen oder die Knebelung der Menschenrechte sollten besser nicht zur Sprache kommen.

Das Offensichtliche, also die verheerende Menschenrechtslage in Saudiarabien, ansprechen und damit den Erwartungen in der Öffentlichkeit gerecht werden, ohne die Beziehungen zum Königshaus abzubrechen – mit dieser Methode haben es nun auch die Kanadier versucht.

Doch die Reaktionen aus Saudiarabien waren heftigWie erklärt sich dieser Furor? Als eine «unzulässige Einmischung in die inneren Angelegenheiten des Königreiches und die Verletzung seiner Souveränität» will das Königshaus den Tweet verstanden wissen. Das klingt reichlich bigott, ruft man sich die Interventionslust der Saudi im benachbarten Jemen in Erinnerung.

Dem Thronfolger scheint es im Falle Kanadas aber vor allem darum zu gehen, ein Exempel zu statuieren. An die Adresse all seiner Kritiker richtet er die Warnung, seine Führung niemals infrage zu stellenDie Methode, sich das Gewissen zu erleichtern und dennoch Geschäfte mit einem der reaktionärsten Länder der Welt zu machen, stösst unter dem Regime von Saudiarabiens dünnhäutigem Kronprinzen erkennbar an seine Grenzen.

Das Unrecht in dem Land nicht anzusprechen, kann aber erst recht keine Alternative sein – von Daniel Steinvorth

https://www.nzz.ch/international/im-streit-mit-saudiarabien-verdient-kanada-solidaritaet-ld.1409503

(* A B P)

Saudi-Arabien empört über Einmischung in innere Angelegenheiten

Kanada, das sich an Menschenrechte hält, kritisiert die Festnahme von Frauenrechtlerinnen. Einmischung in andere Länder? Saudi-Arabien kooperiert im Krieg im Jemen mit Kämpfern der al-Qaida

Saudi-Arabien statuiert gerade ein Exempel an Kanada. Es ist aber eine Botschaft an die ganze Welt und alle, die dem König und den Prinzen mit Menschenrechten kommen wollen. Dass sich das Haus Saud mit einer liberalen Vorzeigedemokratie anlegt, ist bezeichnend. Die Botschaft ist simpel und lautet: "Keine Kritik an Saudi-Arabien!" Andernfalls setzt es sofort Gegenmaßnahmen.

Wer sich die Zeit nimmt, die Reaktionen anzuschauen, die sich unterhalb der Äußerung des Außenministeriums aneinanderreihen, der bekommt einen Eindruck davon, was sich an Emotionen zum Thema "Menschenrechtsverletzung" angestaut hat und was ins Fass getan wird. Der Streit auf Twitter, an dem offizielle, halb-offizielle und private Teilnehmer mitmischten, fand dann durch einem Twitter-Posting einen Höhepunkt, der Kanada andeutungsweise mit einem Anschlag ähnlich wie 9/11 bedroht haben soll. Das Posting wurde nach Anweisung des saudischen Ministeriums für Medien gelöscht, der dafür verantwortliche Account infographic_ksa mit immerhin 350.000 Followers gelöscht.

Aber nicht nur auf dieser Ebene sind die Reaktionen impulsiv, sondern auch auf der politischen, wie in der Washington Post von Thomas Juneau dargestellt wird. Juneau gibt dort einen Abriss der kanadisch-saudi-arabischen Beziehungen der letzten Jahre und stellt heraus, was zur Krise geführt hat.

Die kanadische Regierung verhielt sich nun nach den kürzlichen Festnahmen von Raifs Schwester Samar Badawi und Nassima al-Sadah auffälliger. Sie stellte Festnahmen der couragierten Frauen öffentlich als alarmierenden Skandal heraus.

Dies passt nicht zur Rolle, in welcher der impulsive (BND) saudi-arabische Kronprinz Muhammed Bin Salman sein Land und sich sehen will. Er will nach Außen und Innen als Reformer dastehen - als absoluter Herrscher, der keine Kritik duldet, wie sich das in den vorhergehenden Verhaftungswellen schon gezeigt hat (vgl. Absolutistisches Saudi-Arabien: Viel schlechter als sein Ruf).

Absolutistische Herrschaft: "Die Kritik bin ich"

Das Signal, dass Frauen, die Kritik am Fahrverbot oder an den Wächtergesetzen (gesetzlich verpflichtende Aufsicht durch Männer) weggesperrt werden, dass Männer und Frauen, die grundlegend die politische Ordnung und die Missachtung der Menschenrechte in Saudi-Arabien kritisieren, eine noch schlimmere Strafe, nämlich die Todesstrafe erwartet, gehört essentiell zu Muhammed Bin Salmans Innenpolitik.

Außenpolitisch sieht das so aus:

„Es geht nicht so sehr um Kanada, sondern um die Botschaft, dass Riad keine Kritik jeder Art duldet. Es ist eine Botschaft an die Europäer: Kritisiert uns und ihr werdet bestraft. Und es ist eine Botschaft an seine Nachbarn: Bleibt auf Linie oder ihr werdet bestraft. Die Beziehungen mit Kanada sind in diesem Sinne nur Kollateralschaden. Die bilateralen Verbindungen sind marginal und Kanada fehlt es an Kapazität, um mit Härte zu vergelten. So ist Ottawa ein leichtes Ziel.“ Thomas Juneau

Einmischung in Syrien und im Jemen

Und, was Jemen angeht, so zeigt sich nicht nur, dass sich Saudi-Arabien nach eigenem Gusto auf sehr brutale Art in innere Angelegenheiten eines anderen Landes einmischt - wie ja auch zuvor jahrelang und sehr intensiv durch Finanzierung und Bewaffnung von Milizen im Syrien, wo man sich "Freiheitskämpfer" bediente, die ebenfalls nichts von Menschenrechten halten – vo Thomas Pany

https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Saudi-Arabien-empoert-ueber-Einmischung-in-innere-Angelegenheiten-4130917.html

(* A P)

Saudi-Arabien weist nach Streit um Menschenrechte kanadischen Botschafter aus
In einem Streit um Menschenrechte hat die Regierung Saudiarabiens am frühen Montagmorgen den kanadischen Botschafter des Landes verwiesen. Gleichzeitig rief die saudische Führung ihren Botschafter in Kanada zu Konsultationen nach Riad zurück, berichtete die saudische Agentur SPA. Zudem fror Saudiarabien ein erst vor kurzem geschlossenes Handelsabkommen mit Kanada ein.
Anlass war ein Tweet der kanadischen Aussenministerin Chrystia Freeland, in der sie die Freilassung der saudiarabischen Aktivistin Samar Badawi forderte. Dies sei eine eklatante und unzulässige Einmischung in die inneren Angelegenheiten Saudiarabiens, betonte das saudische Aussenministerium.
Badawi war nach Angaben der Menschenrechtsorganisation Human Rights Watch vor kurzem mit einer Mitstreiterin festgenommen worden. Badawi und Nassima al-Sadah hatten jahrelang für das Recht gekämpft, in dem ultrakonservativen Königreich Auto fahren zu dürfen, berichtete die Organisation. Die Festnahmen seien ein Signal, dass das saudische Königshaus jeden friedlichen Widerspruch gegen seine autokratische Herrschaft als Bedrohung verstehe.
https://www.nzz.ch/international/saudiarabien-weist-nach-streit-um-menschenrechte-kanadischen-botschafter-aus-ld.1409097?mktcid=nled&mktcval=107&kid=_2018-8-5

Anmerkung JK:Wenn ein Land Kritik an der Menschenrechtssituation verdient hat, dann Saudi-Arabien. In den deutschen „Qualitätsmedien“ hört man dagegen dazu nichts. Man stelle sich vor Russland würde so reagieren wie Saudi-Arabien, der deutsche Botschafter hätte angesichts der Stimmungsmache der deutschen „Qualitätsmedien“ und deutscher Politiker schon längst des Landes verwiesen werden müssen.

https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=45352#h03

(A E P)

Canada can easily replace Saudi Arabian crude oil imports: economist

Canada can easily replace the oil it imports from Saudi Arabia should relations with the Middle Eastern kingdom deteriorate to the point that trade in crude is halted, says an energy economist.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-canada-can-easily-replace-saudi-arabian-crude-oil-imports-economist/

(*A P)

Canada to ask allies to help cool Saudi dispute; U.S. offers no aid

Canada plans to seek help from the United Arab Emirates and Britain to defuse an escalating dispute with Saudi Arabia, sources said on Tuesday, but close ally the United States made clear it would not get involved. One well placed source said the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - which stresses the importance of human rights - planned to reach out to the United Arab Emirates.

Another source said Canada would also seek help from Britain. The British government on Tuesday urged the two nations to show restraint.

The United States, traditionally one of Canada’s most important friends, stayed on the sidelines.

“Both sides need to diplomatically resolve this together. We can’t do it for them; they need to resolve it together,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing.

The first Canadian source said Ottawa shared the view of foreign policy experts who believe the Saudi reaction reflected internal strains inside the kingdom.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-canada-diplomacy/canada-to-ask-allies-to-help-cool-saudi-dispute-u-s-offers-no-aid-idUSKBN1KS23G

My comment: „The British government on Tuesday urged the two nations to show restraint“: How „restraint“ by Canada should look like? Canada just had issued a standard claim that Saudi Arabia should release two newly detained Human Rights activists.

Not showing solidarity with Canada, the „West“ once again sells out its so-called „wWestern values“.

(* A P)

U.S. State Department urges Canada, Saudi Arabia to resolve dispute

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday urged Canada and Saudi Arabia to use diplomacy to resolve their dispute over the arrest of activists in the Arab kingdom, State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, adding the department has raised the issue with the Saudis.

“Both sides need to diplomatically resolve this together. We can’t do it for them, they need to resolve it together,” Nauert said in a briefing.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-canada-usa/u-s-state-department-urges-canada-saudi-arabia-to-resolve-dispute-idUSKBN1KS259

My comment: By this, the US proofs again not to be interested in democracy, freedom of speech and human rights at all.

(* A P)

Saudi Arabia ruptures ties with Canada, serving notice to would-be critics

The storm started with a tweet by Canada’s foreign minister last week expressing alarm at the recent arrest of a women’s rights activist in Saudi Arabia who had relatives living in Canada, and calling for her release.

On Monday, the Saudi government responded, with fury.

The Canadian ambassador was ordered to leave within 24 hours, and the Saudi government halted trade and investment deals between the two countries.

It was hardly the first time the kingdom, an absolute monarchy, had been chided for human rights abuses, or even the first time Canada had criticized the Saudi government since it started arresting the female activists in May. But under Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s young crown prince, a kingdom once known for its go-slow approach to foreign affairs has frequently reacted to perceived challenges from abroad with haste, spit and fire, analysts said. Beyond the feud, the lightning escalation highlighted Saudi Arabia’s increasingly assertive foreign policy under Crown Prince Mohammed. While he has won praise for shaking up the hidebound kingdom, trying to diversify its economy and easing some social restrictions, he has also helped entangle Saudi Arabia in foreign conflicts — including a civil war in Yemen and a feud with neighboring Qatar — that the kingdom has struggled to exit. “It’s becoming a pattern. Over the last three years, the leadership is becoming more unpredictable, more volatile,” said Kristian Ulrichsen, a Middle East fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute. “It’s injecting a lot of uncertainty at a time when they need people to enter Saudi Arabia and engage with it.”

But the Saudi decision to confront Canada was not without its logic, Ulrichsen added. “It sends a message to others who would think of criticizing Saudi policy, as several European countries have been doing over Yemen,” he said. And it was “cost-free, in their analysis — l ess costly in terms of their political, strategic and economic relationships than taking a stand against the U.S. or the U.K., for example.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/saudi-arabia-ruptures-ties-with-canada-serving-notice-to-would-be-critics/2018/08/06/5ad193f6-99a7-11e8-b55e-5002300ef004_story.html

(A P)

Saudi Arabia bullies Canada with Economic Threats for Criticizing its Horrible Human Rights Record

Saudi Arabia is attempting to bully Canada for criticizing the abysmal Saudi human rights record. (That is, if something as non-existent as Saudi human rights can be called abysmal).

Saudi Arabia simply is not very important to Canada.

Saudi Arabia only really has its petroleum and its sovereign wealth fund going for it. Canada has its own petroleum, and a diversified industrial economy.

https://www.juancole.com/2018/08/economic-criticizing-horrible.html

(*A P)

Saudi Arabia’s Ugly Spat With Canada

By expelling the Canadian ambassador, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman undermines the reforms he has made.

Saudi Arabia and its crockery-breaking heir apparent, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are, once again, opening up claims of advancing a more progressive future for the kingdom to doubt.

It’s not unusual for countries to balk at external criticism. But this Saudi retribution is unnecessarily aggressive and clearly intended to intimidate critics into silence. It’s the kind of move that, in the past, would have immediately elicited a firm, unified opposition from the West.

So far, there’s hardly been even a whimper of protest. The Saudis claim that the Canadian statement is “an overt and blatant interference” in its internal affairs, but that argument is specious.

And countries that care about human and political rights have a long history of speaking out, both individually and collectively, in defense of those principles and values that are enshrined in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Under Prince Mohammed, the Saudis have also not been shy about speaking out about, or directly intervening in, the affairs of other countries, including Yemen, Bahrain and Qatar. Saudi Arabian officialslobbied against President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran and have spoken out against President Trump’s decision to move the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem – by New York Times Editorial Board

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/opinion/saudi-arabia-canada.html

My comment: When do you finally realize that Salman’s „reforms“ hardly deserve this label?

(A P)

Saudi Arabia stops all medical treatment programs in Canada

Saudi Arabia has stopped all medical treatment programs in Canada and is coordinating for the transfer of all Saudi patients from Canadian hospitals to other hospitals outside Canada, Saudi press agency said early on Wednesday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-canada-diplomacy/saudi-arabia-stops-all-medical-treatment-programs-in-canada-idUSKBN1KT05G

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Canada defiant after Saudi Arabia freezes new trade over human rights call

Canada on Monday refused to back down in its defense of human rights after Saudi Arabia froze new trade and investment and expelled the Canadian ambassador in retaliation for Ottawa’s call to free arrested Saudi civil society activists. In her first public response to Saudi Arabia’s actions, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said, “Canada will always stand up for human rights in Canada and around the world, and women’s rights are human rights.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-canada-diplomacy/canada-defiant-after-saudi-arabia-freezes-new-trade-over-human-rights-call-idUSKBN1KQ0QI

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-canada-diplomacy-freeland/amid-saudi-arabia-dispute-canada-says-will-always-defend-human-rights-idUSKBN1KR20S

(A P)

Canada 'seeking clarity' in diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia: Foreign Ministry

Canada is “seriously concerned” about Saudi Arabia’s freeze of new trade between the countries, but standing its ground on human rights comments which set off a diplomatic row, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-canada-diplomacy-fomin/canada-seeking-clarity-in-diplomatic-row-with-saudi-arabia-foreign-ministry-idUSKBN1KR1CK

(A P)

Egypt says it supports Saudi Arabia in rights row with Canada

Egypt said on Tuesday it supported Saudi Arabia in a political row with Canada, and stood in “solidarity” with the Gulf Arab kingdom against foreign interference in its domestic affairs.

Cairo’s foreign ministry said on its Facebook page that it was “concerned by the crisis between Saudi Arabia and Canada, which is a result of the negative tendency by some international ... sides of meddling in the internal affairs of countries in the region,” without elaborating.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-canada-egypt/egypt-says-it-supports-saudi-arabia-in-rights-row-with-canada-idUSKBN1KS2EU

My comment: All these Saudi allies which themselves relentlessly oppress and detain opposition and Human Rights activists and also detest international claims to stop thi.

(A P)

UAE expresses solidarity with Saudi Arabia against any foreign interference in its domestic affairs

The UAE has expressed its absolute rejection of any interference in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and voiced its vehement support for any actions or policies the country may take or adopt in this regard.

''The UAE stands in solidarity with Riyadh in the confrontation of any foreign interference that may undermine its sovereignty,'' said a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Monday.

The ministry underscored the importance of observing international norms and conventions that govern the relations between states based on respect for sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.

http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302702509

My comment: This is really a bad joke looking at UAE interference in other states and how it looks – most horribly in Yemen.

(A P)

GCC, OIC Support Saudi Arabia's Measures against Canada

Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani expressed on Monday his support for Saudi Arabia’s measures against Canada's Foreign Ministry and the Canadian Embassy in Riyadh, reported the Saudi Press Agency.
Al-Zayani stressed his condemnation and rejection of the Canadian action, which held false claims, describing Canadian statements as unacceptable interference in Saudi internal affairs.
"These statements are a clear violation of the principles of the UN Charter and also detrimental to the relations between Saudi Arabia and Canada," he added.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), meanwhile, voiced full understanding of the Kingdom's position calling for non-interference in its internal affairs, citing international charters that bar such meddling.
OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen asserted that Saudi Arabia is a sovereign kingdom that enjoys great respect on the regional and international levels.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1354831/gcc-oic-support-saudi-arabias-measures-against-canada

My comment: The supranational Saudi mouthpieces are eagerly following. – I would be interested what the “West” will do now. Will the US, NATO and European powers now show solidarity with Canada? – If not, why not, as Saudi regional allies do this in favour of Saudi Arabia??

(A P)

Yemen strongly condemns "blatant Canadian interference in Saudi affairs" amid growing Saudi-Canadian diplomatic feud! A pathetic Govt residing in exile & that can't control a tiny city in Yemen is criticizing Canada! Here is how it should be expressed: Saudi cell ruling Yemen etc

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1026644030015369218

My comment: It does not rule Yemen at all, not even the city of Aden 😊

(A P)

Bahrain Backs Saudis in Row With Canada Over Arrested Civil Rights Activists

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201808061066984790-bahrein-saudi-arabia-canada-row/

My comment: The vassal’s voice.

(* A P)

Saudis expel Canadian envoy, vow to relocate students over tweets about rights activist

Amid escalating tensions that are damaging economic and diplomatic ties between the countries, Saudi Arabia said Monday that it would relocate about 7,000 Saudi scholarship recipients studying in Canada.

The move is in response to Canadian officials accusing Saudi Arabia of human rights violations and demanding the release of activists imprisoned in the kingdom, Saudi Education Ministry spokesman Mubarak al-Osaimi wrote on Twitter.

The Saudi government has said it considers the Canadian position an assault on its sovereignty

In a Sunday statement, its Foreign Affairs Ministry gave Canadian Ambassador Dennis Horak 24 hours to leave the country. Saudi Arabia also recalled its own envoy.

"The Kingdom views the Canadian position as an affront ... that requires a sharp response to prevent any party from attempting to meddle with Saudi sovereignty," read the statement, adding that it retained the "right to take further action."

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said she was "deeply concerned" about the planned expulsion but stressed Canada will continue to advocate for the protection of human rights.

On Friday, Canada's official foreign policy account followed up, tweeting that "Canada is gravely concerned about additional arrests of civil society and women's rights activists in #SaudiArabia, including Samar Badawi. We urge the Saudi authorities to immediately release them and all other peaceful #humanrights activists."

Samar Badawi is one of the most high-profile women's rights activists in Saudia Arabia.

The statement released by the Saudi Foreign Ministry on Sunday accused the Canadian government of "blatant interference in the Kingdom's domestic affairs."

"The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed disbelief by this negative unfounded comment, which was not based in any accurate or true information," the statement read.

"It is quite unfortunate to see the phrase 'immediate release' in the Canadian statement, which is a reprehensible and unacceptable use of language between sovereign states."

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said those arrested were "lawfully detained by the Public Prosecution for committing crimes punishable by applicable law, which also guaranteed the detainees' rights and provided them with due process during the investigation and trial."

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/06/middleeast/saudi-arabia-canada-intl/index.html

(* A B P)

Saudi Arabia just expelled the Canadian ambassador in Riyadh. Here’s why.

Two recent trends drove events to this point: the accumulation of behind-the-scenes frustration in bilateral relations and the evolution of Saudi foreign policy under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Canada-Saudi ties have never been important for either country. Annual two-way trade fluctuated between $3 billion and $4 billion in recent years — roughly the amount of Canada-U. S. trade in two days. The two countries cooperate in a number of fields, notably in security and defense, but on a small scale.

New era of Saudi foreign policy

After this context of Canada-Saudi relations, the second driver of recent events has been the transformation of Saudi foreign policy since 2015. Under King Salman and his son, Riyadh has turned away from its traditionally cautious and timid foreign policy toward a far more assertive, ambitious, hyper-nationalist and often impulsive preference for throwing Saudi weight around, as witnessed by the brutal war in Yemen and the blockade of Qatar.

Viewed through this prism, Saudi Arabia’s excessively severe response to seemingly irrelevant Canadian tweets becomes less surprising — it is not so much about Canada, but more about sending a forceful message that Riyadh does not tolerate criticism of any kind. It is a message to Europeans: Criticize us and you will be punished. It is also a message to its neighbors: Toe the line, or you will also be punished. Relations with Canada, in this sense, are collateral damage; bilateral ties being marginal and Canada lacking a hard retaliatory capacity, Ottawa represents an easy target.

Overall, this is a risky gamble for Riyadh, one that could be damaging in the longer term. Crown Prince Mohammed is trying to pitch his country as a stable and attractive investment destination as part of his efforts to reform the Saudi economy. This impulsive decision, in combination with aggressive actions in Qatar, Yemen and elsewhere, can only be counterproductive in this regard – by Thomas Juneau

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/08/06/saudi-arabia-just-expelled-the-canadian-ambassador-in-riyadh-heres-why/

(A P)

Saudi Arabia suspends educational exchange programmes with Canada: Al Arabiya TV

Saudi Arabia is suspending educational exchange programmes with Canada and moving Saudi scholarship recipients there to other countries, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya reported on Monday.

The kingdom froze new trade and investment with Canada after Ottawa urged Riyadh to free arrested rights activists. It also recalled its ambassador and gave the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to leave the country.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-canada-diplomacy-education/saudi-arabia-suspends-educational-exchange-programmes-with-canada-al-arabiya-tv-idUSKBN1KR1ES

(A P)

Saudi PR to discredit and demonize #Canada went from
irrationally aggressive to hilariously insane. Saudi's AlArabiya (a top
pan-Arab news station) now on a disinformation rampage with claims like '75% of
prisoners died before trial' in Canada. Stop, you're embarrassing yourself. (image)

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/1027118704440627201

(A P)

Saudi PR in spat with #Canada is a total train wreck. Saudi: 1 Unleash army of trolls. 2 We support Quebec independence. 3 Kick ambassador out 4 Threaten to 9/11 Canada 5 Recall students & cut trade 6 Outraged Canada jailed a holocaust denier Canada: 1 Eh! Grow up. LOVE Canada (see saudi anti-Canada propaganda in image)

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/1026754613830197248

Comment: For Ernst Zuendel who is presented by Saudi propaganda as a “political detainee” in Canada look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Zündel

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

(* A P)

This is sooo wild: the Saudi monarchy's official Twitter account posted an infographic threatening a 9/11-style attack on Canada, after it mildly criticized the Wahhabi regime's imprisonment of women's rights activists

https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/1026520054249271296

referring to https://twitter.com/Infographic_ksa/status/1026453798343061504 (deleted)

(A P)

And just a few hours before threatening to 9/11 Canada, the same official Saudi regime account tweeted an open call for the murder of Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei (Can you imagine if Iran tweeted an incitement to kill the Saudi absolute monarchy's dictator?) https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/1026520054249271296 referring to https://twitter.com/Infographic_ksa/status/1026453798343061504 (meanwhile deleted)

And this is the image showing the Saudi 9/11 threat to Canada, an air plane over Toronto:

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/1026589151230091264

and the Saudi reaction:

Saudi Ministry of Media: Based on a complaint filed to the ministery of Media about a post by @Infographic_ksa, the ministry has ordered the owner of the account to shut it down until investigations are completed, according to electronic broadcasting laws in KSA.

https://twitter.com/media_ksa/status/1026547078984433664

but

The kingdom of saudi arabia sends a terror threat to canada via an official #ksa twitter account then tries to walk it back. but everyone knows the message that was intended. nobody believes the #ksa explanantion. the #ksa looks even more thuggish and stupid than ever. (showing the full Saudi tweet)

https://twitter.com/candymaptones/status/1026570695113826304

and

(* A P)

Ali AlAhmed: I can confirm that the #Saudi Monarchy @Infographic_ksa account that threatened 9/11 style attack on #Canada is owned by the #Saudi government, namely the royal court. Will @TwitterSupport act or will let the Saudis run their armies of bots as the case now?

https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1026663463844802560

and

(* A P)

Amid Spat With Canada, Saudi Twitter Account Shares '9/11-Like' Image

The image reminded many social media users of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, in which planes were deliberately flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York and the Pentagon.

The image, shared by the account @infographic_ksa, was accompanied by a message in English that contained the saying "He who interferes with what doesn't concern him finds what doesn't please him." The text "sticking one's nose where it doesn't belong!" was also superimposed over the image.

Though the image was deleted, screenshots of the tweet were quickly shared.

The image was later reshared with the plane removed.

The account posted later on Monday that the image had not been intended to refer to 9/11 and apologized for its "inappropriate" tweet:

The @infographic_ksa account has more than 350,000 followers on Twitter and an additional 88,000 on Instagram. A website affiliated with the social media accounts describes it as a "voluntary non-profit project" that is "managed by a group of Saudi youth."

The accounts, which are followed by a number of Saudi diplomatic figures, are verified and largely share government announcements and pro-Riyadh messages. The Twitter account has been described as "an official government" account in Saudi-owned state media, although the relationship to the Saudi state is not clear.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/amid-spat-with-canada-saudi-youth-group-tweets-9-11-like-image-1896311 and also https://www.businessinsider.es/saudi-arabia-appeared-to-threaten-canada-with-a-911-style-attack-2018-8?r=US&IR=T

(* A P)

Saudi Arabian group apologizes for posting image appearing to threaten Canada with 9/11-style attack

Saudi youth group quickly deleted the image and issued an apology

A Saudi Arabian organization is apologizing after posting an image on Twitter appearing to show an Air Canada plane heading toward the CN Tower in a way that is reminiscent of the 9/11 attacks in the U.S.

"As the Arabic saying goes: 'He who interferes with what doesn't concern him finds what doesn't please him,'" reads a caption superimposed over the image. The infographic also accuses Canada of "sticking one's nose where it doesn't belong."

It was posted on the Twitter account of Infographic KSA which, according to its website, is a Saudi youth organization made up of volunteers interested in technology.

The Infographic KSA account is verified by Twitter and has over 350,000 followers, with another 88,000 on Instagram. It has a history of posting messages that are supportive of the Saudi government.

After social media users pointed out the threatening nature of the photo, Infographic KSA deleted the tweet and posted an apology.

"The aircraft was intended to symbolize the return of the ambassador," read the tweet. "We realize this was not clear and any other meaning was unintentional."

The image was later reposted without the plane to Infographic KSA's Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Just after 3 p.m. on Monday, the Saudi ministry of media announced it had launched an investigation into the account after receiving a complaint.

"The ministry has ordered the owner of the account to shut it down until investigations are completed," read the tweet.

Amarnath Amarasingnam, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, said it is difficult to say but the organization seems to be connected to the Saudi media ministry.

He said that it "seems to exist solely to turn Saudi government press releases into pretty infographics for social media."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/saudi-arabian-group-apologizes-for-posting-image-appearing-to-threaten-canada-with-9-11-style-attack-1.4775509

My comment: This will not help any more. In Saudi Arabia, such a „youth group“ (what an euphemism, which should guide your imagination into a wrong direction) would not have existed in Saudi Arabia without close connections to the government. It’s even quite probable it had been founded by the government. – Also look at comments to this tweet: https://twitter.com/Zinvor/status/1026474494377058304

And while the twitter account of Infographic KSA is removed, the website still exists:

http://www.infographic-ksa.com/en/ and Arabic: http://www.infographic-ksa.com/ar/

and

(* A P)

Saudi Arabia Is Going Bonkers And Just Had To Delete This 9/11-Esque Tweet

Today is a really good day for the United States to reconsider its seemingly boundless support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

On the same morning that an Associated Press investigation found that U.S.-backed, Saudi led-forces in Yemen’s civil war have been cutting deals with Al Qaeda militants, the regime in Riyadh — keepers of Islam’s holiest cities, funders of radical Islamism, home to 80% of the 9/11 hijackers — started a troll war with Canada (?!), culminating in this now-deleted tweet from a state-run account:

Of course, there’s a chance the Saudis were merely going for a light troll in that tweet, simply intimating that the Canadian diplomatic corps was flying Air Canada back after offending their hosts: The problem with that charitable account is it’s still not very charitable: You’re bragging about sending diplomats home because they asked you not to jail politically active women without charges. (Also, why would you depict Canadian government officials heading for Toronto and its iconic CN Tower, and not, say, Ottawa, the actual capital of Canada, 300 miles away?)

All of which is to say that maybe the United States, 17 years after 9/11 and the missing 28 pages, should really, finally, reconsider its relationship to the repressive, Al Qaeda-dealing Saudi regime. Maybe a president who prioritizes fighting terror without apology is just the guy to deal with this.

https://taskandpurpose.com/saudi-arabia-911-canada-tweet/

(A P)

#SaudiArabia, the spoiled baby for the international community is very upset from #Canada because the Canadian embassy condemned the arrest of Saudi women activists.Hey, dear world, is this normal? This reaction made me realize to what extant no one is saying no to Saudi Arabia.

https://twitter.com/RAlmutawakel/status/1026555341906042887

cp9 USA

Siehe / Look at cp1, cp14

(B P)

While House says the U.S. loves Iranian people and wants to liberate them. Well, Iranian people should not reject such a tempting offer if they aspire to join the paradise of Iraqis, Yemenis, Libyans, Afghans and others. It is just about US love and favor!

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1026898466373550081

(* B K P)

YEMEN CIVIL WAR: U.S. LAWMAKERS RAISE ALARM BELLS ABOUT PENTAGON’S ROLE IN ‘WORLD’S WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS’

For the first time since the war began in 2015, U.S. lawmakers are taking concrete steps to halt or tightly restrict weapons sales to their allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In another sign of congressional resistance, the House and Senate agreed to include a mandatory provision in the annual defense policy bill, which orders Secretary of Defense James Mattis to investigate whether Saudi Arabia and the UAE committed “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights” when they used U.S.-supplied warplanes, bombs and in-flight refueling to repeatedly hit civilian targets. Such crimes would violate U.S. law and disqualify the two Persian Gulf countries—the recipients of hundreds of billions of dollars of American military hardware over the decades—from receiving any further U.S. arms or military assistance.

A second provision in the bill, which Congress passed on August 1 and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, requires the Pentagon to determine whether any U.S. personnel participated in interrogations at more than a dozen UAE-run prisons in Yemen where prisoners were reportedly tortured. And another provision restricts U.S. military support for the Arab coalition’s Yemen campaign unless Saudi Arabia and the UAE reduce civilian deaths, resolve the humanitarian crisis and support a United Nations attempt to broker a truce between the two warring sides.

Seche, the former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, says Trump remains committed to helping the Arab coalition fight the Houthis as part of his get-tough policy toward Iran. But with Congress now closely watching for signs of mission creep in Yemen, he says, Trump remains wary of granting any future coalition requests for more U.S. military assistance—and of fueling additional moves by Congress to curb his military authority.

“This administration,” says Seche, “will be very reluctant to light a fire under the level of concern that already exists in Congress.”

https://www.newsweek.com/yemen-humanitarian-crisis-civil-war-lawmakers-humanitarian-crisis-pentagon-1059212?piano_t=1

My comment: These restrictions are just cosmetics: A little bit more of paperwork for the administration, that’s it.

Comment: This has one very interesting sentence - Hadi has signed an agreement to allow the UN to take over the port of Hodeida but the Saudis and emiratis haven't agreed. I thought they were fighting on behalf of Hadi's government.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156904014058641

My comment to comment: Because Hadi is just a puppet.

(* B K P)

Fine Print in Defense Bill Acknowledges U.S.-Backed War in Yemen Will Go On Indefinitely

Lawmakers’ efforts to limit U.S. support for the Yemen War have failed to stop the bloody Saudi-led assault on the port city of Hodeida.

By rubber-stamping this bloated defense bill, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle voted to greenlight more U.S.-backed war and destruction in Yemen.

In an effort to mitigate the U.S. role in the Yemen war, members of Congress have twice invoked the War Powers Resolution, though these efforts were not ultimately successful.

Some members of Congress sought to use the new NDAA to address the harm wrought by the ongoing war on Yemen—but their attempts, unfortunately, were not enough.

That Congress should easily pass a monumental military budget is not surprising. After all, the United States has been engaged in wars for most of its history, and boasts military spending that is more than the next seven countries combined. What should cause pause, however, is the passing of such a massive budget without concrete provisions that ensure the United States does not continue to be party to apparent war crimes in Yemen.

Yemenis require much more than vague assurances and promises. What Yemenis need is for the United States to end all its support to the Saudi-led coalition, which includes […] The United States should end its unconstitutional war on Yemen, and Congress should not authorize military spending that will undoubtedly serve to prolong the same war some in Congress have been attempting to end - BY SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI

http://inthesetimes.com/article/21361/yemen-war-national-defense-authorization-act-bombing-civilians-saudi-arabia/

(A B P)

US envoy who enabled Yemen war suddenly horrified by Saudi crimes

Ambassador Samantha Power has called on the US to end its support for the Saudi-led invasion of Yemen, in a tweet lamenting a humanitarian catastrophe that she enabled and supported during her tenure as US envoy to the UN.

Power, who served as adviser and then US ambassador to the United Nations during the Obama administration, tweeted her disgust with the Saudi-led coalition's bombing of a hospital and other civilian infrastructure in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida last week.

Long before the Trump administration took office, Power enabled and supported the “horrifying” Saudi-led attack on Yemen during her time as the Obama administration's top diplomat at the UN.

In fact, using her seat on the UN Security Council, Power backed a comically prejudiced UNSC resolution which essentially placed the blame for the conflict on the Houthi rebels resisting the Saudi-led invasion, imposing an arms embargo on the Houthis while failing to do the same for the US-supplied Saudi military. The Atlantic magazine reportedthat the "unrealistic and one-sided resolution" had been "drafted by the Saudis, introduced by the British and passed with US support."

https://www.rt.com/usa/435255-samantha-power-saudi-us-support/

(A P)

Samantha Power on Aug, 2: Today Saudi-UAE coalition bomb a hospital. Yesterday @UNICEF reported that they have repeatedly attacked facilities that provide drinking water. Horrifying in the extreme. US: end all support, full court press on Sept. peace talks

https://twitter.com/SamanthaJPower/status/1025139686652735489

Comment: Where was your humanitarianism when you were a government official?

https://twitter.com/asadabukhalil/status/1026312614924582912

My comment: A typical case of former Obama government officials’ hypocrisy.

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

(A K P)

Bahrain: BDF role in Yemen stressed

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday paid a visit to the Royal Special Force.

HM King Hamad paid tribute to the Royal Special Force personnel for their bravery, high morale and dedication in performing their duties. He praised the efforts of all BDF personnel, alongside their brethren in the Arab Coalition Force, in the Saudi-led Restoring Hope Operation.

He lauded their contribution to deterring terrorism, backing legitimacy in Yemen and providing humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people.

He described them as the bulwark of the nation and its comprehensive growth, commending their strong patriotism.

http://www.newsofbahrain.com/bahrain/46022.html

My comment: Proud on killers’ complicity.

(* A P)

Malaysia: Putrajaya shuts down Saudi-backed anti-terrorism centre

The government has ordered the closure of the Saudi-backed King Salman Centre for International Peace (KSCIP) with immediate effect, Mohamad Sabu announced today.

The defence minister said the centre’s role would now be absorbed into the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security, which comes under the Ministry of Defence.

In a parliamentary reply to DAP’s Kasthuriraani Patto (PH-Batu Kawan), Mohamad said the centre’s office at Menara HLA in Jalan Ampang was also ordered to shut down immediately.

KSCIP was first proposed following the visit by Saudi monarch Salman Abdul Aziz to Malaysia last year. The Barisan Nasional government had then agreed to allocate a massive plot of land in the administrative capital of Putrajaya.

Former defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein had defended the centre, saying it was crucial to curbing the spread of extremism and militant ideologies, including by the Islamic State (IS) group.

But critics have questioned the partnership with Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism, highlighting Riyadh’s military and ideological role worldwide.

They also said Saudi Arabia was not qualified to lead such a centre in view of its official doctrine of Wahhabism which they said inspired the IS ideology.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/08/06/putrajaya-shuts-down-saudi-backed-anti-terrorism-centre/

My comment: A wise decision.

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

(A K P)

Qatari FM Asks Saudi-Led Coalition to End Adventurism in Yemen

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani called on the Saudi-led coalition to terminate its adventurism and attacks against Yemen, warning that the region is not able to tolerate more plights.

"The region can no more bear more wars and adventurism which harm people," al-Thani wrote on his twitter page on Monday, blasting the Saudi-led coalition for attacks against residential areas in Yemen.

He also called for inclusive national talks in Yemen, saying that the international community should also make a serious move to guarantee support for civilians' life.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970515000742

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

(* B E K P)

Rheinmetall – Gegenwind für ein Rüstungsunternehmen
Seit geraumer Zeit rückt Rheinmetall vermehrt in den Fokus zahlreicher friedenspolitischer Kampagnen – und zwar nicht nur in der BRD, sondern auch in der Schweiz und in Italien.
Rheinmetall ist das größte in Deutschland ansässige Rüstungsunternehmen und steht an 26. Stelle der größten Rüstungsunternehmen weltweit.

Vielversprechend ist bereits die Strafanzeige, die am 17. April 2018 gegen die Geschäftsführer_innen von RWM Italia S.pA. sowie gegen ranghohe Beamt_innen der italienischen Behörde für Waffenexporte bei der Staatsanwaltschaft in Rom eingereicht wurde. Kläger_innen sind das European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights aus Berlin, die Mwatana Organization for Human Rights aus Jemen sowie die Permanente Beobachtungsstelle von leichten Waffen und der Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik (O.P.A.L.) und das italienische Netzwerk für Abrüstung (Rete Italiana per Il Disarmo)
http://www.imi-online.de/2018/08/03/rheinmetall-gegenwind-fuer-ein-ruestungsunternehmen/

cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner

Siehe / Look at cp1

(* A K P)

Wasserträger des Prinzen: PricewaterhouseCoopers will saudische Armee modernisieren

Der hochgelobte saudische Kronprinz will seine Armee modernisieren. Dazu braucht es offensichtlich westliche Expertise. Ein verlockendes Angebot, dem das britische Beratungsunternehmen nicht widerstehen kann. Frieden und Menschenrechte haben da das Nachsehen. Die Reformpläne, festgehalten in der "Vision 2030", erstrecken sich derweil neben wirtschaftlichen Visionen auch auf das heimische Militär. Es gibt ein größeres Projekt zur Reform des Militärs", erklärte Bernard Haykel, ein Spezialist für den Nahen Osten an der Princeton University, bereits Anfang des Jahres.

Haykel ist davon überzeugt, dass es der verheerende und von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Krieg gegen die sogenannten Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen ist, der zum Antrieb dafür wurde:

Die militärische Schwäche wurde durch den Krieg im Jemen aufgedeckt, sie hat ihnen geholfen, die Probleme zu verstehen.

Die Saudis investierten Abermilliarden US-Dollar, um modernstes Kriegsgerät zu erwerben, hauptsächlich aus westlichen Ländern wie den Vereinigten Staaten, Großbritannien und Frankreich. Nun gilt es, die wachsende Kluft zwischen erworbener Ausrüstung und heimischen Fähigkeiten zu schließen. Zuvor hatte sich der blaublütige Kriegsherr über das entstandene militärische Dilemma im Jemen erzürnt gezeigt und militärische Reformen veranlasst, zu denen auch der Aufbau einer heimischen Rüstungsindustrie gehören soll. Nach Aussage des Princeton-Spezialisten Haykel gehe es Saudi-Arabien darum, "sein eigenes Wasser zu tragen, wenn es um die Verteidigung geht".

Auch für die notwendige Abstimmung und Feinarbeit kann das ultrakonservative Könighaus auf Abhilfe durch die westliche Staatengemeinschaft vertrauen. Offensichtlich kann sich dabei das britische Beratungs- und Wirtschaftsprüfungsunternehmen PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) die größten Hoffnungen auf den saudischen Auftrag machen. Zumindest nach Informationen britischer Medien stehe PwC kurz davor, einen entsprechenden millionenschweren Vertrag zu unterzeichnen.

Im Falle der Vertragsunterzeichnung würden die britischen Berater demnach dafür verantwortlich zeichnen, den optimalen Weg aufzuzeigen, um "die Rekrutierung, die Ressourcenbeschaffung, das Leistungsmanagement und die strategische Personalplanung umzugestalten und den Wandel zu managen und zu kommunizieren". PwC-Führungskräfte erklärten den eigenen Mitarbeitern, dass die saudische Regierung eine "ehrgeizige Transformation zur Modernisierung ihrer Streitkräfte in einer Größe und Größenordnung anstrebt, wie sie bisher selten zu beobachten war". Demzufolge sei PwC "aktuell dabei, den Deal abzuschließen".Wenn die Kasse klingelt, stoßen Stimmen, die auf die katastrophale saudische Menschenrechtsbilanz und die verheerenden Auswirkungen des Jemen-Kriegs verweisen, meist auf taube Ohren.

https://deutsch.rt.com/international/74050-wassertraeger-prinzen-pricewaterhousecoopers-will-saudische-armee-modernisieren/

cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy

(A E P)

One US dollar = 570 Yemeni rials. #Yemen: national currency is collapsing! No interventions have been made.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1026888360256856064

(* A E)

Yemeni rial dropped to a new record low against the US dollar on Monday. One US dollar = 552 Yemeni rials. In early July, the rial was trading at 487 to the dollar. Hadi's government must chain exchange rates, at least with a rope.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1026483553062842368

Well, now locals say Yemeni rial is trading at 557 to US dollar, down from 487 in early July, 370 in August 2017 when Govt floated national currency & 215 before the war started in 2014. Further deterioration of the rial's value expected, while rival Govts are busy with fighting

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1026502844457906176

(* B E H)

Beekeeping in Yemen becomes a dangerous profession in war

Yemen’s beekeepers risk air strikes and land mines as they traverse the country’s valleys, transporting their hives on pick-up trucks to produce some of the world’s finest honey. “Before the war...we produced large quantities of honey. [But now] honey farmers who move their private farms at night sometimes get hit by mistake,” said Faris al-Howry, who owns one of the main honey stores in the capital Sanaa.

“It’s happened with two or three farmers we know where their farms were bombed [in air strikes].”

Yemen exported 50,000 tonnes of honey per year before the war but exports have since fallen by more than 50 percent, according to the Federation of Yemeni Beekepers, which says there are around 100,000 people working in honey farms in Yemen.

“Breeders must now be mindful that when they’re trying to move from location to location, they could be targeted or bombed by mistake,” said Abdullah Abdullah Yareem, head of the Yemeni Organization for Honey and Agriculture Development.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-honey/beekeeping-in-yemen-becomes-a-dangerous-profession-in-war-idUSKBN1KS1N2

Comment: Misleading article. Obviously the job is dangerous and obviously Saudi Arabia imposes the monopoly on the trade but business has been down since 2009 when exports were not allowed any longer and #Yemen put under embargo being the 'hotbed of Al Qaeda'.
Parcels containing honey were rejected at the customs and sent back to Yemen

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1863877576998597

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

Siehe / Look at cp1 (auf Deutsch / In German), cp15

(* B P T)

Film: Shocker: AP Reports On US/Al-Qaeda Coalition In Yemen

A blockbuster new investigative report on mainstream news outlet AP uncovers the disturbing fact that the US is in a de facto coalition in Yemen with al-Qaeda -- who we have been told for 17 plus years are our arch-enemy. What's going on here?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd1rjrQxFao

(* B P T)

Film: Are U.S. and al-Qaida fighting on the same side in Yemen?

Since 9/11, al-Qaida has morphed into franchises, the deadliest now in Yemen. Now the Associated Press is reporting that U.S.-ally Saudi Arabia is supporting al-Qaida fighters there. Nick Schifrin learns more from special correspondent Jane Ferguson from Beirut, who recently smuggled herself across the dangerous front line.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/are-u-s-and-al-qaida-fighting-on-the-same-side-in-yemen = https://video.wyomingpbs.org/video/are-u-s-and-al-qaida-fighting-on-the-same-side-in-yemen-1533686158/

(* B P T)

How the War on Yemen Helps Al Qaeda

The Associated Press reports on the Saudi coalition’s cooperation with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen.

It isnot news that the Saudi coalition has sometimes worked with and fought alongside AQAP, but it is good to see more coverage of this important aspect of the war. The AP previously covered this in May 2017. The coalition’s war has wrecked Yemen and empowered AQAP, and the two have been on the same side in the war. Because the U.S. has backed the coalition from the start, that puts our government in the absurd position of supporting the governments and proxies working with AQAP at the same time that it is combating AQAP.

Insofar as the U.S. has any security interests in Yemen, supporting a war that strengthens and relies on the local Al Qaeda affiliate damages and undermines those interests. The governments and their proxies that pay off and recruit Al Qaeda members are not our allies in any meaningful sense, and we shouldn’t pretend that they are. This is just one more reason why the U.S. should have nothing to do with the coalition’s war on Yemen.

The problem here should be obvious. The Iranian “expansionism” that the U.S. and coalition government claim they are fighting in Yemen is illusory, but the security threat to U.S. and Western allies from AQAP is limited but real. U.S. foreign policy should be focused on advancing the interests and security of the United States. It should not be concerned with indulging the paranoia of despotic clients. Giving priority to opposing Iran with its negligible role in Yemen at the expense of empowering jihadists for years to come is a terrible trade-off that will haunt the U.S. and other Western governments that support this war – by Daniel Larison

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/how-the-war-on-yemen-helps-al-qaeda/

and

(* B P T)

US Coalition Cooperates With Al-Qaeda In Yemen, Associated Press Confirms

Perhaps we could simply shrug our shoulders and say it's better late than never for the mainstream media.

A new Associated Press report confirms what was long ago detailed by a number of independent investigative journalists, and even in some instances buried deep within sporadic mainstream reports of past years: the US-coalition in Yemen is actually cooperating with al-Qaeda terrorists in the campaign to dislodge Shia Houthi militants.

The AP report begins dramatically as follows […]

And contrary to the normative response of US officials to such allegations, which as in the case of US support to jihadists in Syria typically runs something like "we didn't know" while hiding behind a system of 'plausible deniability' — in the case of Yemen officials involved have now admitted to the AP that coalition allies knowingly allowed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to survive and flourish. Similar to the US role in Syria, American officials are now apparently quite comfortable admitting they are willing to utilize designated terrorist groups ultimately as a weapon against pro-Iran interests.

Whereas previously the Pentagon and White House (going all the way back through the Obama and Bush administrations) claimed its ongoing 'war on terror' operations in Yemen were solely to destroy AQAP, its double game has clearly consisted in creating a smokescreen of 'anti-terror' propaganda for public consumption (to justify the over decade long US presence in the Arabian peninsula) while secretly allowing AQ and Saudi and UAE partners to do Washington's dirty work.

Counter-terror specialist and Middle East analyst Michael Horton points out further, “Elements of the U.S. military are clearly aware that much of what the U.S. is doing in Yemen is aiding AQAP and there is much angst about that.”

Horton is quoted by the AP as bluntly stating current US policy: “However, supporting the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against what the U.S. views as Iranian expansionism takes priority over battling AQAP and even stabilizing Yemen,” adding that the idea that the coalition fights AQAP "is a farce".

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-08-06/associated-press-report-finds-us-coalition-cooperates-al-qaeda-yemen

and

(* B P T)

Yemen - The Saudi-U.S.-Al-Qaeda Alliance Is Now Official 'News'

When in March 2015 the U.S and Saudi Arabia launched their war on Yemen, Moon of Alabamanoted:

[T]he U.S. supported Saudi campaign is actually in support of their Wahhabi Al-Qaeda brethren, not in support of the majority of Yemenis.

In April 2015 evidence emerged that Saudi Arabia hired al-Qaeda in Yemen to fight the Houthi movement and its allies.

The hiring and arming of al-Qaeda by Saudi Arabia and others has since been a frequent occurrence. But the mainstream media hardly ever reported the issue. It was a 'conspiracy theory' peddled by lowly bloggers like yours truly.

Now it is official news.

The cooperation between Saudi Arabia and al-Qaeda started immediately after the launch of the war, not only two years ago. It has since been ongoing. Early on al-Qaeda captured several towns and places with the implicit help of Saudi Arabia. It also received weapons and large payments. When its expansion became too obvious, the Saudis moved other proxy forces into those places or simply asked al-Qaeda to raise a different flag.

The reporting deeper into the AP piece indeed concludes that al-Qaeda is not only paid to leave, but is hired and equipped by the Saudis to fight on all fronts. It provides that the U.S. war of terror against al-Qaeda is just a sham.

While the highlighted core news is correct, the AP piece again misleads in the details. The direct involvement of the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and of mercenaries from a dozen countries proves that the war in Yemen is not a "civil war". It is a full fledged attack on Yemen, its resources and applaudably cool (vid) people. The Houthis are Zaida, not Twelver Shia like the Iranians. The are backed by Iranian rhetoric but that's about it. The missiles they launch against Saudi Arabia are from North Korea, not from Iran.

Al-Qaeda is directly involved in the ongoing attempt to encircle and starve millions of people in north Yemen. It plays a leading role in the attack on Hodeidah The U.S. has allied with the Saudi created al-Qaeda since 1979. It was used to further U.S. interests against the Soviets in Afghanistan, in Chechnya, Bosnia, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere.

Why is this involvement of al-Qaeda in the war on Yemen now official news? For years it was an open secret. This blog coveredit in about each of its dozens of posts about Yemen. But it was only rarely reported on in mainstream news. When such 'conspiracy theories' become official 'news' it is often only because it is useful to the powers that be. So why is AP publishing this now?

Is someone in the U.S. Defense Department upset with the U.S.-Saudi war on Yemen? Is this supposed to stop the attack on Hodeidah? Or is the White House miffed about Clown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who is in charge of the war? Is this meant as a warning to 'behave'?

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/08/yemen-the-saudi-us-al-qaeda-alliance-is-now-officially-news.html

and

(* A P T)

Counterproductive Counterterrorism In Afghanistan And Yemen

Fighting terrorism has been the most commonly invoked rationale for U.S. involvement in overseas military conflicts during the past two decades. But much of that involvement has sustained and strengthened, rather than weakened, international terrorism. Recent news from two places, Yemen and Afghanistan, illustrates one dimension of the problem. The principal player in international terrorism with a role in Yemen is al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. This branch of al-Qaeda has come closer than any other since 9/11 to pulling off a successful high-casualty attack against U.S. targets. Within the current Yemeni civil war, AQAP operates on the side of the line dominated by the U.S.-backed coalition of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Supposedly that coalition has devoted some of its effort to attacking AQAP, rather than what it considers its main adversary, which is the Houthi force that holds much of northern and western Yemen.

But a remarkably detailed piece of investigative reporting by a team of Associated Press journalists tells a different story.

In Yemen, the United States continues to support the disastrously destructive Saudi-Emirati intervention because of its obsession about Iran, an obsession that the Trump administration has taken to new extremes. Yemen is seen as a playing field for this game because the Houthis have received some Iranian support, even though they are not Iranian proxies and have ignored Iranian advice on important matters. The U.S. backing of the Saudi-Emirati assault continues in the name of pressuring “the number one state sponsor of terrorism,” to use a catchphrase habitually applied to Iran, without regard for how this policy is increasing, not decreasing, the potential for more terrorism emanating from Yemen.

Realists may disagree among themselves as to the priority to be given to countering terrorism. But they would agree that obsessions and mission creep are not sound bases for pursuing this or any other policy priority – by Paul R. Pillar

https://lobelog.com/counterproductive-counterterrorism-in-afghanistan-and-yemen/

and

(* B P T)

This is what I posted exactly 1 year ago.

I ask again: Why is Pentagon collusion with AQAP in Yemen - now revealed in sordid detail by AP - not a capital offense under US laws? (image)

#Yemen : Deal made. AQAP withdraw to mountains, with all weapons. 'US-aided' UAE takes over & declare 'victory'. US general gets promotion.

This is the Pentagon's war on terrorists : Unadulterated BS.

I can confirm there were no clashes at all in the US/UAE'victory' over AQAP in Shabwah province, Yemen. Not even a single shot fired. Zero.

As agreed (just like in the UAE Mukalla victory), AQAP militants withdrew from main Shabwah towns to the mountains, with all heavy weapons.

Is this sort of Pentagon BS, performed in league with Al Qaeda terrorists & their GCC allies, not a capital offence under US military laws?

Looking at the UAE deployments in Shabwah so far, it's obvious to me the aim is to secure Total's Yemen LNG pipeline. Not to kill AQAP.

So here's a reminder to the Pentagon stars who think they can do the same shit CIA did in Syria to help Al Qaeda : No, you can't.

https://www.facebook.com/haykal.bafana/posts/1806069229473079

and

(B T)

The relationship between AQAP & local tribes is often oversimplified in Western media & that is because media reporting is influenced by predetermined assumptions on tribes, often negative ones, & bcz of lack of understanding of tribes & the tribal culture/system.3/5

Tribes in #Yemen have been & still are one of the main factors AQAP has
failed to make substantial gains despite the collapse of central government and
the disintegration of the country. In other words, tribes r still a resilient
factor against AQAP & other terror groups.4/5

https://twitter.com/Ndawsari/status/1026516968814206977

(A T)

AQAP released its first official statement on the July 10 clashes with ISIS. AQAP accused ISIS of breaking an arrangement to allow each others’ militants to pass freely through their respective checkpoints in an August 4 statement. ISIS arrested AQAP members and ignored AQAP’s attempts to negotiate for their release. AQAP also criticized ISIS for not doing more to fight the al Houthi movement. AQAP also denied ISIS’s August 1 accusation that AQAP colluded with the Yemeni military to attack ISIS positions in al Bayda governorate, central Yemen.[3]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-august-6-2018

and

(A T)

#AQAP released its first formal statement on clashes between #ISIS and #alQaeda in #Yemen. Criticizes the #IslamicState for breaking agreement to allow each others' militants free passage through respective checkpoints and for not doing more to fight al #Houthi forces. (image)

https://twitter.com/MaherFarrukh/status/1026536692566695936

(A T)

In the latest in the ongoing Salafi-jihadi spat in #Yemen, #ISIS released a video of an alleged former #AQAP member criticizing #alQaeda for allowing Shariah violations like chewing qat and working with Hadi gov forces against the al #Houthi movement and urging others to defect (photo)

https://twitter.com/MaherFarrukh/status/1026554083438616580

cp15 Propaganda

(A P)

Julie Lenarz: A change in approach offers the best chance of ending the war in Yemen

Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, is one of four Middle Eastern centres of power under Tehran’s influence – along with Damascus, Baghdad, and Beirut – and Hodeidah is Iran’s main point of entry to the conflict, allowing them to arm the Houthi rebels with Qassam rockets and other weaponry. It’s clear that the Houthis and Iran are exploiting the peace talks over Hodeidah. Without a deadline, they have no incentive to agree to anything – the status quo suits them too well. They have made it clear that there are no terms or threats which will convince them to release this city and port from their grip.

They are holding Hodeidah hostage.

The Coalition appears to face a difficult choice – take action and the risks associated with it, or face another 18 months of gridlock in Hodeida, almost certainly leading to a significant deterioration of the humanitarian situation. Few countries would envy a situation like this with a neighbour and ally, but the writing, it seems, is on the wall.

The rules of engagement are clear. UN Security Council Resolution 2216 explicitly demands that the Houthis “withdraw from all areas seized during the latest conflict”, including Hodeidah. The only way to end the war quickly is to cut off the Houthi supply line by ensuring control of the port returns to the internationally recognised Yemeni Government, or is placed under UN supervision.

https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2018/08/julie-lenarz-a-change-in-approach-offers-the-best-chance-of-ending-the-war-in-yemen.html

My comment: A bad C+P adoption of Saudi propaganda in the US.

(A P T)

Al-Qaeda and ISIS are on Their Heels in Yemen, But Will Return Unless We Help Build a Lasting Peace

AQAP is weaker now than it has been at any point since it was formed in 2009. ISIS, which enjoyed a brief moment of ascendancy in Yemen, is down to a few training camps and a dwindling number of fighters.

That is good, if fairly surprising news. After all, wars are supposed to be good for terrorists, the messier the better.

Yemen is too chaotic, too confusing, and has too many battlefronts for even groups like AQAP and ISIS to manage. They are fighting all sides in this war: the Houthis, the Yemeni government, the Saudis, the UAE, the US and, as of a few weeks ago, each other. What this means in practice is that both AQAP and ISIS are fighting multiple wars at once. And they are paying a price. What happens in one part of the country against one particular enemy does not necessarily reflect what is happening in another part of the country against another enemy.

One al-Qaeda group in one part of Yemen might say one thing, while another al-Qaeda group in another part of Yemen is saying something else.

The result of all this chaos and confusion has been fragmentation and freelancing, local fighters taking matters into their own hands with less and less instruction from the central leadership of each group. This fracturing of command is what led to the recent fight between AQAP and ISIS.

That is no longer the case. Yemen’s two main jihadi groups are on their heels and at each other’s throats. But as welcome as that may be, it is unlikely to last. Just as the current war in Yemen has fractured AQAP and ISIS so too will its eventual end reinvigorate them.

The war has been too brutal and too sectarian for a tidy aftermath. Too many individuals have been radicalized to the point that they won’t simply lay down their arms when the fighting is over. They’ll keep going and al-Qaeda and ISIS will be there to welcome them. This has happened before. Most notably, in Iraq after the U.S. withdrew in 2011. But it doesn’t have to happen this time.

AQAP and ISIS are vulnerable in Yemen in a way they’ve never been before. The U.S. should do everything in its power to continue to decimate these organizations while simultaneously pushing for a quick end to this war – by Gregory D. Johnsen, Resident scholar at The Arabia Foundation.

https://www.justsecurity.org/60099/al-qaeda-isis-heels-yemen-return-lasting-peace/

Comment: This report is quite insane propaganda. It is well know that AQAP are stronger in Yemen than they have ever been. For example the AP report of yesterday outlines their coooperation with the Saudi led coalition. Hani Bin Breik the deputy of the STC - the parliament for the South of Yemen - is known to have lots of connections with Al Qaeda and he is in a position of power. This is just misinformation.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156904001233641

My comment: Johnsen does not take into account the US-Saudi coalition- Al Qaeda ties. I really doubt Al Qaeda is weakened. Most experts would not agree. – Also keep in mind that this “Arabia Foundation” really is a Saudi PR / propaganda / lobbying outlet:

https://fair.org/home/media-boosts-obvious-saudi-front-group-as-neutral-think-tank/ = https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-washington-based-arabia-foundation-u-s-media-boosts-obvious-saudi-front-group-as-neutral-think-tank/5634012.

(A P)

US withdrawal from Iran deal helping wind down Yemen war, officials say

Despite Tehran’s repeated denials of arming Shiite Houthi rebels in war-torn Yemen, government and military officials insist President Trump’s withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal has had an immediate impact in helping bring the four-year conflict at least a step toward closure.

“There is still some support. but we have seen it drop since the U.S. pulled out,” Abd-Rabbo Moftah, deputy governor of the Yemen city, of Ma’rib told Fox News. “Any way that support from Iran is lessened, is helpful in stopping the war. The Houthis were feeding on this deal, and legitimacy.”

Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, Ambassador of Yemen to the U.S. and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said that after talks started between the U.S. and Iran on the deal during the Obama administration, Iran subsequently “stepped up its military and financial support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen.”

“Nevertheless, the clear-eyed President Trump’s Iran strategy, along with withdrawing from the Iran deal and demanding that Iran cease its destabilizing behavior in the region, has made clear to Iran and its proxies in Yemen that meddling in the region will not be overlooked again,” Mubarak said. He added that as a result of these “strong and positive signals,” Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are beginning to engage more with the peace process.

“So withdrawing from the Iran deal will definitely contribute to the end of the war in Yemen,” he said.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/08/07/us-withdrawal-from-iran-deal-helping-wind-down-yemen-war-officials-say.html

My comment: Retelling the old propaganda stories again and again.

(A P)

Iran says instructed Houthi rebels to attack Saudi oil tankers

Iran instructed the Houthi rebels in Yemen to strike two Saudi oil tankers in a Strait leading to the Red Sea last month, an official from the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guard admitted on Tuesday.

“We asked the Yemenis to attack the two Saudi oil tankers, so they did it,” IRGC Commander Nasser Shabani said on Tuesday according to Iranian news agency Fars.

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/181230-180807-iran-says-instructed-houthi-rebels-to-attack-saudi-oil-tankers

and what he really said:

Brigadier General Nasser Sha'bani, a former commander of the IRGC, said Iran has bonds with nations in the region, "but some western and hostile officials and media outlets induced an image as if we had asked the Yemenis to strike two Saudi warships and they did that, but the spiritual children of the revolution in the region have grown their capabilities to the levels that they can plan such operations" (independently).

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970516001216

(A P)

Yemeni VP, FM Discuss Diplomacy in Confronting Houthi Coup

Yemen’s Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar praised Monday the efforts exerted by Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani in international diplomatic circles.
Yamani is exerting efforts on explaining the legitimate government’s position on political and battle developments and UN efforts to resume peace negotiations between the government and the Iran-backed Houthi militias.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1355736/yemeni-vp-fm-discuss-diplomacy-confronting-houthi-coupAccording to Yemeni government sources, Yamani's suggestions were met with understanding by Western diplomatic circles, especially regarding the legitimate government’s insistence on restoring Hodeidah and its ports and areas of the west coast under its control
He stressed that this could happen through the Houthis’ voluntary and unconditional surrender or through military operations supported by Saudi-led coalition forces.
Yamani also succeeded in convincing the international circles of the threat Yemen is facing by keeping the Houthi militias in the vicinity of international shipping lines in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.
He was also able to convey the legitimate government’s support for UN and international efforts to bring peace to his country and restore regional stability, the sources said.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1355736/yemeni-vp-fm-discuss-diplomacy-confronting-houthi-coup

My comment: I doubt he really is „convincing“. The Hadi government is spreading odd propaganda and everybody will know this. But, how stupid ever this propaganda really is, it will be willingly accepted and adopted as the „West“ unconditionally supports the Saudi coalition, whatever happens.

(A P)

The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition “Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen”: The Coalition continues its commitment to combat terrorist groups to eradicate extremism and terrorism and sustain International Security.

Colonel Turki AlMalki, The Official Spokesman of the Coalition “Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen”, stated that the Coalition is waging a war against terrorist groups in Yemen such as AQAP, ISIS and the terrorist Iranian-Houthi militia, which are joined by common extremist ideology and intolerance.
“The Coalition has and will continue to carry out Joint operations with brotherly and friendly Nations to dismantle the capabilities of said groups through air, naval and joint special forces operations under the international cooperative efforts to eradicate terrorism and sustain International Security.” He stated.
“We have followed what AP posted today entitled “AP investigation: Yemen war binds US, allies, al-Qaida”. What was stated in this article whether it was stories or conclusions, is unfounded and expressed the personal opinion of the author as there were no tangible evidence nor convincing arguments. The writer should have followed the professional ethics of journalism and fact-checked such information before publication through communicating with the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition, and verifying the Coalition’s efforts in combating terrorism, the Coalition would have provided detailed information in this regard. All channels of communication with members of the media are open.” He added.

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1794117

Remark: The AP article is here: https://apimagesblog.com/blog/2018/8/7/ap-investigation-us-allies-al-qaida-battle-rebels-in-yemen = https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemen-us-allies-defeat-al-qaida-pay-57051248

My comment: This is the best: „The writer should have followed the professional ethics of journalism and fact-checked such information before publication through communicating with the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition, and verifying the Coalition’s efforts in combating terrorism, the Coalition would have provided detailed information in this regard. All channels of communication with members of the media are open.“ This really means: „They should listen to our propaganda and publish it and shut up otherwise.“

(A P)

Results bear out multi-pronged strategy against Al Qaeda in Yemen

Experts say tackling terror group in Yemen presents unique challenges

Since seizing swathes of government held-territory in 2015, including Mukalla, the capital of Hadramawt province, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap) has been met with a concentrated push back from Yemeni government forces supported by the UAE.

Indeed, in June, Aqap leader Khaled Batarfi went as far as publicly acknowledging the organisation’s losses over the past year. Pushed out of Mukalla in 2016, the group then withdrew from Zinjibar and Jaar, following battles and government-led mediation.

A strategy consisting of counter-terrorism raids, drone strikes and the cutting of strategic deals with local tribes had, it seemed, critically weakened Aqap. The group were pushed out of cities they once openly ruled over, senior leadership figures were killed and captured, and the group’s media output lost a once-professional edge.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash said on Monday that the UAE-backed operations had posed the greatest challenge to Aqap and had left the group at its weakest since 2012.

"UAE-enabled counter-terrorism/counter-insurgency strategy working in Yemen," Dr Gargash said on Twitter. "AQAP at its weakest since 2012.Thousands of militants removed thru CT/COIN operations. Deprived AQAP safe havens, access to funding, recruitment of local pop. Mukalla no longer center of AQAP influence."

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/results-bear-out-multi-pronged-strategy-against-al-qaeda-in-yemen-1.757556

My comment: The UAE as a great and successful fighter against terrorism – an article by UAE’s „The National“. – This mostly is propaganda, as is revealed by an AP article fully linked in YPR 441, cp1 (https://apimagesblog.com/blog/2018/8/7/ap-investigation-us-allies-al-qaida-battle-rebels-in-yemen = https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemen-us-allies-defeat-al-qaida-pay-57051248 = http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/08/06/details-deals-between-us-backed-coalition-yemen-al-qaida.html)

and emphasizing actions by the UAE-backed southern militia also belong to this context:

(A P)

Security Belt Troops of Abian Launch Inspection Campaign Against Terrorist Elements in Al-Mahfed

https://en.smanews.org/security-belt-troops-of-abian-launch-inspection-campaign-against-terrorist-elements-in-al-mahfed

(A P)

Houthi – Iranian militias threaten international shipping

I represent Yemen to the institutions of the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg. It is, therefore, my duty to alert our European partners to the situation that Iranian-backed Houthi rebel militias are putting the Yemeni people in, and to the danger that this alliance with Tehran represents for regional balance.

Houthi-Iranian militia leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi has avoided all attempts to bring about a successfully negotiated solution. He has refused all proposals and peace initiatives issued by the legitimate government of Yemen, the Arab coalition that supports us, and the United Nations.

Instead of assuming his responsibilities and adopting a constructive attitude towards the resolution of the conflict, he isolates himself. He is currently hiding underground, seemingly unconcerned about the catastrophic humanitarian impact that he has brought upon innocent civilians. He believes himself to be carrying out a divine mission to govern Yemen and to then invade neighbouring countries.

This destructive attitude of the rebels is maintained by the Iranian government, Al-Houthi’s ally. Tehran is waging a proxy war, financing the rebels, supplying them with ammunition alongside military and political Iranian and Hezbollah advisors, without getting involved directly -By Mohamed Taha Mustafa, Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen to the Kingdom of Belgium, the EU, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

https://www.neweurope.eu/article/houthi-iranian-militias-threaten-international-shipping/

My comment: The same propaganda tales now told to the EU.

(A P)

Houthis 'Dashing' Victories Misleading, Designed to Boost Morale

Hoping to boost depleted morale among frontline fighters, Houthi leaders were caught making misleading claims of ‘dashing’ victories over the past two days. Yemeni social activists slammed the Iran-backed coup’s so-called ‘military achievements’ as baseless propaganda.
Cynical towards Houthi publicity rhetoric, social activists also cited reports of sexual assaults being fabricated by Houthis.
Provoking “honor” cases is a Houthi mechanism used to protect their followers among tribes and rural provinces under coup control, activists added.
President of the Houthi self-proclaimed Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat had given specific instructions to coup media on exaggerating battleground advances achieved by Houthi militiamen, Sanaa sources said.

https://www.albawaba.com/news/houthis-dashing-victories-misleading-designed-boost-morale-1169662

(A H P)

More Saudi / UAE „We are benefactors“ propaganda

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1352511/saudi-arabia

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/saudi-arabia-to-send-yemen-60m-worth-of-aid-every-month-1.757649

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

(* A K pH)

Saudi coalition air raids day by day

August 6: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1533647573./1102341476582883/?type=3

August 5: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1533647573./1102332829917081/?type=3

(A K pH)

US-Saudi Aggression Raid Kill Citizen, Hajah

A citizen was killed, on Tuesday, by wounds sustained by the US-Saudi raid in northern of Hajjah province the day before yesterday. The correspondent of Almasirah TV reported that a citizen died of his wounds in another raid on Hilla village in Bani Haidan area,Mahabsha district.

A civilian was killed and four others were wounded, including one woman, on Sunday night, three of them seriously wounded by air raid that targeted their home in Bani Haidan area,Mahabsha district, Hajjah province.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2088&cat_id=1

http://www.newnewss.net/us-saudi-aggression-jets-targeted-a-citizen-house-in-yemens-hajja/ recording 5 killed seems to be an error

(A K pH)

Aggression’s Daily Update for Tuesday, August 7th, 2018

In Hajja: A civilian died due to injuries which he had on Sunday following an airstrike targeted Al-Halah village in Al-Mahabshah district

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2093&cat_id=1

Remark: The photo belongs to another raid.

(A K pH)

Aggression’s Daily Update for Monday, August 6th, 2018

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2071&cat_id=1

(A K p)

More Saudi coalition air aids recorded on:

August, 7:

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news504304.htm and http://www.sabanews.net/en/news504289.htm Hodeidah p.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news504298.htm Jawf p.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news504297.htm Sanaa p.

August, 6:

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news504234.htm Saada p.

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

Siehe / Look at cp1b2

(A K pH)

Aggression’s Daily Update for Tuesday, August 7th, 2018

In Saada: a civilian was injured and civilians' houses and properties were damaged by Saudi missiles and artillery shells on residential villages in Munabeh, Shida and Baqem districts. US-Saudi aggression also launched two raids on AlHabajer area in Sahar district and four raids on Al-Boq' area.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2093&cat_id=1

(A K pS)

Yemeni army downs reconnaissance drone of Houthi militia in Taiz

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1794551

(A K)

Saudi Air Force Intercept Houthi Missile Fired from Yemen on Najran

The Saudi Royal Air Force intercepted a missile over Najran on Monday night, fired from Emran in Yemen by Houthi militia, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Saudi-led Arab coalition spokesperson, Colonel Turki Al-Maliki said at 8:20 p.m. local time, coalition air defense forces spotted the missile being launched by Houthi militia within Yemen towards Saudi Arabia

https://www.albawaba.com/news/saudi-air-force-intercept-houthi-missile-fired-yemen-najran-1170256

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

(* B)

Film: all about yemen the best

Slideshow: beautiful Yemen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL1YFc9izW8&feature=youtu.be

Remark: from 2014, pre-war.

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-441-yemen-war-mosaic-441

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-441 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-441:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:

(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/

http://www.yemenwar.info/

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

http://yemendataproject.org/data/

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

Dietrich Klose

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

Dietrich Klose

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