... USA-Iran-Krise: Wachsende Spannungen am Golf, gegenseitige Schlacht der Worte – und mehr
July 27, 2019: Film: Yemen’s skies of terror – Sex trafficking of Yemeni children – Food access to detoriate – Trump’s Disgraceful Pro-Saudi Vetoes – US-Iran crisis: Mounting tensions at the, mutual battle of words – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah / Most important: Hodeidah battle
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Wachsende Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Mounting tensions at the Gulf
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
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(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
pH = Pro-Houthi
pS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
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)
10 Facts About Health Care in Yemen
Because medical facilities in Yemen lack access to necessary resources like clean water, diseases that are treatable elsewhere become deadly. Approximately 80 percent of Yemeni people are malnourished, forced to drink unclean water and cannot afford health care, making them more susceptible to diphtheria, cholera and other diseases. The current civil war has also been greatly destructive to infrastructure and health care in Yemen.
Bombing frequently damages hospitals in Yemen and it is difficult for hospitals to maintain electricity and running water in the midst of airstrikes. Continuous fighting leaves little time to address structural damage and meet the needs of the Yemeni people. Families are often required to bring the sick and injured to hospitals without the aid of ambulances. All but one of Yemen’s 22 provinces are affected by fighting.
Within less than a year of fighting in Yemen, airstrikes hit 39 hospitals. Troops from both sides of the conflict blocked outside access to the country, preventing the flow of medicine needed to treat diseases, such as cholera. This puts the Yemeni people, especially children, at risk; 144 children die from treatable diseases daily and more than 1 million children are starving or malnourished.
Yemen’s rural populations lack easy access to hospitals and medical care. Rural facilities, such as those in the northern mountains, cannot provide adequate food to patients. The lack of food in many hospitals prevents successful treatment of malnourishment.
The cholera epidemic began in Yemen in 2016, a year after the beginning of the civil war. By 2017, the disease spread rapidly. In 2019, cholera is still a serious problem in the country. It caused 2,500 deaths in Yemen within the first five months of 2019.
https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-about-health-care-in-yemen/
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
(** B H K)
Film: Yemen’s Skies of Terror
Akram is only 15 years old but he has already lost a friend. His neighbors were killed when a Saudi-led coalition air raid hit their house in the old city of Sanaa. Yemen’s Skies of Terror, an immersive film by Contrast, provides a rare glimpse inside Yemen after three years of war. Follow Akram, 7-year-old Wedad, and 17-year-old Abu Bakr as they show you how their lives have been impacted by more than 16,000 air raids.
The war in Yemen is entering its fourth year with no end in sight. Over 76% of Yemenis are in need of humanitarian aid and millions are facing food insecurity. Filmed by local journalists who were trained and equipped with 360° cameras by Contrast, this film highlights the toll that the war in Yemen is taking on those who must live in constant fear of the skies.
Remark: We’re excited to announce that our #VR film, ’Yemen's Skies of Terror' — filmed by
@AhmadAlgohbary — has been nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy!
https://twitter.com/ContrastVR/status/1154460789052338177
and another video ba Ahmad Alghobary:
I feel pain in my heart when I am sad. I feel sad and sometimes even tear up when I see heartbreaking scenes. I visited leukaemia centre in #Sanaa and I will explain what is happening there in thread. #Yemen. My video is without logo, feel free to share it anywhere.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1154526447735857152
(** B H)
Jemens Kinder werden immer öfter als Sex-Sklaven verkauft
„‚Die Kinder aus dem Jemen werden im Rahmen einer saudi-arabischen Kriegstaktik in die Sklaverei und in die Prostitution verschleppt!‘ Derartige Erklärungen wurden immer wieder von jemenitischen Menschenrechtsgruppen geteilt, sowohl als Aufforderung, als auch als Warnung an eine apathische internationale Gemeinschaft. ‚Jemens Kinder werden direkt vor unserer Nase verkauft und es scheint niemanden zu stören. Dasselbe Muster an mutwilliger Kriminalität, das wir in Libyen, Syrien, im Irak und in Afghanistan gesehen haben, hat nun den Jemen erfasst. Diese Verbrechen werden am helllichten Tag ungestraft begangen, denn gegen sie aufzubegehren, würde bedeuten, ein Licht auf Saudi-Arabiens dunkelste Kriegstaktik zu werfen’, wie Ahlam Mohammed Al Ansi, ein ehemaliger Sozialarbeiter, gegenüber Citizen Truth in einem exklusiven Kommentar berichtete.
Obwohl die Rekrutierung von Kindern für die Streitkräfte und/oder die verschiedenen Milizen, die derzeit in den Jemen-Konflikt verwickelt sind, bedauerlich ist, bezeichnet sie nur einen Teil der Krise, da sie diejenigen Kinder, die in ein Leben voll sexueller Ausbeutung und Sklaverei verkauft werden, nicht mit einbezieht. Wenn die Vereinten Nationen auf das Thema anspielen, sagt dies noch lange nichts über das Ausmaß der Krise aus. ‚Jemenitische Kinder sind im Inland und in Saudi-Arabien dem Sexhandel ausgeliefert. Berichten zufolge wurden Mädchen im Alter von 15 Jahren in Hotels und Clubs in den Gouvernments von Sanaa, Aden und Taiz missbraucht.
Mehrere Quellen gaben bereits an, dass in den letzten zwei Jahren die Zahl der illegal gehandelten Kinder auf weit über 25.000 gestiegen sei, was einen dramatischen Anstieg gegenüber den von Seiten der Vereinigten Staaten geschätzten 10.000 Kindern pro Jahr bedeutet
https://www.mena-watch.com/jemens-kinder-werden-vermehrt-in-die-sex-sklaverei-verkauft/
(*** B H P)
Yemen’s Forgotten Victims – Children Sold as A Commodity Of War
“If you think Libya’s slave market was bad then let me tell you, I have seen worse. Children are being shipped off the coast of Yemen under military escort for the Gulf countries, and no one is saying a word.”
“Yemen’s children are being trafficked into slavery and prostitution as part of a Saudi Arabian war tactic!” Again and again, such cries have been shared across Yemen’s rights community, both as injunctions and warnings to an apathetic international community.
“Yemen’s children are being sold right under our nose and no one seems to mind … the same patterns of wanton criminality we witnessed in Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan have now gripped Yemen. Those crimes are being perpetrated in broad daylight, in all impunity because speaking against them would mean shining a light on Saudi Arabia’s darkest war tactics,” Ahlam Mohammed Al Ansi, a former caseworker at the ministry of social affairs told Citizen Truth in exclusive comments.
As Yemenis dig their heels further in against Saudi Arabia’s war coalition to reclaim sovereignty over both their land and their future, human rights activists have come forth with a discovery of what appears to be a systematic and well-coordinated desire to inflict maximum harm onto those made most vulnerable to the ravages of war.
As it stands today Yemen is not merely a failed state plagued by poverty, pandemic corruption, and the ever-present threat of Islamic radicalization. In the throes of a war which threatens to sink a people’s national identity by inflaming ancient upsets, both sectarian and tribal, the nation is facing yet another threat to its sovereignty – one so insidious and nefarious that it could claim Yemen’s future generation.
Empowered by the anonymity and impunity military conflicts often bring by the chaos they foment, human traffickers have found in Yemen, a haven – so much so in fact that the trade has become a veritable industry, following those patterns we observed in Libya, Syria and Iraq as unrest gripped them.
In its most recent report on human trafficking in Yemen, the United Nations admitted to a recent spike, quoting the escalation of violence for the security vacuum, as well as traffickers’ new desire to recruit children to serve their military ambitions.
Although the enrollment of children into the armed forces and/or various militias now involved in Yemen’s conflict is deplorable, it does not quite cover the extent of Yemen’s trafficking crisis, as it leaves out those children sold out to a life of sexual exploitation and slavery. Where the United Nations alludes to the issue, it says nothing of the magnitude of the crisis.
“Yemeni children have been subjected to sex trafficking within the country and in Saudi Arabia. Girls as young as 15 years old have reportedly been exploited in commercial sex in hotels and clubs in the Governorates of Sana’a, Aden, and Taiz. Prior to the conflict, most child sex tourists in Yemen were from Saudi Arabia, with a smaller percentage originating from other Gulf nations, including the United Arab Emirates. Some Saudi men used legally contracted ‘temporary marriages’ – authorized by some Islamic authorities as misyar marriages – for the purpose of sexually exploiting Yemeni girls, some reportedly as young as 10 years old, and some of whom were later abandoned on the streets of Saudi Arabia.”
Several sources have already put the number of trafficked children to well above 25,000 in the past 2 years alone, a dramatic increase from the estimated 10,000 children per year the U.N. admits to. Those numbers do not account for the thousands of children forced to bear arms for or against Saudi Arabia’s military intervention.
Humanitarian aid workers say they have witnessed the “wholesale of young boys and girls” to militias aligned with the Saudi war coalition in South Yemen where they have several strongholds – mainly Aden and the south-eastern province of Hadramawt.
“Boys and girls are being picked up – sometimes by force, sometimes for a few hundred dollars by Saudi men … this happens in refugee camps, villages … everywhere, and there is nothing we can do to stop them because they control everything in the south,” said a former official at the Mayor’s office in Aden under strict anonymity.
He added: “If you think Libya’s slave market was bad then let me tell you, I have seen worse. Children are being shipped off the coast of Yemen under military escort for the Gulf countries, and no one is saying a word. Yemen is under a strict blockade, but for some reason when it comes to human trafficking everyone is looking the other way.”
Abandoned to the wants of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a country we know to be brutal and unforgiving to those it views as its enemies – Jamal Khashoggi’s murder stands a painful reminder – Yemen is battling against more than just a military assault; it is fighting against the disintegration of its society.
If human trafficking has become an unsavory reality plaguing the Greater Middle Eastern region, the systemic ‘acquisition’ of Yemen’s children by criminal rings and Saudi Arabia’s military forces’ complacency speak of a campaign to dissolve and spent Yemen’s social fabric to better inflict pain.
Such demographic remapping cannot go unspoken! – by Catherine Shakdam
https://citizentruth.org/yemens-forgotten-victims-of-war-children-being-sold-as-a-commodity-of-war/
(** B H P)
Food access to deteriorate following anticipated reductions in humanitarian assistance
The World Food Programme’s recent decision to suspend humanitarian food assistance in Sana’a City, and unrelated, temporary reductions in the size of food assistance distributions expected nationwide as a result of temporary funding gaps, are raising high concerns that many Yemenis will begin to face increasing food consumption gaps in the coming months. WFP indicates its decision to suspend assistance in Sana’a City is based on difficulty receiving permission to assess and reach worst-affected populations in Sana’a City and to implement a bio-registration system for beneficiaries to improve accountability of operations. Humanitarian access to and independent assessment of worst-affected populations nationwide must be established, and the resumption of assistance to previous levels is critically needed to prevent a further deterioration of outcomes.
For more than two years, Yemen has faced the largest food security emergency in the world and continues to face a risk of Famine (IPC Phase 5) in a worst-case scenario. Large-scale humanitarian assistance, implemented primarily by WFP, has helped to protect food consumption and livelihoods among millions of Yemenis and has helped to prevent a large-scale deterioration of food security outcomes. In 2018, WFP assistance reached an average of seven million people each month before increasing to reach approximately 10 million people, or about two-thirds of those in need, per month in early 2019 (Figure 1) with, on average, nearly a full ration.
In Sana’a City, the suspension of assistance will likely result in some households facing larger food consumption gaps. Because assistance may not have been reaching those most in need, the effects of suspending assistance may not be as severe as would typically be expected. However, indications that assistance was not reaching those most in need raises high concern that worst-affected households continue to face considerable difficulty accessing food and may be exhausting typical means of coping. In addition, the reductions in ration sizes expected nationwide over the coming two months will likely result in some populations facing larger consumption gaps.
Preliminary evidence suggests that food security may have improved slightly in the months leading up to the recent reduction in assistance deliveries, possibly due to the humanitarian scale-up since 2018. At present, WFP expects to resume full rations of assistance (except in Sana’a City) in the near-term with new funding commitments
The World Food Programme’s recent decision to suspend humanitarian food assistance in Sana’a City, alongside the temporary pipeline break, raises concern that additional people will begin to face increasing food consumption gaps or rely on irreversible coping strategies to access food. Humanitarian access to and independent assessment of worst-affected populations nationwide must be established, and the resumption of assistance is critically needed to prevent a further deterioration of outcomes.
http://fews.net/es/east-africa/yemen/alert/july-24-2019
(** A B K P)
Trump’s Disgraceful Pro-Saudi Vetoes
The president states in his veto message for S.J.Res. 36 (echoed in his other veto messages):
First and foremost, it is our solemn duty to protect the safety of the more than 80,000 United States citizens who reside in Saudi Arabia and who are imperiled by Houthi attacks from Yemen.
This is one of the Trump administration’s preferred talking points for justifying arming war criminals. The conceit here is that they are somehow “protecting” Americans who choose to live in Saudi Arabia by providing the Saudis and the UAE with the means to slaughter Yemeni civilians. This excuse is not even slightly credible. None of the weapons that the U.S. sells to the Saudis and the UAE actually protects anyone. The weapons that the U.S. sells to these governments are used to imperil and kill people in Yemen that have never done anything to the U.S. It is not our government’s responsibility to enable war crimes by a government simply because some of our citizens may happen to reside in the country in question, and the Americans living in the kingdom would not be at any risk if it were not for the Saudi coalition’s indiscriminate bombing campaign and long list of atrocities against the people of Yemen. By continuing to funnel weapons to the Saudis and Emiratis, Trump exposes American citizens in the region to greater danger.
Trump’s embarrassing excuses for arming war criminals continue:
Third, Saudi Arabia is a bulwark against the malign activities of Iran and its proxies in the region, and the licenses the joint resolution would prohibit enhance Saudi Arabia’s ability to deter and defend against these threats.
The great Saudi “bulwark” launched a stupid war of choice in Yemen and they are now paying the price for their stupidity. The war on Yemen is a boon to Iran by bogging Saudi Arabia and the UAE in an unwinnable war, and the more weapons that the U.S. sends to these governments the longer they can keep waging that war. Sending more weapons to the Saudis and Emiratis does not deter or defend against anything. It simply encourages more bloodshed and recklessness from horrible client governments.
The president is not done misleading the public:
Finally, by restricting the ability of our partners to produce and purchase precision-guided munitions, S.J. Res. 36 would likely prolong the conflict in Yemen and deepen the suffering it causes.
The quickest way to bring the war on Yemen to an end is to deprive the Saudi coalition of the means to continue their campaign. It has been the Saudi coalition’s intervention that prolonged and intensified the war, and more than four years later it is the Saudi coalition’s involvement that prevents the war from ending. Providing Saudi Arabia and the UAE with more weapons allows them to commit more war crimes and it gives them more weapons that they can hand off to their proxies in violation of the agreements they have made with the U.S. The Trump administration couldn’t care less about the suffering caused by the war on Yemen. If they did, they would not have fought tooth and nail to keep the war going for the last two and a half years. – by Daniel Larison
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/trumps-disgraceful-pro-saudi-vetoes/
and
(** B P)
Trump’s Saudi Arms Vetoes, Deconstructed
Trump’s veto message on Senate Joint Resolution 36, which would have blocked the coproduction and transfer of over 64,000 bombs and bomb components to Saudi Arabia, is indicative of the weakness of the administration’s case for continuing to enable mass slaughter by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
The main arguments in the veto message are outlined and refuted below.
Counter Iran and Its Proxies in the Region: The Houthi rebels are not proxies of Iran. They have their own grievances and their own reasons for fighting, going back decades and related to their belief that they have been denied political input and economic equity within Yemen by the prior and current regimes. While the Houthi receive some weaponry from Iran, they do not take orders from Tehran. If anything, the continued, unbridled U.S. backing of the Saudi war effort and the humanitarian catastrophe it has caused will only drive the Houthi closer to Iran than they would otherwise be.
Enhancing Competitiveness in Key Markets: From the beginning of his administration, President Trump has vastly exaggerated the benefits to U.S. companies and American workers of arms deals with Saudi Arabia, c
Providing Precision-Guided Munitions to Limit Civilian Casualties in Yemen: This has been a standard argument for sending guided bombs to Saudi Arabia since the start of its intervention in Yemen in 2015. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that Saudi Arabia is even attempting to avoid civilian targets.
Defending U.S. Citizens and Military Personnel in Saudi Arabia: The Houthi-led coalition that is fighting Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen has on occasion launched missile strikes across the Saudi border in retaliation for Saudi air strikes in Yemen, including one that hit the Riyadh airport, wounding 26 people. While concerning, these strikes pale in comparison with the devastating humanitarian crisis in Yemen sparked by the Saudi-UAE-led intervention, which has killed thousands of civilians and put millions at risk of famine. The best way to deal with the cross-border strikes is to end the air war and the strike/counterstrike dynamic that it has fueled, not up the ante through continuing attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Yemen.
Stopping Bomb Sales Will Undermine the Peace Process: This may be the most cynical argument of all – by William Hartung
https://lobelog.com/trumps-saudi-arms-vetoes-deconstructed/
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
(* B H)
Collapse of wastewater treatment poses a threat to lives and livelihoods, Yemen
Cholera in Yemen is a man-made disaster, and its spread and casualties are tied to the politics of the war. Aerial bombing by the Saudi-led coalition in Houthi-held areas has damaged hospitals, public water systems, and sewage plants.
https://www.ejatlas.org/conflict/yemen-toxic-trash-poses-a-threat-to-livelihood
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Neues Behandlungszentrum: DRK verstärkt den Kampf gegen Cholera im Jemen
Die Zahl der an Cholera erkrankten Menschen im Jemen ist nach wie vor hoch. Laut Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) gab es in den ersten sechs Monaten dieses Jahres über 823 000 Verdachtsfälle, mehr als 1200 Menschen starben bereits. „Durch die anhaltenden Kämpfe ist der Zugang zu sauberem Wasser und zur Gesundheitsversorgung stark eingeschränkt, die Krankheit kann sich unkontrolliert ausbreiten und bedroht die ohnehin notleidende Bevölkerung. Deshalb verstärken wir unseren Einsatz gegen Cholera, indem wir unter anderem die Errichtung eines Behandlungszentrums unterstützen“, sagt Christof Johnen, Leiter Internationale Zusammenarbeit beim DRK. Wiederholte Regenfälle und Überschwemmungen verschlechtern die Situation zusätzlich.
(A H)
UNICEF plane carrying cholera vaccines arrives at Sanaa Airport
The vaccines provided by UNICEF include 837,000 vials of Rota vaccine for routine immunization of children under a yea
http://www.saba.ye/en/news543006.htm
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah / Most important: Hodeidah battle
Siehe / Look at cp13b
(A K pH)
In Hodeidah, a girl was injured in At-tahita. The forces of aggression bombed the houses of civilians with artillery fire in Ad-durahmi. They also fired machine guns at the village of Al-Sheikh in the Kilo 16 area and the Youth City on 90th Street. 9 artillery shells were fired on Al-Faza area in At-tahita and a number of artillery shells in Al-Jahah Al-Faha area in Beit Al Faqih.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=7988
(A K pS)
National army destroys big amounts of landmines in Hodeida
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/07/26/national-army-destroys-big-amounts-of-landmines-in-hodeida/ = http://en.adenpress.news/news/10853
(A K pS)
Houthi militias Launch heavy Bombardments on the Joint Forces’ Positions north Hays
http://en.adenpress.news/news/10850
(A K pS)
Houthis shell military and civilian positions in Hodeidah
http://en.adenpress.news/news/10849
(A K pS)
Film: bombing of Houthi militias on homes in the mountains south of Hodeidah
The scene shows a mortar shell fired by al-Houthi militia on a village in the mountainous area that fell on civilian houses, revealing the brutal crimes committed by Iranian-backed Houthi militias.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z90jH0rjalk
(A P)
Government confirms inspection in Hodeida’s ports
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad al-Hadhrami has confirmed government’s keenness on boosting UN mechanism of inspection in Hodeida’s ports.
In his meeting with Director of Inspection and Investigation Mechanism of the UN Farooq Hirzullah on Wednesday, al-Hadhrami pointed out that the government’s support to the mechanism will be achieved only after implementing Hodeida Agreement and withdrawal of Houthi militia from Hodeida and its ports and implementing articles included in Stockholm agreement.
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/07/24/government-confirms-inspection-in-hodeidas-ports/
My comment: Nothing has changed: The Hadi government still tries to misuse the Stockholm agreement to get control of Hodeidah by “soft” political means. This has nothing to do with what had been agreed in Sweden in 2018.
(A K pS)
Houthis shell joint forces locations in al-Jabaliya, Hodeidah
http://en.adenpress.news/news/10837
(A K pS)
Houthi militia continues violating UN truce in Hodeidah
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/07/25/houthi-militia-continues-violating-un-truce-in-hodeidah/
(A K pS)
National army foils Houthi infiltration attempt in Hodeidah
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/07/24/national-army-foils-houthi-infiltration-attempt-in-hodeidah/
My comment: “National army” = various anti-Houthi militia.
(A K pS)
Houthi militia shells populated areas in Hodeidah
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/07/24/houthi-militia-shells-populated-areas-in-hodeidah/
(A K pS)
Houthi rockets target Yemen government team overseeing Hodeidah agreement
The ongoing rebel attacks threaten the UN-backed peace process, a government spokesperson says
Houthi rebels on Tuesday attacked the headquarters of a Yemen government team overseeing the implementation of a withdrawal agreement from the port city of Hodeidah, a government spokesperson has said.
One person was injured after five rockets were fired at the Hodeideah offices of the government representatives in the Redeployment and Coordination Committee, spokesperson for the pro-government joint forces in Hodeidah Col Wathah Al Dubaish said.
The Redeployment and Coordination Committee – led by Danish Lt Gen Michael Lollesgaard, who heads the UN observer team in Hodeidah – was established to oversee the agreement on a ceasefire and troop withdrawal from Hodeidah reached in Sweden last December.
cp2 Allgemein / General
(* A K P)
Interactive Map of Yemen War
(* B K)
MILITARY SITUATION IN YEMEN ON JULY 25, 2019 (MAP, VIDEO)
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-july-25-2019-map-video/
(* B K P)
AUDIO: Sudan, Yemen and the British arms trade
rs21 held a meeting at SOAS on the arms trade and how it relates to Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen, and its impact on the revolutionary movement in Sudan, with David Wearing, Raga Makawi and Nasir M as speakers.
Permanent crisis in the Middle East and North Africa is presented as inevitable, intractable, and rooted in ‘backward’ cultures. The reality is that the British state and other Western powers play a key role in sustaining oppression and bloodshed in the region, including through massive exports of arms to the military machine of Saudi Arabia and other powers such as Israel and Turkey. British arms are currently at the forefront of the Saudi state’s genocidal war in Yemen, and of the brutal repression of Sudanese revolutionaries by the Saudi-backed Transitional Military Council.
In this talk, Nasir M details why the war in Yemen cannot be interpreted as a proxy war or through the prism of ‘sectarianism’, and investigates what Saudi Arabia’s real interests are in Yemen.
https://www.rs21.org.uk/2019/07/26/audio-sudan-yemen-and-the-british-arms-trade/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmjvEg-M4Wc
(* B K)
Landmine hazards likely to long outlast Yemen war
The hundreds of thousands of landmines strewn across the country pose a threat that will outlast any viable peace.
The big picture: Most landmines were deployed by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, but remnants of cluster munitions used by the opposing Saudi-led coalition pose similar risks. These unexploded ordnances have claimed hundreds of lives, while displacing Yemenis from their homes and impeding access to roads, water and farmland.
Details:Both the sheer number and irregular distribution of landmines will make clearing them slow and dangerous.
Landmines will remain a formidable challenge in Yemen, but clearance efforts can have an outsize impact, especially if supported by improvements in local governance
(B E K P)
Why Sanctions Won’t Work in Yemen
Despite horrific humanitarian outcomes, sanctions and blockades will not achieve any of the coalitions strategic goals.
Despite the horrific outcomes of the sanctions imposed on Yemen for several years, the National Salvation Government does not seem to have capitulated an inch. In fact, sanctions of all kinds seem to frequently be unsuccessful in achieving the desired ends of the sanctioning party, whether the sanctioned are Yemeni, Iranian, or Syrian. This is especially the case if the sanctioned government enjoys popular support. Robert Pape, an international security expert, explains in “Why Sanctions Do Not Work” that the most successful type of sanctions (by a margin) are ones meant to destabilize nations, and even then, they’re only successful 52% of the time. Governments with strong popular support are not as vulnerable to destabilization attempts as unpopular ones. However, the Saudi coalitions goals are far more complex and institutionally invasive than simple destabilization, so the possibility of their regional projects’ success is actually way lower than 52%. Saudi Arabia is intending to permanently influence domestic policy and select the head of state. This task requires major popular support that they do not have. Unfortunately, the victims end up being millions of innocent Yemeni civilians.
Another reason for the sanctions in Yemen being a strategic failure is that they relay an ugly image of Saudi and its allies. It presents the coalition and its supporters as the main causers of suffering. Most Yemenis know the sanctions are a direct cause of the Saudi blockade. In retaliation, Yemenis may side with the National Salvation Government just to spite the sanctioning parties (the Saudi coalition). Again, it becomes clear that sanctions are a losing strategy, even assuming the perpetrators are heartless knaves with no regard for human life (which may so be the case).
https://www.uprising.today/why-sanctions-wont-work-in-yemen/
My remark: A Houthi viewpoint.
(* B H K)
International Rescue Committee: Yemen peace talks fail to translate into concrete actions to end the suffering of the Yemeni people
As the Yemen peace process continues, efforts to date have failed to translate into real improvements for the people of Yemen. The Stockholm peace agreement is threatened as fighting around Hodeidah City intensifies, and conflict continues on numerous fronts across the country. A frontline of the war in Al Dhale’e is for the third time this year impacting the IRC’s ability to reach those in need, killing and injuring civilians and threatening IRC staff. An IRC volunteer was hit in the leg by a stray bullet while in front of her home this week, just a few kilometers down the road from an IRC-run diarrhea treatment center. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) calls for a nationwide ceasefire effective immediately as a first step towards a political resolution to the war.
Thus, the suffering of the Yemeni people continues unabated.
IRC programs, including health, nutrition, and education activities, continue to be hindered by the frontline of the war in Al Dhale’e and by access constraints in Hodeidah. Despite these impacts on programming, IRC and humanitarian actors continue to deliver life saving assistance across Yemen. However, these efforts are increasingly at risk due to the failure of major donors to commit funding pledged at the Geneva conference in February this year. With 24 million in need of assistance it is imperative that all donors make good on commitments made.
(* B K)
Yemen: almost 100,000 victims of a war fought also with European weapons
The total number of fatalities in Yemen is reported to be more than 91,000 over the past four and a half years, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). Since 2015, the Saudi-led coalition and its allies are responsible for over 8,000 of the approximately 11,700 fatalities reported in connection with direct targeting of civilians in Yemen.
[a short survey of the ACLWD report, as a reminder]
http://europeanpost.co/yemen-almost-100000-victims-of-a-war-fought-also-with-european-weapons/
(B H K P)
Film von Jürgen Todenhöfer: Warum sind die Kinder des Jemen in den Augen vieler Politiker und Medien nichts wert?
Liebe Freunde, 3 Wochen war ich im JEMEN. Trotz systematischer Bombardements durch westliche Raketen und deutsche Mörser. Bei den Huthi-Rebellen und bei verhungernden Kindern. Nach diesem Buch werdet ihr die Welt anders sehen. Schaut nicht tatenlos zu! Das ist eure Welt. WEHRT EUCH! JT
Hier zum Buch: https://urlgeni.us/amazon/diegrosseheuchelei
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=370876710167373
(B K P)
Film by Press TV Iran: That war on Yemen is costing Saudi Arabia much more than expected.
Did you know the war on Yemen is estimated to have cost the Saudis upwards of $100 billion?
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=286977352134416
(* B K P)
Emirate auf dem Rückzug
Jemen, Libyen, Ägypten – die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate mischen in zu vielen Konflikten mit. Nun ziehen sie Konsequenzen aus der heillosen Verzettelung.
Erst als der Arabische Frühling 2011 die Machtarchitektur der Region ins Wanken brachte, begann Abu Dhabi bei der Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik mit den Muskeln zu spielen. Treibende Kraft war Kronprinz Mohammed bin Zayed
Zu ihren Günstlingen dagegen erkoren die beiden Kronprinzen Militärherrscher wie Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Ägypten, Khalifa Haftar in Libyen oder Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo im Sudan, den Schlächter von Darfur
Und die humanitäre Katastrophe der 30 Millionen Jemeniten zehrt an dem internationalen Ansehen von Abu Dhabi und Riad. Beigetragen zu dem Rückzug aus dem Jemen hat auch die Zuspitzung im Konflikt mit dem Iran. Sollten am Persischen Golf demnächst die Waffen sprechen, bräuchte Abu Dhabi sämtliche Truppen zur Landesverteidigung.
Für UN-Vermittler Martin Griffiths ist der Rückzug der Emirate „ein entscheidender Moment für das Schicksal des Krieges“
https://www.fr.de/politik/emirate-rueckzug-12859249.html = https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/politik/Das-Sparta-von-Nahost-im-Zwielicht-id55023251.html
(* B K P)
AP Explains: How Emirates troop drawdown impacts Yemen’s war
The United Arab Emirates, one of the most powerful parties in Yemen’s war, has begun to draw down its forces, pulling out several thousand troops in a move that leaves the Saudi-led coalition there with a weakened ground presence and fewer tactical options.
The UAE isn’t quitting Yemen or the coalition, which it and Saudi Arabia formed in 2015 to stem the advance of Iranian-allied Shiite rebels known as Houthis who took over the north.
But the drawdown represents a major step away by the Emiratis from their partner Saudi Arabia’s main policy in the war — to batter the rebels into submission — a strategy that has largely been unsuccessful.
WHAT’S KNOWN ABOUT THE DRAWDOWN?
The UAE won’t disclose how many troops it’s pulled out, only confirming that levels are significantly down.
Some 10,000 Emirati troops were involved in Yemen before a withdrawal began, according to Yemeni officials. A person briefed on the moves said there’s been a 50-75% drawdown across all Emirati military task forces in Yemen. The person and officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the figures have not been made public.
Emirati forces were largely not involved in direct combat, instead overseeing intelligence and operations and training local forces.
Those local forces — around 90,000 fighters in UAE-trained militias — remain in place around the coalition-controlled south. The Emirates says its remaining commanders will continue to direct and advise them.
WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON THE BATTLEFIELD?
It’s not likely to tip the military balance immediately, since UAE-allied militias remain on the front lines, including the most important one at the moment, Hodeida. Amid a long deadlock, fighting has died down on most fronts.
But the drawdown at least for the moment takes the option of a renewed offensive for Hodeida off the table, said Peter Salisbury, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group.
That gives the Houthis some breathing room. The Emiratis had been positioned for months around the port to pressure the Houthis into implementing terms of the U.N.-brokered ceasefire there.
The UAE’s Gargash urged the Houthis to see the pullback as a “confidence-building measure” and urged them to “have their eyes wide open to this critical opportunity” to make progress on peace.
But the Houthis could equally see the drawdown as a signal they can hold out, rather than make concessions.
“Saudi Arabia may feel that they still need a ‘win’ in Yemen, whatever that looks like to them, in order to pivot more clearly toward talks,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst on the Arabian Peninsula at Crisis Group. “There is a sense in Riyadh that now isn’t the time to back down.”
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE COALITION?
Saudi Arabia has not commented on the Emirati pullback, but the move undoubtedly shows the division in purposes between the two partners at the heart of the coalition.
The Saudis have long wanted to dislodge the Houthis from the capital Sanaa and weaken their military capabilities along the shared border. Years of devastating airstrikes and fighting have been unable to achieve either.
The Emiratis’ attention, meanwhile, has focused on the south – By AYA BATRAWY and SAM MAGDY
https://apnews.com/52fdfdd37cfd4d698c56878378ced692
(* B K P)
Mohammed Bin Salman’s Yemen Quandary
The decision by the United Arab Emirates to withdraw most of its troops fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen is unlikely to end the multiple conflicts raging in that unhappy country, but it could have wider implications for relations between the UAE and its most important regional partner, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia, in the person of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MbS, is committed to the war against the Houthis and is usually identified as the leader of the “coalition” conducting the long-running operation. But it is the UAE that has been doing most of the fighting on the ground; the Saudis have limited themselves almost entirely to air strikes.
Even with the UAE fully on board, the Saudis are no closer to achieving their aims than they were when they intervened in the Yemen conflict four years ago. Now they remain committed to the campaign but lack their most important tool for waging it.
Nevertheless, former U.S. ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein predicted recently that the Saudis “will carry on their campaign regardless of what the Emiratis or the United States do” because they believe they have no alternative. The Saudis have made clear that they regard the conflict with the Houthis as a war of necessity, not a war of choice, and by all accounts they have convinced the Saudi public. The Saudis are not prepared to tolerate the presence of an Iran-backed military force just across their southern border, especially because the Houthis have been firing missiles into Saudi airports and cities.
After four years of what was supposed to be a quick war against the Houthis, there is little evidence that the Saudi public is getting impatient. That is partly because the Saudi armed forces have suffered few casualties. The Emiratis and several thousand Sudanese troops have done most of the fighting on the ground, and according to military analysts Saudi pilots avoid anti-aircraft fire by flying at altitudes the guns can’t reach—which unfortunately leads to inaccurate targeting and to civilian casualties.
The UAE’s reduced commitment to the war against the Houthis may not presage any larger breach between the two Princes Mohammed. But if it does, it could force the headstrong MbS to rearrange Saudi Arabia’s positions all around the region. If he can’t count on MbZ to stand with him, who else is there? – by Thomas Lippman
https://lobelog.com/mohammed-bin-salmans-yemen-quandary/
(* B K P)
UAE Withdrawal Creates “Crucial Moment” for Yemen Conflict
With its decision to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE has fundamentally changed the strategic context in Yemen, presenting the parties to the conflict – and the international community – with what Griffiths characterized as “a crucial moment for the destiny of this war.” How key players react to this moment will determine that destiny. As Elana DeLozier wrote recently, “If the Saudis do not pursue a political solution more proactively, they risk being left on their own to fight a war they cannot win.” Even Gargash’s reference to the need to “hasten compromise from all sides” has widely been interpreted as a message to Riyadh to take advantage of the new dynamic in play in Yemen and find a way out of the war. The Saudis almost certainly understand this: King Salman bin Abdulaziz reportedly has indicated he wants the kingdom out of Yemen in short order. But if the Saudis are to move in this direction, the Houthis must cooperate. It is too early to tell if the notoriously fractious leadership of the insurgency is in a mood to ease pressure on the Saudi border and give Riyadh an exit door, or keep the pressure up through continued missile and drone attacks and, in doing so, provoke Riyadh into more retaliatory strikes, ensuring that the vicious cycle of violence in which Yemen is trapped continues.
In this regard, this “crucial moment” may present an unexpected opportunity for regional adversaries to work together on a goal on which all would seem to agree: the need to end Yemen’s war. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are said to have quietly established direct channels to Iran in recent months, and it would seem likely that preventing the war in Yemen from further enflaming regional tensions is an issue under discussion – by Ambassador Stephen A. Seche
https://agsiw.org/uae-withdrawal-creates-crucial-moment-for-yemen-conflict/
(? B K P)
Audio: What is behind the UAE drawdown in Yemen?
The United Arab Emirates’ decision to draw down its troops in Yemen has led to cautious hope in the war-torn country. Fatima Abo Alasrar, senior analyst at the Arabia Foundation; Katherine Zimmerman, AEI research fellow and research manager for AEI’s Critical Threats Project; and Jerry Feierstein, MEI senior vice president and former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, join host Alistair Taylor to discuss what the drawdown means on the ground and what ramifications the move might have. https://mei.edu/multimedia/podcast/what-behind-uae-drawdown-yemen
My comment: Looking at the list of guests, I fear: A quite high propaganda level.
(B K P)
What Is The World Waiting For To Stop This War?
The political settlement through a comprehensive dialogue between Yemenis is still the only way to compromise the disputes and get a solution to this conflict.
The facts on the ground suppose more than ever of the need to go forward aggressively on this matter. War can’t solve the problem, and Saudi-led coalition must know that and know Yemenis will not give up their rights to determine their fate and live the true meaning of life.
As a matter of fact, Saudi and its allies committed a shameful action when launched this war against the Middle East’s poorest country, Yemen.
Today, activists all over the world condemn this war which just created the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.
The bottom line is this tragic war in Yemen has to stop by all means for the sake of people, it has to stop in one way or another if we want this unprecedented humanitarian crisis to end.
http://www.newnewss.net/what-is-the-world-waiting-for-to-stop-this-war/
(B K P)
Film by The International Institute for Strategic Studies: How effective has the Stockholm Agreement been for the Yemen war?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zis4FNayXOQ
(B K P)
Film by Press TV Iran: Yemen war: economic swamp for saydi and emirati regimes
The killing machine was supposed to finish the job in Yemen within weeks in its first cross border military invasion. the adventurism initially codenamed operation thunderstorm soon turned into the aggressors‘ litmus test for their potency and might. Aggressors realized that they had bitten off more than they could chew. as the time passed the invaders hopes to triumph started to vanish.
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* B H)
Family murder suicides in Yemen highlight depths of war-induced mental health crisis
After more than four years of fighting, many of the dreams and livelihoods of those trapped in Yemen’s capital Sana’a have been dashed and hopes that the bloodletting will end anytime soon, have been laid to waste.
“We’re all depressed, everyone is poor, everyone has lost their jobs,” Nasser, a 58-year-old, Sana’a-based father and former logistics coordinator from a medical company abroad which has had to stop working in Yemen, told Fox News. “Life was going well until the war came, now everything is suspended. The worst thing, is people have now lost their hope.”
But beyond the physical decimation civilians are enduring – upwards of 100,000 people have been killed and 80 percent of the 29 million population are in need of humanitarian assistance nationwide – the psychological toll of the conflict is ravaging entire families.
According to Nasser, their community was devastated by news last month that a father killed his three daughters – aged 7, 10 and 14 – before turning his gun on himself.
“People are really traumatized psychologically. (We think) he became isolated, many fathers think that they are responsible for this bad situation and not being able to take care of their families,” he said. “People don’t want to join the violence groups, but they are feeling there are no more choices. People believe now that every side of the war doesn’t care; nothing will change.”
This isn’t the only horrific incident. Nasser also revealed that around a year ago, a man killed himself in addition to his three very young sons. Some suspect that it is that sense of hopelessness – married to a fear that the only avenue for male youths is fighting – is having some alarming consequences.
Nasser also bemoaned that the once tight trust that existed between neighbors and friends and family members has all but eroded.
“We’ve lost the connections between people, we have lost the trust,” he continued. “People don’t want to leave their homes anymore.”
“I don’t know how we are all surviving. But we are,” Nasser added. “We hope there will be a peace agreement and an end to this, but the leaders need to remember that can be no peace without justice.”
https://www.foxnews.com/world/family-murder-suicides-yemen-mental-health
(B H K)
Film: Jake Sullivan on Crisis Group's Mission in Yemen
Crisis Group Trustee Jake Sullivan reflects on the horrors of the war in Yemen and the moral abdication of the international community, whose disengagement has allowed the deadly conflict to unfold in slow motion. He explains that Crisis Group's excellent field reporting and high-level advocacy can help bring it to an end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UyCDffjJE0
(B H)
World Food Programme: WFP Yemen Situation Report #6, June 2019
WFP distributed general food assistance to 10.95 million Yemeni people in June.
On 20 June, WFP Headquarters announced the partial phased suspension of general food assistance in Ansar Allahcontrolled areas in light of a number of operational challenges.
WFP Yemen is facing a shortfall of USD 771.1 million for the next six months (July 2019 – December 2019).
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/wfp-yemen-situation-report-6-june-2019
(A H)
Child protection center opened in Marib
The center, affiliates to the Ministry of Social Affairs, is being funded by the UNICEF with YR 60 million to cover its overhead expenditures for three months. It consists of a management room, a training hall and a child open space.
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/07/25/child-protection-center-opened-in-marib/
(A H P)
UNICEF deprives 15,000 teachers in IBB of cash incentives
An informed source said that UNICEF deprived thousands of teachers from the financial incentives in the central province of Ibb,.
According to the sources, UNICEF has deprived nearly 15,000 teachers in 704 schools and educational complexes in 19 districts of Ibb governorate from the financial incentives.
A number of teachers said that UNICEF had already announced the start of cash incentives provided by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to teachers of Ibb governorate on July 21st , but the disbursement process did not take place and the date was postponed until August.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169963
(* B H)
Krieg, Hunger und Elend im Jemen allgegenwärtig
Zerstörte Hausfassaden, Menschen, die hungern und fehlende medizinische Versorgung - die derzeitige Lage im vom Bürgerkrieg überschatteten Jemen ist problematisch. Die Hilfsorganisation CARE hat 300 Helfer im Süden der arabischen Halbinsel stationiert, um vor Ort zu helfen. Im Interview mit der APA erläuterte Jennifer Bose, eine der 300 CARE-Helfer, am Mittwoch die akutesten Probleme im Jemen.
"Viele der Familien, die ich besucht habe, hatten keinen Zugang zu Medizin oder Wasser, weil sehr viel Infrastruktur durch die Konflikte zerstört wurde"
Diejenigen, die im Jemen besonders auf Hilfe angewiesen sind, seien Kinder und Frauen. "Die Situation von Frauen im Jemen ist wirklich katastrophal", erklärte Bose.
"Die Krise im Jemen ist absolut unterfinanziert und mit jedem Tag, der vergeht, droht sie mehr und mehr in Vergessenheit zu geraten, zumindest im Westen"
https://www.sn.at/politik/weltpolitik/krieg-hunger-und-elend-im-jemen-allgegenwaertig-73892002 = https://www.tt.com/ticker/15887050/krieg-hunger-und-elend-im-jemen-allgegenwaertig und mit Audio: https://www.vaticannews.va/de/welt/news/2019-07/jemen-dramatisch-krieg-humanitaere-care-jennifer-bose-frauen.html
(* B H)
UN Children's Fund: Nearly 9 million Most Vulnerable People in Yemen Benefit from Unconditional Cash Assistance in the 5th Payment Cycle
Nearly 9 million people across Yemen have been reached with emergency cash assistance in the fifth payment cycle by UNICEF to help meet their urgent needs as the conflict in the country enters its fifth year.
In August 2017, the Emergency Cash Transfer Project was started in Yemen to provide 1.5 million of the most vulnerable families with cash assistance. The cash transfers have been a lifeline for families whose situation has been aggravated by the current conflict that has devastated Yemen and worsened the economic situation. The cash assistance helps the poorest families cover their basic needs in food, health, nutrition and education among others.
The cash transfers payment carried out from 16 June to 15 July 2019 is the 5th payment cycle of the Yemen Emergency Cash Transfer Project (ECTP).
(B H)
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Yemen: Organisations Monthly Presence 3W (May 2019)
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-organisations-monthly-presence-3w-may-2019
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
(B H)
International Organization for Migration: Cross Border Movements - Somalia (June 2019)
9,628 to Yemen
https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/cross-border-movements-somalia-june-2019
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
(A P)
Yemen Petroleum Company Employees Continue for 112th day Protesting in Front of UN Office
Yemen Petroleum Company employees continued to protest in front of the United Nations Office in the capital Sana'a for the 16th demanding the release of Oil vessels detained by the US-Saudi aggression.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8003
(* A P)
Houthis Endorse Compulsory Service for Students
Yemen’s Houthi militias have approved a draft law to introduce compulsory military service for school and university students.
Observers said that the introduction of the service is aimed at compensating the shortage in the number militants, and to maintain the coup and the Wilayat al-Fakih rule.
Official Houthi sources revealed that the coup cabinet chaired by Houthi head of government Abdul Aziz bin Habtoor adopted the new bill on Wednesday.
It was submitted by Minister of Education Yahya al-Houthi, the brother of the group’s leader.
The Houthis claimed that the bill aims to benefit from the capabilities of Yemen’s youths and offer them the chance to serve their country in addition to developing their sense of responsibility in the community.
Houthi sources pointed out that the cabinet formed a seven-member committee to lay the organizational standards and procedures to manage the process.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/10857
My remark: from an anti-Houthi, pro-southern separatists news site.
(* B P)
Drohendes Todesurteil im Jemen
Die Baha’i in Luxemburg und die Internationale Baha’i-Gemeinde sind zutiefst besorgt um die Sicherheit der Baha’i im Jemen, wie Jutta Bayani, Generalsekretärin des Nationalen Rates der Baha’i Luxemburg erklärt. Dort ist die religiöse Gemeinschaft zunehmend Repressalien bis hin zu Todesurteilen ausgesetzt.
Die Baha’i in Luxemburg und die Internationale Baha’i Gemeinde sind zutiefst besorgt um die Sicherheit der Baha’i im Jemen, vor allem seit grundlosen Anschuldigungen seitens des Staatsanwaltes der Huthis gegen Mitglieder der Baha’i-Gemeinde Jemen, die nach einer Reihe von Scheinprozessen 2018 zum Todesurteil gegen Hamed bin Haydara führten. Hamed bin Haydara, der seit 2013 inhaftiert ist, hat sich am 16. Juni 2019 in der von Huthi kontrollierten Stadt Sanaa einer Berufungsverhandlung gestellt, die mehrfach vertagt wurde. Das Gericht hatte gleichzeitig im Prozess die Beschlagnahmung der Vermögenswerte aller Baha’is und die Auflösung der Baha’i-Institutionen angeordnet. Hunderte von Baha’is werden aufgrund ihrer Religion in von Huthi kontrollierten Gebieten verfolgt.
https://www.journal.lu/top-navigation/article/drohendes-todesurteil-im-jemen/
(B P)
Yemen’s Houthis deny affiliation with Iran
A Houthi official has denied his group’s affiliation with Iran during a meeting with a delegation from the International Crisis Group, which announced it is making efforts to reduce tensions in Yemen.
Mehdi Al-Mashat’s remarks were reported by the Houthi-controlled Yemen News Agency (Saba).
Al-Mashat, who heads the Houthi group’s Supreme Political Council (SPC), on Tuesday met with the president of the International Crisis Group, Robert Malley, in Sanaa .
“The allegations about the group’s affiliation with Iran are flimsy, and those who make them know they are false,” Al-Mashat said, according to Saba.
Referring to the Saudi-led military coalition that has been attacking Houthi targets in Yemen since 2015, Al-Mashat said that the problem “is not the alleged affiliation [with Iran], but that we are affiliated with no one.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190725-yemens-houthis-deny-affiliation-with-iran/
(A P)
Abdulsallam Comments on His Visit to Moscow, Consultations with Russian Officials
The head of the National Delegation Mohamed Abdulsalam, who is currently visiting the Russian Federation, said on Wednesday that he has discussed with Russian officials Yemen's national vision for a resolution.
"Russian role must be more active, not allowing any negative stands and unjust UN resolution"
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=7977
and
(A P)
Al Houthi official Mohammad Abdul Salam met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister to the Middle East and North Africa Mikhail Bogdanov in Moscow on July 24. Abdul Salam claimed during the meeting that US and Western visions for a solution in Yemen will be unsuccessful. Bogdanov and Abdul Salam both expressed commitment to the December 2018 UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement, which calls for a ceasefire in al Hudaydah port in western Yemen.[3]
and
(A P)
Houthi delegation in Moscow at the official invitation of the Russian Foreign Ministry
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169938
(A P)
President al-Mashat praises reports issued by International Crisis Group
President of the Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat on Tuesday praised the credibility of the reports issued by the International Crisis Group
During his meeting in Sanaa with the Group's Chief Executive Officer Robert Malley and his accompanying delegation, President al-Mashat affirmed that the position of the Republic of Yemen is with peace since the first day of aggression.
http://www.saba.ye/en/news543053.htm
(B P)
Houthi official: Saleh was buried in presence of his sons
Spokesman for the Houthis group and head of its negotiating team, Mohamed Abdulsalam said on Wednesday, that the former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh was buried in the presence of his sons.
In an interview with Russian RT channel, Abdulsalam said that Saleh was killed spontaneously while escaping the Yemeni capital, Sana'a.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/10842
(* B P)
546 houses detonated and looted by Houthi militia in Hajjah
The Iran-backed Houthi militia continues to carry out its criminal operations against unarmed civilians, bombing and looting homes and places of worship in different parts of Yemen.
During the inauguration ceremony for Civil Authority for Victims of Houses Bombing, the head of the authority Umm al-Ezz said that the preliminary statistics of houses that were blown up and looted by the Houthi militia in Hajjah province, mostly in Hajour, amounted to about 546 houses.
She added that “the establishment of the authority is a response to the suffering of victims and human rights activists to reveal the horrific crime of bombing houses by Houthis militia and its physical, social and psychological damages.
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/07/24/546-houses-detonated-and-looted-by-houthi-militia-in-hajjah/
My remark: „Civil Authority for Victims of Houses Bombing”: Hadi government. Actually, they even would have much more work to care for all victims of Saudi air raids.
(B P)
YJS: Houthi militia commits 62 violations against press freedom
The Yemeni Journalist Syndicate (YJS) said on Tuesday that it has documented 62 violations committed by Iran-backed Houthi militia against press freedom and media staff during the first half of 2019.
Documented violations committed by the Houthi militia included killing two media workers, trailing 11 others in addition to 22 violations of assault and blocking news websites.
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/07/24/yjs-houthi-militia-commits-62-violations-against-press-freedom/
and also https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-32186
(A P)
Bin Habtoor: Indicators, Figures Confirm Magnitude of Tragedy Caused by US-Saudi Aggression and Siege
Yemeni Prime Minister, Dr. Abdulaziz Bin Habtoor, said that the indicators and figures officially recorded and documented indicate the catastrophic situation created by the US-Saudi aggression and blockade, which caused the decline of many positive indicators achieved by Yemen during the past decades, specifically regarding the deaths of infants and mothers during pregnancy and childbirth.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=7960
(A P)
Spendable Houthi-Rebellen: Trotz Hunger fast 300000 Dollar für die Hizbollah.
Die Radiostation Sam FM, die zu Gunsten der pro-iranischen Houthi-Rebellen Programme in dem von Bürgerkrieg zerrissenen Jemen ausstrahlt, hat trotz des Hungers in der eigenen Bevölkerung eine Spendenaktion durchgeführt, die fast 300000 Dollar zu Gunsten der Schiitenmiliz Hizbollah eingebracht hat. Wegen amerikanischer Sanktionen gegen Iran leidet die Hizbollah unter wachsender Geldknappheit. Sam FM publizierte am Wochenende ein Video auf Twitter, das Hamoud Mohammad Sharaf, den Generaldirektor der Radiostation mit einem Bündel vom Bargeld zeigte und drei anderen Männern, die sangen: «Von Jemen, dem Glauben des libanesischen Widerstandes, Grüsse an das Wohlegehen des Jemens. Tod Amerika, Tod Israel, verflucht seien die Juden».
https://www.tachles.ch/artikel/news/spendable-houthi-rebellen
(A P)
Supreme Political Council renews Yemen's keenness on Red Sea security
The Supreme Political Council, in its Sunday meeting chaired by President Mahdi al-Mashat, renewed the Republic of Yemen's keenness on the security of the Red Sea especially in light of the tension witnessed by the region.
The Council called on the international community to commit to lifting the siege on Yemen, in the forefront of that the sea blockade, and not restrict the access of food and commercial vessels to the Yemeni ports, especially the port of Hodeidah.
http://www.saba.ye/en/news543044.htm
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
(A P)
Hadhramout needs int'l community's support, says governor
The governor of Hadhramout said his province needs support from the international community to help it deliver services and promote its security experience to inspire all other government-held provinces.
Chairing meeting that brought together Local Authority officials of the eastern Yemen province and a visiting American delegation on Thursday, Maj. Gen. Faraj al-Bohsoni said security stability marks out Hadhramout.
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/07/26/hadhramout-needs-intl-communitys-support-says-governor/ = http://en.adenpress.news/news/10864
(A K P)
Al-Shaibi: The Council is the Spearhead in Al-Dhala’a Front and Most Troops Fight Under the Council’s Command
n a special interview with “Huna Aden” radio station, Majed Al-Shaibi talked about the role of the southern transitional council in Al-Dhala’a battels of 2019 saying: “The council is the spearhead in this war as most troops in the front fight under commandership of the council”
My comment: Southern separatists claim their militia bear the main brunt of fighting the Houthis. It’s militia (UAE-paid and UAE-trained), not the regular army.
(A P)
Yemeni Local Administration Minister Thanks KSA Leadership, for Supporting Humanitarian Works, in Yemen
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1951069
(* B K P)
UAE faces growing resentment in southern Yemen
There are many possible explanations for the United Arab Emirates’ decision to substantially reduce its military presence in southern Yemen, though one stands out: the Emiratis’ rising unpopularity in an increasingly unpopular war.
But the rising resentment against the UAE’s military presence in southern Yemen also contributed to its partial withdrawal from the region. Initially, Yemeni outrage was largely confined to human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by UAE-aligned militias in southern Yemen.
The unresponsive attitude of Emirati officials to these demonstrations and the perception of the UAE as an occupying force caused protests to spread across southern Yemen. In mid-June, demonstrations broke out in Shabwah governorate that featured banners opposing the UAE’s “occupation” of the region.
Although Emirati media outlets described the protests as a rejection of “outside forces,” the UAE’s continued military presence in southern Yemen galvanized Houthi and Salafi opponents of Abu Dhabi’s conduct. Activist Hussain Albukhaiti, for example, stoked anti-UAE sentiments by accusing Abu Dhabi of trying to control southern Yemen’s coast and reminding the local population of the Dubai Ports World’s failed ownership of Aden’s port facilities from 2008 to 2012. Dubai Ports World is a UAE state-owned company.
As southern Yemen is a vital base for the UAE’s power-projection ambitions in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa, Abu Dhabi wants to ensure that Yemenis in the south don’t embrace anti-UAE factions, and that the Southern Transitional Council maintains control over Aden. To rebuild its image in southern Yemen, the UAE wants to counter accusations that it is an occupation force seeking to sow disunity in Yemen. By tactically reducing its military presence in the south, the UAE is attempting to redirect attention toward its efforts to advance the cause of southern Yemeni autonomy.
As the UAE’s drawdown from Yemen has been accompanied by a transition from a “military-first” to a “peace-first” strategy, Abu Dhabi is seeking to win popular support in southern Yemen through active participation in the UN peace process
The UAE intends to replace its troops with a 52,000-strong southern Yemeni army of 25 to 35 brigades trained by Emirati technical advisers.
The transformation of Mukalla from an stronghold of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to a city with rising land prices and growing external investment also supports the UAE’s narrative that it has left southern Yemen well-placed to function as an autonomous region.
While Abu Dhabi’s partial drawdown from southern Yemen could rehabilitate the UAE’s image in the region, that gambit is fraught with risks – by Samuel Ramani
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/07/uae-faces-growing-resentment-yemen-war.html
(A P)
Aden.. National Security Agency releases bank governor's advisor under presidential directives
The central bank's governor's adviser was released after being kidnapped for several hours on Thursday, informed sources in the interim capital Aden, southern Yemen, said.
The sources added to "Al-Masdar Online", that Chancellor Rashid Al-Ansi was detained by the National Security Agency.
Unidentified gunmen, later identified as members of the National Security Agency, kidnapped Al-Ansi on Thursday afternoon after he left the public prosecutor's office building
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169986
(A T)
Unidentified gunmen assassinate Islah party leader in Al-Dhalea
On Thursday evening, unidentified gunmen assassinated a leader of the Yemeni Rally for Reform “Islah” party in al-Dhalea governorate in southern Yemen.
A local source told Al-Masdar Online that two gunmen on a motorcycle fired several shots at the leader of al-Islah party in al- Dhalea, Khaled Ghaiman, and killed him instantly.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169985
and
(A T)
#Assassination of #Islah leaders &/or imams continues in south #Yemen. Local sources say unknown gunmen on a motorbike (the usual method) killed Islah leader Khalid Ghayman in al-Dali' as he left mosque last night These killings are systematic & appear never to be investigated
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1154807436785721351
(A T)
Unidentified gunmen kill a civilian in Sheikh Osman, north of Aden
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169991
(A P)
Southern leaders meet in Amman under the auspices of the European Institute of Peace to discuss unifying the visions of political forces
Southern leaders meet in Amman under the auspices of the European Institute of Peace to discuss unifying the visions of political forces
Jordan's capital Amman on Saturday will host an extensive meetings of former Southern leaders and leaders of the Southern Movement factions in a move sponsored by the European Institute for Peace to discuss the southern issue in the context of the ongoing conflict in the country.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169990
(* B P)
Despair and dissolution in Yemen
Social media networks and a number of Yemeni websites circulated news of “corruption in the legitimate government”.
This was another straw on the back of the Yemenis suffering in a collapsing country the manipulation of the local currency — the US dollar appreciated this week to reach 590 riyals — amid humanitarian aid that arrives in Yemen but the majority of which disappears amid deteriorating living conditions.
Investments are being poured into commercial complexes planned according to international standards. These complexes are of no use to the country or its people, offering imported goods to a nation dying of famine.
While public sector employees cannot cash their wages to feed their families, legitimate government officials go about appointing others preferentially.
Government officials are manipulating jobs, resulting in the hegemony of relatives of senior officials over government institutions.
The Yemeni Al-Mashahid website published a list of names of Yemeni officials together with their wives and sons in the diplomatic and military fields, saying the website had acquired documents that implicate the legitimate government.
The website released a video documenting the officials and their families’ salaries that ranged from $3,000 to $8,000 in a country where the economy is miserably failing.
“Familial ties and personal interests, not experience, knowledge and qualification, are the criteria on the basis of which people in Yemen are hired. Being employed is a right granted by the constitution to achieve justice and equality in public sector jobs,” reported Al-Mashahid, describing the “high office inheritance” phenomenon.
The website added that Nasser Hadi, son of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, was appointed head of the Presidential Guard, while Hadi’s other son, Jalal, a deputy at the Ministry of Expatriates’ Affairs, was in control of the appointment of diplomats and ministry deputies, and that his choices were governed by familial ties rather than experience and knowledge.
The website added that diplomatic and army circles have become family affairs
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/0/338493/World/Despair-and-dissolution-in-Yemen.aspx
(* B P)
Saudi Arabia Tortures Yemeni Civilians in Secret Jails
The Saudi troops stationed in al-Mohreh province in Eastern Yemen raid civilians’ homes and and take them to secret prisons where they torture inmates, the Arabic-language media outlets reported.
The crimes committed by the Saudis in Eastern Yemen is no less than what the Emiratis do in Aden, the Arabic-language Doha-based a-Rayeh newspaper quoted Deputy Governor General of al-Mohreh Province Badr Kalshat al-Mohri as saying.
He noted that the Saudi forces arrived in provinces where the clashes between Mansour Hadi and Ansarullah forces are underway, and set up 26 military bases and centers.
Kalshat noted that the Saudi force as still looking for increasing their illegal presence in the region, and said that the number of Saudi troops who are under al-Mohreh Governor General Rajeh Bakrit stands at around 5,000.
Kalshat also pointed to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to build oil pipelines in the province after taking full control over it, and said that Saudi Arabia has set up clandestine prisons in al-Mohreh region in the wake of the presence of Emirati intelligence officers in the region.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13980504000298
My comment: And what the Houthis do as well – what an Iranian source of course does not tell.
(A P)
In Response to Directives of President Al-Zubaidi, Al-Mua’alla Local Leadership Rises Southern lalgs Over Official Facilities
My comment: The separatists try to seize the state.
(A P)
Youth of Mukalla to Al Ruani : You are NOT Welcome
The youth of Mukalla in Hadhramaut Governorate announced that Yasser al-Ruaini, minister of the Yemeni Dialogue Outcomes' visit to the city of Mukalla, is unwelcome.
They reiterated that the youth of Hadhramaut refuse and denounce the outcomes of the Yemeni National Dialogue.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/10848
My comment: It’s the separatist youth; the Hadi’s government “Yemeni National Dialogue” (petrified from 2012/4) is a united Yemen’s matter. – And the Hdi government lashes back:
(A P)
Local official: Hadramout is a thorn in the throats of the separatists
A government official in the Hadramaut Valley in eastern Yemen mocked the talk that the so-called UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council was seeking to militarily occupy Hadramout valley.
Hadramout County Undersecretary abdul Hadi al-Tamimi said Hadramout was further away from what they dream of.
Al-Tamimi stressed that the Hadramaut Valley authority is in one trench with the first pro-legitimacy military zone so that the province would be far from dependent on those who consider it their own (in reference to Aydros Zubeidi's statements about Hadramout from the south).
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169975
(* B P)
The Minister of Interior visited Riyadh and talks about understandings. Will Saudi Arabia strengthen its political and military presence in southern Yemen?
But the new presence of the Saudi Arabia in southern Yemen requires a political presence that gives the kingdom some of the preparation to go far in liberated cities by going into the details of the security file that represents the gate of solution, and the key through which Saudi Arabia can rearrange its papers in southern Yemen and compensate for the failure of the security forces of Abu Dhabi's allies and those that follow Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
But the road is not paved in front of Riyadh in the provinces of southern Yemen, the road towards the stabilization of some presence in the city requires a deal with the UAE ally on the one hand and with allies of the legitimate government, so the visit of the minister Al-Maysari to the Saudi capital Riyadh discussed such matters but its success It's about how this can happen in a regular way and with direct understandings with Emiratis who have a strong presence in southern cities.
The sources said that Minister Al- Maysari demanded the establishment of a unified security operations room to unify efforts to stabilize security in liberated cities, and to end the situation of overlap of powers between the agencies since after the Houthis left the city.
The question now is how Saudi Arabia can establish its presence and what are the motives for it?
Why did Riyadh start move towards Aden?
Saudi Arabia’s recent attempts to move towards Aden in order to restore the relationship between the UAE and Yemen, this seems to represent a major responsibility for Saudi Arabia, which is leading the coalition and seeking to find a state of understanding in security and services files in an effort by Riyadh to maintain the course of war and unify the legitimacy front in liberated cities.
Saudi Arabia understands that it is important to come to Aden now and find some kind of moral representation of the Yemeni government in parallel with the continued criticism of its failure to support the coalition in the services and security services, but for Saudi Arabia to succeed, a double deal with the UAE and Hadi's government is required.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169971
(* A P)
VIDEO: FOR THE SECOND TIME .. HUGE SAUDI FORCES ARRIVE HADRAMOUT UNDER THE PRETEXT OF PROTECTING THE PARLIAMENT
Once again, Saudi ground forces return to the town of Sayoun in Wadi Hadramout under the pretext of protecting the pro-coalition parliamentary sessions.
Today, three months after the arrival of Saudi forces to Sayoun under the same pretext, large Saudi forces are returning to Wadi Hadhramaut. Sources say that Saudi forces, military vehicles and heavy weapons arrived on Monday in Al-Kasha’ district that is controlled an administratively by the directorate of Cotton in Wadi Hadramout and headed towards Sayoun.
In coinciding with the arrival of the Saudi forces to Hadramout, forces of Islah party arrived from
Marib to the first military zone after a few days , arming with various types of weapons.
Moreover, forces loyal to Hadi launched a campaign to disarm the flags of the South and pictures of the leadership of the southern transitional council from Sayoun and other cities in Hadramout valley.
The latest move to hold a parliamentary session of the Hadi parliament after the failure of the head of the Council, Sultan al-Barqani, to convince the UAE side to allow the parliament to hold meetings in Aden and Mukalla cities.
(* A P)
The Saudi-led coalition delivered arms and vehicles to local security forces in al Mahrah governorate in eastern Yemen on July 24. The governor of al Mahrah, Rajeh Said Bakrit, claimed that the Saudi-led coalition armed the forces to stabilize the governorate and eliminate smuggling across the border with Oman.[2]
(A P)
Mothers of abductees call for the release of the forcebly hidden and their legal rights
The Association of Mothers of Abductees and Forcibly hidden on Wednesday morning carried out a vigil in front of the home of Interior Minister Ahmed Al-MAysari to demand that the fate of the forcibly disappeared be revealed.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169924
(A P)
Saudi-backed Yemeni forces on their way to position in The City of Zanzibar, capital of Abyan
A military source told Al-Masdar Online that military forces loyal to the internationally recognized government are scheduled to arrive in Zanzibar, the capital of the southern province of Abyan.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169926
My comment: New strife with separatists is to come.
(A)
Masked gunmen kill citizen in Sheikh Osman, north of Aden
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169960
(* A K P)
Saudi troops and military equipment arrive in the interim capital Aden
A private source told Al-Masdar Online said that forces, including soldiers and military equipment, arrived Tuesday evening in the southern city of Aden, in a new Saudi move towards Yemen’s interim capital.
The source said that Saudi military forces arrived in the southern coastal city, the center of the internationally recognized government, coming from Hadramout province in the east of the country after arriving by land through the port of Al-Wade’ah border outlet with Yemen.
According to the source, the units arriving in Aden include armored vehicles and military vehicles carried by large trucks, as well as officers, soldiers and experts.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169920
and, passing Hadramaut: https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169878
(* B P)
UAE 'drawdown' won't impact Yemen's south, says secessionist movement
A total withdrawal of Emirati forces would leave 'a vacuum that would be difficult to deal with', says Southern Transitional Council member
The Emiratis may be drawing down from parts of Yemen but will continue as usual in the south where a withdraw would “leave a vacuum that would be difficult to deal with”, said a representative of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, he said, the peace process led by UN envoy Martin Griffiths is “doomed to fail” unless the southerners are brought to the negotiation table, alongside the Houthis and the Yemeni government.
“I think we need to be a bit more creative. We need to think about the possibilities for Yemen and peace long term, and that includes ultimately listening to southerners,” Saleh Alnoud, legal advisor in the STC’s newly formed UK office, told a group of journalists during wide-ranging discussion.
“That in itself will give the other parties the impetus and the reason to really engage because at the moment, there is no threat. There are no consequences for the Houthis.”
Without mentioning Saudi Arabia once, Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, wrote in the Washington Post on Tuesday that it was “time to double down on the political process”.
“Military force alone will never solve Yemen’s Rubik’s Cube of conflicts and constantly shifting alliances - but it has created the conditions for a re-energized peace process,” Gargash wrote.
But for the STC, which is supported by the UAE, that process has been dragging from the moment the warring parties struck a hesitant de-escalation agreement in Stockholm in December.
The UN-led agreement resulted in a ceasefire that has mostly held in the port city of Hodeidah. But Alnoud said the bigger ask – that the Houthis give up arms and go back to their stronghold of Saada – can never be accomplished.
“The Houthis and the legitimate government are worried that what is being put on the table is never going to be reconciled,” he said.
Instead of confidence-building measures that move towards negotiations, Alnoud said Griffiths should accept that the Houthis are now in control of the north, and start talks from there, while inviting southerners along.
Eventually, the Houthis can “evolve into being part of the society in the north” while in the south, he said, the STC is ready to move on. “We look towards the [Saudi-led] coalition to start rebuilding the south ... and not leave the south hostage to what happens in the north,” he added.
But where is Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and the country’s elected government in all of this?
“There is a widely shared view that Hadi is incapable anymore, has very little influence – that he’s isolated and that the legitimate government is really being influenced by the Islah party,” he said, referring to the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
“We would not be surprised as the STC and southerners if one day the Houthis and Islah party become one and then focus on the south.”
That leaves the Saudi-led coalition in a real dilemma, he said.
“We understand that they need to have legitimacy in the fact they are involved and Hadi is the reason why they are continuing to be involved, so they have real issues with that and I think it’s interesting times in the next few months how things will pan out.” – by Dania Akkad
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/southern-transitional-council-yemen
My comment: Interesting. The Houthis want to get rid of “president” Hadi, as he is an obstacle to their take over of the South. But, Hadi is the only pretense for Saudi / UAE interference in Yemen.
(A P)
Security Belt seizes large quantities of IEDs in Aden
http://en.adenpress.news/news/10837
My comment: propaganda of separatists describes the separatist militia as bringing law and order.
(* B P)
Muslim Brotherhood runs 11 secret prisons in Taiz
Islah party 'Muslim Brotherhood of Yemen' operates secret prisons in Taiz city, west Yemen, revealed Abdul Sattar Saif Al-Shamiri, member of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances in Taiz governorate.
During a press conference held in Aden on Wednesday, Al-Shamiri said that the number of the forcibly hidden people reached 86 in Taiz, adding that the real number is probably much higher. We still do not know the real number cause the victims' families did not report the disappearance of their sons and relatives.
He noted that the leaders of Islah Party, specifically the military leadership run secret prisons established since the beginning of the resistance, in some schools and in houses near the party headquarters.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/10843
My remark: As claimed by Southern separatists.
(A P)
Armed Clashes Among Security Leaders to Seize Citizen’s Home in Occupied Aden
Tawahi district in the occupied city of Aden on Tuesday witnessed armed clashes between police chief Nabil Amer and other gunmen in an attempt to control the home of a citizen from Sana'a.
The sources added that the house is owned by legal and official ownership of a citizen from Sana'a forced by circumstances of war to leave Aden, noting that the house still contains the property of the man and his belongings, but the parties wanted to seize it.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=7962
(A P)
War photojournalist Saleh Al-Obaydi, who lost one of his eyes in a mortar attack while covering battles in Yemen's Hodeidah province, was brutally attacked by security forces in #Aden on Wednesday.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1154138476687908865
(* B P)
49 Violations of Human Rights Committed by UAE Militias in Yemen’s Shabwa : Report
Dameer institution of human rights and freedoms has released a report that UAE militia s has committed 49 violations of human right in Yemen’s Shabwa , including killing, arbitrary detention, recruiting children, planting mines and torture.
The report corroborated that 10 cases of unlawful killing out including a child who murdered by Saudi-led coalition airstrike when targeted civilians at Markham al Suafla district of Shabwa province.
Also , the report documented 30 cases of arbitrary detention and torture against the detainees at the militia prisons which called Al Nakhba al Shabwani and funded by UAE .
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(* A P)
Saudi-led forces, Israel among states rapped by U.N. for killing children
A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition fighting in Yemen killed or injured 729 children during 2018, accounting for nearly half the total child casualties, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report to the Security Council on Friday that blacklisted the coalition for a third year.
The report, which does not subject those listed to action but rather shames parties to conflicts in the hope of pushing them to implement measures to protect children, has long been controversial with diplomats saying Saudi Arabia and Israel both exerted pressure in recent years in a bid to stay off the list.
(B P)
Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General: Meetings between UAE and Houthi officials to organize steps to withdraw from Yemen
Lebanese Hezbollah deputy secretary general Naeem Qassem revealed that there are secret channels of communication between the Houthi group and the UAE to discuss the issue of withdrawal from Yemen.
In an interview with the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen tv channel, Qassem said that "there are meetings between Emirati and Houthi officials to organize subsequent steps to withdraw from Yemen."
"There are strong differences between the rulers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Rashid and Mohammed bin Zayed, over the war because of the difficult economic situation there, after tens of thousands of apartments and offices became empty, due to the economic deterioration, the depletion of the UAE's huge funds, as well as the human losses without results," he said.
"This is where the UAE is gradually withdrawing," Qassem said.
He continued: "Any action related to the withdrawal on the ground must be accompanied by communication, even in secret, even by means sometimes, in order to agree on some steps, but is there contacts in this regard between the UAE and Iran? My information is that there is a normal dialogue, discussion and diplomatic communication between Iran and the UAE, and this has not been interrupted, and even at the level of the intelligence services communicate with each other. What are the limits on which they are discussing Yemen? That's what I don’t know."
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169984
My comment: This certainly is not the best source.
(A P)
Southerners stage protest in front of Security Council
The Southern Community in the United States in collaboration with the Coordination Office of the Southern Transitional Council staged on Thursday, a peaceful protest in front of the UN Security Council and United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The protesters denounced the degradation of public services, population's hard living conditions in the liberated regions of the South and the blatant interference of the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, Islah party that sow differences and hatred among the Southerners to plunge them into prolonged internal conflicts which had been already solved long years ago on the Reconciliation and Tolerance day.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/10856
My remark: By southern separatists.
(B P)
Yemen War: Reasons and solution
Pakistan can play a key role in ending the conflict
This annexation of tribal Yemeni areas by Saudi Arabia resulted in the first war, in November 1933, when the Yemenis advanced on Najran. The Saudis were better equipped and eventually won the war. In June 1934 a Peace treaty was signed, whereby Jizin/Jizan, Asir and Najran areas of Yemen were annexed by Saudi Arabia and the remaining areas were returned. But every Yemeni leader after 1934 has rejected the annexation of their land under the Peace treaty.
The latest surveys has found that these three regions, Jizin, Asir and Najran, have very high oil and gas reserves. Yemeni people know that and they think that Saudi Arabia is taking away their oil resources that can help the impoverished nation of 26 million become a developed nation.
But the three year conflict has resulted in a stalemate with neither side being victorious. While the nations of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Yemen suffered, the developed nations’ selling weapons, equipment and buying cheap smuggled oil benefitted substantially from the Yemen war. The UAE sees that and has retreated from the Yemen War, while Saudi Arabia and Iran are also realizing this fact.
Pakistan can use this opportunity to create a peace deal for Yemen. Pakistan is friends with Iran and Saudi Arabia, while Pakistan was not a participant in the Yemen War. Therefore Pakistan can propose a peace deal that ensures Yemen’s development and increased trade between the three nations to reduce future conflicts.
Pakistan can propose joint ownership in the disputed Yemeni regions, where Yemeni citizens can enter freely with all rights, but the area is governed, developed and secured by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia to develop homes, utilities and oil processing factories in the disputed regions where 50 percent of homes and jobs will be given to Yemeni citizens.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/07/25/yemen-war-reasons-and-solution/
(A P)
Emirati-backed al Hizam Security Forces conducted raids targeting unknown militants in Aden port city in southern Yemen on July 23. The forces seized weapons and ammunition as part of what they labeled a campaign against destabilizing elements in the city.[2]
(* A P)
UN SPECIAL ENVOY FOR YEMEN, MARTIN GRIFFITHS BRIEF THE PRESS IN GENEVA
there are three points that I think we need to keep in mind:
First of all, despite the fact that the Stockholm Agreement agreed in December the 13th of 2018, is taking quite some time for implementation, I think it is interesting that both parties continue to insist that they want a political solution. The military solution is not available. They remain committed to the Stockholm Agreement and all its different aspects and they see it, and this is a vital point, they see it as the gateway to opening up negotiations on a political solution. So I think, quite remarkable and unexpected in some ways that we are still observing commitment from both sides to make what they agreed in Stockholm happen, despite all the difficulties.
The second point, in specific terms about Hodeida, is obviously the centerpiece of that agreement made in Sweden. We have all experienced many frustrations, but what happened last week, I think, was quite striking, that after quite a lot of difficulty, my colleague General Michael Lollesgaard, the Head of the UN Mission for the Hodeida agreement, convened the two parties on the UN vessel, the Artic åDream, which took place on the heigh seas of the Red Sea.
Thirdly, of course the decision by the Coalition to redeploy forces out of Yemen. I think, as I said last week at the Security Council, this does do exactly what one of those senior officials talked about, to put as they put it “peace first”. There has been a long article by Dr. Anwar Gargash, from the Arab Emirates, I think in the Washington Post, outlining where he sees the impact of that.
I believe that this war in Yemen is eminently resolvable. I believe that the diplomatic consensus, whether in the Council or growing diplomatic consensus in the region towards resolving it politically, is in our favor. I believe that the solution to the war in Yemen is well known to all
https://osesgy.unmissions.org/un-special-envoy-yemen-martin-griffiths-brief-press-geneva
(* B P)
UAE drawdown in Yemen raises hopes of ceasefire this year
A United Arab Emirates’ military drawdown in Yemen is building momentum for a nationwide truce this year, bolstering efforts by the Saudi-led coalition it is part of to end a war that has tarnished the image of U.S.-allied Gulf states.
Two diplomatic sources said talks could start by autumn on expanding a U.N.-led truce already in place in the port city of Hodeidah to a broad ceasefire.
This could pave the way for negotiations on a political framework to end the war between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Yemeni forces backed by the coalition, they said.
There is now “real momentum” for a cessation of hostilities by December, a source in the region familiar with the matter said, though “a million things could still go wrong”.
“They (the UAE) don’t want to keep getting beaten up over a war they can’t win,” said the source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The war has been in a military stalemate for years.
My comment: ??
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(* B P)
Saudi Arabia must dismantle the male guardianship system
In a vague statement published recently by a national newspaper in Saudi Arabia, the government announced that it will consider altering its restrictive male guardianship laws for women. To be sure, women were not even mentioned — the announcement only said the government will consider 18 as the age … (limited access)
(* B P)
Atomarer Naher Osten
Am Golf droht die Eskalation. Angetrieben wird sie von einer neuen Generation machthungriger Kronprinzen.
Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate stehen kurz davor, die ersten Atomkraftwerke ans Netz zu schließen. Entscheidende Unterstützung erhalten sie dabei aus den USA. In diesem Jahr wurde publik, dass die Trump-Administration - ohne Zustimmung des Kongresses - mehrere Lizenzen an US-amerikanische Firmen erteilte, die den Verkauf nuklearer Technologie an den Golf ermöglicht. Dass sie dabei nur friedliche Absichten verfolgt, ist zu bezweifeln: Die drohende Konfrontation mit Iran ist ein treibender Faktor.
Eine neue, junge Generation ist nun an der Macht. Und diese hat verstanden: Irgendwann wird das Öl am Golf ausgehen. Deshalb haben sich die Kronprinzen Saudi-Arabiens und der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate verbündet: Mohammad Bin Salman und Mohammad Bin Zayed möchten dem unausweichlichen Schicksal, die wichtigste Einnahmequelle und damit die eigene weltpolitische Bedeutung zu verlieren, entgegenwirken. Medienwirksame Bauvorhaben reichen da nicht aus. Die beiden setzten auf andere Dinge: das Militär und atomare Energie. In den vergangenen Jahren wurde in beides mächtig investiert: Mohammad Bin Salman verkündete, das Königshaus möchte 16 Kernkraftwerke errichten.
https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/1123473.saudi-arabien-atomarer-naher-osten.html
(A P)
Amnesty International: Saudi Arabia: Prominent reformist cleric faces death sentence for his peaceful activism
Following the Saudi Public Prosecutor’s call to execute the prominent religious reformist cleric Sheikh Salman al-Awda, and ahead of his trial set to take place at the anti-terror court known as Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) on 28 July 2019, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director said:
“We are gravely concerned that Sheikh Salman al-Awda could be sentenced to death and executed. Since his arrest almost two years ago, Sheikh al-Awda has gone through a terrible ordeal including prolonged pre-trial detention, months of solitary confinement, incommunicado detention, and other ill-treatment – all flagrant violations to his right to a fair trial.
“Sheikh al-Awda has been calling for a more inclusive society that would end the marginalization of Saudi Shi’a citizens. For this, he is being punished.
(B P)
Film: #ReleaseNaseemaNow
Naseema al-Sadah is a Saudi women's rights defender currently imprisoned for her human rights activism. As Naseema continues to sit in solitary confinement, she is still awaiting a trial date.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64v1RkAVyu4
(B P)
#FreeWaleed: 5 years on from his sentencing, join us in calling for the release of Saudi prisoner of conscience Waleed Abu al-Khair
Saudi lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair is currently five years into a 15-year prison sentence in Saudi Arabia. His crime? Defending human rights.
Known for representing activist Raif Badawi and members of the now banned Saudi Association for Civil and Political Rights (ACPRA) in court, and as the founder of the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, Waleed was arrested on April 15, 2014, and tried before the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) in Riyadh. The SCC, established to try crimes of terrorism, is regularly used to try peaceful political and human rights activists, and is notorious for fair trial and due process violations.
At the time of his arrest, Waleed was one of only a few human rights lawyers practising in Saudi Arabia.
(B P)
Film: Saudi sisters in Turkey escaped allegedly abusive family
Two Saudi sisters are now hiding in Turkey after fleeing their allegedly abusive family. They hope to find asylum in a third country.
https://www.dw.com/en/saudi-sisters-in-turkey-escaped-allegedly-abusive-family/av-49739368
https://twitter.com/DuaDalal/status/1154447367522832384
(A P)
Saudi Tweeters Call for Israeli Control over Al-Aqsa Mosque
http://www.newnewss.net/saudi-tweeters-call-for-israeli-control-over-al-aqsa-mosque/
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Human rights centre calls for rescue of Syrian refugees in Saudi Arabia
The Paris Francophone Institute for Freedom has called for immediate international action to rescue dozens of Syrian families fleeing from Yemen to Jazan, in southwest Saudi Arabia.
According to the statement, Wednesday, about 90 Syrian families who had been hosted by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, were expelled this week. This was in preparation for their deportation to a desert region located between the two Saudi cities of Mecca and Jeddah.
The Paris Institute has reported testimonies of Syrian deportees stating that they were physically assaulted and intimidated by the Saudi security authorities during their expulsion and deportation.
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Verpflichtung zur Pilgerfahrt oder zum Boykott?
Die Hadsch, also die Pilgerfahrt nach Mekka und Medina ist eine Säule des Islam und Pflicht für alle, die es sich leisten können. Dennoch boykottieren manche Muslime die Pilgerfahrt, da sie das saudi-arabische Regime nicht unterstützen wollen. Der Versuch einer Klärung.
Ist es überhaupt noch vertretbar, ein Land, das Menschenrechtsverletzungen begeht und oft auch Muslime selber zu Opfern macht, finanziell durch den Hadsch zu unterstützen? Gleichzeitig ist der Hadsch ein religiöses Gebot. Die Pilgerstätte der Muslime ist nunmal Mekka. Daraus ergibt sich für viele Muslime ein Dilemma. Gleichzeitig nimmt die Zahl der Pilger aber jedes Jahr weiter zu. Wie also sollen Muslime damit umgehen, dass sie durch eine religiöse Pflicht ein Land unterstützen, das den eigenen religiösen Werten widerspricht?
In den letzten Jahren gab es immer wieder Aufrufe zum Boykott vonseiten muslimischer Persönlichkeiten
Nach Angaben der tunesischen Imame würden die Einnahmen des Hadsch, die sich nach Schätzungen auf rund 11 Milliarden beliefen, für den Krieg im Jemen und den Terrorismus missbraucht. Sie forderten mit ihrem Boykott eine Umverteilung dieser Gelder für den Bau von Krankenhäusern, Schulen und Universitäten
Unter dem Hashtag #boycotthajj protestieren auch Teile der muslimischen Online-Community weltweit gegen Saudi-Arabien. Viele Muslime, auch in Deutschland, halten dem aber entgegen, dass es eine religiöse Verpflichtung bleibe, die Pilgerfahrt zu verrichten. Ohne Ausnahme.
Fest steht jedoch, dass mehr Pilger mehr Geld bedeuten und es nicht nur für die Saudis selber, sondern auch für Investoren ein lukratives Geschäft ist, wenn immer mehr Menschen nach Mekka und Medina kommen und dort nicht nur die Kaaba besuchen, sondern auch die Infrastruktur nutzen, dort übernachten und einkaufen.
Wenn man sich dazu entschließt, sein Geld den Saudis aus diesem Grunde nicht zur Verfügung zu stellen, sollte man sich darüber im Klaren sein, dass dies eine Vermischung von Politik und Religion bedeutet. Eine rein religiöse Begründung lässt sich für einen Boykott jedenfalls nicht finden, wie zweifelhaft der Umgang mit dem Geld auch immer sein mag.
http://www.islamiq.de/2019/07/24/verpflichtung-zur-pilgerfahrt-oder-zum-boykott/
(B P)
It’s important for world media to note that #Saudi despot
has not left the country for summer vacation as usual. This has to do with his deteriorating health & possible abdication to his son #MBS
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1154045356105261066
(A P)
#Saudi religious police is now back to its old role patrolling streets & malls. The Monarchy uses them as part of its security apparatus to control society
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1154199362022629376
referring to https://twitter.com/pvgovsa/status/1153700609595445248?s=21 (photos)
Do you want to guess if pro #Saudi @ReutersIran
will run a story on the return of #Saudi religious police to enforcing draconian laws or not? They have been acting as a PR agency for the monarchy
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1154198514890657795
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* B P)
The Democrats Push Back On Yemen
The Trump administration and the Saudis view the Yemen war through the same basic lens. The Houthi fighters, in this narrative, represent an extension of Iran’s influence in the Arab world and Red Sea, meaning that their consolidation of power in northern Yemen threatens Saudi Arabia just like Hezbollah’s foothold in Lebanon threatens Israel.
But this narrative, which the DC establishment largely accepted when the Saudis intervened in Yemen in 2015, increasingly lacks credibility among lawmakers, particularly Democrats. More politicians on the Hill believe that U.S. military involvement in Yemen should be geared toward countering al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Islamic State (ISIS or IS), and other violent Sunni extremists, not the Houthis. From this vantage point, the Saudi-led war has been strategically and morally misguided and the Trump administration’s policies in favor of the Arab coalition have been reckless.
Trump has consistently demonstrated his commitment to the Washington-Riyadh alliance. Moreover, he has showcased the strength of his close relationship with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS).
But Saudi officials realize that one day the Trump presidency will end, possibly as early as January 2021. MbS, who is expected to become the next King of Saudi Arabia, faces a reputational crisis in Washington as a result of the Khashoggi murder, and this crisis will far outlive Trump’s time in the Oval Office. A continuation of Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in Yemen will likely further harm the kingdom’s reputation in Washington
If the Democrats were to regain the White House, it could mean serious problems for the Saudis because of the positions that most mainstream Democrats embrace on Saudi-related issues. There a widespread consensus among most Democrats that U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia should freeze until peace returns to Yemen and that Washington should return to the Iranian nuclear deal. At the same time, a growing number of lawmakers, most of them Democrats, have been raising alarm over issues such as U.S.-Saudi nuclear cooperation, the plight of human rights activists in Saudi Arabia, MbS’ “anti-corruption sweep” at the Ritz Carlton in 2017, the kingdom’s diplomatic spat with Canada last year, the Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah file, and so on.
Looking ahead, the Saudis should take steps to rebuild strong ties with Democrats and avoid placing all their bets on the Trump presidency – by Giorgio Caffiero
https://lobelog.com/the-democrats-push-back-on-yemen/
My comment: What does the last sentence quoted here actually mean? Lobbying and bribery or stopping the Yemen war and internal suppression???
(B P)
Ex-Pols Took Your Cash. They Used It to Help the Saudis and the Qataris.
The contributions “add another dimension to the familiar but ever-expanding story of money, influence, and access in Washington,” the Campaign Legal Center wrote in its report.
In the summer of 2018, congressman-turned-lobbyist Jim Moran was trying to recruit his former colleagues to put pressure on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Moran was doing so on behalf of one of his clients, the government of Qatar. And he had a pot of money, left over from years of donations to his reelection campaigns, that he could steer to his lobbying targets.
It was just 10 days since the late Sen. John McCain announced his retirement, and former Rep. Buck McKeon was already making overtures to McCain’s likely successor atop the Senate Armed Services Committee.
On May 11, 2018, McKeon struck up an email exchange with the chief of staff to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who was widely expected to chair the panel come 2019. McKeon reached out in his capacity as a lobbyist for the government of Saudi Arabia, which had hired his eponymous firm, the McKeon Group, to “undertake special advocacy assignments with regard to legislative, public policy or public affairs matters,” according to Justice Department filings.
Lobbying on behalf of foreign governments is a small slice of Washington’s influence industry. The level of disclosure detail required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act makes it easier for the public and the press to discover and dissect the instances which a retired politician’s campaign contribution intersect with his or her lobbying activity. But the practice is undoubtedly widespread among traditional domestic lobbyists as well, even where more lax disclosure requirements make it harder to detect.
(* B P)
Trump and GOP leaders will bear responsibility if Saudi Arabia isn’t held accountable
The bipartisan vote from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee sent a strong message that the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the Saudi war crimes in Yemen continue to complicate U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia, in large part because of the refusal of Trump to hold the regime — and, in particular, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — accountable.
Unfortunately, Trump isn’t getting the message, the Editorial Board writes. (limited access)
(* B P)
The top 11 favors the Trump administration has done for Saudi Arabia
Wednesday's vetoes are the latest in a list of moves that aid the kingdom, which Trump says is a bulwark against Iran and a good customer for U.S. weapons.
From his earliest days in office, Trump has cultivated Saudi Arabia and placed it at the center of his foreign policy in the Middle East, lauding Riyadh's stance against Iran and its appetite for U.S.-made weapons.
Trump and his deputies have defended the approach as a course correction after former president Barack Obama's diplomatic overtures to Iran and other policies that they say alienated the Saudis and other Sunni Arab allies.
Here is a list of 11 Trump administration actions that have favored Saudi Arabia:
(B K P)
US actively participating in Saudi war on Yemen: Ansarullah
Yemen’s Ansarullah movement says the US is not just arming the Saudi-led coalition, but is actively participating in its brutal war against the innocent Yemenis.
“The gravity of the American role doesn’t come from the arms sales, but the participation in the aggression against Yemen, and also in trying to legitimize that aggression,” said Mohammed al-Bukhtaiti, a senior member of the the Political Bureau of the Ansarullah movement (with film)
(A K P)
VIDEO: “Together we will be stronger, together we can endure.” Cmdr of US Army @CENTCOM, Lt. Gen. Terry Ferrell remarks following the conclusion of the #EarnestLeader 19 exercise at King Khalid Military City
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/1154445059804282880
My comment: US in bed with the Saudis.
(* A P)
US Senate Preparing Last-ditch Attempt to Block Arms to Gulf Allies
Democrat-led effort seeks to override veto by President Trump, who is determined to see sales through despite concerns weapons will be used in Yemen
The US Senate will soon be voting on whether to override President Donald Trump’s veto of three resolutions approved by the House of Representatives to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
However, the vote, slated to be held before Congress adjourns for recess on August 2, is not expected to garner the necessary two-thirds majority required to override the veto. Instead, it is expected to run along party lines, with only a few Republicans – who hold 53 seats in the 100-member Senate – in favor of halting the nearly two dozen deals worth an estimated $8 billion.
The measures would block the sale of precision-guided munitions and related equipment by the US defense contractor Raytheon.
Robert Riggs, an associate professor of religion and politics at Connecticut’s University of Bridgeport, told The Media Line that the Trump veto was meant to keep America’s Gulf allies from going elsewhere for weapons.
“His rationale was that if the US does not provide weapons sales opportunities to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, [the countries] would go elsewhere (such as Russia) to purchase competing weapons, and the US would lose the money from those purchases as well as leverage over its allies in the region.”
According to Riggs, it appears that “regardless of how they behave,” the “primary concern” of the White House right now is to maintain a “positive trade balance” with US allies.
“Unlike past administrations that tied US aid and weapons sales to democratic progress and [the] preservation of human rights, the Trump Administration seems to be taking a more cynical approach that purely looks at the economic bottom line.”
(* A P)
Waffen für Saudi-Arabien: Trump bremst Kongress mit Veto aus
Donald Trump verhindert die Blockade der Rüstungsgeschäfte mit Saudi-Arabien und dessen arabischen Verbündeten. Es ist bereits das dritte Mal, dass der US-Präsident mit einem Veto Kongressbeschlüsse umgeht. Grund ist laut Außenminister Pompeo die vom Iran ausgehende Gefahr.
US-Präsident Donald Trump hat sein Veto gegen Kongressbeschlüsse eingelegt, die milliardenschwere Rüstungsgeschäfte mit Saudi-Arabien und anderen Verbündeten blockieren sollten. Trump setzte das Veto ein, um die Waffenlieferungen mit einem Gesamtwert von 8,1 Milliarden Dollar zu ermöglichen. Er legte damit das dritte Mal in seiner Amtszeit ein Veto ein.
Die US-Regierung hatte im Mai in einem seltenen Schritt den Kongress umgangen, um den Verkauf von Waffen, Munition, Ausrüstung und Flugzeug-Wartungsarbeiten an Saudi-Arabien, die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate und Jordanien zu genehmigen. Außenminister Mike Pompeo begründete das Vorgehen damit, die Lieferungen seien wegen der Aktivitäten von Saudi-Arabiens Erzfeind Iran dringend nötig.
Die Umgehung des Kongresses stieß aber bei Abgeordneten und Senatoren auf scharfe Kritik - auch in den Reihen von Trumps Republikanern. Befürchtet wird zudem, dass die Waffenlieferungen den Jemen-Krieg weiter anheizen könnten.
https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Trump-bremst-Kongress-mit-Veto-aus-article21166325.html = https://www.tah.de/welt/afp-news-single/trump-legt-veto-gegen-us-kongressbeschluesse-zu-ruestungsgeschaeften-mit-riad-ein.html = https://www.welt.de/newsticker/news1/article197414733/Praesident-Trump-legt-Veto-gegen-Kongressblockade-von-Ruestungsgeschaeften-mit-Riad-ein.html = https://www.stern.de/news/trump-legt-veto-gegen-us-kongressbeschluesse-zu-ruestungsgeschaeften-mit-riad-ein-8816694.html
und
(* B K P)
Trump will mit Veto Waffengeschäft mit Saudi-Arabien sichern
Trotz aller Kritik lässt der US-Präsident nicht von den Rüstungsgeschäften mit Saudi-Arabien und den Arabischen Emiraten. Dafür geht Trump auch auf Konfrontationskurs mit dem Kongress - und hat dabei gute Karten.
Trump tat dies nun zum dritten Mal in seiner Amtszeit. Um das Veto zu überstimmen, wären Zwei-Drittel-Mehrheiten in beiden Kongresskammern nötig. Es gilt als ausgeschlossen, dass diese zustande kommen. Die USA und Saudi-Arabien sind traditionelle Verbündete. Wegen des Vorgehens von Riad im Jemen und der Ermordung des regierungskritischen Journalisten Jamal Khashoggi ist die Kritik an Saudi-Arabien aber lauter geworden. Auch in Deutschland gibt es immer wieder Debatten über Rüstungsgeschäfte mit Saudi-Arabien.
"Bollwerk gegen schädliche Aktivitäten des Iran"
Trump steht dagegen fest hinter Riad. Am Mittwoch erklärte der Präsident, Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate seien ein "Bollwerk gegen die schädlichen Aktivitäten des Iran und seiner Verbündeten in der Region". Die Waffenlieferungen würden die Fähigkeiten der Länder verstärken, sich gegen iranische Bedrohungen zu verteidigen.
https://www.dw.com/de/trump-will-mit-veto-waffengesch%C3%A4ft-mit-saudi-arabien-sichern/a-49736984
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Trump Vetoes Resolutions Meant To Block Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia, UAE
The president called the resolutions “ill-conceived” and “time-consuming,” and said he planned to go through with some $8 billion in emergency weapons sales.
President Donald Trump vetoed three bills meant to block emergency weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday amid widespread outcry from lawmakers furious with the ongoing civil war in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“This resolution would weaken America’s global competitiveness and damage the important relationships we share with our allies and partners,” the president wrote. “The United States is very concerned about the conflict’s toll on innocent civilians and is working to bring the conflict in Yemen to an end. But we cannot end it through ill-conceived and time-consuming resolutions that fail to address its root causes.”
In his vetoes, Trump also stood by his close relationship with the Saudis, declaring the country “a bulwark against the malign activities of Iran and its proxies in the region.”
The vetoes are Trump’s fourth, fifth and sixth of his presidency. It’s unlikely Congress has enough votes to override them.
The House of Representatives approved three separate resolutions last week, largely along party lines, that had previously passed the Senate. They would have stopped the sale of billions of dollars of precision-guided weapons to the Saudis and Emiratis.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-vetoes-saudi-arabia-arms-sales_n_5d38e67ee4b020cd994e33c5
Comment: Translation: we want to continue cashing in on Saudi and UAE money, and don't care how many Yemenis are killed along the way.
https://twitter.com/shireen818/status/1154392304842629120
and
(* A P)
Trump vetoes resolutions attempting to block Saudi arms sales
President Trump has vetoed three congressional resolutions that would block his emergency arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"This resolution would weaken America's global competitiveness and damage the important relationships we share with our allies and partners," Trump wrote in veto messages to Congress released by the White House on Wednesday evening.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) earlier in the afternoon entered Trump's veto messages into the Senate record and set up a vote on the messages before Aug. 2.
Congress is not expected to have the two-thirds majority needed to override Trump’s vetoes.
The move marks the third time Trump has used his veto pen, and it follows an earlier veto of a Saudi-related measure.
The Trump administration in May invoked an emergency provision of the law governing arms sales to push through 22 deals with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan without the typical 30-day congressional review period.
The administration argued the emergency declaration was justified based on what they described as heightened threats from Iran. But the move infuriated lawmakers, who accused the White House of attempting to bypass Congress.
and also https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/24/politics/saudi-arms-sale-resolutions-trump-veto/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49106989
Comment: Trump vetoing efforts to block Saudi and UAE arms sales should have far more coverage than Mueller. But the genocide in Yemen still goes largely unnoticed. How can we expect people to be calling their reps to override the veto if they don’t even know about it?
https://twitter.com/DecampDave/status/1154178760280879104
Comment: “The United States is very concerned about the conflict’s toll on innocent civilians and is working to bring the conflict in #Yemen to an end." @realDonaldTrump says.
Clearly, and predictably, a lie on both claims.
https://twitter.com/IrieIzzy/status/1154172238561763328
and
(* A P)
Pelosi Statement on President Trump’s Veto of Bicameral, Bipartisan Bill Blocking Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE
Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after President Trump vetoed bipartisan, bicameral legislation to block the President’s transfer of weapons of war to Saudi Arabia and the UAE:
“The President’s shameful veto tramples over the will of the bipartisan, bicameral Congress and perpetuates his Administration’s involvement in the horrific conflict in Yemen, which is a stain on the conscience of the world.
“It is stunning that the President has chosen to not only turn a blind eye to Saudi Arabia’s horrific abuses, including the atrocity of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, but to go further and allow the sale of more arms that will be used to perpetrate more human rights abuses around the world.
“Congress will continue to uphold our oversight responsibility, and put a check on the President’s recklessness. We will continue to work to advance a peaceful, enduring political solution to the conflict and end the devastating humanitarian crisis in Yemen.”
https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/72419-5/
and
(* A P)
Congress members lambast Trump over pro-Saudi veto
US lawmakers were outraged after Trump exercised his veto power for the third time late on Wednesday to abort congressional resolutions that aimed to block weapon sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, lambasted the president, calling his decision "shameful".'
"The president’s veto enables the sale of $8.1 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia's brutal dictators," Senator Bernie Sanders wrote on Twitter.
"It will deepen and prolong the world's worst humanitarian crisis in Yemen. It infringes on Congress' authority over matters of war. What a disgrace."
"These are weapons being used to kill civilians and children in Yemen," Senator Chris Murphy wrote on Thursday.
"The US continues to be implicated in tens of thousands of needless deaths there, and the blood is soaking deeper into our hands, day by day."
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/congress-members-lambast-trump-over-pro-saudi-veto
and
(* A P)
'Blood of Jamal Khashoggi and Innocent People of Yemen' on His Hands as Trump Vetoes Effort to Block Massive Saudi Weapons Sale
"The blood of Jamal Khashoggi and the innocent people of Yemen is on the president's hands," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) tweeted after Trump vetoed the bipartisan measures, which passed last month after the president attempted to skirt Congress and unilaterally authorize over $8 billion in arms sales to the repressive Gulf nations.
The congressional resolutions were not approved by a veto-proof majority, meaning any effort to override Trump's veto would likely fail.
Mariam Iskajyan, program manager for policy and advocacy at Win Without War, saidthe president's vetoes are "heartbreaking" and could have devastating consequences for the people of Yemen, who are already suffering from the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
"U.S. weapons have been used for the mass killing, starvation, and maiming of countless Yemeni civilians, including schoolchildren," Iskajyan tweeted. "We will never stop fighting to end U.S. brutality in Yemen."
One commentator suggested Trump's decision to continue funneling arms to the UAE and the Saudis as they commit atrocities in Yemen amounts to yet another reason House Democrats must launch an impeachment inquiry immediately
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/07/25/blood-jamal-khashoggi-and-innocent-people-yemen-his-hands-trump-vetoes-effort-block = https://www.alternet.org/2019/07/trump-vetoes-congressional-effort-to-block-massive-saudi-weapons-sale-in-move-that-will-green-light-more-atrocities/
(* B P)
If Trump Won't Stand Up to the Saudi Crown Prince, Congress Must
On Tuesday morning, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is meeting to mark up the competing bills.
The time is ripe for Congress to pass and reconcile versions of these bills to produce a strong, bipartisan statement that resets U.S.-Saudi relations. But any congressional action also needs teeth, and to seek to hold to account those Saudi officials responsible for gross human rights violations.
Most important, however, Congress and the Trump administration should acknowledge that Khashoggi was not killed in a vacuum.
The crown prince's government is responsible for both brutal suppression of human rights at home, and violations of the laws of war abroad. On the domestic front, Saudi authorities carried out a widespread arrest campaign against the women's rights movement, detaining nearly 20 people. It put 11 women on trial in March. At least four of them said that they were tortured in detention. Several remain on trial.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/22/if-trump-wont-stand-saudi-crown-prince-congress-must
(* B P)
The Democratic Party’s Iran Warhawks Who Fly Under the Radar
Junior Democrats who voted against an anti-war amendment have ties to the Saudi and UAE lobbies.
On July 12, seven Democratic representatives quietly voted against an amendment to the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act prohibiting “unauthorized military force in or against Iran.” Introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in the midst of the Trump administration’s escalating provocations toward Iran, the amendment ultimately was approved 251-170. By voting against it, these Democrats were placing themselves in the most hawkish wing of the Democratic Party. Yet most are new to Congress and relatively low-profile.
According to Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) records, which disclose lobbyists’ and other agents’ political relationships with foreign governments, four of the Democratic representatives who voted against the amendment—Tom O'Halleran (Ariz.), Stephanie Murphy (Fla.), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.) and Henry Cuellar (Texas)—have been aggressively courted by lobbyists for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. And three—O’Halleran, Gottheimer and Murphy—have collectively received $18,000 in contributions from lobbying firms representing Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
and
(* B P)
Why 5 Freshman Democrats Sided With Trump And Saudi Arabia On A Key Yemen Vote
The split by lawmakers with national security backgrounds shows the risk of party fractures growing over foreign policy.
There’s a stark moral dimension, nonetheless, in choosing to bless U.S. aid for an intervention fueling the world’s worst humanitarian crisis ― one that’s poised to worsen ― when it’s clear that sustained pressure from Capitol Hill is key to forcing limits on the policy.
The move by the five lawmakers also matters for the evolution of the Democratic Party. They’re all seen as rising stars
Some Yemeni Americans and advocacy groups are now calling the lawmakers the “Famine Five,” a reference to how the U.S.-backed war has helped create mass starvation in Yemen
And it’s a potential canary in the coal mine, warning of Democratic Party fractures across all areas of policy. The five lawmakers are all part of a centrist coalition in the House that’s wary of more liberal colleagues like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and three of them ― Crow, Sherrill and Houlahan ― are members of a bipartisan caucus linked with a political action committee that is supporting a Republican challenger to another freshman Democrat.
Other national security subjects have prompted more high-profile clashes among congressional Democrats, from whether the right to boycott Israel is constitutionally protected to whether the military should have a role in housing migrant children. It’s striking that the Yemen war, an area of broad unity, has now become one of those flashpoints.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democrats-saudi-arabia-foreign-policy_n_5d39f2a4e4b0419fd339d12d
(A P)
Senators Break Ranks Over Saudi Arabia
The Foreign Relations Committee, in a rare breach of decorum, engages in a bitter dispute over how to pressure Riyadh.
James Risch, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, attends a hearing on Capitol Hill on June 19. STEFANI REYNOLDS/GETTY IMAGES
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, traditionally a haven of bipartisan cooperation on Capitol Hill, has become ensnared in a bitter and rare dispute between its top Republican and Democrat over separate bills on Saudi Arabia.
Both Sen. James Risch, the Republican chairman of the committee, and Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the committee, have accused each other of breaking agreements on how to proceed with two bills that would ramp up pressure on Saudi Arabia following the kingdom’s role in the deadly conflict in Yemen and Saudi officials’ culpability in the 2018 murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The dispute between Risch and Menendez risks unraveling the bipartisan nature of the committee, congressional aides say, and some experts fear it could also undercut Congress’s critical voice on Saudi Arabia over human rights violations in Yemen.
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Wachsende Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Mounting tensions at the Gulf
(B P)
Iran could make or break Boris Johnson
Following news of Johnson’s victory, the Islamic republic’s opportunistic foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, tweeted: “The May govt’s seizure of Iranian oil at behest of US is piracy, pure & simple. I congratulate my former counterpart, @BorisJohnson on becoming UK PM.”
Zarif’s message suggests that Tehran sees Britain as its next best chance for relaunching its deteriorating relationship with the West. But why? Strangely enough, Johnson’s own back story with Iran, and the political baggage it created for him, could provide the best shot at decreasing tensions and averting another war in the Middle East.
How Johnson handles Iran in his opening days at No. 10 Downing Street could also determine his subsequent term in office — not to mention the fate of one British family.
If the prime minister can use that opening to get the West and Iran talking again, the resulting momentum could boost his term in office, restore Britain’s waning credibility as an international player — and just possibly help to avoid a war.
(* A P)
Streit um festgesetzten Tanker: Großbritannien schickt Vermittler in den Iran
Iranische Revolutionsgarden hatten einen britischen Tanker in der Straße von Hormus gestoppt. Nach Angaben des Iran soll nun ein Gesandter verhandeln.
Die britische Regierung hat nach Angaben der Führung in Teheran einen Vermittler in den Iran geschickt, um über die Freigabe des von ihm festgehaltenen britischen Tankers zu verhandeln. Die iranische Regierung solle überzeugt werden, den Tanker wieder freizugeben, teilte das Büro von Ajatollah Ali Chamenei, dem geistlichen und politischen Oberhaupt der Islamischen Republik, am Mittwoch der Nachrichtenagentur Tasnim zufolge mit. Details wurden zunächst nicht bekannt.
(* B P)
Quereinsteiger Iran
Ein Recht auf Widerstand hat die Regierung in Teheran spätestens in dem Moment reklamiert, als sie den USA vorwarf, einen Wirtschaftskrieg gegen ihr Land zu führen. Dass sie darauf antwortet, gehört zum Recht auf Selbstverteidigung. Dass es sich um eine asymmetrische Antwort handelt, resultiert aus dem Kräfteverhältnis zwischen den Kombattanten. Wie eine asymmetrische Konfrontation zum asymmetrischen Wirtschaftskrieg mutieren kann, ist die Erfahrung dieser Tage.
Was sich derzeit im Persischen Golf, besonders in der Straße von Hormus, abspielt, ist genau das. Wie ein Kunstgegenstand für ein kunstsinniges Publikum sorgt, beansprucht jeder Konflikt das ihm eigene Konfliktmuster. Worin besteht es in diesem Fall? Dass sich der Schwächere gegenüber dem Starken durch maritime Partisanenaktionen zu behaupten sucht? Vom ersten Eindruck her mag das zutreffen. Tatsächlich jedoch erweist sich die Interventionsmacht der Islamischen Republik im internationalen Schiffsverkehr nicht als schwach. Sie ist wirksam, flexibel und agil. Immerhin sind die iranischen Revolutionsgardisten darauf bedacht, im Persischen Golf ihr Druckpotenzial auszuspielen, wenn nicht gar eine Drohkulisse aufzubauen. Je länger der Öltransfer durch die Kontrolle und die Konfiszierung von Tankern wie dem britischen Schiff Stena Impero beeinträchtigt wird, desto mehr wird das dem internationalen Ölhandel zusetzen, sich auf Absatz, Preise und Liefersicherheit auswirken.
Damit keine Unklarheiten über Ursache und Wirkung aufkommen: Diesen asymmetrischen Schlagabtausch haben die USA mit ihrer Sanktionswut ausgelöst. Der Iran ist eine Art Quereinsteiger. Er hat keine Wahl, als darauf mit den Mitteln zu reagieren und zu kämpfen, die ihm geblieben sind. Dabei dürften die Regierung von Präsident Rohani und die Kommandeure der Revolutionswächter genug Realismus aufbringen, um zu wissen, dass sie bei einer Auseinandersetzung dieses Zuschnitts nicht viel gewinnen. Allerdings lässt sich der Gegner zermürben, wenn nicht zum vorübergehenden Einlenken bringen.
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/lutz-herden/quereinsteiger-iran
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SOS, Europa!
Obwohl Boris Johnson den Brexit herbeigelogen hat, sollte die EU ihn beim Konflikt mit dem Iran nicht im Stich lassen.
Um weitere Kaperungen zu vermeiden, müssen die Briten jetzt ausgerechnet bei ihren europäischen Freunden um Geleitschutz bitten. Und das im selben historischen Moment, in dem ein neuer Premier sein Amt antritt, dessen zentrales Versprechen doch lautet, die EU um jeden Preis noch diesen Herbst zu verlassen.
Dabei hat Großbritannien diese Krise im Streit mit dem Iran selbst provoziert. Zwei Wochen zuvor hatte die Royal Navy ein iranisches Schiff vor Gibraltar festgesetzt, weil dieses angeblich Öl nach Syrien bringen sollte. Das verletze, so die britische Regierung, die EU-Sanktionen gegen das Assad-Regime. Eine fadenscheinige Begründung, denn der Iran hat sich noch nie an EU-Recht gehalten. London hatte in Wahrheit auf amerikanische Bitte hin gehandelt. Unter dem Vorwand, EU-Recht durchzusetzen, agierten die Briten als Trumps Helfer, die den Iran wirtschaftlich bezwingen wollen.
Und doch wäre es grundfalsch, wenn Berlin und andere europäische Hauptstädte London jetzt alleinließen. Die Europäer sollten sich zusammentun, um die Straße von Hormus mit ihren Schiffen zu sichern. Mehr als zwanzig Prozent der weltweiten Öllieferungen fließen dort hindurch – von Jörg Lau
https://www.zeit.de/2019/31/iran-krise-boris-johnson-grossbritannien-eskalation-europa
Mein Kommentar: Alles in allem ein Aufruf zu mehr militärischer Präsenz der EU am Golf. Die „Zeit" schlägt die Kriegstrommel. Ganz selbstverständlich wird hier der Verteidigungsbegiff sehr offensiv ausgelegt, wenn die Sicherung von Handelswegen fernab von jedem eigenen Territorium hier zur Sache eines militärischen Eingreifens erklärt wird. In Deutschland ist diese Art der erweiterten „Verteidigung“ (eine Orwellsche Überdehnung des Begriffs, wenn es um die Absicherung eigener Interessen geht) klar verfassungswidrig: https://www.rubikon.news/artikel/die-rechtsstaats-fassade. – Nein, die Briten haben keinen derartigen militärischen Beistand „verdient“. Immerhin haben sie mit dem Spielchen „Ich beschlagnahme deinen Tanker“ angefangen. (Erhellend: https://www.rubikon.news/artikel/wie-im-kindergarten).
Der Gefallen, den die EU den Briten noch tun kann, wäre, ihre Kanäle zum Iran (die EU hat die Gespräche mit dem Iran nicht abreißen lassen) zu nutzen und sich als Vermittler für eine Lösung der Tankerkrise auf dem Verhandlungsweg dem Iran und den Briten anzubieten. Das beinhaltet aber klar, dass die EU auf die Briten Druck ausüben muss, zu einer solchen Lösung bereit zu sein, d. h. den iranischen Tanker dann freizugeben. Immerhin hat Lau hier ausgesprochen, wie fadenscheinig die britischen Argumente für die Festsetzung des iranischen Tankers waren, das böte der EU beste Ansatzpunkte hierfür. Und Lau hat den Auslöser der ganzen Misere benannt: „Die aktuelle Iran-Krise, mutwillig von den USA vom Zaun gebrochen,“warum zieht er nicht die notwendigen Schlüsse daraus? Die Krise ist nur zu lösen, wenn die US Contra bekommt – auch von der EU. Jetzt noch eigene Kriegsschiffe in die Golfregion zu schicken, wäre genau der falsche Weg. Im Gegenteil, das würde ja sogar Trumps Forderung an seine Verbündeten zu 100 % entgegenkommen. – Interessant und viel Contra: Die Kommentare. „Mainstreamig“ auch das Folgende:
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Deutsche Außenpolitiker für europäische Mission im Persischen Golf
Die Briten wollen mit anderen Europäern Handelsschiffe in der Straße von Hormus schützen. Soll Deutschland mitmachen? Und was sind die Hürden? Eine Analyse
Die deutsche Wirtschaft befürwortet denn auch einen europäischen Geleitschutz für Schiffe
Auch im politischen Berlin wird die Bedeutung der freien Schifffahrt hervorgehoben: „Freie Seewege bilden einen Grundpfeiler der internationalen Rechtsordnung und sind zugleich ein Kerninteresse unseres Landes“, sagte der Vorsitzende des Auswärtigen Ausschusses im Bundestag, Norbert Röttgen (CDU), dem Tagesspiegel. „Freie Handelswege sind eine Grundlage unseres Wohlstandes, der stark vom Export abhängt. Wenn diese Ordnung und unsere wesentlichen Interessen bedroht sind, müssen wir bereit sein, etwas für deren Erhalt zu tun.“
Wie Hunt betonte auch Maas, man wolle sich der US-Strategie des maximalen Drucks auf den Iran nicht anschließen
Gibt es in Deutschland politischen Rückhalt für eine solche Mission?
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Britain’s Power Play in the Persian Gulf
The United Kingdom hopes to get European countries to join it in a maritime coalition to protect vulnerable tankers near Iran.
In calling this week for a European naval coalition to provide security for commercial ships in the vital Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom is seeking to both uphold the nearly moribund nuclear deal with Iran and still push back against Tehran’s seizure last week of a British-flagged tanker.
The British proposal is seen as a partial rebuke of the Trump administration, as outgoing Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt stressed that the European naval coalition would not form part of the U.S. campaign of imposing maximum pressure on Iran, which includes the deployment of naval vessels, troops, and aircraft to the region.
The mission “will not be part of the U.S. maximum pressure policy on Iran because we remain committed to preserving the Iran nuclear agreement,” Hunt told the House of Commons on Monday, days after Iran seized a British-flagged vessel, the Stena Impero, in the Strait of Hormuz.
The proposal seems to have traction within the U.K. government and among European allies. But it’s not yet clear whether the ascension Wednesday of a new prime minister who appears keen to cozy up to U.S. President Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, will scuttle the effort. Hunt and Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt formally resigned Wednesday.
So far, Britain’s proposal has gotten a cautious but promising response from other European nations.
That is a warmer welcome than that given to a U.S. plan announced in June for a multinational force to provide maritime security through Hormuz, dubbed “Operation Sentinel.”
“It’s really a political point that these countries are trying to make,” said Becca Wasser, an analyst with the Rand Corp. “This is really the U.K. sticking by its guns when it comes to the Iran nuclear deal and also putting its money where its mouth is by ensuring the security of its own flagged tankers.”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/07/24/britains-power-play-in-the-persian-gulf/
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Poker am Persischen Golf: Es geht um die Herrschaft
Amerika und Europa können die Golfregion aus eigenem Interesse nicht anderen Akteuren überlassen – weder einer anderen externen Macht, etwa Russland, noch weniger der Islamischen Republik Iran, denn eine Pax Iranica würde die heutige Ordnung einer Region gefährden, in der die Hälfte der bekannten Ölvorkommen liegen. Der Kampfbegriff vom „Krieg um Öl“ führt aber in die Irre.
Vorrangiges Ziel westlicher Politik ist es zwar, zu gewährleisten, dass die wirtschaftliche und politische Stabilität Asiens, etwa Japans und Koreas, aber auch Europas nicht durch eine Unterbrechung der Energieversorgung gefährdet wird. Das ist aber nur ein Grund für das große westliche Interesse an der Golfregion. Denn der Westen braucht aus den arabischen Golfmonarchien nicht allein Erdöl, er braucht vor allem ihre Petrodollars, und zwar auf dreifache Art. […]
In dieser Ordnung ist Iran ein Störenfried. Denn die Islamische Republik baut ihren Einfluss im Nahen und Mittleren Osten auf Kosten der mit dem Westen verbündeten Staaten aus, und ihr Atomprogramm könnte die Machtverhältnisse am Persischen Golf nachhaltig verändern. Noch verhalten sich in der aktuellen Krise alle Akteure rational, sie testen lediglich mit kleinen Schritten und Provokationen das Vorgehen des Gegners. Iran muss aber wissen: Stellt es die Interessen des Westens in der Golfregion in Frage, schadet es nur sich selbst.
Anmerkung André Tautenhahn: Was für eine Offenheit. Es geht um die Interessen des Westens, hinter denen andere Dinge, wie die Einhaltung des Völkerrechts zum Beispiel, zurücktreten müssen. Aber das ist noch nicht einmal das Schlimmste, was an diesem Artikel stört. Das Weglassen wichtiger Fakten ist noch schlimmer. So wird beschrieben, dass Saudi-Arabien und der Westen seit langem einen Öl- und Waffen-Deal haben, der aus Sicht des Autors für ein gewisses (fast natürliches) Machtgefüge in der Region und damit wohl für Stabilität sorgt. Iran hingegen sei bloß ein Störenfried und sollte sich aus Eigeninteresse lieber heraushalten. Doch war da nicht mal was mit Iran? Ein Staatsstreich gegen einen demokratisch gewählten Präsidenten im Jahr 1953? Dann die Installation einer Marionette, die vom Westen hofiert, hochgerüstet und schließlich 1979 durch die islamische Revolution wieder hinweggefegt wurde? Dieser „Sündenfall“ westlicher Regime-Change-Politik, wie es der Autor Michael Lüders in seinem Buch „Wer den Wind sät“ nennt, wird vollkommen ausgeblendet und doch wirkt dieser Putsch bis heute nach. Eine Kenntnis dieser historischen Fakten ist wichtig, um überhaupt zu verstehen, was in der Region vor sich geht.
https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=53725#h03
Mein Kommentar: Propaganda, wie sie im Mainstream Alltag ist, hier von der noch etwas dreisteren Sorte.
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Iran Defends Seizure of British Tanker In Letter to UN Security Council
Iran has defended its move in capturing a British tanker in the Persian Gulf, saying that the vessel was impounded after it breached international law by attempting to flee the scene of a dangerous collision with an Iranian boat.
In the letter on Wednesday, Iran told the United Nations Security Council that the British tanker "Stena Impero" collided with a small fishing boat on July 19, and badly injured its crew -- some of whom remain in critical condition.
Afterwards, instead of responding to distress calls from the boat and radio communications from Iranian authorities, the British tanker turned off its transponder and "dangerously" changed course in the direction of incoming ships, the letter read.
That is when, according to the letter, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) intervened and took the ship and its crew into custody.
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UAE turned into hub for US operations against Iran: Leader's aide
A top military adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the United Arab Emirates has turned into headquarters for the US operations against Iran.
He also warned that any US war against Iran would be against the Islamic Republic's allies throughout the Middle East too, adding "all US military bases and forces in the region would be targeted, if Washington took the decision to go to war."
Dehqan further cautioned the UK about the possible ramifications of its calls for a European force to allegedly escort tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
"The UK's proposal for a European force in the Strait of Hormuz could lead to unpredictable consequences [for London],"
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/07/24/601768/Iran-US-drone-UAE-Hossein-Dehqan-UK-tanker
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Wie im Kindergarten
Neueste Erkenntnisse von Forschern belegen, dass das Kapern von Schiffen Konsequenzen haben könnte.
Die Scheinheiligkeit, mit der die Kaperung eines britischen Schiffes durch den Iran in den Medien kommentiert wird, ist schockierend — hat Großbritannien doch nur wenige Wochen vorher ein iranisches Schiff gekapert. In solchen Fällen hilft manchmal nur Satire, um nicht an der Welt zu verzweifeln. Rob Slane und der Kindergarten der Weltpolitik.
Eine neue Studie der Universität des Unübersehbar Offensichtlichen fand heraus: Wenn ein Land das Schiff eines anderen Landes klaut, dann reagiert das Land, dessen Schiff gestohlen wurde, möglicherweise damit, ein Schiff des Landes zu stehlen, das ihres geklaut hat. Den Autoren der Untersuchung zufolge lässt sich das auf etwas zurückzuführen, das als „So funktioniert die Welt“ bezeichnet wird oder als „Wie du mir, so ich dir“ bekannt ist.
„Wir begannen damit, Kindergartenkindern Spielzeugschiffe zu geben“, berichtete eine Sprecherin des Forschungsteams, „wiesen jedoch ein Kind an, das Schiff eines anderen Kindes zu nehmen und sein eigenes Schiff unbeaufsichtigt zu lassen. Was wir dann beobachteten, war faszinierend: Das Kind, dessen Schiff gestohlen worden war, wartete auf eine Gelegenheit, sich ein Schiff des Kindes anzueignen, das sein eigenes an sich genommen hatte. Wir waren platt. Wir dachten nicht, dass die Welt so funktioniert — aber offensichtlich tut sie das.“
In weiteren Experimenten wollten die Forscher herausfinden, was passiert, wenn Kind A — das das erste Schiff an sich genommen hatte — dagegen protestierte, dass Kind B seines nahm. Wieder waren die Forscher vom Ergebnis überrascht:
https://www.rubikon.news/artikel/wie-im-kindergarten
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Keine „Fluch von Hormuz“-Show
„Im Tankerstreit will Großbritannien sich nun mit einer Marinemission zum Schutz von Handelsschiffen Hals über Kopf mitten in den USA-Iran-Konflikt stürzen und kurz vor dem Brexit auch noch die ganze EU mitreißen. Diese ‚Schutzmission‘ ist eine Eskalationsmission, die die Kriegsgefahr erhöht“, erklärt Sevim Dagdelen, stellvertretende Vorsitzende und abrüstungspolitische Sprecherin der Fraktion DIE LINKE. Dagdelen weiter:
„Immer wieder ist im Zusammenhang mit der Festsetzung des britischen Tankers durch die iranischen Behörden von Piraterie und deren Bekämpfung die Rede. Aber wir brauchen jetzt keine ‚Fluch von Hormuz‘-Show, sondern eine politische Lösung des Konflikts. Deutschland sollte sich der Initiative des Oman anschließen und auf eine diplomatische Beilegung des Tankerstreits hinwirken.
DIE LINKE fordert eine umfassende internationale Untersuchung der Festsetzungen von Tankern durch Großbritannien und den Iran. Das Aufbringen des iranischen Tankers durch die britische Marine und dessen Festsetzung in Gibraltar muss genauso auf Konformität mit dem internationalen Recht hin geprüft werden wie die Kontrolle und das Aufbringen des britischen Tankers durch die iranische Marine.
https://www.linksfraktion.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/detail/keine-fluch-von-hormuz-show/
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EU-Mächte planen Marineeinsatz im Persischen Golf
Großbritannien dringt auf einen europäischen Marineeinsatz im Persischen Golf und stimmt sich dabei eng mit Deutschland und Frankreich ab. Wie der britische Außenminister Jeremy Hunt gestern mitteilte, soll der Einsatz dem “Schutz der Schifffahrt” insbesondere in der Straße von Hormuz dienen. Er ist dezidiert unabhängig von der parallel angekündigten US-Marineoperation in der Region geplant; London und Berlin distanzieren sich offen von der von Washington verfolgten Strategie des maximalen Drucks auf Iran. Hintergrund ist das Bestreben Deutschlands und der EU, sich im Streit um das Atomabkommen mit Iran eine führende Rolle in der Weltpolitik zu erkämpfen. Washington reagiert darauf, indem es unter anderem mit extraterritorialen Sanktionen die Unterordnung der Mächte Europas unter seine Mittelostpolitik zu erzwingen sucht. Auslöser für die aktuellen Einsatzpläne ist die Festsetzung eines britischen Öltankers durch Iran – eine Vergeltungsmaßnahme für die zuvor erfolgte Festsetzung eines iranischen Tankers durch Großbritannien in Gibraltar.
“Selbstverständlich” handle es sich dabei um eine Vergeltungsmaßnahme für die Festsetzung des iranischen Öltankers Grace 1 in Gibraltar am 4. Juli, erklärt etwa Peter Westmacott, ein pensionierter britischer Diplomat, der es im Lauf seiner Karriere bis zum Botschafter in Washington gebracht hat. Die britische Regierung erkläre, sie habe Irans Tanker festgesetzt, weil er Erdöl für Syrien geladen und damit gegen EU-Sanktionen verstoßen habe. Freilich sei Iran – bekanntermaßen kein Mitglied der EU – “nicht an EU-Sanktionen gebunden”, stellt Westmacott trocken fest: Eine “iranische Antwort” sei daher mit Gewissheit “vorhersagbar” gewesen.
https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/8005/
Zum Thema auch https://deutsch.rt.com/international/90478-grossbritannien-kundigt-europaischen-seeschutzeinsatz-fur/
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Iran, die Tanker-Krise und die EU-Sanktionen
Die Eskalation am Golf geht weiter. Nach Großbritannien hat nun auch Iran einen Tanker festgesetzt – offenbar als Vergeltung für eine britische Beschlagnahme vor Gibraltar. Und was macht die EU?
Die Europäer solidarisieren sich mit den Briten. Die Situation am Golf sei durch die iranische Aktion “noch ernster und gefährlicher geworden” als ohnehin schon, sagte Außenminister Heiko Maas.
“Es geht darum, Krieg zu verhindern”, betonte der SPD-Politiker.
Wenn er das ernst meint, dann müsste er allerdings auch die Briten ermahnen. Denn die tun seit Wochen alles, um den Konflikt mit Iran anzuheizen – und die EU hineinzuziehen.
Begonnen hat es mit der Beschlagnahme eines iranischen Tankers vor Gibraltar. Angeblich schlugen die Briten zu, weil das Schiff EU-Sanktionen gegen Syrien unterlaufen wollte.
Doch diese EU-Sanktionen gelten nur gegen Syrien – und nicht für andere Länder. Im Gegensatz zu den US-Sanktionen wirken die europäischen nicht “extraterritorial”.
Die Briten können sich also nicht auf EU-Recht berufen, wenn sie den iranischen Tanker festhalten. Wenn die EU-Verantwortlichen dies einmal laut aussprechen würde, wären sie nicht nur glaubwürdiger…
https://lostineu.eu/iran-die-tanker-krise-und-die-eu/
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Konflikt mit Iran: Linken-Politiker Liebich fordert Untersuchungskommission
Bevor die Bundeswehr im Konflikt mit dem Iran eingreife, müsse zunächst geklärt werden, was in der Straße von Hormus überhaupt geschehen sei, sagte Stefan Liebich (Die Linke) im Dlf. Der Iran hatte dort einen britischen Tanker beschlagnahmt, nun wird über eine Schutzmission im Persischen Golf diskutiert.
https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/konflikt-mit-iran-linken-politiker-liebich-fordert.694.de.html
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Transatlantische Perspektiven (II)
Im Machtkampf um Iran empfehlen Berliner Regierungsberater ein Beharren auf einem eigenständigen Kurs der europäischen Mächte gegen jeden Druck aus Washington. Könne man sich im Konflikt am Persischen Golf nicht gegen die Vereinigten Staaten durchsetzen, dann drohten Deutschland und die EU insbesondere auch im US-Machtkampf gegen China unter die Räder zu geraten, heißt es beispielsweise bei der Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP). Die EU bekräftigt ihr Verlangen nach “strategischer Autonomie”. Gleichzeitig heißt es in Berlin, man dürfe Washington nicht verprellen; “ohne die Vereinigten Staaten” sei “Europa schwächer”, warnt Ex-Außenminister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD), der seit kurzem als Vorsitzender der Atlantik-Brücke amtiert. Während nur wenige Stimmen ganz vereinzelt zu “Gefolgschaft” gegenüber den USA in den eskalierenden globalen Konflikten raten, heißt es etwa beim German Marshall Fund of the United States, gegen die aktuellen Bemühungen der Trump-Administration, “Europa” auf ihre Politik zu verpflichten, helfe nur Konfliktbereitschaft.
Weithin Einigkeit herrscht in den deutschen Eliten, dass die enge Kooperation mit den Vereinigten Staaten ungeachtet der Konflikte mit der Trump-Administration fortgesetzt werden soll.
https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/8008/
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Iran to confront acts of mischief in Persian Gulf: Rouhani
President Hassan Rouhani says Iran has the responsibility for securing the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf and will decisively confront any attempt at destabilizing the strategic waters.
“We will not allow anyone to try to disrupt order in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” the chief executive told a government meeting in Tehran on Wednesday.
“It is Iran and the other littoral states, which are chiefly responsible for securing the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormoz, and the [security] issue has nothing to do with others The Iranian nation has always acted as the guardian of the Persian Gulf,” Rouhani emphasized.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/07/24/601726/Iran-Persian-Gulf-Strait-of-Hormuz-security-Rouhani
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US sanctions squeeze Iran middle class, upend housing sector
Perhaps most devastating for Iran’s large middle class has been the sharp spike in housing prices, more than double in a year. That has uprooted tenants and made home ownership unattainable for most.
Iranians worry about the future as tensions between Iran and the West continue to rise.
The escalation — triggered by the Trump administration’s withdrawal last year from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers — seems unstoppable, and European mediators trying to defuse the situation keep coming up short.
Iran analyst Adnan Tabatabai said he believes Iranians are “reluctant to take their grievances to the street” for now, amid fear of further chaos and pushback by the authorities.
The economy contracted by 4.9% from March 2018 to March 2019. It is expected to shrink by an additional 5.5% in the year ending March 2020, according to Iranian figures. The official inflation rate has risen to 35%, up from 23.8% in the March 2018 to March 2019 period.
The housing and construction sector, which makes up about one-quarter of the economy and is the top destination for savings and investments, has been thrown out of balance.
Property owners are reluctant to sell and landlords are sharply raising rents because of the currency collapse, said Ali Dadpay, a finance professor at the University of Dallas.
https://apnews.com/f163a13259704e68aeb2197dc1afed81
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
Siehe / Look at cp9a
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AUDIO: Sudan, Yemen and the British arms trade
rs21 held a meeting at SOAS on the arms trade and how it relates to Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen, and its impact on the revolutionary movement in Sudan, with David Wearing, Raga Makawi and Nasir M as speakers.
Permanent crisis in the Middle East and North Africa is presented as inevitable, intractable, and rooted in ‘backward’ cultures. The reality is that the British state and other Western powers play a key role in sustaining oppression and bloodshed in the region, including through massive exports of arms to the military machine of Saudi Arabia and other powers such as Israel and Turkey. British arms are currently at the forefront of the Saudi state’s genocidal war in Yemen, and of the brutal repression of Sudanese revolutionaries by the Saudi-backed Transitional Military Council.
In his talk, David Wearing from Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) argues that the British state is not only complicit in Saudi Arabia’s bombardment of Yemen, but that its ongoing support is key to sustaining the murderous campaign. Last month, CAAT won a massive legal victory by getting British arms exports to Saudi Arabia deemed unlawful. But far more remains to be done in bringing the British-Saudi war machine to a halt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ni9Sm_f29E
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Saudi state part-owns Evening Standard and Independent, court told
Government lawyer tells court part-sale of news outlets has ‘national security implications’
The Evening Standard and the Independent have been explicitly accused by the British government of being part-owned by the Saudi Arabian state, with a series of “unconventional, complex and clandestine” deals used to hide the sale of stakes in the London-based news outlets to a Saudi government bank.
Evgeny Lebedev, who controls both publications, sold 30% stakes in them to offshore companies fronted by a Saudi businessman, Sultan Mohamed Abuljadayel, in 2017 and 2018. The Standard and the Independent say they are unsure who ultimately employs the businessman.
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
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Herber Rückschlag für den Frieden im Jemen
Zum Veto von US-Präsident Trump gegen Beschränkungen von US-Rüstungsexporten an Saudi-Arabien erklärt Omid Nouripour, Sprecher für Außenpolitik:
Trumps Veto ist ein herber Rückschlag für alle Friedensbemühungen im Jemen.
https://www.gruene-bundestag.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/default-2704083486-8
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
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#Bahrain's #JawPrison has transferred death row detainees Ahmad AlMalali and Ali AlArab to solitary confinement, where both of them now remain in handcuffs. The execution of the two victims of torture appears to be imminent...
https://twitter.com/PrintempsArabeS/status/1154875205937967105
#Bahrain'i authorities have surrounded and sealed off the AlMahouz Cemetery, where previously executed martyrs were buried. A police vehicle has been spotted, as well as individuals who are reportedly digging up graves! (film)
https://twitter.com/PrintempsArabeS/status/1154813836043706370
Death row detainee Ahmad AlMalali was initially arrested at the age of 16, and rearrested at 24 in Feb 2017 after being shot at sea. He was tortured w/electric shocks, denied medical care for gunshot wounds & fractures, and forced to sign false confessions.
https://twitter.com/PrintempsArabeS/status/1154773872870342657
and more for these cases: https://twitter.com/PrintempsArabeS/status/1154773872870342657
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The growing threat of sectarianism in Malaysia
The Saudi-Iranian rivalry is raising sectarian tensions in Malaysia and threatening its security.
The recent escalation of tension between Iran and its American and Arab adversaries has stirred sectarian sensitivities not only in the region but also miles away in Southeast Asia, and caused Malaysia, a country with a predominantly Sunni population of 31 million, to once again get sucked into the foreign rivalries.
Back in 1996, the Fatwa Committee for Religious Affairs in Malaysia issued a religious opinion recognising Sunni Islam as "the permitted form of Islam" in the country and branding Shia Islam as "deviant". In doing so, it prohibited the Shia Muslim community, which has around 250,000 members, from spreading their beliefs and allowed Malaysian security forces to raid Shia gatherings.
During this time, calls for the eradication of Shia Islam became a regular component of Friday sermons in many Sunni mosques and persecution of Shia Muslims became commonplace across Malaysia.
By outlawing Shia Islam - the dominant religion in Iran - Malaysia aligned itself openly and firmly with Tehran's main regional rivals, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. This, in turn, encouraged the anti-Shia prejudices of the public and allowed sectarian tensions to fester among the general population. It also enabled the spread of Saudi Wahhabist beliefs among Malaysian Muslims.
Riyadh's influence over Malaysia and the public's anti-Shia sentiment increased further in 2009 when Najib Razak became prime minister and began cosying up to the kingdom.
No matter how much Malaysia's new government tries to stay out of sectarian squabbles in the Middle East and to focus on its policy towards Japan and China, the country's demographic make-up, and the Middle Eastern powers, which view it as an important ally and a lucrative market, pull it back in.
If the new government fails to send a clear message to both Riyadh and Tehran that it would not be part of their cold war and take swift action to end sectarian sentiments of the population, Malaysia may pay the price and become a new front line for sectarian confrontation.
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/growing-threat-sectarianism-malaysia-190719110108799.html
(A E P)
Der indonesische Gesandte sagt, dass der Besuch von Sheikh Mohamed ein "Traum" ist, der wahr wird, da 10-15 Milliarden US-Dollar-Deals erwartet werden
http://www.wam.ae/de/details/1395302776593
(A E P)
Indonesian envoy says Sheikh Mohamed's visit a 'dream' coming true as US$10-15 billion deals expected
Husin Bagis, Ambassador of Indonesia to the UAE, told the Emirates News Agency, WAM, that the visit will not only improve the diplomatic ties between the two countries, but also will expand trade and investment relations across multiple sectors including energy, petrochemicals, retail, ports and customs, tourism and finance.
He went on to note that the key outcomes of the visit are expected to see an estimated US$10-15 billion in deals and partnerships formed with various UAE-based organisations, including Mubadala and DP World.
http://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302776399
My comment: LOL.
(A P)
Russia Advocates for Integral Peace in Yemen
Only a peaceful approach with inclusive policies can help the African peninsula, Russia insisted.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said an integral peace agreement, with the mediation of the United Nations, was necessary in Yemen after meeting with a Yemeni delegation.
The Foreign Ministry added in a statement that such a deal should include the Stockholm agreement reached in December 2018, stressing the need for a peaceful and political option.
He added that urgent measures should be implemented to address the humanitarian crisis and to fight the terrorist groups operating on the Yemeni territory.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Russia-Advocates-for-Integral-Peace-in-Yemen-20190724-0015.html
(A P)
Yemen Houthi chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdul Salam met today in the Russian capital, Moscow, the Russian vice minister of foreign affairs. About moving forward in political solution and comprehensive peace.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/1154038626537263109
(* A B P)
UAE Crown Prince Ben Zayed Visits China to Boost Ties
China is playing host to Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed, who is in Beijing on a state visit. Like the UAE, China aspires to increase its role as a maritime trading player.
Arab media played up Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed's state visit to Beijing, where he met with top Chinese leaders and discussed trade and security ties. China was the UAE's second largest trading partner in 2017, with bilateral trade of $60 billion.
The UAE is aiming to boost it’s armaments through China, with the backlash Trump is getting for feeding the Emiratis and Saudis with endless amounts of weapons to keep up with their Genocide in Yemen, In 2020 if Trump is not reinstated, It may be more difficult to get weapons deals past US congress, as a reminder the Emiratis now have bases and ports in Yemen and are still fully involved within the Saudi led coalition while backing Salafists and southern Yemenis to take out their opponents,
https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/uae-crown-prince-ben-zayed-visits-china-boost-ties
(* B P)
Kleinkrieger
Die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate sind das geheime Machtzentrum im Nahen Osten und die treibende Kraft hinter der Krise mit dem Iran. Das könnte sich nun gegen sie richten.
Auf der Weltkarte liegen die kleinen Emirate wie ein dünner Puffer zwischen den Regionalmächten Iran und Saudi-Arabien. Gerieten die aneinander, würden die VAE zermalmt werden. So sieht es aus. Doch die Größenverhältnisse täuschen. Abu Dhabi ist längst selbst ein Machtzentrum mit einer eigenen, aggressiven politischen Agenda. Es dürfte darüber mitentscheiden, ob der Konflikt weiter eskaliert.
Wenige Kilometer vom Ballsaal entfernt residiert ein Mann, der offiziell nur ein nachrangiges Amt innehat, von dem aber alle hier wissen: In seinen Händen laufen die Fäden zusammen. Es ist der Kronprinz von Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed, kurz MbZ.
Außerhalb diplomatischer Kreise nahezu unbeachtet, ist bin Zayed zu einem der einflussreichsten Ideengeber der US-Nahostpolitik geworden. Er hat Erfahrung im Umgang mit Regierungschefs
Der Prinz ist ein Mann der Waffen. Ausgebildet an der britischen Militärakademie Sandhurst, kaufte er seit den Neunzigerjahren für die Armee seines Landes Waffensysteme aus dem Westen. Heute besitzen die VAE pro Kopf so viele Rüstungsgüter wie kaum ein anderer Staat.
Sein Ehrgeiz nährt sich aus Selbstbewusstsein – und aus Angst.
Zwei Feindbilder bestimmen heute bin Zayeds Politik. Erstens die Muslimbruderschaft, die mächtigste politische Bewegung des sunnitischen Islams. Ihre Vertreter kamen nach dem Arabischen Frühling zunächst an die Macht. Zweitens der Iran.
Erst eine Enttäuschung brachte MbZ an die vorderste Front der Weltpolitik. Barack Obama schloss das Atomabkommen mit dem Iran, ohne die VAE zu konsultieren. Im darauffolgenden Wahlkampf suchte bin Zayed früh den Kontakt zum Team Trumps.
Trumps Männer hatten zwar keinen Plan für den Nahen Osten, die Emiratis aber eine klare Botschaft: Der Iran ist das Problem, und die Emirate sind Amerikas beste Verbündete.
Der "maximale Druck" auf den Iran ist nicht bloß das Projekt eines erratischen US-Präsidenten und seiner Berater. Diese Politik hat ihre stärksten Befürworter in der Region selbst. Es heißt, dass MbZ und seine Leute Trumps Team beraten.
Der emiratischen Führung ist es gelungen, ihren Einfluss zu erweitern, ohne allzu prominent in Erscheinung zu treten.
Bin Zayed sagt er, fördere Frauen und Kultur, propagiere Patriotismus und eine stolze Armee. Seit fünf Jahren müssen emiratische Männer zum Militärdienst. Politisch mitreden aber sollen sie nicht. Freiheit, das heißt hier vor allem die Freiheit, Geschäfte zu machen oder unverschleiert in die Mall zu gehen. MbZ hat die Emirate zu einem Überwachungsstaat hochgerüstet.
Während vor ihrer Küste Tanker attackiert werden, bleiben die Herrschenden der VAE auffällig still.
Es ist die Stille der Ängstlichen. Käme es zum Krieg, träfe der wohl keinen Staat härter als die VAE.
MbZ hat die VAE auf den Gipfel ihrer Macht geführt und damit exponiert. Er hat den Feind Iran durch seine Kontakte zu Washington unter Druck gesetzt, die Reaktion aber trifft sein Land unmittelbar.
Die VAE dürften hinter den Kulissen auf Deeskalation drängen – von Lea Frehse
https://www.zeit.de/2019/31/vereinigte-arabische-emirate-nahost-iran-krise-jemen
cp12a Katar-Krise / Qatar crisis
(B P)
What is Qatar’s Relationship with the Islah Party in Yemen?
Yemeni media sources reported that Qatar is providing support to the Islah party in Yemen, the political wing of Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in that country. The aim of this intervention, according to the reports, is to establish a military wing for the group that will bolster Islah’s ability to extend its influence throughout Yemen and over the state, in the political, military, and security fields.[1]
The article will try to assess the validity of such claims, and the potential objectives that Doha might have in providing support to Al-Islah. The article argues that any Qatar-Islah relationship has to be understood in the light of Qatar’s longstanding policies towards the MB and other Islamists in various conflict zones of the Middle East.
Doha tried to enhance its regional role after the outbreak of the Arab Spring by supporting Muslim Brotherhood affiliates in several countries that underwent revolutions, notably Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.[2]
There is considerable evidence this approach extended to Yemen.
Doha’s reckless policies of throwing money at Islamist insurgents meant that terrorist organizations ended up benefiting from their largesse.
https://eeradicalization.com/what-is-qatars-relationship-with-the-islah-party-in-yemen/
My comment: Obviously a very high propaganda level. – Islah Party is supporting „president“ Hadi.
(A P)
Qatar and Somalia deny NYT's bombing news report
Alleged foreign-intelligence recording suggested Doha's 'interest' in Somalia attack, but Qatar rejected the accusation.
Qatar and Somalia denied a news report that suggested Doha had an "interest" in a bombing in northern Somalia carried out by a local armed groupin May.
The New York Times reported on Monday it obtained an audio recording from a foreign intelligence agency involving a Qatari businessman working in Somalia.
The recorded conversation suggested the bombers attacked the city of Bosaso "to advance Qatar's interests by driving out its rival, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)".
cp12b Sudan
Siehe / Look at cp13b
(* B P)
Audio: Raga Makawi of the Sudanese Workers Alliance for the Restoration of Trade Unions spoke on how the power of the militias relates to the state and to regional politics, and how it impacts on the workers’ revolutionary struggle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmjvEg-M4Wc
(* A K P)
1,000 Sudanese militiamen arrive in Libya
Reliable sources reported to Radio Dabanga that the first batch of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia have arrived in Libya in the oil-rich region crescent to protect Libya’s oil installations in order to allow forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar to concentrate all their power on the Tripoli attack, which Haftar’s forces have failed in recent months.
The sources estimated the number of troops to be about 1,000 out of the 4,000 troops expected to arrive in Libya in the next few months.
https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/1-000-sudanese-militiamen-arrive-in-libya
Comment: Sudan's RSF militia has become the mercenary du-jour, thanks to funding by KSA.
https://twitter.com/khoury_nabeel/status/1154687607198146561
(* B P)
Warum protestieren die Sudanesen immer noch?
Die Sudanesen haben die Herrschaft von Diktator Omar al-Baschir beendet. Doch es droht neue Gefahr vom Chef der Generäle.
Die arabischen Rebellionen sind mitnichten beendet und gescheitert.
Was zuallererst an den Demonstranten liegt. Anders als in Libyen ist die Bewegung gut organisiert, angeführt von einem Bündnis unterschiedlicher Berufsgruppen mit maßgeblicher Beteiligung von Frauen. Anders als die Ägypter haben sich die Sudanesen nicht mit dem Fall des Diktators zufriedengegeben, sondern den Druck auf Geheimdienst, Militär und vor allem Paramilitärs aufrechterhalten und die Übergabe der Macht an eine zivile Regierung gefordert. Und anders als in Syrien hat sich das Bündnis mit dem Namen "Kräfte für Freiheit und Wandel" nicht in die Falle des bewaffneten Widerstands locken lassen.
https://www.zeit.de/2019/31/sudan-demonstrationen-uebergangsabkommen-militaer-demokratiebuendnis
(* A P)
Sudan Communist Party demands dissolution of brutal Janjaweed paramilitary forces and Yemen troop withdrawal
Sudan's Communist Party on Wednesday demanded the dissolution of a government paramilitary force widely held responsible for the massacre of more than a hundred people last month.
The opposition party also warned that a yet-to-be-signed "constitutional agreement" between the ruling military junta and the opposition Alliance for Freedom and Change (AFC) would "enshrine military rule" and maintain laws restricting freedoms, Al-Jazeerareported.
Protesters across Sudan will take to the streets on Thursday to renew their call for a transitional government led by technocrats.
The party, which has taken an active role in opposing both the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir and the military junta that displaced it, also urged the complete withdrawal of the Sudanese armed forces from Yemen.
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
(* B K P)
Germany and France: Old Demons
In truth, respect for human rights has never been a priority of French foreign policy, whose inspiration and implementation is constitutionally entrusted to the Palais de l’Élysée (the President) and not to Quai d’Orsay (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) or Matignon (Prime Minister). We see this in French policy toward Libya, the United Arab Republic, and Yemen, where France maintains troops, toward Saudi Arabia, France’s third largest arms customer, and toward Egypt, its largest, receiving more than twenty-five percent of France’s arms exports.
The German initiative temporarily affects exports to Saudi Arabia of certain French and European weaponry manufactured using German-made parts.
And attributing this initiative to “electoral schemes”, terming it “wishful thinking” subject to the “trend in the domestic policy debate”, as the French diplomat does, amounts to unconscionable derision of a worthy measure that has, to date, been approved by seven European countries[7] and enjoys the support of 75% of the French based on a survey conducted in March 2018.
This difference in approach reveals a deeper issue between the two countries that is rarely addressed in the hallways of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs or in diplomatic telegrams. The historical partnership cultivated within the framework of the European Union, originally created to curb the rivalries and conflicts that once characterized relations among the two European nations, should not fool us. Given the economic, financial, commercial, and demographic characteristics of each, it is clear that the two countries have different stances and approaches in the international arena.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/07/26/germany-and-france-old-demons/
(* B K P)
Fighting Yemen's dirty war, an Arab military is buying a weapons system made in Canberra
The weapons systems have been flying across the world, from Australia to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for months. But neither the company selling them, nor the Australian Government, has said exactly who is buying them.
Now, thanks to new photographic evidence, the secret's out.
Photos sent to the ABC from an anonymous source show the weapons systems awaiting export at Sydney airport.
More importantly, they reveal Australian company Electro Optic Systems (EOS) is selling its next generation remote weapons system directly to the UAE's Armed Forces, which stands accused of war crimes as part of its role in the controversial Yemen war.
The EOS Remote Weapons System (RWS) is a collection of sensors and a swivelling mount set around a small cannon, heavy machine gun or missile launcher.
The system is affixed to a military vehicle or a naval vessel and fired remotely.
In December, the ABC revealed that EOS was selling the weapons system to the United Arab Emirates, but the company has repeatedly declined to say if they were selling to civilian or military customers.
The Australian Government has come under firefor granting EOS defence export licenses, given the growing criticism of the behaviour of the UAE military in Yemen.
and
(* B K P)
Australian weapons shipped to Saudi and UAE as war rages in Yemen
Secret pictures show arms being shipped to coalition despite bans in Uk and attempted block by US Congress
In the same week UK courts declared British arms exports to Saudi Arabia to be unlawful, a large shipment of Australian-built remote weapons systems left Sydney airport.
Secret photographs, obtained by Guardian Australia, confirm the identity of the buyers – the Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates governments, whose forces are currently waging a devastating war in Yemen. Also marked are the suppliers of the equipment, which the manufacturer boasts is “significantly enhancing lethality” in combat.
Labelling on pallets destined in June for Saudi Arabia’s ministry of interior, specifically the general department of arms and explosives, identify the seller as ATK Alliance Techsystems Operations (Orbital ATK), a US-based company which sells the equipment manufactured by an Australian firm, Electro Optics Systems (EOS).
The weapons systems shipped to the UAE armed forces’ joint logistics command from Sydney’s international airport were supplied by EOS.
The R400s remote weapons station allows small cannons, guns or missile launchers to be mounted on military and light vehicles and operated remotely.
cp13b Mercenaries / Söldner
(* B K P)
Documents and private sources of Al Jazeera Net .. Emirates military aircraft used airports Sudan and Hamidi recruit mercenaries to Abu Dhabi
Al Jazeera Net has obtained special documents and information that reveal the UAE's use of the Sudanese airspace in transporting hundreds of mercenaries - recruited by Mohammed Hamdan Diklo (Hamidati), Vice President of the Sudanese Military Council from the Arab tribes in Darfur and some neighboring African countries to Libya and Yemen via Eritrea.
Other private information revealed the nature of the recruitment of Hamidati (commander of the rapid support forces) hundreds of mercenaries for the benefit of the Arab tribes in Darfur.
A document issued by the UAE embassy to the Sudanese authorities in charge of foreign affairs revealed that Abu Dhabi had requested a diplomatic permit for two C130 + G17 aircraft belonging to the UAE armed forces to cross and land at El Geneina airport in western Sudan.
The same letter said that the mission of the two planes will be the transfer of "passengers" described by the letter by the Sudanese force, and requested a month to complete the mission from 1 June to 30 of the same month.
The message of the UAE Embassy in Khartoum identified the route from Assab in Eritrea to El Geneina in Sudan back, and from El Geneina to Assab in Eritrea, which meant that the transfer of combat elements would be from Sudanese Darfur to the Eritrean nerve.
In another letter, the embassy asked the authorities concerned to obtain a diplomatic permit for two C17 aircraft belonging to the UAE armed forces to cross and land at Khartoum Airport, while crossing to transport "passengers and cargoes" from Khartoum to Kharuba in Libya.
Special sources for Al-Jazeera Net revealed that Hamidati, during a special unit of the rapid support forces, recruited about 450 people for the UAE army from the Arab tribes in Darfur, which have an overlap with Chad and Niger.
According to the same sources, the participants were selected according to specific characteristics and characteristics, so that they are light skinned and speak Arabic.
According to the same sources, the elements were assembled inside Sudan and then deported by private aircraft from El Geneina west of the country to receive military training by Blackwater.
"The UAE has prepared a future strategy to develop the capabilities of the UAE Army and increase its numbers in response to the requirements of the conflict in the region, especially with regard to the consequences of the war in the region," the sources said. To whom.
She added that Taha Osman, according to Hameedati, said that the UAE has allocated large amounts of money to face these repercussions, especially with increasing indications of the possibility of a war between Iran and the United States, which may result in the possibility of targeting the UAE from Iran.
(* A K P)
Sudanese forces not withdrawing from Yemen's Hodeidah, spokesman says
Deputy head of ruling military council in Khartoum says Sudanese forces will stay despite power shift
Sudanese forces fighting in Yemen as part of the Arab Coalition have not withdrawn from positions around the vital Red Sea port of Hodeidah, the spokesman for the joint forces in the city told The National.
Col Wathah Al Dubaish rejected the reports that Sudanese troops had withdrawn from the west coast of the country.
“I totally reject such fake news, the Sudanese forces are still playing a crucial role in the battle to restore the legitimacy in Yemen along with the coalition states,” he said. “They are still present along the western coast in Hodeidah and other areas in Yemen.
“What has been happening is a matter of redeployment for the Sudanese forces in some positions in Hodeidah, according to the new planes set by the new leadership for the joint forces fighting the Houthi rebels in Hodeidah,” Col Al Dubaish told The National.
and
(* A K P)
Sudanese troops withdraw from 3 positions on West Coast front
Sudanese military forces taking part in Arab coalition operations against the Houthis in Yemen have withdrawn from positions on the country's west coast, a military source said.
The source said that Sudanese forces withdrew on Tuesday from positions where they were stationed in the directorates of Al-Drihmi, Al-Tahita and Hees in southern Hodeidah province.
According to the source, the troops withdrew their personnel with their light weapons and handed over the rest of the medium and heavy weapons, equipment and positions to the joint forces of the Giants Brigades, Tihama Brigades, the Guards of the Republic, which are expected to take their place.
According to the source, the withdrawal was carried out under the supervision of the remaining Emirati officers and in cooperation with the Saudi Forces Command on the West Coast.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/169939
My comment: So what??
and
(* A P)
Sudanese forces partially withdraw from Yemen
Official says that Yemeni troops were deployed in areas from where Sudanese troops withdrew
Some Sudanese forces have partially withdrawn from areas they were deployed in Yemen, according to a military source.
Col. Waddah al-Dabeesh, a spokesman for the Yemeni army, told Anadolu Agency that the Sudanese forces participating in the West Coast military front, withdrew from three areas they were deployed in, without giving any names.
He explained that some Yemeni army forces were redeployed in these areas to replace the Sudanese forces.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/sudanese-forces-partially-withdraw-from-yemen-/1540335
(B P)
Film: This is what the EU funded (until recently suspended) Sudanese mercenary RSF formally Janjaweed forces, are doing with impunity to the people of Yemen
https://twitter.com/3arabyAswad/status/1154831097097859074
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(A T)
Over half #alQaeda's formally claimed ops in #Yemen during June/July have targeted #UAE-backed forces (not #ISIS as was the case in previous months) Latest: Yesterday #AQAP claimed attack (incl mortar) on Elite Force positions in al-Bayda'. 1 position razed & 1 vehicle destroyed
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1154065333575200770
cp15 Propaganda
(B P)
Saudi Arabia has been operating several hospitals in Yemen. The kingdom has also been the biggest financial aid contributor to Yemen. Just to give you an idea of the kind of work that Saudi backed hospitals do, Mohamed al-Jabir, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen posted a series of tweets that highlighted it.
Whats’s most significant were the accounts of two hospitals that operate in territory that is occupied by the Houthi rebels. Saudi Arabia pays for the staff salaries and operational costs of these hospitals.
(A P)
Coalition ridicules Houthis claims on downing drone
Militia’s losses on ground prompt it to fabricate media victories
A source in the Arab Coalition to Support the Legitimacy in Yemen said that the Houthi militia has been suffering defeats daily in addition to human and material losses thus making them resort to fabricating lies and claiming false victories through their media.
The source ridiculed the militia's claims through its media of dropping a drone, stressing that this claim is baseless and is just another addition to the record of lies and fabrications used by the militia in an attempt to boost the morale of its fighters.
(A P)
Yemen Poses a Big Test for Iran
If Iran grasps the olive branch in Sana'a, then it is possible that future negotiations can put an end to its conflicts.
America’s allies are looking for peace in Yemen. The big question is: Will Iran seize this opportunity to end its war in the Arab world’s most desperate land?
It is unclear that Iran actually wants peace. The Islamic Republic is challenging the United States and allied Arab nations across the Middle East. Over the past four decades, it has managed to establish an “arc of influence” that stretches from Lebanon and Syria in the Levant, to Iraq and Bahrain on the Gulf, to Yemen on the Red Sea.
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/yemen-poses-big-test-iran-69087
My comment: The Yemen War is not Iran’s war.
(A P)
Chief of Syrian National Assembly: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard manages Houthis’ operation from Aleppo
Chief of the Syrian National Assembly, Mohammed Prumo, said on Wednesday that Iran supervises Yemen’s Houthis’ military operation from its Revolutionary Guard Operations Room in the Syrian Aleppo city.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-32188
My comment: The Houthis are no Iranian proxies. – From Aleppo – this sounds like very odd propaganda. – What is this „Syrian National Assembly“? Read https://www.aa.com.tr/en/archive/syrian-national-assembly-established/412643.
(A P)
Eat Iran's Lunch Before They Have Us for Dinner
Diplomatic efforts notwithstanding, the free world must realize that the threat posed by a nuclear Iran would be different from any other nation obtaining such weapons.
At the very least, Iran, once it had both nuclear weapons and the means of delivering them, would not even have to use them: the threat to do so would be sufficient to blackmail other countries into doing whatever it asked. If it wanted to control the oilfields of Saudi Arabia or its holy cities, Mecca and Medina, how could Saudi Arabia resist?... What about the tempting oil fields of Abu Dhabi or Kuwait?
Since its revolution in 1979, Iran, often through its proxies such as Hezbollah, has dedicated its resources to expansion and terrorism -- not only in Yemen, but also in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and by funding Hamas in the Gaza Strip -- to create a geographical arc from Iran to the Mediterranean. Iran has also for years been expanding into South America, particularly Venezuela.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14572/eat-irans-lunch
My comment: It’s not a parody – it’s real propaganda. The best: Venezuela… Whow!! – And: The US simply had reduced to zero “the threat posed by a nuclear Iran” – by Obama’s Nuclear Deal. Ask his foolish successor why he left it.
(A P)
More Saudi coalition “We are benefactors” propaganda
http://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302776933 and http://en.adenpress.news/news/10862
http://en.adenpress.news/news/10859
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1951037
https://menafn.com/1098803826/UAE-prefers-India-for-treatment-of-1000-Yemen-civil-war-victimsNews
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/07/25/basic-service-development-plans-in-hadhramout-followed-by-saudi-delegation/ = http://en.adenpress.news/news/10854
www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302776814 = http://www.wam.ae/de/details/1395302776861 (Deutsch)
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1950389 and http://en.adenpress.news/news/10844
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(B K)
Film by MSF: I didn't expect them to bomb hospitals, I can't sleep now, I'm facing trauma"
https://twitter.com/bon2_o1sav4tjkp/status/1154836879998685184
(A K pH)
US-Saudi Aerial Aggression Destroys House in Sa’adah
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=7997
(A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids recorded on:
July 25: https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=7988 Saada p., Hajjah p.
July 22: http://www.saba.ye/en/news543048.htm Saada p.
July 20: http://www.saba.ye/en/news543023.htm Sanaa city
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A K pS)
A civilian was killed and his son was seriously injured in the explosion of a landmine deployed by the Houthi group in al-Bayda governorate.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1154827206268522496
(A K pH)
Yemeni Forces Shoot Down 9th Saudi-led Spy Drone in Jizan
http://www.newnewss.net/yemeni-forces-shoot-down-9th-saudi-led-spy-drone-in-jizan/
(* A K pH)
Qasef 2K Drones in another Attack on Saudi Airports, This Time Abha Airport
On Thursday night, the Air Force launched large-scale offensive operations with Qasef 2K drones on vital targets at Abha International Airport in Aseer.
The spokesman of the armed forces, Brigadier Yahya Sari, said that the Air Force managed to carry out large-scale operations and targeted airfields and other military used sites. He added that the drones hit their targets very accurately and led to a disruption in air traffic to and out off the airport.
Brigadier Sari threatened the Saudi regime with more painful days as long as it continued its aggression, siege and continuous raids, which reached 25 airstrikes in the past 12 hours.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=7987
and
(* A K pS)
JFC of Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Coalition Forces Intercept, Down Drone Launched by Iran-backed Al-Houthi Terrorist Militia on KSA
The official spokesman of the Coalition's Forces “Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen” Col. Turki Al-Malki stated that the joint coalition forces managed this evening to intercept and drop a drone in the Yemeni airspace launched by Al-Houthi terrorist militia from Sana'a governorate in an attempt to target the Kingdom.
He reminded the international community of the hostile actions committed by Al-Houthi terrorist militia, pointing out that firing its ballistic missiles and drones to the civilian areas and facilities as well as residential neighborhoods inhabited by unarmed civilians and deliberately targeting civilians are war crimes against humanity subjecting this militia being backed by Iran under international law.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1950901
My comment: Combined with the same well-known propaganda – It’s military targets which are attacked here.
And
(A K P)
Saudia Airlines Cancels all Ticket fess from flights departing to & from Abha, Najran & Jizan in order to save face
Following the many successive Yemeni drone strikes against various southern Saudi airports, the Saudis seem to be in severe distress.
An internal bulletin released by the airlines on July 10th & recently leaked to social media gives no explanation as to why such a measure has been undertaken, but given the recent escalation of battles in the area, one can safely assume that the measure is tied to the many Yemeni drone strikes in the country.
The exemption of ticket fees for all flights departing to & from Abha, Jizan and Najran will be taken into effect from July 8th of 2019 till the end of August same year (image)
and also look at returning flight: https://twitter.com/A7medJa7af/status/1154451317030625281
(A K pH)
In Sa'ada, our correspondent reported the death of a child by fire of the Saudi Army in one of the border villages in Razih.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=7988
(A K pS)
National army liberates strategic areas, killed 30 Houthi militants in Al-Dhale
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(* A )
FAO warns of Desert Locust outbreaks in Yemen and the Horn of Africa
Desert Locust summer breeding, amplified by heavy rains, can pose a serious threat to agricultural production areas of Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea and parts of Ethiopia and northern Somalia during the next three months, FAO warned today. This could result in potentially adverse impacts on the agricultural seasonal yields and local economies affecting food security and livelihoods of the populations in the countries concerned.
Intensive ground and aerial control operations were mounted in Iran (712 000 ha), Saudi Arabia (219 000 ha) and Sudan (105 000 ha) this year that undoubtedly reduced locust populations but could not entirely prevent swarms from forming and moving to the traditional summer breeding areas in Yemen, Sudan, the Horn of Africa and along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border.
There is a moderate to high risk of the Desert Locust situation escalating further in the interior and coastal areas of Yemen and in the interior of Sudan, causing swarms to form that would threaten agricultural production by the end of the summer. This will be followed by further increases along both sides of the Red Sea during the upcoming winter from November onwards.
Yemen, the world's current worst humanitarian crisis, is the most concerned and at highest risk because of widespread hopper band infestations and heavy rainfall that will cause swarms to form from this week onwards, which could give rise to another generation of breeding by the end of August if weather conditions remain favourable to locust breeding.
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1203003/icode/
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A Form of Yemeni Poetry Thrives in Defiance of War
At a conference in Cairo earlier this month, a group of scholars, poets and representatives of the Aden-based Yemeni government began the process of including a traditional form of Yemeni poetry on the Unesco register of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Dan Hadrami is a traditional form of improvised poetry, typically accompanied by singing, dance and instrumental music, that is regularly performed at social gatherings in the Hadramawt region of southern Yemen.
https://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2019/07/a-form-of-yemeni-poetry-thrives-in-defiance-of-war/
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-558-yemen-war-mosaic-558
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-558a-yemen-war-mosaic-558a
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-558 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-558:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
und alle Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
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