Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 447 - Yemen War Mosaic 447

Yemen Press Reader 447: 19. August 2018: Humanitäre Lage – Der gescheiterte Versuch eines Amerikaners, Zivilisten im Jemen zu schützen – Interviews: Gabriel Chaim u. Brecht Jonkers über Jemen...

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... Nach dem saudischen Luftangriff vom 9. August auf einen Schulbus; US-Bombe belegt Mittäterschaft der USA – Luftangriff in Provinz Hodeidah tötet 13 – und mehr

August 19, 2018: Humanitarian situation – One American’s Failed Quest to Protect Civilians in Yemen – Interviews on Yemen with Gabriel Chaim and Brecht Jonkers – After the August 9 school bus Saudi air raid; US bomb shows US complicity – Air raid in Hodeidah province kills 13 – 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

cp1b Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah / Most important: Hodeidah battle

cp1c Am wichtigsten: Saudischer Luftangriff auf Schulbus / Most important: Saudi air raid at school bus

cp2 Allgemein / General

cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

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

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp8a Saudisch-Kanadischer Streit / Saudi-Canadian feud

cp9 USA

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade

cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp15 Propaganda

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

Klassifizierung / Classification

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(Kein Stern / No star)

? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating

A = Aktuell / Current news

B = Hintergrund / Background

C = Chronik / Chronicle

D = Details

E = Wirtschaft / Economy

H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions

K = Krieg / War

P = Politik / Politics

pH = Pro-Houthi

pS = Pro-Saudi

T = Terrorismus / Terrorism

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

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

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

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

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

Neue Artikel / New articles

(** B K)

Yemen Civil War detailed map

Hold cursor over location to display name; click to go to sources &/or status description

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Yemeni_Civil_War_detailed_map

(* B K P)

Film: Who is MbS, the man who thinks he is invincible?

Who is Mohammed bin Salman, the man who thinks he is invincible and decided to go ahead with the indiscriminate destruction of #Yemen?

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/297181007753790/

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

(** B H)

UN Development Programme: Yemen Multi-Sector Early Recovery Assessment

Executive Summary

Communities in Yemen faced a multitude of compounding challenges that entrenched poverty in a country which was one of the poorest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region1 , even prior to a significant escalation of conflict in 2015. Beleaguered by over three years of violence, many of its institutions that deliver core services to its citizenry have collapsed, leaving households vulnerable to shocks and in a state of perpetual precariousness. Facing these conditions, and with thousands internally displaced as a result of the violence, the international community has largely concentrated on immediate life-saving humanitarian support. While this has undoubtedly improved living conditions and provided basic assistance for thousands, longer term support that tackles issues of governance, service delivery, infrastructure rehabilitation, social cohesion and economic recovery is needed as the crisis protracts.
Within this context, this Early Recovery Multi-Sector Assessment sought to gauge household and community needs – and capacities to respond to those needs – to inform the integration of early recovery strategies into the humanitarian response. Initiated by the Early Recovery Cluster, this assessment has benefited from inputs by Fewsnet and Oxfam Yemen, as well as from Cluster Coordinators. In addition, the engagement from the Central Statistical Organization and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC) was vital to the completion of the assessment. Finally, the assessment would not have been possible without the efforts of AFCAR, in particular of Adnan Qatinah and Sharaf Alkibsi, whose support on the ground was essential.
This assessment combines quantitative data that is designed to be representative of the conflictaffected districts across Yemen, with qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews, and with existing secondary data sources. The sample was stratified by displacement status and offers gender and urban-rural disaggregations wherever applicable.
Overall, the assessment finds that households in districts across all five hubs of the response are suffering from extremely poor socioeconomic conditions, compounded by severe challenges in local governance and service delivery. Conditions appear to be particularly poor in districts in Al Hodeidah hub where households and communities reported poorer conditions across multiple indicators. For instance, 90% of households there reported that their household’s income had been “very much reduced” in the past year, while 72% cited damage to health infrastructure in their own community.
Districts in Saada hub also performed poorly, particularly in damage to education infrastructure and in terms of local authority capacities to meet needs. In addition, 91% of households there reported that they do not have birth documentation for children born within the last five years, leaving them exposed to concerning protection issues.
Households in Aden, on the other hand, reported relatively better conditions across sectors, with greater levels of income, reportedly less damage to infrastructure, and greater satisfaction with service delivery. Moreover, community recovery efforts were most commonly reported there, with 64% of households reporting the presence of repair efforts, compared to, for instance, just 24% in Sana’a. In households in Aden – and in urban areas more generally – rehabilitation of electricity supply was named as the greatest need for repair and recovery. Notably, while households in Aden faired relatively better compared to other hubs, the vast majority of households remain impoverished with many entrenched needs facing them.
A key finding was that households with IDPs generally fair the worst across almost every indicator including in this assessment, while host communities (including non-displaced and surrounding communities) and returnee households are relatively, but only marginally, better off. For instance, IDP households are more likely to be engaged in casual labor as their primary income source and these households also reported the most severe decreases in their incomes over the past year. Linked to this finding, IDPs are also significantly more likely to rely on friends and family to borrow money from, rather than from local institutions; likely due to their displacement. Households with IDPs also reported lower satisfaction levels across all utilities and services measured as part of this assessment.
This assessment also captured longitudinal effects to gauge recent changes in households conditions and equip response actors with an understanding of the likely trajectory of households in the near future. For the majority of households, their conditions are reported to be on a downward trajectory with key challenges – principally in the high price of food and underperforming utilities, particularly electricity and public works – that entrench poverty. These result in dangerous coping mechanisms across all hubs, namely in reducing food consumption and the selling of assets, rendering households in highly precarious situations.
Poor socioeconomic conditions across all districts was reflected in the high proportion (35%) of households reporting that they are dependent on casual labor – inherently short-term and precarious – as their primary income source. As a result, nearly half of the households report that they earn between 1-50,000rial a month, with a significant 21% reporting that they have no income and are reliant on aid. Poverty is becoming more widespread and is deepening, with a significant 56% and 52% in Sana’a and Ibb hubs reporting that they are “much less wealthy” in terms of assets as compared to a year ago. The primary economic challenge was not reported to be in accessing markets, but instead in high commodity prices: a finding that holds true across all districts included in this assessment.
Damage to infrastructure from the conflict was also widely reported with water (56%) and electricity (51%) most frequently cited, followed by health (46%) and education (41%) by respondents. Damage to water supply infrastructure was most commonly cited in Al Hodeidah and Sana’a where 70% and 66% included it in their ranking and was least common in Saada (38%). Damage to electricity infrastructure was most commonly cited in Aden (65%) and least commonly cited in Al Hodeidah (18%), while damage to health infrastructure was most commonly cited in Al Hodeidah (72%), and least commonly cited in Ibb (17%). Finally, the damage to education infrastructure was most commonly cited in Al Hodeidah (55%) and Saada (53%) and least in Aden (37%) and Ibb (33%).
In terms of rehabilitation, the water supply infrastructure was the most commonly emphasized as the majority (62%) included it in their top three priorities for reconstruction. Electricity supply rehabilitation was cited as a top three priority by more than 60% in three regional hubs (Sana’a, Ibb, and Aden).
Health services rehabilitation was extremely important to respondents in Ibb (81% included as top three priority). Just a few respondents indicated that they had capacities to repair their homes themselves, with 72% reporting that they had no capacity and a further 20% stating that they had only ‘limited capacity’.
Local governance and service delivery has also emerged from this assessment as a key area for international support.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-multi-sector-early-recovery-assessment

and full PDF: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yemen-multisector-earlyrecoveryassessment.pdf

(** B K P)

One American’s Failed Quest to Protect Civilians in Yemen

@LarryLewis_, the top State Department civilian harm adviser who tried to get the Saudi Coalition to kill fewer civilians in Yemen. Ultimately, he was stymied by the the US, the Coalition — and finally pushed out by Trump.

Last week, Saudi jets bombed a bus packed with schoolchildren in northern Yemen.

At best, according to human-rights groups, the team has lacked consistency; at worst, they have said, it has failed to account for some of the conflict’s deadliest air strikes.

The task of investigating the attack will fall to a coalition body known as the Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT), made up of officials from coalition member states. In addition to investigating incidents of concern, the group is meant to provide recommendations on avoiding harm to coalition-member militaries

Still, when the JIAT was formed in 2016, with the assistance of Larry Lewis, then the State Department’s senior adviser on civilian harm, it was something of a novel entity in the Gulf, at least in its announced intentions. Lewis was perhaps the coalition’s sole American interlocutor focused explicitly on protecting civilians endangered by the Yemen campaign. As he saw it, there was an imbalance between the flow of weapons and support provided by Washington and its lack of oversight of a conflict it had accelerated. This is the mismatch that Lewis, with the State Department’s backing, said he tried to fix—initially with some success.

Last year, Lewis was pushed out of the State Department by the Trump administration during a larger purging of staff at Foggy Bottom.

Among those who work on civilian protection, Lewis is well known. As an analyst at the federally funded research group CNA embedded with the military from 2004 to 2011, he worked closely with U.S. officials in Iraq, and in Afghanistan he co-authored the Joint Civilian Casualty Study, part of a series of efforts that helped reduce deaths caused by international forces.

Meanwhile, the Gulf states believed Iran was backing the Houthis, and feared what America’s support for the nuclear deal meant for them. “The Saudi government was very nervous about the deal, and so the implicit policy imperative of the day was to reassure them,” Rose Jackson, who served as chief of staff at the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor from 2013 to 2016, told me. “Simultaneously, they had launched this deeply problematic air campaign, civilians were dying, and a humanitarian crisis was brewing.”

“Larry was initially sent to advise the Saudi government in a good-faith effort to figure out how serious they were about improving their processes and protecting civilians,” Jackson said. “We weren’t sending just anyone. We were sending the guy who had helped our own government establish a system for limiting civilian harm in Afghanistan, with prior military experience, under the auspices of the bureau focused on human-rights and civilian-protection issues … But broadly speaking, if we tried this arrangement out as a test, it failed.”

Lewis’s superiors sent him to the air-operations center in Riyadh, where he met with more than two dozen officers and several generals. The air war was “ugly,” as he put it, but he wasn’t sure if the Saudis had reflected on the toll, or taken steps to staunch the bloodshed.

Lewis realized that the coalition had “never really admitted to anyone in the United States that these things were happening,” he recalled. “Once we had that sort of ‘Ah’ moment, they started telling about incidents. The U.S. advisers’ jaws dropped at how forthright they were.”
Lewis wanted to teach principles like operational patience—waiting for a target to move out of a populated area, for instance—and how to gauge the risk to civilians in strikes on buildings and residential compounds. He stressed the importance of avoiding targets on no-strike lists, including ones provided by Americans, and specifically during “dynamic strikes”—those that are not preplanned, during which coordination might be more difficult. He left after a week; when he returned in December, Saudi personnel showed him list of targets they claimed to have not hit—encouraging stuff, but still only anecdotal signs. Lewis, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, needed data.

The Trump administration has also decided to ignore an Obama-era executive order that Lewis helped draft, which provides policy commitments to help protect civilians in U.S. operations. The order also includes a commitment to work with partners concerning civilian casualties, a promise that Lewis says the Trump administration has failed to meet in Yemen.

“We could do much more to promote civilian protection, or alternately we could choose to do less and show our concerns by withdrawing support,” he said. “Our current approach does neither. The world wonders if the U.S. cares about civilians in Yemen. I wonder if we care enough to act.” – by Samuel Oakford

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/yemen-saudi-airstrike-school-bus/567799/

And this is the twitter account of Larry Lewis: https://twitter.com/LarryLewis_

and some of his tweets:

Thanks Sam. Hoping this helps the US to reconsider its approach in Yemen, and to partnered operations in general. As the UK joined me on some of these trips, perhaps this is a good time for them to reflect on this as well.

https://twitter.com/LarryLewis_/status/1030520562525904897

I was writing an email this morning and I typed “school bus bombing.” I had to shake my head in sadness. Can we all agree that those three words have no business being used together?

https://twitter.com/LarryLewis_/status/1030495905563193346

44 kids having juice and snacks during a field trip. A human moment then marred by a tragedy that should move us all. May it move us to act, to do something different, to honor this loss.

https://twitter.com/LarryLewis_/status/1030049666069618688

In 2015-2016 I advised the Saudi coalition on how to avoid civilian casualties, just as I did with US forces in Afghanistan. I helped them form their JIAT. At first we saw progress, but then they regressed, and they are not getting better. The time for patience is over.

https://twitter.com/LarryLewis_/status/1027669171964915712

My comment: A very interesting article. – But I think there had been several illusions from the very beginning.

1) It’s an illusion that the Saudis really would care even a little bit to reduce civilian harm of their air raids. This never had been the case, obviously from the very beginning of the war until now civilian targets had been deliberately selected and targeted.

2) The Saudi coalition’s probes of own war crimes (or neutral: military actions) had been a farce from the very first day on. There never had been any serious intention to really illuminate any such actions. The only function had been a propagandistic one: Whitewashing the Saudi coalition from all objections. The main purpose for installing this Saudi-coalition JIAT was the US / Saudi campaign to prevent the installation of international, independent investigations of war crimes (not only Saudi ones) in Yemen. Such international independent investigations had been demanded again and again. Due to Saudi / US / UK attempts, the UN Human Rights Council had failed twice in this matter.

3) The US is and stays complicit in all these crimes. All claims the US would care for pushing or teaching the Saudi coalition to avoid civilian victims had been useless (this would be the most friendly interpretation), or as I think as it would fit better, had been and are a propaganda scam. This can be seen from hundreds of air raids, the last large one is the August 9 school bus raid. If the US really would have cared for Yemeni civilians they would have pressed Saudi Arabia to stop the war and would have stopped any political, logistic support and any further arms sales.

4) It is an illusion there could be any war – and specially: aerial bombing war – which could be almost “clean” and mostly sparing civilian infrastructure and civilian life. This simply did never work and will never work. – Or, be honest: The claim such a war could be possible and could be achieved is not just an illusion – it’s a propaganda scam which the public is told to better accept such a war and to believe in the carefulness of our army. There never is any “human” war, and the Saudis are the last ones on this planet who even would have tried to realize such an impossible thing.

5) The Saudi war against the Houthis is an illegal war of aggression. The Saudi claim their interference would have happened in request of the “legitimate” president is void, as president Hadi’s term had ended on February 2015, this is one month before the Saudi aerial war had started. From the viewpoint of legitimacy, Hadi no more was Yemen’s president when he asked the Saudis to intervene. Hadi’s two-year term began in February 2012 and had been prolonged just for another year. And it simply is just impossible to “improve” any war which is generally illegal.

6) Larry Lewis really might have been fully convinced that he could improve the improvable (war, above at 4) and do any good. But from the very first day on, this had been a wrong illusion. By working with JIAT, he had been participating in justifying a process which was nothing more than a deflection from a real independent investigation, which would have been the only way to really held violators accountable and to improve of even stop warfare. Might-be nobody should blame him for this – what he did was the order he had received, he not been ordered to stop the war. Might-be Lewis had been the only one in the US and in Saudi Arabia who really took this order – to achieve a real investigation and to improve warfare – seriously. Lewis’ good will seems to have been exploited as a fig leaf and he necessarily failed. Thus, in my eyes he is a tragic figure, having something of Don Quixote.

(** B K P)

The forgotten war, from Aden to Sana'a: An interview from the Yemen war with Gabriel Chaim

Photojournalist Gabriel Chaim travelled to Yemen in the summer of 2018 and received unique access to Houthi areas of the country.

Tell me about your trip, where you went and initial reactions? I got there three months ago and was there for two months in 2018. Yemen is really a different situation than other places I have been. Even in a place called a “war zone” you can find everything in stores in Aden. Supermarkets are full of food. French biscuits, Diet Coke, for instance. But a few kilometers away there is no food for the civilians living in refugee camps.

This was the most difficult thing. When I was in Aden, a lot of beggars were asking for money in the street; but in the supermarkets you could see food and everything. This was the most important thing that caught my attention, how it’s really a big difference between life of civilians fleeing war and the civilians living in the city.

No one there has money. This is the biggest problem in the humanitarian situation in the south.

But in the north in the Houthi area. It’s very different. The use of Qat has become a big problem in society. This drug has become a big problem throughout Yemen. The men become addicted to this drug. Every day, afternoon and night, they are using the drug and losing their lives.

Where did you go in the Houthi-held areas?

I went to the north, Sana’a, and Sa’dah and Hajjah, for two weeks. It was difficult as a foreigner. I wasn’t free to work and they wanted to show me what they want. But what they wanted to show me was what I wanted to do. I wanted to see the cluster bombs because there is a Brazilian factory selling cluster bombs to the Saudis and this was behind killing of women and children and I was there to film the evidence of these bombs, so the Houthis helped me because it’s in their interest.

It’s difficult to see what’s going on in the north. In the South of Yemen I was free to movie. If I wanted a taxi for instance. But in the north I couldn’t even leave my hotel alone.

What was your sense among the civilians and their support for the Houthis?

If you talk to the civilians they will never tell you exactly, but I spoke to many and they are against the Houthis. They don’t like the government but they cannot say anything. But it’s like a dictatorship. If they say something bad then maybe they will die.

Jihadists, extremists?

The Saudis and UAE may be using jihadists in some frontlines but I didn’t see any evidence about them, it’s unclear who is what. All of them are Salafists, it’s impossible to see if they are jihadists, they have big beards and pray five times a day. It’s difficult to tel. What people said is that the Saudis pay some Al Qaeda to be on the front line in Hodeidah and Mokka and fight for them. This is what they say. Everyone knows.

How would you compare the complexity there to Syria where there are a range of fighters from moderates to extremists?

What I saw there is that in Yemen there are no moderates, all of them are extremists, very religious. Especially at the frontlines, they are really religious, if you compare to Ahrar al-Sham, like Syria, it’s the same.

And with the Houthis? Any images of Khamanei or Iranian influence like that?

Nothing that makes any connection to Iran, I didn’t see it.

What’s your sense of the future for Yemen?

I don’t know, this is a big war between countries; Iran and Saudi Arabia and the Emirates and US. There are a lot of interests in Yemen and everyone wants the ports in Yemen. So who will be in charge of the ports in the future will be the one that won the war. In the end it is this, it’s about the ports. The war is totally uncertain, even the people there don’t know what’s going to happen. No one knows, it’s unclear, I don’t know. The future of Yemen is dark. No one cares. You can see that everyday there are a lot of kids dying. And no one talks about this. You might see some news in CNN but if this happened somewhere else there would be more attention. The problem is no one cares and the war will go on. So they can keep doing this mess for a long time – By Seth J. Frantzman

https://www.mideastcenter.org/research-blog/the-forgotten-war-from-aden-to-sana-a-an-interview-from-the-yemen-war-with-gabriel-chaim

(** B K P)

Is Yemen The Saudis’ Vietnam?

The war in Yemen is continuing, and a constant stream of civilians are being bombed alive in war crimes which we don’t want to hear about. Why is this war in the poorest Middle Eastern country dragging on for so long and why are Western powers involved?

Brecht Jonkers, a journalist for Al-Masdar News joins the program.

There seem to be two conflicts going on at the same time. One involves the US working with its allies, particularly the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to eliminate Al Qaeda (AQAP) in the Arabian Peninsula. The other seems to be aimed in winning the civil war against the Houthis. In that fight, are AQAP militants on the same side as the Saudi-led coalition, and by extension, the US. Brecht says: "The US may not be directly negotiating with Al Qaeda forces directly in the Arab Peninsular, however it is undeniable that Al Qaeda is supporting the Arab Coalition which of course is being supported by the US. I found it very interesting last week when suddenly the Western media started waking up to the shocking news that Al Qaeda is on the side of the Saudis in Yemen. I found it surprising that anybody was surprised about it! For journalists and analysts who have been following this conflict closely, for the past few years, they have been saying this already for years, this has been known at the very least since 2017.

The official government which control part of Yemen has also been recruiting soldiers from Al Qaeda. Brecht comments: ‘It is unbelievable when you look at this from the outside, but if you look at history, this is very much the way the imperial powers have operated in the Middle East. The Americans have been doing this sort of thing in Syria when they said that they are going to defeat ISIS, they supported so called ‘moderate' rebels who later turned out to be, in many cases, Al Qaeda… I don't think the regime in Yemen that is supported by Saudi Arabia to be a government anymore… What we call the Houthis is now the new government of Yemen, they control the capital and the territory where 17 million of the total Yemen population of 27 million."

The American government knows that it cannot tell the American people that we are going to war against the tribes in Yemen, because that sounds like a bad reason to go to war, instead they were going to war against Al Qaeda, but end up fighting somebody else…"

There seems to be an attempt being made currently to link the Houthis with Iran. Bracht comments: "Any claim of Iranian support to the Houthis is a complete and absolute lie. There has never ever been any shred of evidence provided by the Saudis or their allies or the US in this regard. Last week with the Saudi murder of the 50 children when a school bus was bombed, even then, you see the media, condemning it and then they say that this is a war between Saudi Arabia and the Iranian-backed Houthi forces.

The fact that the US is now imposing sanctions on Iran, could be seen as an indication that it is also prepared to take more extreme actions against Yemen, because an association between Yemen and Iran has been made in the Western press. "This is already happening.

There is a growing movement in the Middle East which is inspired by Iran, because it is the strongest Islamic power in the region that is very strictly anti-imperialist, anti-Wahabis and very insistent on following their own sovereign course, and this is one of the things that has scared the US very much. That is why they feel that they are prepared to do anything that is necessary to destroy this. Using Saudi Arabia in Yemen is a very practical way for the Americans to handle the problem.

The Yemen war seems to be almost unwinnable.

The Saudis are fighting against the poorest country in the Middle East but yet after three years they still have not won. This is a Vietnam situation, even the territories like the port of Aden which the Saudis control are in fact complete no-man's lands. There are areas in which Al Qaeda is active, it is a region that South Yemenis separatist rebels are active, a region in which other Sunny extremist organizations which are not related to Al Qaeda but have their own objectives are active as well, we have tribal alliances fighting each other over small pieces of land, you have small factions related to ISIS active in this region, so when it comes to stability and nation building, the Saudis are completely failing. The Saudis will keep on fighting until they are defeated or they will retreat. This seems unlikely, as the Yemenis are fighting vastly superior forces, however the Houthis are now developing their own missile technologies."

https://sputniknews.com/radio-pivot-to-asia/201808171067277549-is-yemen-the-saudis-vietnam/

cp1b Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah / Most important: Hodeidah battle

(A K pH)

Saudi jets wage eight raids on Hodeidah

The Saudi war jets waged eight air raids on Bayt
al-Faqih district of Hodeidah province, a security official told Saba on Sunday.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505623.htm

(A K pH)

376 Mercenaries were Killed and Injured in 48 Hours

140 mercenaries were killed and more than 236 others were injured, in the West Coast, during the last 48 hours in the failed offensive operations of the forces of the US-Saudi aggression on Al-Duraihemi district in Hodeidah.
While the Army and Popular Committees supported by Tihama People destroyed more than 15 machinery, including the US armored vehicle, Ashkosh, a military truck and a military vehicle. The source pointed out that among the mercenaries who were killed today, 40 mercenaries, were killed by an airstrike of the aggression while they tried to flee collectively from the battlefield.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2309&cat_id=1

Remark: as claimed by the Houthi side.

(A K)

The Southern Giant Brigades announced the complete liberation of local farms and al Houthi strongholds west of Bayt al Fiqh and southwest of al Hudaydah city on August 17. The Saudi-led coalition continued airstrikes on al Houthi forces in the vicinity of Bayt al Fiqh, however. The strikes reportedly killed 27 al Houthi fighters. The ongoing operation, which has intensified since August 12, has left 84,000 families homeless.[4]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-august-17-2018

(A K pH)

4 Civilians Killed and Injured by US-Saudi Aggression Strikes in Hodaidah

Two civilians were killed and two others were injured on Friday by US-Saudi Aggression strikes targeted farms in Tahita district, in Hodeidah governorate (photo)

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2290&cat_id=1

(A K pS)

Yemen rebels attacked UN food store near Hodeidah, says minister

World Food Programme warehouse looted and turned into a barracks, local administration minister says

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have looted aid supplies held at a World Food Programme storage facility near the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, a government minister said on Friday.

Abdel-Raqeeb Fateh, the minister of local administration, said in a statement on Friday that the Houthis have turned the WFP warehouse in Al Duraihimi district into a military barracks. Calling for a condemnation from the UN, Fateh said the Houthis are intimidating humanitarian workers.

Saber Abdulwahed, a local journalist with the Al Amalikah media centre, told The National that Houthis had stolen more than 2,000 food parcels from the facility in the Al Duraihimi district.

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/yemen-rebels-attacked-un-food-store-near-hodeidah-says-minister-1.761268

Remark: As claimed by Hadi government officials.

And

(A KpS)

Houthis Transform UN Warehouse in Hodeidah into Military Barracks

Reeling from losses in the west coast, armed Houthis attacked Wednesday a food warehouse used by a UN aid organization in Ad Durayhimi south of Hodeidah, and transformed it into a military barracks, UN and local Yemeni sources said.
There has been conflicting information regarding the incident. An official at the International Organization for Migration said the warehouse belongs to the World Food Programme. However, a WFP spokesperson denied it.
Another WFP source claimed that the warehouse belongs to the IOM.
Asharq Al-Awsat sent on Thursday an email to the Organization, requesting information on the matter, but it received no response by the time the article was written.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1366801/houthis-transform-un-warehouse-hodeidah-military-barracks

My comment: This story looks like: Actually, we really know nothing, but use it for propaganda anyway.

(* B H K)

Film: The health situation in #Hudaydah is deteriorating everyday. Despite security challenges, WHO staff is on the ground to support urgent health needs and provide health facilities with basic needs.

https://twitter.com/WHOYemen/status/1030174556454117376

(* A H)

Yemen: Hudaydah Displaced Population Now an Estimated 336,846

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, estimates Hudaydah’s displaced population has now reached an estimated 336,846 men, women and children due to a flare up in violence that began two months ago.

The world’s worst humanitarian crisis deteriorated further in June 2018 when a frontal assault on Hudaydah, Yemen’s main port city, led to the displacement of more than half of the city’s 600,000 population, according to IOM’s latest surveys of the population.

Between 29 July and 7 August, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) identified an increase of 1,393 displaced households (estimated 6,636 individuals) forced to leave their places of usual residence in Hudaydah. This brings the total number of households to 57,534 forced to leave their homes since the escalation of conflict in early June.

More recent reports from the past week, which were not included in IOM’s latest report, indicate over 1,000 households having been displaced in Zabid between 8 July and 15 July, the majority within Zabid district and some households moving to Bayt Al Faqiah. Most of the displaced population has been living on savings, selling property, gold, cars, and other assets they had for almost two years now, since the collapse of the government and infrastructure in Yemen.

Since 13 June, IOM has provided 4,680 medical consultations, antenatal care to 337 pregnant women, reproductive health consultations to 531 individuals and psychosocial support to 500 people, as well as conducting health promotion activities that have reached over 1,600 people. IOM distributed food rations, basic hygiene items and other essentials to over 3,300 displaced people. Shelter materials and other essential aid were provided to 1,400 families, as well as 20,850 hot meals in various areas of displacement. To ensure their safety and access to humanitarian services, IOM has helped transport over 1,000 displaced people to various locations.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-hudaydah-displaced-population-now-estimated-336846

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Civilians trapped as fighting south of Yemen's Hodeidah renews

Besieged and attacked by land and air, residents of Duraihami city are trapped as pro-government forces close in

After weeks of uneasy impasse, fighting south of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah has flared up once again, as pro-government forces storm the adjacent city of Duraihami.

The pro-government forces, backed by Saudi and Emirati air power, have been besieging Duraihami since Sunday, and on Tuesday they launched an attack to prize it from the Houthi rebels.

However, the city is heavily populated, with civilians struggling to escape as they are hemmed in by gunfire and blocked roads.

Poor internet coverage has badly hampered Duraihami residents’ ability to contact the outside world, though early Thursday morning Middle East Eye was able to get through to one man stuck in the beleaguered suburb.

"There are street clashes in the town and many people were killed and wounded and no one has helped them," Ahmed Mubarak told MEE.

"The town lives under siege, and also we are under siege inside our houses, as the snipers in the city from both sides kill anyone who leaves his house to the street."

Local reports have said the city is being targeted by Saudi-led coalition air strikes, rocket attacks, artillery and a ground offensive.

Mubarak said that he wants to send a message to the international community, asking to help Duraihami’s trapped civilians by stopping the battles and opening safe roads, even for one day, so they can flee their homes.

"There are some people that have bled to death [in the street] and no one dared to help them because of the clashes. Some corpses have decayed in the streets,” he said.

“I appeal to the international [aid] organisations to intervene and help us before the war kills us."

Though some civilians have managed to flee Duraihami, Mubarak says they were only able to do so because they escaped before the fighting engulfed their neighbourhoods.

"The air strikes, rockets and snipers target the city randomly, so if we leave our houses, the fighting will kill us immediately. We still have food in our houses but the food will run out if the organisations will not help soon".

Human shields

A source in the Amaliqa Brigade, a pro-government militia fighting in Hodeidah, told MEE his forces have captured much of the city and expect to hold it all soon.

"We know that some civilians have been killed in the battles on Tuesday and Wednesday, but we advise civilians to stay in the basements of their houses and prevent the Houthis from using them as human shields."

Conversely, the Houthis accused the pro-government forces and the Saudi-led coalition backing them of targeting civilians.

However, the Amaliqa source was keen to stress that civilians had only found themselves in pro-government forces’ sights because the Houthis were putting them there.

"We tried to attack parts of Duraihami city but we found Houthi snipers spread on the houses of civilians, so the Houthis in some houses were targeted."

"We do our best to avoid killing civilians and targeting houses, as their safety is the most important issue for us, so we do not target the city randomly. If we didn’t care about civilians we would recapture the city in few hours."

The Houthis also accuse the pro-government forces of targeting civilian homes randomly and preventing anyone from relieving injured people.

authorised to speak to media.

"The air strikes killed dozens of civilians in Duraihami and they are still targeting civilians, while AnsarAllah [the Houthis] are fighting face-to-face on the ground."

Walking for hours

On Wednesday evening some fortunate families who fled the fighting arrived at safer areas outside the town, many after walking on foot for more than 24 hours.

"Some families walked from Tuesday evening till Wednesday evening, and they crossed dangerous roads where warring sides target people who go through," Sameer Sultan, a freelance journalist based in Hodeidah, told MEE.

According to a source in Hodeidah’s health office, dozens of civilians have been killed and wounded in Duraihami, some of them by air strikes and others by rockets, but there is no specific number of casualties.

"Most of the casualties are still inside the city, so we cannot give specific number of casualties as we cannot arrive to all of them. We hope that organisations can intervene to help people under the siege" he said.

"During the last two days more than 50 wounded and 15 dead have arrived al-Thawrah Hospital in Hodeidah, and the hospital has appealed to people to donate blood for the wounded."

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/fighting-south-yemens-hodiedah-renews-imperiling-civilians-470996198

and

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Yemeni civilians trapped as Saudi ramps up attacks on Hudaydah

Thousands of civilians are trapped in Yemen’s Hudaydah as Saudi Arabia and allies step up their attacks to capture the port city from the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

Backed by air power from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, militia groups loyal to Yemen’s ousted former president, Abd Rbbuh Mansour Hadi, have been pushing to seize the Duraihami District, which lies adjacent to southern Hudaydah.

The Saudi-led front mounted a new offensive in Duraihami on Tuesday, two days after laying a siege to the heavily-populated area.

Local reports said the area is being constantly targeted by Saudi-led airstrikes, rocket attacks, artillery and an ongoing ground offensive.

The Houthi fighters say the Saudi-led coalition has been indiscriminately targeting civilians.

"The aggressor’s mercenaries are attacking the city randomly and they have destroyed houses and killed civilians inside them," a Houthi fighter in Hudaydah told Middle East Eye news portal.

"The airstrikes killed dozens of civilians in Duraihami and they are still targeting civilians, while Ansarallah [the Houthis] are fighting face-to-face on the ground," he added.

While authorities are trying to cope with a severe shortage of food and medicines due to the Saudi siege, the attacks have also crippled internet coverage across the region, making it almost impossible for residents to contact the outside world.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/08/17/571438/Yemen-Saudi-US-Hudaydah-Duraihami-civilians

(A K pH)

Army Explosive Devises Kill 20 Mercenaries in Al-Duraihemi

Twenty mercenaries, fighting with invading forces, were killed west of Al-Duraihemi in the West Coast, according to a military source of Almasirah Net on Thursday.

A military source in the Ministry of Defense confirmed last Tuesday that 180 mercenaries were killed and 136 were wounded during their operations and their attempts to occupy the city of Al-Duraihemi and some coastal areas within 72 hours.

The source also confirmed destroying 20 military machinery with their crews and equipment, including American Ashkosh armored vehicle in Al-Duraihemi and Hais frontlines in West Coast.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2278&cat_id=1

Remark: As claimed by the Houthi side.

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A number of #civilians were dead or injured, including #children in landmine blasts that were planted by the #Houthi militia in different areas of al-Duraihemi district in the port city of #Hodeidah. (photo)

https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1030153105365757952

(A K pH)

Film: Militants fail to capture key area near Yemen's Hudaydah

A new attempt by Saudi and Emirati-backed militants to capture a strategic area near the flashpoint city of Hudaydah has failed. Ansarullah movement says they have inflicted heavy casualties on the invading forces.

https://www.presstv.com/DetailFr/2018/08/16/571374/Saudi-Arabia-Yemen-war

Remark: As claimed by the Houthi side.

(A K pH)

Security Services Arrest Mercenary Sent Information to US-Saudi Aggression

The security services in Hodeidah on Thursday, after a thorough investigation, arrested one of those involved in sending information about the fish market and other places in the governorate, which the US-Saudi Aggression had targeted.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2273&cat_id=1

cp1c Am wichtigsten: Saudischer Luftangriff auf Schulbus / Most important: Saudi air raid at school bus

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Frühere Berichte / Earlier reporting: Yemen War Mosaic 443, 445, 446

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Film: Killing of Schoolchildren Sparks New Outrage Over Airstrikes on Yemen

A deadly airstrike by a Saudi-led coalition killed at least 40 children in northern Yemen last week, prompting international outrage. The U.S. State Department has called on the coalition of Gulf Arab states to investigate the incident, one of the deadliest in the three-year-old war.

https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/killing-children-outrage/4532556.html

Film: Yemen war: Boys dig friends’ graves after air strike

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-middle-east-45221950/yemen-war-boys-dig-friends-graves-after-air-strike

and just as a reminder from 2017:

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UK refuses to back UN inquiry into Saudi 'war crimes' amid fears it will damage trade

Britain’s Middle East and North Africa minister Alistair Burt argued that the Saudi-led coalition itself should investigate any atrocities it committed in its conflict against rebel forces in Yemen

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk-saudi-arabia-war-crimes-yemen-trade-un-inquiry-united-nations-arms-weapons-a7971516.html

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Yemen bus massacre: How a joyful excursion ended in sheer horror

Mokhtar was one of the few survivors rescued from the mangled wreckage of a bus targeted by Saudi Arabia.

The bandage wrapped around Mokhtar al-Jaradi's head is still soaked in blood.

There are cuts and grazes to his arms and face. But it's the anguish etched in his dark brown eyes that really speaks of the massacre that unfolded in north Yemen last week.

The eight-year-old was laughing and playing with a group of friends at the front of his school bus while on a day-long field trip organised by a pro-Houthi Islamic seminary.

Some of the older boys who arrived late stood in the aisle. The younger ones jostled for the few seats available.

Mokhtar says the 50 children on the bus that morning appeared to be in high spirits.

But the children never made it.

What Mokhtar remembers next is a loud explosion, bright red-and-orange colours, then the grisly sight of charred young bodies.

"I saw the explosion, then my ears started ringing," he told Al Jazeera. His eyes welled up with tears.

"I saw blood, then smoke. And once I saw my friends dying, I began crying."

Mokhtar lost several friends in the August 9 air raid, which killed 40 children as they stopped for food in Dahyan.

'The screams kept getting louder and louder'

Ahmed Jaran, owner of a small clothes shop near the site of the blast, said he was greeted by "scenes of sheer horror" as he rushed to help the wounded.

"As I ran through the smoke, the screams just kept getting louder and louder," he said, standing just metres away from the bombed-out carcass of the school bus.

"Human remains were thrown everywhere, mixed with debris from the explosion. I took as many children as I could to the hospital - but it was 14km away."

Along with several bloodied children, Jaran picked up Ali, one of his coworkers who was badly injured by the attack.

"When we reached the hospital, several of the children were pronounced dead. So, too, was Ali. I still can't believe what happened. It feels like a bad dream. I'm still struggling to absorb the events."

'Never seen anything like this'

But videos shot in the aftermath of the raid showed a smouldering heap of twisted metal and the lifeless bodies of two boys on the ground.

"I was shocked when I saw the victims," said Mohammed Ahsan, a 35-year-old doctor at al-Talh hospital in Saada where most of the survivors are being treated.

"I had never seen anything like this before. They were really badly wounded."

Three days after the attack, victims' families continued to throng to the scene of the attack, hoping to find the remains of their loved ones

"I didn't find any of him," said Abdelhakim Amir as he searched the wreckage for his son, Ahmed.

"Not his finger, not his bone, not his skull, nothing."

In the wake of the attack, individual members of Congress called on the US military to clarify its role in the war and investigate whether support for the air raids could render American military personnel "liable under the war crimes act".

But any investigation will do little to pacify the victims' families, residents told Al Jazeera.

"I will take revenge on Salman, Mohammed Bin Zayed and Trump," said Fares al-Razhi, referring to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the US, after his 14-year-old son was killed.

The parents of some of the survivors were also inconsolable.

"I'm waiting on my son to get better, and once he does I will take my revenge on the Saudis," said Mokhtar's father. "We will never leave Saada."

Close to him, his son crouches near the bomb site, still haunted by memories of the attack.

"My father says he will buy me toys and get me a new school bag. But I don't want a new school bag. I hate school bags," said eight-year-old Mokhtar before adding that his education ended the day his friends died.

"I don't want to go anywhere near a bus. I hate buses, I hate school and I can't sleep. I see my friends in my dreams begging me to rescue them.

"So, from now on, I'm going to stay at home." - by Ahmad Algohbary & Faisal Edroos

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/yemen-bus-massacre-joyful-excursion-ended-sheer-horror-180816141808032.html

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A Saudi War-Crime in Yemen? Analysing the Dahyan Bombing

Due to the large amount of video footage uploaded to social media in the aftermath of the airstrike, it is possible to locate the exact spot which the bomb impacted. This video posted by Mint Press News shows us the direct aftermath of the strike and the bomb crater [Warning: Extremely Graphic]. The location of the strike was in a busy civilian area, less than 100m away from the main market area of the town. Additional CCTV footage published by Ansar Allah Media Center – a Houthi-aligned news network, allows us to gauge almost the exact time of the strike (08:21-24). This footage also shows the area hit included a road with busy traffic, something which would easily be visible to an aircraft circling above.

The Munition
Not long after the strike was reported by local media, activists began sharing pictures of bomb fragments which they claimed were found at the site. These fragments included many small pieces of shrapnel of indeterminate origin, however also included the front control fin of a GBU-12 Paveway II, a 500-pound laser-guided bomb, based off the Mark-82 general purpose bomb.
As can be seen the fin in this image was manufactured for a Paveway-II guided bomb manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The US
DSCA approved the sale of 1000 of these munitions to Saudi Arabia in 2015. The crater width and depth is broadly consistent with the low end of estimates provided by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining for the Mk. 82 bomb.
Despite this, the photos of the bomb fragments were not taken in-situ, meaning that there is the chance this fin could have been placed amongst the other wreckage by groups trying to incriminate the United States. As such, these images do not provide conclusive evidence that a Lockheed Martin-built Paveway-II bomb was used.
The Target Following the strike,
Saudi-led coalition spokesman, Col. Turki al-Malki, saidcoalition forces had hit a “legitimate military target” This statement that the bus was a legitimate military target can be disproved through video footage filmed from inside the bus prior to the strike. It shows many children cramped aboard a small bus, with few adults and no military personnel or armed men. The size of the bus in the video is consistent with photos of its wreckage taken after it was bombed.

They Saudi-coalition changed their tune, promising an investigation into the incident, stating that “a bus was subject to collateral damage”.

From satellite images of Dahyan, taken as recently as last month, there is no obvious Houthi military presence in the town.

Regardless, the fact that the bus was targeted in the middle of a busy street close to a civilian market shows a remarkable level of disregard for civilian casualties. (film; photos; aerial views)
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018/08/18/19432/

My comment: „Despite this, the photos of the bomb fragments were not taken in-situ, meaning that there is the chance this fin could have been placed amongst the other wreckage by groups trying to incriminate the United States“: This is just a hypothetical, no real possibility. Where should they have got them from?? You should not try to whitewash the US.

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Bombe stammte offenbar aus den USA

Die beim Luftangriff auf einen Schulbus im Jemen verwendete Bombe stammte dem Nachrichtensender CNN zufolge aus den USA. Bei dem Angriff wurden 51 Menschen getötet. Unter Berufung auf Munitionsexperten berichtete der Sender, es handele sich um eine lasergesteuerte Mk82-Bombe der Rüstungsfirma Lockheed Martin.

USA verkaufte Mk 82-Bomben an Saudi-Arabien

Washington habe sie im Zuge eines Deals des US-Außenministeriums mit Riad an Saudi-Arabien verkauft. Der ehemalige US-Präsident Barack Obama hatte den Verkauf von präzisionsgelenkten Waffen an Saudi-Arabien untersagt, nachdem eine ähnliche Bombe vor zwei Jahren 140 Teilnehmer einer Trauerfeier in der von Rebellen gehaltenen jemenitischen Hauptstadt Sanaa getötet hatte.

https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/schulbus-jemen-bombe-101.html 0 https://www.nzz.ch/international/bombe-von-angriff-auf-schulbus-im-jemen-stammt-offenbar-aus-den-usa-ld.1412560

Mein Kommentar: In den deutschsprachigen Mainstreammedien findet sich eine solche Meldung erst, nachdem ein US-Mainstream-Medium darüber berichtet hat. Brauchte CNN 6 Tage dafür nach derAuffindung der Bombe und den ersten Berichten darüber, sind es also im deutschsprachigen Mainstream 7 Tage. Wirklich eine ereignisnahe Berichterstattung!!! – Offenbar nimmt man das Weltgeschehen überhaupt nur über US-Medien zur Kenntnis, oder man wartet bei allen im „transatlantischen“ Sinn „heiklen“ Themen (alle Mainstream-Medien sind „transatlantisch“ pro-USA orientiert; und hier hat ein US-Verbündeter mit US-Ausrüstung mit US-Unterstützung ein Kriegsverbrechen begangen) solange ab, bis man in einem US-Medium eine „Sprachregelung“ findet, auf dasman sich beziehen und das man zitieren kann – Vorwürfe wegen zu wenig transatlantisch orientierter Berichterstattung gingen dann an das US-Medium. – Auf jeden Fall: Wir werden von unseren Mainstreammedien verspätet, gar nicht, schlecht, parteiisch, propagandaverseucht unterrichtet. Nicht nur in Sachen Jemen.

Nachtrag: Wenn man sich die Meldung auf den verschiedenen Nachrichtenseiten näher ansieht, fällt freilich auf, dass der Wortlaut überall weitgehend identisch ist. Alle geben also dieselbe Quelle wieder, offensichtlich eine Meldung einer deutschsprachigen Nachrichtenagentur, wohl dpa. Dort hat also jemand den CNN-Artikel für mitteilungswert gehalten. Offenbar schauen die deutschsprachigen Medien oft nicht einmal auf die Medien der USA, sondern gerade einmal auf die Meldungen der dpa. Die kann man dann mit Copy und Paste innerhalb von 30 Sekunden übernehmen, bei allem anderen müsste man ja noch übersetzen und selbst formulieren!

Und: Die dpa-Meldung fällt, nüchtern betrachtet, schon sehr kurz aus. Die typische Meldung für Seite 9 eben. Hätte man in Syrien nach einem vergleichbaren Luftangriff der Assad-Armee eine russische Bombe vor Ort gefunden... dann hätte das ganz anders ausgesehen. Die Parteinahme pro-USA trieft eben auch aus dpa-Meldungen.

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Bomb that killed 40 children in Yemen was supplied by the US

The bomb used by the Saudi-led coalition in a devastating attack on a school bus in Yemen was sold as part of a US State Department-sanctioned arms deal with Saudi Arabia, munitions experts told CNN.

Working with local Yemeni journalists and munitions experts, CNN has established that the weapon that left dozens of children dead on August 9 was a 500-pound (227 kilogram) laser-guided MK 82 bomb made by Lockheed Martin, one of the top US defense contractors.

The bomb is very similar to the one that wreaked devastation in an attack on a funeral hall in Yemen in October 2016 in which 155 people were killed and hundreds more wounded. The Saudi coalition blamed "incorrect information" for that strike, admitted it was a mistake and took responsibility.

In March of that year, a strike on a Yemeni market -- this time reportedly by a US-supplied precision-guided MK 84 bomb -- killed 97 people.

In the aftermath of the funeral hall attack, former US President Barack Obama banned the sale of precision-guided military technology to Saudi Arabia over "human rights concerns."

The ban was overturned by the Trump administration's then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in March 2017.

As the US-backed Saudi-led coalition scrambles to investigate the strike on the school bus, questions are growing from observers and rights groups about whether the US bears any moral culpability. The US says it does not make targeting decisions for the coalition, which is fighting a Houthi rebel insurgency in Yemen. But it does support its operations through billions of dollars in arms sales, the refueling of Saudi combat aircraft and some sharing of intelligence.

"I will tell you that we do help them plan what we call, kind of targeting," said US Secretary of Defense James Mattis. "We do not do dynamic targeting for them."

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, declined to confirm the provenance of the bomb.

"The US has worked with the Saudi-led coalition to help them improve procedures and oversight mechanisms to reduce civilian casualties," she said.

"While we do not independently verify claims of civilian casualties in which we are not directly involved, we call on all sides to reduce such casualties, including those caused via ballistic missile attacks on civilian population centers in Saudi Arabia."

[following: reporting the air raid]

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/17/middleeast/us-saudi-yemen-bus-strike-intl/index.html

and film: https://us.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/08/17/yemen-school-bus-strike-us-bomb-elbagir-tsr-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/top-news-videos/

My comment: Even CNN is reporting this now. It even I remarkable that any US mainstream media is reporting this. It took 6 days until they did, we just can imagine why it took so long. – Of course, the US tries to whitewash themselves. Mattis’ and the Pentagon’s statements are a disgrace. And they are wrong: The US is giving targeting assistance to the Saudis. - But: Looking for a helpful way to describe U.S. support for the Saudi-Emirati operation in Yemen, journalist Samuel Oakford recently offered this comparison: “If an airstrike was a drive-by and killed someone, the U.S. provided the car, the wheels, the servicing and repair, the gun, the bullets, help with maintenance of those—and the gas.”

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Actor Jim Carrey's Art Goes Viral: "Our Missile, Our Crime" In Yemen

Responding to the now confirmed fact that it was a laser-guided MK 82 bomb made by Lockheed Martin that killed 40 children while they were riding inside a school bus in northern Yemen over a week ago, actor Jim Carrey has highlighted the crime in his latest art.

In a now viral tweet posted to his official account Friday afternoon, Carrey wrote, "40 innocent children killed on a bus in Yemen." And added, "Our ally. Our missile. Our crime."

CNN's reporting came nearly a full week after our own coverage - Guided Bomb Fragments At Site Of Yemen Bus Airstrike Trace Back To Lockheed Martin -wherein we analyzed and traced markings from photos showing the side of bomb fragments found at the site to conclude it possessed Lockheed's unique CAGE Code (or Commercial and Government Entity Code), based on the prior research of American journalist Ben Norton.

Regardless, we're just glad that (to our surprise) CNN actually decided feature such a story that reveals the clear and shocking extent of ongoing US/Saudi/UAE war crimes in Yemen. And further that Hollywood celebrities like Jim Carrey would put aside the usual hyperpartisan domestic political narratives to focus on what's really happening in the world.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon was silent when CNN asked about the provenance of the bomb, and refused to own up to any responsibility regarding the bus attack.

The United States has long tried to present its role in the conflict as attempting to stave off humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, yet as even NPR confirmed while reporting from inside the country earlier this year the US military "has provided targeting information, equipment and aircraft refueling to the Saudi air campaign, which has been widely criticized for being indiscriminate and killing civilians in places like hospitals, funerals and homes."

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-08-18/actor-jim-carreys-art-goes-viral-our-missile-our-crime-yemen

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'The sound of children screaming keeps replaying': a Red Cross nurse in Yemen

Marta Rivas Blanco shares her account of the day a bus carrying children was attacked in Yemen

They came to the hospital in cars and ambulances. Dozens of children with an array of grisly wounds. Some were screaming, some were scared. Many went straight to the morgue.

I’d like to say this was the first time I’ve treated so many civilians after an attack, but it’s not. I’ve been here too many times before, both in Yemen and in Mosul, Iraq.

What happened last week in Saada, however, was unprecedented for me in that nearly all the victims were children.

As part of an ICRC mobile surgical team, we work alongside Yemeni healthcare workers at the Talh hospital on a daily basis.

It was intense. Very quickly the emergency room was full, as were the two extra emergency tents outside. You can’t imagine such a scene. We’d already enacted our mass casualty plan, so everyone knew what to do.

The first thing was to triage the patients. The red cases – those with life-threatening injuries – went straight to the emergency room. They have to be treated immediately or they will die. The less severe cases went into the tents for treatment.

When you’re in this moment, you lose track of time. You focus on your job and you don’t let emotions get in the way. For around four hours everyone was working flat out. Local staff, who were not supposed to be working, came in to help out. Even the cleaners were helping. You just do your best, but sometimes even that’s not enough.

Two children died in the emergency room with me. The brutal truth is that you cannot save everyone.

There were a lot of children who had difficulty breathing, due to lung injuries caused by shockwaves from the blast. Some had fractures to the arms and legs, and broken glass had caused perforations to the skin. One small mercy is that there were no amputations.

Physically, the children will recover. But I worry for their mental state. Many were in shock; they had no idea what had just happened to them. One minute they were on a bus, the next they were in a hospital.

I don’t expect we’ll get much of a break for the next fortnight. But that’s OK. To be here and to be able to help is deeply gratifying for me. On Monday I went to the office to take stock of the medical supplies. It’s in these quiet moments that you start replaying the images in your head – the anguish etched on those children’s faces, the sound of young voices screaming.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/16/the-sound-of-children-screaming-keeps-replaying-a-red-cross-nurse-in-yemen

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After dozens of children die, Trump administration faces mounting pressure over Yemen war

According to U.S. officials, Saudi military personnel, which have publicly described the strike as a "legitimate military action," told U.S. diplomats they targeted the bus because they believed it had two Houthi leaders aboard.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council, who provided a statement on the condition of anonymity, said the administration would look forward to "timely and transparent" results from an ongoing Saudi investigation of the strike.

A senior U.S. official, speaking to reporters in Cairo on Wednesday, said results of the Saudi-led investigation were expected in days but expressed doubts about the coalition's ability and willingness to complete a probe in the desired manner.

When asked if the U.S. military could have refueled the warplane that launched the strike on Saada, the official said it was possible but not certain. When asked why the United States could not determine this, or whether a U.S. bomb was used, the official said that "we would have to have Saudis provide us information, but they don't in the normal course of events."

When pressed on why the United States could not ask Saudi Arabia, a close ally and major purchaser of U.S. arms, for such information, the official said it would require more U.S. manpower to oversee the Saudi inventory and how they use it. The official questioned whether anything would be gained by knowing the details of the U.S. role in each specific airstrike.

"There are people asking the question," the official said. "Well, what difference does that make? We are providing the refueling and support to Saudi aircraft. We are also selling them munitions that are being used in these strikes. . . . We are not denying that."

https://www.stripes.com/news/after-dozens-of-children-die-trump-administration-faces-mounting-pressure-over-yemen-war-1.542870

My comment: “told U.S. diplomats they targeted the bus because they believed it had two Houthi leaders aboard”: It would not matter if there really would have been “two Houthi leaders” in the bus or walking on the market. Also in this case this would have been a war crime, targeting them in a civilian surrounding. – And, to put things clear: Houthi “leaders” are not Houthi “fighters” and by thus they cannot be “military targets”, at least as long as they do not appear at the front line. A market, as bus on a market, isn’t the front line.

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Saudi-arabische Koalition: Angriff auf Kinder ist ein legitimer Angriff auf Planer und Operateure

Ohne Unterstützung von außen wäre es sehr schwierig für Saudi-Arabien im Jemen Krieg zu führen. Das trifft im Besonderen auf die USA zu. Dort ist die Einsicht, dass die US-Unterstützung den Krieg verschlimmert, längst nicht neu. Auch die Klagen darüber, dass die saudi-arabischen Militärs bei ihren Luftangriffen keine Rücksichten auf die Zivilbevölkerung im Jemen nehmen, sind seit Jahren in der US-amerikanischen Öffentlichkeit.

Der Nachfolger Obamas, Donald Trump, knüpfte kaum im Amt schnell wieder engere und zartere Bande mit Saudi-Arabien.

Man muss sich nur vorstellen, dass die beiden Partner nicht USA und Saudi-Arabien heißen und der Schauplatz in Syrien liegt, um zu erkennen, welches Empörungspotential die Vorgänge eigentlich haben.

Am 9. August feuerte die saudi-arabisch geführte Koalition auf einen Bus voller Schulkindern im Jemen. Die Bilanz laut Vertretern des jemenitischen Gesundheitsministeriums: 54 Tote, darunter 44 Kinder, und "viele Verletzte". Der Schock über den grausigen Angriff war diesmal beträchtlich. Viele Medien berichteten.

Doch schaffte es die infame Begründung der Koalition nicht zum großen Skandal, der es sicher gewesen wäre, wenn solches von Russland geäußert worden wäre. Die Argumentation lief darauf hinaus, dass der Bus voller Kinder, der auf einem Markt Pause machte, gerechtfertigt sei, weil der Bus ein legitimes militärisches Ziel war - mit "Masterminds" an Bord und Passagieren, die als "menschliche Schutzschilde" missbraucht wurden.

Die USA sind, worauf schon andere Medien aufmerksam machten, am targeting der saudi-arabischen Koalition beteiligt.

Freilich versucht die US-Administration - und dies auch nicht erst unter Trump - die Rolle herunterzuspielen. Man sei keine Kriegspartei, werden Militärvertreter von der New York Times zitiert, auch wenn ihnen entgegengehalten wird, dass die USA Flugzeuge der Koalition betankt, die Kriegsmaschinerie mit Munition und Informationen beliefert wird.

Allerdings würde nun laut Zeitungsbericht durch ein neues Gesetz, das am Montag von Trump unterzeichnet wurde, die Möglichkeit bestehen, dass die USA Hilfen wie das betanken der Flugzeuge einstelle müsse, wenn sich zeige, dass sich Saudi-Arabien oder auch der andere Partner, die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate, nicht genügend um den Schutz der Zivilbevölkerung bemühen. Das müsse nachgewiesen werden, so die New York Times – von Thomas Pany

https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Saudi-arabische-Koalition-Angriff-auf-Kinder-ist-ein-legitimer-Angriff-auf-Planer-und-Operateure-4139192.html

und aus den Kommentaren:

"Angriff auf Kinder ist ein legitimer Angriff ....."

Natürlich, aus Kindern werden Terroristen, das weiß man doch.
Insofern war das halt ein Präventivschlag Irgendwie läßt sich das sicher mit den Werten des ehrenwerten Wertewestens vereinbaren....

https://www.heise.de/forum/Telepolis/Kommentare/Saudi-arabische-Koalition-Angriff-auf-Kinder-ist-ein-legitimer-Angriff-auf-Planer-und-Operateure/Angriff-auf-Kinder-ist-ein-legitimer-Angriff/posting-32903759/show/

Tja Herr Pany...wer gut und wer böse ist,ist von ganz oben befohlen

Die NYT bekommt ja auch nur einen Humanitätsanfall wenn man damit einen ungeliebten US Präsidenten attackieren kann.. Genozide von passenden Präsidenten sind bei der NYT kein Thema Es reicht NYT Yemen 2015 in google einzugeben...da kämpfen die tapferen Saudis gegen Rebellen und vor allem al qaida und ISIS im Yemen !! Die NYT war damals eher dafür dass die USA viel direkter in dem Krieg auftreten müsste....auf Seite der Saudis natürlich !

https://www.heise.de/forum/Telepolis/Kommentare/Saudi-arabische-Koalition-Angriff-auf-Kinder-ist-ein-legitimer-Angriff-auf-Planer-und-Operateure/Tja-Herr-Pany-wer-gut-und-wer-boese-ist-ist-von-ganz-oben-befohlen/posting-32902654/show/

der größere Skandal ist, dass der Krieg geführt wird

Schauen wir uns doch die von den menschenverachtenden Massenmedien und Politikern gestreute Geschichte an, da sei ein Bürgerkrieg im Jemen und der gute gute Westen hilft nur den Richtigen.

Gestützt im allgemeinen durch die Floskel "international anerkannter Präsident/Regierung" für einen Ex-Präsidenten der zurückgetreten ist und deren Amtszeit schon lange abgelaufen ist.

Das ist im Jemen schlicht und einfach ein Regimechange. Die Houthis hatten fast das gesamte Land befriedet und wollten sich al Kaida im Osten des Landes widmen und die Erdöl Vorräte dort nutzbar machen und prompt überfällt eine von Saudi Arabien geführte vom Westen unterstütze Soldateska das Land.

Und der Westen und der Sicherheitsrat schweigt in erster Linie, selbst bei der Lebensmittel Blockade von 70% der Bevölkerung.

https://www.heise.de/forum/Telepolis/Kommentare/Saudi-arabische-Koalition-Angriff-auf-Kinder-ist-ein-legitimer-Angriff-auf-Planer-und-Operateure/der-groessere-Skandal-ist-dass-der-Krieg-gefuehrt-wird/posting-32901748/show/

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Film: YEMEN’S BLOODY WAR COULD GET A LOT WORSE WITH THE BATTLE FOR HODEIDAH

An international coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and backed by the United States, is preparing to retake the strategic port city of Hodeidah. The operation could prove disastrous for Yemen’s most vulnerable: 70 percent of Yemen’s goods enter the country through Hodeidah, so a protracted battle could quickly turn into a humanitarian disaster where millions of people are prevented from receiving food and aid.

The U.N. is desperately trying to stop this attack and restart failed peace talks in the process. Its Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, is hoping to bring all sides together in Geneva on Sept. 6.

Yet, government troops continue to advance toward the city.

“It’s going to be a fierce battle,” 23-year-old fighter Saeed told VICE News. “The Houthis have big military capabilities, but we are advancing toward Hodeidah.”

VICE News embedded with Yemeni troops as they prepared to retake a crucial Houthi supply route, just 90 minutes from the city. But even this seemingly straightforward operation descended into chaos.

https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/9kmmdy/a-looming-battle-could-make-yemens-bloody-war-even-worse-for-civilians

Comment: Foreword: the journalist was embedded with the Saudis and Emiratis.
As a comment on the article, we can only share the words of Professor @IsaBlumi:
'Please note the not so subtle partisan framing of war by HBO. 'take back'
#Hudaydah? Return to whom? 100s of thousands of people since March 2015 have been bombed daily by those wanting to 'take back' what was never theirs. Simple propaganda'

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1880886135297741

Comment by Isa Blumi: dear observers. Please note the not so subtle partisan framing of war by HBO. 'take back' Hudaydah? Return 2whom? 100s of thousands of people since March 2015 have been bombed daily by those wanting 2 'take back' what was never theirs. Simple propaganda.

https://twitter.com/IsaBlumi/status/1029995315791896576

cp2 Allgemein / General

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

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Interactive Map of Yemen War

https://yemen.liveuamap.com/

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Map. Military situation in Yemen, August 13

https://twitter.com/riskstaff/status/1030814353270943744

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Astonishing graphic from @CNN, identifying civilian massacres in Yemen with the bomb makers - Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. This should be standard in war reporting. Searing images. (mp)

https://twitter.com/TimothyS/status/1030920463822868480

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Pic here showing you a deformed baby,who was born 3 months ago. And that is indicating the usage of chemical weapons,such as cluster bombs & white phosphorus by Saudi regime against civilians in #Yemen Media outlets have reported same cases across the country before.

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1030885060965220352

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From Yemen: The #UN is assisting the so-called “internationally recognized” illegitimate government of Hadi
[which is in exile and operating out of
#Riyadh] in numerous crimes against civilians in #Yemen

The Saudi Led coalition has influenced and pressured the former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the past, an article published by the New York Times in June 2016 which explains that Mr. Ban essentially had been “coerced into removing a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen from an ignoble list of armies that kill and maim children was a rare window into the limits of his moral and political authority, Mr. Ban told reporters that he had been threatened with the loss of financing for humanitarian operations in the #Palestinian territories, South #Sudan and #Syria if he did not temporarily delete the Saudi-led coalition from the list”

The threatening influence that the Saudi coalition has on the UN is alarming and signaling a strong indication that current UN Secretary General António Guterres will not have the power to succumb the more than likely threats in condemning the coalition of aggression for its war crimes as it has been occurring and escalating under his authority. Crimes that are publicized worldwide but yet to be condemned consist of:

The Use Of Mercenaries for hire against Yemenis

The Use Of ISIS terrorists

The Use Of Al-Qaeda Terrorists that have been taking bribes from the coalition

Imposing A Full Siege in a Land, Sea and air blockade for almost four years

The Use Of internationally Prohibited Weapons like cluster bombs

The Killing Of Civilians Under one Condition, Which is to
“Limit the amount of casualties” Year After Year as H.R.W Reported.

Carrying out Heavy Clashes in densely populated cities such as #Hodeidah, but on one condition, doing it quickly within a month as we’ve witnessed

Listing a Full Governorate as a military objective target, such as Saa’da where the Saudi led coalition carry’s out daily air strikes at any given moment which doesn’t leave out Hospitals, Schools, Farms, Markets, Weddings, Mosques, historical ancient landmarks and funerals with associated double tap air strikes as a way of claiming maximum casualties

Depriving Millions of Yemenis From getting Their Salaries

Executing a Brutal "Economic War" against Millions of Yemenis !!

For just one Reason, which is to force Yemenis into submitting and kneeling to the UN’s “Claimed Legitimacy”!!

Has the UN ever Heard of a Nations sovereignty? Self-Determination in the right to resist and defend itself?

In Short Words, We just need a good lawyer to Send the Criminals Called UN to Jail

The coalition of chaos need to stop bombing Yemen and lift the blockade before any peace process can be started so negotiations can be achieved, there’s no such possibility for one to lay down their arms and withdraw from their own land, this can never be a way to peace, one can’t achieve peace by waging war on children, women and the elderly.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1884641928255495

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Film: War on Yemen - Special Episode - 4/3 2018

In this episode for day 1000 of the aggression on Yemen, we have 4 special guests discussing the current events and controversy.

Due to the lack of channels that publish what is happening in Yemen, herewith a special episode on "The War on Yemen" was prepared by a friend who's in solidarity with Yemen and its people. This friend has devoted time and effort to reach some voices from America and Britain to break the media blackout practiced by the international community. Voices transfer the atrocities committed in Yemen by the coalition. We thank all free people who're trying to deliver the real picture about what's going on in Yemen to the whole world to stop the unjust aggression on #Yemen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK0nyOXTEz8

Remark: From March 2018.

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Saudi Dissident Figure: Bin Salman under Israeli Training on How to Massacre Civilians

Saad al-Faqih, who heads the Movement for Islamic Reform, in a video clip released on Youtube quoted a source in the Saudi air force as saying that Riyadh "deliberately" targets the civilians in Yemen, which it has learned from the Zionist regime.

He added that the Saudi measures are like the Zionist regime's acts in the Gaza Strip, where the Tel Aviv regime targets civilians deliberately to wear off the resolve of the Palestinian resistance groups, including Hamas.

Al-Faqih said bin Salman wants to provoke the Yemeni people against Ansarullah by targeting the civilians.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970527000209

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Film by PressTV Iran: Western media refuses to blame US for Yemen war: Analyst

The Western media refuses to blame the United States for the current crisis in Yemen, adding that this is why the reality on the ground has not been exposed, says an analyst.

“The problem is that they have been really fairly co-opting this process of really refusing to accept that the United States is behind the destabilization of the region generally; so on the one hand they are crying about the victims in Yemen and on the other hand they are saying it has something to do with the Saudis and it’s nothing to do with them. So it is really a contradiction that has become very intense at the moment,” Tim Anderson, senior lecturer at University of Sydney told Press TV in an interview on Saturday.

“It’s only been certain media that have kept the focus on this terrible war, thankfully there are some media that are doing that, but really there is vulnerability on this issue because they are in such a tenuous position in terms of their position but it really needs intense focus to arouse people’s conscience about what is being going on in Yemen,” he added.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/08/18/571547/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-US-war-media-victims

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Unbelievable but apparently true. The yemeni injured fighters from both sides who are receiving medical treatment abroad have been living in close proximity. Ocassioanlly sharing food and borrowing money from one another.

https://twitter.com/ammar82/status/1030079277818159105

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Film: Trump Could End Yemen War With A Phone Call, Won't

How many buses full of kids are we going to help the Saudis bomb? Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian, hosts of The Young Turks, discuss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeOGlKk9hY8

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HRW calls for halting arms sales to Saudi Arabia

HRW’s researcher, Stephanie Hancock, said that the attack “showed too clearly the cost of Yemen’s war on civilians,” stressing that it also highlighted “the callous indifference of the Western powers enthusiastically arming the [Saudi-led] coalition.”

If the key arms suppliers are “genuinely” determined to minimise civilian harm in Yemen, Hancock pointed out, “this horrific incident should mark the point of no return.”

“Weapons sales to Saudi Arabia should be immediately suspended,” she stressed.

Hancock denounced what she described as “a complete silence by the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) following the attack,” pointing to the fact that they have earned billions out of selling weapons to Riyadh.

“Have they suspended their arms sales to the coalition?, they have not,” she said. “Have they demanded United Nations sanctions on coalition leaders commanding the forces responsible for repeated laws-of-war violations in Yemen?, they have not.”

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180817-hrw-calls-for-halting-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia/

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YEMEN: THE NEED FOR THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL TO RENEW AND STRENGTHEN THE MANDATE OF THE GROUP OF EMINENT EXPERTS

We, the undersigned NGOs, urge your government to support the renewal and strengthening of the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen through the enhancement of its reporting structure and strengthening language on accountability, as a matter of priority at the upcoming 39th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, taking place from 10 - 27 September.

Over the last year, parties to the conflict have regularly restricted humanitarian aid; repeatedly attacked civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals; harassed and intimidated human rights defenders; and conducted arbitrary arrests, detentions and executions. (For further information, please see attached annex.)

Despite these widespread violations, all sides to the conflict have failed to conduct credible investigations into abuses. Saudi Arabia recently announced a royal decision "pardoning all military men who have taken part in the Operation Restoring Hope [begun in April 2015] of their respective military and disciplinary penalties.” The sweeping and vaguely worded statement did not clarify what limitations, if any, applied to the pardon.

In the interest of effective and meaningful efforts towards accountability, it is vital that member states adopt a resolution at the upcoming 39th session of the Council providing for the continuation of the Group of Eminent Experts in its vital work to investigate all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law, to establish the facts and circumstances and identify those responsible.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/16/yemen-need-un-human-rights-council-renew-and-strengthen-mandate-group-eminent and https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde31/8950/2018/en/ and full document https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE3189502018ENGLISH.pdf

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Die US-Aggression im Jemen

Kathy Kelly macht auf die US-Unterstützung der von Saudi-Arabien und den Emiraten ausgeführten Massaker an Schulkindern und Zivilisten aufmerksam und mahnt zum Einschreiten.

US-Unternehmen wie Raytheon, General Dynamics, Boeing und Lockheed Martin haben Waffen im Wert von mehreren Milliarden Dollar an Saudi-Arabien, die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate und weitere Länder in der saudisch-emiratischen Koalition verkauft, die den Jemen angreift.

Das US-Militär tankt saudische und emiratische Kampfflugzeuge während deren Luftübungen auf. Zudem helfen die USA den Kriegstreibern der Saudi-Koalition bei der Auswahl ihrer Angriffsziele.

Isa Blumi, Lehrbeauftragter an der Universität Stockholm und Autor des Buches Destroying Yemen (Die Zerstörung des Jemen), ist der Meinung, die USA seien „an vorderster Stelle verantwortlich“ für die Angriffe der Saudi-Koalition.

Bei dem Versuch, die US-Unterstützung für die saudisch-emiratischen Kampfhandlungen im Jemen angemessen zu beschreiben, hat Journalist Samuel Oakford kürzlich folgenden Vergleich eingebracht: „Wenn ein Luftangriff ein Mordanschlag aus einem fahrenden Auto wäre, dann würden die USA das Auto, die Räder, die Pistole, die Kugeln sowie Wartung und Reparatur sowohl für Fahrzeug als auch der Waffen zu Verfügung stellen – und den Sprit.“

Warum führen die Saudis und Emiratis seit März 2015 eine militärische Koalition gegen den Jemen, das ärmste Land der arabischen Halbinsel?

Professor Isa Blumi glaubt, das Ziel sei es, die Jemeniten zu vollständiger Unterwerfung zu prügeln und die Kontrolle über eine „Goldmine“ voller Ressourcen zu erlangen, darunter Erdölvorkommen, Erdgas, Mineralien und eine strategisch vorteilhafte Lage. Blumi bemerkt, der Krieg gegen den Jemen koste das Königreich von Saudi-Arabien 200 Millionen Dollar am Tag. Doch der saudische Kronprinz Mohammed Bin Salman, der kommentierte, ein andauernder Krieg sei im Interesse Saudi-Arabiens, scheint zu glauben, dieser Preis sei es wert, vor allem in Hinsicht auf mögliche künftige Gewinne.

Wirtschaftliche Gewinne scheinen auch US-Waffenkonzerne zu motivieren, die fortwährend von den Waffenlieferungen an die saudisch-emiratische Koalition profitieren.

Die USA sind zutiefst in das entsetzliche Gemetzel im Jemen verwickelt. Es liegt in unserer Verantwortung als Bürger zu tun, was wir können, um das Ende dieser Mittäterschaft zu verlangen – von Kathy Kelly

https://www.rubikon.news/artikel/die-us-aggression-im-jemen

and original English version. http://progressive.org/dispatches/u-s-is-complicit-in-child-slaughter-in-yemen/ = https://dissidentvoice.org/2018/08/u-s-is-complicit-in-child-slaughter-in-yemen/ = http://www.eurasiareview.com/11082018-us-is-complicit-in-child-slaughter-in-yemen-oped/

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Arno Develay: Saudis’ Scorched-Earth Policy Aimed at Depriving Resistance from Public Yemeni Support

Arno Develay is an international Human Rights Lawyer and political analyst. He has also been interviewed by international news outlets such as Press TV for his expert commentary.

FNA has conducted an interview with Mr. Develay about the ongoing Saudi war on Yemen and possible motives behind the war imposed on the impoverished Arab country by Saudi Arabia and its western allies.

Below you will find the full text of the interview.

As things currently stand, this deliberate policy of targeting civilians constitutes a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and could be constitutive of war crimes, crimes against humanity if not outright genocide which is defined as the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.

In the wake of the so-called Arab Spring, which in Yemen led to the downfall of the late President Saleh, the Saudis endorsed the nomination of Abdrabbuh Manṣūr Hādi as interim President of a national reconciliation platform. As such, he not only was to have called for new elections within 90 days period following his nomination; his interim term was limited to 2 years. When the opposition sensed that these promises were not going to be kept, the political situation deteriorated rapidly and Hadi’s decision to raise fuel subsidies led to a violent backlash against his government which saw him first flee to Aden before taking refuge in Riyadh. The objective of the Saudis is therefore above all else to defeat the Houthi resistance movement in order to reassert its control over the country (and its vast natural resources) by reinstalling Hadi who, not unlike Saad Hariri, owes his political survival to the kingdom. A second consideration pertaining to Riyadh’s war on Yemen stems from the Saudi obsession in containing what it perceives as Iranian expansionism in the region.

By engaging in egregious violation of humanitarian law as they proceed to indiscriminately bomb non-military targets such as hospitals, mosques and cultural landmarks, the Saudis aim to impose a scorched-earth policy aimed at systematically deprive the Resistance from any kind of support from the Yemeni people. It is Riyadh’s hope that war fatigue will see Ansarallah sue for peace in order to preserve its political capital among the population.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970524001247

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Yemen school bus bombing 'one of 50 strikes on civilian vehicles this year'

Human Rights Watch says Saudi monitoring body set up to investigate civilian casualties fails to find fault in most cases

The bombing of a bus full of schoolchildren last week was just one of more than 50 airstrikes against civilian vehicles by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen so far this year, according to new data.

The data also shows that the monitoring body set up in Riyadh purportedly to investigate incidents of civilian casualties has supported the Saudi military version of events in almost every case.

The Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) has not issued comprehensive statistics but has instead issued periodic press statements. And according to an analysis by Human Rights Watch (HRW), out of 75 incidents where civilian casualties were reported, JIAT has admitted Saudi rules of engagement may have been broken in only two.

In 10 more cases, JIAT has conceded that civilians may have been killed in error and said that compensation would be paid, but human rights advocates said there was so far no sign of any payments being made.

“None of the victims’ families we reached out to said they had been contacted,” said Kristine Bekerle, a HRW researcher, noting that the cases where compensation had been promised were up to two years old.

Statistics collated by an independent monitoring group, the Yemen Data Project, suggest that the targeting of the schoolbus was part of a wider pattern. According to its records, there have been 55 airstrikes against civilian vehicles and buses in the first seven months of this year – a higher rate than in 2017.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/16/yemen-school-bus-bombing-one-of-50-strikes-on-civilian-vehicles-this-year

and

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The U.S. Is Aiding and Abetting Saudi Atrocities in Yemen

The frequency of coalition attacks on these vehicles confirms their blatant disregard for civilian lives that we have seen repeated again and again over the last three years. As the Yemen Data Project has shown, at least close to a third of coalition strikes hit civilian targets in the last year. That figure has been consistent for the last several years. The number of civilian vehicles attacked by the coalition this year is higher than the year before, so that should put to rest the idea that the U.S. has done anything to “improve” how coalition conducts itself in this war. There can’t be measurable improvement in protection of civilians when all signs keep pointing to the coalition’s frequent, deliberate targeting of civilian vehicles and structures. Perpetrators can’t be trusted to investigate themselves, and the Saudi coalition has proven to be most untrustworthy. When the U.S. and U.N. allow the Saudi coalition to investigate their own crimes, they are aiding the Saudis and their allies in covering up massacres.

Some in Congress see through this charade

When the U.S. and U.K. governments are providing coalition forces with the means to carry out these attacks, and when they do so knowing that it is likely that the coalition will use them to kill civilians, it is difficult to see how both governments couldn’t be guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes. The pattern of atrocity and cover-up over the last three years is impossible to miss, and the U.S. and U.K. are complicit in all of it – by Daniel Larison

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-u-s-is-aiding-and-abetting-saudi-atrocities-in-yemen/

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Setting Limits on the Saudi Air Campaign in Yemen

The United States can greatly reduce civilian deaths by asking the Saudis to cease non-battlefield airstrikes in return for greater U.S. support on defensive arrangements.

Soon after the Gulf coalition began its strategic air campaign in Yemen in 2015, a Washington Institute paper warned that such strikes would become a liability for Saudi Arabia and its partners. Three years later, the Saudi military has not remedied this fundamental flaw, labeling the most recent incident—the intentional targeting of a bus in Saada province on August 9, which killed fifty-one people, including forty children—a “legitimate military action” because child soldier recruiters were on board.

Such incidents are not only morally wrong, they also place enormous strain on the U.S.-Saudi partnership and strengthen the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Riyadh has legitimate security interests at stake in the war, not least guarding its own borders. But the ends have never justified the means of reckless bombing in proximity to civilians. It is time to look at new U.S. policy options to prevent the coalition from continuing these counterproductive operations, or at least show that Washington is doing everything in its power to prevent civilian deaths.

SEPARATING YEMEN’S FOUR AIR CAMPAIGNS

U.S. policy and congressional action should be guided by a clear understanding of what is really going wrong with airstrikes in Yemen. Instead of viewing the country as a single theater of aerial warfare, U.S. officials should split operations into four campaigns:

Strikes against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

Red Sea coastal operations against the Houthis. This UAE-run campaign closely resembles a U.S. or NATO air campaign, with stringent collateral damage mitigation and positive identification of military targets. When mistakes occasionally occur, UAE officials have been willing to admit fault and address problems.

Saudi border operations against the Houthis. The kingdom’s border strikes are notionally governed by strict rules of engagement, a commitment to use the minimum force necessary, and a presumption of civilian presence unless proven otherwise.

Saudi strikes on Houthi leaders and strategic weapons

ADJUSTING U.S. POLICY

Simply prohibiting all U.S. support to the Saudi air war would only damage the strategic bilateral relationship, reduce U.S. leverage, and perhaps drive Riyadh to seek weapons from vendors such as China and Russia, who care nothing for reducing collateral damage. Another option is adding restrictions to the provision of American precision-guided munitions and aerial refueling, but this approach is unlikely to change the fundamentals of Saudi military behavior.

Instead of treating the kingdom as a naughty child, the United States should negotiate a formal agreement that changes how Saudi Arabia conducts its air war. This will require give and take. That is, the U.S. military would lend further support to speed up some parts of the war effort, and in exchange Riyadh would halt certain facets of its campaign. Washington should specifically guarantee greater support on matters of genuine national security concern for Saudi Arabia—matters that often intersect with U.S. interests.

In return for these powerful public guarantees, Riyadh should join the United States in jointly drafting new rules of engagement like the following.

Suspend all leadership strikes

Suspend all strikes in civilian locations – by Michael Knights, a senior fellow with The Washington Institute

https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/setting-limits-on-the-saudi-air-campaign-in-yemen

My comment: Even this 100 % Saudi backer is getting cold feet now. But he thinks of an arrangement in which the US could keep supporting the Saudi war in Yemen: Wash me but do not get me wet. – Just one quite strange point: “Red Sea coastal operations against the Houthis. This UAE-run campaign closely resembles a U.S. or NATO air campaign, with stringent collateral damage mitigation and positive identification of military targets. When mistakes occasionally occur, UAE officials have been willing to admit fault and address problems.” ??????? Look at air raids and shelling at Hodeidah, are you kidding your readers??

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Siehe / Look at cp1

(A H)

Film: #SMEPS - #USAID funded coffee project supported 600 #women farmers and improved their source of #income. Creating 15,000 #jobs in the process. #Coffee sector includes thousands of farmers, who is still waiting to be reached out and supported.

https://twitter.com/SMEPSYEMEN/status/1030858372453724160

(A H)

Pictures taken today in #Hodeidah in western #Yemen during food aid distribution by @monarelief @monareliefye Please donate here to help more families in #Yemen https://www.gofundme.com/colourofwar

https://twitter.com/monarelief/status/1030878003398680578

Pictures taken today during food distribution in the capital Sanaa to IDPs and most vulnerable families by @monarelief @monareliefye Please donate here https://www.gofundme.com/colourofwar

https://twitter.com/monarelief/status/1030876482728550400https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1030760389590568965

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1030760389590568965

(A H)

IHH: Humanitarian aid to Yemen where the crisis is continuing

IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has provided food and shelter aid to Yemen, where the domestic conflict has continued since 2014. 55 thousand Yemenis benefitted from our aid efforts.

Aid was distributed in Al Hudaydah, one of Yemen’s coastal towns, and the capital Sana, Taiz and Ibb where 5 thousand families were forced to migrate. 1 thousand 213 families benefitted from the food aid, and mattresses and blankets were distributed to 600 families.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/humanitarian-aid-yemen-where-crisis-continuing

(* B H)

Feature: Soaring livestock prices deter Yemenis ahead of Eid al-Adha

Cattle markets in the main cities of war-torn Yemen are recently thronged with customers eager to buy sacrificial animals for Eid al-Adha, the second of the two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide.

During the annual festival of Eid al-Adha starting from Aug. 21, Muslims across the world would celebrate by sacrificing a goat or sheep, and then eating it together with families and friends.

However, the market prices for some livestock in Yemen this year have increased sharply ahead of the four-day Eid al-Adha, or the "Festival of Sacrifice," making it difficult for most people to afford animals for this holy festival.

Many citizens in the southern port city of Aden lost their hope, saying they could not endure the soaring prices and this Eid al-Adha will be celebrated without sacrificial animals.

A local billy goat, which was priced at 40,000 Yemeni rials (159.8 U.S. dollars) during last year's Eid al-Adha, is now fetching more than 90,000 rials in a livestock market in Aden (with photos)

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-08/18/c_137398704.htm

(A H)

Human Needs Development - HND: Numbers of food packages were distributed to orphans and poorest families in the capital of Yemen, Sanaa (photos)

https://www.facebook.com/HndngoYE/posts/1103386623146137

and

(* B H)

SAVE A FAMILY IN YEMEN-2

Human Needs for Development-HND is a non-profit Yemeni registered charity number (275/2016) based in the capital of Yemen, Sana’a.

HND aims to prevent and alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable
people in Yemen in the face of absence of human basic life’s needs such
as foods, water, education and health. We help Yemeni people regardless
their different religions, sects, colors and regions.

thanks to all of you who have visited this page. I'm Adel Hashem, a
Yemeni journalist and aid worker and I’m the managing and executive
director of Human Needs Development-HND.

Best thanks as well to all our kind and generous backers who donated us on our “SAVE A FAMILY IN YEMEN-1
campaign. With your kind support, we were able to reach 109% of our
goal of “$10,200” and feed about “360” hungry families for a month in
various Yemeni governorates such as Amant Al-Asimah, Hajjah and Dhamar.

Because of the huge humanitarian crisis that our people in Yemen have been
facing since about “3” years ago, we have launched our “SAVE A FAMILY IN
YEMEN-2” campaign of “$30,000” to feed the hungriest families in Yemen.

PLEASE, come and join this movement against hunger and help us save the lives of many hungry, malnourished children and people in Yemen!

If you cannot donate here doesn't mean you can't help, You can also help through our bank account to the following details:

https://www.launchgood.com/project/save_a_family_in_yemen2_1#!/

(* B H)

Medeor: Nothilfe Jemen

Ein Großteil der Infrastruktur des Landes wurde zerstört, über drei Millionen Menschen sind innerhalb ihres Landes auf der Flucht. Millionen Menschen leiden an Mangelernährung - ein besonderes Risiko für Kinder. Öffentliche Dienste, Wasser- und Sanitärversorgung und Infrastruktur sind weitgehend lahm gelegt.

Zusammenbruch der Gesundheitsversorgung

Über 16 Millionen Menschen im Jemen haben keinen Zugang zu grundlegender Gesundheitsversorgung. Laut einer Schätzung der Weltgesundheitsorganisation sind weniger als 45 Prozent der Gesundheitseinrichtungen im Land noch voll funktionsfähig.

Auch die Versorgung mit Medikamenten kann nicht länger gewährleistet werden, da sich die Menge der eingeführten lebensnotwendigen Medikamente um 70 Prozent reduziert hat. Bereits Anfang 2017 meldeten die Vereinten Nationen, dass im Jemen alle zehn Minuten ein Kind unter fünf Jahren an vermeidbaren Krankheiten stirbt.

action medeor bringt medizinische Hilfe auf den Weg

Zur Versorgung der notleidenden Bevölkerung bringt action medeor medizinische Hilfsgüter auf den Weg in den Jemen. Hilfslieferungen mit einem Wert von 333.000 Euro haben die jemenitische Bevölkerung bereits erreicht: Infusionslösungen zur Behandlung von Cholera, sowie auch verschiedene Medikamente, Vitaminpräparate und therapeutische Zusatznahrung beinhalteten die Pakete unter anderem.

Hilfe über den Schiffsweg

Aufgrund der kriegerischen Auseinandersetzungen ist der Transport der Medikamente häufig schwer. Hinzu kommt, dass auch die saudi-arabische Regierung die Einfuhr von Hilfsgütern blockiert, wie zuletzt im November 2017 für eine Dauer von vier Wochen. Da die Flughäfen schon lange nicht mehr nutzbar sind, nutzt action medeor für die Hilfslieferungen den Schiffsweg. Die Partner vor Ort werden über die Hafenstädte Aden und Hodeida beliefert.

So hilft Ihre Spende

Drei Großpackungen Elektrolytlösung zur Behandlung schwerer Durchfallerkrankungen wie Cholera kosten:
30,00 Euro

Um ein schwer unterernährtes Kleinkind im Jemen sechs Wochen lang mit therapeutischer Spezialnahrung zu versorgen, reichen:
62,00 Euro

Um 50 Kinder mit einer Lungenentzündung mit Antibiotika zu behandeln, benötigt action medeor:
250,00 Euro

Oder unterstützen Sie die Hilfe von action medeor mit einem Spendenbetrag Ihrer Wahl. Jeder Euro hilft!

https://medeor.de/de/hilfsprojekte/katastrophenhilfe/nothilfe-jemen.html

(B H)

And among daily sad stories in #Yemen: desperate child vendors aged between 7 & 12 exhausted & sleeping on streets of their country afflicted by war & famine. Poverty & unemployment rates have skyrocketed since armed conflict escalated following a US-backed Saudi-led intervention

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1030295868581310469

(B H)

UN Children's Fund: Yemen Nutrition Cluster Bulletin, Issue 6, Apr-Jun 2018

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-nutrition-cluster-bulletin-issue-6-apr-jun-2018

(* B H)

@TamkeenYemen is one of @SFDYemen programs that; formed 6400 village cooperative councils VCCs in 103 districts from 18 governorates. Elected & trained VCCs members exceeds 62,000 (50% women) 24,500 self help initiatives were implemented based on VCCs plans

https://twitter.com/SAlrazehi/status/1030168261625896960

With funding from @europeaid SFD Tamkeen have: 1-formed 350 Village Coopertives Councils (VCCs) 2- 350 community resilience plans 3-support 16 districts local authority in 4 Gov to plan, coordinate impl priority projects for basic services

https://twitter.com/TamkeenYemen/status/1030169055968288774

Tamkeen @ERRYJP1 213 VCCs in 8 districts of 4 Gov 213 resilience plans 2,252 VCC Members elected 50% are females 380 self-help initiatives 275 supported initiatives for small scale community assist restoration 8 basic services delivery recovery projects being implemented

https://twitter.com/TamkeenYemen/status/1030211513968222209

as the implemeting partner of the governance component of the @europeaid funded @ERRYJP1 Tamkeen have finished the reactivation of 26 Village Coopertives Councils (VCCs) in Bani quis districts #Hajjah in additional to 187 VCCs already formed in this project total is 213 VCCs

https://twitter.com/TamkeenYemen/status/1030209303356092416

cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees

(B H P)

Yemeni refugee on escaping war and life on South Korea's Jeju

Yemeni asylum seeker in South Korea talks fleeing the war as well as facing Islamophobia and discrimination.

More than 550 Yemeni nationals have arrived on South Korea's Jeju island since April 2018 seeking asylum and refugee status.

Jeju island, unlike mainland South Korea, offered visa-free arrival for various nationalities, including Yemen, to boost tourism. But the arrival of the Yemenis, mostly from Malaysia - to which they had fled to from war-torn Yemen, sparked online outcry and protests on the island, as well as the capital, Seoul.

The asylum seekers were termed "fake refugees" because they were mostly male, were wearing proper clothes and had smartphones.

More than 700,000 South Koreans filed an online petition urging the government to stop its visa-free policy for Yemen. Protesters demanded the government to refuse asylum and deport the Yemenis.

Al Jazeera spoke to Mohammad Salem, a Yemeni asylum seeker who is in Jeju with wife and his son, on his journey from Yemen, his three years in Malaysia and his feelings towards South Korea, Islamophobia and not being able to find work and leave Jeju: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/yemeni-refugee-escaping-war-life-south-korea-jeju-180816071438268.html

(A H)

UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Yemen: Al Hudaydah Displacement/Response Update 10 – 16 August

As heavy fighting continued in Al Hudaydah governorate including heavy shelling from air, sea and land, the humanitarian community has been vocal in calling on all parties to the conflict to respect their obligation under the International Humanitarian Law and ensure the protection of civilians and their access to the assistance they need to survive. RAFD (Rawabi Alnahdah Developmental Foundation) completed needs assessment in Zabid district and found 500 IDP families in need for NFIs and shelter assistance.

UNHCR through JAAHD (Jeel Albena Association for Humanitarian Development) completed the distribution of NFIs (Non-Food Items) to 1,710 families and EESKs (Enhanced Emergency Shelter Kits) for 362 families in Al Garrahi district also IOM distributed NFIs to 652 families and EESKs to 87 families in Bayt Al Faqiah district.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-al-hudaydah-displacementresponse-update-10-16-august

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

(A P)

Ansarullah Delegation Meets Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah

A delegation from Ansarullah, headed by Spokesman, Mohammed Abdulsalam, on Saturday, visited Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Hezbollah, as part of the ongoing efforts to present the suffering of the Yemeni People, living under a brutal US-Saudi aggression and unjust siege.
During the meeting, they discussed the political and humanitarian situation in Yemen and reviewed regional developments and international changes. Ansarullah spokesman expressed the political leadership and Yemeni People greetings and their pride in his courageous and principled positions towards Yemen in the face of the brutal US-Saudi aggression.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2308&cat_id=2

(A P)

People of #Taiz protested, on Friday, against the Saudi aggression crimes with Sheikhs and tribesmen of the province urging the international community to denounce the constant aggression #Yemen is subjected to.
The protesters also denounced the silence of the United Nations. (Photo)

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.961595153893515/1883643745021980/?type=3&theater

Remark: In the Houthi-held part of the city.

(* A P)

Human Rights Watch: Yemen: Human rights activist abducted by the Huthi armed group must be released

Yemen’s Huthi armed group must reveal the fate and whereabouts of an activist abducted by two of its militants in apparent retaliation for his human rights work, Amnesty International said.

Kamal al-Shawish, a field research assistant with Mwatana Organization for Human Rights in the city of Hodeidah, was seized on the street by two Huthi armed men on Tuesday. He was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location. His whereabouts remain unknown.

The activist had documented human rights violations against civilians in Hodeidah prior to his arrest.

“The worrying abduction of Kamal al-Shawish seems to be part of a sinister pattern of harassment and repression of human rights work in Yemen, committed by all sides to the conflict,” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Research for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The Huthi armed group must reveal his fate and whereabouts and ensure he is protected from the kind of torture and ill-treatment that has been inflicted on others in its custody. Kamal al-Shawish should be released immediately.” https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/08/yemen-human-rights-activist-abducted-by-the-huthi-armed-group-must-be-released/

and

(A P)

Houthi militants on Thursday arrested Yemeni journalist, Kamal Al-Shawish, in western port city of Hodeidah and took him to an unknown place.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1030245147626364928

https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1030128332854239233

(A K P)

Security services in Dhamar arrest 5 misleads by Saudi-led coalition

The Security services in Dhamar arrested on Friday five misleads by the US-backed Saudi-led aggression coalition who battled in the rank of the enemy.
A security official told saba they admitted that they were trained in UAE to joint to the coalition ranks and several of them were sent to Eritrea.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505519.htm

(A E P)

Thousands Marched in Sana’a for "US, Saudi Arabia Makers of High Prices and Rising Dollar"

Residents of the capital Sana'a and its environs participated Friday afternoon in protest entitled "US and Saudi Arabia are makers of high prices and the rise of the dollar", in Bab Al-Yemeni.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance Abdul Salam Mahtouri held the international community full responsible for continuing the aggression and the poor economic situation in Yemen. He stressed that confronting the economic war is through refusing to deal with the new currency and boycotting Saudi and UAE goods.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2289&cat_id=1

and

(A P)

Yemenis took to the streets this afternoon in the capital Sanaa to refuse the US-Saudi economic war that caused rises of prices. 1 US$ is equal to 550Yemeni rial up from 220, which means skyrocketing prices of food and everything. US-Saudis use starvation as a weapon of war (photos)

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1030495289453490176

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1882181725168182

(A H K)

Yemen: Houthis Forcibly Displace Citizens in Hajjah

Houthi militias have forced residents of al-Sadah village in Hajjah to leave their homes and flee the area, National Army forces said on Wednesday.
In a statement published by the German Press Agency (DPA), the media center for the fifth military region indicated that it documented the displacement of the people after Houthis used them as human shields and forced them to leave their homes at gunpoint.
The statement added that two children from the village were injured after a mortar shell was fired by the Houthis on their home.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1365001/yemen-houthis-forcibly-displace-citizens-hajjah

Remark: As claimed by Saudi media.

(A P)

FM sends 2 messages to UN general-secretary and to head, members of SC on coalition' crimes

Foreign Minister Hisham Sahara on Wednesday met with the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen, Liza Grande.
During the meeting, Sharaf delivered two messages, the first is addressed to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the other to the head and members of the Security Council over the Saudi-led aggression coalition's crimes against the Yemeni people, the last of which targeting a bus carrying schoolchildren on Thursday by the coalition warplanes in Dahyan district of Saada.
The meeting dealt with currently made efforts to re-open the International airport of Sanaa to permit to medical case needing to be treated abroad to travel.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505343.htm

(A P)

SPC approve to extend term of President al-Mashat

The Supreme Political Council (SPC) on Wednesday approvedto extend the term of the President Mahdi al-Mashat for a new session, which will begin on August 24,according to the council’s internal regulations.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505354.htm

(A K P)

Yemen’s Houthi Leader Calls US, Saudi Arabia, UAE ‘Terrorist Breeders’

The chairman of Yemen’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee on Thursday condemned the Saudi-led coalition’s continued massacre of civilians in the Arabian Peninsula country and denounced the US, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as “terrorist breeders and war merchants”.

“That the aggressor countries, (namely) the US, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and their allies, did not accept the ceasefire confirms that they are terrorist breeders and war merchants who have ruined Yemen and committed war crimes against this nation on a daily basis,” he stated.

The Houthi leader further emphasized that the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Britain and all the aggressor countries are responsible for the deaths of civilians.

https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/08/16/1803890/yemen-s-houthi-leader-calls-us-saudi-arabia-uae-terrorist-breeders = http://en.abna24.com/news/middle-east/yemen%E2%80%99s-houthi-calls-us-saudi-arabia-uae-%E2%80%98terrorist-breeders-war-merchants%E2%80%99_905640.html

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

(A P)

A Leader of Shabwa Southern Resistance: Acts of Reform Jihadist Militias in Breaking into the Location of Launch of Southern Transitional Council in Bihan will Only Increase our Determination, Strength and Will.

https://en.smanews.org/a-leader-of-shabwa-southern-resistance-acts-of-reform-jihadist-militias-in-breaking-into-the-location-of-launch-of-southern-transitional-council-in-bihan-will-only-increase-our-determination-strengt

(* B P)

What is happening in #Aden is catastrophic. Lawlessness, crimes, lack of basic necessities, hunger. The government and coalition left the freed provinces to die on its own. They are not setting an example of how a ‘freed province’ should be.

https://twitter.com/ToEducate/status/1030868858482122752

(* A P)

In #Aden: president Hadi on Saturday ordered to refer 2 UAE-backed military leaders to court after they attacked a military graduation ceremony killing one and wounding three. Now vice president of STC, salafi leader Hani bin Braik, has threatened: we will see who will try whom!

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1031000962285088768

(* A P)

Yemen's southern separatists attack military academy in Aden

Southern separatists opened fire on a military academy graduation ceremony in Yemen’s port city of Aden on Saturday, killing a cadet and wounding at least two others, witnesses said.

The incident is the latest in a series of killings and bombings in the southern city, the temporary headquarters of the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was expelled from the capital Sanaa in 2014 by the armed Houthi group.

One academy officer said southern separatist forces fighting alongside a Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis had opened fire from their mountain base across from the academy.

“When the graduation ceremony began they opened fire with machine guns because the academy had flown the unification flag of Yemen,” he told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another witness said two people had been injured and that the ceremony was moved inside, and cut short.

https://in.reuters.com/article/yemen-security/yemens-southern-separatists-attack-military-academy-in-aden-idINKBN1L30JX?rpc=401&

photo of victim: https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1030854518655864832

(A P)

Governor of Yemeni Province: I Take Orders from UAE

Governor of Hadramaut Major General Faraj Salmeen al-Bahsani admitted that any decision made by him about the affairs in Yemen is coordinated with Abu Dhabi.

"I take orders on activation of al-Ryan airport in al-Mokalla from Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed," al-Bahsani said in an interview with Abu Dhabi's state TV on Saturday while an image of fugitive Yemeni President Mansour Hadi was seen behind him.

He said that with recommendations of Mohammed bin Zayed, the jobs in al-Ryan airport ended and it has been well equipped.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970527001013

(A P)

Final Statement of the Extraordinary Round of the Southern National Assembly

1. All sincere, neutral and realistic efforts of UN envoy, Martin Griffith, are welcomed and we assure that we are very interested in the success of his mission. The national Assembly declares unlimited support to these efforts as the general assembly is keen to his success because of his positive attitude that touched the roots of reality concerning the southern cause.
2. The national assembly denounces any try to overcome the southern people, the southern cause and their representative, the southern transitional council, in any upcoming negotiations and recommends the council to take all convenient measures to refuse any try to overcome and falsify the southern will
3. The national assembly expresses its eagerness and determined will to positively participate in future peace negotiations in the territory, region and the world.
4. The national assembly supports president Al-Zubaidi’s call for fostering national links without marginalization or elimination of any southern party in addition to granting continuation of the national southern dialogue according to national principles agreed upon by the southern people.
5. The negative political discourse used by the legitimacy government will never change ground reality in the south.

https://en.smanews.org/final-statement-of-the-extraordinary-round-of-the-southern-national-assembly

(A)

Child found killed in Aden

The body of a slain child was found on a car in al-Mansoura district of the temporary capital Aden on Friday.
A local source told Al-Sahwa website that the body of 3-year-old Mu'taz Majid, reported missing by his relatives days before, has been in Abdul Aziz

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-21923

(* B P T)

Folter im Geheimgefängnis

Schwere Vorwürfe gegen Vereinigte Arabische Emirate im Krieg gegen den Jemen. Inhaftierte werden misshandelt, zivile Ziele bombardiert

Die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate (VAE) sollen im Südjemen 27 geheime Gefängnisse unterhalten, in denen Soldaten die inhaftierten politischen Gegner foltern und sexuell missbrauchen. Das meldete der Fernsehsender Al-Dschasira am Montag auf seiner Onlineseite. Der TV-Sender aus Katar beruft sich auf Berichte ehemaliger jemenitischer Militärs, die für die Kriegsallianz aus Saudi-Arabien und den VAE arbeiteten.

Die Haftanstalten sollen unter anderem in Hadramaut, Aden, Sokotra und auf der Vulkaninsel Perim liegen. Manche Inhaftierte würden auch nach Eritrea verschleppt, wo die Emirate einen Militärstützpunkt unterhalten. In den Berichten ist die Rede davon, dass Gefangene mit Elektroschocks an den Genitalien gefoltert werden. Häftlinge sollen an der Decke aufgehängt und mit Kabeln, Peitschen, Eisenstangen oder Baseballschlägern verprügelt werden. »Danach werden ihre Wunden mit Salz bedeckt«, schreibt Al-Dschasira. Mindestens 49 Menschen sollen an den Folgen der Folterungen gestorben sein.

Die Vorwürfe gegen die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate sind nicht neu. Im Juni berichtete die Nachrichtenagentur Associated Press (AP) über die geheimen Kerker, deren Zahl damals mit mindestens 18 angegeben wurde.

Die Emirate kontrollieren weite Teile des Südjemens. Dabei sollen sie geheime Abkommen mit den Kämpfern des Ablegers von Al-Qaida im Jemen, AQAP, geschlossen haben, bei deren Zustandekommen auch Geld geflossen sein soll, wie AP am 7. August berichtete.

https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/338124.jemen-folter-im-geheimgefängnis.html

(* B P)

ICBU: More than 7000 Detainees in Secret Prisons inside the UAE and Yemen

The International Campaign to Boycott Uae (ICBU called on the United Nations to set up an international fact-finding committee to determine the fate of more than 7000 detainees held in secret prisons in the United Arab Emirates and run by international security companies such as BlackWater Company. The campaign documented that there are 4000 detainees in Yemen from political parties, fighters and civilians who are being tortured by UAE and bout 3000 detainees in secret prisons inside the UAE are political detainees and detainees brought from Yemen and Arab expatriates whose residence have been cancelled without clear reasons. The United Arab Emirates last month arrested Walid al-Idrissi, a political activist in southern Yemen. Until now, no one knows where Al Idrissi is being held and whether he is still in Yemen or has been transferred to secret prisons in the United Arab Emirates.

ICBU also issued an earlier appeal from the detainee Alia Abdel Nour in Al Wathba prison. The detainee said she was being severely abused. Alia was detained with other detainees handcuffed, humiliated and searched by UAE police. They were forced to strip naked. Although Alia has cancer, she has been brutally tortured, whipped, and assaulted. She has been broken in different parts of her body because of torture.

ICBU said the UAE was holding hundreds of political detainees in its prisons, including men and women, and torturing them. This is not the first time appeals have been received from inside UAE prisons. The boycott campaign called on the international community and human rights institutions to intervene immediately to release all political detainees from the UAE prisons.

The boycott campaign calls on the international community to intervene immediately to stop human rights violations in the UAE and to force the authorities in the UAE to respect human rights laws.

http://uaeboycott.org/icbu-7000-detainees-secret-prisons-inside-uae-yemen/

http://www.newnewss.net/more-than-7000-detainees-in-secret-prisons-inside-uae-yemen/

(* B P)

How the conflict in Yemen could lead to the return of al-Qaeda

But one group at least is winning out of this war: the southern separatists, who have been imbued with significant power since they joined forces with the Gulf coalition. And for them, bashing the Houthis is just the precursor to the true fight.

Below the surface, a dangerous civil war within an already devastating civil war is brewing – and its roots are older than unified Yemen its self.

For the next conflict in Yemen will be the war for independence and a return to divided country.

Adam Baron, a former resident of Yemen and visiting fellow at ECFR who joined me in Yemen, said its arguable that the “tensions are among the highest they’ve ever been”.

“The ways things currently stand there’s a real limit to how far things can get kicked down the road,” he said.

A second civil war germinating out of a pre-existing one will only cultivate more fertile land for AQAP to return.

It could also set two Middle East power houses, and UK allies – UAE and Saudi Arabia – against each other with potentially devasting consequences.

From my brief stay hopping between Emirati bases in Yemen, it was clear, unlike Saudis, that the UAE had unfurled a serious military infrastructure across South Yemen. Through their proxies – in the form of tens of thousands of Yemeni soldiers they have trained – they control most of the air strips, bases and sea ports along Yemen’s strategically placed southern coast. For the five-day stay, I did not see a single Saudi officer.

Despite publicly insisting they want a united Yemen, the UAE has been accused of siding with the separatists by arming and funding them, because of their hatred of both the Houthis and the Muslim Brotherhood, Abu Dhabi’s arch enemy.

The ill-will between UAE and President Hadi is no secret by Bel Trew

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/yemen-conflict-al-qaeda-saudi-arabia-uae-southern-separatists-war-violence-a8496476.html

(* B P)

Mukalla: Life after al-Qaeda in Yemen

In the second part of a series, Bel Trew meets the civilians trying to piece their lives back together in the former al-Qaeda stronghold of Mukalla

AQAP held Mukalla, Yemen’s fifth biggest city, for a whole year, until April 2016, when a 10,000-strong force of Yemeni soldiers, trained and managed by the UAE, took back the city. The Emiratis maintain a significant presence in the strategic port city.

Two years after their retreat, and in the middle of a devastating and drawn out war, the city is trying to put itself back together

According to the UAE army, AQAP militants are now present in a string of villages around Marib, in the centre of Yemen, Bayda just south of it and Wadi Hadramawt north of Mukalla.

But there are sleeper cells within the city and so no one takes any chances.

UAE soldiers travel around in nine-vehicle armoured convoys. Heavily-armed Yemeni soldiers clear streets when Yemeni officials move.

Al-Qaeda in Yemen, which the United Nations says has around 7,000 fighters, is not an easily distinguishable entity. Its members are often part of or have married into powerful tribes and militias.

Many of AQAP’s leaders hail from Hadramawt, the province in which Mukalla lies, and so the group even rebranded themselves the “Sons of Hadramawt” to curry local favour. During their one year in power the group boasted about providing residents with basic services, such as drinking water, electricity, and fuel.

Today, checkpoints manned by Emirati-trained brigades litter Mukalla. Bombed out buildings from the conflict sporadically scar the city. Signs demanding people hand over their weapons ring the outskirts of the city. It is noticeable that no one is visibly armed, which can be common in other parts of Yemen.

Major-General Faraj Al-Bahsani, governor of the region, said that they were now working on a busy schedule of rebuilding health and education services, new homes and even a local police force.

“We don’t have much of a budget from the state because of the conflict, but we have started oil production, the ports are working, while access to electricity here in Hadramawt is the best in Yemen,” he said proudly from his offices in the city.

The first thing the militants did upon taking Mukalla in April 2015 was to “empty the jails”, he claimed.

“Then they went to the banks and took all the money. Hadramawt is a big state, the money stored in Mukalla came from five different provinces. They took it all,” he said.

AQAP furnished their war coffers with an estimated $100m from looting Mukalla’s banks and collecting revenue from the city’s port. A recent report by Associated Press claimed the militants were permitted to leave the city with much of that loot in controversial deals with the Yemeni and Emirati forces when they took over.

Dr Fatma described the year under their leadership as “hell on earth”.

Ahmed, not his real name, is a young journalist, kidnapped by al-Qaeda in early 2016 just months before the militants lost the city.

He told The Independent he was not only investigated and tortured in detention but so was everyone who came to visit him.

Under al-Qaeda, the port was used as a lucrative source of funds for the group. Basamer estimated the militants were able to make some $700,000 from the port during their year in power.

But a lot has changed since then, he claimed.

“Europe thinks this place isn’t secure yet but we have the IMO certificate,” he told The Independent.

“We want to change their view of Mukalla. It is a stable city. We are ready to participate in international business in Europe. We have only seen two European vessels in two years, the only ships that come are Saudi, Emirati and Indian. We need that to change,” he added – by Bell Trew

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mukalla-yemen-al-qaeda-civil-war-before-after-jihadi-terror-group-a8495636.html

Comment: Embedded with the UAE, the author seems to forget that AQ was pushed out of #Mukhalla (and never defeated as per UAE's modus operandi), that there is still no decent power supply, safe water, people are still jobless and disappear from the street taken to secret UAE prisons.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1882110715175283

My comment: This series (another article below in cp14, another in YPR 446, cp14 (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/uae-yemen-civil-war-al-qaeda-aden-dar-saad-gulf-saudi-arabia-conflict-a8492021.html). Look below at my comment in cp14.

(A E P)

Yemeniya airlines that have been exploring Yemenis with extremely high ticket prices & worst ever services is now enforcing a fee of $50 for every travelled flying out of Aden airport. Everyday Yemeni government proves to be a failure & constant disappointment to its citizens.

https://twitter.com/Ndawsari/status/1030143896515485697

(A E P)

In his Meeting with Economists, Al-Gaadi: We are Studying Our Economic Situation and How to Manage the Country’s Resources in Case we Have to Impose our Power and Save Our People from Famine and Death

Economic department of the southern transitional council held a consultative meeting with economists and financial experts in the headquarters of the council’s general secretariat. Fadl Al-Gaadi, acting secretary general, and brigadier pilot Nasser Al-Saadi, member of the council’s presidency, attended the meeting.

Al-Gaddi added that the council is observing the authorities’ practices and records all types of corruption and robbery of public money and abuse of authority that led the country to this misery. He added that the council will not keep silent towards hunger and humiliation policies practiced over the southern people and is studying all alternatives and measures to be taken in case the council has to interfere if things remained as it is without real solutions to eliminate corruption.

https://en.smanews.org/in-his-meeting-with-economists-al-gaadi-we-are-studying-our-economic-situation-and-how-to-manage-the-countrys-resources-in-case-we-have-to-impose-our-power-and-save-our-people-from-famine-and-deat

Remark: By southern separatists.

(A P T)

Pro-UAE Salafis forces in #Taiz started handing over positions to presidential guards and Taiz security forces after days of bloody fighting.

https://twitter.com/SalehAlBatati1/status/1030517546309566464

(* A P T)

Militants from an AQAP-linked Salafi militia, Abu Abbas, clashed with pro- Hadi government and Islah party forces in Taiz city, southwest Yemen from August 11 to 15. Violence began after Abu Abbas militants allegedly assassinated civilians and pro-Hadi government military personnel. Militants from outside the city were also seen arriving at the Abu Abbas headquarters in Taiz city. The clashes killed and wounded at least 36 people, including children. Clashes ended after President Hadi directed the formation of a security committee to maintain stability in Taiz. The deputy commander of Abu Abbas, Adel al Azzi, announced the complete withdrawal of all militants and requested two days to leave the city. He accused fighters affiliated with the Islah party and the Muslim Brotherhood of breaking security agreements brokered by the Hadi government and claimed that Abu Abbas forces withdrew to avoid increased violence.[2]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-august-16-2018

(A P)

Collegues of student Amir Eddin Abul Malik Jahaf call for the UN envoy to #Yemen @OSE_Yemen to press the authorities of #Marib to speed up the release of their colleague held for nearly two years, who was detained in Marib province on his way to Sayoun to travel to Egypt to complete his studies in the Faculty of Medicine Kasr El Ainy - Cairo University. (photos)

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1881010811951940

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

(* A P)

UNO lädt Regierung und Rebellen nach Genf ein

Der UNO-Sondergesandte für den Jemen, Griffiths, hat Regierung und Rebellen des Bürgerkriegslands zu Gesprächen in die Schweiz eingeladen.

Das Treffen solle am 6. September in Genf stattfinden, teilte das Büro von Griffiths mit. Den Angaben zufolge geht es darum, einen möglichen Weg für Friedensverhandlungen zu erörtern. I

https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/jemen-gespraeche-uno-laedt-regierung-und-rebellen-nach-genf.1939.de.html

(* A P)

Yemeni government and Houthi movement invited to Sept 6 peace talks: U.N

The United Nations has invited the Yemeni government and the Houthi movement that controls most of the north to peace talks in Geneva on Sept. 6, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Friday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un/yemeni-government-and-houthi-movement-invited-to-sept-6-peace-talks-u-n-idUSKBN1L20WD

(A P)

US ambassador to Yemen ‘optimistic’ about Geneva talks

United States ambassador to Yemen Mathew Tueller, said on Wednesday that this coming round of Geneva talks will be held to look into procedures for building trust, and that is a step towards a comprehensive solution to the conflict in the Yemen.

Tueller reassured his optimism in a press conference held in the Egyptian capital Cairo saying: “I met with both sides of the conflict in Yemen and they’re both ready to be part of these talks without any conditions.”

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2018/08/16/American-ambassador-to-Yemen-optimistic-about-Geneva-talks.html

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-august-16-2018

My comment: How he can tell this? Tueller is one of the most extreme backers of the Saudi coalition. He has a very great influence – much more than an ambassador to a failed 3. World government would have – and seems to be an important and horrible puppet master in the background: https://theintercept.com/2017/12/13/yemen-war-peace-talks-matthew-tueller/

The acting secretary general of the National Assembly for the Transitional Political Council for the South (STC), Fadhl al Jaadi, reiterated the STC’s threat to seize al Hudaydah if the UN Envoy to Yemen and the Hadi government continue to ignore its demands. Jaadi stated at a special session on August 16 that the UN-led peace process in Yemen will fail and the STC has “the full capacity” to spoil the UN consultations.[4]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-august-16-2018

cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran

(A E P)

Iran says no OPEC member can take over its share of oil exports

Iran told OPEC on Sunday no member country should be allowed to take over another member’s share of oil exports, expressing Tehran’s concern about Saudi Arabia’s offer to pump more oil in the face of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil sales.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-oil-opec/iran-says-no-opec-member-can-take-over-its-share-of-oil-exports-idUSKBN1L406G

(A P)

UN Agency Apologizes for Describing Houthis as Govt. Officials

The United Nations Population Fund made an official apology to the Yemeni government for describing during a July report the Iran-backed Houthi militias as “government officials.”
The UN’s permanent representative in Yemen received the apology on Saturday.

The Fund acknowledged that it had committed the error, vowing not to repeat it.
It stressed that it only recognizes the legitimate Yemeni government, reported Yemen’s Saba news agency.
Yemen had filed a strongly-worded complaint on August 9 to the UN agency, demanding that it apologize, correct the error and refrain from dealing with the militias that have violated all international laws and UN treaties.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1367591/un-agency-apologizes-describing-houthis-govt-officials

My comment: The UN showing ist political bias by this achnowlegdment.

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

(* A E P)

Saudi Arabia’s Problem Isn’t the Canada Fight, It’s Capital Flight

As Riyadh dawdles on reforms, money is stampeding to the exits.

As Saudi Arabia raises the stakes in its dispute with Canada, the economic fallout could worsen an already serious issue for the kingdom: capital flight. Trade between the two countries is small, valued at roughly $4 billion, but the diplomatic dust-up has heightened the sense of risk in the Saudi investment climate, and is certain to scare even more capital away.

According to research by JPMorgan, capital outflows of residents in Saudi Arabia are projected at $65 billion in 2018, or 8.4 percent of GDP. This is less than the $80 billion lost in 2017, but a sign of a continued bleed. Significantly, the projection was made before the contretemps with Canada.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-08-17/saudi-arabia-s-problem-not-the-canada-fight-but-capital-flight

(A P)

IN A PRECEDENT, THE SAUDI PROSECUTION CALLS FOR THE BEHEADING OF FEMALE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER ISRAA AL-GHOMGHAM

Shocking news has emerged regarding the Saudi public prosecution calling for the death penalty sentence against female human rights defender, which is a dangerous precedent, as it will be the first time that the death penalty sentence has been demanded against a female activist. Israa Al- Ghomgham, a well known female human rights defender from Qatif, was brought before the notorious specialized criminal court (SCC) in Riyadh recently, for her first court session, in a trial which commenced after 32 months of arbitrary detention, during which, Israa had no access to legal representation.

http://www.esohr.org/en/?p=1852

Comment: MSM can't polish a turd, This is the ugly face of MBS "the reformer".

https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/1030896492066861057

(A P)

Saudi Author Gets 5 Years In Prison For ‘Insulting’ UAE

Saudi authorities have handed down prison sentence to a writer in the conservative oil-rich kingdom as part of a widening crackdown led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman against Muslim preachers, members of the press and intellectuals.

The rights group Prisoners of Conscience, which is an independent non-governmental organization advocating human rights in Saudi Arabia, announced in a post on its official Twitter page that Mohammed al-Hudhaif was sentenced to five years in jail after being found guilty of “ insulting a friendly country.”

http://www.newnewss.net/saudi-author-gets-5-years-in-prison-for-insulting-uae/

(* A P)

Muslim pilgrims flock to Mecca ahead of haj

About 2 million Muslims, including 1.68 million from abroad, flooding Mecca’s narrow streets for the annual rite which starts on Sunday. Saudi Arabia has made use of technology to manage the flow of millions at the same place at the same time.

This includes electronic identification bracelets, connected to GPS, that were introduced after a 2015 crush killed hundreds.

“There is a comprehensive electronic agenda for every pilgrim and we have provided many apps that offer guidance,” Minister of Haj and Umrah Mohammed Bintin told Reuters.

“We have a fleet of more than 18,000 buses, all of them linked to a control system that tracks their path.”

He said a high speed railway between Mecca and Medina had been completed and was being now being tested.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-haj/muslim-pilgrims-flock-to-mecca-ahead-of-haj-idUSKBN1L30EA

(A P)

Exclusive - Yemen Minister: Arrival of 7,000 Hajj Pilgrims from Houthi Areas Refutes Claims of Politicization

Yemen’s Awqaf (religious affairs) minister, Dr. Ahmad Attiyah, said that around 24,000 Yemeni pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Hajj rituals, including 7,000 pilgrims who came from areas controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis.
This is a “strong response to those who claim that the Saudi government was politicizing the holy Hajj,” he stressed.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, the minister noted that Saudi Arabia received about 80,000 pilgrims from Iran and opened its doors to Yemeni pilgrims, “although Yemen is at war and the Kingdom is a party to this war at the request of Yemeni legitimacy.”
This did not prevent the flow of pilgrims from all Yemeni cities, including those controlled by the militias, he remarked.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1367491/exclusive-yemen-minister-arrival-7000-hajj-pilgrims-houthi-areas-refutes-claims

My comment: The Hadi government is praising the Saudis once again. From 70 % of Yemeni population, 29 % of all Yemeni Hajji pilgrims.

(A P)

As many as 1000 #pilgrims from the families of martyrs of the Yemeni National Army arrived at King Abdulaziz Int'l Airport on Friday evening to perform #Hajj, as they are being hosted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1030925683638317056

Remark: pro-Saudi “president” Hadi army / militia.

(* B P)

Higher living costs, fees force many Egyptians to drop haj plans

“No one can fork out enough for religious obligations. How can I undertake the haj when I can barely afford to run a household?” Aouni said.

“Before 2010, five or six of my neighbors would go each year. Now, it’s one person from the neighborhood every three or four years.”

Saudi Arabia set a 2,000 riyal ($533) fee for Muslims performing the umrah journey for a second time within three years. This year Egypt also raised its own fee for citizens planning to make a second umrah pilgrimage.

Pilgrimage costs have doubled to 60,000 Egyptian pounds ($3,361) for people traveling on economy packages by land, while luxury packages - which include flights, upmarket accommodation and other services - have increased to 152,000 Egyptian pounds from 100,000 last year, haj companies say.

Hamada Radi a 55-year-old civil servant, said the total pilgrimage can end up costing as much as 120,000 Egyptian pounds (around $6,700).

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-haj-egypt/higher-living-costs-fees-force-many-egyptians-to-drop-haj-plans-idUSKBN1L21FB

My comment: Pilgrimage as money-making machine for the Saudis. Tunisian priests had said not to make a pilgrimage as this would help the Saudi to finance the Yemen war.

cp8a Saudisch-Kanadischer Streit / Saudi-Canadian feud

(* B P)

Saudi-Canada Diplomatic Row Obscures Canada’s Support for the Deadly War on Yemen

Now here to discuss all of this with us is Anthony Fenton. Anthony is a Canadian independent print and radio journalist and writer.

AF: The one that most people would be familiar with is the deal that was announced in February of 2014 for upwards of $15 billion; a contract signed between the state arm Canadian Commercial Corporation and the government of Saudi Arabia for at least 900 light armored vehicles, heavily weaponized armored vehicles, that will be supplied principally to the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

This is just the latest in a long series of similar contracts dating back to the early 1980s.

Canadian companies have increased their presence the arms bazaars such as IDEX in Abu Dhabi, among numerous others, over recent years.

And again, it has, has had the wholehearted support from the Canadian governments, going from Harper to the Trudeau government right now.

Now, let’s bear in mind that it was one year, almost exactly one year to the day when this crisis erupted, that a different Canadian company’s armored vehicles were captured on video and in still images as part of this siege of Awamiya, the neighborhood in Qatif region in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

But upwards of hundreds of these vehicles have been sold to the Saudi Ministry of Interior since 2014.

So Canada is OK, to your original point earlier, that there has been a silence from Freeland and the Canadian Foreign Affairs account on the question of Saudi-led atrocities in Yemen, because Canada has backed this war in Yemen, unequivocally almost, since it began in 2015. And so yes, to answer your question. Selling them arms, whether they’re suppressing internal dissent, any internal threats to the Saudi royal family, monarchy, or whether it’s projecting their force into countries like Yemen, we can assume that they’re being used in nefarious ways.

I believe the Arabia foundation, that what they really didn’t like was how the Canadian Embassy in Saudi Arabia repeated this tweet in Arabic. So they were like, the narrative was how dare you speak to us in our own language, you know, making such demands. But yes, it’s absolutely hypocritical on the face of it. Canada interferes with other countries. Everybody’s interfering with other countries.

So to base your argument on that, which, you know, kind of makes you wonder if that really was the basis of this, this blow up. I mean, who knows? There could be other reasons behind this

But late last year there was a report supposedly citing unnamed sources in the embassy in Riyadh that Saudi Arabia was angry with Canada and had threatened to cut economic ties over opposition that Canada had taken in the United Nations Human Rights Council on Yemen. There was a brief period there where Canada did work with the Netherlands to try to get there to be an independent investigation into war crimes in Yemen. This was watered down, ultimately didn’t really succeed.

https://therealnews.com/stories/saudi-canada-diplomatic-row-obscures-canadas-support-for-the-deadly-war-on-yemen

(A P)

Canada Hajj pilgrims, Saudi students face uncertainty due to diplomatic row

Canadian Muslims traveling to the Hajj pilgrimage face delays coming back due to a diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia that is also prompting thousands of students from the kingdom to scramble to sell their assets and return home to meet a month-end deadline.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-canada-diplomacy-people/canada-hajj-pilgrims-saudi-students-face-uncertainty-due-to-diplomatic-row-idUSKBN1L11DI

(* A P)

Film: Oh How Bizarre: How Saudi Arabia propaganda is bashing Canada

Video Showing All The Bizarre Anti-Canada Propaganda Saudi Arabia Is Showing Its Citizens.
Try not to laugh or shutter in shock.
A new video from the National Post compiles some of the strangest anti-Canada propaganda, which includes claims that most Canadian inmates die before they face trial, that Canada mistreats far-right activists, that Canada has the worst record in the world when it comes to the rights of women.
Some Saudi accounts have even supported a boycott of Canadian brands that, according to the National Post, do not even offer services on the Arabian peninsula.
Try not to gasp

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/videos/2163783903883172/

(A H P)

As a Saudi student being forced to leave Canada, I'm going through the 5 stages of grief

Saudi student in Canada shares how the diplomatic feud is devastating his dreams after years of hard work

About 8,300 Saudi post-secondary students living in Canada were left shocked and scrambling earlier this month when Saudi Arabia abruptly ordered them to withdraw from their studies and leave the country by Aug. 31. The move was prompted by a foreign policy feud between Riyadh and Ottawa that started when the Saudi government took offence at a Canadian government tweet. Here, one of those students shares his story of how the diplomatic feud is devastating his dreams after years of hard work. CBC News has agreed to keep his identity confidential because he fears repercussions from his home country.

Living a peaceful life, minding our own business and working hard to achieve our personal life goals, we sometimes face shocking news that disturb our peace. Being laid off from a new and promising job, losing a loved one or some other unexpected tragedy. The Kubler-Ross model, by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, states that there are five stages of grief when dealing with shocking and life-changing events: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

This is my story.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/saudi-arabia-student-leave-canada-riyadh-1.4786874

cp9 USA

Siehe / Look at cp1

(* B K P)

Why Are We Helping the Saudis Bomb Children in Yemen?

But the violent humanitarian crisis in Yemen is shocking if only because most have no idea it is happening and no clue about America’s role in the conflict. And they have no idea that America is almost certainly on the wrong side of this war, killing children on the side of the bad guys while politicians from both parties nod in assent. There is absolutely no reason for the United States to be involved in this at all except to provide humanitarian aid. If there’s a discernable bad guy in the conflict, it’s the regional Sunni powers who for purely sectarian reasons supported a failed regime against a minority-led Shia coalition with considerable organic support. If the Saudis didn’t want an Iranian-allied state on their border, they could have used their considerable wealth to improve conditions in Yemen. Instead, they are trying to bomb the population into compliance.

And they are doing it with American help

Now let’s be very clear: there is no indication that the Houthis are terrorists or even religious extremists. This is not a legitimate part of the war on terror. They are loosely aligned with Iran, yes, but so are all Shi’a groups in the region. The United States has no compelling reason to deny the Houthis their autonomy, except that the United States like to keep the Saudis happy as a matter of realpolitik. And the Saudis are committing unspeakable war crimes–with direct logistical support from U.S. forces, using American munitions.

To her great credit, Elizabeth Warren is demanding answers about how these strikes are supervised, and whether enough is being done to protect against civilian casualties.

But the real question we should be asking is why we’re engaged in this conflict at all, and why we’re aiding and abetting the murder of children by war criminals not because they happen to be proximate to a terrorist hotbed, but simply because they happened to be Shi’a Muslims seeking self-determination on the border of the House of Saud – by David Atkins

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/08/19/why-are-we-helping-war-criminals-bomb-children-in-yemen/

Comment: When it comes to explaining the reasons of the war, the article is a total failure (sunni-shia divide, to start with) but the essence of the message is: 'There is absolutely no reason for the United States to be involved in this at all except to provide humanitarian aid. ' Period

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1885619371491084

(* B K P)

Will the U.S. Finally Do the Right Thing in Yemen?

The August 9 killing of at least 40 children in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike has created an uptick in Congressional interest in the U.S.’ role in Yemen.

For more than three years, the U.S. has been deeply involved in the war, directly supporting airstrikes that have killed many civilians.

Aside from the undeniable civilian deaths, the U.S.’ support for the Saudi-led coalition does not help U.S. national security.

The U.S. needs to use its leverage with Saudi Arabia and the UAE to bring about a peaceful resolution to the war in Yemen: the country globally recognized as experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has tried to minimize its support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. At the same time, it contends its involvement is vital to limit civilian casualties through its training and assisting of the Saudi and UAE (coalition) forces. Aside from a few hearings in which DoD officials downplayed the U.S.’ role—while arguing it must continue—there has been no effective Congressional oversight of U.S. participation in the Yemen war, despite the attempts of some earnest Congressional Members. This legislative paralysis might continue, though there has been an uptick in attention paid in the aftermath of the latest killing of civilians. The U.S. appears to have decided that Yemenis—even children—can pay whatever price is required to blunt Iranian influence in the region. It does not even seem to matter that the conflict has actually increased Iran’s influence on Houthi rebels. Still, the last week has seen more Congressional interest in U.S. culpability in Yemen than ever before.

http://www.soufangroup.com/intelbrief-will-the-u-s-finally-do-the-right-thing-in-yemen/

(* B K P)

US gets caught with pants down in Yemen

“Saudi support for Islamic extremism started in the early 1960s as a counter to Nasserism—the socialist political ideology that came out of the thinking of Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser—which threatened Saudi Arabia and led to war between the two countries along the Yemen border."

Army Maj. Josh Jacques ridiculously responded [US bomb used for school bus air raid] by saying, “We may never know if the munition [used] was one that the US sold to them. We don’t have a lot of people on the ground.”[2] But Jacques and the war machine know for sure that Assad used chemical weapons on his own people; they know that Assad is a dictator who vows to destroy the Syrian population; they know that Assad started the Syria war.

Obviously Jacques and the war machine love to make deal with their terrorist states. Obviously Saudi Arabia promises billions of dollars, and obviously the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel are concentric circles. Countries like Iran and Syria are not part of that ideology, and the US government finds it congenial to demonize those countries.

You see, the logic of the New World Order is so weird that only a political whore would accept it. Even Newsweek reports this month that “Saudi Arabia remains ‘wedded’ to death penalty cult,”[3] but not a single US politician has challenged that diabolical enterprise. The Saudis, as Politico itself puts it, have come “clean on funding terrorism.” King Salman himself said that

“Saudi support for Islamic extremism started in the early 1960s as a counter to Nasserism—the socialist political ideology that came out of the thinking of Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser—which threatened Saudi Arabia and led to war between the two countries along the Yemen border. This tactic allowed them to successfully contain Nasserism, and the Saudis concluded that Islamism could be a powerful tool with broader utility.”[4]

Has the West made any attempt to confront the Saudis? Has the Trump administration even remotely suggested that America ought to stop doing business with a terrorist state?

Of course not. But they are absolutely certain that Iran is state-sponsored terrorism.

https://www.veteranstoday.com/2018/08/18/us-gets-caught-with-pants-down-in-yemen/

(* B K P)

End the War on Yemen

The Washington Postcalls for an end to U.S. support for the war on YemeNaturally, I agree with the editorial calling for a halt to U.S. support for the Saudi coalition. I have been saying much the same thing ever since the war on Yemen began in 2015. This is an important sign that pressure is building on the administration and the Saudi coalition because of the many documented war crimes that the coalition has committed with U.S. assistance. The call for ending U.S. support for the war is three years late, but it is nonetheless welcome.

The Trump administration will ignore the Post‘s call to end the war just as they are ignoring the conditions set by Congress on U.S. military assistance to the coalition. Congress will have to do much more than that if they are going to force the administration to cut off the Saudis and their allies. Challenging the president on war powers is the only sure way to do this. It is essential that members of Congress recognize that U.S. support for the war on Yemen is both abhorrent and illegal, and they must put a stop to it. The Senate failed both the U.S. and Yemen when they blew their chance to do this earlier this year, and they should make up for that failure now.

No U.S. interests have been served through involvement in this war. On the contrary, the war has undermined U.S. security, bolstered Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and made our government complicit in numerous war crimes. U.S. participation in the war has been a shameful, ugly affair that will go down as one of the worst policies in modern U.S. history. Our government has spent the last three years helping cruel despotic regimes devastate and starve a poor country whose people did nothing to us and posed no threat to anyone.

U.S. involvement must end at once, but beyond that it is crucial that the U.S. never enable another senseless war like this again. Our government’s relationships with the Saudis and the UAE in particular will have to be reevaluated and significantly downgraded in the coming years, and the baleful influence of their governments on our foreign policy debate needs to be exposed and countered. It will not be enough to halt an atrocious policy if the causes of that policy are left untouched – by Daniel Larison

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/end-the-war-on-yemen/

referring to

(* A B K P)

End U.S. support for this misbegotten and unwinnable war

Trump administration officials are being pressed by members of Congress and reporters to say whether the bomb that was dropped was supplied by the United States, and whether the plane that dropped it was refueled by the U.S. military under an ongoing support operation.

The administration’s response has amounted to a shrug. When journalists questioned a senior U.S. official this week, he responded: “Well, what difference does that make?”

The obvious answer is, a big one. If it assisted in an airstrike that killed innocent civilians — the boys, according to the New York Times, ranged in age from 6 to about 16 — the United States is complicit in a probable war crime. And the Dahyan bombing was not an isolated incident.

Like the Obama administration before it, the Trump administration has tried to keep its distance from the Saudi campaign while simultaneously supporting it through the sales of bombs, targeting intelligence and refueling for planes. It is long past time to end U.S. support for this misbegotten and unwinnable war. There is a clear path out: A U.N. mediator has called the various parties to Geneva early next month to discuss a peace process. The U.S. allies will accept a peace process only if it is clear that they will not have Washington’s support for more war. Because President Trump remains in thrall to the Saudi princes, it’s fortunate that Congress has applied some pressure.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/end-us-support-for-this-misbegotten-and-unwinnable-war/2018/08/18/35a1f256-a249-11e8-93e3-24d1703d2a7a_story.html

Comment: 1,240 days and 2 presidents after the beginning of the US-Saudi war on Yemen, the Washington Post editorial board has finally mustered up the courage to oppose this apocalyptic war, which unleashed the largest humanitarian catastrophe on Earth.

https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/1031020189314428928

My comment: If Obama or Clinton would be president, and not Trump, I guess WaPo still would be silent.

Comment: #WP 'forma mentis', the mindset, always surfaces: 'unwinnable war'.
As if to say that if there was a chance to win the war, all the damage-destruction-death caused were worthy.

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1885745291478492

(* A P)

Hoyer, Smith, Engel, Pocan, House Democrats Send Letter to the Administration Calling for a Briefing on the Situation in Yemen

sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats requesting a Member briefing on Yemen. In light of a recent military escalation in Hudaydah, the letter urges the Administration to brief Members on the policy objectives of the United States with respect to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
“We write to express our deepening concern regarding the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and to request a briefing for all House Members during the first week of September on the policy objectives of the United States with respect to Yemen,” the Members wrote in the letter. “The briefing should include an update on Department of Defense (DOD) assistance to the Saudi-led coalition, counterterrorism activities against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS, and any other related activities or missions in the region.”
The letter continued: “Specifically, we would like an update on the situation in Hudaydah as a recent military escalation in the port city threatens to worsen the humanitarian crisis and undermine a negotiated political settlement. It is imperative for Members of Congress to fully understand the impact that hostilities, including airstrikes that have reportedly killed Hudaydah residents and damaged a sanitation facility and water treatment station, and the potential for further military escalations such as a siege on the port of Hudaydah, would have on the humanitarian crisis and prospects for a peace agreement. This is especially important considering UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths’ efforts to secure a peace agreement among the conflict’s parties.”

https://www.democraticwhip.gov/content/hoyer-smith-engel-pocan-house-democrats-send-letter-administration-calling-briefing

(B P)

Iran’s Reply: No War and No Negotiations

Making negotiations impossible is something the Trump administration seems to have adopted as a policy, Iran is no exception.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/irans-reply-no-war-and-no-negotiations/247929/

Comment: The author didn't connect this analogy to Yemen in the article below, but it is one of the most accurate summaries of this appalling, criminal war:

"In the immortal words of Michael Ledeen, “Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business“. The obvious problem is that there are no “small crappy little countries” left out there, and that those who are currently the object of the Empire’s ire are neither small nor crappy."

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1884436978275990

(* B H P)

'There is real suffering': How the travel ban is tearing some families apart

Zaid Nagi, vice president of the Yemeni Americans Merchants Association in New York City, is mad.

“There is real pain here,” he said, “there is real suffering. I’m in direct contact with people whose lives have been destroyed.”

Nagi was speaking about the Yemeni community in the US. He recounted story after story of how President Donald Trump’s travel ban has separated Yemeni American families.

https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-08-17/there-real-suffering-how-travel-ban-tearing-some-families-apart

(B P)

What is wrong with this world? Who is destabilising Middle East and other regions? What prevents the world from saying the U.S. is the most notorious destabiliser?!

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1030421255709708288

(* B P)

Yemeni and Palestinian Children

Surprisingly, the corporate-owned press has broadcast this atrocity widely, even showing a video of the children, taken by one of the victims about an hour before the slaughter. Viewers see young boys, ages 6 – 11, laughing, chatting, showing great excitement about the field trip they were on. Moments later, all that remained was a mangled bus, forty dead children, and several more, bloody, maimed, writhing and screaming in pain. Scenes of grief-stricken parents soon followed.

It is vitally important that people around the world, but especially in the violent and war-mongering and war-waging United States, see these scenes. It is crucial that they know how their tax dollars are being spent.

However, if one were to only consider what one sees on the ‘mainstream’ press, one might think that this was an anomaly, a horrible mistake or miscalculation, one that, although inexcusable, was never intended.

One, however, would be mistaken. While the world mourns for the innocent young victims of the Yemeni bus massacre, for the U.S., this is business as usual. While this avoidable tragedy is making international headlines, there was hardly a peep from the U.S. media when Israel, in 2014, massacred over 500 children, including infants, in Gaza, using U.S.-provided bombs.

Palestinian children who are intentionally hit and run over by autos driven by settlers living illegally on Palestinian land are never discussed; no one ever demands to know what U.S. spokespeople have to say about these murders.

Let’s look at a few such situations in a bit more detail.

And so there we are. Saudis who bomb school buses with U.S. financial and moral (an odd word to use in this situation) support can be questioned; Israelis who bomb schools, hospitals and homes are merely ‘defending’ themselves.

We have learned from government officials and the media that Yemeni children dying in a school-bus bombing, and Syrian children who drown fleeing U.S.-supported terrorism in their country, are worthy of our sympathy and concern. Conversely, Palestinian children killed when sleeping in their own home or a United Nations refugee center, and Rohingya children violently driven from their homes, often dying in the process, or of starvation, are not.

This is the U.S. today; the government, and the corporate-owned media which happily does its bidding, work hand in hand for the good of the rich and the powerful.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/08/17/yemeni-and-palestinian-children/

My comment: On Yemen, the author certainly is not quite right: Yemen largely has been fully neglected by US media – as Gaza is. Both, Yemenis and Palestinians in Gaza, are “unworthy victims” – just because it’s US allies who bomb, kill, injure them.

(* B P)

Why We Know So Little About the U.S.-Backed War in Yemen

What the U.N. calls the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis” is an unhappy confluence of American media taboos

Yemen is a catastrophe on a scale similar to Syria, but coverage in the United States has been sporadic at best. PBS News Hour did a thorough three-part series, but MSNBC, for instance, has barely mentioned the crisis in a year, during a period when it has done 455 segments on Stormy Daniels (this according to media reporter Adam Johnson).

The reason for inattention is obvious: The United States bears real responsibility for the crisis. A quote from a Yemeni doctor found in PBS reporter Jane Ferguson’s piece sums it up:

“The missiles that kill us, American-made. The planes that kill us, American-made. The tanks … American-made. You are saying to me, where is America? America is the whole thing.”

For one thing, the victims are poor nonwhite people from a distant third-world country. Also, our involvement is bipartisan in nature, which takes the usual-suspect cable channels out of the round-the-clock-bleating game (our policies in the region date back to the Obama presidency, and have continued under Trump).

Thirdly, covering the story in detail would require digging into our unsavory relationship with the Saudi government, which has an atrocious human rights record.

Another dark angle: The United States has been conducting drone missions in Yemen for some time. Rolling Stone documented our country’s erroneous killing of anti-terrorist imam Salem bin ali Jaber in a piece earlier this month.

But we have not yet supplied any of the anti-Houthi coalition partners with drones. The reason, ostensibly, is that the United States only sells drones to countries that will “use these systems in accordance with international law.” So we can sell Saudi Arabia F-15s, but not drones – at least not yet.

But this may soon change. The Chinese have been supplying both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with drones, which reportedly have been used in this campaign.

The Trump administration, perhaps freaked out about the loss of market share, is said to be pushing for the relaxation of rules that will allow sales of our unmanned assassination technology to actors like Saudi Arabia.

Selling drone technology to repressive third-world governments is the logical next step in America’s human rights slide. Allowing vicious client states to fill their skies with drones will sharply increase state-sanctioned violence around the world, in addition to emboldening regimes to launch wars in neighboring countries.

Yemen could become a poster child for this development.

In the end, Yemen is a classic example of what Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman described as the “worthy and unworthy victims” problem in their iconic examination of American media, “Manufacturing Consent.” The obvious-sounding theory holds that violence committed by Americans or by their client states will be covered a lot less than identical acts committed by adversary states.

Yemen features the wrong kinds of victims, lacks a useful partisan angle and, frankly, is nobody’s idea of clickbait in the Trump age. Until it becomes a political football for some influential person or party, this disaster will probably stay near the back of the line.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/yemen-war-united-states-704187/

(* A K P)

After dozens of children die, Trump administration faces mounting pressure over Yemen war

Lawmakers increased pressure on the Trump administration over the war in Yemen this week after an airstrike killed dozens of children, urging officials to explain and possibly adjust U.S. support for nations waging war against rebels there.

Democratic members of the House and Senate have sent three separate letters in the past three days to officials at the Defense and State departments and in the intelligence community, asking for an accounting of American involvement in a conflict that critics say has exposed the U.S. government to claims of responsibility for thousands of civilian deaths.

But U.S. officials have sought to distance themselves from the operation as suffering has intensified in Yemen, where coalition pilots have repeatedly struck civilian sites and residents have fallen victim to increasing hunger and disease.

Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican who co-sponsored that measure, said he looked forward to monitoring the administration's compliance with new Yemen requirements.

"Our humanitarian principles and our national security interests require that the United States use its influence to end the civil war in Yemen and address the world's largest humanitarian crisis," he said in a statement.

It's not clear whether the administration intends to comply with that certification clause, which the White House flagged as one of several measures in the law it found objectionable.

https://www.stripes.com/news/after-dozens-of-children-die-trump-administration-faces-mounting-pressure-over-yemen-war-1.542870

(* B P)

Congress, White House Reaching Breaking Point On Yemen?

Soon after a Saudi-led coalition strike on a bus killed 40 children on August 9, a CENTCOM spokesperson stated to Vox, “We may never know if the munition [used] was one that the U.S. sold to them.” This feigned ignorance is particularly fatiguing. CENTCOM commander General Joseph Votel professed the same know-nothingness in March.

Congressional offices are expressing a certain weariness of their own with these evasions. On August 14, Warren published a letter to the general asking him to clarify the discrepancy between his sworn testimony and recent reporting from Iona Craig and Shuaib Almosawa in The Intercept.

Warren’s questions are numerous, and their subtext is unmistakable: if you misled me during the hearing, what else have you been misleading Congress about?

Warren’s letter is another sign of escalating tension between Congress and the administration concerning U.S. support for coalition war crimes in Yemen. For now, high-profile legislative challenges and unprecedented anti-war legislation have given way to a barrage of public letters and statements against the conflict, as offices opposed to the intervention seek to build their sizable minorities into majorities. These statements are gaining traction among increasingly conservative, and even hawkish, members of Congress. The administration is meeting this opposition with belligerence and a further emphasis on unconditional U.S. support for the coalition. This tension could soon build to a needed congressional repudiation of U.S. military engagement in Yemen’s civil war, the one action that may finally force coalition members to curtail their civilian targeting and redress violations of international humanitarian law.

Despite Secretary of Defense Mattis’s protestations, members of Congress are treating the United States as if it were a belligerent in Yemen. On the same day that Warren released her letter to Votel, a group of House democrats, including centrist leaders such as Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Eliot Engel (D-NY), published a letter demanding that the Department of Defense conduct a briefing to satisfy their own unanswered questions.

Most revealing, however, was the signing statement that President Trump released alongside the National Defense Authorization Act for 2019. Buried within the sprawling, incoherent legislation that funds America’s sprawling, incoherent military bureaucracy was Section 1290, a modest but welcome proposal that survived bipartisan wrangling. The provision would end U.S. refueling support to coalition air raids if Pompeo cannot periodically certify that the coalition is making a good faith effort to engage with the UN-led negotiations and taking steps to ease humanitarian access and minimize civilian casualties.

With a different administration, 1290 would have been the kind of face-saving compromise that gives the president a domestic rationale to tell his Saudi and Emirati allies that it’s time to, at the very least, stop hitting school buses, or the United States will have to withdraw support. Meanwhile, 1290’s generously worded certification requirements and national security waiver would have allowed the administration time and space to extricate itself from the conflict quietly. This administration, however, can’t abide this bit of inter-branch comity, with the president writing that 1290 would encompass “only actions for which such advance certification or notification is feasible and consistent with the President’s exclusive constitutional authorities as Commander in Chief”—in other words, I don’t have to and may not even try.

https://lobelog.com/congress-white-house-reaching-breaking-point-on-yemen/

My comment: I do not wonder about this. Up to now, Congress just has been soft and all legislation included large loopholes for the administration. Any straight legislation which really would have forced to stop the support for the Saudi coalition had been refused so far. Remember the Sanders bill from march 2018: https://www.vox.com/world/2018/3/20/17144332/senate-yemen-saudi-arabia-sanders-lee-murphy

and

(* A P)

Trump, Democrats face off over Yemen war

President Donald Trump signed several restrictions on US military involvement in Yemen into law earlier this week. There’s just one caveat — Trump is threatening to ignore most of those provisions, prompting swift backlash from Democrats.

Shortly after Trump signed an annual defense authorization bill on Monday, the White House issued a statement objecting to several provisions in the law, including language that would make it more difficult for the United States to continue support for the Saudi-led coalition in its aerial campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

In the signing statement, Trump wrote that he would only enforce the certification requirement to the extent it is “feasible and consistent with the President’s exclusive constitutional authorities as Commander in Chief.”

“I’d like to know what their legal rationale is for ignoring stuff we put into the [National Defense Authorization Act],” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Armed Services Committee, which drafted the bill, told Al-Monitor. “And they certainly didn’t reach out to us to tell us not to put them in, so that’s kind of weird.”

Further exacerbating the confusion, Trump’s nominee to become under secretary of state for political affairs, Ambassador David Hale, committed to upholding the Yemen certification requirements during his confirmation hearing today.

Kate Kizer, the policy director of Win Without War, a coalition of activist groups that aggressively pushed Congress to pass the Yemen language, called Trump’s signing statement “preposterous,” noting that the law overwhelmingly passed 359-54 in the House and 87-10 in the Senate.

“If Trump makes good on his threat to disobey the law, we expect there will be a bipartisan showdown in Congress, which has already come incredibly close to cutting off US assistance to Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Yemen,” Kizer told Al-Monitor.

Indeed, Republican lawmakers were instrumental in crafting the law’s Yemen provisions. Both parties have raised alarm bells as famine and an unprecedented cholera crisis plague the country while an Emirati siege on the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah threatens to further restrict aid for impoverished and displaced Yemenis.

But Democrats are getting ready to play hardball.

The same day Trump issued the signing statement, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., led 28 other Democrats in a request for a briefing on Yemen in September via a letter addressed to Pompeo, Defense Secretary James Mattis and National Intelligence Director Dan Coats.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/08/white-house-democrats-congress-face-off-yemen-war.html

also: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/08/16/yemen-school-bus-bombing-u-s-lawmakers-demand-answers/1006447002/

My comment: More than “Much noise about nothing” will not happen. – It had been Democrats’ Sunny Boy Obama who had started this war.

(A P)

U.S. welcomes Saudi Arabia's pledge of $100 million for Syria

The United States on Thursday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s contribution of $100 million to help stabilize parts of Syria no longer held by Islamic State, which comes as the Trump administration looks to cut back on foreign aid.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-syria/u-s-welcomes-saudi-arabias-pledge-of-100-million-for-syria-idUSKBN1L2066

My comment: LOL. They had spent trillions to arm Syrian Salafists.

Comment: Because if there's one country in the region just FAMOUS for its love of fighting Wahhabi Jihadist thugs and building civil society from the bottom up, it's Saudi Arabia.

https://twitter.com/WorkersSpatula/status/1030449828550135808

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

(A P)

Gross hypocrisy as SNP savage Theresa May over Saudi arms sales while cosying up to company linked to Yemen carnage

The Sunday Mail can reveal details of the meeting between SNP minister Paul Wheelhouse and global arms dealers Raytheon, as well as the lengths he went to in order to keep it quiet.

Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay ­yesterday condemned the Scottish ­Government’s hidden relationship with Raytheon. He said: “This is yet another example of the SNP’s ­secretive practices in ­government.

“A report by the Information ­Commissioner found SNP ministers bent freedom of information law and used an army of taxpayer-funded spin ­doctors to bury bad news.

“Now we learn that an SNP minister met with an arms manufacturer and ordered civil servants not to publicise the visit or take a photo of him.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/gross-hypocrisy-snp-savage-theresa-13103606

(B H)

Local charity provides respite break for Yemeni refugee family

A Yemeni refugee who’s holidaying in the island thanks to a local charity says he’s overwhelmed with the kindness he’s received and that his week-long visit is “an experience that will remain with me for the rest of my life."

https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/jsy/news/local-charity-provides-respite-break-yemeni-refugee-family/?t=i#.W3bDwegzaUm

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

(A K P)

Did Yemen missile pass through Shannon question mark

LIMERICK Senator Paul Gavan has called on the Government to end the use of Shannon Airport by US military forces in light of the latest atrocities in the US-backed war in Yemen.

“This is the latest atrocity in a horrific war being waged by the Saudi-led Coalition. There is a direct line from these atrocities back to Shannon Airport,” Senator Gavan declared.

“The US provides logistical and weapons support to the Saudis. US contracted military planes leaving Shannon regularly travel to states belonging to that Coalition.

“Hundreds of permits for military munitions of war were approved by our Government last year, with many of these planes heading to these same destinations. Did the missile that blew up these children pass through Shannon? It’s a shameful practice and a betrayal of the principles of neutrality.”

https://www.limerickpost.ie/2018/08/19/did-yemen-missile-pass-through-shannon-question-mark/

https://anfenglish.com/news/peace-vigil-at-ireland-shannon-airport-29076

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

(* A P)

Qatar accuses Saudis of barring haj pilgrims, Riyadh says untrue

Qatar has accused Saudi Arabia of barring its citizens from this year’s haj, something Riyadh denies, saying a diplomatic dispute is not stopping Qataris from making the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Although 1,200 Qataris are eligible to perform the haj under a quota system, Qatar says it has become impossible to get permits, blaming the campaign by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to cut trade and diplomatic ties with the country.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-haj-qatar/qatar-accuses-saudis-of-barring-haj-pilgrims-riyadh-says-untrue-idUSKBN1L306Z

(* A P)

Revealed: The multi-million campaign to strip Qatar of World Cup 2022 and move it to England

A multi-million-pound marketing campaign attempted to have Qatar stripped of the 2022 World Cup and England host the tournament ­instead, i can reveal. The strategy – masterminded by self-styled Qatari opposition leader and exile, Khalid Al-Hail – included two lavish London conferences with politicians paid up to £15,000 to ­attend, research studies, vox pop videos and advertisements all attacking the tiny Gulf state. It included billboards at prime London locations, including one last month which showed a picture of the Union flag and a football with the words “UK 2022. Why Not?”

https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/qatar-world-cup-2022-england-campaign-khalid-al-hail-fifa/

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

(* A K P)

Spain reconsidering arms sales to Saudi Arabia

Spain is reconsidering its arms sales to Saudi Arabia after the Saudi-led coalition's bombing last week in Yemen killed dozens of children, the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi reports.

In a statement, the Spanish government said this week that it is reviewing its policy of selling arms to the kingdom.

The country sold about $500m worth of weapons and munitions to Saudi last year, according to the newspaper.

Spanish political sources told the paper that there are strong signs that Spanish weapons have been used in the war against Yemen.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/arabic-press-review-spain-rethinks-arms-sales-saudi-after-latest-yemen-attack-235036320

and

(A K P)

Basta es Basta en Yemen

[#Yemen: enough is enough
#Spain must stop arming #SaudiArabia: there is no doubt Saudis knew what they were doing when they bombed the school bus]

España debe de dejar de vender armas a Arabia Saudí No hay ninguna duda de que los saudíes sabían lo que hacían. El macabro ataque fue perpetrado a medio día, a plena luz, con perfecta visibilidad en una zona urbana, junto a un mercado en la gobernatura de Sadaa, al norte del Yemen.

http://kaosenlared.net/basta-es-basta-en-yemen/

cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage

(* B K)

Archaeologists fear biblical artifacts, monuments won't survive Yemen war

After years of internal conflict and ISIS insurgency across Iraq and Syria destroyed much of what was left of the Middle East’s pre-Islamic history, experts now fear the protracted civil war in neighboring Yemen will quietly erase its own rich biblical roots.

“The historical sites are of great importance to Yemen and are part of Yemeni history and identity,” Iris Gerlach, Head of the Sana’a Branch at the German Archaeological Institute Orient Department, told Fox News. “Ultimately, this would be comparable to the destruction of the White House or the Statue of Liberty for Americans. The intentional destruction as well as war-related collateral damage is a crime on the world cultural heritage. As long as the war is going on, more monuments will be destroyed.”

And the threat of even more damage to the country’s trove of treasures looms large – perhaps most poignantly in the site considered to have once housed the mysterious and powerful Queen of Sheba (Bilquis in Arabic), located just 30 miles east of the small Yemen city of Marib.

In a desperate bid to salvage what remains, last year UNESCO issued coordinates of at least 50 prominent historical and holy locations in Yemen to the various militaries involved in the battle. Nonetheless, the file of decimated or marred artifacts and sites remains thick.

The regional museum of Dhamar, in Yemen’s southwest, which was stuffed with thousands of irreplaceable relics from the Himyarite Kingdom – the powerful tribe from the south conquered Sheba/Saba after 290 AD and went on to develop trade relations with the Roman Empire – has been rubbled. More than 60 other vital ancient locations have also been entirely destroyed or severely damaged, including medieval castles like the Sira Fortress in Aden, and the venerable Qassimi neighborhood in the capital of Sana’a.

Then there is one of the grandest draws of Queen Sheba’s city – the Great Marib Dam – which was also partially crippled in a 2015 airstrike.

Some Yemenis conjecture that the almost 3,000-year-old dam, deemed by many experts to be the world’s oldest and one the country’s most heralded attractions, was consciously targeted by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition. The unpopulated area was pounded several times in 2015, lacerating the northern sluice gate.

While both sides are blamed for igniting and continuing the devastating civil war, experts have largely pointed to the Saudi coalition as bearing responsibility for the majority of archeological destruction – either accidentally or deliberately as a means to strike the Houthi enemies or to dispirit local supporters of the rebels.

"If the targeting of heritage sits of archaeological significance continues to be falsely denied with no proper investigations or repercussions or when hit they are deemed to be collateral damage, impunity will reign," charged Mohammad Alwazir, director of legal affairs for the Arabian Rights Watch Association. "And there will be nothing left effectively standing in the way of such actions that violate the people's cultural rights." (with photos)

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/08/09/archaeologists-fear-biblical-artifacts-monuments-wont-survive-yemen-war.html

(A)

Aden port officials foil attempt to smuggle Yemeni antiques

Government says Houthi rebels are selling historical objects abroad to raise funds

Port officials in Aden seized a shipment of antiques that is suspected to be part of what the Yemeni government says is looting of the country's heritage by Houthis to fund their insurgency.

The consignment of eight objects seized last week arrived by lorry from Sanaa, the rebel-held capital, on its way to an address in Djibouti, Col Shallal Al Shoubagi of the harbour security force told The National.

Port officials asked Ali Bahasan, an official at Yemen's antiquities authority, to examine the objects.

"We found that they were artefacts from early Islamic history: jars, jugs, jambiyas, necklaces, rings - some made of silver mixed with gold, housewares made of silver and gems, in addition to boxes made of decorative wood," Mr Bahasan said.

Yemen's Culture Minister, Marwan Dammaj, has accused the Houthis of looting museums and ancient sites and selling artefacts abroad.

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/aden-port-officials-foil-attempt-to-smuggle-yemeni-antiques-1.761448

cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy

(B E P)

Infographic, by Houthi Almasirah: US, Saudi Arabia Makers of High Prices and Rising Dollar

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2310&cat_id=1

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

(A T)

Yemen ministry of defense confirmed now the death of Qaeda/ISIS leader in Mareb, Ghalib Zayedi. With hundreds if not thousands, Zayedi was fighting along side the Saudi-Emirati invaders. Zayedi was designated as a global terrorist by the US Treasury Department.

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1030848164121731073

This is the Qaeda/ISIS leader, Ghaleb Zayedi. Who was killed today in Yemen. Not by US, he used US weapons Not by Saudis, he spent Saudi money, was under Saudi force Not by UAE , he was fighting with UAE forces He was killed by Yemenis who fight US-Saudi-UAE invaders.

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1030882141700272130

(* A T)

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) renewed its threat to conduct international attacks with the publication of a new series titled, “Why are we fighting America?” An AQAP-affiliated group referred to the September 11, 2001 attacks in the publication and alluded to future installments of the series that will encourage similar attacks.[1]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-august-16-2018

(* B T)

Former al-Qaeda foot soldiers have been allowed into Yemen forces, admits UAE military

Exclusive: Top Emirati commanders say recruiting Yemeni youth, lured into al-Qaeda but left behind by the militants, deprives the terror group of more fighters and wins over local communities

The Emirati military has said it has absorbed into its local forces in Yemen former low-ranking al-Qaeda fighters left behind in the battlefield, as part of a counter-insurgency strategy, after facing backlash over its three-year battle against the terror group in the impoverished Gulf state.

The United Arab Emirates has trained 30,000 Yemeni troops to fight what the US has called al-Qaeda’s most lethal franchise, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), since intervening in Yemen in early 2015.

the Gulf coalition has faced accusations its successes were not due to military prowess but rather deals struck with AQAP, including allowing militants to leave areas with looted cash, and to fight alongside its men.

The Emirati military vehemently denied the claims as “untrue and illogical” but senior commanders have said that they had absorbed members into the Yemeni ranks, after they were extensively vetted.

“Many AQAP ‘fighters’ were just young men under their control who were coerced or persuaded to take up arms. When we cleared al-Qaeda out of urban areas, they left behind many of these men and it made sense to recruit them, because it sent a powerful message about the Yemeni commitment to liberation,” Brigadier Ali, a top UAE commander in the counter-terror operation, told The Independent.

“Counter-insurgency is primarily a battle for hearts and minds. AQAP were effective recruiters, but they did not recruit men to be terrorists, they recruited them to be soldiers. It’s important to recognise the difference in such a complex conflict zone,” Brig Ali – whose full name cannot be published for security reasons – added.

The US, which has provided substantial support to the operation, including intelligence sharing and drone strikes, vigorously denied any complicity with AQ militants earlier this week.

But questions have been raised over the methods used. A recent investigation by the Associated Press claimed that the coalition cut secret deals with al-Qaeda fighters, paid some to leave key towns and let others retreat with weapons, equipment and millions of dollars in looted cash.

It said coalition-backed forces actively recruited al-Qaeda militants, or those who were recently members, because they were considered exceptional fighters.

The report concluded that these compromises and alliances “risked strengthening the most dangerous branch of the terror network”.

“Most of the AQAP fighters are motivated by other [elements] than ideological beliefs and can be absorbed readily (reintegrated) back into mainstream society. This process involves improving the general quality of life of the individual, by re-establishing normal societal structures and processes, which improve opportunities for employment, and, it follows, general welfare and happiness,” he added.

The senior commander did not elaborate about the exact number that had been absorbed. He replied: “Not much because the fighters we recruited were mainly foot soldiers. They had little to no insights into the decision making of AQAP.” – by Bel Trew

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-civil-war-al-qaeda-soldiers-uae-military-emirati-a8494481.html

My comment: Is this report part of a pro-UAE propaganda campaign started after the AP report had objected that many of UAE’s “successes” against AQAP had relied on dirty deals? This already is the second article of this author showing this trend. There is an article exactly the same way on the German “Frankfurter Allgemeine” website reporting from Mukalla. http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/wie-die-stadt-mukalla-im-jemen-gegen-al-qaida-kaempft-15738154.html – This would be propaganda masked as journalism, which sounds softly critical in parts, but in the main is much more firmly pronouncing contradiction – and this is what will stay in readers’ minds. – Judith Brown even describes this article as: The Emirati view of Al Qaeda fighters absorbed into its ranks, https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156925941183641

Comment: The 'moderate rebels' theory we have seen in #Syria applies: Emirati military has said it has absorbed into its local forces in Yemen former low-ranking al-Qaeda fighters left behind in the battlefield, as part of a counter-insurgency strategy

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1880578391995182

Comment: Note : Ex-Al Qaeda terrorist in UAE-speak means an Al Qaeda terrorist who has been enrolled on the UAE payroll.

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/1030400882251366400

To drive the 600km+ from Sanaa back to Hadhramaut, I go 30 hours thru 120+ checkpoints, many manned by Al Qaeda terrorists who are now UAE-paid anti-AQ fighters

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/1030418724543770624

And UAE campaigns against the AP report:

(A P T)

UAE hits back at AQAP payoff report

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces held a rare press conference on 13 August to refute an Associated Press (AP) report that the successful campaign it said it had carried against the Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda involved payments and little fighting.

The AP reported on 6 August that interviews with dozens of Yemeni sources had revealed that the UAE had paid Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants to leave cities and towns, had allowed them to withdraw with their weapons, and had ignored the recruitment of others into local security forces it is supporting because it is more focused on defeating the Iranian-backed rebels in the north of the country.

“It makes me angry to hear about this accusation, it is based on nothing,” said Brigadier Musallam al-Rashidi, the former commander of the UAE’s special operations task force in Yemen in 2015–16. “How do you negotiate with someone who is not willing to negotiate?”

In his presentation, Brig Rashidi outlined the situation before the start of the operation, saying AQAP had taken advantage of political instability to take control of much of southern Yemen, turn the coastal city of Al-Mukalla into the capital of its ‘caliphate’, and earn USD2 million a day from oil revenue and port taxation.

After more than two years of UAE-backed operations, AQAP is now at its weakest point since 2012, having lost half the territory it held at its peak, he said. In the process, it has been deprived of its strategic safe havens, main revenue streams, and recruitment pools.

“Around 1,000 core AQAP fighters have been killed. In Mukalla alone, roughly about 500–600 were captured, but roughly 120–200 were killed,” Brig Rashidi said.

https://www.janes.com/article/82445/uae-hits-back-at-aqap-payoff-report

My comment: This is PR (or call it propaganda).

And Al Qaeda also denies:

(* A T)

Al-Qaida in Yemen denies AP report on secret deals with UAE

Yemen’s al-Qaida branch denied on Friday an Associated Press report saying it struck secret deals over territories it controls with the Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite rebels in the country.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula — considered the terror group’s most dangerous branch after failed attacks on U.S. soil — said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel that the report “lacks evidence, reality, or credibility.”

It added that both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have cooperated with the U.S. using “the dirtiest means,” which the group said it would uncover soon.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/al-qaida-in-yemen-denies-ap-report-on-secret-deals-with-uae/2018/08/17/34bd61b4-a243-11e8-a3dd-2a1991f075d5_story.html = http://www.startribune.com/al-qaida-in-yemen-denies-ap-report-on-secret-deals-with-uae/491120171/

and statement in Arabic, here: https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1030734555723034624

cp15 Propaganda

(A P)

Houthis Condemn Yemen Talks in Geneva to Failure

The Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen have already condemned next month’s Geneva talks with the legitimate government to failure as they seek to prolong the war and suffering of the people.
Head of the militias’ ruling council Mehdi Mshat said that the Houthis realize in advance that the upcoming talks will not yield any results.
He instead called on followers to be on alert and avoid banking on the outcomes of the Geneva consultations.
His statement confirm others made by Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam that the militias intend to ensure the failure of the United Nations-sponsored talks.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1367481/houthis-condemn-yemen-talks-geneva-failure

My comment: This is pure propaganda. The Hadi government also had declared that their expectations about the Geneva talks are low. For Saudi propaganda, this would show how bad the Houthis are. If the Houthis declare their expectations are low, then they “ condemn Yemen Talks in Geneva to Failure” and “seek to prolong the war and suffering of the people“.

(A P)

Presidential advisor: Houthis are war advocates

He accused the Houthis that they are advocates of war, and it does not

Al-Amiri, a member of the Presidential Committee on the Study of the UN's Proposals, said that the more the rebels are suffocated they more they looking for a way out of their dilemma through consultations, citing the fact that they have sabotaged all rounds of negotiations that have taken place so far.

He revealed in his statements to Okaz daily that the government believes that the political solution is the next step after the security solutions step represented by the withdrawal of militants from cities and state institutions on all Yemeni soil.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-21921

remark: What he calls the “security solutions“ are the hadi governments preconditions which mean: The Houthis must capitulate.

(A P)

WHY YEMEN'S WAR MATTERS

The president is correct when he says that the nuclear deal “threw a lifeline of cash to a murderous dictatorship that has continued to spread bloodshed, violence and chaos.”

ow that UN peace efforts appear to be falling apart, the war in Yemen is approaching a decisive battle for control of the port of Hodeidah. Iran’s role in intensifying a conflict of already epic proportions is testimony to the White House’s decision to re-impose sanctions on the Iranian regime, and thereby limit cash flow to Tehran’s regional proxy forces. The UN has proposed a plan under which the Houthis would turn over the city to a neutral international regime to guarantee humanitarian access to millions of civilians. The Houthis, however, appear to have exploited the peace negotiations to further entrench their forces in Hodeidah, actively recruiting children as young as 15 to fight on the frontlines. The Houthis can wage this campaign of aggression only because of the support they receive from their Iranian masters. The Houthis are a desert tribe. They previously had neither access to nor training in sophisticated weapons. It is clear that the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM), which provides clearance for commercial shipping to Houthi-controlled territory, has failed to stop the flow of illicit arms to the rebels.

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Why-Yemens-war-matters-565175

My comment: From Israel, a US / Saudi propaganda collection. – A new idea, might-be the most absurd one: “The Houthis can wage this campaign of aggression only because of the support they receive from their Iranian masters. The Houthis are a desert tribe. They previously had neither access to nor training in sophisticated weapons“. The Houthis are no tribe, they never lived in the desert. There had been fighting and war in Yemen since decades, there are more arms than in any other country except the US. No one on Yemen would need the Iranians or anybody else for training and arms.

(A P)

Yemeni ambassador commends UAE's 'time-honoured humanitarian legacy'

The Yemeni Ambassador to the UAE has commended the country's humanitarian efforts that, he said, are inspired by the long-lasting legacy of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

Speaking to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the occasion of the World Humanitarian Day (WHD), Ambassador Fahad Saeed Al Menhali, said the UAE's colossal efforts and contributions in his country will remain an indelible testament to the support provided by the country's wise leadership to Yemen; people and government, at a time the Houthi rebels are blocking aid convoys dispatched by the UAE to address the basic needs of locals at the embattled nation.

"The UAE humanitarian role in Yemen comes in continuation of the time-honoured relations between the two brotherly peoples and countries," he said, adding that the UAE noble humanitarian role will go down in the annals of history as the world's largest donor of development aid relative to its national income.

"Since the country's establishment in 1971, the UAE has been following in the path of goodness and nobility, the seeds of which have been sown by late Sheikh Zayed and pursued until now by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan," said the ambassador

http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302704300

Comment: Theatre of the surreal: when you praise those committing a genocide on your country

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1884497508269937

(A P)

Residents of towns liberated from Houthi occupation see better days ahead

Residents of Al Munthar, a small town close to Hodeidah Airport and the frontline, are beginning to return home following the liberation of the city by Coalition-backed Yemeni forces.

"The Houthis were here for four years and we suffered terribly. God knows it was hard. We have been back for two months now, and so far, thank god, it has been safe" one of the many returnees told the Emirates News Agency, WAM.

The Houthis "targeted the town, its schools and mosques by rockets and mortars" another resident said. This pattern of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure is one that has been replicated throughout the areas of the country occupied by the Houthis.

As Yemeni resistance forces push along the coastal road to Hodeidah, towns and villages once under Houthi control have been liberated and are coming back to life.

Houthi militias still pose a threat to the town and its citizens even after being driven out. A Yemeni resistance fighter told WAM, "The primary task is protecting the lives of the people, because the Houthis are still targeting the village and its citizens with artillery, mortars and other weapons."

Despite the risks, the townspeople see better days ahead. "Now that the legitimate government is here, we have a glimpse of a better future, better than when the Houthis were here" a resident added (with film)

http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302704280 and film also here: https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1030917954978897921

(A P)

Yemeni forces within striking distance of Hodeidah, protecting civilian life top priority

The joint Yemeni Resistance Forces, backed by the Arab Coalition fighting on behalf of the internationally recognised government in Yemen, are within striking distance of Hodeidah.

A Yemeni resistance fighter told the Emirates News Agency, WAM, "We are in the district of Derayme, which is under the control of the Houthis. The people of the city have been forbidden to leave, and many of the houses and mosques have been mined."

The Houthis' tactics of deliberately mining key civilian infrastructure and holding residents hostage for use as human shields are ones that have been replicated throughout the areas of the country occupied by the militia.

The Yemeni forces supporting the legitimate government remain optimistic, said the fighter adding, "The Houthis are harming the country. God willing, we will win this war soon."

"We will make every effort the rescue the people of this city" he added.

http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302704283

(A P)

Al-Asheikh: The Term ‘Wahhabism’ was Created to Tarnish ‘Moderation’

Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance Dr. Abdullatif Al-Asheikh has said that “moderate” Islam has been prevailing in Saudi Arabia since its establishment, blaming the enemies of moderation to the spread of the term “Wahhabism.”
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, the minister said: “Since Saudi Arabia’s establishment, one of the state’s principles is moderation.”
“But some teachers from Arab countries, having extremist thoughts, used religion for political interests,” he said.
Asked if moderate religion in Saudi Arabia had been taken hostage, the minister said: “Saudis and those living on Saudi land are moderate in nature because of the moderation adopted by the Kingdom since its inception.”

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1366676/al-asheikh-term-%E2%80%98wahhabism%E2%80%99-was-created-tarnish-%E2%80%98moderation%E2%80%99

My comment: ““Since Saudi Arabia’s establishment, one of the state’s principles is moderation.” LOL, LOL, LOL. If he does not like the word Wahabism let‘s call it djeoobebeui for instance and it will stay the most extremist form of Islam existing.

Comment: It must be the heatwave and consequent brains boiling: #SaudiArabia, the motherland of #wahhabism, accusing the outside world for wahhabism

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1883673848352303

(A P

Khalid bin Salman: We won’t allow Houthis to become another Hezbollah

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US Prince Khalid bin Salman said on Thursday that the Kingdom won’t allow the Houthi militias to be another Hezbollah, in reference to Lebanese pro-Iranian militia, stressing that this is what the Islamic Republic of Iran is seeking.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-21924

(A P)

Saudi Arabia's US ambassador posts evidence of Hezbollah in Yemen

Raid captures evidence of Hezbollah fighters overseeing Houthi militias on battlefields and training grounds

Saudi Arabia's ambassador in Washington has set out evidence of Hezbollah's deep involvement in the war in Yemen, including footage of commanders directing training for Houthi rebels.

Prince Khalid bin Salman used a Twitter thread to show documentary evidence that the Iranian-backed Lebanese group was overseeing units of the Houthi militia that ousted the country's internationally-recognised government.

https://www.thenational.ae/world/saudi-arabia-s-us-ambassador-posts-evidence-of-hezbollah-in-yemen-1.760997

My comment: This “evidence” is ca. two years old. Sit down in a tent and easily you can produce lots more of such “evidence”. You just need a cellphone.

And the US State Department is also spreading this, with a propaganda text:

(A P)

A section of a rolling element appears in the militia # Party of God # Houthis teach how to use civilian vehicles, such as water tanks and mail vehicles to smuggle gunmen.

This is in line with the policy of deception and deception followed by the Iranian regime.

Yemen # Lebanon # Iran # Syria

https://twitter.com/DOTArabic/status/1030525935903301633

Comment: Eh? WTF is this? Is the US @StateDept now seconded outright to Saudi Arabia to push Saudi propaganda for the Yemen war?

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/1030604226026721283

(A P)

YEMEN: HADI GOVERNMENT CALLS ON THE US CONGRESS TO HELP PRESSURE THE HOUTHIS

The government of Hadi, loyal to the Saudi coalition , on Thursday, called on the US Congress to help it put pressure on the Houthis Ansar Allah Group.

The Yemeni embassy in Washington sent a message to the US Congress, saying it must "support the UN envoy to Yemen and exert maximum pressure on the Houthis to hold peace talks immediately."

Hadi government, which described itself as America's strategic ally, said: "We aspire to a peaceful solution to this conflict! We will continue to make every effort to achieve this development and pressure on this outcome."

"The United States Congress must help its strategic ally in forcing the Houthis to end the conflict," Hadi government said.

The government expressed its understanding of what it described as "the concerns of the US Congress of the conflict in Yemen" and said: "Let us work together to make peace in Yemen now!"

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1880801538639534

My comment: This is a propaganda letter asking for more partisanship just when there is a little more concern in Congress for Saudi coalition war crimes in Yemen. This letter is good for the Congress dust bin.

(A P)

Militärkonflikt im Jemen: Iran direkt involviert – Vize-Verteidigungsminister

Iran beteiligt sich direkt an dem Konflikt im Jemen und versorgt die Huthi-Rebellen der schiitischen Bewegung „Ansar Allah“ mit ballistischen Raketen. Dies teilte der stellvertretende Verteidigungsminister des Jemens, Abdul Qader Al Amoudi, am Freitag mit.

„Der Iran ist direkt in den andauernden Krieg involviert. Er versieht die Huthis mit ballistischen Raketen und hilft ihnen, Raketen, die früher im Betrieb (der jemenitischen Armee – Anm. d. Red.) waren und von den Huthis übernommen wurden, zu modernisieren“, so der Vize-Verteidigungsminister des Jemen.

https://de.sputniknews.com/politik/20180816321972267-jemen-militaerkonflikt-iran-involvierung/

Mein Kommentar: Das wird seitens der Hadi-Regierung dauernd behauptet – richtig wird es aber dadurch auch nicht.

(A P)

Yemeni Deputy Minister Accuses Iran of Supplying Ballistic Missiles to Houthis

Iran has repeatedly denied that it provides Houthis with weapons, while however, admitting to politically supporting the Shiite movement that has been fighting the government of President Hadi and a Saudi-led coalition.

The Yemeni deputy defense minister Abdel Kader Al Amoudi has accused Iran of supplying ballistic missiles to the Shiite Houthi movement and assisting the rebels in modernizing old rockets.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201808161067236170-yemen-houthis-ballistic-missiles-iran/

My comment: By repeating this story again and again, it does not become more real.

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

Siehe / Look at cp1c

(* A K pH)

Saudi coalition air raids day by day:

Aug. 18: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1534677369./1116526051831092/?type=3

Aug. 17: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1534677369./1116525085164522/?type=3

Aug. 16: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1534677369./1116523998497964/?type=3

Aug. 15: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1116523285164702/?type=3

(A K pH)

Aggression’s Daily Update for Saturday, August 18, 2018

In Saada, a child was injured by bomb exploded that US-Saudi aggression had launched on residential areas in Razih district.

Also in Saada, 6 raids were launched on different areas in Alzaher district, a raid on the main road which connect between Razih and Shida districts, Three raids on civilians' houses in Baqim district, as well as missiles and artillery shells bombing targeted populated villages in Munabeh and Shida districts.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2307&cat_id=1

(A K pH)

We woke up now to US-Saudi bombings! 8 US-Saudi airstrikes hit the small village of Ghurza, Hamdan, at the northern suburb of the caiptal Sanaa. The airstrikes destroyed all properties of the residents, like cars, farms, etc.

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1030678322550857729

US-Saudi hysterical bombings on Yemeni capital continue. 13 US-Saudi airstrikes hit NOW the military base of Sama Arhab in the northern suburb of the capital Sanaa. The same place was hit thousands of times since March 2015.

https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1030692629573451776

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505533.htm

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505637.htm

and by the Saudi side:

(A K pS)

Arab Coalition Destroys Houthi Air Defense System in Sanaa

The Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen announced on Saturday that it has destroyed a SAM 6 anti-aircraft missile system belonging for the Iran-backed Houthis in Sanaa.
The coalition said that its possession of such a system threatens air navigation and relief efforts, reported Al-Arabiya.net.
It vowed that it will prevent the terrorist group from acquiring capabilities that could threaten air navigation.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1367486/arab-coalition-destroys-houthi-air-defense-system-sanaa

My comment: Really??? At which site? At the military camp? The same place was hit thousands of times since March 2015. You should not try to kid the public.

(A K pH)

4 Civilians Killed and Injured by US-Saudi Aggression Strikes in Hodaidah

Two civilians were killed and two others were injured on Friday by US-Saudi Aggression strikes targeted farms in Tahita district, in Hodeidah governorate (photo)

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2290&cat_id=1

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505522.htm

(A K pH)

Aggression’s Daily Update for Thursday, August 16, 2018

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2274&cat_id=1

(* A K pH)

More Saudi coalition air raids recorded on:

August 19:

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505623.htm Hodeidah p.

August 17:

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505469.htm Saada p.

August 16:

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505344.htm Saada p.

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

Siehe / Look at cp1b

(A K pS)

Thousands of mines cleared by MASAM in Marib, Saada, Yemen

Thousands of mines planted by the Houthi rebels across Yemeni territories are being removed by the teams of the Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance (MASAM), who have recently managed to clear large areas in Marib and Saada of an unprecedented volume of landmines and unexploded weapons that contaminate rural and urban war zones, maiming and killing innocents civilians.

In Yemen, the buried explosives were planted by the coup perpetrators in a random manner as part of a slash-and-burn retreat typical of rebel groups.

http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302704383

(A K pH)

In Saada, a civilian was killed and three others were injured by missiles and artillery shells targeted their houses in Shida border district

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2307&cat_id=1

(A K)

Yemeni journalist killed while covering clashes

Yemeni journalist Ahmed al Musabi was killed after an artillery shell struck him, along a number of government forces, a military spokesman said.

The military spokesman said al-Musabi was a spokesman for the pro-government forces and director of its media center in the southern Shabwa province.

https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/yemeni-journalist-killed-while-covering-clashes-19671

(A K pH)

Ballistic missile , Badr 1, targets new Saudi forces camp in Najran

The army and popular forces' missile force fired on Friday ballistic missile in Najran, a military official told Saba on Saturday .

The missile force launched a ballistic missile Badr-1 on a new camp of Saudi army in Najran, it hit its target accurately and left heavy losses among the Saudi enemy's ranks he added .

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505523.htm

My comment: Houthi claim.

And

(A K pS)

Ballistic missile intercepted over Najran

Saudi air defenses intercepted a rocket fired by the Houthis in the direction of the Saudi city of Najran which borders Yemen.

According to Saudi sources, the air defenses intercepted late on Friday, a rocket launched by the Houthi militia from Yemeni territories towards the Najran region.

The sources did not say whether there were casualties or damages caused by the missile's interception

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-21922

(* A K pH)

The al Houthi movement announced that it will resume operations in the Red Sea area. The al Houthi movement had paused attacks on Red Sea targets in July after attacking two Saudi Aramco oil tankers in the Bab al Mandab Strait.[2]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-august-17-2018

(* A K pS)

Yemeni Army Captures Part of Saada

The Yemeni army has captured the Baqem Directorate in the northwestern Saada province from Houthi rebels, a military source said Thursday.

If confirmed, Baqem would be the first directorate of Saada -- a traditional Houthi stronghold -- to fall to the army.

Brigadier-General Yasser al-Harthi, commander of the army’s 102nd Brigade, said that “dozens” of Houthi fighters had been killed or captured in the fighting.

Anadolu Agency, however, has yet to independently verify al-Harthi’s assertions.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/yemen-army-establishes-foothold-in-houthi-stronghold/1233133 = https://www.albawaba.com/news/yemeni-army-captures-part-saada-1174820

My comment: “Yemeni Army“ = president Hadi army / militia. – Baqem is among the directorates which had been most horribly hit by Saudi coalition air raids. – Whether this report is true or propaganda, we will see. There should be no more air raids at Baqem then.

And

(* A K pS)

Yemen Army Captures Hiran Region in Hajjah

The Yemeni national army, backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, seized on Thursday the Hiran and Aahem districts in the Hajjah province.

It also captured the international road that connects Hajjah to Hodeidah.

In the Saada region, the forces liberated from the Iran-backed Houthi militias a number of villages and areas overlooking the al-Malahith market in al-Dhaher, one of the biggest and most important markets in the region.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1365146/yemen-army-captures-hiran-region-hajjah

photos: https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1030120462582513664

film: https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/1030751970716536833

My comment: “Yemeni Army“ = president Hadi army / militia. – Hajjah is among the provinctes which had been most horribly hit by Saudi coalition air raids. – Whether this report is true or propaganda, we will see. There should be no more air raids at this part of Hajjah then.

(A K pH)

Yemeni army fires ballistic missile at Saudi forces in Najran

The forces of the Yemeni army and Popular Committees, in a retaliatory attack against the Saudi-led coalition, fired a domestically made ballistic missile at Saudi Arabia’s border city of Najran, local media reports said.
The missile command of Yemen’s army and Popular Committees announced that its forces targeted a gathering of Saudi military forces in Najran with a Badr-1 ballistic missile, the Arabic-language al-Masirah TV reported.

http://en.abna24.com/news/middle-east/yemeni-army-fires-ballistic-missile-at-saudi-forces-in-najran_905668.html

www.sabanews.net/en/news505353.htm

(A K pH)

Saada prov.: Saudi army shelled artillery and rockets on the border districts of Bakim and Razeeh.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news505344.htm

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-446-yemen-war-mosaic-446

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-446 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-446:

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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