... Warum Pompeo den Kongress angelogen hat: Waffenhandel – Söldner der Emirate in Israel trainiert – Omans Grenzwall gegen Jemen – und mehr
September 21, 2018: Displaced Persons are suffering – Torture in Houthi jails – Fuel crisis in the North – The real meaning of „legitimacy“ – Oil behind US interference – why Pompeo had lied to Congress: Arms sales – UAE mercenaries are trained in Israel – Oman’s frontier wall against Yemen – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah / Most important: Hodeidah battle
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
pH = Pro-Houthi
pS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
Einführende Artikel u. Überblicke für alle, die mit den Ereignissen im Jemen noch nicht vertraut sind, hier:
Yemen War: Introductory articles, overviews, for those who are still unfamiliar with the Yemen war here:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-einfuehrende-artikel-u-ueberblicke
Neue Artikel / New articles
(* B K P)
Map: Yemen conflict: Who controls what, Sept. 19, 2018
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2016/08/yemen-conflict-controls-160814132104300.html
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
(** B H K)
Film: IDPs from Bab Al-Mandab in Taiz Are in Torment
Displaced people in Ras Al-Ara suffer humiliation, lack of relief, adequate housing, medicine and clean water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtLGuq8cGeM and excerpt: https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1039527085017063425
(** B P)
Film: Abdul-Karim Al-Dobays: Survivor of the Coupist-Controlled Jails
Dozens of civilians were abducted and tortured by Houthis, including mentally ill people, according to Abdul-Karim Al-Dobays: survivor of the Houthi-controlled jails.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8fBRVA6Yic and excerpt: https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1041704579887378432
(** A E H)
Sanaa fuel crisis: Hodeidah siege cuts supplies as traffic grinds to a halt
Severe shortages of fuel in the Yemeni capital due to fighting and currency crisis have seen prices double and gunmen seizing supplies
Despite the threat of Saudi bombardment, the streets of the Yemeni capital Sanaa have retained much of their character throughout the three-year war.
Vehicles choke the streets, taxi drivers lock in heated exchanges and horns blare at junctions.
But not anymore.
A crippling fuel crisis has descended over the Houthi rebel-held city, leaving thousands of drivers and passengers stranded or severely out of pocket.
Abu Bakr fears this latest rise in fuel prices will only compound Yemenis’ misery, as he cannot now afford to pay for transportation and feed his family.
"I have resorted to going to work by bus and return to my house on foot because my salary is not enough to pay for transportation", Abu Bakr told Middle East Eye. "I have already had to deprive myself and my family of many things and now the new fees have forced me to walk."
Reasons for fuel crisis
A source in the state oil company in Sanaa told Middle East Eye that there are several reasons behind the current fuel crisis, promising it will be solved soon.
"The increase of the dollar against the [Yemeni] rial and the battles in Hodeidah are the main two reasons behind this crisis," the source said, on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to media.
Meanwhile a pro-government assault on the Houthi-held port city of Hodeidah, where as much as 80 percent of Yemen’s imports arrive, has created further shortages.
According to the source the crisis has also been exacerbated by Yemenis panic buying petrol instead of only taking what they need at the time.
Officially, no fuel can enter the north from government-controlled areas as it will be stopped at checkpoints. However some is smuggled via the mountains.
Empty tanks
Across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, which include most of the country’s west – including the capital Sanaa – petrol stations lie empty.
Fuel supplies, and their prices, are controlled by the black market. And when petrol stations do have fuel to sell, it sells out in less than an hour.
Before the crisis started to bite earlier this week, 20 litres of fuel used to cost 8,000 rials. Now that has risen to 16,000, with prices on multiple goods and services reliant on fuel doubling as a result.
Deliveries of water, which many Yemenis rely on, now cost 7,000 rials for a truckload of 1,000 litres, up from 4,000. Even the size of loaves of bread has decreased.
According to the source the crisis has also been exacerbated by Yemenis panic buying petrol instead of only taking what they need at the time.
Officially, no fuel can enter the north from government-controlled areas as it will be stopped at checkpoints. However some is smuggled via the mountains.
Empty tanks
Across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, which include most of the country’s west – including the capital Sanaa – petrol stations lie empty.
Fuel supplies, and their prices, are controlled by the black market. And when petrol stations do have fuel to sell, it sells out in less than an hour.
Before the crisis started to bite earlier this week, 20 litres of fuel used to cost 8,000 rials. Now that has risen to 16,000, with prices on multiple goods and services reliant on fuel doubling as a result.
Deliveries of water, which many Yemenis rely on, now cost 7,000 rials for a truckload of 1,000 litres, up from 4,000. Even the size of loaves of bread has decreased.
"Everything has increased in price, while our salaries have stayed the same since 2011," Abu Bakr said.
While average Yemenis are struggling to adapt to the new situation, Houthis and the wealthy are suffering no such problems.
When it comes to accessing fuel if and when it arrives, the Houthis always have priority. Wealthy Yemenis, meanwhile, can turn to the black market to source what they need.
"I think they [black market salesmen] buy it from petrol stations in secret and sell it for double the price,” Abu Bakr said.
Improper imports
There are no such problems in government-controlled areas of Yemen, however, where 20 litres of petrol sets people back 10,000 rials on the black market.
Importing the cheaper fuel into Houthi-run areas is difficult and dangerous, however.
As fuel cannot cross from one region of control to another officially, black market salesmen must smuggle their fuel from the south through mountains and valleys - sometimes paying bribes at checkpoints to allow passage.
Abu Bakr, meanwhile, just hopes the restrictions that the Yemeni government and its Saudi allies are enforcing on imports into Houthi-controlled areas are eased.
"Any siege on food and fuel affects the civilians and not the Houthis, so I hope that people can transport fuel from the south to the north easily, as we are all the population of the same country," he said.
"Wars have morals and one of them is that civilians have the right to get food and basic items. But in Yemen all morals have been violated by the warring sides."
photo: Thousands of residents in the capital Sana'a along with other provinces queuing in long queues for days before gas stations waiting to supply their cars with fuel. Due to the war and blockade on #Yemen prices have doubled 3 times or more comparing to the prices before March 2015.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1042920673658761216
(** B P)
The One Thing About Yemen Everyone Gets Wrong
No brokered diplomatic solution will succeed without on-the-ground legitimacy. And legitimacy is won locally.
Often simplified into a proxy battle between Iran and Saudi Arabia, in reality the war has devolved into multiple, overlapping conflicts driven by an ever-changing patchwork of rivalry and alliance.
A common thread runs through each of these internecine struggles: the desire—or the demand—for legitimacy.
Legitimacy, according to New Zealand political scientist Kevin Clements, “is about social, economic and political rights, and it is what transforms coercive capacity and personal influence into durable political authority.” It’s about “whether the contractual relationship between the state and citizens is working effectively or not.”
In the first decade of the 2000s, the political economist Sue Unsworth proposed a way of testing the overall legitimacy of the political order that underpins a state by asking four questions:
1. Does the political system comply with the agreed-upon rules of procedure (the constitution and the law) in the country in question?
2. Does the state provide basic public goods (like healthcare, education, security and a legal system)
3. Is there a shared vision for the country among the ruling class and the ruled
4. Is there international recognition for the political order?
If you’re a diplomat or a local government official you are likely to think rules and recognition are the priority. But if you’re a normal person going to work or trying to find work, shopping for food, and bringing up a family, the services and a shared vision are likely the most important. And the worse conditions are, and the less likely they seem to change, the more appealing the idea of overturning the status quo becomes.
For this reason, there is a simpler test for the legitimacy of a state, which is to ask whether the current setup is good enough that the population at large doesn’t feel the need to agitate for major change. If people take to the streets in huge numbers demanding the fall of the regime, even if the regime responds with violence – as happened across the Arab world in 2011—that’s generally a sign that the system is failing the test. From 2011 onwards, Yemen scored a pretty consistent F.
You’d hope that people would learn from past mistakes. But since a Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015 with the stated aim of restoring Hadi, who fled the Houthi-controlled capital earlier that year, little effort has been made to restore the state’s perceived legitimacy in areas ostensibly controlled by Hadi’s government (which likes to call itself al-shareia, or “the legitimacy”).
The Houthis aren’t doing any better: deeply unpopular in the territories they control in the highlands and the west coast, they rule largely through a mixture of fear and bribery. And for many Yemenis, the international community isn’t all that legitimate either.
The fact is, no one in Yemen is consistently perceived as legitimate across all cross-sections of society.
It makes sense that Griffiths wants to simplify peace talks for now. But the danger is that Griffiths’s backers—the member states of the U.N. Security Council, the Gulf states and others—will fall back into the same old patterns: They will quietly help install some familiar faces in government, look for technical solutions and bold visions for the future that exist only on paper, and react with surprise when a government made up of the elite of 2018 fails to do anything to build legitimacy on the ground and the events of 2011 and 2014 repeat themselves.
Western diplomats and officials have yet to accept that legitimacy is not the same thing as the broad, legal authority that the international community can confer on an individual or group like President Hadi. Nor does legitimacy automatically accrue to a central government, even when an election has been won.
Legitimacy is won at the local level, by listening and engaging with people on the ground, delivering services, and creating buy-in to the wider national system, with all the messiness and complexity that entails. It is won by setting realistic goals, one at a time, and achieving them, not just setting out bold new visions for the future, although these are unquestionably an important part of a longer-term process. Until people are ready to get their priorities straight in Yemen, the country is likely to remain deeply unstable – by Peter Salisbury
https://newrepublic.com/article/151289/one-thing-yemen-everyone-gets-wrong
Comment: A rollercoaster of rights and wrongs in the article proving, once more, that Western voices and narrative explaining the war have more chances of being published (and considered) than local ones.
One point, though, needs to be endorsed: 'Legitimacy is won at the local level, by listening and engaging with people on the ground, delivering services, and creating buy-in to the wider national system, with all the messiness and complexity that entails.'
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1928895000496854
(** B E K P)
As More Yemenis Die, U.S. Support Keeps a Major Oil Trade Route “Open for Business”
“I don’t think the Saudis would be conducting this level of atrocity if not for the support from the United States.”
As the Trump Administration continues to support the vicious Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, growing evidence indicates that its support is largely motivated by concerns about the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow sea passage off Yemen’s western coast.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is one of the three most important oil trade chokepoints—narrow channels along widely used global sea routes—around the Arabian Peninsula. Although its place in the war has been largely ignored by the U.S. media, the strait has been a central factor in U.S. planning.
Publicly, Trump Administration officials say very little about the strait, insisting they are simply looking for a way to end the war. They claim to be focused on helping the Saudi-led military coalition pressure Iranian-backed Houthi rebels into accepting a political deal that will return to power the government of exiled Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
Yet over the past year, Trump officials and analysts have repeatedly prioritized the strait in both strategic and military planning.
While the Trump Administration claims it is trying to end the conflict, its officials are clearly worried that a Houthi-led government will make it more difficult for oil tankers and other ships to pass through the area.
U.S. General Joseph Votel, the Commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) warned Congress in February that sixty to seventy ships pass through the strait every day, making any disruption “a very real threat that we have to pay attention to.” A month later, he told Congress that it was a priority for CENTCOM to keep the shipping lanes open. “We are principally focused on the ballistic missile threat and the maritime threat that plays out in the Bab el-Mandeb and in the Red Sea to the west of Yemen,” he said.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis has raised similar concerns, warning that shipping would be imperiled if “we don’t get this under control.”
The Trump Administration’s concerns are consistent with broader U.S. strategic priorities for the Middle East. President Trump has repeatedly musedabout the possibility of taking the region’s oil, and establishment officials have voiced their commitments to keeping the region’s oil available to global oil markets.
About a year ago, former U.S. diplomat Eric Edelman told Congress that any disruptions in the global oil supply could be problematic for the U.S. economy.
In July, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the Trump Administration would prevent disruptions. “The world should know that America is committed to keeping sea lanes open, to keep transit of oil available for the entire world,” he said.
These intentions clarify the reasons behind the Trump Administration’s military support for the Saudi-led coalition. The administration appears to prioritize the sliver of sea off the western coast of Yemen, where much of the region’s oil remains in transit.
“The Bab el-Mandeb is open for business, as far as we're concerned,” General Votel recently remarked. “One of our key missions here is to ensure freedom of navigation, freedom of commerce, and we will continue to exercise that through the region.”
By prioritizing the security of the Bab el-Mandeb strait for oil transit, the Trump Administration ensures that the war will continue and that the Yemeni people will continue to die – by Edward Hunt
https://progressive.org/dispatches/yemenis-die-major-oil-trade-route-remains-open-180919/
My comment: Hunt certainly is right when saying oil might be behind nearly everything. This refers to the anti-Iranian paranoia as well. But it is even going further. As is told here: “officials are clearly worried that a Houthi-led government will make it more difficult for oil tankers and other ships to pass through the area”. Well, this problem could have been solved easily. Yemen is a very poor and undeveloped country. A treaty for the development of Yemen, the US promising to support this by development aid, let’s say US$ 1 billion a year, and free international shipping along the Yemeni coast as part of the treaty simply would have made it. But Mattis is quoted here: “shipping would be imperiled if “we don’t get this under control.””. It’s US control which is required.
(** B K P)
Top U.S. Diplomat Backed Continuing Support for Saudi War in Yemen Over Objections of Staff
Mike Pompeo made decision after being warned that a cutoff could jeopardize $2 billion in weapons sales to America’s Gulf allies
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo backed continued U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen over the objections of staff members after being warned that a cutoff could jeopardize $2 billion in weapons sales to America’s Gulf allies, according to a classified memo and people familiar with the decision.
Mr. Pompeo overruled concerns from most of the State Department specialists involved in the debate who were worried about the rising civilian death toll in Yemen. Those who objected included specialists in the region and in military affairs. He sided with his legislative affairs team after they argued that suspending support could undercut plans to sell more than 120,000 precision-guided missiles to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to a classified State Department memo and people familiar with the debate.
Earlier this month, Mr. Pompeo asked his regional experts for advice on a new requirement imposed by Congress that compels the U.S. to cut off refueling operations unless the State Department officially certifies every six months that Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. are doing enough to minimize civilian casualties in Yemen. The law includes a provision that allows the U.S. to keep providing the support on national security grounds if the State Department determines that it helps protect America.
Most of the State Department’s military and area specialists urged Mr. Pompeo in the memo to reject certification “due to a lack of progress on mitigating civilian casualties.”
That included the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Their recommendation was also backed by the legal advisers who took part in the policy review.
The experts argued that certification would “provide no incentive for Saudi leadership to take our diplomatic messaging seriously,” and “damage the Department’s credibility with Congress,” according to portions of the memo shared with The Wall Street Journal.
They urged Mr. Pompeo to instead tell Congress that he couldn’t certify that the Gulf nations were doing enough to minimize civilian casualties, but that the U.S. would continue to provide military support to the coalition because it is in America’s national security interest.
The U.S. Agency for International Development went even further and argued that the U.S. should halt military aid because “USAID does not believe that continued refueling support will improve either country’s approach to civilian casualties or human protections.”
The only group that urged him to fully support the Saudi-led coalition was the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, which argued in the memo that “lack of certification will negatively impact pending arms transfers.”
The State Department’s legislative team said “failure to certify may also negatively impact future foreign military sales and direct commercial sales to the region.”
and other reports:
My comment: The reasoning of the various experts is breathtaking. – The article’s author repeats the well-known propaganda narratives, as: “The U.S. currently provides the Saudi-led coalition with modest military support“ and „The U.S. also provides military training meant to help minimize civilian deaths, and some battlefield intelligence, but the American support has had a negligible impact on reducing civilian casualties.“
Comments: Yemeni children need to die for Raytheon’s bottom line.
https://twitter.com/RaniaKhalek/status/1042801625176449028
If this is an accurate reflection of what occurred, then it is entirely revolting. The piece implies that there was no other principle governing the discussion on #Yemen besides arm sales. It is disturbing that conflict could be prolonged because policymakers want a business deal
https://twitter.com/YemeniFatima/status/1042779251680915457
And
(** A K P)
Pompeo overruled State Department experts to back U.S. military support of Saudis in Yemen
Pompeo Lied to Congress About Yemen to Protect Arms Sales
Mike Pompeo’s certification earlier this month that the Saudi coalition was working to reduce harm to civilians in Yemen was an obvious sham. According to a new report in The Wall Street Journal, Pompeo made the decision to lie for the Saudis and Emiratis because he feared it would hurt arms sales
Cutting off refueling to the coalition likely would make it extremely difficult to sell more weapons to the Saudis and Emiratis, but that is not a good reason to ignore evidence and expert advice and then lie to Congress. Opponents of the war have been trying to block arms sales to both countries for years, and this just gives them one more reason to keep trying. The U.S. should not be in the business of arming governments that we know will use them to commit war crimes, and that certainly applies to the Saudis and the UAE as long as the war on Yemen continues. The longer that the war drags on, and the more civilians that the coalition kills using U.S.-made weapons, the more politically toxic arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE will become. In the end, Pompeo’s decision to flout the law and lie to Congress will just make opposition to future arms sales that much more intense.
To their credit, most State Department officials were telling Pompeo that he shouldn’t do what he ended up doing
The department’s experts were right on both counts, but they may have underestimated how much damage Pompeo has done with Congress by making such a transparently dishonest certification that flies in the face of all the available evidence. Unfortunately, the department experts still favored continued military assistance for the war anyway
They urged Mr. Pompeo to instead tell Congress that he couldn’t certify that the Gulf nations were doing enough to minimize civilian casualties, but that the U.S. would continue to provide military support to the coalition because it is in America’s national security interest.
Here the experts couldn’t be more wrong. No U.S. interests are being served by enabling coalition war crimes and the mass starvation of innocent people. Our security is not threatened by the coalition’s enemies in Yemen. The only people in the country that pose any threat to the U.S. are the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) members that the coalition has been buying off and recruiting. The coalition’s war is not making the U.S. any safer, and it is actively harming what few interests we do have in the area.
There was never any chance that Pompeo was going to pay attention to this advice. This report just underscores why it is critical for Congress to do what the administration never will. Congress needs to vote for an end U.S. involvement in the war and to block all arms sales in order to pressure the Saudi coalition to stop their military campaign – by Daniel Larison
and
(*A P)
Leaked Memo Shows US Overlooked Mass Civilian Deaths In Yemen To Preserve Arms Sales
On rare occasion a story is unearthed in the mainstream media which demonstrates in stunning clarity how major foreign policy decisions are really made in Washington, especially when it comes to waging perpetual war in the Middle East often under the official rhetorical guise of "protecting civilians".
A bombshell Wall Street Journal report details a leaked classified memo which shows Secretary of State Mike Pompeo decided to continue US military involvement in the Saudi war on Yemen in order to preserve a massive $2 billion weapons deal with Riyadh.
This should come as no surprise to those aware of the decades long "oil for weapons" relationship that has defined Gulf countries' ties to the West in modern history, but it's unusual to have such high level confirmation of the decision-making process almost in real time.
The number of civilian casualties cited in the WSJ report — 16,700 killed or injured — is on the very lowest end of estimates to emerge over the past three years of the conflict. Some Yemeni reporters and regional humanitarian organizations have suggested the actual figure is closer to 70,000 killed
NPR has previously described the US role in Yemen while reporting from inside the country as focused on providing "targeting information, equipment and aircraft refueling to the Saudi air campaign, which has been widely criticized for being indiscriminate and killing civilians in places like hospitals, funerals and homes."
When earlier this month Pompeo certified before Congress that the Saudi coalition was working to reduce harm to civilians in Yemen — something Congress recently put into effect — is was an obvious sham.
And now there's overwhelming proof that this was the case.
Pompeo's official endorsement of the US Gulf allied military campaign came last week in spite of the memo informing Congress that “Recent civilian casualty incidents indicate insufficient implementation of reforms and targeting practices.” And the memo spells out that “Investigations have not yielded accountability measures.”
Thus the Raytheon sale of 120,000 precision-guided missiles to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — a deal said to be worth over $2 billion — appears the ultimate decider here.
The certification authorized the Pentagon to continue fueling coalition jets, and other areas of partnership such as intelligence sharing. Ironically this came last Wednesday during the same week the United Nations issued its own statement declaring the Yemen war the world's "worst humanitarian crisis" – by Tyler Durden
(** B K P)
Yemen: Mercenaries trained in Israel lead battles of Al-Hudaydah
Sources close to the US Congress Intelligence Committee revealed that hundreds of Western mercenaries financed by UAE participated in the attack on the Yemeni province of Al-Hudaydah after they received intensive combat exercises in Israel.
The informed sources told Al-Khaleej Online that: “hundreds of mercenaries of various nationalities are taking part in the attack on Al-Hudaydah, with the aim of taking control over it from the Houthis who have shown fierce resistance.”
US sources confirmed that disgraced Palestinian commander, Mohammed Dahlan, security adviser to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, personally oversaw the bringing of Western mercenaries, led by the Colombians and Nepalese to work for the UAE in Yemen.
The Al-Khaleej Online sources surprised the public when they revealed the establishment of secret training camps for mercenaries in the Negev desert, located in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 after the two sides (UAE and Israel) agreed to that. They added:
Mohammed Dahlan visited these camps on more than one occasion to check the progress of preparations and training received by mercenaries, under the personal supervision of the Israeli occupation army officers and with the knowledge of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.
As for a reason for choosing the Negev desert only to establish mercenaries’ training camps loyal to the UAE, the sources said that “the choice was deliberate, because the climate, the desert environment and the tribal structure that characterises the Negev desert are very similar to these in Yemen.”
(** B P)
The U.S. Isn’t Just Backing the Yemen War—It’s Helping Trap Those Forced to Flee
How the United States is helping Oman militarize its border with Yemen.
On the same day of the attack on the school bus, and not far away, U.S. personnel were finishing up another, quieter activity that has received far less attention.
From August 5 through 9, a unit of the Wisconsin National Guard that was assigned to U.S. Army Central conducted a week-long training with members of the Royal Army of Oman's Border Guard Brigade in Haima, Oman. The exercises were part of Oman’s militarization of its border with Yemen — with funding and other assistance from the United States.
In other words, not only is the United States. helping the coalition bomb Yemeni civilians. It's helping trap the refugees fleeing that bombing.
Walls around the world
Before, it was clear that the American government wanted no Yemeni refugees in the United States. Yemen has been listed in all three iterations of the Trump administration's anti-Muslim travel ban. That was unjust enough. In Oman, the United States is helping to prevent Yemenis from leaving their country at all.
In August, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — its military budget — for the fiscal year of 2019.
But the same Act also quietly expands the list of countries that the United States supplies aid to for the purpose of militarizing their borders. A provision was added to the military budget in 2016 that appropriates such funding to “certain foreign countries for border security operations.”
The 2019 budget includes Pakistan and Oman.
What do these states have in common? They share borders with countries from which millions of refugees emerge or flow through. Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon and Jordan neighbor Libya, Syria and Iraq. Pakistan borders Afghanistan.
Oman’s steps to “secure its border” sound familiar. In a trend taken up by states around the world — and championed by the White House — Oman is building a wall. Construction began five years ago and is slated to continue for another three years.
The U.S. has promised $2.5 million in aid to Oman for 2019 in a package under the heading “Peace and Security.” And a flurry of meetings between U.S. and Omani officials suggest deeper coordination could be underway.
http://inthesetimes.com/article/21454/war-yemen-oman-refugees-walls-bombings-displacement-civilians/ = https://fpif.org/the-u-s-isnt-just-backing-the-yemen-war-its-helping-trap-those-forced-to-flee/
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
(* A H)
12 deaths and 1231 cases of dengue fever in Taiz governorate
Twelve people, including women and children, died as a result of their dengue virus, while another 1231 were infected, health authorities in the southwestern city of Taiz said Thursday.
Statistics from the Epidemiological Monitoring office of the Health and Population bureau in Taiz province said that the statistics were monitored in the provincial directorates, which witnessed an earlier wave of the spread of the epidemic.
The authorities in Taiz are trying to fight the epidemic with scant efforts, but the lack of efforts to combat mosquito infestation has exacerbated the epidemic among the population.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/12-deaths-and-1231-cases-of-dengue-fever-in-taiz-governorate
(* B H)
Map: Yemen – Need for scaled-up emergency sanitation in most cholera affected districts – Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) – DG ECHO Daily Map
In 2018, 154 527 suspected cholera cases reported
The number of suspected cholera cases has been increasing for 13 consecutive weeks
In the high-risk areas of Al Hodeida* and Ibb governorates, nearly 400 000 people received the first dose of Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) in early August
(* B H)
Health authorities revealed 700 cases of dengue fever in three districts in Taiz governorate
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1041452279352762369
(* A H)
It's the fifth in two weeks. Death of a child affected by dengue fever in Taiz city
A child died on Monday evening, a week after he was hit with two of his brothers with dengue fever in Taiz city.
A medical source told "Al-Masdar online " that the child Ya’qoob Mohamed Amin Ali, died on Monday evening after a week of dengue fever, and Isac and Saqr brothers were hit with fever.
Five cases of dengue fever died in two weeks
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah / Most important: Hodeidah battle
(* A H K)
UNO: Mehr als 76000 Familien in Al-Hudaida im Jemen sind auf Flucht
Laut dem UNO-Hoordinationsbüros füt humanitäre Hilfen sind mehr als 76000 jemenitische Familien in der Provibz Al-Hudaida wegen des anhantenden Kriegs geflüchtet.
Laut den UNO-Angaben sind bis Dienstag etwa 76512 Familien ihre Häuser in Al-Hudaida verlassen.
(* A H K)
More than 76,000 families displaced from Hodeidah, UN
More than 76,000 families have been displaced by fighting in the western province of Hodeidah since June, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in Yemen on Thursday.
"The conflict escalated in Hodeidah province as fighting approached the city (provincial Center)," the report, which monitored the humanitarian situation from 1 to 18 this month, said.
"On Sept. 12, armed clashes reached the main Hodeidah-Sana'a road effectively, and the eastern route of the city, which became very dangerous to be used as a result of the fighting, was closed."
"Hot spots of fighting and violence are located in the east of the Kilo 16 area, the perimeter of the airport and the coastal areas to the west to the Red Sea," he said.
The report said that 76 thousand and 512 families had been displaced from Hodeidah Province until Tuesday.
"These people have been displaced to areas in the province itself (not fighting), or to other Yemeni governorates," he said.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/more-than-76-000-families-displaced-from-hodeidah-un
(* A K)
@OCHAYemen's map of fighting around al Hudaydah. Fighting has made warehouses full of relief supplies and food inaccessible. Only road aid groups can use to transport relief supplies from the port is the northern road.
https://twitter.com/MaherFarrukh/status/1042875093075021824
(* A K P)
Yemen separatist leader says Hodeidah offensive will not stop
A campaign to drive the Houthi movement from Yemen’s main port of Hodeidah, which resumed this month after peace talks failed, will not be halted again until the city is captured, a Yemeni commander leading southern separatist forces said on Thursday.
Aidaroos al-Zubaidi is the leader of the separatists who aim to restore the independent state of Southern Yemen, which united with northern Yemen in 1990.
His Southern Resistance Movement has 20,000 men positioned in Hodeidah, providing the bulk of a ground force led by the United Arab Emirates that is trying to capture Yemen’s main port city from the Houthis who control the capital Sanaa.
UAE-led troops launched a major offensive in Hodeidah in June this year but suspended it after several weeks to allow the possibility for U.N.-brokered peace talks. The campaign resumed this month after the Houthis failed to attend the talks.
On Wednesday, Zubaidi’s Giants Brigade said it was reinforcing its lines in Hodeidah, sending more men, armored vehicles and heavy artillery. The escalation has raised international alarm because of the threat to civilians, both from fighting in the city and from potential disruption to supply lines that keep more than 8 million Yemenis from famine.
“The civilian lives are very precious and all the coalition’s operations in the air and sea are taking into consideration the civilian casualties, but the military operation has begun and there will be no going back,” Zubaidi told Reuters in an interview in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.
“In all the wars across the world, there is always humanitarian suffering. But we are looking beyond the liberation of Hodeidah which will be in the interests of the city’s population,” said Zubaidi. “The battle of Hodeidah is continuing and the war is not over.”
Zubaidi’s separatists have occasionally fought alongside forces of President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi, who was driven out of the capital in 2014 and now heads a government based in the southern port of Yemen.
They later fell out, but both remain important components of an anti-Houthi alliance backed by Arab forces led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
My comment: he is telling almost the same than the hadi government and the Saudi coalition. Keep in mind: Hodeidah is and has never been a part of Sourth Yemen. How southern separatists can claim they would “liberate” Hodeidah??
Comment: Interesting. The separatists from the South are providing the main military ground force in the Hodeida offensive. But they claim they do not want to be part of the north and have previously refused to fight in the north. I guess if the pay cheque is big enough anyone will be tempted.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10157015557253641
(* B K P)
Yemen’s Hodeida Offensive: Once Avoidable, Now Imminent
When the plan for consultations between Yemen's warring parties, scheduled to begin in Geneva on 8 September, collapsed, the frozen battle for the Red Sea port of Hodeida resumed. It could prove fatal for many of the millions already on the brink of starvation.
Although not unexpected, the swift collapse of peace efforts is deeply disappointing.
With the coalition and the Huthis exchanging mutual recriminations, Griffiths had to postpone the consultations and the fight for Hodeida resumed.
The UAE was clearly ready for this to happen. As the prospect for talks dimmed, Emirati-backed forces – who had used the pause in fighting to develop a better position on the ground after a series of military missteps along the Red Sea coast earlier in the year – launched an assault to seize control of the eastbound road out of Hodeida linking it with Sanaa and other population centres in the central highlands.
The Saudis and Emiratis have spent recent weeks shoring up another important flank in Washington, DC. On 12 September, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced his sign-off on a certification.
As Crisis Group has warned in the past, a battle for Hodeida will come at an immense cost.
As fighting progresses, Hodeida’s population will become even more susceptible to rapidly spreading preventable diseases like cholera. The UN estimates hundreds of thousands of people could die as a result. And it is hard to see how fighting will not prevent basic goods from entering Hodeida port and being transported across the country.
Everyone is to blame for the coming fallout.
The U.S., by certifying that the Saudis and Emiratis are meeting the requirements laid out in the National Defense Authorization Act without any caveats, has sent the wrong message at exactly the wrong moment, namely that the coalition can continue to act with impunity as it advances on Hodeida.
A battle for Hodeida would be catastrophic. Crisis Group’s position remains that the best solution is a mediated settlement for the port of the kind under consideration in June. Then, the Huthis offered to hand over the port, remove reinforcements from the city and cooperate with the UN on the city’s internal security. But the coalition increased its demands from a port handover to a complete Huthi withdrawal from the Red Sea coast. Absent a deal, the Huthis should demonstrate that they are capable of acting in good faith and hand the port over to neutral Yemeni technocrats and the UN. This would significantly diminish the UAE’s rationale for attacking the port and city and could allow Griffiths to restart consultations.
If they cannot reach a compromise, the Huthis and the coalition should recommit to allowing basic goods to pass through Hodeida into Yemen’s most populated areas even if fighting breaks out in the city.
The Security Council reiterated in a May 2018 resolution that man-made humanitarian and hunger crises can be considered war crimes. The Security Council and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, should make clear that the UN Panel of Experts and Group of Eminent Experts under their respective auspices, which have been equally critical of the Huthis and coalition, will closely monitor the battle for Hodeida.
If the now likely offensive on Hodeida proceeds, the U.S. will shoulder the blame for its failure to use its considerable influence to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. That is a result that Washington can and should want to avoid. – by Peter Salisbury
(B H K)
Yemen: Statement on crisis in Hodeida
Action Against Hunger, along with other international organizations working in Yemen, is extremely concerned by the latest advances of pro-government forces in and around Hodeida and the consequent cutting off of routes to the North and East of the country. Already, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced in Hodeida governorate, and this latest attack will likely result in a new wave of displacement as people flee fearing the conflict.
At the same time, the likely closure of the port of Hodeida as a result of this new phase of the conflict will have a devastating effect upon the rest of the country.
Action Against Hunger strongly condemns all attacks in Yemen that result in civilian casualties and reminds all parties of their responsibilities with respect to International Humanitarian Law
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-statement-crisis-hodeida
(A K pH)
In Hodeidah, the US-Saudi Aggression launched a raid on the fishing port at Al Hawk district and another at Tahita district.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2887&cat_id=1
(* B H K)
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Yemen: Al Hudaydah Update Situation Report No. 10 - Reporting Period: 1 - 18 September 2018
The conflict in Al Hudaydah Governorate has escalated further as renewed fighting has moved closer to Al Hudaydah City.
Al-Hudaydah port and Saleef port, to the north of the city, remain open and operational. They are critical to the supply of food and other humanitarian assistance to the capital Sana’a and other regions in northern Yemen; the majority of commercial food imports are shipped through the ports. Significant quantities of relief supplies are stored in humanitarian warehouses in Al Hudaydah, including in the Red Sea Mills, in the vicinity of Kilo 10. The Red Sea Mills, which contain 45,000 MT of food commodities, enough to feed 3.5 million people for a month, have become inaccessible due to the ongoing hostilities. Several humanitarian organisations have offices in the same area and are concerned about the safety of their staff and premises.
A joint statement by INGOs on 14 September indicated that if the ports or the roads between Al-Hudaydah and Sana’a were closed, the effect for 17.8 million food insecure Yemenis would be devastating.
With the main Al Hudaydah-Sana’a road cut off by fighting, the only road out of Al-Hudaydah to Sana’a that remains open is the road to Hajjah, to the north of the city. This road is used by humanitarian organisations for the movement of humanitarian staff and cargo.
As of 18 September, 76,512 households have been displaced by the conflict in Al Hudaydah Governorate since June, both within the governorate as well as in neighbouring Hajjah, Raymah and Mahweet governorates. More than 81,000 displaced households in the four governorates have received assistance through the rapid response mechanism (RRM).
cp2 Allgemein / General
(A P)
Thank you so much to @BrianCareyArt for his great job in which he is trying to show through his art the real situation of #Yemen-i people. Million thanks bro for your support. (photos)
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1042921199800598528
(* B H K)
Film: Ahmad Alghobary: My short message from #Yemen to the people in this world.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1042507329923624967
(* B H K P)
Yemenis ‘forgotten’ while Western powers rake in billions from arms sales
fearing the Saudis and Emiratis could close the Hodeida-Sanaa route along which medicine and food reach Sanaa, OCHA and the World Health Organisation have made arrangements to save the lives of civilians in desperate need of care if medical supplies are disrupted.
Reducing or halting traffic through Hodeida port, which carries 80 per cent of Yemen's imports, could lead to famine in the region's poorest country, where 22 million of 28 million Yemenis rely on external aid and 8.4 million are malnourished and on the brink of starvation.
Last week, UN humanitarian agencies raised their voices to protest against the war. OCHA head Lise Grande said the Yemen crisis had deteriorated "dramatically" since the collapse of the Geneva peace talks. "Hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance" in Hodeida. She expressed serious concern about the mills which produce flour to feed some 3.5 million Yemenis. "If the mills are damaged or disrupted, the human cost will be incalculable," she warned.
UN assessments of the situation contrast dramatically with statements by the Trump administration, which provides arms, equipment, airborne refuelling of Saudi warplanes and logistical support to the attacking forces.
Pompeo's statements were hardly convincing, particularly for anyone who had read the Oxfam report on casualties during August
Two years ago, the UN stopped counting deaths, then put at 10,000; fatalities were largely blamed on Saudi air action.
Although recognised by the international community, Hadi was installed in February 2012 as president for a two-year period following an uncontested "election." His mandate was extended for one year in January 2014. Therefore, his term in office expired in early 2015.
Caught in an ongoing war and power struggle, Yemenis have been "forgotten" while Western powers rake in billions of dollars from arms sales.
(* B H P)
Millions of Yemeni Children Are Starving
Save the Children warns that the closure of the Hodeidah port would add another million children to the the current number of 5 million at risk of famine.
The number of Yemenis at risk of dying from starvation is staggering, but for some reason the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen still fails to register in the rest of the world. The 5 million children that are already at risk of famine are suffering because of a man-made crisis for which the Saudi coalition and its Western patrons, including our government, are largely responsible. Another million children could be put at risk because of an offensive that our government supports. These millions of lives are at risk because the U.S. offers effectively unconditional support to the Saudi coalition and the Saudi coalition acts with callous disregard for the civilian population. There does not have to be a massive famine that devours an entire generation of Yemeni children, but unless there is a cease-fire and an end to the blockade there will be.
The Hodeidah offensive obviously threatens the civilian population in and around the city, but beyond that it endangers the lives of millions more throughout the country that depend on the port for their supply of food and fuel. The blockade already impedes delivery of goods and drives up prices beyond what most Yemenis can afford. Further interruptions could be fatal to huge numbers of them – by Daniel Larison
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/millions-of-yemeni-children-are-starving/
(* B K P)
Report documents more than 2,000 civilians killed and injured in Yemen in six months
On the sidelines of the 39th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Yemeni Alliance for Monitoring Human Rights violations (Monitoring alliance) launched the semi-annual report on violations of civilians in various Yemeni cities and governorates between January 1 and June 30, 2018.
The CEO of the Yemeni Alliance Mutahar Al Buthaiji said they alliance recorded "The killing of 1224 civilians and the wounding of 1220 others, including women, children and the elderly, during the period from January 1 to June 30, 2018, through the killing of attacks and indiscriminate shelling Sniper weapons, direct individual weapons, murder by assassination, unlawful execution, death under torture and mine killings.
Of the dead, 232 were children, 129 were women and 69 were elderly, and Taiz province topped the list of victims (367), Hodeidah Governorate (226), August (74), Al-Dali (62) and Baydha (61). Believing that the Houthi militia is the most prominent perpetrator of most of the violations committed.
He noted that 182 civilians were killed by individual mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), including 41 children, 24 women, 11 elderly people, 138 civilians, including 19 children, 15 women, and 4 elders, 34 Yemenis killed in illegal executions, 36 deaths due to torture and cruel treatment of detention. The Houthi militia is responsible for the deaths of 25 of them and 10 extremist groups such as al-Qaeda.
Buthaiji drew attention to the illegal monitoring, arrest, and abduction (1067), including 42 children, 23 women and (230) political and partisan activists (32) rights and (17) media, Sanaa received the largest share of these violations with 152, followed by Al Mahwit 124 White 111 Taiz 87.. Noting that torture was recorded (199) detained In private and secret prisons supervised by the Houthi militia in the municipality of the capital, the governorates of al-Baydha, August, Sa'ada, Hajjah, Hodeidah, Dhamar, and Sana'a, including 107 politicians, 4 journalists, and 2 jurists.
He confirmed that the Houthi militia had recruited 848 children and the Sanaa province topped the list, followed by Amran, Hajjah, Dhamar 107 and Sa'ada.
My comment: This is heavily biased as the Saudi coalition’s air raids and blockade – which both cause much more civilian victims than anything else – are neglected here.
(B K P)
Film: Mohammad Al-Wazir is a lawyer from #Yemen. He told me what he is doing at the #UN #HRC39, principally about the #Saudi war crimes revealed by the Independent Group of Expert of Yemen. Which in his words, are "damning". Great to have a Yemeni voice speaking so eloquently & loud.
https://twitter.com/SamWalton/status/1042406168658960386
(* B H K)
Norwegian Refugee Council: Two weeks in a warzone
Having returned to Norway from war-torn Yemen, NRC’s Becky Bakr Abdulla recounts her impressions from one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, a country experiencing daily bombings and a complete economic collapse. "When I first arrived in the capital of Sana’a, it struck me how life tends to carry on, even in the midst of a brutal war. The streets were busy with cars and pedestrians, children were playing. Most shops were open, and I could hear the mullah calling to mid-day prayer from the mosque," recounts the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) media and communications adviser, Becky Bakr Abdulla.
Destruction everywhere
Becky has just spent two weeks in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. She was often reminded that she was in a warzone.
"Planes were circling over the city. Time and again we would hear explosions and wonder where they hit. The ceaseless sound of bombers reminded me that anything might happen at any time."
"In Yemen you see destructions everywhere – houses that used to be people’s homes left in ruins, large holes in the ground where airstrikes have hit and burnt down cars in the streets."
Lost eight family members
The civilian death toll in Yemen is extremely high. More than 60,000 people have been killed or injured since the escalation of violence in 2015.
"I met with a family who lost eight of its family members in an airstrike," says Becky. "Their house was hit this summer and there’s a big hole in the ceiling. The remaining family seemed completely traumatised. I spoke with the father and his two adult sons. Their eyes expressed a hopeless glance. 'We have no future anymore,' they said. 'All we can do now, is to find food for the children so that they survive.'"
Poverty and economic collapse
In addition to the signs of war, poverty was highly visible in the streets of Sana’a.
"People who used to have enough to get by now beg in the streets to survive. This is the reality for many Yemenis today and has been so for more than three years.
Already prior to the war, Yemen was one of the poorest countries in the region. Now, economic collapse has pulled the country into a humanitarian emergency. According to Becky, its people experience this in three ways: Prices on everyday products such as rice and bread have rocketed, many people do not receive their salaries and the value of the Yemeni riyal has dropped catastrophically.
"The country’s economy is about to crash and some people have started taking to the streets to protest. Many have reached their bursting point."
Disease outbreaks
In addition to daily attacks and economic crisis, cholera and other diseases rage. Many internally displaced people live in camps lacking proper sanitary conditions, affecting the inhabitants’ health.
"Their lives have been reduced to trying their best to survive every day," says Becky. "The people I met told me: 'We never believed we would find ourselves in his situation, we have lost all our dignity.'"
Shameful
Becky met people her own age who told her that they feel the entire world is against them. "As Yemeni citizens they feel they don’t have any opportunities, that they are trapped in their war-torn country and have no choice but to try to survive."
She thinks it’s shameful that the world lets the war continue.
"It’s impossible for me to understand how all these states, both those directly involved with the conflict and western countries, like Norway, who are indirectly complicit through our Pension fund, are allowed to enter a country like Yemen and put the lives of an entire population in ruins. It is absolutely crucial that the US, UK, Iran and France push parties to this conflict to agree on an immediate ceasefire and a political solution.”
Our work
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is present in Yemen, but restrictions from both sides to the conflict make it hard for us to reach people in need with humanitarian assistance.
https://www.nrc.no/news/2018/september/two-weeks-in-a-warzone/ = https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/two-weeks-warzone
(? B P)
Films: Zoom sur les prisons yéménites
[70 minute documentary in English by #Morocco outfit @LObsMarAf in 2 parts "Controversial Prisons" claims that ALL allegations of #UAE-run secret prisons and detainee abuse & torture in #Yemen are false.]
Peu de rapports d’organisations internationales sont rédigées sur les victimes de la famine et des mines au Yémen. Cependant, certains rapporteurs se sont focalisés sur le droit des prisonniers dans ce pays en profonde crise. En revenant à la source de la création du monstre Houti, ce reportage montre ce qu’il en est réellement, en donnant la parole aux différents protagonistes : officiels, responsables directement concernés, prisonniers, ONGs et magistrats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4z9dJ77fIA&t=2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4z9dJ77fIA&t=2s
My comment: if the film really denies the existance of torture prisons in Southern Yemen (which are well-recorded) this would damage or destroy its credibility all together (I did not have the time to look at it)
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
(A H)
Toscana: cooperazione sanitaria con lo Yemen
[Liberated South Yemen where University Presidents and Directors of Hospitals need to travel abroad to seek help👇
#Italy: Stefania Saccardi, Councilor for the right to health at the Region of #Tuscany, received an institutional visit from #Yemen comprising the President of #Aden Al-Khader University and the Director General of the Pediatric Hospital.
The delegation, accompanied by the attaché of the consular affairs of the Embassy of Yemen in Rome, is seeking donations of medicines and technologies, support in telemedicine and e-learning modules in order to continue operating]
https://www.expartibus.it/toscana-cooperazione-sanitaria-con-lo-yemen/
(A H)
United Nations Population Fund: European Union supports reproductive health and protection services for women and girls in Yemen with funding to UNFPA
The European Union has provided UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, with EUR 2 million to provide urgent life-saving reproductive health and protection services to women and girls in Yemen. UNFPA estimates that nearly 3 million women of childbearing age in Yemen, of whom some 450,000 are likely to be pregnant, require humanitarian assistance. The funds from the European Union will support UNFPA programmes across seven governorates directly affected by the escalating conflict.
Between January and August 2018, UNFPA reached more than 350,000 women and girls with reproductive health and protection services. With the new funding, UNFPA will be able to reach more than 200,000 women and girls with life-saving emergency obstetric care and emergency supplies. The European Union contribution will also increase UNFPA’s capacity to offer services to survivors of different forms of violence
My comment: Hmmm. This is 10 Euro per woman. Look at this: Which EU countries sell arms to Saudi Arabia?, https://www.euronews.com/2017/11/30/which-eu-countries-sell-arms-to-saudi-arabia-
(* B H)
Statement by David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, after his three day visit to Yemen
I came to Yemen to listen and to learn from those who live and work here, and to use their testimony to call global attention to the humanitarian crisis in the country. I was able to visit Sana’a, Bajil in Hodeidah governorate, and Aden. I met with business people, civilians, internally displaced people, health workers and government officials. At each stage I have been supported by UN as well as IRC staff, and been impressed by their professionalism and courage.
The IRC has around 800 people working as part of IRC’s services.
Yemen now represents the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. I have seen for myself some of the human cost. Lives lost, families separated, livelihoods crushed, infrastructure smashed, the economy on its knees.
A visit to Yemen is a wake-up call, and the world needs a wake-up call to the situation in Yemen. The risk is that it will get much worse.
No side is winning the war in Yemen. In fact, it is all-lose, no-win. My visit has reinforced the desperate need for a ceasefire to stop the killing, to halt the erosion of basic services, and to give space to the UN-sponsored political process.
The city of Hodeidah is now the flash point. I was not able to reach the city, but did meet people displaced from there. They told me how the fighting was encroaching onto civilian areas and taking civilian lives. The squeeze on supplies through the port of Hodeidah threatens more misery across the whole country. The threat of an armed battle for Hodeidah offers only the path to disaster.
After three and a half years of war, during which Yemen’s healthcare system has been decimated, vaccine treatable diseases have skyrocketed, the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition has tripled, and the country has seen the largest cholera outbreak in recorded history, the people of Yemen have suffered, but none of the warring parties have advanced their strategic position.
That is why Yemen is not just a humanitarian crisis but a political crisis that is a threat to peace and security across the region. The conflict is growing more complex, more dangerous, more brutal – and the prospects for conciliation and reconstruction more remote. That vicious circle needs to be turned round.
(* B H)
Film: Yemen losing generation of youth to war
The number of children returning to school in Yemen has dropped to a new low as the years-long war continues to devastate much of the country. The United Nations is warning of a lost generation of youth who remain uneducated and traumatised.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnRBqvnjL7Y
(* B H)
In Jemens Kliniken sind «Babys zu schwach zum Weinen, ihre Körper ausgemergelt vom Hunger»
Über fünf Millionen Kinder sind im Bürgerkriegsland Jemen von Hunger bedroht. Hilfsorganisationen befürchten, «der Hungertod ein noch nie dagewesenes Ausmass» annehmen.
Wegen des andauernden Krieges sind in Jemen mehr als fünf Millionen Kinder von Hunger bedroht. Würden Hilfslieferungen durch die Kämpfe um die Hafenstadt Hudaida unterbrochen, könne «der Hungertod ein noch nie dagewesenes Ausmass» annehmen, warnte Save the Children.
Die Preise für Lebensmittel und Treibstoff schnellten in die Höhe, dadurch steige die Zahl der von Hunger bedrohten Kinder um eine Million auf 5,2 Millionen, warnte die Hilfsorganisation Save the Children am Mittwoch in London.
«Millionen von Kinder wissen nicht, wann oder ob sie die nächste Mahlzeit bekommen», sagte Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Chefin von Save the Children International. In einem Spital im Norden Jemens, das sie besucht habe, «waren die Babys zu schwach zum Weinen, ihre Körper waren ausgemergelt vom Hunger».
Der Krieg im Jemen drohe «eine ganze Generation von Kindern zu töten, die mit zahlreichen Gefahren konfrontiert sind, von Bomben über Hunger bis zu vermeidbaren Krankheiten wie Cholera», sagte die ehemalige dänische Regierungschefin. Sollte der Hafen von Hudaida geschlossen werden, bringe dies das Leben von Hunderttausenden Kindern unmittelbar in Gefahr und treibe Millionen weitere Menschen in den Hunger.
und
(* B H)
Jemen droht "Hungerkatastrophe"
Das Welternährungsprogramm der Vereinten Nationen schlägt Alarm: Durch den andauernden Krieg im Jemen müssen dort immer mehr Menschen hungern. Besonders betroffen: Kinder.
Wenn die Kämpfe im Jemen nicht umgehend endeten, drohe das arabische Land in eine "ausgewachsene Hungerkatastrophe" zu stürzen, erklärte David Beasley, der Direktor des UN-Welternährungsprogramms (WFP). Schon jetzt wüssten 18 Millionen Menschen - etwa zwei Drittel der Bevölkerung - nicht, woher sie ihre nächste Mahlzeit erhielten. "Ich fordere alle Beteiligten auf, die Kämpfe zu beenden und Friedensmaßnahmen zu unterstützen", sagte der US-Amerikaner in Rom.
Zugleich verurteilte Beasley scharf alle Versuche, Einrichtungen und Mittel der humanitären Hilfe für den Bürgerkrieg zu missbrauchen: "Weder im Jemen noch sonstwo auf der Welt dürfen Mitarbeiter, Vorräte und Infrastruktur der humanitären Hilfe angegriffen werden", so der WFP-Direktor.
Die Hilfsorganisation "Save the Children" lenkte den Fokus insbesondere auf leidende Kinder
https://www.dw.com/de/jemen-droht-hungerkatastrophe/a-45564097
und
(* B H)
Film: Jemen: Hungerkatastrophe könnte noch schlimmer werden
Im Jemen droht sich die gravierende Hungerkrise angesichts der wieder aufgeflammten Kämpfe in der Hafenstadt Hudaida weiter zu verschlimmern
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBy7Sy3InHg = https://de.euronews.com/2018/09/19/jemen-millionen-kinder-leiden-an-hunger
(* B H)
Starving to death: Skeletal little child is just one of more than FIVE MILLION children whose life is at risk due to war-torn Yemen's impending famine
Harrowing photos have emerged of a skeletal child - one of more than five million whose life is at risk due to war-torn Yemen's impending famine.
The child is shown being assessed by a doctor in a hospital in the northern district of Abs in the northwestern Hajjah province of the impoverished country.
The pictures emerged as Save the Children warned that an entire generation may face death and 'starvation on an unprecedented scale' across the country as food and fuel prices soar.
'Millions of children don't know when or if their next meal will come,' said Helle Thorning-Schmidt, CEO of Save the Children International.
'This war risks killing an entire generation of Yemen's children who face multiple threats, from bombs to hunger to preventable diseases like cholera.'
The already dire humanitarian situation is being exacerbated by the battle for the lifeline port of Hodeida, which is threatening to disrupt what little aid is trickling into the country (photos; films)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6184927/UN-warns-time-running-prevent-Yemen-famine.html
(* B H)
'Too weak to cry:' Save the Children warns 5 million children at risk of famine in Yemen
British charity Save the Children has warned that 5 million children are at risk of famine in Yemen as the Saudi-led coalition carries out a major offensive on a strategic port in the country.
Save the Children International CEO Helle Thorning-Schmidt said the "nutrition crisis... has serious implications" for the country's young.
"Millions of children don't know when or if their next meal will come. In one hospital I visited in north Yemen, the babies were too weak to cry, their bodies exhausted by hunger. This could be any hospital in Yemen," Thorning-Schmidt said.
"What happens in Hodeidah has a direct impact on children and families right across Yemen. Even the smallest disruption to food, fuel and aid supplies through its vital port could mean death for hundreds of thousands of malnourished children unable to get the food they need to stay alive," she said.
The port is a "vital lifeline" for goods and aid for 80% of the country's population, the organization estimates.
"Even the smallest disruption to food, fuel and aid supplies through its vital port could mean death for hundreds of thousands of malnourished children unable to get the food they need to stay alive," said Tamer Kirolos, Save the Children's country director for Yemen.
"It could drive up the price of fuel -- and as a result transport -- to such an extent that families can't even afford to take their sick children to hospital."
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/19/middleeast/yemen-save-the-children-intl/index.html
and also https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45568669
(* B H)
World Food Programme: Statement from David Beasley, WFP Executive Director: WFP Chief urges all sides in Yemen to end conflict and support peace
Yemen has witnessed ferocious armed clashes, and a sharp deterioration of the security situation in Hodeidah and other cities across Yemen in recent days. Conflict, widespread economic hardship and currency devaluations are similarly affecting millions of innocent Yemenis and the public are protesting over soaring food prices.
My primary concern is the innocent children, women and men of Yemen, and I urge all parties to end the fighting and support efforts to build peace. Only an immediate cessation of hostilities will give the humanitarian community the sustained access it needs to provide the food and other vital assistance needed to save Yemeni lives.
Targeting humanitarian workers or humanitarian assets and infrastructure should have no place in Yemen or anywhere in the world. Yet, we have seen a spate of attacks, unwitting or otherwise, on our workers, our trucks, our warehouses and the silos holding our grain. I condemn any attempt to use humanitarian aid and facilities as tools of war. WFP warehouses, trucks, facilities, the silos and most importantly our staff are neutral and should be off limits to anybody involved in this conflict.
Yemen is already facing the world’s largest hunger crisis with 18 million people, or almost two thirds of the population, not knowing where their next meal is coming from. WFP assistance has been critical in preventing the country from descending into a full-blown famine, but, in the face of growing obstacles and risks, we are now reaching the limit.
During the past year we have scaled up to feed 6-7 million severely hungry people every month. This year we are scaling up to assist 8 million Yemenis a month. If the conflict continues to intensify and economic conditions further deteriorate, we could well see the number of severely food-insecure Yemenis increasing to 12 million, who would then need daily food assistance to survive.
With limited access, escalating insecurity and further damage to the country’s infrastructure, our ability to deliver assistance to this number of people would be extremely challenging. Moreover, additional humanitarian needs in Yemen translate into additional funding requirements and, with multiple major humanitarian emergencies across the globe, the financial brunt of this crisis is becoming a major challenge for the international community.
The country’s economy has taken a nose dive in recent weeks, exacerbated by the 180 percent depreciation of the Yemeni Riyal since the beginning of the conflict in 2015. The cost of basic food items has increased by 35 percent in the past 12 months, leaving many families unable to feed themselves.
Time is running out for aid agencies in Yemen to prevent this country from slipping into a devastating famine and we cannot afford any disruption to the lifeline we are providing for the innocent victims of this conflict.
(* B H)
Film: Yemeni farmers getting hope through development during conflict
These farmers proved that life shall continue. Giving us at #SMEPS so much hope & strength, & we’re sharing it with you. They‘re fighting to create a better tmw. It will touch ur heart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9jqJoJb5N8
and excerpt: https://twitter.com/SMEPSYEMEN/status/1039923055429124096
(B H)
UN Children's Fund: Yemen Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (August 2018)
The Yemen Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI) was launched by REACH in collaboration with the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster and Cash and Market Working Group (CMWG) to support humanitarian actors with the objective of harmonizing price monitoring among all cash actors in Yemen. The JMMI incorporates information on market systems including price levels and supply chains. The basket of goods to be assessed comprises eight non-food items (NFIs), including fuel, water and hygiene products, reflecting the programmatic areas of the WASH Cluster.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-joint-market-monitoring-initiative-august-2018
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* B H)
UN High Commissioner for Refugees: UNHCR Somalia Factsheet - 1 - 31 August 2018
With conditions improving in some parts of the country, Somali refugees continue to return from countries of asylum.
Most people seeking asylum in Somalia are from Ethiopia and Yemen.
31,836 refugees & asylum-seekers As of 31 August there are 31,836 refugees & asylum-seekers registered in Somalia, mainly from Ethiopia (15,692 asylum seekers and 3,803 refugees) and Yemen (54 asylum seekers and 11,781 refugees). In addition, 502 persons are from other countries including Syria (197), Tanzania (98), Eritrea (90).
121,108 refugee returnees (2014 - 2018) In total 121,109 Somali refugees have voluntarily returned to Somalia since December 2014. Of those, UNHCR has provided assistance to 107,986 persons, while 13,123 returnees from Yemen returned without the assistance of UNHCR
https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/unhcr-somalia-factsheet-1-31-august-2018
(B H)
UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Yemen: Contingency In-Country Stocks and Pipelines (as of September 2018)
https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-contingency-country-stocks-and-pipelines-september-2018
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A K P)
Scores of Houthi clerics recruit children in Sana’a
The Houthi militias have authorized scores of Houthi clerics to recruit children in Sana’a schools, local sources in Sana’a told Alsahwa Net.
Many Yemeni families from different governorates complain that their children are taken by the Houthis ,without their permission, to fight in different fighting fronts.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-23830
Remark: By anti-Houthi Islah Party news site.
(A P)
Houthis reject to treat 132 sick detainees
Mothers of abductees on Thursday staged a protest in the capital Sana’a, condemning the rejection of the Houthis to take sick abductees to hospital.
The Abductees Mothers’ Association (AMA) said, in a statement, that there are 132 abductees in prisons of Sana’a, Hodeida and Taiz, stressing that they don’t receive any health care.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-23831
(A P)
Houthis kidnap journalist Ali al-Sharabi in Sanaa
Militants of the al-Houthi group in the capital, Sanaa, kidnapped journalist Ali al-Sharabi, a source at the Yemeni journalist’s syndicate said on Thursday.
The Chairman of the Journalists Syndicate training and Qualification Committee, Nabil al-Assidi, in his blog post on Facebook, said the Houthis kidnapped al-Sharabi on Wednesday, and his fate is still unknown to the moment.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/houthis-kidnap-journalist-ali-al-sharabi-in-sanaa
and also https://twitter.com/Afrahnasser/status/1042895883241705472
(A P)
Security forces release 15 coalition collaborators in Hodeidah
The security forces in Hodeidah province released 15 coalition collaborators on Friday, a security official told Saba.
The release operation came after Leader of the Revolution Abdullmalik al-Houthi directed to release all those who have not accused of vandalism and killing.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news508935.htm
(A P)
Yemeni nation’s struggle for liberty main reason behind Saudi-led aggression: Houthi
The leader of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement has described the ongoing struggle of his fellow countrymen and women for liberty and dignity as the main reason behind the Riyadh regime’s devastating military aggression against their homeland, which has claimed the lives of thousands of people and left the country’s infrastructure in ruins.
“The Yemeni nation will never surrender, no matter how far the Saudi-led coalition would press its campaign of criminality and brutality. The problem of the Riyadh-based alliance with the Yemenis is rooted in the latter’s fight to live a free and dignified life,” Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addressed his supporters via a televised speech broadcast live from the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Thursday evening.
He added that the main responsibility of the Yemeni nation is to fight relentlessly against the enemies at every front.
(A P)
Thousands of Yemeni people in Sanaa rally to mark fourth anniversary September 21 revolution
Thousands of Yemeni people on Thursday took to the streets of the capital Sanaa to mark the fourth anniversary of the September 21 revolution.
The celebration coincided with the holy Day of Ashura festival, which millions of Muslim men around the world took part to mark in the anniversary the martyrdom of Imam Hussein Bin Ali.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news508901.htm
Remark: September 21, 2014: Houthi uprising.
(* A P)
Im Schatten des Krieges - Willkürjustiz im Jemen
Bahá’i droht Todesurteil – Huthi-Rebellen hetzen gegen religiöse Minderheiten (Pressemitteilung)
Nach dem überraschenden Beginn eines unfairen Gerichtsprozesses gegen 20 Bahá’i am vergangenen Wochenende im Jemen wächst die Sorge der Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker (GfbV) um Leib und Leben der Angehörigen dieser kleinen religiösen Minderheit in dem Bürgerkriegsland. Den willkürlich im Norden des Landes Angeklagten droht das Todesurteil. Die Menschenrechtsorganisation appellierte am Mittwoch dringend an die von den Huthi-Rebellen kontrollierte Regierung in der Hauptstadt Sanaa, die Inhaftierten freizulassen sowie alle Prozesse gegen Angehörige dieser religiösen Minderheit auszusetzen. „Nach unseren Informationen haben die Inhaftierten weder die Sicherheit noch die öffentliche Ordnung gefährdet. Die Bahá’i verhalten sich im Land neutral und sind nur am Aufbau der Zivilgesellschaft interessiert“, heißt es in dem GfbV-Schreiben.
„Die willkürlichen Verhaftungen, unfaire Gerichtsprozesse und die Hetze führender Rebellen gegen Bahá’i im Norden des Jemen werfen ein schlechtes Licht auf die Politik der Huthis und schaden der in Sanaa lebenden Zivilbevölkerung, die seit Jahren unter dem Krieg und einer totalen Blockade leidet“, erklärte der GfbV-Nahostreferent Kamal Sido.
Am vergangenen Samstag fand vor Gericht eine erste Anhörung im Fall der 20 Bahá’i statt. Die vom Iran unterstützten Huthi-Behörden hatten mit haltlosen Beschuldigungen Klage gegen sie erhoben. An der Anhörung nahmen nur der Richter, der Staatsanwalt und andere Gerichtsbeamte teil. Weder die angeklagten Bahá’i noch ihre Anwälte wurden darüber informiert. Sie wurden vom Richter erst zu der nächsten Anhörung am 29. September in Sanaa eingeladen. Es besteht die große Gefahr, dass die Bahá’i dann ein ähnliches Schicksal erleiden wie der im Januar 2018 aus religiösen Gründen zum Tode verurteilte Bahá’i Hamed bin Haydara. Er wartet auf seine Hinrichtung.
Den Bahá‘i im Jemen wird unterstellt, Muslime missionieren zu wollen. In einer Fernsehansprache im März hatte Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, der Anführer der Huthis, den Bahá'í-Glauben verunglimpft. Das jemenitische Volk rief er damals dazu auf, ihr Land vor den Bahá'í und Angehörigen anderer religiöser Minderheiten zu verteidigen.
https://www.gfbv.de/de/news/im-schatten-des-krieges-willkuerjustiz-im-jemen-9402/
Remark: English reporting: Yemen War Mosaic 459, cp5.
(A E P)
Entry of fuel trucks into Houthis controlled areas from Marib are blocked by Houthis in Baydha so this whole fuel crisis is pretty much manufactured.
https://twitter.com/Ndawsari/status/1042393852794073090
My comment: Someone who believes that a few trucks would be the solution of the problem…
(A P)
PM, IRC discuss repercussions of war on Yemen
Prime Minister Dr. Abdulaziz bin Habtoor on Wednesday met in Sanaa with head of the New York-based International Rescue Committee (IRC), David Miliband, and the UN Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande.
In the meeting, they reviewed the tragic humanitarian situation Yemen is currently experiencing as a result of the war and all-out siege imposed on the country by Saudi-led aggression coalition.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news508826.htm
(A P)
Yemen people prepare to celebrate 21 September's Revolution, young Carnival show
500 scouts and guides will particpate in igniting the torch of the Yemeni Revolution of 21 September's during the Youth and Schoolchildren parade, which will be organized on Thursday in Tahrir street in the center of the capital Sanaa.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news508801.htm
Remark: Remembering Houthi uprising Sept. 21, 2014.
(A H P)
FM meets head of MSF Dutch branch delegation
Foreign Minister, Hisham Sharaf, met in Sanaa on Wednesday with head of delegation of the Dutch Doctors Without Borders (MSF) branch to Yemen.
The two sides discussed the MSF organization's activities in Yemen
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news508794.htm
(A P)
A citizen killed by the Houthis supervisor in Raymah
A civilian was killed Wednesday by a supervisor of the al-Houthi armed group in the “Bilad Al Ta’am” Directorate in Rayma province, western Yemen.
killed the citizen Yahya Mohammed Saad Al Naqeel in (Maghrabat Ruas) Market Center of the Directorate, while pursuing a "militant" from the region to rob him of his weapon on the pretext that he Refused to go to the front.
The sources explained that al-Houthi supervisor shot his rifle in the market to penetrate one of the bullets the head of the victim.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/a-citizen-killed-by-the-houthis-supervisor-in-raymah
(A P)
Abdulsalam Meets With EU Ambassador in Yemen
Head of the National Delegation, Mohamed Abdulsalam, met with the Head of the EU Delegation to Yemen Antonio Calvo. The meeting discussed the reasons of the national delegation's trip failure as will as the humanitarian and political solutions to stop the aggression on Yemen.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2881&cat_id=1
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
(A P)
President discusses Yemen situation with US official in Washington
Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi on Thursday discussed the situation in his country with an official of the US State Department.
This came during his meeting in Washington with US undersecretary of state for Near East Affairs, Timothy Linder King, according to Saba.
Hadi stressed his desire to achieve a just and comprehensive peace for his country, based on the Gulf initiative, its executive machinery, the outcomes of the national dialogue, and the relevant UN resolutions.
"At every station, the Yemeni government proves its seriousness and sincerity in trying to make use of the peace plants and the efforts of the United Nations," he said.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/president-discusses-yemen-situation-with-us-official-in-washington
My comment: The US officials better would have spent their time playing with their kids or their cats.
(A P)
Demonstration in Aden in support of Hadi and demand to stop currency collapse
Dozens of residents of the city of Aden, the interim capital of southern Yemen, protested Thursday in support of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and demanded a halt of the deterioration of the local currency and rising prices.
According to eyewitnesses said to “ALmasdar online”, the protesters expressed their outrage at the policies of the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE's most prominent player in Aden and the southern provinces, especially with regard to the collapse of the economy.
Yemenis are suffering from worsening crises after the collapse of the currency and lack of fuel.
(A T)
Aden.. Al-Islah leader survives assassination attempt with Explosive device
A leader of the Islah party in Aden, the temporary capital of southern Yemen, survived an assassination attempt on an improvised explosive device planted under his car in Al Mualla neighborhood on Thursday.
A local source told the Almasdar online, that unidentified people planted an explosive device under the car of the former Executive Office in the Islah party of Aden
(A T)
Emirati-backed al Hizam Security Forces seized an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) camp in Mudia district, Abyan governorate, southern Yemen on September 19 after clashing with AQAP militants for three days in the area. Saudi-led coalition aircraft supported the offensive. AQAP militants withdrew to an unspecified area of Shabwah governorate, according to a local al Hizam commander. AQAP claimed to repel an attack from al Hizam forces in Mudia on September 17.[4]
and
(A T)
“Um Al-Maarek”: A Massive Security Operation for Eliminating Terrorists off Abian
On Friday September 14th, 2018, the security operation, “Um Al-Maarek”, was launched in Abian to cover Loder, Modia and Al-Mahfed. Security Belt Troops and SWAR Teams of Abian participate in this operation targeting Al-Qaeda posts in Modia where troops found rockets, explosives, explosive belts and car bombs ready to use in criminal attacks.
My comment: UAE-backes separatist militia are shown as anti-terror fighters.
(A P)
Hadramawt Valley Authorities Stop the passage of oil derivatives through their territory
Authorities in Wadi Hadramawt (eastern Yemen) called for a halt to the passage of oil derivatives to the towns and directorates of the Valley and the northern governorates, in response to the suspension of the oil company on the coast of Hadramawt, supplying oil derivatives to the cities and directorates of the Valley.
The undersecretary of the Hadramawt Governorate for the directorates of Wadi Hadramawt and desert Essam habbrish al-Kathiri, commander of the first military region, stopped the entry of trailers and trucks loading the oil derivatives into the Hadramawt valley.
He pointed out in the guidance note that this is a protest that the company has not supplied the cities and directorates of the valley and desert for more than 10 days and sold it to merchants at the commercial price.
(A P)
Mothers of abductees stage protest in Aden
Dozens of mothers staged a protest on Wednesday in the city of Aden, demanding to unveil the fate of their sons and relatives who have been abducted and forcibly disappeared for more than two years.
The mothers demanded to release those persons who the general prosecution issued orders to release them and refer the others to the prosecution.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-23802
(A P)
Forces of “security belt” arrest two Islahi leaders in Abyan
F orces of what is called “the security belt” on Wednesday arrested two Islahi leaders on grounds of organizing a symposium on the Islah’s role in Yemen’s political party and democratic process.
Forces of the security belt are continuously committing violations against leaders and members of the Islah party.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-23801
(A P)
Gunmen assassinate Islahi activist in Aden
Unidentified gunmen on Wednesday assassinated an activist of the Islah party and a principal of a private school Ali al-Da’osi in the port city of Aden.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-23800
and
(A P)
Targeting of #Yemen's Islamist #Islah Party continues. I count 9 assassinations (or attempts) specifically vs Islah in 2018 so far. Latest is Islah activist killed by unknown gunmen in Mansura, Aden, Tuesday Also, #UAE-backed security forces arrested an Islah leader in Abyan yday
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1042751232312532993
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(A P)
Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Meets with UN Envoy for Yemen
Mohammed Saeed Al Jaber, Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and Executive Director of "Isnad" Center for Comprehensive Humanitarian Operations in Yemen, met here today with United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths.
During the meeting, Ambassador Al Jaber highlighted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Coalition states' efforts in supporting the humanitarian operations in Yemen in light of violations committed by the Houthi militias.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1816458
(A P)
Lise Grande Colludes with Houthi, Allowing Weapons Smuggling, reports Yemeni Government
The Yemeni legitimate Government lashed out at the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator to Yemen Lise Grande for what was considered as flagrant collusion with the Iran-backed Houthi militias through signing a memorandum of opening an air crossing under the pretext of providing medical and humanitarian assistance to the needy, a facility used by the militias to smuggle weapons and further aggravate situations in the war-stricken country.
In a letter sent by Yemeni Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dr. Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak to the Secretary-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), the legitimate government of Yemen announced its clear and explicit rejection of the UN humanitarian affairs coordinator's signing of a memorandum of the humanitarian medical air bridge in Sana'a on September 15, 2018 with the so-called Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Houthi rebel militias Hisham Sharaf.
The Yemeni official confirmed his government's regret and disapproval with the humanitarian coordinator's behavior, considering it null and void.
Dr. Ahmad bin Awad disclosed that the signing of such a memorandum, which was promoted by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias, is tantamount to a UN official recognition of militia outlaws, adding that this act is totally contrary to the stances and resolutions of the UN Security Council on Yemen, particularly resolution 2216, and will have a negative impact on the distinguished relations between the Government of Yemen and the United Nations.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1815853
Lise Grande Colludes with Houthi, Allowing Weapons Smuggling, reports Yemeni Government 3 Aden
Yemeni Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani denounced what has been done by Grande, describing it as contrary to the good omen the Yemeni people were auguring well of the United Nations.
The minister depicted the memorandum a cover-up for the direct support provided by the UN coordinator and the supply for the Houthi militias, a serious development and a flagrant violation of all international laws related to the crisis of the Yemeni people.
He pointed out that the UN coordinator rewarded the Houthi militias for foiling the recent Geneva peace consultations attempt, offering them a golden key to prolong the war and continue the sufferings of the Yemeni people in the form of a "memorandum of understanding".
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1815885
My comment: This is a grotesque smear campaign against United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator to Yemen Lise Grande and the memorandum on an air bridge for Yemenis needing medical treatment abroad (Look at Yemen war Mosaic 459, cp7, and 458, cp7). The UN should clearly reject this.
The memorandum clearly states which patients should be treated by this air lift. People needing “suffering from leukaemia, early stage tumours, cervical cancer and thyroid cancer, and those who need radiotherapy, and bone marrow and kidney transplants” hardly are Houthi fighters and Hezbollah members. What is told by the Hadi government simply is bullshit. – Might be the real reason is that the Hadi government – as it’s just them who would represent “legitimacy” – claims that the UN might not sign any treaties with the Sanaa Houthi government. This is odd anyway as it’s the Houthi government who is ruling at Sanaa and who would be in control of Sanaa airport. – The UN already is biased in favour of the Hadi government – but for the Hadi government, it is never enough. Whether people get medical treatment or not, whether people must die or not, this does not care the hadi government at all, as it seems.
This smear campaign targets at Lise Grande personally because she had clearly warned that the Hodeidah assault would cause an horrific humanitarian impact: https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/hundreds-thousands-civilians-are-terrified-fighting-hodeidah, and the Hadi government’s Information minister smeared on her because of this: https://twitter.com/ERYANIM/status/1040307097605484544 .
How this propaganda scheme behind this smear campaihn (and others as well) works, Haykal Bafana told in a nutshell:
Saudi investigators: Saudi air strikes do not kill Yemeni civilians.
U.S. Sec of State: U.S.-aided Saudi coalition undertake demonstrable actions to reduce risk of civilian harm.
U.S. Sec of Defense: Yeah. Like Pompeo said.
The UN: Yemen war crimes.
Saudi Arabia: The UN is Houthi
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/1041377432475971584
and this followed:
(A H P)
Government of Saudi Arabia: UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen and Saudi-Led Coalition Discuss Humanitarian Corridors, Deconfliction Mechanisms and Cholera Prevention
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Lisa Grande, met on Thursday with senior Saudi officials, including the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Saeed Al Jaber, who is also the Executive Director of the Esnad Center for Comprehensive Humanitarian Aid, to discuss a campaign to prevent a third wave of cholera, to assess deconfliction mechanisms meant to assure delivery of assistance to civilians and maintain humanitarian corridors for assistance to and protection of those suffering from the conflict in Yemen.
Ambassador Al Jaber reaffirmed the Coalition’s continued support for the UN’s Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan 2018. He also pointed out the success of the humanitarian coordination mechanism that was implemented following consultations with concerned parties.
Following the conclusion of the talks and placing them in a larger context, Grande told reporters, “We have regular discussions with the Coalition about the parameters of humanitarian operations.”
“Today we have looked at corridors, and we’ve looked at the next cholera campaign,” she said. “In the first week of August, for four days, all the parties put civilians first, and because of this - in the three districts that were hardest hit, there was a massive cholera vaccination campaign – 400,000 civilians were vaccinated. There is another round of cholera coming up, and we’ve been talking about how we can do that.”
Also discussed in today’s meeting was the recently announced UN air bridge that is meant to transport critically ill civilians abroad for treatment. “We have been talking about the humanitarian air bridge, to make sure that everyone is clear on the parameters that we all agree, and on the steps forward,” Grande added.
Grande also thanked all the donors contributing to the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan.
(B P)
Film by Press TV Iran: UNDER REPORTED: SAY NO TO SAUDI BLOOD MONEY
Watch how Saudi blood money is corrupting the United Nations
https://www.facebook.com/100976976914141/videos/1901013800011907/
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
(* B P)
Saudi Arabia Secretly Sent Truckloads of Gold and Rolex Watches to the Iranian MEK
It is widely rumored that Saudi Arabia has been a loyal supporter of the Mujahideen al-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian opposition group which began as a collective of radical students and is now more accurately described as a cult.
There has been no concrete account of Saudi’s support for the MEK, until now. In an interview with Al Bawaba, a former top-ranking member of the MEK has provided details of specific transfers of valuables good from Saudi Arabia to the MEK, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The details are difficult to verify, but nonetheless represent the first comprehensive account of the MEK’s partnership with Saudi Arabia.
According to the former MEK member who personally oversaw the transfers, Saudi officials operating within the security apparatus of Turki bin Faisal al Saud, the head of Saudi intelligence at the time, and the late king Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, gave the MEK three tons of solid gold, at least four suitcases of custom Rolex watches and fabric covering the Kaaba, the most holy site in Islam. The transfers were worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Massoud Khodabandeh, who used to head security for MEK’s top leaders and was one of its most-senior members, described to Al Bawaba a network of smuggling and black market sales that Saudi used to fund the MEK covertly.
Gold and other valuable commodities were be shipped from Saudi Arabia to Baghdad. Then, they would be sold in black markets in Amman, Jordan via Saudi-linked businessmen; the money would go to offshore accounts linked to the MEK, funding their operations.
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(* B E P)
Saudi Businesses Are Struggling to Hire Saudi Workers
Creating jobs for Saudis is a crucial goal of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to transform the economy and prepare the world’s largest crude exporter for the post-oil era.
Seventy percent of sales jobs in 12 areas set aside for Saudis
Some businesses struggling to adjust as slower economy drags
That means upending traditional employment patterns where the private sector is dominated by foreign workers while nationals typically gravitate toward the public sector, where hours are shorter and jobs more secure. With unemployment at 12.9 percent, its highest level in more than a decade, and about a quarter-million young Saudis entering the job market each year, those government jobs are no longer enough. And the country’s youthful population means the price of failure for the kingdom’s de facto ruler could be high; if too many of them come of age without jobs, he could risk fraying support or even unrest.
The first phase of the retail “Saudization” push went into effect this month, with car dealerships and sellers of clothing, furniture and household utensils now expected to employ Saudis in 70 percent of sales jobs.
Electrical retailers, watch sellers and opticians must comply in November, followed in January by stores that sell sweets, carpets, construction materials, medical equipment and spare car parts.
For many foreigners, it seems like time to go home, joining the hundreds of thousands who’ve already left.
Salem, a 19-year-old Yemeni working at his father’s watch stand, said the family was considering shutting up shop even with their country mired in war
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* B P)
Yemen war’s civilian casualties trigger questions on Capitol Hill about U.S. support role
Now questions are being raised on Capitol Hill and inside the State Department about U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition, and whether Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are doing enough to limit or prevent civilian killings. Nick Schifrin talks with Larry Lewis of the Center for Naval Analyses.
Nick Schifrin: Let's fast-forward to 2018. Now we have got certification from the Department of State, Department of Defense that the Saudi-led coalition is doing its best to prevent civilian casualties.
Let me read Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's statement, "The governments of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates are undertaking demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure resulting from military operations of these governments."
That certification, does that make sense, do you think?
Larry Lewis: No, it doesn't. It doesn't fit the facts.
So if you look at the demonstrable actions that they talk about in the accompanying memo, there are four actions. Three of them are over 2 years old. So, they don't seem to have been effective, because we have seen these problems continue.
The actions that they're talking about in the memo are not the kinds of things that actually help reduce civilian casualties.
Nick Schifrin: You mean the actions that Saudi has to take are actually not those that the State Department says they're already taking?
Larry Lewis: Correct.
Nick Schifrin: "We fully accept the findings. We will hold all of those responsible for mistakes."
Not so bad, right?
Larry Lewis: So, it's good that they admitted a mistake.
But, unfortunately, the details of the explanation don't look right. So they talked about problems in the timing of the airstrike. But the common understanding of what happened was, the problem was actually the target selection. I mean, they struck a school bus with kids.
And the fundamental problem is, if they are not getting the details right of what went wrong, it's unlikely that they will be able to put solutions in place to get better.
Nick Schifrin: The main debate, it seems to me, is, some are saying, look, stop, don't help them at all. That absolves, some at least, of but responsibility.
And there's another part of the debate, which is, look, we have to help them get better. The U.S. is selling weapons to this coalition.
Is that the debate that we need to be having right now?
My comment: Critics from “within the system”. Thus, it is quite soft.
Larry Lewis really might have been fully convinced that he could improve the unimprovable and do any good. But from the very first day on, this had been a wrong illusion. By working with JIAT, he had been participating in justifying a process which was nothing more than a deflection from a real independent investigation, which would have been the only way to really held violators accountable and to improve of even stop warfare. Might-be nobody should blame him for this – what he did was the order he had received, he not been ordered to stop the war. Might-be Lewis had been the only one in the US and in Saudi Arabia who really took this order – to achieve a real investigation and to improve warfare – seriously. Lewis’ good will seems to have been exploited as a fig leaf and he necessarily failed. Thus, in my eyes he is a tragic figure, having something of Don Quixote. An article on Larry Lewis here: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/yemen-saudi-airstrike-school-bus/567799/
(A P)
Donald Trump: We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices! We will remember. The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1042733544466989057
My comment: This man is so obviously stupid.
Comment: And they would not kill and starve Yemeni people without support from White House and Downing Street.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1042810624420532225
(A P)
An ad targeting world leaders, delivered on a big red bus
A media group based in Washington, DC, launched an ad campaign this week in New York City that targets an exclusive audience: World leaders in town for the 73rd United Nations General Assembly. The goal? An end to the war in Yemen.
"This is a body that has the power, the resources, the influence to work to stop this war," says Elisabeth Myers, whose publication, Inside Arabia, is behind the campaign. Provocative images and messages are being shown on billboards, kiosks and on some of Manhattan's bright red double-decker tour buses.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-09-20/ad-targeting-world-leaders-delivered-big-red-bus
(* B K P)
With US Bombs Killing Kids in Yemen, Sanders Tells Pompeo 'Human Lives Worth Far More Than Defense Contractor Profits'
"Pompeo overruled concerns from most of the State Department specialists involved in the debate who were worried about the rising civilian death toll in Yemen," the Journalreported, citing a classified State Department memo. "He sided with his legislative affairs team after they argued that suspending support could undercut plans to sell more than 120,000 precision-guided missiles to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)."
"Secretary Pompeo's certification last week that the Saudi-led coalition was taking appropriate steps to protect civilians in Yemen was ridiculous on its face," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote in response to the Journal's reporting on Thursday. "But now we find out that Pompeo overruled the advice of his own State Department experts and legal advisers in order to make that certification to Congress, because he feared not doing so would endanger U.S. arms sales to the Saudis and Emiratis currently destroying Yemen."
"Mr. Pompeo: human lives are worth far more than defense contractor profits," Sanders added. "The Senate must also investigate this effort to mislead us."
News that Pompeo's decision to "certify" U.S. military support for the Saudis was motivated by a desire to appease war profiteers comes shortly on the heels of CNN's report detailing the American-made bombs that have been used to slaughter Yemeni civilians since 2015.
"This report makes it clear that the United States is participating in the commission of war crimes," Win Without War wrote on Twitter. "Congress must stop our participation in the war in Yemen and it must stop it now."
(* B K P)
The Trump Administration Is Paving the Way for Disaster in Yemen
Peter Salisbury connects the Trump administration’s farcical certification with the coalition’s Hodeidah offensive:
Salisbury is absolutely right about this. Certifying that the coalition is making progress in reducing harm to Yemeni civilians when the exact opposite has been happening tells the coalition that they can do what they like without having to fear any consequences from Washington. It lets the Saudis and Emiratis know that they aren’t going to lose the administration’s support no matter how many massacres they commit. They probably already assumed this was the case, but this makes it more certain.
Then again, signaling the coalition that it can act with impunity has been the message coming from the Trump administration for the last year and a half. The White House and Pentagon went to the mat to prevent the Senate from voting to cut off military assistance this spring, they green-lit the start of the Hodeidah offensive at the start of the summer, and Pompeo and Mattis lied on their behalf to keep refueling of coalition planes going in the fall. If you want a lesson in how to throw away all leverage and do the bidding of your clients, just copy what the Trump administration has done with the Saudis and Emiratis in Yemen.
The Trump administration has never wanted to rein in the Saudi coalition. One of the first things that the administration was to end the limited restrictions that the Obama administration had imposed as they were on their way out, and they have made a point of giving the coalition free rein ever since. It is not a coincidence that civilian casualties from coalition airstrikes have risen over this same period of time. U.S. officials spend far more of their time concocting implausible defenses for U.S. military assistance than they spend on pressuring the coalition to stop attacks on civilian targets. It is up to Congress to do what the administration refuses to do before the Hodeidah offensive causes massive loss of innocent life – by Daniel Larison
(* B P)
The United States Is a Dead Man Walking
Or is it a dead feminist, homosexual, transgendered walking zombie?
Her racial guilt came from the fact that the white person from whom she had purchased the house had been able to refurbish the attic, but her black neighbor had not, apparently because of racism.
Does this seem like a reasonable explanation for wallowing in racial guilt? I can think of many better ones that go unmentioned in the presstitute media. For example, as Eric Zuesse reports, Saudi Arabia, the puppet state that Washington has sicced on Yemen, is “systematically blocking food from reaching tens of millions of people, Houthis, who live in Yemen and are surrounded by the U.S. alliance’s engines of death.” The Houthis are being starved to death because they wanted a government of their own, not one imposed by Washington.
One wonders at the extremely limited definition of racial guilt that the two white women on NPR found so difficult to bear: The black neighbor had a house just like hers only his attic wasn’t refurbished, a sign of racism that she felt guilty about.
How would such emotional and intellectual weaklings, as these NPR women, bear the US-enforced starvation of ten million people in Yemen currently underway, the destruction in whole or part of 8 countries under the criminal Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama Regimes, now extending into the Trump regime. How could these guilt-burdened women bear the Israeli state’s systematic genocide of the Palestinians?
Of course, they don’t have to, because NPR never tells them about it. NPR is where white people go to do their self-denunciation as unworthy. This process can’t be interrupted by showing where the heavy guilt resides. If white people can’t be made to feel guilty, how can blacks and Jews be safe?
The US print and TV media along with NPR have been missing in action for a long time.
The American media has never done the job that the Founding Fathers gave it and protected with the First Amendment. But until the criminal Clinton regime, which permited 6 monopolies to concentrate in 6 hands 90% of the US media, truth could sometimes get out. But no more. The US media is incapable of reporting the most compelling events of our time which could result in the destruction of life on earth. Instead, the presstitutes save their jobs by reporting fake news that serves the interests of the ruling elite.
We have the US media comfortable with the fact that Israeli crimes against humanity are not reported, because to do so would be anti-semitic and holocaust denial.
The US media has no interest in the self-interest that the military/security complex has in Russiagate, because investigating this interest would distract from the media’s commitment to get Trump impeached as a Russian agent.
The US media, indeed, the entirety of the Western media, has no interest in the dangerous conflict that the West has gratuitously orchestrated with Russia, because any such reporting would scare people to death and make them realize that the agendas promoted by the media threaten the life of the planet – by Paul Craig Roberts
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/09/17/the-united-states-is-a-dead-man-walking/
(* A K P)
Senate backs bill to avert shutdown, boost military spending
The Senate on Tuesday approved a wide-ranging, $854 billion bill that funds the military and a host of civilian agencies for the next year and provides a short-term fix to keep the government open through early December.
The measure includes $675 billion for the Defense Department and boosts military pay by 2.6 percent, the largest pay raise in nine years. The bill also approves spending for Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and other agencies, including a 5 percent boost for the National Institutes of Health.
Senators approved the bill 93-7. The measure now goes to the House
https://apnews.com/42e57e63755f4354bd7e7b72c36bc439
Comment: In 1856 Republicans refused to vote military $$ for months, threatened to disband the Army, & forced a special session of Congress, all to stop slavery in Kansas
In 2018 Democrats can't even muster a sad protest vote against this monster
https://twitter.com/karpmj/status/1042497698933469185
https://twitter.com/karpmj/status/1042499468648693760
(A B P)
US Embassy to Yemen: Chargé d’Affaires Ana Escrogima met with PM @ahmedbindaghar in #Riyadh and discussed the economic situation. Escrogima conveyed the USG deep concerns tht current conditions in #Yemen are unsustainable & the importance of measured, decisive action to address the fundamental causes
The United States—one of the largest donors to #Yemen, with 2018 humanitarian assistance contributions at $443M & development assistance donations over $80M—works in partnership w/ the Gov of Yemen to address macroeconomic issues affecting Yemen’s banking system & private sector
https://twitter.com/USEmbassyYemen/status/1042414172200419333
My comment: Hypocrisy and self-praise by the largest perpetrator and greatest svengali of all this.
(* B K P)
Congress Can Help End The Suffering In Yemen
The U.S.-supported Saudi bombings are part of a larger pattern of neglect of human life that includes a blockade that has slowed the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance.
The challenges now are first, to end the indiscriminate attacks on civilians, and second, to end the war. The Trump administration and key members of Congress have both expressed support for the efforts of UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths to bring the warring parties together for peace talks, but discussions set for earlier this month fell apart as both sides maneuvered for position rather than negotiating in good faith.
Congress has shown growing concern for the humanitarian and security consequences of the Yemen war.
The best way to bring the suffering in Yemen to an end is for Congress to reassert its war powers and end U.S. refueling of Saudi aircraft and other support for this brutal war, and to block a proposed sale of guided bombs to Saudi Arabia and the UAE scheduled to be formally notified to Congress later this year. Senior Democrats like Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, have stepped forward to take firm action to end U.S. involvement in the Yemen war. Menendez is putting a hold on the proposed bomb sale, and Smith is co-sponsoring the upcoming move to end illegal U.S. support for the Saudi/UAE coalition.
Other leaders in both parties should follow suit. Rarely does Congress have an opportunity make a difference in the lives of millions of people. This is one such chance, and the time to act is now – by William D. Hartung
https://lobelog.com/congress-can-help-end-the-suffering-in-yemen/
(A K pS)
Two civilians killed in air raid by US drone in al-Baydha
Two civilians were killed late Tuesday evening in an air raid by a US drone in the district of Ould Rabi in al-Baydha province in central Yemen, a local source said.
The source told the Al-Masdar online that the air raid targeted two of the al-Tisi family members aboard a "pick up" car, which killed them instantly.
He noted that civilians were on their way to Marib.
It is likely that the air raid was by mistake, and that the two killed were under suspicion of belonging to an extremist organization
http://almasdaronline.com/article/two-civilians-killed-in-air-raid-by-us-drone-in-al-baydha
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
(* B K P)
UK arms sales controls are a ‘bad joke’ and ‘dangerous for democracy’ says MP on oversight committee
In an exclusive interview, the Labour Co-operative MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle has revealed to The Canary that British weapons sales are “opaque”, unaccountable, and lack any democratic controls. Russell-Moyle is a member of the Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC).
Russell-Moyle says the repeated government line is “a bad joke” and that, far from providing effective oversight, the CAEC is a near “toothless” organisation.
He told The Canary:
The Court in the Saudi Arabia case said that it was not the Court’s job to scrutinise government decisions, it was parliament’s job. The point of the Committee is therefore, to some extent, mandated by a Court.
But in fact CAEC has “very little” power to influence the sale of weapons, he said. In fact, all it really does is review arms sales after they’ve already taken place.
Scrutiny in name only
CAEC is actually an amalgamation of members of four separate parliamentary committees.
This makes the CAEC a “very weak committee” because:
You’re sending different delegates to every meeting, people have to start from the beginning.
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(* A K P)
Koalitionsvertrag gebrochen?: GroKo genehmigt umstrittene Rüstungsdeals
Keine Waffenlieferungen an Staaten, die am Krieg in Jemen beteiligt sind, so steht es im Koalitionsvertrag der Regierung. In einer aktuellen Liste des Wirtschaftsministers steht einem Medienbericht zufolge allerdings etwas anderes.
In einer von Wirtschaftsminister Peter Altmaier verschickten Liste an den Bundestag, die dem "Spiegel" vorliegt, werden vom Bundessicherheitsrat genehmigte Rüstungsexporte aufgeführt. Darin finden sich millionenschwere Waffenlieferungen an gleich mehrere Länder, die im Jemen-Krieg mitmischen. So erhält Jordanien demnach gleich 385 Panzerabwehrraketen von Dynamite Nobel Defense, während vier Artillerie-Ortungssysteme für gepanzerte Fahrzeuge an Saudi-Arabien gehen. Die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate bekommen der Liste zufolge 91 Zielsuchköpfe für Flugabwehrsysteme von Kriegsschiffen genehmigt.
Dem "Spiegel" zufolge zufolge hält die Regierung Genehmigungen für die Emirate und Saudi-Arabien aber für unumgänglich, weil Deutschland Komponenten für internationale Rüstungskonsortien zuliefere. Würde Deutschland die Exporte nicht genehmigen, kämen demnach auf die deutschen Firmen hohe Strafzahlungen zu, die diese an die Regierung weitergeben würden.
https://www.n-tv.de/politik/GroKo-genehmigt-umstrittene-Ruestungsdeals-article20632236.html
Mein Kommentar: Man kann es nicht fassen – und die Begründung setzt noch mal eins drauf.
(* A K P)
Altmaiers Kriegsbotschaft
Saudi-Arabien und Katar töten in Jemen - und erhalten weiter Waffen aus Deutschland
Der Fall Maaßen sorgt hierzulande gerade für eine erregte Debatte über die Glaubwürdigkeit der Politik. Auf dem Feld der Waffenexporte hat sie die längst verloren. Das jüngste Schreiben von Wirtschaftsminister Peter Altmaier an den Wirtschaftsausschuss des Bundestags bestätigt das nur. Danach hat die Regierung erneut Waffenexporte in Golfstaaten und weitere Länder der Nahost-Region genehmigt - obwohl Union und SPD im Koalitionsvertrag doch Rüstungslieferungen an Staaten ausgeschlossen haben, die wie die von Riad geführte Militärallianz am Jemen-Krieg beteiligt sind. Und nun: Vier Artillerie-Ortungssysteme, die zugleich präzise Gegenschläge ermöglichen können, für Saudi-Arabien, und nach Katar gehen 170 Gefechtsköpfe und Triebwerke für Luft-Luft-Raketen des Typs Meteor. Zudem zahlt Kairo für sieben Luftverteidigungssysteme mit der Rakete Iris-T SLM aus der Waffenschmiede Diehl und Amman für 385 tragbare Panzerabwehrwaffen von Dynamit Nobel. Auch Ägypten und Jordanien liegen in einem der weltweit gefährlichsten Spannungsgebiete. Zudem wirft die Menschenrechtslage in all diesen Empfängerländern zusätzliche Fragen auf.
https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/1101109.waffenexporte-altmaiers-kriegsbotschaft.html
(* A K P)
Germany approves arms sale to Saudi after Yemen war ban promise
Germany approved a delivery of weapons to Saudi Arabia, a government document showed on Wednesday, after saying it would halt arms sales to countries involved in the war in Yemen.
The government signed off on the consignment of four artillery positioning systems, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier wrote in a letter to lawmakers seen by Reuters. The vehicle-mounted systems can locate enemy fire, enabling accurate counter-strikes.
The weapons delivery is the first documented one to Riyadh since March, when Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition agreed to the Yemen-related ban.
My comment: Shame.
Comment: How the power of Greed can sweep promises right under the carpet, Thanks for nothing Germany
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/photos/a.963391330380564/1929503340436020/?type=3
and
(* A K P)
Germany approves Saudi arms sale despite Yemen war ban promise
The Federal Security Council, which includes several ministers alongside Merkel, also authorized the export of 48 warheads and 91 homing heads for ship-based air defense systems to the United Arab Emirates.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-approves-saudi-arms-sale-despite-yemen-war-ban-promise/a-45568639
(A H)
Asyl beantragen, aus dem Jemen
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
Ich bin Student hier in Deutschland. Ich komme aus dem Jemen.Ich habe eine gültige Aufenthalt. Als ich in Deutschland kam, habe ich ein Sperrkonto, das mein Vater mir gegeben hat. Er hat geplant, mich zu finanziellen ,während ich in Deutschland bin. Zurzeit gibt es einen Krieg im Jemen. Meine Familie ist im Krieg verwickelt. Meine Bruder sind nach Deutschland geflohen und sie sind jetzt Flüchtlinge. Habe ich das Recht, Asyl zu beantragen und wo kann ich beantragen?
Sehr geehrter Fragesteller,
Ihre Anfrage möchte ich Ihnen auf Grundlage der angegebenen Informationen verbindlich wie folgt beantworten:
https://www.frag-einen-anwalt.de/Asyl-beantragen,-aus-dem-Jemen--f316190.html
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
(* A K P)
Armi italiane in Yemen: Governo del Cambiamento alla prova
Il ministro della Difesa, Elisabetta Trenta, vuole vederci chiaro sull'esportazione di armi italiane verso Arabia Saudita e altri Paesi coinvolti nel conflitto in Yemen. E si dichiara pronta a bloccare le vendite di armi «verso Paesi in guerra o verso altri Paesi che potrebbero rivenderle a chi è coinvolto». Nel frattempo, però, servirebbe più trasparenza
Il ministro della Difesa, Elisabetta Trenta, ha annunciato ieri l’intenzione, «laddove si configurasse una violazione della legge 185 del 1990», di interrompere le esportazioni di armamenti a Paesi coinvolti in conflitti bellici. L’annuncio, pubblicato sulla sua pagina Facebook, fa seguito a una serie di dichiarazioni rilasciate nei giorni scorsi da diversi parlamentari del Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) ed in particolare dal suo leader politico, Luigi Di Maio.
Al termine della riunione della Cabina di Regia per l’Italia internazionale, il ministro dello Sviluppo economico, Di Maio, aveva infatti affermato:
«Non vogliamo, ad esempio, continuare ad esportare armi verso Paesi in guerra o verso altri Paesi che, a loro volta, potrebbero rivenderle a chi è coinvolto in un conflitto bellico».
https://www.osservatoriodiritti.it/2018/09/18/armi-italiane-in-yemen-arabia-saudita/
(* A K P)
Arabia Saudita, Picchi risponde a Trenta: “Export di armi è legale, se cancellato perderemo soldi e posti di lavoro”
[#Italy: Defense Minister E. Trenta questioning the Foreign Ministry on unlawful arms sales to #Saudi]
Il sottosegretario agli Esteri replica su Twitter all'appello lanciato dal ministro della Difesa al collega agli Esteri, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, chiedendo una verifica sul rispetto delle leggi sul commercio di armamenti: "Se cambia l’indirizzo politico, il governo sia consapevole di ogni conseguenza negativa occupazionale e commerciale"
“Il processo autorizzativo italiano per l’export di materiali di difesa con l’Arabia Saudita è rigoroso e coinvolge pienamente il ministero della Difesa. Se cambia l’indirizzo politico, il governo sia consapevole di ogni conseguenza negativa occupazionale e commerciale“. Tradotto: la vendita di armi all’Arabia Saudita avviene nel pieno rispetto delle regole e in condivisione con il governo, interrompere gli accordi causerebbe gravi perdite economiche.
(A P)
Pakistan unterstützt Saudi-Arabien in der Jemen-Krise
Pakistan ist bereit eine positive Rolle zur Beendung der Jemen-Krise zu übernehmen.
Der pakistanische Ministerpräsident Imran Khan sagte dies in einem Interview für das Al-Ihbariyye Fernsehen, während seiner Kontakte in Saudi-Arabien. Die saudische Führung habe in jeder Krise Pakistan volle Unterstützung geleistet. Daher werde Pakistan Saudi-Arabien stets Unterstützung leisten, wann immer dieses Land mit Schwierigkeiten konfrontiert wird. Die Zusammenstöße, Krisen in islamischen Ländern seien enttäuschend. Daher wolle sich Pakistan mit voller Kraft für einen Frieden im Nahen Osten einsetzen. Pakistan wolle sich um eine Annäherung der Einstellungen in den islamischen Ländern bemühen. Falls gefordert, sei Pakistan für eine Vermittlerrolle in der Jemen-Krise bereit.
(A P)
'Pakistan always stands by Saudi Arabia,' Khan tells Arabiya TV
Pakistan ‘’always stands by Saudi Arabia,’’ Prime Minister Imran Khan told Arabiya TV on Wednesday, during a visit to the kingdom.
‘’Saudi Arabia helped Pakistan when Pakistan needed help,’’ he also said, according to tweets from the Saudi-based network.
Khan arrived on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia where, comments from his finance minister suggest, he would be seeking financial help to stave off the likelihood of another IMF bailout.
my comment: When will Pakistan soldiers come back to Saudi Arabia to fight in the Yemen war?
(* A K P)
Defence Minister says Finland exports protection to UAE, not guns
Jussi Niinistö says Finland will honor the export of defence vehicle refurbishment parts to the UAE despite reports that the carriers are being used in Yemen.
The Defence Minister’s comments come after a Finland-based news site reported on video footage of Finnish Patria vehicles filmed in Yemen en route to battle in the port of Hudaydah on the Red Sea coast. The UAE is involved in the war against the Houthi rebel movement in Yemen.
Two years ago, Patria sold 40 AMV 8x6 personnel carriers to the United Arab Emirates, adding to the five carriers the Finnish state defence contractor exported there in 2008.
This year the government granted Patria license to export maintenance parts for these vehicles.
Niinistö told Yle that Finland has granted Patria license for carriers, not assault vehicles.
”Finland exports protection, not weapons,” he told Yle, adding that he doesn't see a problem in exporting refurbishment parts to vehicles under an old agreement.
My comment: LOL. He must be as made as his collegue, the Spanish Foreign minister. “Finland has granted Patria license for carriers, not assault vehicles“: and now they are showing up with mounted heavy weapons. – „Finland exports protection to UAE“: Protecting the UAE in Western Yemen????
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
(A E)
QSE index best performer globally in 2018
The main Qatari equities index is this year’s best performer worldwide in dollar terms, which is up 15 percent, Bloomberg reported yesterday.
Qatar’s stock market has outshined Dubai and other Gulf stock markets. Qatari stocks recovered all losses caused by the Gulf crisis, which began 15 months ago.
The recovery of the stocks was because of several steps taken by Qatar to attract investors after the crisis
https://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/19/09/2018/QSE-index-best-performer-globally-in-2018
My comment: Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Qatar seems tob e a failure.
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp11, cp12
(* A K P)
Saudi Arabia offers opportunities to South African defence industry
State-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) is seeking very close relationships with South African defencecompanies. "We are ready to invest in the South African defence industry and fund local research and development (R&D)," SAMI CEO Dr Andreas Schwertold Engineering News Onlineat the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2018 show, at Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria.
"The idea is to jointly develop intellectual property, and open the Saudi Arabian defence market for South African companies," he said. "Saudi Arabia is the number two importer of defence equipment in the world."
"We are here [at AAD] to show our commitment to South Africa," he assured. "We will invest in the South African defence industry and we will help finance R&D projects that are stuck for lack of funds. The idea is to duplicate R&D and manufacturing in both countries, and not to just take South African technology to Saudi Arabia, thereby strengthening both industries."
cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* A K P)
Saudi, Sudanese Forces Conclude Joint Military Drills
The joint military exercise (Al-Hazem 1) between the Saudi Royal Land Forces and the Sudanese Land Forces concluded on Wednesday, reported the Saudi Press Agency.
The conclusion of the drills was attended by Commander of the Northern Region, Major General Saleh Bin Ahmad Al-Zahrani, who was representing Commander of the Land Forces, Lieutenant General Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Mutair.
Zahrani stressed the importance of exercises to raise the level of performance, measure efficiency and combat ability and achieve joint action.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1400886/saudi-sudanese-forces-conclude-joint-military-drills
My comment: “achieve joint action“: Oh yes!! In Yemen.
(A K P)
Commander of the 2nd al-Hazm Brigade of Sudanese forces: Our forces remain in Yemen
"The Sudanese forces are staying until victory and the defeat of the Iranian project in Yemen," said the commander of the Al-Hazm II Brigade of the Sudanese forces in the Arab coalition forces, which is led by Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
"The joint forces fighting alongside their Yemeni brothers will be the nucleus of a strong Arab army with high combat experiences," Brigadier General Hafez Al-Taj Makki said in the September net dialogue, the spokesman of the government forces.
Makki praised the bravery and steadfastness of the Yemeni soldier and endured the harshest conditions of war.
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
(* A E)
Riyal declines 25 riyals against the dollar in one day. Big collapse in currency price
The Yemeni riyal continues to collapse in front of the foreign currency basket on Thursday, one day after the Central Bank of Yemen took action to stabilize the currency, and the dollar's exchange rate reached 650 riyals.
The exchange rate for the dollar reached 640 riyals, while the selling price reached 650 riyals, the lowest point of collapse of the local currency, said cashiers in Aden city, the country's interim capital, bankers said to Al-Masdar online.
He added that the exchange rate of the Saudi Riyal reached 170 riyals, while the selling price reached 173.
In the capital Sana'a, one teller said the dollar exchange rate was 625 riyals while the selling price was 635, while the Saudi Riyal exchange rate reached 165 riyals, compared to 168 for the sale price.
On Wednesday, the selling price of the dollar on the black market was 625 riyals, dropping 25 riyals in a day, reflecting a significant rise in commodity prices, while Yemenis are suffering from fuel scarcity.
(* A E)
Yemeni rial's value is continuing to decline. Today, the rial is trading at 638 to the US dollar in coalition/government-run Aden.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1042675783540633600
(* A E P)
USD = 625.. Yemeni riyal declines against USD after hours of central bank action
The US dollar on Wednesday reached 625 riyals in the exchange markets of Aden, the interim capital of the southern part of the country, after hours of new measures announced by the Central Bank of Yemen.
Bankers in Aden told al-Masdar online that the riyal fell from 570 riyals to 625 dollars in a week after the price of the currency improved during the week before, following a similar collapse and the price of the dollar reached 620 riyals.
The cashiers said the riyal was coming on new collapses.
They pointed out that the measures announced by the Central Bank of Yemen late Tuesday evening, will be effective in improving the value of the riyal if it is working, but they believe that these measures will be a dead letter on paper.
Corruption is dominated by the Yemeni economy, which is shattered by the war, according to Yemeni government officials, the black-market traders who are linked to the presidential establishment generally dominate the market movement and are the main reason for the decline of the currency.
(A E P)
Yemen central bank nearly doubles interest rate to halt riyal plunge
Yemen’s central bank, based in territory controlled by its exiled government, nearly doubled its interest rate on Wednesday in an effort to stabilize the riyal after violent demonstrations against a plunging currency.
State news agency Saba said the rate on certificates of deposit had been hiked to 27 percent. An official at the bank said the previous rate had been 15 percent for the past four years.
Yemen’s currency has halved in value against the U.S. dollar since the start of a civil war in 2014
Saba said the central bank also raised the interest rate on government bonds to 17 percent. It did not say what the previous rate was.
The effect of the rate decision is difficult to forecast
Remark: The new Central Bank at Aden, under “president” Hadi’s control.
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(A T)
Video of Daesh in Yemen
On September 11, Daesh released a video from its branch in Yemen via Daesh outlets on Telegram. The 38-minute, 32-second video entitled ‘The crushing of the enemies – part 2’, documents its major suicide attacks and bombings. The footage focuses on suicide attacks and assassinations conducted against the Yemeni army, security personnel and UAE-backed forces. The video also promises further attacks. Some footage in the video shows a Daesh fighter allegedly changing his mission because of the ‘proximity of civilians’. The video was ‘announced’ via a poster in al-Naba on 7 September.
http://theglobalcoalition.org/en/counter-daesh-insight-bulletin-10-26-september-2018/
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Iranian and Hezbollah experts transferred to Sana’a
Spokesman of the Yemeni army has said that the Houthis militias transferred Iranian and Hezbollah experts from Hodeida to Sana’a after the Yemeni army scored advances in Hodeida.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-23832
My comment: Anti-Houthi propaganda loves these invisible “Iranian and Hezbollah experts”.
(A P)
Yemen's Houthi rebels cut off food supplies for Hodeidah residents
Blocking of delivery lorries seen as an attempt to deter advancing government forces
Yemen's Houthi rebels are stopping food deliveries from reaching residents of Hodeidah in what is seen as a desperate attempt to ward off a government offensive to retake the vital port city.
Dozens of lorries bringing flour from the two ports and government-held areas of Hodeidah province have been prevented from the entering the city in recent days, residents told The National.
The lorries are stranded in the Kilo 8 area of the road leading into the city, where the Houthis have set up concrete barriers and planted landmines, residents said.
One resident said the rebels were also disrupting flour production at the Red Sea Mills in the Kilo 10 area by preventing employees from going to work.
The resulting shortage has pushed up the price of a sack of flour in Hodeidah to 12,000 riyals (about Dh180) from 8,000 earlier. Even so, there was a scramble to buy flour from a lorry that managed to enter the city on Wednesday by travelling along secondary roads.
Adel Moukarshab, the relief affairs co-ordinator for the local authority in Hodeidah, said the Houthis were trying to create a food crisis in the city of 600,000 people to use as propaganda against the government offensive.
"The Houthi militia prevented many organisations coming to Hodeidah to deliver food from carrying out their humanitarian work. They also disrupt the operations of UN organisations in the city by targeting their offices or imposing strict conditions to let them work, forcing some organisations to suspend their activities in the city," Mr Moukarshab told The National.
"They looted many food stores of UN organisations and occupied warehouses of the World Food Programme and used them as hideouts for their soldiers and their military vehicles," said Abdulwahab Shoubail, a resident of Hodeidah who provides updates on the situation there through Facebook and WhatsApp.
This was confirmed by Yemeni Information Minister Moammer Al Eryani, who said the rebels had been hiding their fighters and armoured vehicles in UN food storage sites after retreating from the Kilo 16 area.
"I am surprised by the international silence on this. It is contrary to international law which states that international relief facilities should not be used as places of conflict and fighting," Mr Al Eryani wrote on Twitter last week.
My comment: This sounds like propaganda and therefor is put here at cp15.
(B P)
Nobel Price winner Tawakkol Karman: 4years ago the plan of the counterrevolution countries #KSA & #UAE, has been set forth to undermine the transitional process in #Yemen after they instructed their agent;the ousted president Saleh to provide resources he has to Houthis to organize their coup& to collapse the Yemen
KSA & UAE estimated that the Houthis-Saleh coup will enable them to dominate,control & guardianship over #Yemen through the war they declare under pretext of restoring the legitimacy!Thus they will be exerting their revenge against the revolution & another historical retaliation!
Houthi is lying when he says he didn’t receive the KSA & UAE’s support and blessing, & their green light to invade Sana’a! The legitimate government also lies if it claimed that it’d called Saudi to interfere while it learnt about that from the TV channels only in the next day!
Whosever claim that the #Saudi and #Emirates Coalition came to restore legitimacy and not to exert hegemony, guardianship and occupy #Yemen, is just telling lies and deceives himself!!
https://twitter.com/TawakkolKarman/status/1042454812539985920
My comment: This really is an odd conspiration theory.
(A P)
Washington: We have compelling evidence of Iran's support for the Houthis in Yemen
The US State Department on Wednesday disclosed that it was irrefutable evidence of Iran's involvement in supporting the Houthi militias in Yemen and supplying them with weapons and ballistic missiles.
In a session on Iran's nuclear dossier at the "Hudson" Research Center in Washington D.C., the missile fired by rebel militias at the Riyadh airport from Yemen was made in Iran, said Brian Hawke, special envoy of Foreign Affairs of the United States for Iran.
"The missile that was launched at Riyadh airport is a threat to international security, imagine if it was launched at Heathrow Airport (London)," the envoy commented on the incident.
Hook was referring to the ballistic missile intercepted by the Saudi air defense forces, near King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, in November 2017.
The envoy said Iran was making the "Middle East" as Lebanon, making it the same as Lebanon, where the pro-Tehran Hezbollah militias were seizing the political and military decision.
and
(A P)
Film: Iran's Missile Program
The State Department’s special envoy to Iran, Brian Hook, sat down with the Hudson Institute’s Rebeccah Heinrichs for a discussion about Iran’s missile proliferation. The discussion focused on the Iran nuclear deal, ally cooperation and how the United States can exact pressure on Iran to curb its missile program.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?451669-1/irans-missile-program and excerpt https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1042412662817280001
and:
Film: Amazing: Watch @CODEPINK activist @MedeaBenjamin interrupt a US official at an anti-Iran event a rightwing think tank. She brings up the Iraq War, extremist Saudi regime, and murderous war on Yemen. "We don't want another war in the Middle East... No more war! Peace with Iran!
https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/1042837521418383360
https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1042870512563707904
(A P)
H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, has directed the provision of school uniforms to Yemeni students in the country’s liberated governorates.
His directive aims to strengthen the UAE’s efforts to support the education system in Yemen and provide for the overall needs of the country.
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302708960
Comment: They bombed #Yemen's schools, killed 107 children in school, dropped missiles on school premises, bombed during exams, made Yemen's children orphans and are starving the nation.
Oh but those school uniforms (where are the schools?) and the commitment to 'support the education system'!
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1929084893811198
(A P)
Yemeni official: Houthis' bombing of water reservoirs violates Yemeni right to water
A seminar on the right to water in humanitarian emergencies was held at the United Nations in Geneva in the framework of the 39th session of the Human Rights Council.
A member of the Yemeni Coalition for Human Rights Violations Hani Aswadi spoke about the situation in Yemen and the impact of the ongoing conflict on its water security.
He noted that the siege of the cities and the bombing of water reservoirs by Houthi militias backed by Iran are the most important factors exacerbating the water security crisis in Yemen
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1815629
My comment: By Saudi Press Agency. This is rather ridiculous propaganda as Saudi air raids had destroyed lots of water wells, water drills, water facilities, much more than any shelling on the ground.
(A P)
KSRelief Organizes Entertainment Trip for Rehabilitated Children in Marib, Yemen
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) has organized an entertainment trip for 26 children formerly recruited by the terrorist Houthi Militias, to see touristic and historical landmarks in Marib Governorate, as part of the Center's rehabilitation program, within the third session of the fifth and sixth phases aiming to rehabilitate 80 children.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1815511
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(* A K pH)
Saudi coalition air raids day by day
(* B K)
Film: Stellvertreterkrieg im Jemen
Täglich geht Saudi-Arabien mit Luftangriffen gegen die Huthi-Rebellen im Jemen vor. Die Opfer sind meist Zivilisten.
https://www.facebook.com/tagesschau/videos/323618791739170/
(* B K)
"It felt like they targeted my heart"
"The whole neighbourhood lit up in red light and everything around us was shaking. I thought they would bomb us and took my family straight down to the basement," says Mohammed.
He lives in Amran governorate in western central Yemen with his wife, their three sons and two daughters.
For more than three years, Yemenis have lived in a devastating humanitarian crisis of extreme violence forcing millions to flee their homes. One evening at around 11 pm last year, Mohammed and his family suddenly heard explosions from heavy airstrikes hitting close by.
The strikes hit a neighbouring house and killed the tenants. Another strike also destroyed the school where three of Mohammed’s children had started two years earlier. Nine civilians were killed and 2,000 children no longer had a school to go to. "It felt like they targeted my heart."
Mohammed went outside to help the injured and found his neighbours in full panic. People were running around, trying to dig people up from underneath the rubble. Jets were still hovering above their heads.
"Why are they targeting Yemeni citizens? What is our fault? We are normal citizens. We don’t have weapons, we don’t have rockets, we don’t have anything. We are peaceful citizens only looking to feed our families and children," he says angrily.
His story is not unique.
"There is no future, our life has been reduced to how to find food to feed our children. This is a catastrophe."
Lost their daughter
Two years ago, the war reached Zaumala and Waslame’s doorstep. On 26 March 2016, their 16-year-old daughter had gone to the local market. Airstrikes hit, and she was killed. "I didn’t know whether to run after my other children or attend to my daughter," says Zaumala.
The couple managed to bury their daughter before fleeing their home together with their eight children, leaving everything behind except the clothes on their backs. They eventually made it to an informal camp in Amran governorate where displaced families live in cramped conditions. There is no water, hygiene or sanitation facilities, and children have visible rashes and wounds on their bodies.
"I want my children to have food to eat, a school to go to, and not to have to beg other people for help," says Waslame, and her husband adds:
"We only ask to be safe. I want the world to see the situation this war has put us in. We are left to live in the worst possible way."
"I could have died that evening"
Abdulrahman, a husband and father of three young children, recounts the evening of three months ago when his neighbourhood in the capital of Sana’a was hit by an airstrike.
“We were inside, resting. I had sent my youngest son across the road to fetch water. Only minutes after he arrived back, we heard a loud explosion. The house shook violently." A bomb had just been dropped within metres of their home by a Saudi-led coalition aircraft.
“The first bomb didn’t explode. Two or three minutes later, a second bomb was dropped, we tried to secure ourselves inside the house.” Abdulrahman moved towards the window to try to spot the damage. “That’s when the third bomb hit. I was thrown back against the wall as the window of our house exploded. We ran down to the basement. My children were screaming for their lives. I could have died that evening.”
The attack injured seven civilians, including four children, and damaged several houses. Abdulrahman’s family survived, but his children are clearly marked by the incident: “My youngest son still runs to a corner and hides whenever he hears planes hovering above us."
Attacks on civilians have become a deadly trend in Yemen’s war (with photos and film)
https://www.nrc.no/news/2018/september/it-felt-like-they-targeted-my-heart
(A K)
#Saudi led coalition targeted 3 trucks loaded with wheat in Althaher area #Saada, #Yemen. 2 drivers were killed and 1 injured. (photos9
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1042801907625017344
(A K pH)
Aggression’s Daily Update for Wednesday, September 19th, 2018
In Saada, two citizens were injured by US-Saudi air strike that targeted a car in Baqim district. The US-Saudi Aggression launched raids on the homes of citizens in Baqim district, a raid on Majaz district, two raids on Safra district and two raids on Yasnim area.
In Hodeidah, the US-Saudi Aggression launched a raid on the fishing port at Al Hawk district and another at Tahita district.
In Hajja, the aerial aggression launched 6 raids on Mustaba district. The US-Saudi Aggression also launched three raids, in Al-Jawf governorate.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2887&cat_id=1
(A K pH)
Aggression’s Daily Update for Tuesday, September 18th, 2018
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2872&cat_id=1
(* A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids recorded on:
Sept. 19:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news508741.htm and https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2873&cat_id=1 Saada p.
(B K pH)
Film: the suffering of farmers from the Directorate of Baqem border north of Saada province as a result of aggression 19-09-2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1P8M6kL9aA
(* B K)
Air power misses the target in Yemen
A UN expert report into civilian casualties in the Yemen war underscores that avoiding civilian deaths takes far more than acquiring advanced combat aircraft.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have the two best-equipped air forces of the Arab states, and their combat-aircraft inventories would figure credibly in any global listing. But a report for the United Nations Human Rights Council on the war in Yemen is the latest to indicate failures in how they have applied their air power, failures that cannot be addressed simply by buying the latest and most advanced combat-aircraft types.
What the report makes clear is that, notwithstanding an inventory of advanced combat aircraft, air-to-surface weaponry and targeting pods, there is also the need for appropriate training, combat experience, and an integrated and rigorous target-identification, -selection and -verification process, if civilian casualties are to be kept to a minimum. It is in these areas that Saudi Arabia and its allies have been found wanting, the report suggests.
The Yemen war represents the largest independent use of air power by both Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The sustained nature of the current air campaign probably meant that fatal errors were inevitable. Not even the most capable air force is immune from making mistakes. But it is the volume and the nature of the apparent targeting errors that troubles the report’s authors.
The challenges faced by Saudi Arabia and its partners in Yemen, and their apparent approach with regard to air strikes, particularly in the urban environment, have caused angst also amongst their wider allies.
The use of air power in an urban environment presents even the most capable of armed services with a range of difficulties. In the case of the Yemen conflict, this is compounded by the opposition, including a range of non-state actors, willing to use civilian infrastructure as a means of protection. This, however, does not negate the responsibility of an attacker, when considering an air strike, to avoid civilian deaths, if possible, or at the very least to minimise them.
Western society has become accustomed to the language of ‘precision strike’ and the comparative success in avoiding, generally, widespread civilian deaths from air attack in its involvement in wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Air power in these wars, however, was for the most part not used for repeated attacks in urban environments. And even in these campaigns, there was controversy over the levels of civilian deaths. The coalition in the civil war in Yemen has chosen to pursue a campaign that continues to use air attacks in urban environments as a central element of its approach, using air forces that lack the level of training and experience of the United States and its allies, who it seeks to emulate – by Douglas Barric
https://www.iiss.org/blogs/military-balance/2018/09/air-power-misses-target-yemen
My comment: The author certainly is right when he states that Saudi coalition air strikes are hitting too many civilian targets. But: It’s an illusion – or a lie to deceive the public – that there exists any real possibility to avoid or minimize civilian harm in any aerial war. – In this point, the US, boasting of its “precision strikes”, is not at all better than others. The US air raids on Raqqa and Mossul clearly had proved this. – And: In many cases, Saudi coalition air raids deliberately had targeted civilian targets – and had hit them. Training only would help to better target civilians and civilian infrastructure, if this should be intended! – It’s obvious: Aerial war always will kill scores of civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure. A “clean” aerial war is an illusion. There is only one solution: Stop it.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
(A K pH)
Army launches ballistic missile on Saudi Moustahdath camp Jizan
The Army's missiles' force on Wednesday launched a Badr-1 Ballistic missile on on the Mustahdath Saudi camp in the eastern province of Jizan
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news508839.htm
and
(A K pS)
Coalition intercepts, destroys Houthi ballistic missile targeting Jazan
Coalition forces confirmed that they intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by Houthi militias toward the border Saudi city of Jazan on Wednesday.
(A K pS)
Local sources: A civilian was killed in front of his house in Bait Al-Omairy area and another was seriously injured after they were shot by Houthi militia snipers positioned in Tabat Al-Qasha'a, in Taiz city.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1042458379879411712
(A K pH)
Saudi missiles and artillery shells targeted various areas on Al-Zaher, Shida, Razih, Baqim and Munabih border districts, causing damage to the homes and farms of citizens.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=2887&cat_id=1
(A K pS)
Houthi sniper kills elderly woman in Taiz
local sources said to “Al-Masdar online” Fatima Saeed, a 50-year woman, was killed in the village of al-Ash’ab Jabal Habashi by the Houthi militia,
http://almasdaronline.com/article/houthi-sniper-kills-elderly-woman-in-taiz
(A K pS)
Huthi's projectile strikes a mosque and a house in southern Saudi Arabia
A military projectile fired by the Iranian Houthi militia landed on a village in the southern province of Dhahran the South on Tuesday, the Saudi News Agency said.
As a result of the projectile fall, a mosque and a citizen's house, as well as an agricultural well, suffered various damage, without causing injury to anyone.
(A K)
A civilian was killed and other 6 were injured owing to the explosion of a landmine in #Hajja. "There is no inch without a landmine,"said one of the locals.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1040738428839710720 referring to film https://twitter.com/BelqeesTV/status/1040677073113808896
(A K)
Two civilians were killed by an exploded landmine planted by Houthi militia on the route between Haifan and Tor Al-Baha, southeast #Taiz governorate.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1040314077304815616
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(A H)
My name is Mestawet Adane, I am Ethiopian and am looking for my Yemeni sister
Migrants and people marrying abroad. The request comes from Ethiopia, a country with close ties to Yemen, and it goes back over 35 years. A brother looking for his sister with, available, a telephone number and some pictures
‘My name is Mestawet Adane and I have a sister in Yemen. She was born here in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. We share the same father. Her mother was Yemeni and, around 1982-1983 they both returnt to Yemen with the Mother’s father who had a transport company in Gonder, Ethiopia.
They left because of the political hardships of the then Ethiopian Government. My Sister was three years old in 1982. She was called Merima Adane or, using her Ethiopian name, Mastewal Adane. This is my Sister and how I remember her:
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-459-yemen-war-mosaic-459
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-459 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-459:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
und alle Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
Was ist Ihre Meinung?
Kommentare einblendenDiskutieren Sie mit.