Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 471 - Yemen War Mosaic 471

Yemen Press Reader 471: 23. Oktober 2018: Not und Hunger nehmen zu – Martha Mundy über Hunger – Mainstreammedien, Khashoggi und Jemen – Folter in Huthi-Gefängnissen – Wirtschaft im Jemen ...

Bei diesem Beitrag handelt es sich um ein Blog aus der Freitag-Community.
Ihre Freitag-Redaktion

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

... Wenn Saudis sich selbst untersuchen – Obama-Mitarbeiter, Saudis und Jemenkrieg – Pro-saudische Sprachrohre in den USA – Saudische Lobbyarbeit in den USA – Die Saudische „Tiger-Truppe“

October 23, 2018: Suffering and hunger are increasing – Martha Mundy on famine – Mainstream media, Khashoggi and Yemen – Torture in Houthi prisons – Economy in Yemen – Saudi self-investigations – Obama aids, Saudi and Yemen war – Saudi mouthpieces in the US – Saudi lobbying in the USA – Saudi “Tiger squad”

Schwerpunkte / Key aspects

Klassifizierung / Classification

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

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics

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

cp2 Allgemein / General

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

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

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran

cp7b Jemen und Khashoggi / Yemen and Khashoggi

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

cp9 USA

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

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

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

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

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

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

Neue Artikel / New articles

(** B H K P)

Famine in Yemen: long announced, now on our screens

What are world leaders doing? Where is the ‘international community’ Yemenis so often appeal to?

Almost two years after the UN first told the world that the war in Yemen was about to cause famine, we are informed that 14 million are at risk of dying from starvation and that the earlier figure of 8 million was an underestimate. The increase is explained by the dramatic collapse of the Yemeni riyal in the last two months.

Wasn’t such a currency crisis predictable? The country is still described as being ‘on the brink’ of famine, simply because statistical verification of death rates, which would fit official definitions, is not available. These figures are mind boggling beyond imagination, and represent millions suffering the psychological, physical, agony of watching loved children, parents, siblings and partners, dying before their eyes… Many people are expecting the same fate themselves, some of them probably even looking forward to death, as it would end the pain. So the famine is here, with or without official definition!

Daily, we see images of starving children on our screens as we snack in front of our TVs, smartphones or whatever… Many of us then rush off to send money to our favourite charities or friends and families in Yemen, knowing that this is the only practical thing we can do to help people buy the food whose prices have rocketed due to blockade, collapse of currency, reduced imports, and indeed, drought which means that this year there is hardly any locally-produced food (at the best of times, the country only produces about 15% of its entire grain needs).

We consider political action, write to legislators and government, somehow hoping that it will achieve something, although experience has shown that these efforts are largely ineffective. We feel helpless in the face of disaster. What are world leaders doing? Where is the ‘international community’ Yemenis so often appeal to?

The risks of speaking truth to power in Saudi Arabia

Why is no one ‘telling truth to power’ to MBS? The answer to this question is most obvious in Khashoqji’s fate: if a highly respectable, conventional and well-connected Saudi national who is mildly critical of the regime and by no means a dissident, can come to such an end, fear must reign in MBS’s palaces.

Internationally, civil society and parliamentary moves to take action against Saudi Arabia, and particularly to stop its purchase of lethal weapons, stumble against two obstacles: for all major exporting countries, USA in the lead, UK close behind, these sales play an important political and economic role in maintaining their regimes in power.

Trump made the position clear when he pointed out that he would not jeopardise USD 110 billion of arms sales because of the murder of a mere opposition journalist in Istanbul.

Most people of all ages are dying away from the few record-keeping institutions from diseases caused by malnutrition resulting in weakened resistance to health risks, particularly those caused by polluted water. As the country depends on imports for most of its staples, the Coalition’s effective blockade of Red Sea coast ports bears the main responsibility for the lack of food in the country; as is well-known, scarcity means increased prices, so the famine is worsened by the fact that about 9 million people depend on the salaries of 1.2 million government staff who have remained unpaid for more than two years now.

While UN and other humanitarian agencies’ systematic protests at the severe restriction of imports have resulted in some supplies coming in, they are way below needs. The current military offensive on Hodeida is worsening the situation

Who is benefiting from the suffering and starvation of Yemenis?

Officials everywhere claim loudly that the only solution to the Yemen crisis is political and that the war cannot be won militarily. So why is so little being done to end the fighting? Well, of course, a regular supply of weapons and ammunition and logistical support ensure that believers in a military solution can continue on their path (in the process enriching the arms dealers, small, medium or large, internationally and locally). Alongside the ‘internationally recognised government’ of President Hadi, the Saudi and Emirati coalition leaders are the main believers in the military solution, and their media loudly proclaim progress, regardless of the situation on the ground.

There are other individuals and groups who use the war to pursue their partisan and personal interests at the expense of Yemenis who, I repeat again, are suffering beyond belief. First and foremost among those exploiting the war for their own benefit are the actors of the war economy, local powers ‘taxing’ goods, armed men at all levels, from those manning checkpoints to their leaders.

Other beneficiaries of the war include different elements of the southern separatist movement who, currently aligned with the UAE, follow its lead in exchange for practical and diplomatic support to promote their political ambitions for independence

What is being done to end this disaster?

A few words on the attempts to bring about peace negotiations: the recently appointed British Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General, Martin Griffiths, has now been in position for 8 months. Starting with good will from all sides, his reputation took a serious blow when his proposed Geneva ‘consultations’ between the two main warring parties aborted in early September. While this was apparently due to his and his team’s inability to ensure safe travel for the Huthi delegation, the fact that this issue had not been solved upstream with the coalition raises questions about the quality of preparation for these talks – by Helen Lackner

https://www.opendemocracy.net/north-africa-west-asia/helen-lackner/famine-in-yemen-long-announced-now-on-our-screens

(* B H)

Mass starvation looms quietly as civil war in Yemen rages

A civil war between Houthi rebels and a Saudi-backed government has led to spiraling food prices. As ever more people face starvation, aid groups warn the crisis could trigger the world's worst famine in 100 years.

For many people in Yemen, the taste of fresh fruit, vegetables and meat has become but a distant memory. It's not that these food items can't be found at the markets, but rather that they have become costly luxury goods. Prices have skyrocketed, meaning most people can no longer afford to buy food.

"Everything has become more expensive," Mirella Hodeib of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told DW. She has been working in Yemen for over a year now, but ever since one of her colleagues was shot in April, she has not been allowed to walk around the capital city, Sanaa. Her local colleagues have told her that "the cost of rice, beans, eggs and cooking oil has risen tremendously."

Aid agencies are warning that Yemen's already desperate situation is quickly growing even worse. "Tens of thousands of destitute families, who were barely able to buy what they needed just a few weeks ago, can no longer afford to feed themselves at all," Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, told British daily The Guardian. "We are literally looking at hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of people who may not survive," Grande added.

https://www.dw.com/en/mass-starvation-looms-quietly-as-civil-war-in-yemen-rages/a-45975240

and another survey: https://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/looming-yemen-famine-is-direct-consequence-of-war-37441820.html

(* B H)

The World Has Left Yemen to Die

Exclusive photos give a rare look inside the country, where civil war has trapped civilians in a life of violence and disease.

After three years of fighting, the numbers are stunning: In a nation of nearly 29 million, 22 million Yemenis are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN. Two million have been displaced. At least 10,000 are dead. With the economy and health care system in shambles, Yemenis make desperate decisions to find medical treatment. Some take dangerous cross-country journeys to hospitals run by humanitarian groups; others spend their savings at private clinics. More than half of Yemen’s hospitals are closed or partly functioning, and sometimes administrators must choose between buying medical supplies and fuel for generators. Infectious diseases such as cholera and diphtheria are rampant, reflecting the lack of treated water and other basic government services.

Doctors and other health workers at public hospitals haven’t been paid since 2016. Humanitarian groups are supporting the health ministry with salaries and supplies. But a Saudi-led coalition blockade on the country’s airports and ports in an attempt to stop supplies from reaching the rebels has arbitrarily delayed or diverted aid shipments, says Kristine Beckerle, with Human Rights Watch, adding that both sides “are weaponizing aid.” (photos, films)

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/08/dispatches-yemen-health-crisis/?user.testname=photogallery:3

(* B H)

Film: Yemen is on the verge of the worst famine in 100 years. But, what is famine and what causes it?

https://twitter.com/trtworld/status/1054296302085844992

cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Medienschau Nr. 4 zuMord an Jamal Khashoggi / Press review nr. 4: Jamal Khashoggi murder:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/saudi-dissident-khashoggi-medienschau-4-1 (Oct. 20)

Nr. 5 folgt / nr. 5 to follow

(** B H)

14 Millionen Menschen im Jemen von Hunger bedroht

Bis zu 14 Millionen Menschen sind im Jemen von Hunger bedroht. "Die humanitäre Lage im Jemen ist die schlimmste weltweit", warnte der UN-Vizegeneralsekretär für Humanitäre Angelegenheiten, Mark Lowcock, in einem am Montag bekannt gewordenen internen Bericht. Wenn sich die Lage in dem Bürgerkriegsland weiter wie bisher entwickele, gerieten 14 Millionen Menschen schon bald in ein "Vor-Hunger"-Stadium.

Drei Viertel der Bevölkerung des Jemen, das entspreche rund 22 Millionen Menschen, benötigten Hilfe und Schutz, heißt es in der Notiz Lowcocks vom 18. Oktober, die den UN-Sicherheitsratsmitgliedern vorliegt. 8,4 Millionen von ihnen litten unter einer schweren Versorgungsunsicherheit und bedürften "dringend" Lebensmittelhilfen. Im "schlimmsten Fall" könnte diese Zahl um weitere 5,6 Millionen auf 14 Millionen anwachsen.

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/weltspiegel/un-warnt-vor-verschaerfung-der-krise-14-millionen-menschen-im-jemen-von-hunger-bedroht/23218086.html

(** B H)

Conflict in Yemen has left 8.4 million people dependent on emergency aid: UN humanitarian chief

The UN humanitarian chief says the conflict in Yemen has left 8.4 million people dependent on emergency food assistance and 75 per cent of its 22 million people requiring some form of aid.

Mark Lowcock warns in an analysis obtained Monday night by The Associated Press that humanitarian officials “estimate that 3.5 million to 4 million more people could become severely food insecure in the months ahead.”

The analysis, which is to be the subject of a briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday, says 3 million Yemenis are malnourished, including 1.1 million pregnant women “and more than 400,000 severely acutely malnourished children.”

In a worst case scenario, Lowcock warns that if current trends continue, food needs could increase “by as much as 62 per cent.”

“We may now be approaching a tipping point, beyond which it will be impossible to prevent massive loss of life as a result of widespread famine across the country,” he said. “We are already seeing pockets of famine-like conditions, including cases where people are eating leaves.”

Lowcock’s new analysis was sent to the council to comply with a Security Council resolution adopted in May asking for swift reporting on “the risk of conflict-induced famine and widespread food insecurity.”

He said a major conflict-related factor affecting the availability of food is the loss of household income, citing World Bank estimates that Yemen’s economy has contracted 50 per cent since the start of conflict, with at least 600,000 jobs lost, mainly in agriculture and the service sector.

Another major factor, Lowcock said, is the depreciation of Yemen’s currency, the rial, which has lost 47 per cent of its value against the U.S. dollar in the past year, including 20 per cent since September.

“In the last six weeks, the price of the basic food basket has increased 25 per cent and is now more than twice pre-crisis levels,” he said. “The currency crisis has also forced the price of fuel up by 45 per cent” which is impacting transport, water, electricity, health and sanitation services.

Lowcock said approximately 80 per cent of food and other basic commodities for the Houthi-controlled north enter Yemen through the ports of Hodeida and Salif. But while imports have substantially increased since the Saudi-led coalition lifted a blockade in late 2017, he said monthly volumes are between 16 per cent and 20 per cent lower than pre-crisis levels.

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-conflict-in-yemen-has-left-84-million-people-dependent-on-emergency/

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/15/middleeast/yemen-famine-war/index.html

(** B H)

Film: Martha Mundy from The Return of Famine

From the May 4, 2018 conference at Tufts University, "The Return of Famine?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt-phPtoIW0

(** B P)

Guardian Watch – Freedland Remembers Yemen is a Thing

Jonathan Freedland has weighed in on the Khashoggi case. He’s outraged, of course. Because they all are. Every single voice in the mainstream world has suddenly realised just how appalled they are that Saudi Arabia does bad things.

They weren’t appalled a few weeks ago, when the Saudis blew up a bus full of school children.

But they are appalled now, because Mike Pompeo was told by the Turkish government, who were told by the Turkish secret service, that a reporter who may or may not be dead, might have been killed by a super-secret Saudi Arabian hit squad (who then died in a car accident). There are video and audio recordings to prove all of this but we’re not allowed to see them yet.

Freedland recounts these alleged gory details with po-faced prurience. Apparently, they might have used a chainsaw. But that’s not really what his article is about – his article is about attempting to claw back some credibility in the face of (perfectly justified) accusations of massive hypocrisy, and deeper questions about the motivations of the media and the agenda of the Deep State.

You see, Yemen is a thing.

Barely a week goes by without some author, somewhere in the alternate media, writing up a story about the crimes of the House of Saud – either international or domestic. So why are we just now hearing about them in the mainstream?

When he was selling wars in Libya and Syria, did Freedland ever once suggest the “humanitarian bombing” of Riyadh?

Did he object to his paper selling ad space to promote the Muhammed bin Salman, “the great reformer”?

Did he boycott events or protest arms deals or in any way speak out?

Did he devote even a single one his columns to the war in Yemen?

People all over the world are asking: “Why are the Saudis suddenly the bad guys? Why can’t Jamal Khashoggi be brushed under the carpet as if he’s nothing but a burning bus full of children or a napalm-strewn wedding reception?”

It’s a question no one in the media has an answer for. They are aware of the contradiction though, and they are busily trying to get around it.

This is Freedland’s attempt: „I can understand the frustration of campaigners for Yemen that the death of one man has captured a global attention that has so rarely focused on the tens of thousands killed…But sometimes it takes the story of a single individual to break through. So it has proved with Khashoggi.“

That’s it. A simple brush-off.

That’s the new narrative – nobody really realised just how bad the Saudis were until now. This is the big reveal. The “oh shit” moment. None of them had been on twitter, or read the alternate news or even looked at the comments BTL on their own articles. Yes, Yemen was there in the background but – through forces beyond everyone’s control – it just never broke through to the public consciousness. Oops.

He’s trying to imply that the news just sort of happens, like it’s an organic process beyond the control of the mere mortals writing the stories or filming the segments or thinking up the headlines.

That is patently absurd. We know how the media works, and it’s not some Jungian expression of the collective will. To suggest as much is insulting and ridiculous.

The news is a system by which a handful of mega-corporations distribute propaganda and manipulate public opinion. It is rigidly controlled. They push some issues to the front page and shovel others down the memory hole. When they need to, they make stuff up. Every headline is picked for a purpose, every omission deliberately made. Cogs turn and push the constantly-evolving agenda forward. There are no accidents, and the process is anything but organic.

It’s mechanical. And like all machines, it lacks a soul. There has been no grand awakening of the media conscience. There is no such thing.

There was a reason Yemen was banished to the far reaches of the press for four years. There was a reason the mainstream media were happy to white-wash the Saudi Arabians as they pummelled school buses and weddings with bombs British and American arms companies probably over-charged them for.

There’s a reason every big newspaper on both sides of the Atlantic was happy to serve as Muhammad bin Salman’s PR agency….and there’s a reason they stopped. A real reason, that has nothing to do with Jamal Khashoggi.

We just don’t know what it is yet – by Kit Knightly

https://off-guardian.org/2018/10/20/guardian-watch-freedland-remembers-yemen-is-a-thing/

(** B P)

AMA releases reports on torture against abductees in Yemen

The Abductees’ Mothers Association (AMA) has released a report on torture practiced against Yemeni abductees inside prisons of the Houthi Movement.

Entitled “When death is a wish”, the report was released in the governorate of Taiz in a press conference held today, Saturday.

The report covered the governorates of Sana’a, Hodeida, Hadhramout, Amran, Ibb, Taiz, Dhamar and Sa’adah, and documented violations committed against abductees and forcibly disappeared persons.

The report documented 128 cases of death under torture, physical, physical alimentation and extrajudicial execution.

“AMA has also received several reports and calls from Aden where abductees’ mothers suffer greatly with no help for their hard-searching journey looking for their sons held by Saudi-led coalition supported-military units” the report says.

The report also revealed that AMA received handwritten letters secretly leaked by victims in which they described forms of torture they were subjected to.

“We included photos of some letters that we received from abductees’ families,” it added. Testimonies by some abductees about torture done against their fellows or testimonies narrated by families they heard from their relatives who were enforcedly disappeared or were held in detention for long period”.

“ AMA organized hearing sessions for several released abductees who spoke to the media about what they were subjected to. This activity is part of what the association is doing to expose abduction, disappearance and torture.”

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24675

and

(** B P)

Human Rights Association says it has documented 950 cases of violations and 120 murders and liquidations of abductees

A human rights association said it had documented 950 cases of abuse and torture of detainees and abductees by the Houthi militia as well as security services in the liberated governorates, as well as 120 murders and physical liquidations.

On Saturday, the Association of Mothers of Abductees announced at a press conference in Taiz the launch of its first report on torture and its crimes in Yemen, under the name "When death becomes a wish."

In its report obtained by "Al-masdar online", the association said that the report monitored cases of torture in the governorates of Sana'a, Aden, Hodeidah, Hadramawt, Amran, Ibb, Ta'izz, Dhamar, and Sa'ada, to which the abducted, forcibly concealed and arbitrarily detained persons were subjected.

According to the Monitoring Group of the Association, the monitored cases amounted to (950) cases of torture, the secretariat of the capital ranked first among the governorates by 144 cases, followed by the province of Hodeidah (121), and Ibb in the third place (88) cases, and Dhamar in the fourth place (87) case, and then Taiz Governorate (80) then Aden Governorate (35) cases, the remainder of the cases were distributed to other governorates.

The report included cases of killings under torture and physical liquidation in places of detention, with the number of cases documented in the report, 128 cases as at the date of issuance of the report (71) cases of torture to death and 48 cases of liquidation and execution in prisons. The governorate of Aden topped 16 cases and the same number in the governorate of Ibb, followed by Sa'ada Governorate (15), the Hodeidah in the third place (14), and fourth in Taiz Governorate (13), and Sana'a in the fifth place B (12) cases, and the cases were distributed to the rest of the governorates.

The number of incidents mentioned in the report (30) was reported by witnesses, and (2) violations of the arbitrary detention of women were reported to have been committed by martyrs killed under torture.

In its report, the Association stated that it had received numerous communications and appeals from the city of Aden, where the mothers of the forcibly hidden were suffering greatly, and who did not find support in their search for their children in the coalition-supported military formations, and implemented the Association and participated in the more"20 " Protest in Aden without surrender or despair.

The report also relied on documenting cases of torture, which enabled the association's Monitoring Group to monitor and document through interviews of victims and to hear from them directly about the torture they had suffered during the period of their abduction and concealment after some of them had been released.

The report added that the association had received leaked messages from the kidnappers in their handwriting describing the methods of torture to which they were subjected, and the report depicted some of their messages and the testimonies of the abductees ' parents.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159898

image: https://twitter.com/SlahHamza/status/1054444888056610821

(** B E)

World Bank: Yemen Economic Monitoring Brief - Fall 2018

OVERVIEW

Yemen has been experiencing political instability since 2011 and open conflict since late 2014. As a result, the social and institutional fabric in Yemen has witnessed increasing disintegration. Although official statistics are no longer available, anecdotal evidence suggests that Yemen’s GDP contracted by an accumulated 40 percent since the end of 2014. The conflict has caused widespread disruption of economic activities, and has dramatically diminished employment and income opportunities in the private and public sector. Operating costs rose significantly due to insecurity and lack of supplies, while demand has fallen precipitously leading to mass layoffs in both, the formal and informal sectors. Oil and gas production and exports have come largely to a halt since 2015, running at about 10-15 percent of capacity. Remittances fell, partly due to restrictions and difficulties imposed on transfers for the Yemeni banking sectors and partly due to more restrictive immigration policies applied since early 2018 by major GCC member countries.

Imports have declined sharply as foreign reserves fell below US$1 billion in 2016 while foreign debt obligations have not been serviced since May 2016 (except for obligations to the IMF and to IDA). Essential Central Bank functions have been disrupted due to the conflict and the split of the Bank along the conflict lines added to the economic challenges. Even delivery of humanitarian assistance has therefore become more costly and cumbersome. Furthermore, the ongoing conflict has led to deep divisions and fragmentations among national institutions. Partly due to the desperate economic situation throughout the country and the absence of state authority and legitimacy, numerous violent extremist groups have been created - filling the vacated space -that carry out attacks in the South and North of Yemen. Only the eastern part of the country, foremost Marib City and Hadhramout, is largely spared, although AlQaida is active in these areas. It is believed that it will take years of recovery and reconstruction to bring peace to Yemen and establish the status-quo ante.

REAL SECTOR: Deterioration of the macroeconomic situation continues in 2018, while growth remains unlikely in 2019 in the absence of peace. Yemen’s economy has contracted significantly as a result of the conflict’s adverse impact on economic activities. Real GDP growth is estimated to have contracted by 6 percent in 2017, largely attributed to the reduction in the non-hydrocarbon output, which contracted by around 7 percent, although the decline of economic activity appears to be bottoming out for 2018 (Figure 1). Postconflict or recovery growth would in an initial phase depend on: (1) resurrection of security; (2) reconstruction activity (presumably externally funded); and (3) eventually on the recovery in the oil sector and the financial flows the sector would generate for the benefit of the external and fiscal balance

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-economic-monitoring-brief-fall-2018 and full document https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/130967-REVISED-BRI-PUBLIC-Disclosed-10-19-2018.pdf or downlad here http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/508301539801659212/Yemen-Economic-Monitoring-Brief

(** B K P)

The Saudi Playbook: Self-Investigations of Civilian Deaths in Yemen and Khashoggi

We’ve been here before. Saudi Arabia has a sordid track record of announcing formal mechanisms to look into deaths of civilians at the hands of its own officers which have then utterly failed to credibly investigate those deaths. Observers of the Jamal Khashoggi investigation can draw important lessons from that history. And those concerned about war crimes in Yemen can draw insight from the Khashoggi affair.

Each victim of an unlawful Saudi coalition strike in Yemen is as worthy of concern as a Washington Post columnist. A groom and his wedding party. A child locked in jail. Villagers digging a well. Crowds shopping at a market. All killed or wounded in bombings by the Saudi-led coalition.

None of these apparent war crimes in Yemen were able to provoke the type of international outrage that the murder of Khashoggi has these past few weeks. Under an intense spotlight and external pressures, on October 20, Saudi officials finally admitted that Khashoggi died in its Istanbul consulate after weeks of repeatedly lying and obfuscating about his fate.

The astonishing response to his murder might make one think that Saudi officials involved in egregious rights abuses could finally pay some price for the crimes they’ve committed at home and abroad. And that the outrage over Khashoggi will galvanize the kingdom’s Western allies to demand accountability in some fashion that four years of atrocities in Yemen have not.

But President Donald Trump, who has warmed to many autocrats around the world, after days of calling on Saudi Arabia to investigate itself said he found Saudi Arabia’s explanation of Khashoggi’s death credible, telling reporters, “I think we’re getting close to solving a big problem.”

That’s not just the Saudi playbook. It’s also the one followed by the Americans.

For years, the Saudi-led coalition—armed and assisted by the United States—has killed and wounded thousands of civilians in Yemen, leaving a trail of death, destruction, and broken lives. When US officials are questioned about alleged coalition violations of the laws of war – from bombing a crowded funeral hall to destroying a bus, killing 26 young boys – they tend to follow a similar gameplan: Express concern. Call on the coalition to investigate. Laud the coalition when it does investigate, however weak the findings. Note any promise to investigate further or pay redress. Quietly let those promises disappear as soon as the international and any domestic political pressure recedes.

In the face of mounting global pressure on Saudi Arabia regarding the way it was waging war in Yemen, the coalition established an investigative body—the Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT). Since that time, the coalition’s allies, including the United States, has repeatedly pointed to the existence of JIAT as evidence that the coalition was serious about minimizing civilian harm.

Human Rights Watch comprehensively tested those claims, analyzing the work of the body, which was tasked with assessing “claims and accidents” over the last two years. We found that it continued to exhibit the same fundamental failings in 2018 as it had in 2016. The vast majority of its public incident reports absolved the coalition of legal fault, obfuscated which countries’ forces might be responsible, refused to provide even rough estimates of civilian harm, and failed to offer a thorough laws-of-war analysis, leading to highly dubious conclusions.

It remains unclear what, if any, authority JIAT has to compel coalition members to take up its recommendations to provide or ensure accountability.

In his certification to Congress allowing the continuation of US refueling to coalition aircraft, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the coalition for announcing that it would hold those responsible for the recent bus attack to account. There’s no reason to think this will happen.

JIAT, instead of operating as a genuine investigative body, has served as a smoke-screen. The United States has used the guise of this body’s investigations as an excuse to continue selling weapons in the face of countless war crimes. Even the Saudi state news agency seems to see the body’s findings to be more about defending the coalition and refuting human rights reports than about credibly investigating.

Saudi Arabia has failed for years to credibly investigate its own alleged wrongdoings in Yemen, and seemingly set up faux investigations to cover its tracks. US officials have every reason to know that. Relying on Saudi Arabia to investigate the death of Jamal Khashoggi or any of the many atrocities in Yemen appears more an attempt to ignore terrible acts than an effort to find out what happened – von Kristine Beckerle, Human Rights Watch

https://www.justsecurity.org/61178/saudi-playbook-self-investigations-civilian-deaths-yemen-khashoggi/

(** A B P)

When Will Obama Aides Come Clean About U.S.-Saudi War Crimes?

Now that Saudi Arabia has become a P.R. liability, Samantha Power and Ben Rhodes have quietly condemned the war in Yemen. But when they had the power to stop it, they were complicit.

It took the apparent murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi for the violence of the Saudi monarchy to finally register with the U.S. media and political elite.

Recently, the dogged work of activists and the war’s undeniable brutality have led to greater scrutiny from some in Congress. Also among the war’s new critics are former high-ranking Obama aides, including former UN Ambassador Samantha Power and Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, both of whom both of whom got in line behind the U.S.-Saudi war on Yemen and defended the intervention. As U.S. participation in Saudi war crimes becomes a P.R. liability for those who built their personal brands on the Obama administration's supposed moral authority, former aides’ criticisms force us to grapple with what constitutes atonement for complicity in mass killing—and how to distinguish true accountability from a hollow exercise in image rehabilitation.

What we do know is that, when Power in her role as a UN ambassador actually had the power to help stop the war on Yemen, by publicly breaking with her boss and encouraging meaningful action at the United Nations, she did nothing. Instead she embraced a policy of silence—and shielded the U.S.-Saudi coalition from meaningful international scrutiny as it dropped bombs on homes, schools, hospitals and funerals.

Rhodes, for his part, as deputy national security advisor, did not publicly dissent from Obama’s decision to send the United States into the war.

In an eyebrow-raising tweet published October 21, Rhodes claimed that the Obama administration’s relationship with Saudi Arabia grew “chilly.” In reality, throughout his presidency Obama offered the kingdom more than $115 billion in weapons, as well as military equipment and training, and at the end of his tenure, he collaborated with Saudi Arabia on an aggressive war that is still ongoing.

Understated and self-serving admissions by Power and Rhodes demand an examination of what real accountability should look like when one is complicit in unjust war. Neither’s critique included an exhaustive account of their wrongdoing or a robust plan to make things right. Power and Rhodes are following the well-trod path in which lawmakers and White House officials support U.S. wars of aggression only to admit, years later and with little personal consequence, that they made a mistake.

Politicians and officials likely make the calculus that it's less politically risky to support bipartisan wars at the time, even if it means having to apologize for it later.

Power and Rhodes’ support for the War Powers Resolution is one step toward rectifying the harm they have done. Obama, meanwhile, remains silent. But the architects of war must not be allowed to determine the parameters of their own accountability. The question remains: What would a real public apology for mass murder entail? Vowing to leave public life, dedicating one’s remaining days to ending the war and repairing the damage? Who should decide what reparations mean?

Nothing is stopping Power and Rhodes from giving a full and honest account of who was responsible for advocating, overseeing and covering up the horrors of the Yemen War, starting with themselves. This would provide useful information about how U.S. institutions function, whose interests were served at the expense of the Yemeni people, who is undeserving of re-election and political power, and what keeps the war machine whirring. It would build political pressure to finally end the war, far more than a handful of muted tweets and articles ever could.

But that’s not likely to happen – by Sarah Lazare

http://inthesetimes.com/article/21522/saudi-arabia-obama-ben-rhodes-samantha-power-jamal-khashoggi-yemen-war/

(** B P)

On MBS: the Shamelessness of Pro-Israel Think Tank Mandarins

There is an influential group of pro-Israel think-tank mandarins who ply the Democratic foreign policy circuit. They’re columnists for major newspapers, advisors to Democratic presidents, and ambassadors. There are many in the group who’ve earned their living offering sage advice to a series of U.S. leaders. But in this post I want to focus on Tom Friedman, Dennis Ross and Daniel Shapiro, because they have all raved about the “reforms” of Mohammed bin Salman, but have offered pro forma condemnation of his butchery in Turkey.

The backdrop for all this is Israel’s bi-polar relationship with the Saudis and Iran. In its hysterical pursuit of the demolition of the Iranian regime, Israel cultivated the House of Saud and its authoritarian Sunni allies.

Given the blossoming bromance between Israel and Saudi Arabia, it’s no accident that these pro-Israel foreign policy mandarins would follow suit. Here is how Susan Glasser in the New Yorker portrayedFriedman’s dabbling in MBS-phoria:

Public scorn, meanwhile, has also been directed at those who shared the Trump Administration’s high regard for the crown prince and hailed him as a modernizing young reformer. The Times columnist Tom Friedman has taken endless grief for his column “Saudi Arabia’s Arab Spring, at Last,” from November, 2017, which was filled with encomiums for M.B.S.

(** B P)

On MBS: the Shamelessness of Pro-Israel Think Tank Mandarins

There is an influential group of pro-Israel think-tank mandarins who ply the Democratic foreign policy circuit. They’re columnists for major newspapers, advisors to Democratic presidents, and ambassadors. There are many in the group who’ve earned their living offering sage advice to a series of U.S. leaders. But in this post I want to focus on Tom Friedman, Dennis Ross and Daniel Shapiro, because they have all raved about the “reforms” of Mohammed bin Salman, but have offered pro forma condemnation of his butchery in Turkey.

The backdrop for all this is Israel’s bi-polar relationship with the Saudis and Iran. In its hysterical pursuit of the demolition of the Iranian regime, Israel cultivated the House of Saud and its authoritarian Sunni allies.

Given the blossoming bromance between Israel and Saudi Arabia, it’s no accident that these pro-Israel foreign policy mandarins would follow suit. Here is how Susan Glasser in the New Yorker portrayedFriedman’s dabbling in MBS-phoria:

“Public scorn, meanwhile, has also been directed at those who shared the Trump Administration’s high regard for the crown prince and hailed him as a modernizing young reformer. The Times columnist Tom Friedman has taken endless grief for his column “Saudi Arabia’s Arab Spring, at Last,” from November, 2017, which was filled with encomiums for M.B.S.”

Unfortunately, she omits the worst example of Friedman’s prickly defensiveness regarding MBS. Watch this video in which he curses his critics with an unapologetic “fuck that.” The noblesse oblige of such cruel, cynical disregard for human life (Khashoggi’s) is breathtaking. Friedman has also doubled down with a second column on MBS. In it, he boasts about knowing Khashoggi and mourns his death, but calls only for the “censure” of MBS. Yes, let’s slap the very bad man on the wrist and tell him not to be bad again. Then let him go back to doing all the good things we praised him for before he did all those nasty things.

Friedman appears to believe, like so many westerners before him, that MBS is a brave religious reformer and that his tough love is what will cure the kingdom of its worst flaws. Remember Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush calling for a new age of democracy in the Middle East; and Condi Rice saying that Israel’s 2009 butchery of Lebanon constituted the “birth pangs of a new Middle East.” When will these people get through their skulls that it’s delusional to think you can turn the Middle East into an Arab version of Anytown, USA?

Here are a few more equally disturbing tidbits from Shapiro:

His [MBS’] legitimate campaign against the Iranian-backed Houthi in Yemen has been prosecuted with total disregard for the vast suffering of civilians it has caused…

Get that? Bombing the crap out of Yemen was OK because those damnable Houthis were armed by Iran. If only MBS had killed a few less civilians or starved a few less babies it might’ve worked. Where have we heard before that a Middle East invasion had the best of intentions and, if prosecuted properly, could have worked?

And this one:

Saudi repression is not new, and perhaps the American political system could accommodate it if it stayed below a certain level of visibility.

Speechless, is all I can say…

https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2018/10/20/on-mbs-the-shamelessness-of-pro-israel-think-tank-mandarins/

(** B P)

Inside the Saudis’ Washington influence machine: How the kingdom gained power through fierce lobbying and charm offensives

Those twin successes reflected the power of a sophisticated Saudi influence machine that has shaped policy and perceptions in Washington for decades, batting back critiques of the oil-rich kingdom by doling out millions to lobbyists, blue-chip law firms, prominent think tanks and large defense contractors. In 2017, Saudi payments to lobbyists and consultants in Washington more than tripled over the previous year, public filings show.

A surge in lobbying

In the past two years, the Saudis have intensified their efforts to cement the U.S. relationship. The kingdom’s spending on U.S. lobbying and consulting, which had dropped from $14.3 million in 2015 to $7.7 million in 2016, surged to $27.3 million last year, according to public records. More than 200 people have registered as agents on behalf of Saudi interests since 2016, according to lobbying documents posted by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Among those on the payroll have been some of Washington’s top public relations and lobbying shops: the McKeon Group, helmed by Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, the former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; BGR Group, a firm founded by prominent Republicans Ed Rogers and Haley Barbour; the Glover Park Group, which was launched by Democratic political strategists including Joe Lockhart and Carter Eskew; and the now-defunct Podesta Group, the former firm of Democratic superlobbyist Tony Podesta.

Rogers and Eskew are both contributing opinion writers for The Washington Post. Last week, both of their firms announced they were dropping their representation of Saudi Arabia. The Post had told them they could not continue to write for The Post and lobby for Saudi Arabia, according to spokeswoman Kristine Coratti Kelly.

Separately, Saudi money — and funds from its close ally, the United Arab Emirates — have also flowed into think tanks throughout Washington, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Brookings Institution and the Middle East Institute. All three said last week that they are ending or reconsidering Saudi grants.

“One of the foreign policy truisms force-fed in Washington is that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have a special, unbreakable relationship,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat and leading critic of the war in Yemen. “At least everybody who is smart and knows about foreign policy who walks into your office tells you that. But as it turns out, a lot of those people are getting gulf money.”

One of the biggest beneficiaries of Saudi money has been the Middle East Institute, which touts itself as “an unbiased source of information and analysis on this critical region.” The organization is chaired by Richard A. Clarke, who held senior national security positions during the administrations of presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Between 2016 and 2017, the think tank received between $1.25 million and $4 million in funding from Saudi interests, according to its public disclosures.

In 2016, MEI received $20 million from UAE — which has backed the Saudi government’s claims regarding Khashoggi’s death — to renovate its headquarters.

The institute also has other ties to the kingdom.

The pro-Saudi lobby in Washington ramped up its efforts after a major setback in fall 2016 — the success of a bill pushed by the Sept. 11 families, known as Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which allowed them to sue the Saudi government over its alleged support for the terrorist attacks. Of the 19 hijackers involved in the attacks, 15 were Saudi citizens.

Whirring into action

In March, facing the prince’s upcoming visit and the Yemen vote, the Saudis’ Washington machine whirred into action.

At the embassy, the ambassador laid out the schedule and list of cities and took suggestions on important people Mohammed should meet, according to people in attendance.

Coleman described the meeting as a routine planning session. Mottur confirmed he and Lampkin were in attendance on behalf of their firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.

During the seven weeks leading up to the crown prince’s visit and Yemen resolution vote, lobbyists reported 759 contacts with members of Congress, staffers, academics and reporters on behalf of the Saudi government, according to public records – by Tom Hamburger, Beth Reinhard and Justin Wm. Moyer

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-the-saudis-washington-influence-machine-how-the-kingdom-gained-power-through-fierce-lobbying-and-charm-offensives/2018/10/21/8a0a3320-d3c3-11e8-a275-81c671a50422_story.html

(** B P)

REVEALED: The Saudi death squad MBS uses to silence dissent

MEE exclusively reveals details about the Tiger Squad, a team of assassins targeting Saudi critics at home and abroad

Jamal Khashoggi fell victim to its assassins. He wasn't the first.

In new revelations, a Saudi source with intimate knowledge of his country's intelligence services told Middle East Eye about a death squad that operates under the guidance and supervision of Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince.

The Firqat el-Nemr, or Tiger Squad, is well-known to the US intelligence services. It was formed more than a year ago and is comprised of 50 of the best-skilled intelligence and military operatives in the kingdom.

The group was recruited from different branches of the Saudi security services, channelling several areas of expertise. Its members are unflinchingly loyal to Riyadh's young crown prince, commonly known as MBS.

MEE can exclusively reveal details about the Tiger Squad, after speaking to a very well-placed source. The source detailed to MEE the squad's makeup, targets, actions and personnel.

Although MEE was not able to confirm the information disclosed, the source was independently verified.

The Tiger Squad's mission is to covertly assassinate Saudi dissidents, inside the kingdom and on foreign soil, in a way that goes unnoticed by the media, the international community and politicians, the source said.

"They [the Saudi leadership] have the belief that arresting critics will mount pressure on them, so that's why they started assassinating them quietly," the source said.

The Tiger Squad's assassination methods vary.

Sometimes it gets its hands dirty, such as with Khashoggi, who was tortured, murdered and dismembered by the Tiger Squad in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

But the unit also plans assassinations that keep the victim at arm's length, and are intended to appear as accidents, such as a car crash or housefire. The Tiger Squad has even had a dissident injected with deadly viruses as he visited hospital for a routine checkup, the source said.

The squad was named after Major General Ahmed al-Assiri, the deputy chief of Saudi intelligence, who was sacked by Riyadh last week after heavy international pressure on Saudi Arabia to take action over Khashoggi's killing.

"Assiri is well-known among his colleagues as 'the Tiger of the South'. Since the coalition's war [on Yemen] the Saudi media also started calling Assiri 'the Beast', and he liked this nickname," the source said.

Ties to the crown prince

The source denied knowledge of who issues commands to the Tiger Squad, but said that Assiri and Saoud al-Qahtani, one of MBS's closest aides who was also dismissed last week, is part of the command structure.

The young crown prince selected five of his most loyal and trustworthy members of his personal security detail to serve in the Tiger Squad, the source said.

All of them are among the 15 men sent to kill Khashoggi, including Maher Abdulaziz Mutrib, Mohammed al-Zahrani and Dhaar al-Harbi, the source said.

As proof of the Khashoggi mission's success, the source said, members of the Tiger Squad brought the Washington Post columnist's fingers back to Riyadh. They were presented to the young heir to the Saudi throne.

"MBS always said that he will cut off the fingers of every writer who criticises him," the source said.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/tiger-squad-saudi-hitmen-khashoggi-mbs

cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics

(* A H)

Anzahl der Jemen Cholerafälle Erhöhung mit alarmierender Geschwindigkeit laut WHO-Bericht

Der Weltgesundheitsorganisation zufolge am Dienstag, 2. Oktober, die Cholera-Epidemie im Jemen wird immer schlimmer, mit 10.000 Neuerkrankungen berichtet jede Woche.

Tarik Jasarevic, der Sprecher, der sagte, dass die mutmaßlichen Cholera-Fälle in September stieg auf 185.160 berichtet. Im Vergleich dazu erreicht die mutmaßlichen Cholera-Fälle von Januar bis August, 154.527.

„Wir die Anzahl der Cholerafälle Erhöhung im Jemen seit Juni gesehen haben,“ erklärte er. „Diese Erhöhung ist in den letzten drei Wochen noch wichtig gewesen.“

In der ersten Septemberwoche allein vermutete fast 11.000 Fälle gemeldet wurden. Beamte des öffentlichen Gesundheitswesens Schuld die rasante Zunahme von Cholera-Fälle im Jemen, die Saudi Arabia-United Arabischen Emirate militärische Offensive im Juni, die Sanitäreinrichtungen und Wasserstationen beschädigt.

http://www.tekk.tv/gesundheit/anzahl-der-jemen-cholerafaelle-erhoehung-mit-alarmierender-geschwindigkeit-laut-who-bericht/

(* A H)

3 deaths and 8 cases of cholera in Abyan governorate. Hospitals and health centers are receiving dozens of suspected cases of cholera and are unable to provide them with treatment due to the lack of facilities and medicine.

https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1053063189255127040

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

(A K pH)

5 Saudi aggression air raids targets on Hodeidah

The US-backed Saudi aggression on Sunday targeted five airstrikes in Hodeidah province, a local official told Saba on Monday.

The Five raids waged al-Haly directorate.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news512002.htm

(A K pS)

Fierce battles in the southern city of Hodeidah following an attack by the Houthis on government forces

Local residents in the western city of Hodeidah said Sunday that fierce battles erupted between government troops and Huothi militants at the southern entrance of the city.

According to al-Masdar online, fierce battles lasted for hours from the direction of Hodeidah University and Kilo 10, and the parties used heavy and light machine guns and artillery shells, while the Saudi Arabian coalition fighters flew intensively.

Our correspondent quoted field sources as having fought the two sides, and that the confrontations did not result in control or progress on the ground, and that the parties continued to cling to their positions.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159894

(* A K)

Mistaken coalition air strike hit Southern forces in Kilo-16 area, SE of Hodeidah city. 62 wounded fighters were sent to the hospitals of Aden, Mocha and Al-Khokha. Only Aden received 26 corpses and 18 wounded. Sheikh Abdul Nasser Al-Kalu was seriously injured (photos)

https://twitter.com/YemeniObserv/status/1053831097438650370

(A K pH)

Civilian killed in Saudi aggression airstrike on Hodeidah

The US-backed Saudi-led aggression coalition warplanes waged on Sunday a strike on Hodeidah province, killing a citizen and wounding four others, an official told Saba.
The strike hit Zaid street in al-Hali district, the official added.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news511923.htm

and

(A K pH)

Some of the initial images of the domestic gas filling station targeted by the aggression coalition, of course the raid or shell was on an area in a densely populated residential neighborhood as well as gathering a lot of citizens to get gas in the morning as well as waiting for bus drivers to fill their buses at gas station Zayed Road The market of the hole, but God said that the assembly was far from the strike and fell after the strike two martyrs and more than five wounded

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1917588371870481

while the Saudi coalition claims Houthi shelling was responsible:

(A K pS)

Civilian killed, 4 injured in Al-Hodeidah by Houthi shell

One civilian was killed and four others were injured after a shell fired by the Houthi militia landed in a residential neighborhood in Hodeidah province, west of Yemen.

Local sources told al-Masdar online that a shell believed to have been fired by the Houthis from inside a city of modesty towards the location of the joint government forces at Hodeidah Airport landed in a residential neighborhood on Saturday evening.

The missile killed one person and injured four others on Zayed Road, the sources said

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159917

(A K pH)

Hodeidah Pictures of the destruction caused by the air raids on Saturday on the house of the citizen / Taysir Fakirat,

Located in the area of 7 July, which claimed the lives of a number of martyrs and wounded

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1917875031841815

(A K pS)

Medical source: a girl was injured by a Houthi sniper while she was in front of her house with other children in Al-Tehtya district, south #Hodeidah (photo)

https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1053775386704859138

(A K pS)

Yemen: Houthis Receive Severe Blows on West Coast

Dozens of Houthi militants were killed on the fronts of the West Coast after the death of one of their most prominent field commanders during an airstrike by the Arab Coalition to Support Legitimacy.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1432551/yemen-houthis-receive-severe-blows-west-coast

(A K pS)

Arab coalition destroys two Houthi ballistic missiles fired at Hodeidah

No casualties have been reported

The Arab Coalition in Yemen has destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by Houthis at the port city of Hodeidah.

The coalition also destroyed a drone laden with explosives heading towards the city, UAE state news agency WAM reports.

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/arab-coalition-destroys-two-houthi-ballistic-missiles-fired-at-hodeidah-1.782511

My comment: The Houthis should fire missiles at the city they themselves are in control of? A better story, friends, please.

(* A K)

Photo: Aftermath of coalition bombing of forces it backs in Hodeida in which dozens of soldiers were killed & injured.Since 2015,coalition has bombed #Yemen gov & allied forces n Nihm, Serwah, Baydha & Taiz when they made advance against the Houthis. Why this happen remains a mystery.

https://twitter.com/Ndawsari/status/1054318117013331968

Remark: This raid already had been recorded earlier.

cp2 Allgemein / General

(* A K P)

Interactive Map of Yemen War

https://yemen.liveuamap.com/

(* A P)

Yémen: Mohammed ben Salmane, le prince saoudien, visé par une enquête en France

Une association yéménite accuse le prince saoudien d’avoir ordonné plusieurs attaques sur son sol, en violant le droit international…

Une plainte a été déposée contre le Saoudien par une association de défense des droits de l’homme, pour « complicité de torture et autres peines ou traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants » sur fond de guerre au Yémen, révèle L’Express, ce lundi.

Selon les informations de l’hebdomadaire, cette plainte, déposée lors de la venue du prince saoudien à Paris en avril dernier, vient d’être acceptée par le juge d’instruction, Renaud Van Ruymbeke. L’association yéménite de défense des droits de l’homme, qui a déposé plainte, accuse MBS de « complicité de torture et autres peines ou traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants » dans la guerre du Yémen, qui ravage le pays depuis maintenant trois ans. L’Arabie saoudite, au sud du Yémen, combat les rebelles houthis, d’obédience chiite, avec l’appui d’une coalition constituée d’une dizaine de pays arabes et sunnites.

Selon l’association, représentée par deux avocats français, certaines attaques bafoueraient la Convention des Nations Unies contre la torture et autres peines ou traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants : la destruction d’un entrepôt de fournitures humanitaires appartenant à Oxfam en avril 2015, les frappes aériennes contre un mariage entraînant la mort de 131 civils en septembre 2015, le raid sur un hôpital de MSF en octobre 2015 ou encore le bombardement d’une salle communautaire de Sanaa, faisant plus de 800 morts, le même mois.

https://www.20minutes.fr/justice/2358659-20181022-yemen-mohammed-ben-salmane-prince-saoudien-vise-enquete-france

and also https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/justice/tortures-au-yemen-mbs-vise-par-une-enquete-en-france_2043659.html

(* B P)

Will pressure on the Saudi crown prince impact the humanitarian crisis in Yemen?

Nick Schifrin speaks with F. Gregory Gause of Texas A&M and Randa Slim of the Middle East Institute.

Randa Slim:

Look, I mean, Saudi stability is affected by this climate of impunity.

The fact that you have a crown prince who feels and who felt that he could get away with murder, that in itself is an element of concern about — that can affect future stability in the — in the — of the kingdom, but also future U.S.-Saudi relation.

So, I think as we move forward — and, as you have — as you have said in the introduction, this move or this murder by — of Mr. Khashoggi comes against a background of an accumulation of decision and incident engineered and led by the crown prince which raise a lot of concern about his fitness for the job as a crown prince and future as the king.

Gregory Gause:

I think it's really dangerous for the United States to start dictating who's in and who's out.

I think one of the mistakes the Trump administration made was being extremely public in its patronage of Mohammed bin Salman, extremely supportive of his rise to crown prince, and publicly claiming credit for it.

And I think that that tied the administration much too much to one person within the Saudi ruling family. I think that there has to be some kind of communication from Washington, a senior person whom the Saudis trust. We don't have an ambassador there now.

But a very senior person, somebody like former Secretary of State James Baker, I think, has to go and talk to the king about the way forward in U.S.-Saudi relations.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/will-pressure-on-the-saudi-crown-prince-impact-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-yemen

(B K P)

Iran Blasts West for Silence on Yemen War, Uproar on Khashoggi's Case

Iran's Judiciary Chief Sadeq Amoli Larijani blasted the Saudi officials for murdering prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but meantime, lashed out at the western states for pursuing the case persistently while keeping mum on Riyadh's crimes during Yemen war.

"The West's double-standard criteria on human rights can be witnessed here as many western countries have shown sensitivity over the murder of the journalist and are apparently pursuing it but they have kept silence on the crimes like what is happening in Yemen and no voice is heard from them," Amoli Larijani said, addressing the high-ranking judiciary officials in Tehran on Monday.

He noted that killing of Khashoggi further revealed the terrorist-nurturing identity of Saudi Arabia, and said, "Saudi Arabia first covered the crime with the help of the West, but they were forced to admit it recently, claiming that a number of rogue killers have committed the crime, to exonerate their corrupt government."

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970730000987

(B K P)

Silence on Yemen carnage shows US, Europe hypocrisy: Hezbollah official

A top official of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement says the awkward silence of the United States and Europe on the ongoing Saudi-led massacres in Yemen definitively proves their hypocrisy, stating that Washington is being paid huge sums of money by the Riyadh regime to cover up its crimes.

“Saudi Arabia can buy US President Donald Trump, the US Congress, the Security Council and major powers with its petrodollars, but cannot win the support of defenseless and honorable Yemeni nation or Hezbollah’s silence. That is why they tend to punish the Lebanese resistance movement through placing it on terrorist lists and adopting economic sanctions against it,” Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, deputy chief of Hezbollah’s executive council, said on Sunday.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/10/22/577771/Silence-on-ongoing-Yemen-carnages-attest-US-Europe-hypocrisy-Senior-Hezbollah-official

(* B K P)

Airstrikes in Yemen, Jamal Khashoggi and the US-Saudi relationship — here’s the history you need

When reports started coming out that journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been brutally murdered and dismembered while in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the media and the world responded with shock and horror. But Saudi Arabia’s ongoing attacks in Yemen should have made apparent the kingdom's callous regard for human life and human rights. The long standing U.S. alliance should have made it clear that nothing was likely to change. Here’s what you need to know.

The U.S. is at least partly culpable for the ongoing chaos in the Middle East. Leaving the region and existing alliances has proved difficult in its own right.

In short, there are no easy answers in the ongoing war in Yemen, and many complicating factors. But Khashoggi’s disappearance and subsequent international outcry has shed renewed light on the conflict and U.S. involvement and raised new questions.

The long shadow of history, however, means that understanding the latest headlines is far more complicated than just a question about how a journalist was murdered.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/airstrikes-in-yemen-jamal-khashoggi-and-the-us-saudi-relationship-heres-the-history-you-need

(* B H K)

'WORST FAMINE IN 100 YEARS' COULD SEE 13 MILLION PEOPLE STARVE IF SAUDI-LED COALITION KEEPS BOMBING YEMEN: U.N.

Between 12 and 13 million people are at risk of starvation within the next three months if the Saudi Arabian-led coalition continues its bombing of Yemen, the United Nations has warned.

“I think many of us felt as we went into the 21st century that it was unthinkable that we could see a famine like we saw in Ethiopia, that we saw in Bengal, that we saw in parts of the Soviet Union—that was just unacceptable,” Lise Grande, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, told the BBC on Sunday. “Yet the reality is that in Yemen that is precisely what we are looking at,” she warned.

https://www.newsweek.com/worst-famine-yemen-bombing-saudi-starve-1171063

My comment: Nothing new, at least for those who do not rely on mainstream media.

(? B H K P)

Film: Randi Nord of Geopolitics Alert reveals what's really going on in the Saudi-led war on Yemen.

https://www.facebook.com/TheMindUnleashed/videos/2213024255578257

(* B H K P)

‘US & UK throw money at Yemen’s humanitarian disaster while profiting from war’

Suze van Meegen from the Norwegian Refugee Council told RT major sponsors of aid programs are the same parties who fail to act to deescalate the violence in Yemen.

“We are seeing huge amount of duplicity from powerful countries. Countries like the UK and the US consistently throwing money at the problem of humanitarian crisis in Yemen, helping us reach people with food and water. Meanwhile they are profiting from the sale of weapons that are perpetuating the war,” she said.

Lucrative arms sales are reportedly the reason why such incidents are dismissed by Western nations as simple mistakes and the coalition gets away with a slap on the wrist each time. Van Meegen said enablers of the intervention should decide what their values are.

“Our question to those powers is: are jobs in the US and the UK more valuable than lives in Yemen?” she said.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen is dire and will only get worse, unless the conflict is stopped. It has already scarred the entire nation to a great deal, van Meegen said.

“People can’t get enough food to eat each day. Parents don’t know when they send their children to school, whether they’ll come home or whether the bombs will hit the school. There is very little water, so people are scared of cholera,” she said. “The society entirely is marked by fear and deprivation.

“I met children with open wounds on their legs that they cannot afford to treat. People’s hair is falling out because they cannot access enough food. The situation in Yemen is really about as bad as it gets.”

Van Meegen stressed that the humanitarian crisis is “entirely man-made and could be avoided” if the allies of the Saudis chose to take serious action.

https://www.rt.com/news/441479-yemen-disaster-west-profiting

(B H K)

Krieg, Hunger, Cholera und kein Ende

Der Krieg im Jemen mit bislang mindestens 10.000 Toten ist Ursache einer schweren Wirtschaftskrise im Land, die Lebensmittel für viele Menschen fast unerschwinglich macht. Und die Versorgungslage könnte noch dramatischer werden, wenn die wichtige Hafenstadt Hudeida durch die Kämpfe zerstört wird.

https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/die-lage-im-jemen-krieg-hunger-cholera-und-kein-ende.799.de.html?dram:article_id=431048

Mein Kommentar: Ein mehr als oberflächlicher Überblicks-Bericht. Lohnt nicht wirklich.

(* B P)

Thank you, Saudi Arabia

Thank you, Saudi Arabia for exposing the utter hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy of British and American gangsta press and equally gangsta establishment.

You’ve been at it for a very long time. And it seems that finally you’ve got it right.

When you chopped the heads of your own dissidents or women raped by your spoiled brats, the western media and its politicians said they respect your traditions.

When you treated your own women like shit, forcing them to be dressed as Halloween ghosts during the hottest days of summer, the west said that it is our moral duty to accept diverse cultures.

When you decimated civilians in Yemen, the west looked another way and sold you more arms to decimate more people in Yemen.

When you sponsored all kinds of violent thugs all over Balkans, Middle East, Europe and Africa, and encouraged them to take over giant patches of land, the west looked the other way, as long as the oil was flowing.

Finally, some of your sexually repressed thugs flew the plane into American buildings and killed a lot of people in the hope of getting some heavenly virgins. Still, the west decided to attack Afghanistan and Iraq, but not you, in response.

I understand that you began to feel more and more desperate. You sided with Israel against Iran and Syria, and the rest of the world said that it is a moral thing to do and put you on the UN human rights board.

Well, finally, you hit the right chord – by Vaska

https://off-guardian.org/2018/10/19/thank-you-saudi-arabia/

(* B P)

Dr. Madawi Al-Rasheed: In Khashoggi Murder, Saudi Arabia Must Not Be Allowed to Investigate Itself

I think, from the very beginning, almost 2015, I predicted that the Yemen war that the Saudis are launching is a war impossible to win. You cannot bomb a very, very poor country and kill over 10,000 civilians and stabilize a country. It’s just not going to happen. The Saudis should have stayed outside that country and not interfered so much in its internal politics. There had been a struggle for power in Yemen, but the Saudi intervention has made it worse and has actually contributed to that struggle for power not ending soon.

So the war in Yemen should stop immediately, because it’s going nowhere, and it has become—Yemen itself has become a training ground for an inexperienced Saudi Army that has never actually participated in a war or launched a war or let alone achieved victory in a war.

And unfortunately, the United States and Britain, the two countries that are actually extremely heavily involved in this war through selling arms to Saudi Arabia, are keeping quiet, and they keep assuring us that they have constructive engagement with the Saudis to minimize civilian death. But day after day, we have targets being hit, and they happen to be a bus with schoolchildren. So I’m not sure how this precision bombing and the constructive engagement of the two Western countries supporting the war is leading to some kind of improvement in the military practices of the Saudi Army.

https://www.democracynow.org/2018/10/19/dr_madawi_al_rasheed_in_khashoggi

(A P)

'Prisoner exchange deal succeeds in releasing 8 detainees and prisoners of the Houthis

A deal between the government and the Houthis, which was released on Thursday, was able to release detainees and prisoners belonging to the province of Hodeidah, sources told the Almasdar online.

A number of the abductees are elderly.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159810

(* B H K)

This is the front line of Saudi Arabia’s invisible war.

Outside of Yemen, the war has been largely overlooked.

The Saudis barred foreign journalists from northern Yemen, scene of the biggest airstrike atrocities and the deepest hunger. The conflict is mostly unknown to Americans, whose military has backed the Saudi-led coalition’s campaign with intelligence, bombs and refueling, leading to accusations of complicity in possible war crimes.

Since June, the war has centered on the Red Sea port of Hudaydah. After a tense journey along a coastal highway prone to bombs and ambushes, we made a rare visit this month to the chaotic battlefield at the city gates.

There we saw what Prince Mohammed’s war looks like up close, from one side, among those Yemenis who are fighting and dying in it.

It has no restrictions on guns or drugs: Young fighters slinging Kalashnikovs crowd the emergency room, standing anxiously over medics working to save their wounded comrades.

In seeking to capture Hodeida's port, the coalition hopes to deprive the Houthis of millions of dollars in monthly tax revenues and force them into negotiations. But Hodeida is also the gateway to a starving nation: Three-quarters of Yemen's 28 million people rely on some form of relief aid, and the vast majority of it passes through the port.

Under intense international pressure, the coalition promised Western officials they would not fight in the city or the port, and would instead seek to encircle it. Now both sides are dug into positions on the city's fringes, exchanging fire but gaining little territory.

A secondary front extends for about 210 km to the south, parallel to the coalition-controlled coastal highway, where the fight takes place in remote villages and small towns, as both sides try to cut off each other's supply lines.

The United Nations says this secondary front is the deadliest area for civilians. At least 500,000 people have fled their homes, many forced to shelter in squalid refugee camps in towns farther down the coast like Mokha, a small port once famous for its coffee exports, and nearby Khokha.

Once a sleepy fishing town, Khokha buzzes with a lawless air, a melting pot of the war. Fighters mill about in the town centre, chewing khat. The main drag is often jammed with military convoys headed for the front. Refugees, soldiers and Houthi spies mingle in the town bazaar.

Some nurses chew khat, the narcotic leaf beloved by Yemenis. At night, they gather in crowded dormitories to swap stories and gallows humor, and avoid enemy fire.

Just before we arrived, they said, a Houthi drone had exploded over their rooms. Dr. Hazza Abdullah, 34, the doctor on duty, told of going for a swim in the sea during a lull in the fighting, only to be confronted with a spiky sea mine floating toward him. “I got out very quickly,” he said.

Back in 2011, when the Arab Spring protests swept Yemen and other Arab countries, Dr. Abdullah embraced the promise of change.

“I thought it would be like the French Revolution, that it would open doors," he said. "Instead we are going through hell.” (photos, films)

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/20/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-invisible-war-yemen.html = https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/middle-east/the-front-line-of-saudi-arabia-s-invisible-war-in-yemen-20181021-p50b1u.html

Comment: The war in Yemen has not been “largely overlooked.” Many, many stories have been written about it. Those stories have just not gotten the attention they deserve.

https://twitter.com/APDiploWriter/status/1053818628070612992

(* A K pS)

#Rasd_Coalition documented 628 killing, among them 124 #child & 50 #Women from 1 Jan 2018 to 31 May 2018. -301 Killed by #Houthies. -124 by shells -124 Coalition #airstrikes. -27 #Yemeni Government army. - others by armed group & #drones attacks (image)

https://twitter.com/ycmhrv/status/1053563301903376384

My comment: Hardly complete, as far as Saudi coalition air raids are concerned.

cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation

Eingebetteter Medieninhalt

Siehe / Look at cp1

(* B H)

Verlorene Kindheit

Kein Essen, keine Schule, keine Perspektive: Der Krieg im Jemen raube einer ganzen Generation die Zukunft, warnt die Hilfsorganisation Save the Children.

Die Hilfsorganisation Save the Children warnt vor den Auswirkungen des Jemenkriegs auf die Kinder des Landes. Seit dreieinhalb Jahren kämpfen von Saudi-Arabien unterstützte Regierungstruppen und vom Iran gesponserte Huthi-Rebellen um die Vorherrschaft im Jemen. Beide Seiten nehmen in Kauf, dass Kinder verhungern, nicht zur Schule gehen oder als Kindersoldaten rekrutiert werden.

„Schätzungen zufolge sind 400.000 Kinder ernsthaft unterernährt“, sagt Tamer Kirolos, Jemen-Direktor der Hilfsorganisation, der taz. „Sie müssen therapeutisch ernährt werden und brauchen Medizin.“ Sei ihr Körper erst einmal geschwächt, seien sie besonders anfällig für Infektionen.

Schon heute sind 17 Millionen Menschen im Jemen von Hilfslieferungen abhängig. Doch werde die Zahl steigen, warnt Kirolos. Denn viele, die sich momentan noch Nahrungsmittel kaufen können, könnten sich das bald nicht mehr leisten. Die Preise steigen stetig, weil die Versorgung über den umkämpften Hafen von Hudaida am Roten Meer in Gefahr ist. „Es gibt Schätzungen, dass weitere drei Millionen Menschen vom Hunger bedroht wären, wenn der Hafen von Hudaida ausfällt“, warnt Kirolos. „Das könnte das Land endgültig an den Rand einer Hungerkatastrophe bringen.“

Hudaida ist für die humanitäre Lage im Jemen von zentraler Bedeutung. Über 80 Prozent der Lebensmittel kämen über den Hafen ins Land, erklärt Kirolos. Neben Hilfslieferungen seien auch die im Handel verbliebenen Nahrungsmittel von den Kämpfen um Hudaida betroffen. Aufgrund der schwierigen Versorgungslage würden sie immer teurer. Von den ansteigenden Preisen könnten weitere zehn Millionen Jemeniten betroffen sein, sagt Kirolos. „Das sind Menschen, die sich jetzt noch Nahrungsmittel leisten können, die aber Hilfslieferungen benötigen werden.“

Neben dem Hafen seien zwei große Straßen, die aus der Stadt führen, von zentraler Bedeutung, erläutert Kirolos, der Hudaida vor Kurzem besucht hat. Eine von ihnen sei bereits unterbrochen. Würde auch die zweite geschlossen, käme dies der Schließung des Hafens gleich.

Schulgebäude zerstört

Zu der Unterernährung käme hinzu, dass viele Kinder im Jemen seit Jahren keine Schule mehr von Innen gesehen haben. Über 1.200 Schulen wurden im Krieg zerstört, beschädigt oder werden militärisch oder als Unterkunft für Binnenflüchtlinge genutzt. Zudem würden viele Lehrer nicht mehr bezahlt.

http://www.taz.de/!5541093/

(B H)

Photo: Am frühen Morgen sehe ich dieses Bild täglich "... Kinder beginnen ihren Tag mit dem Sammeln von Wasser, bevor Sie zur Schule gehen... Die Belastungen des Lebens sind für die Kinder schwerer geworden

Early in the morning, I see this picture every day. "Children start their day collecting water before going to school ... Life burdens become burdensome for adults in Yemen.

https://twitter.com/faizahsulimani/status/1054622943924363265

(A H)

Within @UNDP’s #YECRP, @SFDYemen successfully constructed 300 m3 reservoir to provide #CleanWater to more than 1000 households & 15,000 #livestock in Hat District in Al Maharah Governorate, #Yemen. Funded by @WorldBank (photo9

https://twitter.com/UNDPYEMEN/status/1053996857469345792

(* B H)

Film: Children, the main victims of Saudi war on Yemen

https://www.facebook.com/PRESSTV/videos/2294617847232290/

(B H)

Photo: Überlebenswille im Jemen

Ein Junge schiebt in Sanaa im Jemen eine Schubkarre mit Kanistern, um Wasser zu holen. Die Gewalt und die Wirtschaftskrise in dem Land haben dramatische Folgen: 22 Millionen Menschen benötigen Hilfe.

https://www.schwaebische-post.de/politik/ueberlebenswille-im-jemen/1717973/

(* B H)

Audio: Yemen: "A living hell"

Dr Sherin Varkey from UN children's charity UNICEF on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06pgh8w

(A H)

ACTED: Improving food security and sanitation for displaced families in Yemen

ACTED provides essential water trucking and cash for food to needy displaced families in Al Dhale’e governorate.

In central Yemen, Al Dhale’e governorate hosts some of the most vulnerable families who have fled conflict from neighbouring areas. With the support of ECHO, ACTED has supported 2,200 vulnerable households in Al Dhale’e governorate by providing three months of unconditional cash transfers to improve food security and WASH assistance.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/improving-food-security-and-sanitation-displaced-families-yemen

(* B H)

Despite famine risk, humanitarian access worsens in Yemen

While the United Nations is warning that Yemen faces a serious famine risk, restricted humanitarian access means it is difficult to get an accurate assessment of the situation, according to international humanitarian groups operating in the region.

“Today there is absolutely no study able to show there is a famine in Yemen. No accurate survey in Yemen can prove there is famine, because there is no way to do it [the data collection], because of lack of access,” Caroline Seguin, a Médecins Sans Frontières operations manager for the region, told Devex. “There is food in Yemen. The markets have food. What is difficult for the population is the inflation.”

Approximately 8 million people in Yemen — or nearly a third of the population — are considered severely food insecure and entirely dependent on humanitarian aid.

Lack of humanitarian access, meanwhile, has deteriorated over the last several months, following an onset of fighting in the port city of Hodeida, according to Suze van Meegen, a protection and advocacy officer for the Norwegian Refugee Council.

In some cases, access challenges have pushed humanitarian actors to spend the majority of their time navigating bureaucratic roadblocks.

“The constraints are not so much geographic as bureaucratic. The paperwork required by authorities is extensive and we are very restricted in where we can go,” van Meegen said.

In urban areas, van Meegen has recently seen an uptick in begging, stockpiling of food, and Yemenis discussing leaving the country — something she has previously not heard from them. The situation is far worse in remote areas.

“In rural areas, the conditions are abysmal. It is a real kick in the guts to see — people living in makeshift tents, with no water, in really horrendous conditions. It is not hard to see why cholera is likely to ramp up again,” she said.

“There are whole villages that have migrated together. Nobody is working, because there are no jobs, and they have sold every possible item they can. People have said that, ‘if we don’t get food from humanitarian agencies, we don’t eat.’ They are entirely, 100 percent, dependent on aid.”

Van Meegen said if a famine declaration were made, it could serve as a political push to ease access constraints.

“Confirming the existence and extent of famine is made incredibly difficult. Famine is determined on the basis of specific scientific measures that are difficult for us to confirm without better access,” she explained – von Amy Lieberman

https://www.devex.com/news/despite-famine-risk-humanitarian-access-worsens-in-yemen-93682

(* B H)

In just a month and a half. Increase of kidney failure deaths in Ibb to 23 people

The death toll of kidney failure patients in Ibb province, central Yemen, has risen to 23, in only a month and a half as a result of medical negligence.

Twenty-three patients with kidney failure died from early September to mid-October, according to medical sources at the Al-Thawra General Hospital in Ibb City of al-Masdar online.

According to the source, nine died in September and 14 patients died within two weeks of October.

Jabr al-Khawlani, deputy director of the General Revolution Hospital, confirmed the death of 23 patients since early September, noting that the causes of death were not due to lack of Dialysis materials or Dialysis sessions.

Al-Khawlani told the "Al Masdar online " that the most prominent causes of death "intentional negligence without imposing any deterrent penalties, not to mention the poor quality of the material used purchased from local merchants, which is not compliant and it threatens the lives of hundreds of patients, who exceeded 550 cases with illness Renal failure ".

Al-Khawlani added that one of the causes of death was the affection of a large number of kidney failure patients with hepatic viruses due to the negligence of the center's staff in sterilizing the Dialysis ", which is considered by doctors as a major crime to transfer the lethal viruses from a patient to a healthy person due to lack of sterilization and neglect.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159890

(* B H)

The Minister of Education, Dr. Abdallah Lamlas, said that nearly 3.600 schools in Yemen have been closed since the start of the war between government forces backed by the Arab coalition and the Houthi militia.

The closure of those schools had deprived 1.9 million children of the formal education system, he said, noting that about 2,000 basic and secondary schools had been damaged or used by the Houthi militia and 67 percent of schools teachers had not been paid for nearly two years.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159918

My comment: Hadi government. “The minister said that more than 1 million children cannot attend school because of the Houthi militia's war” is odd propaganda taking into account that the largest part of schools had been destroyed by Saudi coalition air raids.

(* A H)

In the second day of our mission to Hajjeh, we started distributing food aid baskets to most vulnerable families in Aslam area. The whole project targeted 420 families there.

203 food aid baskets was funded by Humanity First charity in Germany.

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1053761970967601157

In the second day also, @monarelief's team delivered 85 food aid baskets to families from Aslam area of Hajjeh funded by Schools for Peace charity in Poland (photos)

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1053764677451288577

In the same day, October 18, 60 families from Aslam area of Hajjeh as well received food aid baskets funded by our donors in #Kuwait and delivered by @monarelief's team in its mission to Hajjeh (photos)

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1053769955303399424

Also on October 18, @monarelief's team has reached out 72 families in Aslam area of Hajjeh providing them food aid baskets funded by @monareliefye's online fundraising campaign and @Yeahman_n (photos)

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1053771234129920005

In the third day of @monarelief's team mission in Hajjeh we moved to Bani Quis area. We delivered 130 food aid baskets funded by Humanity First Charity in Germany and baby milk to children suffering from malnutrition funded @monareliefye's online fundraising campaign. (photos)

https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/1053773045041651712

(* B H)

UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Shelter/NFI/CCCM Cluster Monthly Situation Report - September 2018

The humanitarian situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate with three-quarters of the population requiring some form of basic assistance to survive. This month, over 19 Cluster Partners were working around the clock to provide Shelter, NFIs (Non-Food Items) and Site Management and Coordination Support to 75,825 of Yemenis whose lives have been uprooted by the conflict. Overall challenges reported were mainly regarding the strict import limitations on raw materials for mattresses (a crucial part of the NFI kit), the overwhelming numbers of newly displaced families, delays in sharing beneficiaries lists by local authorities, access to some IDP hosting sites and the alarming deterioration of the Yemeni economy including depreciation of the country local currency, unprecedented increases in the price of fuel and high inflation rate which put those vulnerable at a heightened risk. The humanitarian community called for immediate measures to stabilize the economy, support the exchange rate and facilitation of humanitarian actions in the country.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/shelternficccm-cluster-monthly-situation-report-september-2018

(B H)

UN Children's Fund: Yemen: Nutrition Cluster Dashboard (January to September 2018)

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-nutrition-cluster-dashboard-january-september-2018

and Nutrition Cluster special maps:

https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-nutrition-cluster-bsfp-plw-gap-analysis-30-sep-2018

https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-nutrition-cluster-bsfp-u2-gap-analysis-30-sep-2018

https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-nutrition-cluster-iycf-gap-analysis-30-sep-2018

https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-nutrition-cluster-mam-gap-analysis-30-sep-2018

https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-nutrition-cluster-mnp-gap-analysis-30-sep-2018

https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-nutrition-cluster-plw-gap-analysis-30-sep-2018

https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-nutrition-cluster-sam-achievements-30-sep-2018

https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-nutrition-cluster-sam-achievements-sam-gap-analysis-30-sep-2018

https://reliefweb.int/map/yemen/yemen-nutrition-cluster-mam-achievements-30-sep-2018

(* B H)

Norwegian Refugee Council, CARE, Mercy Corps, Action Contre la Faim France: The Multi-sectoral Humanitarian Response Programme (MHRP) in Yemen - Newsletter, April - July 2018

Project background and context:

Three years of conflict in Yemen have devastated the infrastructure of the country and created a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Yemen is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Over twenty-two million people, 80 per cent of the population, require some form of humanitarian assistance and protection, including 8.4 million who do not know where their next meal will come from. The recent escalation of the conflict means millions face risks to their safety and basic rights. It has become clear that the manifold problems currently faced by Yemenis can only begin to be addressed through integrated, multi-sectoral intervention by the humanitarian community. In response to this dire humanitarian situation a consortium model was developed whereby multiple agencies bring in their resources to approach the issue with a comprehensive package. The consortium's members have developed the 'Reducing Vulnerability Restoring Dignity' model, which focuses on two essential pillars: 'Life Saving Assistance' and 'Road to Resilience'. These pillars are strongly linked to ensure a transformation from vulnerability to preparedness in the face of future shocks stemming from conflict and displacement.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/multi-sectoral-humanitarian-response-programme-mhrp-yemen-newsletter-april-july-2018

cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis

Siehe / Look at cp1

(A P)

The #Houthis forcing girls from grade four and above to wear white headscarves in schools (image)

https://twitter.com/hussamA123/status/1054364185994219520

(A P)

Film: The popular rejection of the Houthi militias in the provinces they control has increased. A women's demonstration (shouting to Houthi after today) in one of the capital markets of Sana'a

https://twitter.com/SlahHamza/status/1054444888056610821

(A P)

Preparations for normalizing situation in Sa’ada

Governor of Saada Hadi Tarshan has said that the local authorities in Sa’ada are preparing for normalizing situations in the liberated districts and reconstructing damaged areas.

Tarshan affirmed that 95 % of Kitaf, the biggest district of Sa’ada, was liberated and that other areas are surrounded by the Yemeni army and that they will be liberated soon.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24702

Remark: As claimed by the Hadi government’s governor for Saada province.

(* A P)

Houthis arrest dozens of civilians in Dhamar

Houthi militias arrested today, Monday, dozens of civilians in the province of Dhamar in the wake of publishing a video documenting the burning of a mosque.

This incident came after Houthi militias burned a mosque after worshippers refused the delivery of the Friday sermon by a Houthi preacher.

The Houthis have blown up over 30 mosques and turned out 146 others to military barracks and depots for weaponry since they took over Yemen and until the early of 2016, as Yemeni human rights groups affirm.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24729

and this is the video:

(* A P)

Houthis burned a mosque in Haqar village in Hajja because its residents refused the preached Houthis wanted to impose on them

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

and report:

(* A P)

Because the villagers rejected the Militia Preacher. Houthis blast Mosque in Dhamar

Eyewitnesses said that the Houthi gunmen blew up a mosque in the village of Haqar in the northern city of Dhamar, north of central Yemen, after residents of the village rejected al-Huthi's Preacher.

The witnesses told Al-Masdar online that the villagers left the mosque at the beginning of the Friday sermon after he climbed to the pulpit armed Houthi to engage them instead of the preacher of the mosque, which provoked the wrath of the Houthis.

They added that the Houthis placed explosives in all the corners of the mosque, blew it with all its contents of Qur ʼ ans, furniture and electronic devices, and that the Koran was burnt in a provocative and humiliating manner.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159897

(A P)

Al-Houthi militias kidnap two photographers in Hodeidah City

On Saturday, Houthi militias kidnapped the two young men, Bilal al-Arifi and Mohammed Salahi, from the western Yemeni city of Hodeidah.

According to close relatives of the kidnappers, militants from the militias arrested them from their place of work, where they owned a media center called the "mega pixel" and transported them to an unknown destination.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159929

(* B P)

Houthis kidnap, torture, blackmail women in Yemen: sources

Thirty-five women were abducted by Houthi militias from various neighborhoods of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on charges of facing soft war, security sources said on Sunday.
The sources pointed out that the infiltration teams belonging to the Houthi militias raid their homes and kidnap the women, noting that some of them were aged 50 to 60 years old, adding that these teams had confiscated the funds and jewelry of the women.
The sources added that the militias of Houthi leader Sultan Zabal, who was appointed as director of criminal investigation, had detained dozens of women and refused to give any information about them to their families.
The sources confirmed that the Houthi militias had brutally tortured the women, while no one dares to denounced their acts, as they fear the Houthis.
Moreover, the sources said that the Houthi militias had force the women to confess to false charges of prostitution and what they call the soft war, adding that the militias had taken pictures of them in embarrassing situations and threatened to publish their pictures unless they join them.

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/Story/32516/Houthis-kidnap-torture-blackmail-women-in-Yemen-sources

My comment: By an anti-Iranian propaganda website; sounds credible nevertheless.

(A P)

Houthi leader’s son killed in Sanaa

Unidentified gunmen assassinated on Friday evening the son of a pro-Houthis security official in the capital Sana'a, two days after a leader and several of his escorts were killed in clashes with unidentified assailants.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159844

(A P)

Al-Houthi leaders clash in al-Sabra security department in Ibb province

Disputes erupted between Houthi leaders on influence and the sharing of spoils at the center of the al-Sabra district in the eastern province of Ibb (central), and the controversy evolved to target citizens ' homes and detonate sound bombs.

The September net, a spokesman for the government forces, quoted local sources as saying that a conflict broke out between the Houthi leader, aka Abu Siraj, and his escorts from the village of the Al-Asmeen , on the one hand, and the Houthi leader, aka Abu Obeid, who was appointed Director of the Directorate's security, on the other hand.

It explained that this controversy arose after the prevention of Abu Siraj's gunmen, the leader Abu Obeid, to enter the building of the security department, to pressure him and change it with their leader Abu Siraj.

Part of the disagreement was the sharing of the spoils.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159841

(A P)

Security releases 24 coalition collaborators in Mahwait

The released men were accused of mobilizing to join the coalition's camp.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news511887.htm

(* B P)

Association of abductees' mothers in its latest report: we have documented the deaths of 128 detainees inside Houthi prisons, including 71 cases of death under torture. The report highlighted horrific torture methods the Houthi militants are using!

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1053781463718682624

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

(A P)

2 killed, 3 wounded in clashes between gunmen in Aden

Two people were killed and a third seriously wounded in clashes early Monday between gunmen in Crater in the southern city of Aden, a security source said.

The source told Al-Masdar online that heavy gunfire from light and medium machine guns was carried out between gunmen on Arwa Street, which lasted for minutes before the forces of the security belt that control the city intervened.

Two gunmen were killed and a third wounded in the clashes, he said.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159937

(A P)

In government- and coalition-run Marib province in northeast #Yemen detainees have been killed in prisons, the latest was an army officer who reports say had helped the authorities seize a vehicle carrying Houthi weapons.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1054390762086064129

and

(A P)

DhaifAllah Harshal was arbitrarily detained then died in the custody of Military intelligence in Marib. His family demand investigation and autopay to reveal the reasons behind his death (photo)

https://twitter.com/Ndawsari/status/1054326603818373120

(* A P)

Yemeni schools open their doors following months-long teachers' strike

School staff demand wage hike amidst dire financial situation

Yemen's academic year starts on Monday - two months after schools were scheduled to open, but remained shut as a teachers strike swept through the country's liberated areas.

School staff went on strike in September to demand a hike in their salaries as the value of Yemen's riyal continued to fall and living prices spiral.

Millions of students have since been kept out of school.

On Monday the teachers union struck a deal with the Yemeni government in Aden, with the latter saying it would “solve all the teachers’ problems”.

Demands included a 30 per cent increase in monthly wages, further commitment from the government in Aden to combat infectious diseases in schools and the provision of computers for students. But the government’s failure to respond led to more strikes.

Teachers told The National that they will be returning to work despite being underpaid.

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/yemeni-schools-open-their-doors-following-months-long-teachers-strike-1.783101

My comment: Hadi government’s promise of 30 per cent increase in monthly wages is nothing new. They simply do not have the money to pay for it, unless they print it – and this just will be worthless.

(A P T)

Community figure killed and others injured by gunmen in Taiz

An educational and social figure in Taiz province, southwest Yemen, was killed on Saturday by unidentified gunmen.

A local source told al-Masdar online that gunmen ambushed Sheikh "Ali Abdullah Salahi" in Naqel al-Hurriya in the area “al-Amjood ", in the Directorate of Shar’ab al-Salam, north of Taiz city.

Salahi was killed on the spot and five others were injured, the source said.

Residents of the region deplored the assassination, saying that Salahi was an educational and social figure far from conflict and had no hostility with any political party.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159888

and

(A P T)

Islah leader Ali Abdullah Muqbel killed, Sheikh Abdul Hafiz Hamid and his companions seriously injured in an ambush by masked gunmen in Taiz province (photos)

https://twitter.com/YemeniObserv/status/1053997412925259782

My comment: A new strike of UAE’s American mercenaries’ terrorist hit squad?

(A P)

Yemeni minister calls for the abolition of the military formations of the "transitional Council " and Tariq Saleh

A minister in the Yemeni government called for the abolition of the military and security formations of the so-called "transitional council", as well as the forces of Tariq, the son of the brother of former President Ali Abdallah Saleh.

Saleh Algbwani, Minister of Transport, said the government will continue to cover the fragmentation and destruction of the country by these belts and elites and those who stand behind them and finance them.

"Any deal to amend or change the government does not include the cancellation of the so-called transition and the integration of its militias called security belts and military elites into the strength of the national Army and the Interior Ministry, as well as Tariq Saleh's militias, the government will continue to cover the fragmentation and destruction of the country," he said in a tweet on his Twitter page.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159887

(A P)

Security belt forces prevent northern Yemenis from entering Aden

Checkpoints of what is called the “ security belt forces” prevented on Friday dozens of northern Yemeni from entering the port city of Aden under the pretext that they are from the north.

The correspondent of Alsahwa Net affirmed that some northern citizens were trapped in some checkpoints and that they were subjected to insults by the security belt forces.

He said that some of the trapped persons were sick persons who needed to be treated in hospitals of Aden, and that they were shocked when they were mistreated.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24674

Remark: Emirati-backed separatist militia.

(* A H)

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Yemen: Cyclone Luban Flash Update #3 (21 October 2018)

Rainfall stopped in several cities in Al Maharah Governorate and there is a fall in the water level in the valleys separating Al Ghaydah City from Huswain District to the west, and the districts of Hawf and Shahan to the east of the Governorate. Movement between Al Mukalla and Al Ghaydah is now possible, though roads are badly damaged. The road to Sayhut was repaired and the city of Nashtoon can now be reached from Sayhut via Huswain and Qishn districts. Nashtoon port was brought back into use in order to receive the oil supplies needed to meet the urgent needs in the Governorate.

The Governorate’s Emergency Operations Room (EOR) reported that over 3,000 families were affected by Cyclone Luban. The number of displaced families, as verified by the International Organisation for Migration/the Displacement Tracking Mechanism (IOM/DTM) and UNFPA’s Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) is slightly lower than first estimates, with a total of 2,203 families displaced across the districts of Al Masilah, Sayhut, Huswain and Qishn. Al Ghaydah City has the largest concentration of displaced persons. A decrease in the numbers of those displaced was observed, as families returned to their homes or stay with relatives.

The EOR reported that, as of 21 October, flooding caused 11 deaths and 124 injuries. Qishn District Hospital has not been functional since 16 October due to flooding and all health workers were evacuated from the premises. In Al Masilah District, 30 houses were destroyed and 32 houses damaged by flooding.

The relief airbridge to Al Ghaydah Airport continued with a third plane landing on 18 October. To date, the King Salman Relief Centre (KSRC) dispatched, by air and overland, 867 tents, 13,591 blankets, 1,953 mattresses and 3,914 food baskets. A helicopter from the Saudi led Coalition is being used to rescue families and bring relief to areas cut off by the flooding. The Oman Charitable Organization sent seven trucks loaded with food and shelter assistance via the border crossing with Oman in eastern Hawf District.

https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-cyclone-luban-flash-update-3-21-october-2018

My comment: Saudi Arabia intends to keep Mahrah province in permament grip (a plenty of earlier reporting), the population is strictly anti-Saudi, Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian help is a cool calculation.

(* A H)

Victims of cyclone Luban in al-Mahra increase to 12 dead and 126 injured

The body of a Somali national was found dead by the crew of the Yemeni Red Crescent on Sunday, killing a total of 12 people and injuring 126.

The Director of the Health Bureau in al-Mahra Governorate, Awad Mubarak, said 12 people, including a Somali national, died as a result of a hurricane "Luban" that hit the province bordering Oman.

"There are concerns about the spread of diseases and epidemics, such as cholera and malaria, if the immediate work is not done to obliterate the stagnant water caused by the hurricane," he said.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159916

(A H P)

Marib dispatches medical and relief convoy to Al Mahara

Marib province dispatched on Saturday a medical and relief convoy to Al-Maharah province.

The convoy loaded with 147 tons of food ,medicines and relief stuff would be dispatched to the affected people of al-Mahara over Luban cyclone which recently hit the province, causing mass destruction.

The Dupty Governor of Marib Ali Mohammed al-Fatimi said in a statement that Marib people sent this convoy to help their brothers in al-Mahara, who have been affected and lost their properties by the cyclone ,trying to alleviate their suffering and pains.

"On H.E. president Abdurabu Mansour Hadi's instructions, Marib people sent this relief convoy along a medical team to provide medical services and relieve the suffering of the people", he added.

http://marib-gov.com/news_details.php?sid=1038&lng=english

(* A)

Preliminary report. 5 Directorates in Al Mahrah the most affected by cyclone Luban (details)

Yemeni government authorities on Friday announced the initial details of the damage caused by hurricane "Luban", which hit the country's southern eastern coasts.

Najib al-Saadi, head of the executive Unit for the management of refugee camps, said the directorates most affected by cyclone "Luban " are directorates: Ghaydhah, Qachen, Hasween, Men’ar and Masila, which have caused human and material damage as well as a wave of displacement.

He explained that the floods caused by hurricane “Luban ", caused the "demolition of many homes of citizens, the elimination of the Agricultural crops of citizens and the death of numbers of their animals, in theAL Jaza’a valley , Hasween and Al-Messilah, as well as the central market and the central hospital in the Ghaydhah."

The report issued by the unit estimated the number of families displaced by the floods to be around 1, 000, mostly in the Ghaydhah, in temporary shelters in schools, mosques and government facilities, as well as a number of families who had not yet been able to flee.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159812

and

(* A)

Over 3000 families in al-Mahra harmed by Luban storm

Over 3000 families were harmed by the tropical storm of Luban hat hit al-Mahra province last week.

A report issued by the Yemeni camp administration said that about 3750 families were transferred from the town of al-Ghada into shelters after their homes were flooded by the storm.

The chief of the IDPs camp administration Najeeb al-Sa’adi affirmed that the flood caused the destruction of homes and agricultural corps as well as death of livestock.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24676

(A)

"Lethal liquor " causes death of more than 15 people in Aden and scores in serious conditions

More than 15 people have died and dozens in serious conditions in the past two days in Aden, southern Yemen, because of "lethal liquor".

Sources told the AL Masdar online on Friday that the death toll due to their use of the substance "Liquor " reached more than 15 people and affection of dozens most of them in a serious condition in a number of hospitals.

The sources explained that the deceased and the ill had abused the "liquor ", which was said to have been poisoned.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159795

Aden security: Number of deaths due to the use of intoxicating material reached 7 and we opened a quick investigation

The security Department of the city of Aden, the interim capital of the southern part of the country, said on Saturday that it had opened an investigation into the death of seven people because of their use of poisonous intoxicating substance.

According to a press release issued by the Aden security, the number of deaths due to their use of intoxicating substances did not specify the type of medical authorities, rose to 7 and the eighth is still in intensive care.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159822

(A E P)

Pro-UAE forces halt oil production in Shabwah

On Friday, pro-UAE "elite" forces stopped locomotives carrying "crude oil" destined for the central pumping area, in the southeastern province of Shabwah, leading to a halt in oil production.

A military official told al-Masdar online that the "elite" forces had stopped the crude oil locomotives that had come out of the oil fields and were on their way to the Naq’ah (central pumping station).

The Shabwanyah elite force that is protecting the oil-producing areas, halted the tankers, in a dangerous precedent, and attempted to stop oil production, which began in March this year, the source said.

Local authorities, the elite forces, and other military units oversee and secure the passage of tankers carrying crude oil.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159813

(A P)

Spokesman of the Southern Transitional Council to Sputnik: Dismissing Ben Daghar while Maintaining the Rest of Corrupt System is “Jugglery” that We Can’t Accept.

Salem Thabet Al-Awlaki, official spokesman of the southern transitional council and member of the presidency, described dismissing Ahmed Ben Daghar while maintaining the rest of the government as |jugglery”. Sputnik quoted al-Awlaki saying: “Governmental, administrative and financial corruption in Yemen is a whole system that is not limited to specific names. This change doesn’t express a real attitude to face corruption as maintaining the same government reflects clearly that there are power that want this corruption to continue”.

https://en.smanews.org/spokesman-of-the-southern-transitional-council-to-sputnik-dismissing-ben-daghar-while-maintaining-the-rest-of-corrupt-system-is-jugglery-that-we-cant-accept

(* A P)

UAE-backed security belt forces are preventing northerners including IDPs from entering south Yemen, reports said today.

https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1053612162898366464

(A P)

Yemen praises Saudi decisions on journalist's death: Yemeni news agency

Yemen on Saturday praised decisions made by the Saudi king in relation to the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to the Saudi-backed government’s state news agency.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-khashoggi-yemen/yemen-praises-saudi-decisions-on-journalists-death-yemeni-news-agency-idUSKCN1MU0KV

My comment: Saudi puppets = Saudi mouthpieces.

(A P)

The security authority released 6 detainees from Bir Ahmed prison in Aden. According to a security source, “the 6 detainees and others who are still in prison were ordered by the general prosecutor to be released .”

https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1053030310533828609

cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks

(A P)

The weights of visiting Griffith to Taiz next Sunday

The UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffith, is expected to visit Taiz province (southwest Yemen) on Sunday for a four-day state of siege by the Houthis, according to knowledgeable sources.

The Director of the Office of the UN envoy to Yemen, Mohamed Khater and local authority leadership, discussed the initial arrangements for Griffith's visit to the province, the Saudi Arabian newspaper Middle east reported.

Before arriving in Aden, then Taiz, Griffiths will spend the current week in Washington, D.C., and will hold meetings on the economic dossier, which he said in earlier statements that he gives him priority on his agenda.

It is expected that a meeting will be held under the auspices of the United Nations with the participation of the Yemeni government and representatives of the Houthis, as well as international and regional parties, and will take place in Nairobi.

If this meeting takes place, Griffiths will be successful in having the parties to the Yemeni crisis sit on a single table since August 2016 during the Kuwait talks

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159895

and

(A P)

UN Envoy Expected in Yemen’s Taiz Next Week

United Nations special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths is expected to visit the Taiz province next Sunday, informed sources said.
The province has been suffering from a siege by the Iran-backed Houthi militias since Wednesday.
Griffiths’ bureau chief Mohammed Khater had held talks with Taiz local officials in order to prepare for his visit, reported the Saba news agency.
Talks also focused on providing aid to the province and the possibility of opening a UN office there.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1433461/un-envoy-expected-yemen%E2%80%99s-taiz-next-week

cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran

(A P)

Iran Urges UN Human Rights Council to Terminate Saudi Membership

An Iranian official has called for the removal of Saudi Arabia from the UN Human Rights Council given the country’s violation of human rights in Yemen and Bahrain, and its alleged murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The comments were made by Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a top aide to Iranian parliament speaker, in a Sunday post on his Twitter page.

“Saudi Arabia as the human rights violator in Yemen and Bahrain, and the perpetrator of Jamal Khashoggi’s death, should be expelled from the UN Human Rights Council,” he said in his tweet

https://ifpnews.com/exclusive/iran-urges-un-human-rights-council-to-terminate-saudi-membership

cp7b Jemen und Khashoggi / Yemen and Khashoggi

Siehe / Look at cp1

(* A P)

'Khashoggi’s death cannot go unpunished': Yemeni Nobel laureate

Peace prize winner Tawakkol Karman, a friend of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, says his death will bring change in the region as long as the crown prince is held to account

The death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi must now galvanise greater scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen, where a coalition led by the kingdom is fighting Houthi rebels, said Yemeni Nobel laureate and human rights advocate Tawakkol Karman.

“Jamal Khashoggi’s death cannot go unpunished. His blood should lead to the prosecution of the perpetrators of this crime, who are the same perpetrators of the crime against millions of people in Yemen – that is the Saudi kingdom,” said Karman, journalist and a leader of the Arab Spring in Yemen in 2011.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/oct/22/jamal-khashoggi-death-cannot-go-unpunished-yemeni-nobel-laureate-tawakkol-karman

Comment by Judith Brown: Tawokkol has been rather two faced in this war, initially a cheer leader for the Saudi campaign in Yemen, who became disillusioned when her popularity in Yemen fell dramatically and coalition forces occupied South Yemen and attacked and assassinated members of Islah, her political party. (The story of Islah in Yemen is another complicated one, but the Islah political party and militias are broadly linked to Muslim Brotherhood). I guess those selected for a Nobel Peace Prize are generally those whose elevation suits Western interests, and certainly she has served the West better than she had served the majority of the population in Yemen - despite her peace laureate credentials she has made no big moves to work for peace, and in 2015 she actively supported the destruction of Yemen by foreign forces.

https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10157093297423641

(* A K P)

Khashoggi outcry galvanizes critics against Saudi arms sales

International outrage over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist and Washington Post contributor, has galvanized lawmakers and critics who are seeking to curb arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom is the largest importer of U.S.-made weapons and for years has come under fire from human rights group for jailing dissidents and journalists and killing civilians in a military campaign in Yemen.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has repeatedly urged his colleagues to end sales to Saudi Arabia, said he will fight the next Saudi arms deal that comes before Congress.

Such efforts could jeopardize the sale of billions of dollars of weaponry made by U.S. defense contractors and would collide with President Trump’s desire to continue to export planes, missiles and tanks to the kingdom, which he said is vital for the nation’s economy and national security.

Since Khashoggi disappeared while visiting a Saudi consulate in Turkey earlier this month, Trump has said repeatedly that he did not want to jeopardize weapons deals with the kingdom or hurt jobs at contractors such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.

The tension over arms sales comes amid concerns over the war in Yemen being led by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

In an op-ed published in The Washington Post, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called for “ending our military assistance, which has given the Saudis free rein in the ongoing horror in Yemen. . . . Time after time, horrific reports detail U.S.-made bombs dropping on civilian buses, weddings, funerals and medical facilities. The war has killed thousands of civilians and led to a massive humanitarian crisis — and it has a ‘Made in America’ label on it.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/khashoggi-outcry-galvanizes-critics-against-saudi-arms-sales/2018/10/19/0edcd8ba-d332-11e8-83d6-291fcead2ab1_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.501855781f3c

(* B P)

Jamal Khashoggi And US Hypocrisy – OpEd

The corporate media cry crocodile tears over the apparent murder of an elite, CIA-connected “dissident,” while papering over US complicity in Saudi war crimes in Yemen.

The disappearance and presumed murder of Jamal Khashoggi puts the corrupt relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States in high relief. The two countries have been partners in crime over many years. Together they used jihadist proxies to make wars in Afghanistan, Libya and Syria that furthered U.S. interests. The brutal Saudi attack on neighboring Yemen could not happen without U.S. diplomatic and logistical support. The Donald Trump presidency has brought the two even closer. The relationship is now a true love affair complete with personal dealings between Saudi royals and the Trumps.

Ordinarily compliant American senators are now going through the motions of asking questions and proposing sanctions or other punishments against the kingdom. Corporate media like the New York Times, Financial Times, CNN and CNBC have dropped out of the Future Investment Initiative meeting which is known as Davos in the desert. The plight of starving Yemenis gets little attention, but a hit job committed openly and without fear of recourse is too much. Liberal sensibilities were offended by the crassness of the act and by the position of the victim.

The outrage is coming long after the Saudis began their war crime against Yemen.

These atrocities were not enough to put Saudi Arabia on the list of infamy where it belongs. Barack Obama, darling of the liberal imperialists, was only slightly less subservient to the kingdom than Trump is today. The Yemen attack began during his term in office.

Trump differs from Obama and other presidents only in his inability to be diplomatic.

It is easy to find yet another reason to look askance at Trump and his vulgar and incompetent family but Saudi Arabia will be a U.S. partner in wrong doing no matter who is in the White House

The hypocrisy doesn’t end with Trump and Kushner. It can be seen in the corporate media who cover for a war crime against Yemen. They are easily bought off by a prince who opens movie theaters and allows women to drive. But they also know who funds the think tanks and who has the connections with their bosses. They may despise Trump but it isn’t for the reasons they ought to dislike him. They are a party to the hypocrisy, as much as the foreign despots or their presidential partners. There are no heroes in this story. There is only a missing man and corruption in high places in two nations.

http://www.eurasiareview.com/21102018-jamal-khashoggi-and-us-hypocrisy-oped/

(* B P)

Film: Could outcry over missing Saudi journalist change tide of war in Yemen?

"It's not new for people who have been following Yemen closely, because this is what we've been dealing with for the last three-and-a-half years," said Shireen Al-Adeimi, who still has family in Yemen.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-october-18-2018-1.4867922/could-outcry-over-missing-saudi-journalist-change-tide-of-war-in-yemen-1.4867935

(B P)

Film: Tucker Carlson on #JamalKhashoggi murder: "Its not surprising but what is confusing is the mindless posturing by our own ruling class. They are telling us that his murder is more important than the countless children the Saudis have bombed & starved in #Yemen??."

https://twitter.com/walid970721/status/1053565148349300736

(B K P)

Khashoggi Case: US Prof. Deplores Media’s Neglect of Far Worse Saudi Crimes in Yemen

An American professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law said while the likely murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is getting so much media attention, the far worse crimes of Saudi Arabia continue unabated in Yemen.

Following is the full text of the interview

The world outside of the US, the UK and Israel have woken up to how terrible Saudi Arabia is in terms of human rights, but these three countries are unwilling to move away from Saudi Arabia because they see it as a reliable ally and arms buyer. What is truly sad is that while the killing of Khashoggi is getting so much media attention, the far worse crimes of Saudi Arabia continue unabated in Yemen. With US and UK support, Saudi Arabia is carrying out one of the most brutal and genocidal campaigns in human history.

https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/10/20/1856230/khashoggi-case-us-prof-deplores-media-s-neglect-of-far-worse-saudi-crimes-in-yemen

cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia

Siehe / Look at cp1

(A P)

Saudi military analyst announces his resignation after Khashoggi's death

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159889

(** B P)

Saudis’ Image Makers: A Troll Army and a Twitter Insider

Each morning, Jamal Khashoggi would check his phone to discover what fresh hell had been unleashed while he was sleeping.

He would see the work of an army of Twitter trolls, ordered to attack him and other influential Saudis who had criticized the kingdom’s leaders. He sometimes took the attacks personally, so friends made a point of calling frequently to check on his mental state.

“The mornings were the worst for him because he would wake up to the equivalent of sustained gunfire online,” said Maggie Mitchell Salem, a friend of Mr. Khashoggi’s for more than 15 years.

Mr. Khashoggi’s online attackers were part of a broad effort dictated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his close advisers to silence critics both inside Saudi Arabia and abroad. Hundreds of people work at a so-called troll farm in Riyadh to smother the voices of dissidents like Mr. Khashoggi. The vigorous push also appears to include the grooming — not previously reported — of a Saudi employee at Twitter whom Western intelligence officials suspected of spying on user accounts to help the Saudi leadership.

This portrait of the kingdom’s image management crusade is based on interviews with seven people involved in those efforts or briefed on them; activists and experts who have studied them; and American and Saudi officials, along with messages seen by The New York Times that described the inner workings of the troll farm.

Saudi operatives have mobilized to harass critics on Twitter, a wildly popular platform for news in the kingdom since the Arab Spring uprisings began in 2010. Saud al-Qahtani, a top adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed who was fired on Saturday in the fallout from Mr. Khashoggi’s killing, was the strategist behind the operation, according to United States and Saudi officials, as well as activist organizations.

Many Saudis had hoped that Twitter would democratize discourse by giving everyday citizens a voice, but Saudi Arabia has instead become an illustration of how authoritarian governments can manipulate social media to silence or drown out critical voices while spreading their own version of reality.

“In the Gulf, the stakes are so high for those who engage in dissent that the benefits of using social media are outweighed by the negatives, and in Saudi Arabia in particular,” said Marc Owen Jones, a lecturer in the history of the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula at Exeter University in Britain.

Swarming and Stifling Critics on Twitter

One arm of the crackdown on dissidents originates from offices and homes in and around Riyadh, where hundreds of young men hunt on Twitter for voices and conversations to silence. This is the troll farm, described by three people briefed on the project and the messages among group members.

Its directors routinely discuss ways to combat dissent, settling on sensitive themes like the war in Yemen or women’s rights. They then turn to their well-organized army of “social media specialists” via group chats in apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, sending them lists of people to threaten, insult and intimidate; daily tweet quotas to fill; and pro-government messages to augment.

After the country announced economic austerity measures in 2015 to offset low oil prices and control a widening budget gap, McKinsey & Company, the consulting firm, measured the public reception of those policies.

In a nine-page report, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, McKinsey found that the measures received twice as much coverage on Twitter as in the country’s traditional news media or blogs, and that negative sentiment far outweighed positive reactions on social media.

Three people were driving the conversation on Twitter, the firm found: the writer Khalid al-Alkami; Mr. Abdulaziz, the young dissident living in Canada; and an anonymous user who went by Ahmad.

After the report was issued, Mr. Alkami was arrested, the human rights group ALQST said. Mr. Abdulaziz said that Saudi government officials imprisoned two of his brothers and hacked his cellphone, an account supported by a researcher at Citizen Lab. Ahmad, the anonymous account, was shut down.

McKinsey said the austerity report was an internal document based on publicly available information and not prepared for any government entity.

“We are horrified by the possibility, however remote, that it could have been misused,” a McKinsey spokesman said in a statement. “We have seen no evidence to suggest that it was misused, but we are urgently investigating how and with whom the document was shared.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/20/us/politics/saudi-image-campaign-twitter.html

and

McKinsey: Statement in response to today's New York Times article (text in image)

https://twitter.com/McKinsey/status/1053838356826808320

My comment: Well, but actually you NAMED them. Who takes money from a rogue state and works for it himself is a …

Comment: This is such a scandal: McKinsey identified prominent online critics of Saudi govt policies and sent their names to the government in a report. Govt arrested one, arrested the brothers of another (who was living abroad)

https://twitter.com/tomgara/status/1053687447874404352

and

(B P)

THE KINGDOM CAME TO CANADA: How Saudi-Linked Digital Espionage Reached Canadian Soil

In this report, we describe how Canadian permanent resident and Saudi dissident Omar Abdulaziz was targeted with a fake package delivery notification. We assess with high confidence that Abdulaziz’s phone was infected with NSO’s Pegasus spyware. We attribute this infection to a Pegasus operator linked to Saudi Arabia.

We have high confidence that the cellphone of Omar Abdulaziz, a Saudi activist and Canadian permanent resident, was targeted and infected with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. Abdulaziz has been outspoken on an ongoing diplomatic feud over human rights issues between Canada and Saudi Arabia. The targeting occurred while Abdulaziz, who received asylum in Canada, was attending university in Quebec.

During our recently published global mapping of NSO’s Pegasus infrastructure, we identified a suspected infection located in Quebec, Canada, operated by what we infer is a Saudi Arabia-linked Pegasus operator.

https://citizenlab.ca/2018/10/the-kingdom-came-to-canada-how-saudi-linked-digital-espionage-reached-canadian-soil/

cp9 USA

Siehe / Look at cp1

(* B K P)

America’s Pattern of Killing Innocent Civilians

In curbing US assistance to the Saudis, members of Congress have every right to reach a judgment that American involvement contributes to those casualties and it is time to impose greater statutory limits.

The United States has a long history of inflicting great cost to innocent civilians. During the war in Southeast Asia, carpet bombing resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese men, women, and children.

To the extent that innocent civilians are killed or injured, such operations will create more terrorists and greater hatred toward the United States, resulting in less security. On that ground alone, Congress has ample justification to pass legislation that prohibits any US assistance to Saudi military operations in Yemen.

https://original.antiwar.com/louis_fisher/2018/10/22/americas-pattern-of-killing-innocent-civilians/

(A P)

Yemen, US discuss cooperation against Iran’s interventions

President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi met today, Monday, the US Ambassador to Yemen Mathew Tueller, discussing cooperation to put an end to Iran’s interventions in Yemen.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24730

My comment: “Iran’s interventions” in Yemen are a propaganda narrative. The US is a warring party in Yemen, promoting its undeclared war on Iran by supporting Saudi Arabia in Yemen. Ambassador Tueller is one of the most extreme backers of the Saudi coalition. He has a very great influence – much more than an ambassador to a failed 3. World government would have – and seems to be an important and horrible puppet master in the background: https://theintercept.com/2017/12/13/yemen-war-peace-talks-matthew-tueller/

(* A B E P)

Silicon Valley tested by Saudi crisis

Saudi Arabia’s alleged involvement in the disappearance and possible murder of a dissident Washington Post columnist is putting Silicon Valley in a difficult position, with potentially billions in business deals at stake.

The diplomatic crisis is putting a new spotlight on the Saudi kingdom’s massive presence in the U.S. tech sector.

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund owns stakes in a number of startups, including a substantial share of Uber, and industry giants have been courting the royal family, hoping to get a foothold in the country.

According to a new Wall Street Journal estimate, Saudi Arabia, through its Public Investment Fund (PIF), is the single largest source of venture capital for U.S. startups, including many prominent companies.

The fund owns a $3.5 billion stake in Uber, nearly 5 percent of Tesla and has contributed $45 billion towards SoftBank’s $92 billion Vision Fund, aimed at investing in U.S. tech companies. The Saudi fund has also invested in startups like the virtual reality company Magic Leap, the dog-walking app Wag and WeWork.

When Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 33-year-old who has consolidated power within the country and directs the fund, visited the U.S. earlier this year, he was feted by celebrities, politicians and business leaders, including the CEOs of Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon.

But now the diplomatic crisis over journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who went missing from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago, threatens to strain those business ties.

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/411753-silicon-valley-tested-by-saudi-crisis

(* A K P)

US Special Operation Command C146A Wolfhound descending for YLNG Airstrip Balḩāf #Yemen (images)

https://twitter.com/GDarkconrad/status/1054315889515028480

(* A P)

Options for Congress to Respond to Saudi Transgressions: Here’s What Works according to Former Senior U.S. Officials

What are the more effective and less effective measures that the United States could pursue in response to recent actions by Saudi Arabia? I asked several experts, including former senior officials. Their views provide valuable perspectives on how to think about some of the challenges and tradeoffs with different approaches.

Among the important insights were statements that reveal potential weaknesses in current and proposed legislation, including: legislation that relies on executive branch certification as a condition for further congressional action, legislation that excessively relies on executive branch discretion in the implementation of sanctions, and legislation that focus on more symbolic than material forms of U.S. support for the Saudi war in Yemen. Another theme that several experts raised is to think not only about sanctions to penalize Saudi Arabia for wrongdoing or sanctions to encourage responsible behavior by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the future, but to think more broadly about how to orient the U.S. relationship to Riyadh.

Purposes of new congressional action on Saudi Arabia

Despite lack of strong support from the White House, a bipartisan group in Congress seems poised to take action.

https://www.justsecurity.org/61172/effective-ineffective-congressional-responses-saudi-arabia-arm-sales-sanctions-khashoggi/

(* A P)
JAMAL KHASHOGGI’S MURDER COULD DRIVE CONGRESS TO FINALLY END SUPPORT FOR BRUTAL SAUDI WAR IN YEMEN

THE SUSPECTED MURDER of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia is pushing the U.S. government toward a major internal confrontation over its role in the war in Yemen, one that could have significant consequences for a Saudi-led, U.S.-backed intervention that has exacerbated the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

On Monday, 55 members of Congress, led by Reps. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., wrote to the director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, asking whether the intelligence community knew about a plot to apprehend Khashoggi ahead of time, and whether the U.S. government fulfilled its “duty to warn” him.

The letter — the text of which was already made public by Khanna and Pocan — states that the DNI’s answers will inform coming votes on the Yemen war. “We look forward to your timely response to our inquiry as both the House of Representatives and the Senate consider privileged resolutions this fall … which invoke Congress’s sole constitutional authority over the offensive use of force to end illegal U.S. military participation with Saudi Arabia in Yemen,” the letter reads. It also promises to “use the full force of Congressional oversight and investigatory powers” if the Trump administration does not respond.

The results of the upcoming midterms may determine the significance of congressional outrage over Khashoggi’s killing.

The midterms could also affect a resolution introduced last month invoking the 1973 War Powers Act, which directs President Donald Trump to remove U.S. forces from “hostilities” related to the three-year, Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced a companion bill in the Senate last week.

https://theintercept.com/2018/10/22/jamal-khashoggi-saudi-arabia-yemen-congress/

(* B P)

A brief history of America’s troubled relationship with Yemen

The United States has usually not had a Yemen policy—rather, its policy toward Yemen is a subset of its policy toward Saudi Arabia. This is especially true today with the war in Yemen. Two U.S. administrations have backed the Saudi intervention in the civil war in its smaller and much poorer neighbor.

The Saudis intervened in March 2015 to support Hadi. The main driver behind the intervention was Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) who promised a short, decisive war. Instead it became a stalemate with catastrophic consequences for the Yemeni people. The Saudis blockaded the country, denying food and medicine to most of the population.

Saudi oil wealth explains much about why America has consistently subsumed its Yemen policy to the designs of the kingdom. It’s unlikely that even the Saudi killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul on October 2 will change the administration’s support for the war. MBS is confident that the administration is in his pocket.

The U.S. Congress might not be. The uproar over Khashoggi’s murder is galvanizing criticism of the kingdom—and finally of its war in Yemen – by Bruce Riedel

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/10/22/a-brief-history-of-americas-troubled-relationship-with-yemen/

(* A K P)

H.Con.Res. 138: Voting to End U.S. Involvement in the War on Yemen

Rep. Ro Khanna details the effort in Congress to end U.S. support for the war on Yemen, including H.Con.Res. 138 that he co-sponsored and introduced last month

Opposition to our government’s unjust and illegal involvement in the war on Yemen has steadily grown over the last three and a half years. As more Americans have become aware of the Saudi coalition’s numerous war crimes and their role in creating near-famine conditions that are threatening the lives of 13 million innocent people, they have increasingly turned against our continued enabling of this atrocious war. Other Saudi crimes, especially the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, have forced more members of Congress to recognize that the Saudi government is reckless and increasingly out of control under Mohammed bin Salman’s bad leadership. As a result, many of them see cutting off U.S. support for the war as a necessary response to the destructive behavior of the Saudis and their allies.

We have seen that the Trump administration will go to great lengths to cover and lie for the Saudi government simply for the sake of protecting arms sales. There is no chance that the administration will ever choose to hold the Saudis and their allies accountable for their crimes in Yemen or anywhere else, and so Congress has to force an end to U.S. support. Congress tried to condition support on improvements in Saudi coalition conduct, but that assumed some measure of good faith on the part of the administration that has never been there.

The Saudis and Emiratis are not our treaty allies, and so we have no obligation to aid them in a war. They are waging an aggressive war against one of their neighbors, and no U.S. interests are served by being party to that.

The Senate had an opportunity earlier this year to halt U.S. support for the coalition, but they failed to take advantage of it. Next month both houses of Congress will have the chance to rectify that and to put an end once and for all to a despicable policy that violates the Constitution and blackens our reputation.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/h-con-res-138-voting-to-end-u-s-involvement-in-the-war-on-yemen/

(* A K P)

Glenn Greenwald on the Toxic U.S.-Saudi Alliance and Crooked Washington Post

The Saudis have been murdering journalists, murdering dissents for decades. They’ve been doing it at a heightened rate for the last two years…The Obama administration was arming the Saudis in order to create the worst humanitarian crisis in Yemen by slaughtering civilians by the thousands and imposing famine conditions on millions. The Trump administration has done the same.

The reason people in Washington suddenly decided they’re angry about Saudi Arabia is because this time their victim is somebody who they ran into in Washington restaurants and who was popular in Washington social circles. That’s the reality. They didn’t care at all when the victims of Saudi Arabia by the hundreds of thousands were people that they didn’t like or care (about). This time they killed one of their friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93QweYZ_Rjw

https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/glenn-greenwald-on-the-toxic-u-s-saudi-alliance-and-crooked-washington-post

(** B P)

Ex-CIA-Agent Robert Baer: "Sie rüsten gegen Iran und benötigen die Saudis dabei"

Als CIA-Agent unterwanderte Robert Baer islamistische Terror-Organisationen. Nun geht er mit der US-Führung hart ins Gericht. Wegen Saudi-Arabien, das im Fall Khashoggi unter Druck gerät.

Trotzdem hält US-Präsident Donald Trump noch zu seinen Verbündeten.

Der ehemalige CIA-Agent Robert Baer hält das für einen enormen Fehler. Die angeblichen Verbündeten seien tatsächlich erbittertste Feinde. Saudi-Arabien exportiere mit dem Wahabismus die Grundlage für islamistischen Terrorismus in die ganze Welt – und zwar mit dem Geld, das es im Öl-Geschäft mit dem Westen verdiene.

Robert Baer: Die saudische Regierung gesteht weiterhin nicht ein, dass Khashoggis Tod geplant gewesen ist. Stattdessen wurde eine wachsweiche Erklärung abgegeben, dass ein Streit mit Konsulatsmitarbeitern zu einer "Schlägerei" ausgeartet ist. Klingt seltsam, ist auch seltsam.

Das vage Eingeständnis aus Riad ist in erster Linie dem wachsenden Druck aus Washington geschuldet. Im Weißen Haus ist man zutiefst besorgt, dass die brüchige Nahost-Strategie der Herren Trump, Pompeo und Bolton sich als das offenbart, was sie ist: ein hochriskantes Spiel.

Trump stellt Saudi-Arabien in den Mittelpunkt der US-amerikanischen Strategie in der Region und rüstet das Land auf. Damit folgt er der Strategie seiner Vorgänger. Genau das hat er im Wahlkampf seiner Konkurrentin Hillary Clinton vorgehalten.

Die USA haben jahrzehntelang die Vorteile einer ununterbrochenen Erdölversorgung zu äußerst günstigen Konditionen genossen. Mit Hilfe des enormen Wohlstands, den unsere Petro-Dollars brachten, haben die Saudis ihre sehr fundamentalistische Version des Islam verbreitet. Zuvor besaß der Wahabismus innerhalb der islamischen Welt nur den Status einer Art Sekte.

Durch die wahabitische Missionierung hat sich die ganze Natur der Religion zum Nachteil verändert. In anderen Regionen der islamischen Welt, aber auch in der Diaspora wie etwa in Europa.

Trump hält die saudischen Erklärungsversuche ja für glaubwürdig und faselt von einem "guten ersten großen Schritt". Saudi-Arabien sei ein "großartiger Verbündeter". Zum anderen steht Trump aber unter dem Einfluss des Sicherheitsberaters Bolton und des Außenministers Pompeo. Beide sind Hardliner der Neokonservativen – und bestimmen jetzt im Weißen Haus die außen- und verteidigungspolitischen Richtlinien. Sie rüsten gegen Iran und benötigen die Saudis dabei.

Der "War on Terror" stellt heute das Scheitern eines strategischen Entwurfs dar. Sonst müssten wir uns nicht über den Terror unterhalten, der sich globalisiert hat. Der "Krieg gegen den Terror" war von Anfang an völlig falsch konzipiert. Das lag weniger an geheimdienstlichen Mängeln, sondern hängt mit der Inkompetenz der damaligen Führung in Washington zusammen

Im Vergleich zu seinen Nachbarstaaten ist Iran geradezu eine Insel der Stabilität in der unruhigen Region. Auch im direkten Vergleich zu Saudi-Arabien. Es ist eine Nation mit gewaltigem Potenzial, das bisher aber nicht ausgeschöpft wird, mit natürlichen Grenzen, einem stabilen Staatsaufbau und einer starken Armee. Außerdem haben der Westen, Russland und Iran durch den radikalen sunnitischen Islam einen gemeinsamen Feind, den man nur gemeinsam bekämpfen kann.

https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/ausland/id_84650278/interview-robert-baer-war-on-terror-war-von-anfang-an-falsch-konzipiert.html

(* B P)

Ben Rhodes finally acknowledges ‘we were wrong’ on support for Saudi war in Yemen

Ben Rhodes, the foreign policy wunderkind under President Obama, recently published a book on foreign policy with the bracing-realist title, “The World As It Is”, and hardly mentioned U.S. support for the war on Yemen, leaving out mass starvation, war crimes, even Saudi Arabia. Rhodes’s three Yemen references were all to al Qaeda’s presence.

Then two weeks ago the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and is now presumed murdered, and like so many others in the foreign policy establishment, Rhodes has taken the opportunity to attack Donald Trump’s embrace of Saudi Arabia in a piece in the Atlantic titled, “The Abandonment of American Leadership,” (October 12).

Rhodes is now far more forthcoming than he was in his book about Obama’s policy in Yemen. Obama tried to restrain Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen, Rhodes says, but all that restraint then disappeared under Trump; and “in hindsight,” the Obama administration was “wrong” to have trusted the Saudis.

Rhodes also finally acknowledges the high price Yemeni civilians have paid for U.S. policy. Some excerpts:

MbS’s [Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s] first foray into foreign policy as defense minister was a war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen—a war that seemed to have no clear objective other than confronting an Iranian-supported faction. Repeatedly, the Obama administration had to put restrictions on the weapons we provided in support of this effort or apply diplomatic pressure on the Saudis and Emiratis to show restraint, as the war escalated and civilian casualties continued to mount….

What followed [under Trump, following his trip to Saudi Arabia] was the full expression of all of the policies that had been sources of tension under Obama. In the absence of any U.S. pressure related to the conduct of the war in Yemen, the conflict escalated, and a humanitarian crisis spiraled out of control with no political endgame in sight…

Looking at the increasing death toll in Yemen [in 2017, Khashoggi] argued that “the longer this cruel war lasts in Yemen, the more permanent the damage will be.”…

[S]o we are seeing, once more, what happens when the world’s oldest democracy abandons its role of promoting democratic values around the globe…

Here’s Rhodes’s conclusion:

In hindsight, we were wrong to think that cautious and at times conditional support for the war in Yemen would influence Saudi and Emirati policy, or help shape the actions of MbS, particularly given the turn American politics took with the 2016 election.

Rhodes is being way too nice to himself and the Obama people. He didn’t touch on Yemen in his book because at that point it was still mostly ignored and he thought he could get away with it. Things changed after the school bus bombing in August, though Khashoggi has both made the Saudis the front page story and simultaneously shoved Yemen back.

In fact, the Obama administration pretended that the air strikes on civilians were due to inaccurate targeting. There was a now-well-known exchange at the State Department in September 2016, when John Kirby (an admiral speaking for the Obama State Department) explicitly said Saudi bombing of civilians was accidental, unlike the deliberate bombing of civilians by Russia in Syria. By lying the Obama administration was giving cover to the Saudis and also avoiding an admission of complicity in war crimes.

https://mondoweiss.net/2018/10/finally-acknowledges-support/

(* A P)

Congress must end U.S. military aid to Saudi war in Yemen

As early as 2015, Foreign Policy magazine reported the Saudi coalition’s “daily bombing campaign would not be possible without the constant presence of U.S. Air Force tanker planes refueling coalition jets.” Yet there was never a debate or vote by the people’s elected congressional representatives, as required by the Constitution, as to whether the U.S. military should participate in the Saudi government’s genocidal war.

As the architect of this hideous military strategy, Mohammed bin Salman reacted to Khashoggi’s criticisms the way he knew best. MbS, as he’s known, probably ordered the assassination of Khashoggi and then — just as the Saudi regime did after bombing a school bus filled with Yemeni children last month — issued ever-shifting and contradictory lies, relying on the Trump administration’s full backing and clumsy assistance in the cover-up.

MbS’ campaign of killing Yemenis and Saudis alike must come to an end. Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and I are leading dozens of our colleagues, including top House Democrats, in demanding answers from the Trump administration about its possible complicity in Khashoggi’s killing. We also are working to force a vote in Congress to decisively shut down unconstitutional U.S. participation in the Saudi regime’s gruesome war in Yemen within weeks – by Rep. Ro Khanna

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/Congress-must-end-U-S-military-aid-to-Saudi-war-13319536.php

(A P)

Film, Rep. Ro Khanna: H.Con.Res. 138 to end the U.S.-Saudi war in Yemen must receive a floor vote as soon as possible when Congress comes back in session. We must end our involvement in their brutal war against one of the poorest nations in the world.

https://twitter.com/RepRoKhanna/status/1053735101798989824

(B P)

Dear ex-Obama officials who spent your time in government lavishing the Saudi regime with arms & intel to destroy Yemen & track dissidents & protecting them, but now claim you said things in private that had a tense & disagreeable tone: Just stop. You're embarrassing yourselves.

"Yes, I worked under Obama to develop & defend a foreign policy that showered Saudi despots with arms, intelligence & various forms of protection. But one time, when we were having coffee, I said something & MbS gave me a glance that showed he was displeased. I swear! Book me!"

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1054333679890300933

cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain

(A P)

Audio: .@EmilyThornberry is spot on as to why the #UK should NOT arm #SaudiArabia at the moment! The #UK should "look again into selling arms to Saudi Arabia" and "make sure that there's an independent investigation" about the kingdom's actions".

https://twitter.com/hosseinsafari99/status/1054349128271122433

(A P)

Jeremy Corbyn: "I'm pleased the PM has condemned the horrific murder of Jamal Khashoggi, but condemnation is not enough! Will she now end arms sales to Saudi Arabia?"

https://twitter.com/Corbynator2/status/1054419437477072897

(A P)

Centrist saviour or hypocrite? David Miliband reminded of his Saudi dealings as he decries Yemen War

Did David Miliband forget Britain's selling of Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia while he was Foreign Secretary? The ex-MP was labelled a hypocrite after he decries the kingdom over their war in Yemen.

Tweets derided the former MP and his apparent aboutface. One read: “Typhoon jets anyone,” while another asked: “Didn’t you approve the sale of fighter jets now bombing them [Yemenis] when [you were] foreign secretary?”

One tweet from the anti-War on Terror group Cage UK read: “David Miliband when Foreign Sec used to sell the same bombs that kill the people he now wants to help…”

Most famous in the UK for losing the Labour leadership race to his brother Ed, Miliband left frontline politics in 2010, he is now the President of the partly-US funded International Rescue Committee, who have boasted Henry Kissinger and Madeline Albright on their ‘Board of Directors and Overseers.’

https://www.rt.com/uk/441918-saudi-yemen-david-miliband/

(* B P)

Saudi Arabia pays UK firms millions to boost image

PR agency Freud’s, the Independent, Vice and Tony Blair Institute for Global Change among those with links

London has become a hub for global Saudi public relations and media influence campaigns, with British firms earning millions of pounds from efforts to improve the image of the kingdom and its regional allies in recent years, a Guardian investigation has found.

The reputation of Saudi Arabia, always controversial due to its record on human rights and involvement in the ongoing Yemeni war, has taken a battering in the past fortnight following the apparent murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The investigation into how London has become a focus of lobbying efforts in recent years to burnish the country’s image reveals:

Major PR agency Freud’s, which has worked with Saudi Arabia, is now distancing itself from the kingdom.

There are fresh concerns over the Independent’s decision to establish a partnership with a Saudi publisher with close links to the Saudi government.

The London office of online publisher Vice has been working on a series of films to promote Saudi Arabia.

A Saudi publishing company that is signing partnerships with western media firms has donated to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in return for his advice to the country.

A company largely staffed by former employees of the collapsed PR firm Bell Pottinger has advised the Saudi state on communications strategy.

Although some media companies have longstanding relationships with the country, many advertising and PR groups rushed into the kingdom during the rise to power of Mohammed bin Salman, who became crown prince in June 2017.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/19/saudi-arabia-pays-uk-firms-millions-to-boost-image

cp11 Deutschland / Germany

(A P)

Al-Wazir zum Krieg im Jemen: Keine Waffen nach Saudi-Arabien

Der Spitzenkandidat der hessischen Grünen, Tarek Al-Wazir, hat eindringlich ein Ende der deutschen Waffenlieferungen an Saudi-Arabien und damit auch für den Krieg im Jemen gefordert

http://www.fnp.de/rhein-main/Al-Wazir-zum-Krieg-im-Jemen-Keine-Waffen-nach-Saudi-Arabien;art1491,3143218

(* B K P)

Film: How Germany Breaks its Own Laws to Arm Saudi Arabia

The German government is pursuing the interests of the its arms industry, even as this means violating their own laws, their coalition agreement, and promises to the public.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6NCZS-lNwI&t=26s

(* B K P)

Opinion: No weapons for Riyadh, right for the wrong reason

Germany should not be exporting weapons to Saudi Arabia, writes DW's Matthias von Hein. But it should be because of the war in Yemen, not the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

The fact that Merkel put further arms exports to Saudi Arabia on hold is at least a step in the right direction. Sometimes, and above all in politics, the right move is made for the wrong reason. The German government's coalition agreement stipulates, after all, that German arms should not be sold to states involved in the war with Yemen.

Jamal Khashoggi managed to do what the deaths of more than 10,000 Yemeni citizens in this war haven't achieved. His death has managed to do what the misery of millions of famished people — who are not reachable due to the Saudi blockade of the ports — has not achieved. His death finally put a spotlight on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the West's direct involvement in the Yemeni tragedy, which has been going on for the past three years.

As cynical as this may be, the West doesn't seem to have any problem with authoritarian rulers, only with incalculable rulers. The drama surrounding Jamal Khashoggi is — for the time being — just the last act in the play about the 33-year-old Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for whom "impulsive" is a friendly description.

How ironic is it that less than a month ago, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas apologized to his Saudi counterpart, Adel al-Jubeir, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York for remarks his predecessor Sigmar Gabriel made last year about the Lebanon crisis.

https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-no-weapons-for-riyadh-right-for-the-wrong-reason/a-45991937 b

(* B K P)

Den zweitbesten Kunden verprellt man nicht

Was immer im Koalitionsvertrag versprochen wird - Saudi-Arabien führt weiter Krieg mit deutschen Waffen

»Nach einem derart unfassbaren Vorgang gehört das Verhältnis zu Saudi-Arabien grundsätzlich auf den Prüfstand«, sagte die SPD-Vorsitzende Andrea Nahles der »Bild am Sonntag« und forderte spürbare Konsequenzen. Auch bei Rüstungsexporten. Die es - folgt man den Vereinbarungen des Koalitionsvertrages zwischen Union und SPD - gar nicht geben kann. Denn laut diesem im Februar verabschiedeten Grundlagendokument will die Regierung »ab sofort keine Ausfuhren an Länder genehmigen, solange diese unmittelbar am Jemen-Krieg beteiligt sind«.

Allein die Tatsache, dass es in dem Land weder politische Parteien noch Wahlen gibt und Menschenrechte generell nichts zählen, würde ein Exportverbot gemäß der noch unter Rot-Grün beschlossenen Grundsätze rechtfertigen.

Das Gegenteil ist der Fall. Das Reich der Scheichs, das nach Vorherrschaft in der islamischen Welt strebt, ist in diesem Jahr nach Algerien der zweitbeste Rüstungskunde deutscher Firmen.

Vertuscht werden soll, dass SPD-Minister im Wirtschafts- und Außenressort maßgeblich beteiligt waren an der Absegnung der Geschäfte.

Doch es geht nicht nur um Schiffe. Erst im September wurde eine Lieferung von konkurrenzlos zielgenauen »Cobra«-Artillerieortungsradaren an Saudi-Arabien bekannt. Deutsche Firmen dürfen auch Gefechts- und Zielsuchköpfe sowie 385 tragbare Panzerabwehrwaffen liefern.

Doch selbst wenn sich die schwarz-rote Regierung an ihren Koalitionsvertrag halten würde, hätte der nur begrenze Wirkung. Beispiel: das Kampfflugzeug Eurofighter Typhoon. Davon fliegen bereits 72 Maschinen in Saudi-Arabien. Just zu der Zeit, als sich die aktuelle deutsche Regierung gefunden hatte, wurden von Mohammed bin Salman, der als Verteidigungsminister für den Krieg in Jemen maßgeblich verantwortlich ist, 48 weitere geordert. In Großbritannien. Doch der Eurofighter ist ein von Deutschland, Italien, Spanien und Großbritannien gemeinsam entwickeltes und gebautes Flugzeug. Die deutsche Airbus Defence and Space GmbH hält 33 Prozent an der Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH.

Nationale Beschränkungen auf EU-Ebene auszuhebeln ist auch eine Spielart, die der deutsche Rüstungskonzern Rheinmetall beherrscht. Das Unternehmen produziert auf Sardinien Munition, die von dort an Saudi-Arabien geliefert und in Jemen eingesetzt wird. Rom fühlt sich nicht zuständig, weil es sich um eine deutsche Firma handelt, Berlin mag Italien nicht in dessen Entscheidungen reinreden. So erzeugt man profitable Schlupflöcher für Tod und Verderben.

https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/1103945.ruestungsexporte-den-zweitbesten-kunden-verprellt-man-nicht.html

(* B K P)

Saudi-Arabien ist der zweitbeste Kunde der deutschen Rüstungsindustrie

Saudi-Arabien gehört auch in diesem Jahr zu den größten Empfängerstaaten deutscher Rüstungsgüter - obwohl das Land im Jemen Krieg führt.

Kaum ein anderer Staat hat in den vergangenen Jahren so viele Rüstungsgüter in Deutschland gekauft wie Saudi-Arabien. Damit müsste es nun eigentlich vorbei sein. Denn dem Koalitionsvertrag zufolge sollen solche Lieferungen in Länder, die im Jemen Krieg führen, nicht mehr erlaubt sein. Saudische Truppen kämpfen dort seit 2015 auf Seiten der jemenitischen Regierung gegen die vom Iran unterstützten Huthi-Rebellen.

Von Januar bis September 2018 genehmigte die Bundesregierung Rüstungsexporte in den Golfstaat mit einem Gesamtwert von 416,4 Millionen Euro.

Bereits 2017 stand Saudi-Arabien in der Liste der Empfängerländer von genehmigten Rüstungsexporten auf Platz zwei. Ein genauerer Vergleich der Zahlen zeigt allerdings, dass schon in den ersten drei Quartalen dieses Jahres der Wert der genehmigten Rüstungsexporte weit über dem im ganzen vergangenen Jahr erreichten liegt: 2017 genehmigte die Bundesregierung die Ausfuhr von Waffen und militärischer Ausrüstung nach Saudi-Arabien in Höhe von 254 Millionen Euro.

Im Koalitionsvertrag heißt es: „Wir werden ab sofort keine Ausfuhren an Länder mehr genehmigen, solange diese unmittelbar am Jemen-Krieg beteiligt sind.“ Allerdings folgt in der Vereinbarung von Union und SPD eine Ausnahmeklausel.

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/genehmigungen-von-waffenexporten-saudi-arabien-ist-der-zweitbeste-kunde-der-deutschen-ruestungsindustrie/23209634.html

(* A P)

Germany questions arms sales to Saudi over Khashoggi killing

Germany should not approve arms sales to Saudi Arabia until investigations into the circumstances of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death have been completed, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Saturday.

Maas’s statement, which appeared to reverse a decision to sell artillery systems to Riyadh, came after he and Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected as unsatisfactory Saudi Arabia’s explanation for the death of the dissident journalist in its Istanbul consulate.

In an interview for public television’s Tagesthemen program, Maas said he believed no weapons should be sold to the kingdom until the circumstances of Khashoggi’s death had been cleared up.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-khashoggi-merkel/germany-questions-arms-sales-to-saudi-over-khashoggi-killing-idUSKCN1MU0OH

My comment: The arms would be used to kill and starve Yemenis, not to kill more Khashoggis– this does not matter for him.

cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries

(A K P)

France avoids question on Saudi Arabia weapons sales

France declined to say on Monday if it might suspend weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, after Germany called on others to follow its example until the truth about Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder is established.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-khashoggi-france/france-avoids-question-on-saudi-arabia-weapons-sales-idUSKCN1MW1TP

(A K P)

'US’ logistics support makes Saudi war against Yemen last this long'

Iranian Parliament Speaker's Special Aide Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said the Saudi military strike against Yemen, sponsored with US’ logistics support, must be stopped since the Yemeni crisis does not have a military solution.

Speaking in a meeting with International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC) Regional Director for Near and Middle East Fabrizio Carboni on Saturday, Amir-Abdollahian reiterated that ICRC has made positive efforts during Astana talks; however, the committee is in a position that can make greater efforts to bring peace and help reduce human suffering in conflict-affected countries such as Syria and Yemen.

https://en.mehrnews.com/news/138888/US-logistics-support-makes-Saudi-war-against-Yemen-last-this

(A P)

My husband, Matt Hedges, is no spy — so why is the Foreign Office gagging me?

Daniela Tejada, the wife of the British student jailed in the Gulf, says that ministers seem to be doing nothing to get him freed (subscribers only)

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news-review/my-husband-matt-hedges-is-no-spy-so-why-is-the-foreign-office-gagging-me-c5ppfb8xz

Remark: Earlier reporting: Yemen Press reader 470, cp12.

cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade

Siehe / Look at cp11, cp12

cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner

(* B K P T)

Former U.S. Special Forces were reportedly hired to kill Yemen’s leaders. Did the government know?

In a BuzzFeed article this week, Aram Roston reports that a Delaware company, Spear Operations Group, organized a private hit squad to work for the United Arab Emirates in Yemen. The company’s founder, Israeli operative Abraham Golan, and former U.S. Navy SEAL Isaac Gilmore admitted to these actions in the article. The company appears to have hired several other U.S. veterans and reservists, including one who retired from the well-known SEAL Team 6 (responsible for killing Osama bin Laden). Everything we understand about the private security industry tells us that this action is likely to have serious ramifications.

This may present huge legal problems

First, this is not normal. The United States has not been in the habit of exporting assassination services. To export military services legally, a company is required to receive a license from the State Department’s Export Control Office subject to the International Transfer in Arms Regulations. BuzzFeed reports that the office denies issuing such a license, and that is no surprise. Although that office has been subject to criticism for licensing private military and security companies (PMSCs) to train or otherwise support problematic governments like Equatorial Guinea, approving assassination services would be a dramatic departure.

As Ryan Goodman and Sarah Knuckey report in Just Security, the activities that employees of Spear Operations Group carried out leave them open to potential criminal liability under U.S. law for murder (under 18 U.S.C. 956) and war crimes (18 U.S.C. 2441). Taking part in actions of war abroad may also be subject to charges of violating the Neutrality Act. As recently as 2014, four U.S. citizens were convicted of violating this law by virtue of their efforts to overthrow the Gambian government.

The CIA may have known this was happening

How could a dozen men loaded up with body armor and whiskey charter a plane from a small New Jersey airport to a UAE base under contract with another government without the appropriate authorization? It is likely that intelligence agencies helped. Roston is right to infer that it is unlikely that the U.S. government did not know, although he does not have concrete evidence of prior knowledge, and the government did not respond to his inquiries. But the U.S. government is not a monolith. Who knows matters and that “who” in this case appears to have been inside operational units in the CIA. That helps us understand how such “not normal” action was possible. Although the Department of Defense and parts of the State Department have supported a fledgling governance regime around private security contractors and routinely hire companies that abide by its rules and certifications, people hired by many other government agencies were never brought into the program. And the CIA has remained purposefully outside this process, operating independently of these rules.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/10/19/former-u-s-special-forces-were-reportedly-hired-to-kill-yemens-leaders-did-the-government-know

(* B K P T)

Film: Assassins for Hire: US Citizens, Israelis, and Palestinians Kill for Money in Yemen

The US-based mercenary company Spear Group, headed by an Israeli and hired by a Palestinian on behalf of the UAE, conducts extra-judicial killings in Yemen. Antony Loewenstein discusses the details

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

cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy

Siehe / Look at cp1

(* B E H)

Humble pomegranate seed provides clue to how Yemen's war fuels hunger

Pomegranate exports were a key source of income for people in Saada in northwest Yemen, a province under the control of the Houthi movement aligned with Iran. Before the war began in 2015, farmers exported 30,000 tons of the fruit.

Those exports have fallen by around a third and farmers blame lack of fuel and water for irrigation and the impact of aerial bombing by a coalition of forces led by Saudi Arabia and armed by the United States, France, Britain and other Western countries.

Markets and roads have been targeted, making it much more dangerous and, crucially, more expensive to get pomegranates by truck to Yemen’s main port in Hodeidah, the farmers say.

“The pomegranates are dying because of lack of water because of the blockade,” said farmer Rabeea al-Abdy.

He was referring to stringent measures put in place by the coalition on imports into Yemen that have slowed trade flows, including of commercial goods and vital supplies such as fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid.

Ali Saleh, an agricultural sales manager in Saada, said exports are down by a third from their pre-war peak.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-opec-saudi/saudi-arabia-has-no-intention-of-1973-oil-embargo-replay-tass-idUSKCN1MW0JU

(* B E P)

Houthis hold Arab coalition, government responsible for gas and fuel crisis

The Houthis blamed the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government for the crisis of lack of domestic gas and fuel in the capital Sana'a and the provinces under their control, Saba news agency reported in its Houthi version.

"The escalation of aggression on the West Coast, its indiscriminate targeting at the port of Hodeidah and the obstacles of oil derivatives and gas carriers into the port are the main reasons behind the bottlenecks in the local market," said a meeting of the group's government (not recognized).

He explained that the Community authorities have taken steps to overcome the difficulties and reduce bottlenecks in these materials, including working to solve the problem of transferring them from Hodeidah to Sana'a and other governorates.

The capital city of Sana'a and the provinces under the Houthis are experiencing a major crisis in domestic gas and fuel, while the Houthis are accused of preventing the entry of gas to invest in the black market.

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159896

(* B E H)

Cost of Living in Yemen

These data are based on 709 entries in the past 18 months from 40 different contributors.
Last update: October 2018

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Yemen

cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism

(A T)

#IslamicState clashes with #alQaeda in #Yemen continue (though may be more about local rivalries, or externally stirred). ISY claims it attacked 2 #AQAP fronts in al-'Abl, Qayfa on Saturday, fought for 30mins & destroyed 2 AQAP 4x4s. (Note AQAP recently claimed 4 ISY defectors)

https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1054361654576758784

cp15 Propaganda

Siehe / Look at cp1, cp8, cp10

(* A P)

Imperial-Hipster Bible VICE Did Paid Propaganda for Saudi Arabia

Hipster media giant VICE worked with Saudi Arabia’s regime mouthpiece SRMG to create a video promoting tourism and a camel festival.

The hipster corporate media giant VICE did paid propaganda for Saudi Arabia, according to a British report on Saudi astroturf efforts.

Jim Waterson, the media editor for The Guardian, reported that VICE has worked with a soft-power arm of the Saudi royal family to generate public relations material for Saudi Arabia.

According to internal VICE sources contacted by The Guardian, the Brooklyn-based media company assembled a team to make pro-Saudi content in collaboration with the Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), a regime mouthpiece that is closely linked to the royal family.

The SRMG board of directors is a revolving door of Saudi princes. SRMG also owns numerous major Saudi newspapers that function as unofficial state organs, including the highly influential Asharq Al-Awsat and Arab News.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman even personally met with VICE co-founder and billionaire Shane Smith, during his charm offensive in the United States in early 2018

https://grayzoneproject.com/2018/10/21/vice-propaganda-saudi-arabia/

(A P)

Yemen calls for pressuring Houthis to stop child recruitment

Chief of General Staff Tahir al-Aqili has called the international community and human rights organization to shoulder their responsibilities and pressuring the Houths to end their constant recruitment of children.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24731

My comment: It even would make more sense to call for pressuring Saudis to stop bombing children.

(A P)

Houthi Coup Deprives 2 Million Yemeni Children of Education

Two million Yemeni children have been deprived of an education since the Iran-backed Houthi militias staged their coup against legitimate authorities four years ago, estimated Education Minister Abdullah Lemmles.

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1434461/houthi-coup-deprives-2-million-yemeni-children-education

My comment: This is odd, as the greatest impact on schooling in Yemen had been Saudi coalition air raids destroying schools.

(A P)

Report: Yemen invaders cemetery

Have you ever heard about a righteous nation that have been defeated by its enemies? Never!! It is historically and logically proven that every oppressor, occupier and colonizer has been tragically defeated whilst victory has been the resistance outcome, that is the case in Yemen, whatsoever, the phenomenal nation that has defeated both the Ottoman and others over ages.

The Yemenis' resistance approach is an ideological firm doctrine. Neither the Saudis nor the Imperialist would be able to subdue them, It is true that they have been systematically bombarding every possible civil facilities using American and British advanced weapons, but the Yemenis are getting more courageous, resolute and steadfast to defend their sovereignty.

After approximately assault on the Red Sea port city of Hudaydah; none of the Imperialist's futile goals have been attained, the Yemenis are growing decisive and determined, day after day, to confront the invaders, the same conspiracy that has been fallen in Syria due the Syrian consciousness and perseverance to safeguard their hometown; would exactly triumph in Yemen.

Unequivocally, the Zionist dream to overwhelm the strategic coastal line of Hudaydah will remain a dream, the Yemenis are the native indigenous inhabitants unlike the Saudis who have been empowered by the British colonialism, since the 18th century.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news511815.htm

Remark: A piece of Houthi propaganda.

(A P)

From @jimwaterson: Vice produced Saudi PR video with barely any disclaimers while Vice founder Shane Smith quietly met Md Bin Salman during his US tour this year (text in image9

https://twitter.com/manisha_bot/status/1053408471457169408

(A P)

More Saudi coalition “We are benefactors” propaganda

http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159960

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1392236/saudi-arabia

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1391651/saudi-arabia

https://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/uae-continues-support-of-education-sector-in-liberated-cities-in-yemen-1.2291808

cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids

(* A K pH)

Saudi coalition air raids day by day

Oct. 21: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1540214871./1161321730684857

Oct. 20: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1540214871./1161321390684891

Oct. 19: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/pb.551288185021551.-2207520000.1540214871./1161320277351669

Oct. 18: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1161319530685077

Oct. 17: https://www.facebook.com/lcrdye/photos/a.551858951631141/1161319200685110

(A K pH)

5 Saudi aggression air raids targets on Hodeidah

The US-backed Saudi aggression on Sunday targeted five airstrikes in Hodeidah province, a local official told Saba on Monday.

The Five raids waged al-Haly directorate.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news512002.htm

(* A K pH)

New War Crime of US-Saudi Aggression in Hajjah

Four people were killed and one injured Sunday in a raid by the US-Saudi aerial aggression in Hajjah province.

Al-Masirah Net correspondent reported that the aerial aggression targeted a citizen’s car that was passing on Bani Hassan road in Abes district, killing four citizens and injuring another.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=3353&cat_id=1

and certainly also this record, falsely stating a house had been hit: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news512001.htm

photos: https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1917997285162923

https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/1054106116127420417

https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1054029104717037568

film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vir5Ur8Z_dE

Remark: The figure of injured differs; also 2 or 3 are reported.

(A K pH)

Hodeidah Pictures of the destruction caused by the air raids on Saturday on the house of the citizen / Taysir Fakirat,

Located in the area of 7 July, which claimed the lives of a number of martyrs and wounded

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1917875031841815

(A K pH)

Civilian killed in Saudi aggression airstrike on Hodeidah

The US-backed Saudi-led aggression coalition warplanes waged on Sunday a strike on Hodeidah province, killing a citizen and wounding four others, an official told Saba.
The strike hit Zaid street in al-Hali district, the official added.

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news511923.htm

and

(A K pH)

Some of the initial images of the domestic gas filling station targeted by the aggression coalition, of course the raid or shell was on an area in a densely populated residential neighborhood as well as gathering a lot of citizens to get gas in the morning as well as waiting for bus drivers to fill their buses at gas station Zayed Road The market of the hole, but God said that the assembly was far from the strike and fell after the strike two martyrs and more than five wounded

https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1917588371870481

films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBp44hHGjVA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYwZvxwO8Bg

while the Saudi coalition claims Houthi shelling was responsible: http://almasdaronline.com/articles/159917

Remark: Obviously, Houthi-held territory was hit.

(A K pH)

Massive US-Saudi [air raid] Shelling Targeting Homes and Farms of Citizens in Sa’ada

According to Almasirah correspondent, The US-Saudi airstrike aggression has targeted during the past hours residential with dozens of rockets and artillery shells targeted the homes and farms of citizens in Baqem border district, causing material damage to property.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=3346&cat_id=1

(A K pH)

US-Saudi aggression launched a series of raids to support a creep of US-Saudi mercenaries in Al-Sawh area off Najran.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=3347&cat_id=1

(* A K)

Photo: Aftermath of coalition bombing of forces it backs in Hodeida in which dozens of soldiers were killed & injured.Since 2015,coalition has bombed #Yemen gov & allied forces n Nihm, Serwah, Baydha & Taiz when they made advance against the Houthis. Why this happen remains a mystery.

https://twitter.com/Ndawsari/status/1054318117013331968

Remark: This raid already had been recorded earlier.

cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War

Siehe / Look at cp1b

(* A B K pS)

Yemen’s security forces dismantle landmine networks in Hodeida

Yemeni security forces have managed to dismantle landmine networks planted by Houthi militias in al-Tuhaita district of Hodeida province.

Security sources told Alsahwa Net that these landmines would have killed civilians if they were not removed.

A Yemeni NGO has unveiled staggering statistics of deaths by Houthi planted landmines. The Yemeni Coalition for Monitoring Human Rights Violations (YCMHRV) said 189 persons have been killed by Houthi planted landmines in the period from April 2015 to the end of October 2017.

In a seminar on the sideline of the UNHRC's 37th session in Geneva, the YCMHRV said 83 of the 189 victims were killed by anti-vehicle landmines and the rest by anti-personnel landmines . Among the victims were 37 government and pro-government fighters, 31 children and 9 women. The landmines injured 225 persons, military personnel and civilians too.

The YCMHRV'S report indicated that most of the victims are in Yemen's central Taiz city where the armed conflict is still going on and Houthis encircle the city.

https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-24703

(A K)

Al Houthi forces claimed to attack a Saudi military base with a Qasef 1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Najran region, southern Saudi Arabia on October 22. Al Houthi forces attacked Saudi military bases with rockets and artillery in Najran city and clashed with Saudi military near the Alab border crossing in Asir region, southern Saudi Arabia on October 19. The Saudi Ministry of Defense has not confirmed the attacks.[3]

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-october-22-2018

(A K pS)

Oct. 21: In Saada, Saudi missiles and artillery shells targeted populated villages in Shida border district.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=3367&cat_id=1

(* A K pH)

US-Saudi aggression launched a series of raids to support a creep of US-Saudi mercenaries in Al-Sawh area off Najran.

Populated villages in Razih and Baqim border districts were targeted by Saudi missiles and artillery shells, damaging civilians' properties.

In Lahj, three women were killed following targeting a house by US-Saudi mercenaries with artillery shells in Al-Qubaita district. In Sana'a, a woman was killed by targeting her house with artillery shells in Nehm district.

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=3348&cat_id=1

(A K pH)

A citizen was killed Wednesday by a shot fired by shot fire of US-Saudi Aggression in Shada district in Saada governorate.

In the context of residential areas Razih district with rockets and artillery shells, no injuries were reported right now

https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=3347&cat_id=1

(* A K pH)

3 women killed in Saudi-paid mercenaries artillery shelling in Taiz

The three women were killed by targeting the mercenaries a house in artillery shelling in al-Haideen area in al-Salw district

http://www.sabanews.net/en/news511833.htm

cp18 Sonstiges / Other

(A P)

American Woman Goes on Hunger Strike in Protest at US-Backed Saudi Crimes in Yemen

Pamela Bennett, an American woman from Los Angeles, is now on her 13th day of hunger strike in a move to condemn her country's arms and logistics supply to Saudi Arabia's onslaught on Yemen

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970728000477

Vorige / Previous:

https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-470-yemen-war-mosaic-470

Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-470 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-470:

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

Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:

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

http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm

http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/

http://www.yemenwar.info/

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

http://yemendataproject.org/data/

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

Dietrich Klose

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

Dietrich Klose

Was ist Ihre Meinung?
Diskutieren Sie mit.

Kommentare einblenden