Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 456 - Yemen War Mosaic 456

Yemen Press Reader 456: 12. September 2018: Sterben im Dunkeln, um die Saudi-US-NATO-Kriegsmaschine zu befeuern – Die Kriegsmaschine der Huthis – Die US-Kriegsmaschine und die Bewaffnung ...

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Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

... Die US-Kriegsmaschine und die Bewaffnung repressiver Regime – Studie zweifelt an, dass Saudi Arabien für Großbritannien von Nutzen ist – und mehr

September 12, 2018: Starving off-camera, fueling Saudi-US-NATO war machine – The Houthi war machine – The U.S. War Machine and the Arming of Repressive Regimes – Study questions Saudis’ utility for Britain – and more

Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Klassifizierung / Classification

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

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics

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

cp2 Allgemein / General

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

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

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp9 USA

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade

cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

cp15 Propaganda

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

Klassifizierung / Classification

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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

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

(** B H K P)

Starving Off-Camera: In Yemen 20 Million Fuel the Saudi-US-NATO War Machine

Within days of starting the war, Saudi Arabia imposed a total land, air and sea blockade, along with targeting vital agriculture and food supply infrastructure that sustains life for the 29 million Yemenis — all of which constitute war crimes under international law.

The UN estimates that nearly 20 million Yemenis could die of starvation by the end of this year. That’s about 70 percent of the entire population.

That horrific number includes more than 2 million children who are already going hungry, including 500,000 who are suffering from severe malnutrition.

The people of Yemen have found themselves struggling not only for survival, but for a space in the Western media’s war coverage.

In the shadow of the conflict in Syria, the men, women and children of Yemen are being deliberately starved and targeted by strategic airstrikes and an illegal blockade in a war initiated by Saudi Arabia and aided, massively if not entirely, by the United States.

Within days of starting the war, Saudi Arabia imposed a total land, air and sea blockade, along with targeting vital agriculture and food supply infrastructure that sustains life for the 29 million Yemenis — all of which constitute war crimes under international law.

Saudi Arabia opened its checkbook in response to a UN appeal for funds, contributing nearly $300 million to cover the most urgent humanitarian aid to Yemen. But that Saudi aid would come at a steep price, and with more than a few strings attached, considering this was the same nation bombing Yemen and creating the disaster to begin with.

While the UN accepted Saudi money, it also allowed Saudi Arabia to weaponize humanitarian aid by blocking all aid shipments from reaching the starving population.

This meant that medicine, food, water treatment supplies, and basic necessities for survival were prevented from entering Yemen, exacerbating the already dire situation.

According to data collected by local rights groups, Saudi Arabia has waged over 230,000 airstrikes on Yemen since 2015, with the intention of deliberately targeting Yemen’s lifeline for survival: its food supply.

Fishing boats, fishermen and fish markets became targets of the Saudi-U.S.-backed coalition warships and helicopters in the Red Sea, depleting Yemen’s access to it’s key food staples.

To make food-supply matters even worse, the U.S.-backed Saudi air raids intentionally targeted agricultural fields, marketplaces and food-storage sites from March 2015 to the end of June 2018, creating the perfect storm to ignite famine and starvation.

Yemen relies on maritime imports for more than 80 percent of its annual staple food supplies.

Although staples remain available, the Saudi import restrictions, combined with a rapidly depreciating currency, mean food prices have skyrocketed.

Millions of Yemenis can no longer afford to buy food, forcing more than 75 percent of the population to rely on humanitarian assistance — aid that is mostly controlled and blocked by Saudi Arabia.

As the crisis rages on with no accountability in sight, Yemen’s last remaining lifeline is under threat: Hodeida, relied upon by 18 million Yemenis, is home to the major port where virtually all aid and food must enter the impoverished and war-ravished nation currently importing 90 percent of its food.

While creating a state of affairs that intensifies hunger for over 20 million people, Saudi Arabia has faced no accountability from the international community. Instead, it has enjoyed receiving billions worth of weapons from the U.S. and the U.K., training from the U.S. military, and a major position on a human-rights panel at the UN, only enabling what can best be described as genocide.

Perhaps Saudi impunity derives from the fact that this war is also the fuel that fires up the United States and NATO’s war machine, which allows for the continuation of resource exploitation, war on terror, military occupation and destabilization in the small but strategic and resource-rich nation.

This cynical agenda has forced Yemen to become the new face of skeletal children in the 21st century – by AbdulRahman Qahtan and Mnar Muhawesh

https://www.mintpressnews.com/starving-off-camera-in-yemen-20-million-fuel-the-saudi-us-nato-war-machine/249064/

and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZP7CLDx6Vc

(** B K P)

See my new @CTCWP Sentinel article here, which focuses on the evolution of the Houth war machine in Yemen from 2004-2018

This thread will explore key findings

I was drawn to the Houthi wars in the 2004-2010 period when I working working on Yemen and in Yemen. I had a lot of sympathy for the Houthis back then, seeing them as the victims of brutal Yemeni gov't counter-insurgency actions & Saudi support for unpleasant Salafi militias.

I still feel the Houthis were badly - badly - mishandled in the 2004-2010 period, and that Iranian involvement with them during that period was minimal. Yet looking at them since 2015 again, I was blown away by the altered ambition & capabilities of the Houthis. What changed?

This @CTCWP piece allowed me to draw together years of collation & interviewing, most recently including three trips onto the Yemen front lines this year, to look at how and why the Houthis evolved from guerrilla fighters to medium range ballistic missile operators in just 5 yrs

This question is interesting & important for a number of reasons. Just in terms of military science/strategic studies; is technology so easy to field now that a movement such as the Houthis can, in fact, make such a jump organically? Or do they need a leg-up from a state actor?

From a US policy perspective, the question is important; is Iran (1) not involved in Yemen; (2) being used by the Houthis; or (3) in a position of growing influence over the Houthis? Is the war driving the Houthis towards Iran, or are they fellow travelers notwithstanding?

I carefully reviewed my old data on the Houthi wars in 2004-2010 plus excellent scholarship by RAND, April Longley Alley & Marieke Brandt. This established a baseline: what progress did Houthis achieve on their own? The answer: strong linear military evolution of guerrilla ops

Some analysts feel confident the Houthis took their next step - 180-mile offensives and med-range ballistic missile shots at Riyadh - through state capture in 2011-2014. I dug deep into this with weapons intel folks & persons who operated both with & against the Hoots since '14.

State capture was certainly part of the rise in Houthi military capabilities since 2011 but it is not the whole story. The Houthis worked with Lebanese Hizballah and IRGC from 2011 onward, with strong evidence of Iranian arming of the Houthis (on the Leb Hizb model) from 2013.

I spend a few very interesting paragraphs on the role of Iran in Yemen in 2009-2014. IRGC was intrigued by the Houthi-Saudi war of 2009-10; it saw potential in the 2011 Arab Spring; and it always saw the Red Sea ports as the main artery for their military aid.

In the sections on the 2015-2018 Houthi war machine in my new @ctcwp piece, I debut a LOT of new operational data on Ansar Allah, the Houthi-led militia. First I looked at their successful broadening of the movement's indoctrination and recruitment.

The accumulated balance of evidence strongly suggests that Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah have developed powerful military and technical advisory missions in Yemen since 2014. According to Yemeni leaders present in Sana’a between 2014 and 2017, IRGC advisors were confined to Sana’a and to a missile construction site in Sa’ada. These advisors were “like a diamond to the Houthis” and were “kept in safe places to help give operational and strategic advice and guidance on tactics and procedures.”86 Lebanese Hezbollah operatives were more numerous and were not only kept in Sana’a and Sa’ada but also allowed forward as far as command posts and the Red Sea coastal defense sites.87 Hezbollah provided mentoring and training in infantry tactics, ATGM operations, offensive mine warfare, and anti-shipping attacks.88 A number of small-scale military industries have been established since 2014 to support the Houthi war effort and maximize domestic reuse and production capabilities, in order to minimize the effect of the international arms embargo on the Houthi movement. A land-mine production facility was established in Sa’ada, feeding around 20 tons of mines per day to distribution hubs in Sana’a, Hodeida, and Dhamar. .89

Thrifty would be one word to describe the IRGC/Leb Hizballah model in Yemen: an incredible return on investment. In my view, they brought in much of what they needed in 2014. Thereafter they salvaged, co-opted, locally built, and topped-up with specialist imports & advisors

I went into this research feeling the Houthis could be defeated on any battlefield, and were succumbing to attrition. I was laboring under a delusion they might be willing 2 cut their losses & retrench on Saada & northern highlands. But they won't leave Sanaa & they can defend it

The Houthis are a very rich case study for students of hybrid warfare. They excel at "micro-warband" operations under conditions of enemy air supremacy. Now they have been taught how 2 pull geopolitical strategic levers, exploiting collateral damage, sea-lane stability, missiles.

In this research I don't conclude that the Houthis are an Iranian proxy - yet - but I think anyone would have to be naive or disingenuous to fail to see the potential for greater Iranian influence over Houthi leaders who share Iran's worldview, anti-Westernism, and enemies.

Regardless of how it started, it will end with a southern Hizballah on the Red Sea/Bab el-Mandab/Suez/west KSA/Israel south flank unless something changes. Maybe, as Martin Griffiths hopes, that is peace, but a peace with the Houthis controlling the Red Sea coast? Hizballah redux – by Michael Knights

https://twitter.com/Mikeknightsiraq/status/1039184116913197058

and this is the full study:

(** B K P)

The Houthi War Machine: From Guerrilla War to State Capture

Abstract: The Houthi rebels have been at war with the Yemeni government almost constantly since 2004. In the first six years, the Houthis fought an increasingly effective guerrilla war in their mountainous home provinces, but after 2010, they metamorphosed into the most powerful military entity in the country, capturing the three largest cities in Yemen. The Houthis quickly fielded advanced weapons they had never before controlled, including many of Iranian origin. The story of how they moved from small-arms ambushes to medium-range ballistic missiles in half a decade provides a case study of how an ambitious militant group can capture and use a state’s arsenals and benefit from Iran’s support. – by Michael Knights

https://ctc.usma.edu/houthi-war-machine-guerrilla-war-state-capture/

My comment: In previous articles, the author had shown he was a firmly supporting the Saudi coalition in Yemen, pro-US interventionalism, US anti-Iranian paranoia. His newest article, published by “The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point” also could let us imagine that we simply get another propaganda story here. But in large part this is a detailed study, and the author is making great concessions contradicting the well-known US and Saudi viewpoints and propaganda.

In detail:

A positive view of the early Houthi movement, its goals and politics, even in the phase of early Houthi militarization and fighting against the Saleh regime and the Saudis in 2004–2010.

What Knights is calling “State capture” – simply the fact that the Houthis succeeded in achieving the main role in the government and a close alliance with the greater part of the army – was the base of their great success.

After 2015, Iran exported only few arms to Yemen. According to Knights, “they brought in much of what they needed in 2014”. Thus, according to Knights, Saudi coalition propaganda on arms smuggle via Hodeidah must be baseless.

On his claim of IRGC and Hezbollah advisers, Knights relies on interviews he had held in early 2018. It seems he did not take serious the “evidence” Saudi propaganda had presented for the presence of such advisers. Anyway, Knights himself just relies on these interviews; he hardly could have verified this by himself. Nobody can tell if the information given by these informants is real or if they told him what he wanted to believe or what they wanted him to believe. Of course, there can be such advisers in Yemen.

Knights thinks that there is a Yemeni arms industry which had produced or modified the missiles used by the Houthis.

Knights admits that the Houthis (yet) not are an Iranian proxy, thus calling lies Saudi coalition and Western propaganda claiming exactly this.

But, what Knights does not see at all (for him, the US might be the best country on earth): From the very beginning, US politics against the Houthis was a full mistake, failure and disaster:

The US had supported the Saleh regime and the Saudis against the Houthis, from the very beginning in 2004.

The US politics against the Houthis had driven them more and more into Iran’s arms.

The US support of the Saudi war in Yemen had increased this effect even more, until today. When Knights laments that for the future there will be “potential for greater Iranian influence over Houthi leaders”, this will be the direct consequence of US policy backing and arming the Saudis in the Yemen war, giving the US the role of an anti-Houthi warring party in Yemen, even forcing the Houthis to accept more Iranian support and influence. When Knight laments that the Yemen crisis “will end with a southern Hizballah on the Red Sea”, this is just the US’s fault. By no means, this must not be what will happen, if the US would change its approach.

But – and Knight is fully failing here – this is not what he recommends the US to do. He even seems to recommend the contrary: He doubts “a peace with the Houthis controlling the Red Sea coast”, thus he asks for more US interference to stop the Houthis. And this only could worsen the situation even more.

And do not forget this: All warring parties in the Yemen War are „war machines“. Compared to Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, the Houthi „war machine“ is a dwarf. Saudi Arabia is world’s second largest importer of arms (India is on place 1), the Emirates are in place 3.

But, compared to the US, all other „war machines“ of the Middle East just are dwarfs. For military, the US spends 10 to 12 times more compared to Saudi Arabia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures). The United States spends more on defense than the next seven countries on the list (https://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0053_defense-comparison). The US is the world’s by far largest „war machine“ which can threaten all places on earth, compared to the Houthi “war machine“ in a tiny third-world country.

(** B K P)

Bombing Yemeni School Children for Profit

Unfortunately, killing and maiming civilians with US weapons is a regular occurrence

Unfortunately, killing and maiming civilians with US weapons is a regular occurrence, as evidenced in our new CODEPINK report War Profiteers: The US War Machine and the Arming of Repressive Regimes. The report focuses on the five largest US arms manufacturers – Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics – and their dealings with three repressive nations: Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt.

The absolute monarchy of Saudi Arabia uses US weapons to repress internal dissent and bomb Yemen into a humanitarian crisis that has spread death, cholera and famine.

The examples cited above are just the tip of the iceberg, yet the arms industry turns a blind eye to the carnage and chaos it produces. The companies see only the revenues on their balance sheets, which are always in the black, never in the red like the blood that flows from the real-world results of the weapons they produce.

The current regime of US arms exports is part of a deliberate strategy to outsource US war-making, projecting military power through U.S.-armed allies as a substitute for direct US military action. This minimizes domestic opposition from a war-weary public, while serving the interests of the weapons industry with ever-growing sales or “military aid” to repressive governments.

A useful framework for understanding the forces driving the US weapons industry is through the concept of the “military-industrial complex,” which President Eisenhower warned against in his extraordinary farewell speech to the nation in 1961.

Eisenhower was deeply conscious of his tragic failure to end the Cold War or rein in the military industrial complex, and he gave his farewell speech in the full awareness that his successors would be even more susceptible to these dangerous influences. He was even blunter in a meeting with his closest aides, telling them, “God help this country when someone sits in this chair who doesn’t know the military as well as I do.”

God help us indeed! Not one of the eleven men who succeeded Eisenhower has stood up to these corrupting powers. When the Cold War finally ended in 1991, the dominant influence of the military-industrial complex ensured that the “peace dividend” the whole world so desperately hoped for was quickly trumped by the “power dividend,” an expansion of US military power to exploit the vacuum left by the fall of the U.S.S.R.

Small reductions in US military spending were offset by increased US arms sales to foreign governments. The Bush administration used the First Gulf War in 1991 as a showcase for the destructive power of US weapons

In a kind of perverse irony, the biggest bonanza for the arms industry was the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. The US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq served as a pretext for a massive increase in US weapons spending. Between 1999 and 2011, the US spent $1.3 trillion on its wars, but above and beyond that is the $1.8 trillion spent to buy new warplanes, warships, weapons and equipment, most of which were unrelated to wars the US was actually fighting.

As Obama launched his 2012 reelection campaign on the strength of winding down US military involvement overseas, General Dynamics’ annual reportpresciently reassured its investors that “while the level of US defense spending will be impacted by…fiscal realities, there is not a foreseeable peace dividend.”

Then, as Trump took office in 2017, the Wall Street Journal predicted that “the global aerospace and defense (A&D) sector is likely to experience stronger growth in 2017 after multiple positive but subdued years,” thanks to a “resurgence of global security threats, anticipated increases in US defense budgets,” and increased global arms sales. The Journal was right: the stocks of major arms producers hit record highs in 2017.

The time has come to look at the correlation between these record arms sales and the Saudi bombing of little school boys in Yemen, the Israeli shooting of peaceful protesters in Gaza, and the Egyptian government’s record of extrajudicial killings and torture.

The weapons manufacturers, referred to by Pope Francis as the “merchants of death,” rely on a catastrophic business model that feeds on chaos, political instability, human rights violations, disregard for international law, and the triumph of militarism and brinkmanship over diplomacy – by Medea Benjamin

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/09/11/bombing-yemeni-school-children-profit = https://original.antiwar.com/mbenjamin/2018/09/11/bombing-yemeni-school-children-for-profit/

My comment: What this really means: If the Yemen war once would be over, another country or other countries must be found to suffer what Yemen is suffering now...

and

(** B K P)

War Profiteers: The U.S. War Machine and the Arming of Repressive Regimes

This report focuses on the five largest U.S. arms manufacturers—Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics—and their dealings with three repressive nations: Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt.

The United States is the leading purveyor of arms sales, global war and militarism. With 800 military bases in 80 countries around the world, the U.S. has a larger military budget than the next seven countries combined, as well as an arms industry that dominates the global arms trade

Officially sanctioned terms like “defense” and “security” act as a subterfuge to diminish and camouflage the deadly, dangerous and destabilizing role that the United States is playing in the world.

U.S. policy has bastardized the true meaning and accepted concept of the word “defense”. This has been true especially since the 1980s, as successive U.S. administrations have increasingly used the U.S. armed forces in an offensive rather than a defensive way, to attack other countries from Nicaragua and Panama to Iraq and Libya. Far from bringing security to people at home and abroad, these interventions have created more global insecurity, disrupting the lives of ordinary people and exacerbating tensions between nuclear-armed nations.

When international opinion and findings disagree with actions of the U.S. military and government, the U.S. typically finds its own rationale and way of doing exactly as it pleases, citing that its actions are “in the best interest of the United States.” For example, in 1986, when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) convicted the U.S. government of using force illegally against Nicaragua by supporting the Contras and by mining Nicaraguan harbors, the U.S. formally withdrew from the binding jurisdiction of the court. When the Nicaraguan government asked the UN Security Council to enforce the payment of reparations ordered by the court, the U.S. predictably vetoed the resolution.

Since then, the U.S. has committed increasingly regular and systematic violations of international law behind a carefully constructed wall of impunity, a pattern only exacerbated by the end of the Cold War and the crimes of September 11th.

Far from bringing protection or “humanitarian intervention” to suffering people overseas, America’s wars have instead plunged country after country into seemingly endless violence, chaos and insecurity.

Once conscious of what the U.S. government is doing in the name of its people, we must ask, what drives an already rich and powerful country like the United States to systematically violate international law in a destabilizing and dangerous bid for global military dominance?

A useful framework for understanding the forces driving U.S. militarism is the idea of the “military-industrial complex,” which President Eisenhower warned against in his extraordinary farewell speech to the nation in 1961.

When the Cold War finally ended in 1991, the dominant influence of the military-industrial complex ensured that the “peace dividend” the whole world so desperately hoped for was quickly trumped by the “power dividend,” an expansion of U.S. military power to exploit the vacuum left by the fall of the U.S.S.R.

Although no foreign country or government was responsible for the crimes of September 11, 2001, the U.S. responded by unleashing its war machine on Afghanistan, Iraq and several other countries. Successive U.S. administrations now seem committed to a perpetual state of war, oblivious to both the human cost in the countries targeted and the drain on U.S. national resources.

Despite the incredible human and financial costs of Washington’s 17 years of war (and counting), the United States continues to cling to and even expand its military ambitions, repeatedly doubling down on catastrophic failure.

As of 2018, U.S. forces were still at war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, Syria and Somalia. In Yemen, they have been taking part in a Saudi-led war that has plummeted this already poor country into a humanitarian disaster. Since 2009, the 70,000 troops of U.S. Special Operations Command have been deployed to 133 countries on “secret” operations that Americans are not allowed to know ab

A recent study by the UN Development Program called Journey to Extremism in Africa: Drivers, Incentives and the Tipping Point for Recruitment found that over 70% of “extremists” in Africa report that it was the killing or detention of a relative or close friend by “security forces” that drove them to the fateful and potentially deadly decision to join an armed group. In other words, it is the militarized “war on terror” itself that is driving people to join these armed groups, by perpetuating the very terror it was conjured up to eliminate.

After 17 years of post-9/11 warfare that has cost trillions of dollars and millions of lives, the military madness that the U.S. has unleashed is, predictably, as violent, chaotic and unresolved as ever – by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies

https://www.codepink.org/war_profiteers_us_war_machine_and_the_arming_of_repressive_regimes

and full report https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/codepink/pages/11652/attachments/original/1536547931/War_Profiteers_The_US_War_Machine_the_Arming_of_Repressive_Regimes_Sept_2018.pdf?1536547931

(** B K P)

UK: Aimlessly Aiding and Abetting Saudi Arabia?

New report questions Saudi Arabia’s utility for Britain.

Although focused on British-Saudi economic and political relations, the report by King’s College London and the Oxford Research Group is significant.

It calls into question not only British, but also by implication long-standing Western willingness to turn a blind eye to the kingdom’s violations of human rights and its conduct of the Yemen war that has produced one of the worst humanitarian crises in post-World War Two history.

Applying a cost-benefit analysis, the Kings College/Oxford Research Group report concluded that Britain enjoys limited economic benefit from its relationship with Saudi Arabia while suffering considerable reputational damage.

This runs counter to the position of the government of Prime Minister Theresa May and popular perception.

The report noted that Britain’s $8 billion in exports to Saudi Arabia accounted for a mere 1% of total exports in 2016. Furthermore, the British Treasury reaped $38.5 million in revenues from arms sales — or a paltry 0.004% of the Treasury’s total income in 2016.

This analysis validates the conclusion of a 2016 study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) that “arms exports cannot be said to represent an important part of the UK economy, and even less so of the labor market, despite the prominence of the ‘jobs argument’ among politicians and industry figures seeking to promote and defend arms exports.”

The King’s College/Oxford Research report also took issue with assertions by successive British governments that trade and weapons sales as well as support for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reform program enable Britain to influence Saudi policy and introduce democratic and human rights values. According to the report:

There is little evidence, based on publicly available information, that the UK exerts either influence or leverage over Saudi Arabia. In fact, there is greater evidence that Saudi Arabia exerts influence over the UK. There is a contradiction between the UK presenting itself as a progressive, liberal country and defender of the international rules-based order, while at the same time providing diplomatic cover for a regime, which, based on our analysis, is undermining that rules-based order

It warned that “the UK appears to be incurring reputational costs as a result of its relationship with Saudi Arabia, while the economic benefits to the UK are questionable.” – by James M. Dorsey

https://www.theglobalist.com/uk-saudi-arabia-arms-trade-yemen/

referring to

(** B K P)

Britain’s relationship with Saudi Arabia does far more damage than it’s worth

Few benefits for UK from security relationship with Saudi Arabia

The UK gains little from its controversial defence and security relationship with Saudi Arabia, according to a new report from the Policy Institute at King’s College London.

The findings contradict the UK government’s claims that the relationship enables it to exert significant influence over the Gulf state’s policies and actions in the Middle East.

The report, Security cooperation with Saudi Arabia: Is it worth it for the UK?, argues that Saudi Arabia in fact influences the UK’s actions, rather than the other way around. It cites the UK government’s history of covering up allegations of corruption related to arms deals with the country, and the Home Office’s decision last year to withhold publication of a report into terrorist financing that would have reflected poorly on Saudi Arabia.

The authors also find limited economic benefits for the UK from its ties with the country. Exports to Saudi Arabia represented just 1% of the UK’s total exports in 2016, while it is estimated that arms sales bring in just £30 million for the Treasury – equal to 0.004% of its total revenue in 2017.

The report further questions the reputational cost of the relationship for the UK, citing the contentious Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen which has drawn international criticism and resulted in three-quarters of the Yemeni population requiring humanitarian assistance or protection since 2015.

Armida van Rij, Researcher at the Policy Institute, said:

‘While we have found scant evidence that the UK’s security relationship with Saudi Arabia buys it any influence over the country’s actions, or that this relationship is economically beneficial for the UK, there is plenty of evidence that Saudi Arabia is an oppressive regime that commits human rights abuses on a regular basis. The government should consider whether these very clear costs of being associated with Saudi Arabia outweigh the supposed benefits.’

Funded by the Remote Warfare Programme of the Oxford Research Group, the report calls for greater transparency with regard to the UK’s security relationship with Saudi Arabia, as not enough is known to justify the importance currently placed on the relationship by the UK government.

The authors argue that by providing diplomatic cover for an autocratic regime with a poor human rights record, the UK’s position on Saudi Arabia is in conflict with its role as a defender of the international rules-based order – a role that has been affirmed as a key part of the government’s ‘Global Britain’ agenda post-Brexit – by Armida van Rij and Benedict Wilkinson

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/policy-institute/news/newsrecords/2018/few-benefits-for-uk-from-security-relationship-with-saudi-arabia.aspx

and this is the report in full:

(** B K P)

Security cooperation with Saudi Arabia: Is it worth it for the UK?

The UK-Saudi Arabia relationship is a microcosm of all the difficult choices the UK is going to have to make once it has left the EU. There are serious, but as of yet, unanswered questions about the role the UK wants to pursue on the world stage, who it will seek to do this with and how it will financially account for this. More specifically, which military and diplomatic capabilities should the UK maintain, and which no longer bring added value in today’s world? Clearly, these decisions have consequences in the UK: cutting certain military capabilities inevitably means job losses in some of the UK’s higher unemployment regions. Should the UK prioritise its economic interests over adherence to international norms and law? Or is there an alternative, a way of making these choices complementary, rather than contradictory, of each other? These are important issues which need to tackled by government, as decisions and trade-offs on foreign policy have consequences for relations with allies like Saudi Arabia.

This relationship is long-standing and heavily concentrated on security; a key pillar of the relationship is the flow of arms from the UK to Saudi Arabia. Yet the defence and security relationship between the UK and an autocratic country which continues to hold a poor human rights record, has repeatedly been the subject of controversy in the UK. Saudi Arabia’s military operations in Yemen in particular have only served to fuel public and parliamentary scrutiny over the UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, specifically the arms trade.

This report assesses the costs and benefits to the UK of its defence and security relationship with Saudi Arabia, as well as the extent to which the UK is able to exert leverage and influence over Saudi Arabian foreign policy. It finds that:

There is little evidence, based on publicly available information, that the UK exerts either influence or leverage over Saudi Arabia. In fact, there is greater evidence that Saudi Arabia exerts influence over the UK.

There is a contradiction between the UK presenting itself as a progressive, liberal country and defender the international rules-based order, while at the same time providing diplomatic cover for a regime, which, based on our analysis, is undermining that rules-based order.

The UK appears to be incurring reputational costs as a result of its relationship with Saudi Arabia, while the economic benefits to the UK are questionable.

The report begins by examining shifts in Saudi Arabian foreign policy in the Middle East, particularly in the context of the war in Yemen. In the next section, we discuss the UK-Saudi Arabia relationship, including its security dimension, joint counter-terrorism efforts and the UK’s support for Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen. In the fourth section, we provide a cost-benefit analysis of the UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, focussing on economic costs and damage to the UK’s international reputation. Finally, we conclude by suggesting a set of policy recommendations.

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/policy-institute/publications/uk-saudi-arabia-security.pdf

or if this link does not work, try via: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/policy-institute/research-analysis/the-uk-saudi-arabia-security-relationship.aspx

My comment: What the authors tell about the UK, also can be said on the US-Saudi and European-Saudi relations.

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

(A K pS)

Clashes between Houthis and government forces renew in Kilo 10 south of Hodeidah

Fighting between government forces backed by Arab coalition fighters and Houthi militants, on the other hand, south of the western city of Hodeidah, erupted on Tuesday.

According to eyewitnesses who reported online, the explosions and battles again erupted in Kilo 10 near the main road, one of the two executors of the town where the Houthis are holed up.

Government forces are trying to control the kilo 16 route to control the al-Houthi supply line to the south of West Coast directorates and cities, such as the cities of Zabid, Beit al-Faqih, and Husseinieh.

The fighting between the two sides has been taking place since last Tuesday, and to this moment dozens of Houthis have been killed and wounded in the wake of air strikes by fighter jets and Apache fighters.

http://www.almasdaronline.com/article/clashes-between-houthis-and-government-forces-renew-in-kilo-10-south-of-hodeidah

(* A B K P)

As Peace Talks Fail, a Tragic Battle for Yemen's Hodeidah Port Looms

Suze Van Meegen, a Protection and Advocacy Officer for the Norwegian Refugee Council who is based in Yemen told Al Bawaba:

“The situation in Hodeidah now feels more fragile than at any other point through the course of the war. In June, the coalition announced its intention to launch a military offensive on the city, allowing a small window for civilians to flee and humanitarian organisations to prepare a response. The situation in Hodeidah is now far less clear: positive rhetoric about the coalition’s commitment to a political process stands in stark contrast to the military campaign we see ramping up along Yemen’s west coast.

Civilians have reported strikes on two farms, a shop, a flour mill and a house in different parts of Hodeidah over the last couple of days alone. Heavy clashes continue south of Hodeidah city and have been pushing down through the north as well, where people report both that both airstrikes and naval artillery have been hitting residential areas. Meanwhile, landmines laid to prevent an advance on the city have killed at least six civilians in recent days and threaten to sustain the impact of the war far beyond any single offensive.”

The Houthis are going to be facing intense fighting on the ground, and from the air. So far, they have responded to the possibility of more fighting with defiance. "Our choice is steadfastness and resistance to aggression on all fronts," said their leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi after the Geneva talks ended.

It is extremely unlikely that the Houthis will be holding onto Hodeidah once the battle is finished. But whether there is anything left of the port to hold onto after the fight is a much more worrying question. And analysts are skeptical that the battle for the port city will lend the peace process any help.

Meanwhile, it seems that the utter disregard for civilian life that has characterized this war is set to continue. The Houthis’ opponents will in all likelihood win the battle. But it will be a shameful and hollow victory for whoever wins the war – by Eleanor Beevor

https://www.albawaba.com/news/peace-talks-fail-tragic-battle-yemens-hodeidah-port-looms-1184722

(A K pH)

Video shows first Yemeni drone attack on Saudi-led forces in Hudaydah

Yemeni army soldiers, supported by allied fighters from Popular Committees, have reportedly carried out an airstrike against a strategic military target in the country’s western coastal province of Hudaydah in retaliation for the Saudi-led devastating military aggression against their impoverished homeland.

The Houthi Ansarullah movement announced in a statement that Yemeni troopers and their allies attacked a command center of Saudi-led forces using a domestically-built long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle on Tuesday afternoon.

There were no immediate reports about possible casualties and the extent of damage caused at the site (film, photos)

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/09/11/573837/Video-shows-what-appears-to-be-first-Yemeni-drone-attack-on-Saudiled-forces-in-Hudaydah

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9JW9HNIovo = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oeu3rPfb4k

videos, photos: https://twitter.com/YemeniObserv/status/1039496124879589381

(* A K pS)

The Southern Al-Amalaqah Brigades controls Sana'a Street in #Hodeidah and progresses towards Gamal Street, Central Vegetable Market.

https://twitter.com/Mukalla_Now_EN/status/1039483229768699904

(A K)

Film: Yemen conflict: pro-government forces advance towards Hodeidah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py-LCBdZutY

(A H K)

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: Press briefing notes

Yemen truck attack

On 29 August, a truck under contract to the World Food Programme was reportedly hit by shelling while delivering life-saving food assistance in the district of Al Tuhayta, in Yemen’s southern Hodeidah Governorate. Two weeks later, we have yet to see any investigations or attempts at accountability for what could amount to a war crime.

There are strong allegations that pro-Houthi forces were involved in the attack. This incident highlights the continued violation of international humanitarian law in Yemen’s conflict, with civilians paying the ultimate price.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/press-briefing-notes-myanmar-freedom-expression-iraq-basra-protests-and-yemen-attack

(* A K pS)

Houthis Drive People out of their Homes East of Yemen’s Hodeidah

The Yemeni national army captured a number of villages and positions in southern Hodeidah from the Iran-backed Houthi militias, as battles intensified between them in the vicinity of the Kilo 16 area at the eastern entrance of Hodeidah city.
The Houthis, meanwhile, forced dozens of families to leave the villages near the clashes. In the lower villages of Jaribah, the militias deliberately began firing mortar shells as the locals were evacuating the area. The shelling killed a young woman and wounded her mother.
The pro-legitimacy Al-Amaleqa Brigades transferred the injured citizens to the al-Mokha Field Hospital.
The Brigades quoted displaced citizens as saying that the militias forced them to leave their villages in Kilo 16 without giving them the opportunity to take their possessions, which were eventually looted by the Houthis.
Asharq Al-Awsat spoke to Sulaiman Ayyash, a resident of al-Durayhimi district, who explained that the Houthis planted several mines in villages and roads that are still under their control, as well as in the areas that are now under army control.
A displaced family fell victim to one of the road mines and the injured were taken by the national army to hospital, said Ayyash. https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1392011/houthis-drive-people-out-their-homes-east-yemen%E2%80%99s-hodeidah

My comment: By Saudi media. Of course, the Houthis are so evil! The Saudi coalition aussault simply has no effect on civilians and fighting coming close to their homes does not drive them out, oh, no.

(A K)

At least 3 people have been killed as scores other wounded in an attack by Saudi jets on a resident's home in al-Tuhita area of #Hodeidah. Last night 2 people were killed as 4 others wounded in al-Hali district of #Hodeidah in western

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1039234540965912577

(A K pS)

A number of #civilians have sustained varied injuries due to #Houthi shelling that targeted Al-Duraihemi district in the port city of Hodeidah while the demining teams have dismantled hundreds of landmines, south of the port city.

https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1039562755735519234

(A K pH)

Film: crimes of aggression and mercenaries in the province of Hodeidah 10-09-2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw9f9tHgLzw

(A K pS)

Two civilians killed in indiscriminate shelling of al-Houthis on villages and areas "Kilo 10 " in Hodeidah

Two civilians were killed and others injured in indiscriminate shelling of villages and areas of "kilo 10 " in Hodeidah Province, west of Yemen, by the Houthi militia.

Violent clashes between government forces and the Houthi militia continue in the direction of Kilo 10, where government forces are working to reach Kilo 16 east of Hodeidah City, to control it, and to cut through the Sanaa Hodeidah Road.

A local source told al-Masdar online that a continuous bombardment of the Houthis, with Katyusha and mortar shells, on the kilo 10 areas, killed two workers in the project of "cows" and injured others.

http://almasdaronlineapp.com/article/two-civilians-killed-in-indiscriminate-shelling-of-al-houthis-on-villages-and-areas-kilo-10-in-hodeidah

(A K pS)

Film: Southern Al-Amalka Brigades removing sophisticated IEDs camouflaged as rocks, planted by the Houthis in Hodeidah.

https://twitter.com/saharyafa/status/1039250186739040258

(* B H)

UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Yemen: Al Hudaydah Displacement/Response Update 31 Aug – 06 Sep

Over the week, the Government of Yemen Forces backed by SLC (Saudi-led coaliton) escalated its military operatons in Midi and Hayran districts (Hajjah) which have resulted in the displacement of 4,000 families into Abs district. UNHCR through JAAHD (Jeel Albena Association for Humanitarian Development) started new needs assessment in Abs district to assess the needs of the newly displaced families.

Another assessment completed by JAAHD in Mustaba district confirmed the need of 1,186 families for shelter assistance. In Al Hudaydah governorate, inital reports suggested the displacement of some families in As Sukhnah district.

Aden Hub

Security situation in Aden governorate worsened further

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-al-hudaydah-displacementresponse-update-31-aug-06-sep

(* A K)

Yemen war: fighting intensifies around Hodeidah as peace talks fail

The Saudi-led coalition which is fighting against the Houthis in support of the ousted government of Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi has interpreted the collapse of peace talks as a signal to intensify its efforts to capture or isolate the Houthi-held city of Hodeidah on the Red Sea coast.

Latest reports indicate that coalition forces which are south of the city have been pushing in a north-easterly direction in the hope of blocking the road between Hodeidah and the capital, Sanaa. The Amaliqa ("Giants") Brigades – a section of the Yemeni army affiliated to the coalition – is said to be advancing towards a point 16 km east of Hodeidah city where the road from Taizz in the south intersects with the road to Sanaa.

A report from the Saudi government news agency on Sunday indicated that the Amaliqa have not yet reached this point.

The Jeddah-based Arab News said the operation so far had killed "dozens of Houthi militants" and continued:

"During the operation, the Amaliqa Brigades captured several militants, including leaders, as well as weapons and equipment left behind by the fleeing militia, according to a statement on the Yemeni Armed Forces official website ...

"The army also announced that the Amaliqa Brigades opened safe routes for displaced civilians to leave the areas of Kilo 16 and Kilo 10.

"The military source said a large number of families fled the area where their homes were at risk of crossfire, and were escorted to safe zones where they were given medical treatment and food."

Isolating Hodeidah by blocking the road may avoid the bloodbath that a more direct attack on the city is likely to cause, but it would also have the effect of cutting off humanitarian supplies to other Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen.

https://al-bab.com/blog/2018/09/yemen-war-fighting-intensifies-around-hodeidah-peace-talks-fail

(* A K)

'Dozens killed' in Hodeidah attacks after peace talks collapse

"Multiple sources have reported that dozens, if not scores, of people have been killed in the past 24 hours after Saudi-UAE-led coalition attacks," said Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons, reporting from neighbouring Djibouti.

"In fact, one source said that there had been 60 attacks," he added, noting that the situation is "definitely escalating in a fairly big way".

He added that reports suggest the likelihood of civilian deaths is high.

"We have heard reports from the Saudi side that civilians trying to escape Hodeidah ran into minefields laid by the Houthis. The Houthis say they [the civilians] were bombed by a series of strikes," said Simmons.

Separately, hospital sources in Hodeidah province told AFP news agency that 84 people - 73 rebel fighters and 11 government soldiers - had been killed since the attempted peace talks in Switzerland were abandoned on Saturday after Houthi representatives failed to show up.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the casualty figures.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/killed-hodeidah-fighting-peace-talks-collapse-180909150115830.html

(A K pH)

2600 Saudi Mercenaries Killed In Yemen’s West Coast During The Last Weeks

More than 2600 of hypocrite killed and wounded the last days in a failure advance toward 16 kilos road on the western coast on 10 September, 2018 .

The war media of the Yemeni popular committees distributed scenes of the counter of enemy advance toward 16 kilos road in Al Hoddidah.
Unnamed military source said that 470 of mercenaries killed and 534 wounded on the past July in addition to the prisoners and the missing, whereas the losses in August reached 603 dead ,1112 wounded and large number of prisoner in the west coast front.

http://www.newnewss.net/2600-saudi-mercenaries-killed-in-yemens-west-coast-during-the-last-weeks/

My comment: This figure certainly is exaggerated very much.

cp2 Allgemein / General

(* A K P)

Interactive Map of Yemen War

https://yemen.liveuamap.com/

(* B K P)

How Britain and US enabled genocide in Yemen

There is no accountability for the starvation and killings of civilians in Yemen. And with the western states, the western media is entirely complicit in this genocide.

The powerful Western media has tried to whitewash the genocide which could not have taken place without lethal Western arms and logistical support. The Yemen genocide is now widely accepted as a war crime. The West’s role in the genocide, especially that of the US and Britain, stands exposed.

The Donald Trump administration, so vocal over the Syrian army’s attack on Idlib, the last province held by Saudi-backed rebels, has been notably silent over its role in the Yemen slaughter. Without advanced US fighter jets, other weaponry and logistics, the Saudi coalition would not have been able to prosecute this genocidal war.

The role of the Western media has been particularly malignant.

As the Strategic Culture Foundation, an online journal, wrote on June 19, 2018: “The Saudi coalition, which includes Emirati forces and foreign mercenaries, is fully backed by the US, Britain and France. This coalition says that by taking the port of Hodeidah it will hasten the defeat of Houthi rebels. But to use the cutting off of food and other vital aid to civilian populations as a weapon is a blatant war crime.

“As the horror of Hodeida unfolds, Western media has confined its focus narrowly on the humanitarian plight of Hodeidah’s inhabitants and the wider Yemeni population. But British and US journalists have been careful to omit the relevant context, which is that the offensive on Hodeida would not be possible without the crucial military support of Western governments. The BBC, France 24, CNN, Deutsche Welle, The New York Times and The Washington Post are among media outlets spreading misinformation on Yemen. For example, in its report, The Washington Post did not mention the fact that airstrikes by Saudi and Emirati forces are carried out with American F-15 fighter jets, British Typhoons and French Dassault warplanes.”

When confronted with evidence of guilt, Britain is quick to resort to glib non-sequiturs. Alistair Burt, the UK’s Middle East minister, said without a trace of embarrassment: “I think that the hand of the United Kingdom can be seen in the work that we have done with the (Saudi) coalition over time in order to ensure that should things go wrong, there is proper accountability.”

Proper accountability is unlikely to be upheld in the Yemen genocide.

The Saudi-Western strategy is to neutralise Iranian influence in the Middle East on the pretext that it foments terrorism even though it was the Saudis who funded and armed al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS). Iran’s influence in the Middle East has meanwhile grown. It now extends to Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Qatar and parts of Yemen.

https://www.dailyo.in/politics/yemen-genocide-saudi-arabia-united-nations-uk-us-america-britain/story/1/26590.html

(* A K P)

Gulf of Aden security review, Sept. 11, 10

Saudi-led coalition and al Houthi movement exchange accusations for the failure of UN Geneva consultations; Spain announces plans to discuss canceled sale of laser-guided bombs with Saudi Arabia; Yemeni Vice President vows to regain control over al Houthi-held areas in Yemen; al Houthi forces claim to launch ballistic missile at Saudi military camp in Asir, southern Saudi Arabia; Emirati-backed forces continue offensive toward al Hudaydah

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-september-11-2018

Reported U.S. drone strike kills AQAP commander in Abyan governorate; UN envoy to Yemen announces plans to meet with al Houthi leaders in Muscat and Sana’a; Emirati-backed Yemeni forces continue offensive around al Hudaydah city; ISIS accuses AQAP of choosing internecine conflict over removing spies

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-september-10-2018

(B K P)

Yemen Peace Talks In Geneva Are On Hold

It would not have been possible for the Saudi-led coalition to carry out this intervention in Yemen without the help from the US. Yemen is a sovereign country and when the Houthis took the capital Sana’a in 2014, it was an internal conflict. The external involvement of the Saudi-led coalition with support from the United States intervened in the most disastrous way.

But of course, from the perspective of Washington, if the Saudis don’t buy the weapons from the US, the Saudis could get them somewhere else. The weapons that are being sold to Riyadh from the United States are killing people in Yemen and the fact is that Saudi Arabia has enough weapons given that they are one of the largest buyers of weapons in the world. If we are going to talk about ethics and targeting, why would it be ethical to sell weapons to a country like Saudi Arabia that is actively at war, targeting civilians in Yemen, and causing chaos in the Middle East?

We’re not at a peace process in Yemen because the United States continues to support the Saudi-led coalition and it is very difficult to see how a real peace agreement could be implemented. But as long as the coalition continues to be backed by the world’s number one superpower, they will continue this war until an absolute victory is achieved.

In addition, the United States would like to support the Saudis and the Emiratis in everything they do, but it is incredibly hard to do so when there are civilian casualties and people starving throughout the war-torn country. Ambassador Nikki Haley would like to back Saudi Arabia because it would be a counter to Iran, but at the same time she cannot turn a blind eye at the humanitarian disaster in Yemen. The war in Yemen has had a bad name on the Trump Administration, but the US can put pressure on all sides to come to a political settlement.

http://www.eurasiareview.com/11092018-yemen-peace-talks-in-geneva-are-on-hold-oped/

(* B K P)

Riyadh's failure in achieving Yemen campaign objectives

At the onset of the war, the Saudi king and his heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, were confident that their clear military advantage would provide for an easy victory, which would in turn cement Riyadh’s position as a formidable force in the region.

In its campaign against Yemen, Saudi Arabia enjoys intelligence and logistical aid from the Americans, and has the fourth largest security budget in the world as well as advanced weaponry at its disposal.

Yet, the kingdom is finding it difficult to defeat a determined Yemeni army and resistance groups such as Ansarullah.

In addition to that, the war has made both Saudi Arabia and the UAE less secure than they were before.

At the same time, the people of Yemen have suffered immensely from the US-backed Saudi campaign, which has killed thousands of Yemeni civilians, destroyed the country’s infrastructure, and has created the conditions for the world’s worst cholera epidemic.

The war in Yemen has also exposed the tenuous nature of Saudi Arabia’s relationships with its so-called principal allies.

The Saudis expected Pakistan and Egypt to offer up cannon fodder to fight their war, but both governments wisely demurred from participation in the ground war.

And in some instances, even those Arab states that agreed to participate in the Saudi-led campaign developed conflicts of interest with Riyadh over the course of the fighting. For example, the Saudis and the Emirates are backing forces that are at odds over the future of Yemen and this created friction that has at times erupted into violence between local actors.

Some terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda in Yemen have grown in weapons and number since the start of the Saudi campaign nearly four years ago.

Despite these very early setbacks, the Saudis and their allies continue to plow ahead blindly and stubbornly. The coalition is not meaningfully closer to achieving its goals than it was three years ago, and they likely never will be.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/09/11/573851/yemen-saudi-arabia

Remark: From Iran.

(B K P)

Das Interventionsverbot im Bürgerkrieg : Darstellung eines Wandels durch die Bürgerkriege in Libyen, Syrien, Irak, Jemen und Ukraine seit 2011

Das völkergewohnheitsrechtliche Interventionsverbot ist seit jeher ein unverzichtbares Element des internationalen Friedenssicherungssystems. Trotz seiner unbestrittenen Wichtigkeit ist unklar, welche Handlungsweisen gegenwärtig von dem Verbot umfasst sind. Aufbauend auf eine umfassende Auswertung der Staatenpraxis seit 2011 untersucht die Autorin, unter welchen Voraussetzungen Regierungen und Oppositionsbewegungen in Bürgerkriegen völkerrechtsgemäß unterstützt werden dürfen. Angesichts der Schneise der Verwüstung, die sich seit Beginn des „Arabischen Frühlings" durch die betroffenen Länder erstreckt, hinterfragt die Autorin die kontemporäre rechtliche Relevanz des Interventionsverbots. Buch von Christina Nowak

https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/65662

(B K P)

One of major obstacles to peace in #Yemen is that Saudi Arabia, UAE & many UAE/Saudi-backed Int'l Orgs have hired many political retards. Common ground is: face Iran & Iran-backed militias. Well, can they deny that Saudi Arabia, not Iran, has been destabilising Yemen for decades?

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1039239736366379014

Here is the common ground all Yemenis used to have: Saudi Arabia does not want a stable and developed Yemen. I don't know what has changed many here. They need someone to remind them that Iran has never won & expanded here except in Arab countries destroyed by West & GCC states.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1039243192217022464

(* B H K)

Film: Grieving fathers speak out over coalition airstrike deaths

I lifted the body up to find that it was my son Ahmad'
Fathers mourn sons killed in Yemen school bus attack after Saudi-led coalition admits 'mistakes' were made

https://www.facebook.com/Ruptly/videos/vb.552738918075145/2208470659388554/?type=2&theater

(* B K P)

SAM Launches Its Second Report on Human Rights Situation in Yemen during 2017

SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties, based in Geneva, published its second report titled “The Forgotten Land 2”, which addresses human rights situation in Yemen during 2017.

Lawyer Tawfeq Al-Humeidi, chairman of SAM, said that the fifteen monitors of the organization, had verified 68526 violations committed during the reporting period, and interviewed 821 individuals, personally or by phone calls, during 1 January 2017, to mid-March 2018, however, the violations included in this report, are for the year 2017.

In the its report on human rights violations during 2017, SAM indicated that it has documented the killing of 2044 civilians, including 380 children, and 186 women, and the Arab Coalition topped the list of the violators to the right to life, with 894 killings, representing 54%, followed by Houthis militia, with 797 killings, at 41%, anonymous parties 181 killings at 9%, the legitimated authority and its fighting groups with 54 killings at 3%, terrorist groups, with 50 killings, at little more than 1%, followed by the US drones attacks, with 37%, a little more than 1%.

Violations of the physical integrity come next, with 3068 cases, during the reporting period, including 829 children and 329 women among civilians. However, the casualties reported are limited to the cases that SAM managed to reach and verify.

According to the report, causes of the casualties among civilians, varied, between indiscriminate Katyusha and artillery shelling, on civilians areas, especially in Taiz, which topped the list with 2031 injured civilians, and Arab Coalition airstrikes, led by the Saudi Arabia, and UAE at different parts of Yemen, followed by landmines, laid by Houthis militia, at residential and public areas, such as main roads, farms, and grazing areas, in addition to the US drones attacks.

In 2017 report, SAM has documented 232 informal prisons, 180 operated by Houthis group, 25 by UAE-funded forces, 15 by fighting groups affiliated to the legitimate government, and 11 by the government forces. SAM has documented the imprisonment of 3966 civilians in these prisons, including 3258 at Houthis prisons, 583 at UAE-backed security forces, and 86 by armed groups affiliated to the legitimate government.

SAM said in the report that most of the detainees were exposed to different levels of torture, where some were tortured to death, and others sustained severe injuries and disability. Torture included mock execution, tie the private organ and deprivation of urine for long hours, sexual harassment, the threat of rape, standing for long hours in the sun, hanging from hands, electric shocks, burying the whole body up to the neck, beating with rifle butts, and depriving of food.

The detention facilities are not under legal authority, lack minimum legal standards of prisons, with inhumane prison conditions, where scores of detainees locked in one room and bathroom. Prisons were in fact houses, basements, newly built houses, or goods containers, as seen in Al-Rayan airport, which is under UAE authorities’ control.

The report documented 100 torture cases, including 80 in Houthis prisons, and 2 in the UAE-supervised and funded prisons in Aden and Hadhramout governorates.

SAM has documented 2381 violations against children during 2017, including 1600 child recruitment, 829 physical abuses, 380 violations to the right to life by the Arab Coalition airstrikes, sniping by Houthis snipers, and indiscriminate shelling by Houthis on residential areas in Taiz, Mareb, Lahaj and Al-Baidha.

The violations documented included; 148 arbitrary detention, 50 casualties by mines laid by Houthis group at the residential areas.

Violations against women during the reporting period reached 562 violations, including 182 killings, 329 injuries and maiming, with the highest shares goes to Taiz at 356 violations.

SAM has documented 381 violations against women by Houthis militia, 153 by the Arab Coalition airstrikes, 6 by US drones, 9 by government military formations.

https://www.samrl.org/sam-launches-its-second-report-on-human-rights-situation-in-yemen-during-2017/

My comment: Saudi coalition air raids are guilty of the greatest part of killing and injuring civilians in Yemen. They seem to be greatly underrepresented here.

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Siehe / Look at cp1

(* B H)

International Finance Corporation, World Bank: Going “Above and Beyond” for Patients Across the Middle East

The Saudi German Hospital network is raising the standard of health care throughout the region.

Saudi German Hospital (SGH) in Sana’a: El Ramady is one of over 1 million patients the SGH hospital in Yemen has treated since it opened in 2006. Its parent company, the SGH Group, owns 10 hospitals with about 2,500 beds in four countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It all started with a 300-bed general hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Since then, the SGH Group has established five hospitals in Saudi Arabia, three in the United Arab Emirates, one in Egypt, and one in Yemen. The network of facilities treated almost 1.8 million patients last year.

IFC played a catalytic role in SGH’s regional expansion with two investments consisting of a blend of loans and equity totaling $75 million. It was the first investment for IFC that complied with Sharia Law. Since 2007, IFC has supported the construction and equipping of two multi-specialty hospitals, each with 300 beds, in Sana’a, Yemen, and Cairo, Egypt. The SGH network is currently expanding to Morocco and Pakistan.

A commitment to raising the standard of care has compelled the SGH network’s growth since the first hospital was founded in 1988 by two Saudi Arabian brothers, Sobhi Batterjee and Khalid Batterjee. Khalid Batterjee, a doctor, had studied in Germany and wanted to bring the quality care he saw in Europe back to people who would otherwise lack access or would have to travel abroad for treatment.

https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/news_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/news+and+events/news/impact-stories/medical-care-that-goes-above-and-beyond-for-patients-in-the-middle-east

Comment by the Spokesman of the Ministry of Public Health and Population, Sanaa: You are liars and your prices are the most expensive in Yemen The hospital is an investment exclusively for Saudi investors, a large group in many countries

https://twitter.com/MOH_Speaker_Y/status/1039550911960559616

Comment by Hussam Al-Sanabani: Spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health and Population confirm that your tweet is lie. @WBG_Dev4peace your credibility at stake, apology now for your Saudi propaganda.

https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/1039553595098759173

My comment: This seems to be a PR article. Website of SGH group: http://www.sghgroup.com.sa/index.php/en/

(A H)

#Help4Hassan - Help for Yemen

This is my good friend Hassan Khader Ali (Twitter: @hassankhaderali). He is living in a small district of the Al Hudaydah Governorate in Yemen.
Beside the very bad circumstances caused by war, starvation and poverty, he is suffering of a genetic disorder, called Muscle Dystrophy (MD). This disease damage and weaken his muscles over time.

I would really appreciate it, if you would help me to support Hassan! The situation became more worst in Yemen and he got more weak. Also because of missing good and health food, because he has also no money to let them buy for him. So every little amount you can donate would help to give him new hope despite this serious disease and improve his quality of life! It will safely reach him!

https://www.gofundme.com/help4hassan

(A B H)

Students studying in public schools in #Yemen don’t have text books to study in, so many students have to share one book among them. @monarelief launched a campaign to collect used text books from private schools to be delivered very soon to students at public schools in Sanaa. (photos)

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1039243590269108225

(* B H K)

The humanitarian consequences of the closure of Sanaa airport, infographic

https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.963391330380564/1918293158223705/?type=3&theater = https://twitter.com/YemenEdge/status/1039278081498906624

(A H)

MSF: Our team is now in #Hodeidah to support Al Salakhana hospital in their emergency and surgical capacity. Logisticians, doctors and admins are working day & night to prepare the hospital in order to receive all patients.

https://twitter.com/msf_yemen/status/1039114983894867968

(* B H)

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Yemen Humanitarian Update Covering 27 August – 6 September 2018 | Issue 26

KEY ISSUES:

As the depreciation of the Yemeni Rial continues, a further 3.5 million people may become food insecure and an additional 2 million may face a heightened risk of famine.

The conflict in Yemen continues to exact a heavy toll on civilians. In August, 241 civilian impact incidents were reported.

Humanitarian partners continue to work to prevent a third outbreak of cholera; some 133,000 suspected cholera cases have been confirmed since January.

As of 6 September, the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) is 65 per cent funded with $1.92 billion received against the overall requirement of $2.96 billion.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-update-covering-27-august-6-september-2018-issue-26

(B H)

Yemen: Passengers Transport Overview - Djibouti - Aden - Djibouti, August 2018

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-passengers-transport-overview-djibouti-aden-djibouti-august-2018

(A H)

World Bank Brings Electricity Back to the Largest Hospital in Yemen

To help address this crisis, the World Bank through the International Development Association (IDA), and in partnership with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), launched a project to help Yemenis by restoring critical urban services. The project targets a number of Yemen’s cities hardest hit by the conflict, where the level of public services have significantly deteriorated. The US$150 million Yemen Integrated Urban Services Emergency Project (YIUSEP) aims to restore access to key services in such as water and sanitation, transport, energy, municipal services, and solid waste management.

“People of Yemen need our support during this difficult time. Recovery of basic services beyond emergency response is a key element of World Bank engagement in Yemen,” says Raja Bentaouet Kattan, World Bank Group Country Manager for Yemen.

In the past week, thanks to support from the project, a solar based electricity solution was completed at Al-Jamhori hospital and the adjacent Oncology Treatment Center located in the capital of Sana’a. Due to the conflict, the hospital was suffering from electricity blackouts that had made it difficult to treat patients properly. To cope with intermittent supply of grid electricity, the hospital relied on diesel based power generation which was not only expensive but also vulnerable to shortages of fuel in the country.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/world-bank-brings-electricity-back-largest-hospital-yemen

(B H)

World Bank: IDA Emergency and Crisis Response in Yemen: Working for the Yemeni People

The World Bank has supported development in Yemen for over 45 years. The long history and close working relationship has helped the World Bank to continue supporting the Yemeni people and key institutions during the current crisis. This monthly update offers an overview of the World Bank's projects in Yemen until August 2018.

http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/yemen/brief/an-overview-of-the-world-bank-projects-and-results-in-yemen-august-2018 = https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/ida-emergency-and-crisis-response-yemen-working-yemeni-people

(* B H K)

From 2013!!:

Doctor: Children 'Traumatized and Re-Traumatized by Drones' in Yemen

Children dream of 'dead people, planes and people running around scared'

A report from a clinical and forensic psychologist just back from Yemen offers a disturbing picture of the horror drones have inflicted on children, who are "traumatized and re-traumatized" by the strikes whose use "amounts to a form of psychological torture and collective punishment."

The findings come from clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Peter Schaapveld, just back from a week-long visit to Yemen, who presented at a press conference on Monday his evidence of a 'psychological emergency' in the country as a result of drone strikes, and of the particularly heavy toll they have on the mental health of children, plagued with PTSD as the mental anguish from the deadly strikes lasts long after the sound of the unmanned aircraft above.

London-based human rights charity Reprieve reports that Schaapveld said:

What I saw in Yemen was deeply disturbing. Entire communities – including young children who are the next generation of Yemenis– are being traumatised and re-traumatised by drones. Not only is this having truly awful immediate effects but the psychological damage done will outlast any counter programme and surely outweigh any possible benefits.

UK's Channel 4 News reports that Schaapveld described "hollowed-out shells of children" and the story of one 8-year-old girl whose house is next to one hit by a presumed drone strike:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2013/03/06/doctor-children-traumatized-and-re-traumatized-drones-yemen

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

Siehe / Look at cp1

(* A P)

Mothers of Abductees Association demand that Houthis reveal the fate of 142 forcibly disappeared men in Hodeida

https://twitter.com/abducteesmother/status/1039478691674431488

Referring to https://twitter.com/abducteesmother/status/1039478691674431488 (photos)

(B P)

Hisham Al Omeisy: Solitary confinement & torture was so bad, if I had died and went straight to hell, it would've taken me a while to realize I wasn't in #Yemen anymore. At many breaking points, thinking of the love & support of friends & family I had, kept me alive.

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/1039387192576098305

(A K P)

Sana’a Releases Report on International Protection of Prisoners and Violations of US-Saudi Aggression

The Human Rights and Development Center organized a press conference in Sana'a entitled "Crimes and violations of the aggression against war prisoners" in which it published its report on the international protection of prisoners and violations of the countries involved in the aggression.

The jurists reviewed examples of the daily violations and crimes taking place in prisons run by the aggression.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2725&cat_id=1

(* A B P)

Houthis brutally torture about 600 abductees in Taiz

The Houthis have been detaining 600 civilians inside the prison of Madinat al-Saleh in the South of Taiz city.

The Abductees’ Mothers Association stated that these detainees were abducted by the Houthis from their homes and jobs and that they are brutally tortured by the Houthis.

Dozens of the abductees’ mothers and relatives demonstrated last Saturday in tTaiz, demanding the international community to intervene to release their abducted sons.

The mothers appealed to the Spcial Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths to make the case of the abductees and enforcedly disappeared persons a priority in any coming talks.

The mothers said that the Houthis are brutally and systemically torturing 553 civilians and enforcedly disappearing 88 others.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-23501

(A P)

Two youths, one of them shot dead by Houthi gunmen in Ibb

Two youths, one of whom was shot dead by al-Houthi gunmen, were killed Sunday in Ibb province, central Yemen.

A local source told al-Masdar online that al-Bashar al-Ziadi was seriously injured by a gunshot wound when he was participating in a wedding procession in Annah area near al-Odain district.

The source explained that his friends had taken care of him, and while passing from the "Salbah " point intercepted by Houthi militants, but the driver did not stop, prompting the Houthis to shoot the car, resulting in the killing of Cheb Omar al-Hinahi and the death of Al ziadi after being prevented from entering the city of al-Odain.

http://almasdaronlineapp.com/article/two-youths-one-of-them-shot-dead-by-houthi-gunmen-in-ibb

(A K P)

Houthis in Yemen Intensify Sectarian Campaigns to Recruit New Members

The Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen exploited the occasion of the Islamic new year, which falls on Tuesday, to launch sectarian campaigns to recruit new members.
The move was prompted by growing concerns among the militias over their mounting losses on the battlefield.
Informed sources in the Hajjah province told Asharq Al-Awsat that Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, one of the militias’ top officials, had arrived in the Abs district in Hajjah to mobilize people to support Houthi ranks in the Hard and Hiran regions where they are suffering heavy losses.
He met with some 20 elders and tribal leaders from Abs, urging them to encourage their relatives to join the fight and counter the advance of the legitimate forces on the district.
The forces are marching steadily on Abs and have reached its northern edges.
Mohammed al-Houthi pledged to the gatherers that he will grant them weapons and funds to join the militia ranks, while also warning them of the dangers of not showing loyalty to the group, revealed the sources.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1391961/houthis-yemen-intensify-sectarian-campaigns-recruit-new-members

My comment: By a Saudi news site. It’s always a bad joke when SaudiWahabists blame anyone else as “sectarian”.

(A K P)

Tribal meeting in Mahwait reinforces army in combat fronts

Sheikhs and tribesmen of Mahwait province held a tribal meeting to reinforce the Yemeni army to comforting the Saudi-led coalition in the battle front.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news507866.htm

(A K P)

Ibb governor discusses enhancing public mobilizations to fronts

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news507865.htm

(* B P)

Side-event on #Yemen at #HRC39 moderated by @Ant1Mad where courageous @RAlmutawakel from @mwatanaen speaks of violations committed by all parties & mentions 7 #Bahai-s detained by #Houthis solely 4 their religious beliefs

https://twitter.com/DianeAlai/status/1039096934861074432

Akram Ayash, a Bahai, was in cell next to mine in Houthi's dungeons of hell. He was still in captivity when I was released. His only crime, being a #Bahai. Houthis not only brutally quell opposition and silence dissent, but also have zero tolerance for religious freedoms.

https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/1039173677068308480

(* A P)

Houthis start prosecuting five Yemeni journalists

The Houthis on Monday started prosecuting five Yemeni journalists who have been held in their prisons for more than three years.

Rights sources told Alsahwa Net that the militias on Monday investigated the journalists Essam Bel-Ghaith, Tawfeeq al-Mansouri, Salah al-Ka’edi and Haitham al-Shehab.

Yemeni activists decried such “frivolous behaviors” conducted by the Houthis against the journalists, affirming that the prosecution of the journalists by the State Security Court is a violation of the Yemeni laws.

The Houthis have been detaining the journalists Abdul-Khaleq Eran, Salah al-Ka’edi, Tawfeeq al-Mansouri, Esam Bel-Ghaith, Hassan Anab, Hisham Tarmoum, Hisham al-Yousfi, Haitham al-Shihab, Akram al-Walidi and Harith Hamid for more than three years without any trial.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-23502 and also https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-23503

and

(A P)

Houthi Group on Monday started investigating 10 journos it arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned in early 2015. National security prosecutors are investigating them. Around 30 Yemeni reporters have been killed and dozens detained and kidnapped since war began in late 2014.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1039126727002398720

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

(A P)

Southern transition rally in Radfan against currency collapse, and praising the coalition

Hundreds of southern Transitional council supporters protested Tuesday in Radfan in the southern Yemeni province of Lahj, protesting the collapse of the local currency and rising commodity prices.

The demonstration came at the invitation of the Council and the Escalatory committee, who called for a "major rally and a popular uprising against a corrupt government that practices a policy of starvation and impoverishment to subdue and humiliate the people of the South who are impatient and struggling".

The protesters lifted slogans against the Yemeni government and its policies, in addition to raising the flag of the state of the south before uniting the country in the Republic of Yemen, in addition to flags the Arab coalition countries led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The demonstrators called for the departure of the Yemeni government.

http://www.almasdaronline.com/article/southern-transition-rally-in-radfan-against-currency-collapse-and-praising-the-coalition

photos: https://twitter.com/Mukalla_Now_EN/status/1039521374455386112

Remark: A pro-separatist rally, showing southern flags.

(B E P)

Mukalla: The Yemeni city that defeated Al Qaeda and now needs the world's help

In a dispatch from southern Yemen, Gareth Browne hears how people are trying to rebuild their shattered lives

Barely two years after its liberation residents describe Mukalla as the safest city in Yemen. It is more than four months since there was a suicide bombing and there is a sense among security officials that Aqap’s presence in the city has largely been dealt with, although they concede there may still be sleeper cells.

In this former extremist stronghold there are glimmers of a Yemen at peace, and some sense of what the country might look like after war.

In Mukalla, locals are forbidden from carrying weapons, a common sight in a country awash with millions of guns.

At a checkpoint to the city’s north, cars approaching the city are searched, and those carrying weapons are told to hand them over – they are given a ticket, and told they can collect them when they leave the city. “It should be like this in all of the country,” says Captain Saed Bouasted, who manages the checkpoint.

Hadramis largely attribute the stability, which evades so much of the country, to the influence of the elite forces, and Governor Farrah Al Bahsani.

He returned from 20 years of exile in Saudi Arabia and Egypt to help lead the locally recruited forces in their resistance against Aqap. Last year he took over as governor.

The Hadramawt Elite Forces now number 30,000, including several hundred female recruits, and are responsible for security in the city, as well as maintaining the fight against the remnants of Al Qaeda in the governorate’s north. Locals are fiercely proud of them.

Since taking over the the governorship, Mr Al Bahsani has positioned himself as a fierce advocate for his city’s interests, regularly lambasting what he feels is the failure of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi’s government to deliver for his people. In his latest pressure play last week, he threatened to stop transferring the governorate’s oil revenues if the government failed to deal with a pressing shortage of cash.

Although his position outside the federal government leaves him with little direct influence over the nation’s perilous economic situation, Mr Al Bahsani has had small successes in finding local solutions to what is a national crisis.

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/mukalla-the-yemeni-city-that-defeated-al-qaeda-and-now-needs-the-world-s-help-1.769319

My comment: This is from UAE’s “The National” – of course, this article is biased: Now the situation is good thanks to the UAE and their fight against Al Qaeda; thanks to the UAE-backed Yemeni militia; thanks to the governor.

Comment: I love Al Mukalla & the rest of Hadhramaut, but this is complete BS by UAE media. You did not defeat AQAP terrorists, you paid them off. @TheNationalUAE : Mukalla - The #Yemen city that defeated Al Qaeda and now needs the world's help

Perhaps it is time for another @AP expose on the fantasy known as the 'Saudi/UAE counter-terrorism campaign against AQAP Yemen'. For e.g., how many of the Al Qaeda leaders declared as dead actually remain alive, breathing fresh air & enjoying the sunshine.

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/1039583374887796737

(A P)

Security Belt Commander of Al-Musaimeer Axis: Keeping Security is Our Mission Before God and the People

Mohamed Ali Al-Houshabi, commander of security belt in Al-Musdaimeer axis, indicated that the troops are ready to support all efforts of keeping security in the directorate and enforce law according to the expectations of all citizens in a way that may please God and superior commandership. This came along civilian disobedience and massive protests in Al-Musaimeer, Lahj, against poor economic conditions. Al-Houshabi confirmed that the security belt troops fully support citizens’ rights and their issues in addition to working with them on restoring these rights.

https://en.smanews.org/security-belt-commander-of-al-musaimeer-axis-keeping-security-is-our-mission-before-god-and-the-people

My comment. Separatist media praise UAE-backed separatist militia. – The same purpose also for the following articles:
(A P T )

Shabwa Elites Launch a Flash Operation in Al-Saeed to Clear it Off Terrorist Groups

https://en.smanews.org/shabwa-elites-launch-a-flash-operation-in-al-saeed-to-clear-it-off-terrorist-groups

(A P)

Commandership of Shabwa Security Forces in Ataq Honors Troops of Shabwa Elites

https://en.smanews.org/commandership-of-shabwa-security-forces-in-ataq-honors-troops-of-shabwa-elites

(A P T)

Shabwa Elites Troops Uncovers the Names of Murderers Involved in Killing “Al-Tawsaly” and Indicate that They Have Military IDs

Shabwa Elites Troops – Al-Shohada axis / Ataq – issued a statement concerning the murder of Ahmed Mohamed Al-Tawlasy in front of Abu Sanad Al-Karawi Exchange Stores in Al-Nusub – Ataq . SMA News rebroadcasts the statement.
Shabwa Elites troops confirm that the killers of Ahmed Mohamed Al-Tawsaly were arrested on Saturday September 8th, 2018 while they were trying to escape from Ataq . The five murderers were arrested only 15 minutes after their crime and three of them had military IDs.

https://en.smanews.org/shabwa-elites-troops-uncovers-the-names-of-murderers-involved-in-killing-al-tawsaly-and-indicate-that-they-have-military-ids

(A P)

Al-Gaadi: We Reach Our Hands for All Those Who Believe in Our Cause to Make an Honest and Clear Dialogue. We Are Not Obliged to Wait for Long to Convince Feeble-Minded and Senile Powers with Weak Wills.

Fadl Al-Gaadi, acting secretary general of the southern transitional council and member of its presidency, indicate that the southern people have grown up and needs no custody of any one.
He demanded all those who think they are still custodians on the southern people to observe closely the crowds that went out in all southern governorates to express their opinions clearly.

https://en.smanews.org/al-gaadi-we-reach-our-hands-for-all-those-who-believe-in-our-cause-to-make-an-honest-and-clear-dialogue-we-are-not-obliged-to-wait-for-long-to-convince-feeble-minded-and-senile-powers-with-weak-will

(A E P)

Government prepares two black and white lists for traders who support and manipulate prices

The Yemeni government's Ministry of Industry and Trade has said it is working on the preparation of two black and white lists, one for traders supporting the market with foodstuffs, and the other for manipulators with the prices of those essential items.

http://almasdaronlineapp.com/article/government-prepares-two-black-and-white-lists-for-traders-who-support-and-manipulate-prices

(B D)

«Jameel Ghanem» Institute... Yemeni music to escape the sound of bullets

Life makes its way back from the gate of art in the city of Aden (southern Yemen) where "Jameel Ghanem Institute" to teach music and with it began dreams of dozens of amateurs (children and youth) in the search for beauty and playing melodies and ridicule from reality through the theatre and drawing, in an effort to forget the noise of lead sounds The crisis that has ravaged their city has been challenged and continues.

http://almasdaronlineapp.com/article/jameel-ghanem-institute-yemeni-music-to-escape-the-sound-of-bullets

(A T)

Security forces in Lahj thwart a terrorist attack by car bomb Attempted to target a site in Aden. (photo)

https://twitter.com/Mukalla_Now_EN/status/1039232638937128960

(* A P)

Yemeni detainees in UAE-run prison start hunger strike

Dozens of Yemeni detainees, including some tortured at the hands of Emirati forces, have started a hunger strike to protest their continued detention despite a prosecutor's decision to release them.

In a statement smuggled from the prison of Beir Ahmed in the southern city of Aden on Monday, the prisoners said the strike comes after three inmates tried to commit suicide ion the past weeks, including two by swallowing pills. Two prisoners confirmed the cases to the Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

The statement also said that while prosecutors had ordered the release of some prisoners remaining in detention, others weren't referred to any judicial authorities at all after they were transferred from one prison to the other.

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2018/9/10/yemeni-detainees-in-uae-run-jail-launch-hunger-strike = https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemeni-detainees-uae-run-prison-start-hunger-strike-57719594

and also https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-23500

and

(A P)

Letter from Bir Ahmed, a UAE-run jail in #South_Yemen: prisoners have tried to commit suicide several times. Prosecution ordered to release some prisoners, but the jail's officials have refused to release em. Many prisoners have been detained for 2 years without charges or trial.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1039315393846935558

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

(* A P)

UN Security Council: Global Community Must Commit to supporting Dialogue in Preventing Yemen’s Further Decline into Chaos, Special Envoy Stresses, while Briefing Security Council

Amid escalating violence and lack of participation by one party in Yemen’s recently relaunched peace talks, the international community must commit to supporting dialogue, protecting civilians and preventing the country’s further decline into chaos, the senior United Nations official tasked with shepherding the negotiations stressed today as he briefed the Security Council.

“This is no longer a race between political and military solutions, it is instead a race to salvage what is left of State institutions as quickly as possible,” emphasized Martin Griffiths, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, via videoconference from Amman, Jordan. Noting that the conflict has been escalating on all fronts — and that one side failed to join the negotiations he convened recently in Geneva — he said Yemen’s formal peace process has nevertheless resumed, with solid support from the country’s people and the international community.

While the peace talks will continue to see ups and downs, he urged international partners to nurture it with the aim of delivering tangible results to the people. Expressing relief that the port city of Hodeidah has not yet suffered the calamity of military operations, he nevertheless voiced concern over intensive fighting on the city’s outskirts and described escalations elsewhere in the country. He said that, as part of his work in the coming weeks, he will hold meetings with parties in Muscat and Sana’a with the aim of building confidence and securing firm commitments for continued talks.

A number of Council members underscored the fact that there is no alternative to a political resolution of Yemen’s downward-spiralling conflict.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/global-community-must-commit-supporting-dialogue-preventing-yemen-s-further-decline

and https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/09/1019062

and Griffith's full statement: https://osesgy.unmissions.org/statement-special-envoy-yemen-un-security-council

Remark: And statements of all representatives of all 15 member states and the Hadi government representative. With a few words, a lot of blab la and propaganda bullshit.

(* A P)

UN envoy moves to revive Yemen talks

UN envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths told the Security Council he will be traveling to Muscat September 12, 2018 and later Sanaa and Riyadh to secure "a firm commitment from the parties to convene for continued consultations"

The UN envoy for Yemen said Tuesday he will seek to revive talks between the Saudi-backed government and Huthi rebels after a first bid for negotiations on ending the war failed to get off the ground.

Meetings aimed at preparing formal peace talks were to begin last week in Geneva, but the Huthis refused to leave Sanaa to attend the consultations until a series of demands were met.

UN envoy Martin Griffiths told the Security Council he will be traveling to Muscat on Wednesday and later Sanaa and Riyadh to secure "a firm commitment from the parties to convene for continued consultations."

The Yemen peace process will have "ups and downs," Griffiths told a council meeting, downplaying the setback as "temporary obstacles."

He asked the council to support his new shuttle diplomacy to "move back to the table with all speed."

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-6157103/UN-envoy-moves-revive-Yemen-talks.html

and

(* A P)

UN Yemen envoy to visit Sanaa, Riyadh and Muscat after Geneva talks setback

Martin Griffiths said his visit will discuss prisoners exchange and the reopening of Sanaa airport

Mr Griffiths told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that he will soon be visiting Yemen, Oman and Saudi Arabia to discuss the ongoing stalemate.

“I will therefore continue my discussions by holding an initial set of visits in the coming days, including to Muscat and Sanaa… I will also meet with the Government of Yemen in Riyadh, and look forward to seeing President [Abdrabbu Mansour] Hadi” Mr Griffiths announced.

The talks, he said, will promote confidence-building measures including prisoners exchange, opening of Sana’a airport, and on the political side, “to secure a firm commitment from the parties to convene for continued consultations.”

A number of Houthi political leaders live in Muscat, including Mohamed Abdel Salam whom Griffiths met last May.

Despite the failure of Geneva talks last week, the UN envoy refused to give up on the political process.

Mr Griffiths said the race now is “to salvage what is left of [Yemeni] state institutions as quickly as possible” mentioning the steep fall of Yemeni Riyal as one symptom of the crisis.

The special envoy echoed concern over military operations on the outskirts of Hodeidah. “I am relieved that Hodeidah city has not yet suffered the calamity of military operations. However, I am concerned that the intensive operations on the outskirts of the city are a gloomy portent for what is to come.”

Mr Griffiths said he is also “planning to consult very soon with a number of Southern [Yemeni] stakeholders to agree on their meaningful participation in the process.”

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/un-yemen-envoy-to-visit-sanaa-riyadh-and-muscat-after-geneva-talks-setback-1.769394

(A P)

Security Council is meeting today on Yemen. No doubt, US will announce support for a UAE/Saudi-backed offensive on Hodeidah, Yemen's poorest & 2nd most densely populated city. After meeting, Trump would warn against an offensive on Idlib in Syria and insist he is mentally stable!

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1039524022315376640

(A P)

New UN rights chief urges Saudi accountability on civilian deaths in Yemen

The United Nations human rights boss Michelle Bachelet has called on Saudi Arabia to hold to account the perpetrators of deadly airstrikes on civilians in Yemen.

In her maiden speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Monday, the former Chilean president touched on the Saudi airstrike on a bus of children in Sa'ada last month, which left more than 50 people dead.

Bachelet urged the Saudi military to show greater transparency in their rules of engagement in Yemen which is under an all-out invasion by the kingdom since 2015.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/09/10/573715/Hudaydah-fighting-Yemen-talk-collapse

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/human-rights-council_bachelet-voices-concerns-over-myanmar-and-us-in-first-key-speech/44385872

(* A P)

Riad blockiert Gespräche

Ansarollah können nicht an Treffen zu Jemen in Genf teilnehmen

Die Ansarollah, in westlichen Medien auch Huthis genannt, die weite Teile des Jemen kontrollieren, hatten gefordert, in einem Flugzeug des Oman und nicht der Vereinten Nationen nach Genf geflogen zu werden. Begründet hatten sie ihre Forderung damit, dass die Vereinten Nationen ihren sicheren Transport bereits in der Vergangenheit nicht hätten garantieren können.

Nach den letzten Jemen-Gesprächen vor zwei Jahren saß die Delegation der Ansarollah wegen einer Luftblockade drei Monate lang in Oman fest. Die zweite Forderung, in dem Flugzeug Verletzte mitnehmen zu dürfen, um ihnen im Ausland eine medizinische Behandlung zu ermöglichen, hatte Saudi-Arabien ebenfalls abgelehnt. Auch die dritte Forderung nach einer Garantie, nach den Friedensgesprächen nach Sanaa zurückkehren zu können, wurde verwehrt.

UN-Vermittler Martin Griffiths machte deutlich, dass er keine Zweifel an der Bereitschaft der Ansarollah hege, nach Genf zu kommen. Leider sei der Delegation eine Anreise trotz umfangreicher Gespräche mit der saudischen Militärallianz, die seit über drei Jahren Krieg gegen den Jemen führt, nicht ermöglicht worden: »Wir haben es nicht geschafft, die Delegation aus Sanaa hierher zu bekommen«, so Griffiths.

https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/339609.jemen-gespr%C3%A4che-gescheitert-riad-blockiert-gespr%C3%A4che.html

(* A B K P)

As Peace Talks Fail, a Tragic Battle for Yemen's Hodeidah Port Looms

UN Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths had plans to assemble the parties in Geneva to begin paving the way for negotiations. But now, those hopes have been dealt a serious blow, because the Houthi delegation failed to attend the conference. Though this is not definitively the end of a peace process, the setback could have horrific consequences, since now there is nothing barring a full-scale battle for the port of Hodeidah.

However, the Geneva talks ran into trouble the moment they began, since the Houthi delegation did not turn up. There were early signs that this set of talks was not going to go very far. Victoria Sauer, a Non-Resident Researcher at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies told Al Bawaba:

“The warring parties in Yemen seem to lack sufficient willingness to talk to each other and work towards peace. This was evident when both the Yemeni government and the Houthis chose mainly low-ranking officials to represent them in the Geneva consultations. The failure of these consultations, and the escalation of hostilities in Hudaydah, can thus be seen as further manifestations of this lack of commitment to the peace process.”

It was later reported that the Houthis declined to attend because they did not get the guarantees they wanted for their delegation’s passage.

The developments in Geneva have unsurprisingly cast doubt on the willingness for peace by all sides of the conflict. But Griffiths was right when he said that these kinds of jibes and setbacks are common in negotiations, and should not be seen as derailing influences in themselves. Will Picard, the Executive Director of the Yemen Peace Project, told Al Bawaba:

“It appears that the Houthi delegation made certain unreasonable demands at the eleventh hour, which spoiled the arrangements to bring them to Geneva. This is hardly surprising, and was probably deliberate. However, I don't think we can draw conclusions about the Houthis' engagement with the peace process from this ill-conceived maneuver alone.

It's important to remember that the goal of the Geneva proceedings was never direct negotiations between the warring parties. Mr. Griffiths' goal has been to hold "consultations" with the Houthis and the government in order to establish a framework for negotiations, and he is proceeding with this effort in Muscat and Sana’a. The Houthis, the government, and the coalition have each disrupted the peace process several times since 2015, and will likely continue to provoke and probe each other. I think that's to be expected, even after a peace deal is signed.”

Dr. Elisabeth Kendall, a Senior Research Fellow in Arabic and an expert on Yemen at the University of Oxford told Al Bawaba:

“Experience shows that military escalation in Yemen does not tend to increase the prospects for negotiation. The best hope still lies with the UN Envoy, possibly assisted by Oman, shuttling between the two main warring sides to convince them to suspend hostilities and suspicions long enough at least to allow consultations to begin in earnest.”– by Eleanor Beevor

https://www.albawaba.com/news/peace-talks-fail-tragic-battle-yemens-hodeidah-port-looms-1184722

(* A P)

Geneva debacle boosts military operation

Yemeni government has vowed to use all options including the military force to rout Al Houthis after the collapse of UN-brokered talks in Geneva due to the Iran-allied militants’ intransigence earlier this week.

“All options are open for the government to restore the Yemeni state from the Al Houthi coup,” spokesman for the Yemeni government Rajeh Badi said in remarks published on Monday.

“We are fighting a sacred war to regain our freedom from a despotic and backward project. Therefore, we will use all means. Perhaps the military option is the most prominent of all available options,” Badi told Al Hayat newspaper.

The official said that Griffiths has not informed the Yemeni government of a date for a new round of consultations. “Given that the UN and its envoy were unable to bring Al Houthis to Geneva on September 6, any talk of a new round of talks now becomes absurd,” Badi said.

Griffiths played down Al Houthis’ failure to go to Geneva, saying their no-show did not block Yemen’s peace process.

Some analysts disagree with the former British diplomat. “Although the political solution is necessary, it is increasingly dependent on the military action on the ground,” said Adnan Mansour, a Yemeni analyst living in Cairo. “Obviously, Al Houthis will not agree to sit at the negotiating table and accept a political solution unless they are weakened and their sources [of funding] are cut off,” he told Gulf News.

Mansour singled out the coastal city of Hodeida, being controlled by Al Houthis, as a main target for the military action.

“After the non-start of the consultations, the legitimacy [government] forces and the Arab Coalition have no option but to advance against Al Houthis and defeat them especially in Hodeida [as the city is] the sole lifeline for the militia,” he said.

“Military and political rules dictate that Al Houthis’ control of the Hodeida port should be ended. This will deal a crushing blow to them,” Mansour added.

https://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/geneva-debacle-boosts-military-operation-1.2276836

My comment: This report obviously shows that the Hadi government and the Saudi coalition never had been interested in real peace, and that the failure of the Geneva talks are taken as a ptetense to promote war and assault. – “Al Houthis will not agree to sit at the negotiating table and accept a political solution unless they are weakened” really means: We only want the Houthis at the negotiation table when they are weakened so much that they accept all our preconditions”.

(* A P)

UN unable to cease Saudi-led military aggression against Yemen: Ansarullah

The spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement says the United Nations cannot put an end to the almost three-and-a-half years old Saudi-led military campaign against Yemen, which has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of innocent civilians and left the country’s critical infrastructure in ruins.

“The United Nations failed to obtain the necessary permit. The Saudi-led coalition claimed as usual that we had set out conditions. The alliance even went to the extent to exaggerate that the wounded fighters we were planning to take with us for treatment in Europe were of Iranian and Lebanese origins. Such allegations were made out of political bankruptcy,” Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah television network cited Mohammed Abdul-Salam as writing on his official Twitter page on Sunday.

The Houthi official was referring to collapse of the latest round of the UN-brokered peace talks, which were to be held in the Swiss city of Geneva. The talks were aborted after the United Nations failed to meet conditions set by Yemen’s Houthis, including transfer of wounded people to hospital for proper treatment and guarantees on the safety of Houthi delegation.

Ansarullah later accused the Saudis of planning to strand the delegation in Djibouti, where their plane was to make a stop en route to Geneva.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Houthi spokesman added, “The United Nations initially informed us that we would be allowed to fly directly from Sana'a to Geneva. We even reached an agreement to take patients and a number of injured people in critical condition with us, because the airport has been closed for more than two years.”

Abdul-Salam stressed that it is within the inalienable rights of patients in critical condition to receive medical attention, especially "as we were going to talk about the sufferings of our people and the United Nations and relevant bodies were aware of the travel of wounded people and patients to Europe."

“No party, even some ambassadors of the Security Council permanent members, gave us a firm assurance regarding the safety of our delegation. How could we trust a coalition that is at war with us when the international community has no trust in it?” the senior Yemeni official pointed out.

Abdul-Salam said, “Once the United Nations did not agree to the travel of our delegation on board a chartered flight, we realized that the world body cannot do anything to protect flights against the Saudi regime's disregard for international law and regulations.”

He concluded that the reopening of Sana’a International Airport is a humanitarian must and the Saudi-led coalition’s control over Yemeni ports of entry will not go unanswered.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/09/09/573659/UN-unable-to-cease-Saudiled-military-aggression-against-Yemen-Ansarullah

My comment: For the failed Geneva talks look at Yemen War Mosaic 455, cp7.

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

(* B K P)

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince must restore dignity to his country — by ending Yemen’s cruel war

Saudi Arabia must face the damage from the past three-plus years of war in Yemen. The conflict has soured the kingdom’s relations with the international community, affected regional security dynamics and harmed its reputation in the Islamic world. Saudi Arabia is in a unique position to simultaneously keep Iran out of Yemen and end the war on favorable terms if it change its role from warmaker to peacemaker. Saudi Arabia could use its clout and leverage within Western circles and empower international institutions and mechanisms to resolve the conflict. However, the window for achieving a resolution to the conflict is rapidly closing.

Saudi Arabia’s actions in Yemen were driven by national security concerns due to Iranian involvement in the country. However, Saudi Arabia’s war efforts have not provided an extra layer of security but have rather increased the likelihood of domestic casualties and damage.

Mistakes and risks associated with long-term conflict diminish Saudi standing internationally and increase the chances of a confrontation with traditional allies.

Peace talks will provide Saudi Arabia with a golden opportunity. Riyadh will almost certainly find international support if it enters into a cease-fire as negotiations take place. It must utilize its global clout and incorporate international institutions and allies to financially pressure Tehran to stand down in Yemen. The Saudi Arabian crown prince must also accept that the Houthis, the Islah (Sunni Islamists) and the southern separatists should play a future role in the governance of Yemen. Obviously, Riyadh will not get all of what it wants and would leave Yemenis to sort out their differences with their fellow Houthis in a National Congress — instead of on bloody battlefields.

The longer this cruel war lasts in Yemen, the more permanent the damage will be – By Jamal Khashoggi

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/09/11/saudi-arabias-crown-prince-must-restore-dignity-to-his-country-by-ending-yemens-cruel-war/

My comment: Khashoggi is a Saudi journalist and critic of Saudi policy, who has left the country. – This article here is certainly true, but it is still quite soft in many respects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi

Comment: It is far more likely that the vacuous arrogance of MoBS will get a Saudi prosecutor to demand the death sentence against for having the brains to write this timely op-ed.

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/1039774325992292353

(A P)

HRW urges car companies to support detained Saudi activists

Human Rights Watch (HRW) launched a campaign on Tuesday urging major car companies to call on Saudi Arabia to release women activists who fought for the right of women to drive in the conservative kingdom.

the lifting of the ban was accompanied by fresh arrests of some of the very female activists who campaigned against it for years

Saudi authorities have accused them of suspicious contacts with “foreign entities”, and local media labeled them traitors. At least nine people remain in detention, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-women-driving/hrw-urges-car-companies-to-support-detained-saudi-activists-idUSKCN1LR1SM

(* B D)

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology: Introduction

KACST seeks to strengthen the Kingdom’s position in the field of Space and Aeronautics by cooperating with international agencies and centers on establishing advanced infrastructure, transferring technologies, and developing human capital.

Introduction

Since its establishment in 2000, the Space and Aeronautics Research Institute has been engaged in the localizing of various Space and Aeronautics technologies through its national centers that specialize in aeronautics technology, satellites technology, jet engines technology, astronomy, geodesy and navigation, and remote sensing.

In the field of aeronautics technology, KACST began an industrial technical alliance with the Ukrainian company Antonov and the Saudi Taqnia Aero Co. This alliance aims at transferring technology of use in the aircraft industry through developing, manufacturing and producing the multi-purpose Antonov 132 airplane.

The Satellite Center leads the national strategy of localizing the satellite industry in the Kingdom, by investing in building infrastructure and qualifying local human capital. The center provides end to end solutions starting from its mission requirements and design, to the development of essential satellite systems such as payloads, controls, communications and power systems.

The National Jet Engine Center focuses on the localization of jet engine technologies, including engine capacities, sizes and speed, that are designed according to their future application use.

The National Center for Astronomy seeks to achieve the vision of KACST in conducting research, studies, and in the development of astronomical applications that serve the needs of the Kingdom, such as the determination of lunar months, the study of solar activity and its monitoring, the interference between solar winds and the earth’s magnetic atmosphere, and studies on the impact of magnetic storms on communications, electricity networks and geographic positioning systems.

https://www.kacst.edu.sa/eng/RD/Pages/content.aspx?dID=97

(B P)

Is A New Crisis Brewing In The Saudi Royal Family?

Major changes are never going without instability, conflict and possible crisis.

International criticism on the ongoing dramatic changes inside of the Kingdom has been growing. Western media sources seem to have picked MBS as one of their main targets, as negative articles about the impact of Saudi Vision and the ongoing discussion on human rights or religious freedoms are following each other up on a regular basis. This criticism is for a large part unfounded, as changes to Saudi Arabia’s social fabric and the position of the Wahhabi conservative clerics should not be underestimated, especially when looking from a Western perspective. Bringing the Kingdom into the 21st Century will not go without internal instability, setbacks and possible hiccups.

Changing a patriarchal royal conservative social fabric, mainly supported by a rentier state with a redistribution based economic system, is hard and painful. MBS will have to cope with external and internal opposition, while dealing with economic and financial challenges. To change a society from within is a major challenge for any leader, but looking at the Saudi situation, this is only possible by making (short-term) enemies on all sides.

International criticism on the ongoing dramatic changes inside of the Kingdom has been growing. Western media sources seem to have picked MBS as one of their main targets, as negative articles about the impact of Saudi Vision and the ongoing discussion on human rights or religious freedoms are following each other up on a regular basis. This criticism is for a large part unfounded, as changes to Saudi Arabia’s social fabric and the position of the Wahhabi conservative clerics should not be underestimated, especially when looking from a Western perspective. Bringing the Kingdom into the 21st Century will not go without internal instability, setbacks and possible hiccups.

It is clear for MBS, and his backers, that a free-lunch at present is not available for anybody. A capability to juggle a large set of balls is needed, keeping extremists and conservatives at bay, while changing the economy and social fabric forever. Internal stability at present is prevalent over global support for MBS’s future. Changes are painful, but needed. MBS’s future will be depending on it. – by Cyrill Widdershoven

https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/Is-A-New-Crisis-Brewing-In-The-Saudi-Royal-Family.html = https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-10/new-crisis-brewing-saudi-royal-family

My comment: Another “MBS the great reformer” article.

(* B P)

Saudi King Salman Looking to Remove Son Mohammad as Crown Prince: Report

The Saudi crown prince, for his involvement in controversial projects and issues, invited national and international criticism including, it seems, the loss of confidence of his father, the King.

Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman’s position as a crown prince is facing precariousness as his father King Salman is looking to replace him, according to a report by Spanish newspaper Publico.

The conflict between the king and his son resulted from differences in their approach to various national and international issues. One of the biggest differences between them is their difference of opinion on the Israel-Palestine issue, the newspaper reported. The crown prince has sided with Israel but in July, the king has publicly defended Palestinians causing a rift between them.

The Saudi prince attracted criticism from international players as well.

https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Saudi-King-Salman-Looking-to-Remove-Son-Mohammad-as-Crown-Prince-Report-20180910-0011.html

My comment: This might be a rumor. It seems more probable that the Crown prince will replace the king than vice versa.

(A P)

Saudi Arabia holds Egyptian who ate breakfast with female coworker

Saudi Arabian authorities have detained an Egyptian hotel worker who appeared in an online video eating breakfast with a female Saudi colleague, said the labor ministry, which also summoned the hotel owner for questioning.

A labor ministry statement on Sunday said an inspection team had visited the unidentified hotel in the western city of Mecca and detained the Egyptian for violations including working in a profession restricted to Saudis, without providing details.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-women/saudi-arabia-holds-egyptian-who-ate-breakfast-with-female-coworker-idUSKCN1LQ16T

and

(A P)

Saudis Arrest Egyptian Man for Eating Breakfast with Female Colleague (VIDEO)

An Egyptian man was arrested in Saudi Arabia on Sunday after posting a video of himself eating breakfast with a female colleague ‒ a violation of Saudi law, which strictly governs interactions between genders.

Sunday morning, an Egyptian man identified only as Baha'a posted a video of himself on Twitter eating breakfast with a female colleague at a hotel they both work for in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, Middle East Eye noted.

The problem, however, is that this interaction is illegal in Saudi Arabia. In workplaces or eateries like restaurants and cafeterias, families and single men have to sit in different areas, with men and women sitting apart, the BBC noted.

"Come have breakfast with us," Baha'a says during the video. Unfortunately, the people who came to his table were Saudi police, who arrested him for posting "an offensive" video on social media, the Saudi Ministry of Labor and Development said.

The hotel owner was also summoned by the authorities for "for failing to adhere to spatial controls for employing women," a ministry statement said, Al-Araby reported.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201809101067912080-Saudis-Arrest-Man-Breakfast-Woman/

My comment: This is Saudi “Vision 2030”. This is how Saudi “reforms” look like.

And

(A P)

Breaking: An Egyptian man has breakfast with his female coworker in KSA

Saudi citizens started attacking Bahaa and the woman in the video.

Some even used religion as the reason for their attack on the incident.

While others defended the actions of the co-workers.

Some thought this would be an issue for businesses that want to invest in Saudi.

Yet somehow, the hashtag was used as a medium to promote an event about “Building the Future” of Saudi. (with tweets)

http://identity-mag.com/breaking-egyptian-man-breakfast-female-coworker-ksa/

(* A P)

Saudi reverses ban on Yemenis and Syrians attending state school

The Saudi Ministry of Education has reversed a decision that would have stopped all Syrian and Yemeni students from attending schools in the kingdom for free, al-Quds al-Arabi reports.

Last week, the ministry sent an official memorandum, seen by the pan-Arab newspaper, which said that the students would need to attend private or foreign international schools with their parents footing the bill.

Previously, Saudi Arabia has allowed the children of foreigners with visas or visiting identity cards to enroll in state schools.

The change in policy caused uproar after a Yemeni taxi driver working in Jeddah posted a photo of his two daughters returning home after they were banned from their school.

"My daughter's tears broke me," wrote Hisham al-Ahdal.

Two days after implementing the new policy, the ministry reversed its decision, although Syrian and Yemeni students in Grade 1 will still be restricted from attending state schools for free.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/arabic-press-review-531742933

(* A P)

Bruder des saudischen Königs "erwägt selbstgewähltes Exil" nach Kritik am Jemen-Krieg

Ein Bruder des saudischen König Salman erwägt, nach seiner Kritik am König und dem umstrittenen Kronprinzen Mohammed bin Salman wegen des Krieges im Jemen nach London ins Exil zu gehen. Das berichtet das Nahost-Nachrichtenportal Middle East Eye.

Anfang dieser Woche erklärte Prinz Ahmed ibn Abd al-Aziz, einer der wenigen verbliebenen Söhne des Gründers des saudischen Königreichs, jemenitischen und bahrainischen Demonstranten vor seinem Londoner Haus, dass nicht die gesamte Königsfamilie al-Saud für den Krieg im Jemen verantwortlich gemacht werden sollte.

"Es gibt bestimmte Personen, die dafür verantwortlich sind. Zieht nicht jeden rein", betonte der Prinz. Auf die Frage, wer die Individuen seien, sagte der Prinz:

Der König und der Kronprinz und andere im Staat.

"Im Jemen und anderswo hoffen wir, dass der Krieg heute vor morgen endet", fügte er hinzu. Seine Meinung steht damit im völligen Kontrast zur offiziellen Linie des saudischen Staates.

Nachdem seine Kommentare online veröffentlicht wurden, erwäge der Prinz nun, nicht mehr nach Saudi-Arabien zurückzukehren.

https://deutsch.rt.com/der-nahe-osten/75853-bruder-saudischen-konigs-erwagt-selbstgewahltes/

cp9 USA

Siehe / Look at cp1

(* B P T)

Why Are We Siding With al-Qaeda in Syria and Yemen?

Does the Trump Administration actually support al-Qaeda and ISIS? Of course not. But the “experts” who run Trump’s foreign policy have determined that a de facto alliance with these two extremist groups is for the time being necessary to facilitate the more long-term goals in the Middle East. And what are those goals? Regime change for Iran.

Let’s have a look at the areas where the US is turning a blind eye to al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Finally, in Yemen, the US/Saudi coalition fighting the Houthis has been found by AP and other mainstream media outlets to be directly benefiting al-Qaeda. Why help al-Qaeda in Yemen? Because the real US goal is regime change in Iran, and Yemen is considered one of the fronts in the battle against Iranian influence in the Middle East. So we are aiding al-Qaeda, which did attack us, because we want to “regime change” Iran, which hasn’t attacked us. How does that make sense?

We all remember the old saying, attributed to Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack, that “if you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.” The “experts” would like us to think they are pursuing a brilliant foreign policy that will provide a great victory for America at the end of the day. But as usual, the “experts” have got it wrong. It’s really not that complicated: when “winning” means you’re allied with al-Qaeda and ISIS, you’re doing something wrong. Let’s start doing foreign policy right: let’s leave the rest of the world alone! – by Ron Paul

https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2018/09/10/why-are-we-siding-with-al-qaeda/

(* B K P)

Congress forces choice on US role in Yemen

The Trump administration faces a stark choice this week over the war in Yemen in what could be a defining moment for the president's foreign policy and U.S. ties with Middle Eastern allies.

Under a new law linking the actions of Persian Gulf countries to continued U.S. military support, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is required to inform lawmakers by Wednesday whether he thinks Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are doing enough to protect noncombatants in the two countries' war against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Now, aerial refueling is conditioned on the administration's ability to attest that those nations are taking meaningful steps to end the war and contain a massive humanitarian crisis.

A decision to declare full support for the Saudi-led coalition is certain to ignite a torrent of criticism from opponents of the war. A decision to withhold backing, on the other hand, would be seen as a slap in the face to close U.S. allies. Either way, the administration must declare in categorical terms its position on a campaign that has made even the gulf nations' most ardent supporters uncomfortable.

Officials across the government have voiced support in the past week for continuing and even expanding U.S. assistance to the coalition. But others remain opposed to publicly backing the campaign at a time when its record has generated sharp controversy.

The deadline brings to a head an intense internal debate about the future of U.S. aid to the coalition

Defenders of the coalition say the criticism overlooks abuses carried out by the Houthis and, with their links to Iran and frequent missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, the threat they pose to the region. A recent U.N. report said all parties could be guilty of war crimes.

If Pompeo does not endorse the gulf nations' conduct, the administration would almost certainly use a waiver under the same law to allow military aid to continue.

https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/congress-forces-choice-on-us-role-in-yemen-1.547076

My comment: Pompeo can tell some (propaganda) stories as those he and secretary Mattis and the Pentagon and officials had told before, and that’s it, and everything continues. The Congress is playing the role of trump’s idiots.

Comment: The Pentagon has helped Saudi Arabia to wage war on Yemen since day 1. And 3 and 1/2 years of US military assistance to Saudi Arabia has not helped a single iota to save civilian lives in Yemen. Not jack shit. So cut the bullshit.

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/1039590373176299520

and

(* B K P)

SAUDI ARABIA AND UNITED ARAB EMIRATES COMPLIANCE WITH NDAA SECTION 1290 - SEPTEMBER 2018

NDAA Section 1290 conditions further United States refueling assistance to the Saudi-led coalition’s air raids in Yemen on whether the Secretary of State can certify to Congress that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are undertaking specific steps to support a peace process and reduce civilian harm in Yemen. Drawing from the language of Section 1290, we briefly analyze the extent to which Saudi Arabia and the UAE have undertaken these measures and provide a recommendation for further congressional action.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have supported some diplomatic efforts to end the civil war in Yemen, though the urgency and good faith of this support are questionable.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are not undertaking appropriate measures to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. Saudi-led coalition naval vessels continue to restrict commercial vessel access to Yemen’s Red Sea ports, including the ports of Hudaydah and Saleef, via secondary inspections and arbitrary berthing delays (see section on UNVIM below). Both the coalition’s total blockade of these ports late last year, and the ongoing, UAE-led military campaign on Yemen’s west coast, have depressed traffic to these ports.

As of August 2018, UN-cleared food imports stood at 281,462 metric tons (MT), nearly 70,000 MT below Yemen’s monthly national requirement; fuel imports stood at 146,612 MT, nearly 400,000 MT below the monthly requirement. The coalition continues to prohibit containerized cargo from entering Hudaydah and Saleef, allowing only smaller and less efficient break-bulk cargo to enter the ports. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) reports that cargo entry into coalition-controlled Mokha, the third-largest Red Sea port, remains “limited,” and Yemeni sources point to the UAE’s militarization of this port as responsible for severely restricting commercial access there. San’a airport remains closed to commercial flights and medical evacuations, although the coalition has allowed some humanitarian cargo to enter the airport, including a series of World Health Organization planes that offloaded 500 tons of medicines and medical supplies in August. Finally, the coalition has even imposed harsh import restrictions and arbitrary delays on shipping into coalition-controlled Aden port, rerouting containerized cargo through Jeddah for secondary inspection and maintaining an unpublished list of banned items that, per reporting from humanitarians, extends to commodities such as cars, solar panels, and batteries.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are not taking demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure resulting from military operations

Saudi Arabia is undertaking limited and insufficient actions to reduce any unnecessary delays to shipments associated with secondary inspection and clearance processes other than the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM). The coalition body overseeing secondary clearances and inspections that duplicate many of the UNVIM’s own processes, the Evacuation and Humanitarian Operations Cell (EHOC), has steadily reduced the average time it takes to clear a vessel already cleared by UNVIM, from 77 hours in April 2018 to 15 hours in July 2018. This extra inspection and clearance time, however, still unnecessarily delays commercial traffic into Yemen’s Red Sea ports, and duplicative EHOC measures persist despite UNVIM adopting inspection processes worked out directly with the Saudi government in April 2018.

Conclusion and recommendation

The Secretary of State cannot plausibly certify that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are taking appropriate measures to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, reduce harm to civilians, or respect UNVIM, and can only tenuously certify that the coalition is supporting some diplomatic efforts to end the civil war.

If Secretary Pompeo certifies Saudi and UAE compliance with these requirements, or if he otherwise waives the certification on national security grounds, the Yemen Peace Project urges members of Congress to introduce standalone legislation withholding funds for US refueling of coalition aircraft.

https://www.yemenpeaceproject.org/blog-x/2018/9/11/saudi-arabia-and-united-arab-emirates-compliance-with-ndaa-section-1290-september-2018

and

(* A K P)

Congress’ Deadline for Yemen Certification Has Arrived

Pompeo cannot honestly review the record and choose to certify that the coalition has met Congress’ conditions. The president has already included this section among those parts of the bill that he intends to ignore. I assume that the Trump administration will do whatever it can to evade the restrictions that Congress is trying to place on U.S. support for the war on Yemen.

The administration will either ignore Congress’ conditions entirely, lie about coalition behavior to justify a phony certification, or invoke a waiver to get around the law. Congress cannot count on the administration to withdraw support for the Saudi coalition, and it is up to members of Congress to put an end to that support on their own. That will mean voting to halt all U.S. involvement in the coalition’s war effort, and that means pulling all military assistance and arms sales to the Saudis and Emiratis. The U.S. should never have been involved in this war, and Congress never authorized that involvement. It falls now to Congress to put a stop to this indefensible policy because no one else will – by Daniel Larison

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/congress-deadline-for-yemen-certification-has-arrived/

(B K P)

The consequences of selling arms to Saudi Arabia

The United States must bear responsibility for exacerbating what a U.N. fact-finding team has called “the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.” The U.S. government has provided the Saudi-led air campaign with mid-air refueling and military advice, but the billions of dollars in arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition has had the most serious consequences.

Attention to the role of advanced weaponry bought from U.S. companies must intensify, and these arms sales must be curtailed if the Saudis cannot bring their military operations in Yemen under control.

https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2018/09/07/consequences-selling-arms-saudi-arabia

(* A P)

Mike Pompeo, Jim Mattis, and Dan Coats will head to the Hill as Yemen deadline approaches

Top Trump Cabinet officials are set to brief Congress on Yemen as a Wednesday deadline approaches for U.S. military support of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Yemen's civil war.

The president delegated Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to speak to lawmakers about U.S. refueling assistance and efforts to limit civil casualties, which is required under the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

The law signed by President Trump in August sets a Wednesday deadline for the briefing and a certification by Pompeo that the U.S. allies are working to end the war and alleviate Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.

Otherwise, the NDAA mandates the military ends its in-flight refueling of the Saudi and UAE aircraft, which have waged war for three years on Houthi rebels as they vie for control of the country.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/mike-pompeo-jim-mattis-and-dan-coats-will-head-to-the-hill-as-yemen-deadline-approaches

(* A P)

Trump-Berater attackiert Strafgerichtshof
Die USA haben sich früh vom Internationalen Strafgerichtshof abgewandt, unter Trump wird die Ablehnung massiv. Sein Sicherheitsberater Bolton bezeichnete das Gericht als gefährlich und bedrohte die Richter.
Die USA haben ihren Konfrontationskurs gegen den Internationalen Strafgerichtshof (IStGH/ICC) in Den Haag drastisch verschärft. Der nationale Sicherheitsberater John Bolton bezeichnete ihn als “geradezu gefährlich” und nannte ihn illegitim.
Anlass für die scharfe Attacke Boltons war ein Ermittlungsersuchen der Chefanklägerin beim IStGH gegen Mitglieder der US-Streitkräfte sowie der US-Geheimdienste wegen möglicher Kriegsverbrechen in Afghanistan. In einem Ermittlungsbericht vom vergangenen November hatte Fatou Bensouda US-Militärs und Mitglieder des US-Auslandsgeheimdienstes CIA beschuldigt, Häftlinge gefoltert oder brutal behandelt zu haben. Die Mehrheit der Vorfälle soll sich demnach zwischen 2003 und 2004 ereignet haben.
Die CIA hatte nach den Anschlägen vom 11. September 2001 ein Verhörprogramm entwickelt, um Terrorverdächtige zur Herausgabe von Informationen zu bewegen. Dazu gehörten Schlafentzug und das international geächtete “Waterboarding”, also simuliertes Ertränken.

https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/usa-istgh-101.html

(* A P)

Bolton To ICC: You’re “Dead To Us”

Technically true since its creation, but John Bolton wants to make the point excruciatingly clear. Neither the US nor Israel participates in the treaty that established the International Criminal Court, AKA “The Hague,” which means that it takes an act of the UN Security Council to charge nationals of either nation (and other non-signatories). The ICC suggested that they might start probing US war crimes in Afghanistan anyway, which prompted today’s Bolton blast — including threats of personal sanctions against ICC judges and investigators.

The United States will not in any way cooperate with the International Criminal Court, national security adviser John Bolton announced in a speech to the Federalist Society on Monday, blasting the ICC as an unaccountable, bureaucratic body that runs counter to the U.S. Constitution and is “antithetical to our nation’s ideals.”

https://hotair.com/archives/2018/09/10/bolton-icc-youre-dead-us/

and

(* A P)

Bolton Expands on His Boss’s Views, Except on North Korea

Yet officials said Mr. Bolton has moved swiftly to assert control over other issues he cares about: Iran, the Middle East and America’s role in international organizations (he had a famously rancorous stint as ambassador to the United Nations under Mr. Bush).

That was clear on Monday in his virulent condemnation of the International Criminal Court. As an under secretary of state and later ambassador, he championed Mr. Bush’s decision not to join the court and led a public campaign to discredit it.

“Today, on the eve of Sept. 11, I want to deliver a clear and unambiguous message on behalf of the president,” Mr. Bolton declared. “The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court.”

“We will ban its judges and prosecutors from entering the United States,” he added. “We will sanction their funds in the U.S. financial system, and we will prosecute them in the U.S. criminal system. We will do the same for any company or state that assists in an I.C.C. investigation of Americans.”

Mr. Bolton said his remarks were prompted by indications that the court wants to investigate the conduct of American troops in Afghanistan. He said the goal was to stop the investigation in its tracks, and offered a litany of familiar arguments against the court: It infringed on American sovereignty, had unchecked power and was “ineffective, unaccountable, and indeed, outright dangerous.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/10/us/politics/trump-plo-bolton-international-criminal-court.html

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

Siehe / Look at cp1

(A K P)

Saudi-led forces renew push to take key Yemen port from Houthi rebels

Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, chair of the UK foreign affairs select committee, warned that the Saudi-led forces were making a strategic mistake by seeking to capture Hodeidah, warning that it could endanger Red Sea shipping.

He said forces of the Saudi-led coalition were not equipped to act as a civilian administrator in Hodeidah. “It is simply a fact that governing cities is not what armies are trained for,”he warned.

But the Tory MP Crispin Blunt, a former chair of the foreign affairs select committee, insisted that Hodeidah was “the vital ground in this conflict” because the Houthi’s main supply line into the port was being cut off. Blunt said Houthi control of the port sustained their finances, and hence their rebellion. “If Hodeidah is secured by the coalition, the conflict will be on the way to being sorted. It is our responsibility to help the coalition to deliver that objective.”

However, the former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell predicted the coalition forces would be humiliated in its efforts to take Hodeidah, calling it “an entirely crackers, bonkers strategy”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/11/saudi-led-forces-renew-push-to-take-key-yemen-port-from-houthi-rebels

My comment:; Blunt is a firm backer of Saudi Arabia: http://dissidentvoice.org/2017/07/yemen-court-battle-exposes-uk-saudi-arms-deals-and-humanitarian-tragedy/ , http://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-politics-43315346/crispin-blunt-roll-out-red-carpet-for-saudi-arabia , http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/09/21/the-scotland-yemen-connection/

(* A P)

Yemen civil war: Poll shows most Britons oppose Saudi Arabia arms sales, as MPs call emergency debate

Survey reveals majority of Conservative voters now against the UK selling weapons to Kingdom

MPs are to hold an emergency debate on the desperate situation of civilians in Yemen, as a new poll suggested a majority of Britons opposed arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

A poll by YouGov for Save the Children and Avaaz published on Tuesday found that 13 per cent of the British public supported the sale of weapons to the Saudis, while 63 per cent opposed them. It also indicated less than one in six people (14%) think that the UK’s role in supporting the Saudi/UAE-led coalition reflects British values and interests.

For the first time, a majority of Conservative (52%) voters oppose arms sales to the coalition, the poll taken on 29-30 August showed. This marks an increase from 25 per cent who said they were opposed in June. Conservative support for arm sales remained largely unchanged, at 24 per cent, compared to 25 per cent in June.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-civil-war-uk-saudi-arabia-arms-sales-bombing-emergency-debate-stephen-twigg-a8532191.html

(A P)

UK government defends arms sales to Saudi Arabia during debate on Yemen

Burt met heavy opposition from MPs over its handling of arms sales to Saudi Arabia during Yemen's civil war

British MPs clashed with UK government officials on Tuesday in parliament over its handling of the Yemen war as pressure mounts for Britain to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia.

The clashes took place during an emergency debate called by opposition MPs to discuss the situation in Yemen.

During the debate, Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt defended Britain’s stance on UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia and said that “there was no simple answer to the war in Yemen.”

“There is a no reason to not support an ally (Saudi Arabia) under fire from missiles,” Burt told the Houses of Common.

“We have done all we can to express the concern raised by the house.”

The Foreign Office minister also responded by saying that the British government believe that Saudi Arabia did not breach international law. Stressing the need for MPs to acknowledge the threat posed by Houthi rebels on the Yemeni government.

Scottish Nationalist Party MP Alison Thewliss gave an impassioned speech where she lambasted the British government for not doing enough to help Yemeni children.

“Important to first note that the people paying the price for this conflict are the people least responsible for it, and it is the children of Yemen,” Thewliss told the house as she condemned Saudi and Emirati actions in Yemen.

“In this three-hour debate, 18 children will have died. Imagine them lined up in front of this green bench. How many more?

“The children dying in Yemen could sadly fill this chamber in no time at all,”

While Labour’s Shadow Foreign Minister Emily Thornberry questioned whether the British government could determine if UK arms had been used to kill civilians in Yemen.

Burt admitted that “he could not answer” Thornberry’s question and said: “there was no feasible way of determining if British ordinance was used by Saudi Arabia.”

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/british-government-defends-arms-sales-saudi-during-debate-on-yemen-755945369

My comment: What still could be said about figures like Burt? “saying that the British government believe that Saudi Arabia did not breach international lasaying that the British government believe that Saudi Arabia did not breach international la” sys it all.

(A P)

'Every time I think of this city it brings me to tears', says Labour MP who wants last days spent in Yemen

Labour MP Keith Vaz wants to spend his last days in Yemen, he revealed to MPs as he begged for the UK to intervene in the country’s civil war.

MPs spoke of the “horror and heartbreak” of the conflict in a Commons debate, sparked by the death of at least 50 children after an airstrike on a school bus.

Mr Vaz appealed to Middle East Minister Alistair Burt to “please, please” announce a new round of peace talks, adding he hoped to return to the city of his birth, Aden, in southern Yemen.

He said: “I long to return to Aden, that beautiful city – I want to actually end my life there.

“I want my last days to be in the beautiful city of Aden, the city where I was born, because every time I think of this city it brings me to tears.”

Mr Vaz said he was appalled at what Yemeni people had been through “and what we have failed to do” to end the conflict.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/every-time-i-think-of-this-city-it-brings-me-to-tears-says-labour-mp-who-wants-last-days-spent-in-yemen-868300.html

My comment: He got this wrong: “he begged for the UK to intervene in the country’s civil war”. The UK HAD intervened, by supporting and arming the Saudis, thus helping to change a “civil war” to an international war.

(A P)

Thornberry says government ‘making excuses’ on Yemen to keep arms trade alive

THE TORY government has been making excuses for the Saudi-led bombardment of Yemen to protect its “lucrative trade in arms” Emily Thornberry said today.

In an emergency parliamentary debate, the shadow foreign secretary called on MPs "not to stay silent but to raise our voices ever louder" in the face of the ongoing war.

Ms Thornberry told the Commons: “It seems as though no Saudi atrocity is too much and no Saudi behaviour cannot be excused so that the government’s inaction at the United Nations and its lucrative trade in arms can be allowed to continue.”

She called for an independent UN-led investigation into all allegations of war crimes in the conflict, plus the suspension of British arms sales for use in the conflict until the probe is complete.

Theresa May's government should “at long last do its job as the pen holder on Yemen” at the UN security council and bring forward a new resolution obliging all sides to respect a ceasefire to allow peace talks and open access for humanitarian relief, Ms Thornberry added.

https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/thornberry-says-government-%E2%80%98making-excuses%E2%80%99-yemen-keep-arms-trade-alive

film: https://www.facebook.com/142202379163151/videos/242990393030147/

(A P)

MPs debate counter-terrorism bill

Stephen Twigg says the government's response to recent attacks on civilians in Yemen has been "far too soft... as far as I'm aware, the government has not condemned the attacks".

We need a fully independent UN-led investigation of all sides in the Yemen conflict, he says, adding that the UK has an additional responsibility to condemn its allies if they break international law.

He says children as young as eight are being conscripted into the conflict, which "is a clear violation of the rights of children" and "could amount to war crimes".

He urges the government to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia

"I fear that our approach to this as a country undermines our prejudice as a force for good," Mr Twigg says.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-parliaments-45474156?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=5b97b24e251de8065d1647e0%26British%20approach%20undermines%20attempts%20%27to%20be%20a%20force%20for%20good%27%262018-09-11T12%3A20%3A11%2B00%3A00&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:9b1e2b45-4585-4e73-a533-a95a067d4e9b&pinned_post_asset_id=5b97b24e251de8065d1647e0&pinned_post_type=share

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

(* B H K P)

Film: Deutsche Kriegsschiffe für Saudi-Arabien: Sind sie am Jemen-Krieg beteiligt? | report München

Aus dem beschaulichen Ort Wolgast auf Rügen wurden über ein Dutzend bewaffnete Patrouillenboote Richtung Saudi-Arabien verschickt. Gemeinsam mit dem Magazin „stern“ und der Menschenrechtsorganisation ECCHR hat report München den Weg der Schiffe nachgezeichnet. Das Ergebnis: Es gibt Anzeichen, dass diese deutschen Kriegsschiffe zumindest indirekt an der Seeblockade gegen den Jemen beteiligt sind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf8wfrPyGrg = https://www.ardmediathek.de/tv/report-M%C3%9CNCHEN/Deutsche-Kriegsschiffe-Sind-sie-am-Jeme/Das-Erste/Video?bcastId=431936&documentId=55965656

Mein Kommentar: Hätte man ernsthaft etwas Anderes erwarten können? Nein. Deutschland ist auch aus anderen Gründen mit schuld an der Hungerkatastrophe im Jemen, das ist jetzt einer mehr.

(* B H K P)

ARD: Patrouillenboote aus MV bei Jemen-Blockade eingesetzt

In Wolgast gebaute Schiffe sollen mutmaßlich Saudi-Arabiens Seeblockade gegen den Jemen unterstützen. Das ergaben Recherchen des ARD-Politmagazins report München, des „Stern“ und der Menschenrechtsorganisation ECCHR.

In Wolgast gebaute Schiffe sollen mutmaßlich Saudi-Arabiens Seeblockade gegen den Jemen unterstützen. Das ergaben Recherchen des ARD-Politmagazins report München, des „Stern“ und der Menschenrechtsorganisation ECCHR.

Trotz solcher Vorwürfe, die von Kritikern schon seit längerem erhoben werden, erlaube die Bundesregierung weiterhin die Lieferung von Patrouillenschiffen der Lürssen-Werft aus Wolgast an Saudi-Arabien, heißt es in den Berichten. Zurzeit liegen im Hafen von Mukran die Küstenwachboote „Al Mujmaah“ und die „Damad“ an der Kaimauer und werden für den Weitertransport nach Saudi-Arabien vorbereitet.

Report, „Stern“ und ECCHR haben den Weg von Transportschiffen nachrecherchiert, die von der UN kontrolliert und für die Fahrt in den Jemen freigegeben wurden. Diese freigegebenen Schiffe wurden dennoch von den Saudis wochen- oder monatelang umgeleitet und in Häfen entlang der saudischen Küste festgehalten. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die saudische Küstenwache die Patrouillenboote aus Deutschland zeitweise in den gleichen Häfen stationiert hat, in denen offenkundig auch Schiffe mit zivilen Lieferungen für den Jemen festgehalten wurden. Indirekt tragen die Boote also womöglich zu der von den UN-Experten so scharf kritisierten Seeblockade bei.

http://www.ostsee-zeitung.de/Vorpommern/Usedom/ARD-Patrouillenboote-aus-MV-bei-Jemen-Blockade-eingesetzt

und

(* B H K P)

Sind aus Deutschland gelieferte Kriegsschiffe indirekt an Blockade des Jemen beteiligt?

Der stern, "Report München" und die Organisation ECCHR verfolgten die Routen von in Wolgast gebauten Patrouillenbooten, die an die Saudis geliefert wurden. Ausgerechnet nahe der Grenze zum Jemen schalteten Schiffe die Datenübertragung ab.

Die Patrouillenboote, die die Lürssen-Werft an Saudi-Arabien liefert, sind womöglich zumindest indirekt in die Seeblockade eingebunden, die die Saudis zusammen mit Verbündeten über den Jemen verhängt haben. Wie der stern in seiner am Donnerstag erscheinenden Ausgabe berichtet, waren zwei der Kriegsschiffe wiederholt in einem saudischen Hafen eingelaufen, in dem Saudi-Arabien zeitgleich bis zumindest Ende August einen für Jemen bestimmten Frachter festhielt. Gemeinsam mit dem ARD-Magazin "Report München" und der Berliner Menschenrechtsorganisation European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) hatte der stern die Namen von 16 der bereits von Lürssen auf der Peene-Weft in Wolgast gebauten Boote recherchiert und über spezialisierte Webseiten teilweise ihre Routen verfolgen können.

Der stern und seine Recherchepartner nutzten unter anderem Transponderdaten, die auf der Webseite Fleetmon.com gespeichert sind, hinter der eine Firma in Rostock steht. Dort fanden sich zwar keine Belege, dass ein Lürssen-Boot jenseits der saudischen Gewässer unterwegs war. Aber einige der Schiffe stellten die Übertragung ihrer Daten offenkundig immer wieder ein, darunter die "Al Aflaj" und die "Farasan". Beide kamen im März im Hafen von Dschizan an, knapp nördlich der Grenze zum Jemen. Seither senden beide keine Signale mehr.

https://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/sind-aus-deutschland-gelieferte-kriegsschiffe-indirekt-an-blockade-des-jemen-beteiligt--8352752.html

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

(A K P)

Yemen - Excerpts from the daily press briefing (10 september 2018)

France regrets that consultations in Geneva at the United Nations’ invitation were unable to be held this past Saturday as planned. It calls on the parties to resume the talks led by Special Envoy Martin Griffiths – who, we repeat, has our full support – as swiftly as possible.

France reaffirms that the protection of civilians, the security of humanitarian and medical personnel, and free humanitarian access are all imperative. These obligations are incumbent on all the parties. France condemns violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen, regardless of who is responsible, as well as threats related to the firing of missiles against Saudi territory, for which the Houthis claim credit, and to international shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Only an inclusive negotiated political solution under the auspices of the UN will durably end the war in Yemen

https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/yemen/events/article/yemen-excerpts-from-the-daily-press-briefing-10-09-18?xtor=RSS-1

My comment: Blab la by Saudi Arabia’s third largest arms supplier. Keep in mind that Houthi missile assaults against Saudi Arabia and Houthi assaults against Saudi coalition warships are condemned, while Saudi coalition air raids seem not to exist.

(* B K P)

Canada's arms deal with Saudi Arabia is shrinking

The LAV sale is being scaled back. Critics want it killed completely.

A Canadian defence contractor will be selling fewer armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia than originally planned, according to new documents obtained by CBC News.

That could be a mixed blessing in light of the ongoing diplomatic dispute between the two countries, say human rights groups and a defence analyst.

The scaled-back order — implemented before the Riyadh government erupted in fury over Canada's public criticism of Saudi Arabia's arrest of activists and froze new trade with Canada this summer — could make it politically less defensible for the Liberal government, which has argued it's in the country's business and economic interests to uphold the deal.

The documents show General Dynamic Land Systems Canada, the London, Ont.-based manufacturer, was — as of spring last year — going to deliver only 742 of the modern LAV-6s, a reduction from the original 2014 deal.

The initial order from the desert kingdom was for 928 vehicles, including 119 of the heavy assault variety equipped with 105 millimetre cannons.

A defence analyst said the amended order likely has more to do with the current state of Saudi Arabia's finances than its frustration over Canada's human rights criticism.

"Saudi Arabia — in part because of low oil prices and in part because of corruption and mismanagement of its own economy — has a large budget deficit," said Thomas Juneau, a University of Ottawa assistant professor and former National Defence analyst.

"Spending $15 billion over a number of years for armoured vehicles that it doesn't need that much, at least in a pressing sense, is an easier target for budget cuts, for sure."

The kingdom has projected a budget deficit of $52 billion US this year and the country's finance minister said last spring it is on track to cut spending by seven per cent.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4815571

(A K P)

Spain to hold talks with Saudi Arabia over bomb sale, after halting it

Spain said on Monday it would hold talks with Saudi Arabia over the sale of 400 laser-guided bombs to the Gulf kingdom, after confirming last week it was halting the shipment because of the Saudi role in the war in Yemen.

“Decisions will be made according to a bilateral framework between two countries that are partners and have signed a contract and it will be resolved amicably,” Defense Minister Margarita Robles said in the Spanish Senate.

On Tuesday the ministry said it was halting the sale of the bombs amid concerns about their use in the conflict in Yemen.

On Monday, Robles said the contract was under revision and that the Spanish government would respect the Charter of the United Nations regarding human rights.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-saudi-arms/spain-to-hold-talks-with-saudi-arabia-over-bomb-sale-after-halting-it-idUSKCN1LQ27N?rpc=401&

My comment: Oh, the backdoor to ship the bombs is going to be opened.

and

(* A K P)

Spain saves Saudi contracts after averting diplomatic row over missile sale

Bilateral business came under threat following reports that Madrid would halt sale of bombs that could be used in Yemen war

The Spanish government has stated that a crisis over the construction and sale of five warships to Saudi Arabia has been “deactivated.” For a week, Madrid and Riyadh have been engaged in a flurry of diplomatic exchanges following a news report that Spain would cancel the sale of 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia over the risk that they might be used in the ongoing conflict in Yemen.

The news prompted Riyadh to say that if so, all other contracts with Spain could face termination, representing tens of millions of euros in projects ranging from the bullet train to Mecca to the Riyadh subway system.

A major diplomatic confrontation was averted following Thursday and Friday meetings between Saudi ambassador Prince Mansour Khalid Al Farhan Al Saud, Defense Minister Margarita Robles, Foreign State Secretary Fernando Valenzuela and Central Intelligence Center (CNI) director Félix Sanz.

Government sources said that relations have returned to normal and that “there will be no Saudi reprisals.” But other sources said that there will be “a price to pay” for the incident and that it will be difficult “to restore trust.”

https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/09/10/inenglish/1536568351_837677.html

My comment: The great arms deal stays untouched…

and

(A K P)

España maniobra para evitar conflicto diplomático con Arabia Saudí

[#Spain is most likely to maintain the deal with #SaudiArabia concerning the building of 5 2200 Avente Corvettes because
6000 jobs are at stake
the agreement means the continuity of successful policy of obtaining engineering contracts in Saudi Arabia as
recently, two Spanish consortiums won the award of two major projects: the high-speed train between Mecca and Medina, and the Riyadh metro.
the two Royal families, Al Saud and Borbones, enjoy good friendly relations
Last, but not least, there is an internal policy factor: the 6000 jobs of the last big contract are located mostly in #Andalusia, a region that is the largest nursery of socialist votes in #Spain and where anticipated elections are expected at the end of the year]

España se mostró este lunes abierta a mantener un polémico contrato armamentístico con Arabia Saudí, para salvaguardar su buena relación estratégica con la potencia petrolera y evitar un conflicto explosivo como el abierto entre Riad y Canadá.

Madrid y Riad, aliados desde hace décadas, conocieron un conato de crisis diplomática la semana pasada, cuando el ministerio español de Defensa anunció que paraba un contrato de venta de 400 bombas guiadas por láser, y por el que Riad había pagado ya 9,2 millones de euros.

El anuncio llegó después de que en agosto, decenas de niños murieran en Yemen víctimas de los bombardeos de una coalición regional liderada por Arabia Saudí.

http://ecodiario.eleconomista.es/global/noticias/9378044/09/18/Espana-maniobra-para-evitar-conflicto-diplomatico-con-Arabia-Saudi.html

and also https://www.eldiario.es/tribunaabierta/Robles-vendera-bombas-Arabia-Saudi_6_812678730.html

(A E P)

Djibouti defies UAE by nationalising container port

East Africa's Djibouti has said it will nationalise the majority of shares in the Doraleh Container Terminal, putting it into conflict with UAE operator DP World, which also part owns the port.
The Dubai-based company won rights in 2006 to build and operate the container port the Doraleh Port with the company owning around a third and Djibouti owning two-thirds of the enterprise.
That deal appeared to have collapsed in February this year, when Djibouti's government seized the terminal run by the DP World.

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2018/9/10/djibouti-defies-uae-by-nationalising-container-port

and

(A E P)

Dubai port operator to sue Djibouti

DP World has said it will pursue legal action against the Djibouti government after the part nationalisation of a port part-owned by the Dubai-based company.

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2018/9/11/dubai-port-operator-to-sue-djibouti

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

Siehe / Look at cp12

(* B K P)

WHO STILL SELLS WEAPONS TO SAUDI ARABIA? SPAIN JOINS OTHERS TO CANCEL ARMS DEAL, BUT SOME WANT TO SELL MORE

A number of other Western countries have also stepped back their military assistance to Saudi Arabia over its involvement in Yemen, which the United Nations has said is experiencing the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

However, Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's Arms and Military Expenditure Programme, told Newsweek that he did not anticipate seeing significant changes in the flow of arms to the Sunni Muslim monarchy.

"I don't expect that we see a really large amount of movement in order to restrict arms transfers to Saudi Arabia," Wezeman said, noting that even Spain would likely continue to supply crucial refueling aircraft to Saudi Arabia. "I think it will most likely remain limited to the countries that we see."

He noted that this list has grown in the years since the conflict in Yemen began.

While the origin of Houthi weapons remains a matter of dispute, Saudi Arabia has boasted a wide range of international backers, some of which have expressed concern over the targeting methods employed by the Saudi-led coalition.

Still, Saudi Arabia retains many supporters abroad and some countries, such as the U.S., are even looking to increase their military ties to the Gulf state despite lawmakers increasingly questioning this relationship at home.

https://www.newsweek.com/who-still-gives-weapons-saudi-arabia-spain-cancel-others-want-more-1116673

cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy

(* A E H)

Following the collapse of the currency. Yemenis stand helpless in the face of price rises

Due to the deteriorating humanitarian and economic situation since the outbreak of the war in the country in early 2015, Yemenis are experiencing serious difficulties.

However, the situation fell to the worst, following the collapse of the local currency to record levels, and the dollar reached 640 riyals from the 215 pre-war level, while the real price of the riyal is barely coming out of the context of the Talks between Yemenis.

Every time she asks the citizen Amal Al-Salawi for the prices, she waits for the answer with tension and anxiety, the prices have risen to record levels, some of which have increased to 300 percent since the start of the war.

Expensive madness

Al-Salawi, working as a school teacher in the capital Sana'a, says that life has become unbearable, the prices have risen madly, "even the loaf of bread has dwindled to a quarter, while the price of the chicken egg reached 70 riyals (about 0.1 dollars)."

In a complaining dialect that adds "al-Salawi" to Anadolu, "I swear we do not know how to live, salaries are stalled two years ago and our currency collapses, the flour for 14,000 riyals (21.8 dollars) and the kilo of bad rice for 600 riyals (0.93 dollars), the government is lost and the Houthis left us with nothing».

Prices rose to at least double in some commodities, and the price of the chicken reached 2000 riyals (3.12 dollars), after two weeks before it was 1200 riyals (1.87 dollars), while the price of kilo milk rose from 3400 riyals (5.3 dollars) to 4400 (6.87 dollars), according to Anadolu correspondent.

Before the war, the price of the chicken was 800 riyals, while the price per liter of fuel reached 150 riyals, while the price of one Kilo of milk was 1600 riyals.

The meat was absent from the tables of most Yemenis, after the kilo of mutton reached 5 thousand riyals (7.81 dollars), while the kilo of meat from cows reached 4500 riyals ($7).

Riyal collapse

Traders attributed the rise to the collapse of the local currency; Ahmed al-Shamiri, a retail retailer, said that the sale and purchase process had become a loss, as prices changed every day to the top.

The cause of the crisis

The crisis of local currency collapse is due to increased demand for foreign exchange, the failure of the Yemeni government and the central bank to deal with the economic crisis, according to the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Aden, Abu Bakr Baobid.

"The government and the bank have not been serious about dealing with the current crisis, and the bank has made promises to merchants to support the importation of goods, but it has failed to do so, which has prompted traders to use the parallel market," Baobid told Anadolu.

http://www.almasdaronline.com/article/following-the-collapse-of-the-currency-yemenis-stand-helpless-in-the-face-of-price-rises

(A E P)

Yemen C.Bank takes steps to ease pressure on citizens amid currency crisis

The Governor of the Central Bank of Yemen, Dr. Mohammed Mansour Zammam, said on Monday that a number of steps have been taken to ease pressure on currency markets and provide basic commodities to citizens at appropriate prices in different governorates.

“The Saudi minister of finance approved 23 applications valued at over $62 million made by Yemeni commercial banks,” Zammam said in a statement issued by the Central Bank.

The governor explained that the $62 million from the Saudi deposit. Saudi Arabia signed an agreement in March to deposit $2 billion into the account of Yemen’s central bank, under the instruction of King Salman.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1370266/business-economy

My comment: All this will help nothing. Yemen would need at least $62 billion , not million.

(A E)

Dollar rises again in front of Riyal after last two days have seen improvement

Exchange rates rose again in the parallel market on Monday, after witnessing a slight improvement over the past few days with the central bank meeting with cashiers in the southern city of Aden, the interim capital.

The price of the dollar rose from 580 riyals to nearly 600, and the real Yemen again collapsed in front of the foreign currency basket and lost 20 riyals in one day, said the money changers in Aden to the source online.

According to exchangers, the Saudi Riyal rose from SAR 153 to 158.

The exchangers attributed the rise to the increase in demand for the dollar, and the speculation of foreign currency exchanges, indifferent to the meeting they had with the central bank, which set the exchange rate of the USD 490 and the Saudi for 130 riyals.

http://almasdaronlineapp.com/article/dollar-rises-again-in-front-of-riyal-after-last-two-days-have-seen-improvement

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

(A T)

#AlQaeda in #Yemen claims it injured 3 Houthis & destroyed their vehicle by bomb in Mashba'a region of al-Bayda' 10am today. It's #AQAP's 1st formally claimed attack in 2 weeks (since killing/injuring 8 Security Belt forces in Abyan 27 Aug) & its 1st attack on Houthis in 4 weeks

https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1039249365532139525

(A T)

The Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) criticized al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) for pursuing a military conflict with ISIS over dedicating resources to removing spies from AQAP in a September 8 statement produced by ISIS’s Moata News Agency. ISIS released the statement in response to a September 4 AQAP video claiming to depict confessions of spies recruited by Saudi intelligence. AQAP claimed in the video that the spies were responsible for providing intelligence that directed the majority of U.S. airstrikes against AQAP.[4]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-september-10-2018

cp15 Propaganda

(A P)

UN Envoy to Yemen Hails Govt., Arab Coalition’s ‘Constructive’ Approach at Peace Talks

Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said on Tuesday that despite the Houthis’ non-attendance of the Geneva meeting, the alliance will continue to support UN and international efforts to bring together the rival Yemeni parties to find a solution to the crisis.
He revealed that the coalition had received on September 4 a request from Griffiths to issue a permit to transport the Houthis to Geneva, but it was later revoked. He made a similar request the next day before also revoking it.
Maliki stressed, during a press briefing, that the coalition will forge ahead with the “military option” to pressure the Houthis to sit at the dialogue table.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1393101/un-envoy-yemen-hails-govt-arab-coalition%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98constructive%E2%80%99-approach-peace-talks

(* A P)

Counselor Al-Mansour: JIAT is Independent and stands at same distance from all parties to Yemeni conflict

The official spokesman of the Joint Incidents and Assessment Team (JIAT) in Yemen Counselor Mansour Al-Mansour reviewed the results of seven recent completed reports.
Counselor Al-Mansour referred to the UN reports issued by international organizations, explaining that JIAT has its views and decisions on the reports issued by the UN and it responds to them through public conferences. JIAT welcomes the UN committees and is ready to discuss with them the reports issued by the team.
This came during a press conference held today at King Salman air base in Riyadh.
Counselor Al-Mansour confirmed that JIAT joins organizations rejecting violations that happen during the military operations, pointing out that the JIAT founded by initiative from the coalition countries, and has independence and impartiality, as it stands at a same distance from all parties to the Yemeni conflict.

During the conference, Counselor Al-Mansour reviewed seven cases, the first of which was the 86th according to the sequence adapted by JIAT. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights report in August 2016 alleged that on 7 July 2015, a plane dropped a bomb on Al-Wahat Mosque, in Lahij governorate, which killed 10 people and wounded 15 others.
He pointed out that based on the procedures followed by JIAT in the subject of verification procedures after JIAT saw all documents related to this incident and the assessment of the evidence, JIAT found that the coalition forces carried out an air mission on a militant target which is about 300 meters away from the Mosque.
Counselor Al-Mansour stated that after the JIAT saw the satellite images, they found that the building was destroyed before almost two months from the date of the allegation.
He added that JIAT concluded that the coalition forces had not targeted Al-Wahat Mosque, as well as the integrity of the procedures followed by coalition forces in targeting the building (civilian objects) and that it conformed to international humanitarian law and customary rules.
In the case of 87, the spokesman for JIAT in Yemen stated that the Human Rights Watch report in November 2015 alleged that on 12 May 2015, at about 04:15 pm, a plane dropped five bombs on Shaja'a market in the village of Zabid, Al-Hudaydah Governorate, which led to the death of 60 civilians and injuring at least 155 others. Human Rights Watch inspected the site 26 July 2015, and reported that three of the bombs hit a three-storey building in the middle of Shaja market, where the first bomb hit a candy store in the building, the second bomb hit a restaurant on the ground floor of the building, and the third bomb hit the second floor and caused it to collapse. The explosions destroyed two other buildings with another restaurant and four grocery stores.
He pointed out that based on the procedures followed by JIAT in the subject of verification procedures after JIAT saw all documents related to this incident and the assessment of the evidence, JIAT found that there were no air missions throughout Al-Hodeidah province, includes the village of Zabid, on the date of the allegation 12May 2015, as well as the day-to-day operations of the Collation Air Force.
In light of this, JIAT concluded that coalition air forces had not bombed Shaja'a market in the village of Zabid.
In case No. 88, the spokesman for JIAT in Yemen stated that the Human Rights Watch report in June 2015 alleged that on 5 May 2015, at about 10:50 pm, a plane dropped three bombs on the cultural center in Saada and a nearby house, which led to the death of 28 people and injuring three others, including 27 from one family. The director of the cultural center reported to Human Rights Watch that the center is used for local celebrations and theater performances and is used as a library, in addition to the local radio station for Ansaarullah group in Saada and which is called (Msairah FM) and used to guide Military forces, but Human Rights Watch, after listening to some of the radio station's programs, found no evidence of its use for that purpose.

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1812901

My comment: The Saudi coalition “investigates” its own air raids by this “JIAT” team. The only work they did up to now had been whitewashing in most cases or at least downsizing to the most thinkable level in a few ones. The claim that “JIAT is Independent and stands at same distance from all parties to Yemeni conflict” is a bad propaganda joke.

Whitewashing is continued here.

Incident Nr. 86, Lahj, July 7, 2015: This seems to refer to the July 6 air raid against a market between Aden and Lahj. The number of killed was stated as 45. https://activist1.blog/2015/07/07/violation-of-the-laws-of-war-video-shows-civilians-slaughtered-as-saudi-arabia-allegedly-bombs-markets-in-yemen/ and http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages107.htm and http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages108.htm

Incident No 87, Zabid, May 12, 2015, „JIAT concluded that coalition air forces had not bombed Shaja'a market in the village of Zabid”, here the photos from Zabid: http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages42.htm and http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages43.htm

Incident nr. 88, Saada, May 5, 2015, here the photos from Saada: http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages31.htm and http://poorworld.net/Yemen/YemenImages32.htm

(A P)

Foreign Minister confirms Kingdom's keenness on unity, stability and security of Yemen

Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is keen on the unity, stability and security of Yemen and its brotherly people, stressing that the Kingdom has provided all the humanitarian assistance needed by the Yemeni people.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed out that the Ministerial Council denounced Iranian delivery to the Houthi terrorist militias of the ballistic missiles that they used to launch on the cities and villages in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, pointing out that one of these missiles targeted the Muslims' qibla, and this was denounced by the Arab and Islamic world as a whole.

https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1812885

Comment: Saudi Arabia is waging war on #Yemen, has killed over 50,000 civilians and caused at least 113,000 children to starve to drath but it's apparently "still committed" to Yemen's unity, sovereignty and stability. What a sick joke.

https://twitter.com/shireen818/status/1039690425534218240

(A P)

Yemen Vice President: We will regain control over every inch of Yemen

The Vice President of Yemen, Lieutenant General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar said his internationally recognized government will continue to liberate Houthi-held areas until every inch of the country is under the government’s control and end the suffering of civilians

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1370251/middle-east

My comment: The old backer of AQAP speaking.

(A P)

Arab League Chief Reiterates Call for Political Solution in Yemen

Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit stressed on Monday the importance of finding a political solution to the Yemeni crisis based on the three references.

Aboul Gheit stressed the importance of restoring legitimacy through a political solution based on the three references – the Gulf Initiative, the outcomes of the Yemen's National Dialogue Conference and UN Resolution 2216.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1391971/arab-league-chief-reiterates-call-political-solution-yemen

My comment: The “Arab League” is dominated by the Saudis. A solution based on the so-called “the three references“ includes a de facto capitulation of the Houthis. This way, it simply does not work.

(A P)

This is no time to appease Yemen’s Houthi rebels

There is no doubt that the Houthi rebels bear the primary responsibility for the failure of the talks, but the UN team has also been blamed for mishandling the affair. If the international team could not organize a relatively small logistical issue, such as ensuring that the parties kept their word in at least showing up for the talks, how are they expected to handle the substantive issues underlying the search for a political solution?

Khaled Al-Yamani, Yemen’s Foreign Minister, took the UN to task for not being firm enough with the Houthis — a critique that has been frequently directed at the UN during its dealings with the Houthis. Critics have described the UN’s actions as repeatedly rewarding their intransigence. Appeasing the Houthis and tolerating their failure to uphold UN Security Council Resolution 2216 has failed to persuade them to take a seat at the negotiating table. Resolution 2216 was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, meaning it can be implemented by the use of force and, if this is not respected, what future does UN mediation have in Yemen?

Following the failure of the talks in Geneva, the UN envoy refrained from publicly disclosing the reasons. Instead, he announced that he was going to Sanaa to have separate consultations with the Houthis.

Dave Harden, an expert on the region and until recently a senior official at the US Agency for International Aid, said that the UN Envoy to Yemen “got it wrong,” adding: “Negotiators can't reward bad behavior nor want peace more than the parties,” which is something he learned from decades of experience.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1369876

and

(A P)

#Saudi newspaper @aawsat_eng cartoon on #Yemen Houthis & UN envoy @OSE_Yemen

https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/1039172577653141504

(A K P)

Washington: Iran Continues to Smuggle Weapons to Houthis in Yemen

Iran continues to play a role in the conflict in Yemen by providing Houthi militias with ballistic missiles and weapons, according to commander of US 5th Fleet Vice Admiral Scott Stearney.
Stearney said that Tehran’s support for the Houthis enabled them to threaten the shipping and international trade route through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Speaking during a teleconference from the 5th Fleet’s headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, Stearney was responding to recent threats to global shipping at the narrow choke points of the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1390951/washington-iran-continues-smuggle-weapons-houthis-yemen

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

(A K pH)

Aggression’s Daily Update for Tuesday, September 11th, 2018

In Saada, US-Saudi aggression launched 4 raids on Adhdhaher district and a raid on Shida district.

In Hajja, the US-Saudi aggression launched 5 raids on Mustaba district.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2743&cat_id=1

(A K pS)

Arab Coalition Jets Target Houthi Positions in Yemen’s Marib

Saudi-led Arab coalition jets struck on Tuesday positions of the Iran-backed Houthi militias in the Sirwah district in Yemen’s Marib province.
A field source told the September.net website that the jets targeted militia reinforcements that were making their way to the battlefront.
A number of military vehicles were destroyed and a number of Houthis were killed and wounded in the strike.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1392366/arab-coalition-jets-target-houthi-positions-yemen%E2%80%99s-marib

(A K pH)

Aggression’s Daily Update for Monday, September 10th, 2018

In Hodiedah, three civilians were killed and others from the same family were injured when the US-Saudi aggression targeted their house in Attohayta district.
In Saada, the US-Saudi aggression destroyed two cars on the main road in Shida border district by two airstrikes. Also it launched 4 airstrikes on civilian cars and houses in Baqim district, including 3 raids on Al-Jomhoriah camp northern Saada city. Civilian's houses in Baqim district and populated villages in Munabbeh and Shida districts were targeted by Saudi missiles and artillery shells.
In Hajja, US-Saudi aerial aggression launched 13 raids on Midi and Harad districts and 8 raids on Mustaba district. In Mareb, the aggression launched two raids on Harib Al Qaramish district.In Jizan, US-Saudi aggression launched 6 raids on Twaeleq moutain.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2726&cat_id=1

(A K)

At least 3 people have been killed as scores other wounded in an attack by Saudi jets on a resident's home in al-Tuhita area of #Hodeidah. Last night 2 people were killed as 4 others wounded in al-Hali district of #Hodeidah in western

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1039234540965912577

(A K pH)

Aggression’s Daily Update for Sunday, September 9th, 2018

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2714&cat_id=1

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

(A K pH)

Saudi missiles and artillery shells targeted populated villages in Razih and Shida border district.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2743&cat_id=1

(* A K pH)

Badr-1 hits Saudi army Mustahdath camp in Asir

The missile force of the army and popular committees launched a ballistic missile on the Saudi army Mustahdath camp in Dhahran al-Janwob in Asir, an official in the missile force told Saba on Monday.
Badr-1 targeted the camp directly.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news507904.htm and https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2723&cat_id=1

(* A K pH)

Jizan targeted by Yemen missiles

Yemeni Army’s missile unity and popular committees fired missiles at Saudi troop gathering in Jizan, south of Saudi Arabia.

According to Almasirah TV Network, the Saudi troops were targeted by Zelzal-1 ballistic missiles and sustained heavy casualties.

http://www.irna.ir/en/News/83029472

(A K pH)

Scenes Of Defeating Saudi Mercenaries in Yemen’s Hajja And In Jizan

In retaliation for the deadly military campaign led by Saudi Arabia against Yemeni, war media of the Yemeni army documented defeat of hypocrites in Jabal al-Nar in Haja and losses of enemy in Jizan

The military media distributed new scenes from confrontation of army and Popular Committees to the attempts of perpetrators of aggression and hypocrites, to advance east of Jabal El-Nar in Haradh Front between occupied province of Hajjah and Jizan.

The scenes showed the hypocrites trying to push their vehicles towards Jabal al-Nar before being harassed by army and Popular Committees

The scenes showed the moments of escape of mechanics of the hypocrites and destruction of one of vehicles with an explosive device.

http://www.newnewss.net/scenes-of-defeating-saudi-mercenaries-in-yemens-hajja-and-in-jizan/

and another report of this type: https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2728&cat_id=1

My comment: Typical Houthi media victory reports. But winning some fights is not winning the war.

(* B K)

Yemen Missile War Update: Aug. 30-Sept. 5

Between August 30 and September 5, at least 6 Houthi-launched missiles targeting Jizan and Najran were intercepted by Saudi air defense forces. Pro-Houthi media reported another eight missile launches targeting Jizan, Najran, and Yemen’s west coast, but these could not be corroborated by Coalition or independent reports. There were no confirmed reports of Houthi-launched missiles striking their intended targets.

Below is a summary of each confirmed missile event during the August 30-September 5 period:

https://missilethreat.csis.org/yemen-missile-war-update-aug-30-sept-5/

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

(A)

Véronique de Viguerie wins Visa d'Or photojournalism prize for Yemen work

French war photographer Véronique de Viguerie on Saturday became the first woman in 20 years to win the Visa d’Or, the top prize at the prestigious Visa Pour l’Image International Festival of Photojournalism held annually in Perpignan, France.

The award honoured the 40-year-old veteran photojournalist’s powerful work on the conflict in Yemen. Viguerie’s reportage for Time and Paris Match, entitled “Yemen, The Hidden War”, also collected theInternational Committee of the Red Cross’s Humanitarian Visa d’Or at a ceremony during the same festival in southwestern France.

Her award-winning photographs highlighted the extraordinary human suffering in a conflict that has already claimed more than 10,000 lives and levied what the United Nations has deemed the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The images show Yemenis coping through conflict, buildings in ruin, severely undernourished infants, and children horrifically injured or -- in stark contrast -- bearing weapons of war themselves.

“We realised that civilians felt really trapped and were almost suffering more from this abandonment and isolation than from the air strikes. Every day was a real struggle for the people in Yemen just to survive with Saudi Arabia’s blockade,” she told FRANCE 24. “This sense of entrapment is what we really wanted to get across.”

https://www.france24.com/en/20180910-france-photojournalism-perpignan-viguerie-wins-visa-dor-prize-yemen-work with film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=R_W7hELB8Zk

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-455-yemen-war-mosaic-455

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-455 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-455:

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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